Two winter Teams Advance to New England Championship Finals

The Boys Varsity Basketball and Boys Varsity Ice Hockey teams earned spots in the 2023 New England Championships at the end of the Winter Term. According to Athletic Director Mike Marich P’23 ’24, this was the first time two winter season teams advanced to the finals since 2013-2014, when Girls Varsity Ice Hockey and Boys Varsity Ice Hockey played in the postseason.

“It was incredible to have two teams competing for championships,” Marich said in March. “I am so proud of the way the teams competed, but more importantly, how well they represented our school. All the credit goes to the coaches, who have led their teams so well!”

From top: Head Coach Brian Konik talks to the Boys Varsity Basketball Team during the NEPSAC Class B Boys Basketball Semifinals against #2 seed Millbrook School; center: Boys Varsity Ice Hockey celebrates their semifinal win over Holderness School in sudden death overtime; bottom, Head Coach Craig Badger talking to the team during the NEPSAC Quarterfinals against Tilton School.

Historic Run for Boys Basketball

Boys Varsity Basketball ended its regular season with a record of 17-7 and earned the #3 seed in the NEPSAC Boys Basketball Tournament Class B Bracket. The team pushed past #6 seed Governor’s Academy 79-69 to win the NEPSAC Quarterfinals at Deerfield Academy on March 1, and went on to defeat #2 seed Millbrook School 83-68 at Millbrook on March 4. In the final, Gunn fought hard against #1 seed The Rivers School, which ended its regular season 26-2. The Red Wings claimed the New England Championship for the second straight year, with a score of 85-51 in the finals, which were played at Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts on March 5. It was a tough loss to a tough opponent, Gunn basketball said via Instagram @gunnbasketball1850. “We are all immensely proud and thankful for the experience of this year. For the first time in many years the program was not only able to make the playoffs but go all the way to the final. We hope this is only the start. Thank you to the supporters at all of our games, the coaches, and our seniors. What an incredible year! Go Gunn!”

Head Coach Brian Konik has steadily built up the basketball program since taking on the role of head coach in 2017-2018. “We spent a lot of time starting last spring integrating the new kids that were coming to the school with the returning players. We took the team on a Live Like Fred camping trip in the fall. We went to Steep Rock. And so, a big part of our program is building those kinds of social connections among the kids on the team before the season starts. Basketball has a lot of games. It’s a sport that has a lot of ups and downs throughout the course of a game, and throughout the course of a season. The more kids enjoy being around each other and learn to trust each other, the better they are going to be in difficult situations throughout the year.”

Several members of the team also had social connections from their earliest days on a basketball court. “A lot of these kids knew each other from playing youth basketball together in New York, and they have all of these memories. They all have this history together. That’s been a recruiting strategy,” Konik said. “The closer these kids’ social relationships are, and the more comfortable they feel here, the better they’re going to do.”

Asked how he was feeling heading into the quarterfinal, Konik said: “All of this part of the year just seems like a reward for the hard work. There’s just opportunity to have it be better. There’s no pressure on the kids at this point. It’s just them having every minute they have to play together, and to try to do something special is just a blessing. This part of the year is very easy for me. They’ve already won.”

Among the standouts this year was Santana Sinvilcin ’24, the team’s leading scorer, Tristan Davis ’23, who won the James R. Haddock Basketball Award in 2022 and All-NEPSAC honors, and Greg Kenney ’23, a postgraduate who is new to the school this year. Konik credited Stephen Gritti, who joined the team this year as an Assistant Coach, with instilling in the team the wisdom that comes from his many years coaching football in high school and college.

“It has been wonderful to watch the basketball program flourish under Brian and Steve’s leadership,” Marich said. “It has been great for school spirit to have both a packed gym and a packed rink watching our teams this winter.”

For Boys Hockey, an Exciting Semifinal Overtime Win

Boys Varsity Hockey ended their regular season with a record of 19-9-5 and earned the #3 seed in the NEPSAC Boys Ice Hockey Tournament Piatelli/Simmons Small School Bracket. The Highlanders skated past #6 seed Tilton School 5-4 to win the NEPSAC Quarterfinals at Deerfield Academy on March 1, and Gunn went on to win the semifinals on March 4, defeating #2 seed Holderness School 3-2 in overtime. Gunn scored three unanswered goals with under six minutes to play. Peter Unger ’23 scored the gamewinning goal two minutes into OT.

“The season was a lot of fun,” said Head Coach and Senior Associate Director of Admissions Craig Badger. “They’ve been a really fun group of kids to coach. They all have great attitudes. They have a good time. It’s just been a really good, fun feeling all year.”

During the regular season, Gunn came out hot, with a record of 7-0. “We’re deep. We run four lines, which a lot of teams can’t, at least in the way that we do. So that helps us, but in general we harp on them to play with confidence,” said Badger, who coaches alongside Assistant Coaches Shane Gorman ’10, Chris Gragnano, and James LeBlanc. “You play with energy, not emotion, and you keep that energy high, and you play with confidence regardless of what happens. Because in every game, good things are going to happen and bad things are going to happen. You can blow a team out and there’s still bad things that happen during the game and mistakes that are made. You can’t let any of that stuff impact how you approach your next shift.”

During the regular season, Alexander LoGuercio ’24, Jacob Rothman ’24 and Mark Pizzo ’24 emerged as the team’s leading scorers, making double-digit jumps over last season in terms of point production. Ryan Crowshaw ’23, a four-year senior, and Mike Pizