The Dragons kicking off the new season of volleyball

Spencer Sharp / Sara Louie

The 2013-2014 season is starting soon for the HSMSE boys’ volleyball team, and their success this year is going to be uncertain. This year the PSAL decided to create two divisions for boys’ varsity volleyball. The Dragons were placed in the A division this year for their exceptional play last season; however, senior players who were the leaders of the team have graduated, leaving this year’s team searching for replacements.

The roster is going through big changes and that is going to affect their game play. Seniors Ardit Piroli and Yassine Khaliqui were the leaders in kills and hitting percentage last year. With their departure, this year’s team is going to have to designate new attackers. However, coach Nick Diunte does not seem worried about the changes, but does say that there is a lot to do before their first game of the season against Stuyvesant on March 24th.

“There is going to be a lot of work on the fundamentals of hitting during practice this year so that the new players can learn to be more offensive when they play,” he said.

The new placement into the A division will bring increased competition. Last year, they finished with a 7-5 record, tying High School for Environmental Studies for third place in their division. This year’s A division will contain teams from Louis Brandeis, High School for Environmental Studies, Stuyvesant High School, Fiorello H Guardia, and West 50th Street Campus. These teams were all playoff teams last season, but it is possible that they are going through the same changes that the Dragons are facing.

The new division holds many new challenges and the returning players are getting ready to face this year’s competition. Nicholas Jorquera is a bright spot and the only returning sophomore on the team.

“Now that we are in the A division we have the responsibility to improve,” Jorquera said. “Hopefully playing against more competitive teams continue to help us develop new skills.”

Jorquera played in eight of the twelve matches last season and seeks to gain more playing time.

“I know what the games look like, and what I have to improve to be a better volleyball player,” he said

The future for the Dragons is a mystery waiting to be unraveled. All of the teams that are in the division this year with them had a great showing last year, but Diunte stated that the Dragons have played against the other teams in the division and have been competitive with them. Despite the changes, he has high expectations that the team will be able to make the playoffs for a third straight season.

“I am confident in our ability to compete,” he said.

Written by Allan Lee and Yonatan Pechter

Dragons incorporate youth into game plan

HSMSE Boys' Basketball Team / Din Islam

Many basketball coaches will tell you that experience is a major part of winning. On the High School of Math, Science, and Engineering’s boys’ basketball team youth is the main focus. During the 2013 season, out of 13 players on the team, 11 were underclassmen allowing for growth both individually and as a team.

One of the many underclassmen on the team is freshman forward Eric Abreu. He benefited from the available playing time, averaging 8.5 ppg and 6.5 rpg.

“[Being a freshman] made [developing] kind of easier because you have a lot of time to improve,” Abreu said.

Along with youth, there must also be experience. The two seniors on the team played for two seasons, so they had much more exposure than the freshmen. Many of the younger players had to change their positions.

“It’s their first time they’re playing high school basketball,” senior guard Kofi Kordie said. “It’s different from middle school.”

It was new head coach David Scheiman’s coaching decision to recruit underclassmen because he believed they would grow together and get accustomed to being with each other.

“I felt that overall talent wise they were better, and they would develop over time,” Scheiman said.

He expected the seniors to take leadership of the team. He wanted them to be vocal and be on-court coaches for the younger players.

Although they ended the season with a disappointing 1-13 record, they are still hopeful. With the growth of the freshmen, they look to become a powerful basketball team.

“We’ll be a lot better than we are now,” Abreu said.

Written by: Daniella Smith and Sadeon Martin

A u-turn for HSMSE girls’ basketball

HSMSE Girls Basketball Team / M. Galeano

The High School for Math Science & Engineering girls’ basketball team went 7-9 in the 2013-14 season, a huge improvement from their 0-18 season last year. The rise was due to the addition of freshman Annabelle Shultz, as well as the excellent play from senior shooting guard Donna Fintzi. 

Shultz, the rookie point guard, scored 15 points per game, taking pressure off of Fintzi who has been the team’s scoring leader since her sophomore year. 

“We would always try to get the ball to Donna,” Shultz said. “[She] would hit three pointers and I would always crash the boards and try to get foul shots up.” 

The new head coach Jeremy Bassie helped the team on and off the court. Bassie successfully coached the Girls Jr. Varsity team at Bronx Science from 2007-12. His past experience as a coach helped the girls turn their season around.

“He was a really good coach,” Shultz said. “He knew what to do and was very confident in what he did. He would always make us laugh and make us have a good time playing."

Next year, without senior co-captains Fintzi and Mikaela Bloch, who combined for more than 20 points per game, others will have to score. Despite their trouble, the Dragons are determined to try and improve their record for next season. 

Annabelle Shultz / Din Islam

It’s going to be a learning process for most of the team and me also, but everyone is going to have to step up,” Shultz said.

The Dragons will have to look towards freshman next year to help fill the vacancies left by the seniors. The team relied on the seniors for a large portion of their scoring but now they will have to change their game to make up for the disadvantage.

Saying goodbye to their departing captains, the Dragons will continue to work towards making the playoffs. It will be a rebuilding process, but this season was definitely a triumph for the girls’ basketball team.

By: Willy Herman and Henry Schoenfeld

New running grounds for HSMSE

The outdoor track team / T. Henning

The High School for Math, Science, and Engineering’s outdoor track team is entering the PSAL this season. After only one invitational meet with the PSAL last year, the team is now officially a part of the league. What happens this season will be a mystery, but they look to build upon it.

“I have no idea how we are going to do since this is our first season in the PSAL” coach Tom Henning said. “We’re here to set the starting mark.”

Henning has also brought cross-country to HSMSE. The cross-country team entered the PSAL in 2012. During the 2013 season, the cross-country Flying Dragons impressively dominated most of the top 15 spots in the 5K Grand Prix at Van Cortlandt on September 24th. Some of the athletes from the cross-country team will be members of the outdoor track team once the season starts.

Junior Michael Alvin is one of the many cross-country runners who will transition into outdoor track this season. You have to look no further than the aforementioned race in Van Cortlandt where he placed 9th out of 56 runners to see that he has the potential to perform well in outdoor track.

Junior Julian Galperin will also join Alvin in transitioning seasons. Though his experience in cross-country suggests an easy move to outdoor track, Galperin recognizes the difference between the two sports.

“Track is a completely different sport so even if someone is a great cross country runner, they might be a horrible sprinter,” he said. “I'm one of the faster kids on the cross country team, but probably in the middle for track.”

The team is by no means expecting to be the best runners right away, but rather to gain experience.

“Our goal is to do the best that we can with what we have and learn how to do better next year,” Henning said.

By: Velid Mulic and Kofi Odame

The fan experience at HSMSE

The students at the High School for Math, Science, and Engineering who attend the varsity games are few in number, but still feel the need to go support the teams. These students want to see a good game and be involved in their teams' performance, all while having a fun time with their friends.

Students find the sporting events a very exciting experience. These fans add on to the popularity of games and attempt to persuade their friends to accompany them.

“Being a fan is exhilarating.” sophomore Omar Carrera said.

They expect to see an entertaining game that is full of hustle throughout the event. Our fans feel enthusiastic about the school teams, and attending helps them relieve stress.

“They help motivate their team like, ‘I gotta win this game for my school,’” Carrera said about fellow fans.

Both Carrera and fellow sophomore Matthew Chae have attempted to get more people to attend. The main reason for not attending is time; their friends say they don’t have the opportunity and don’t want angry parents. Basketball games start at 4:30 PM, and sometimes even later. Despite the late start, both Carrera and Chae find the experience rewarding, better than just going home and being bored.

“Usually people ask their friends, and they say, ‘No no no it’s kinda late,’” Chae said.

The presence of fans at games have a positive effect on player performance, and the players appreciate having them at the games. Most fans at the games are there supporting friends.

“I appreciate the effort they put into coming to the game,” sophomore boys soccer player Alexei Ohotin said.

The fans of the HSMSE are a small, yet dedicated bunch who enjoy the mostly unappreciated sporting events at our school. Games are made possible to attend for all people, even if time constraints are present during the school week. If the fan base is to grow, more students have to give it a try because current fans are really enjoying it.

The future of HSMSE baseball

The High School for Math, Science and Engineering Dragons baseball team’s approaching season is looking bright. With a year’s experience in the B-Division, more time to practice, and up-and-coming players, the team is expecting their first win this season since leaving the developmental stage.

HSMSE Baseball Team / HSMSE Sports

Last season didn’t go well for the baseball team at HSMSE. They had a rough time on the field stumbling through a 0-13 season. Coach David Scheiman credits that the team is now facing challenging opponents.

“It was our first season transitioning from the developmental league to the B-Division,” he said.

Now that Scheiman has implemented increased training time, he expects the team’s performance to improve.

“Hopefully just their reps, their fielding, and their natural ability [will improve]; things being second-nature to them when they’re playing baseball,” Scheiman said.

This upcoming season is going to look different on the field now, with younger faces from the freshman class. They will be filling in the positions that the seniors left open last season.

“I think they’ll have a big effect because a few of them are pitchers, and a few of our pitchers left last year,” co-captain Henry Schoenfeld said. “A lot of them play infield which is also our big problem, so that fills another big need.”

Now that the HSMSE Dragons have a bigger freshman class on the team, their future looks fortunate. They are aiming for their first B-Division win in the upcoming season; however, they still have a long way to go before they make it to the top.

Contributed by Nicholas Bohan and Muhammad Abid Hasan

The beginning of the future for HSMSE basketball

Annabelle Shultz shooting a free throw / Din Islam

Both the High School for Math, Science, and Engineering boys’ and girls’ basketball teams are beginning the start of what appears to be successful futures. The Lady Dragons’ are now 5-5 as of this writing, piling up more wins than their previous three seasons combined. Meanwhile, the 1-8 record of the young boys' team, so far unfairly represents a well developing unit that contains only two upperclassmen.

The key to the great turnaround season for the Lady Dragons’ so far is freshman guard Annabelle Shultz.

“Everything starts with her," said head coach Jeremy Bassie. "She brings the ball coast to coast and finds Donna Fintzi for threes, and goes to the foul line and rebounds. We are very lucky to have her in the program."

Her presence creates a big three for the team similar to that of the Miami Heat. Fintzi and senior forward Mikaela Bloch no longer need to take control of every possession and instead can work more off the ball.

“We have a few freshmen who are more highly skilled than in years past which has allowed for Donna [Fintzi] not to have as much responsibility handling the ball so she can be more set up to shoot, instead of always having to shoot off the dribble and run around to so much. I think that has allowed her to really show off her shot a bit more because she doesn’t have to handle the ball as often,” said co-coach Nick Diunte.

For the boys' team, this season has showcased the vast improvement of a developing team. The team opted to go for a younger squad this year in order to develop players to replace the play of 1,000 point-scorer Kavan Edwards. Their game against Chelsea Career and Technical Education on January 9th, 2014 demonstrated this transition perfectly. Unlike their opening game of the season where senior guard Kofi Kordie was responsible for nearly all the points, the scoring was distributed well among the underclassmen.

“I think we've improved a lot of the whole year,” said coach David Scheiman. “We've improved so much, we’re competitive now. I honestly think that in two years we might have a shot at winning the division.”

It is crucial for for the Lady Dragons to replace the talent of Fintzi and Bloch if they want to continue their success. With Shultz already providing great talent in only her first year, already improving underclassmen may easily increase their contributions next season.

For the boys' squad, it is clear that they have a growing team which will only improve over time. The whole team, sparing the two seniors, have at least another two seasons together before graduation. This large amount of time that the team will be together, almost surely guarantees they will see an improvement over the next few years.

Video footage below of HSMSE boys' basketball team first victory of the season against Manhattan Village Academy on January 11, 2014.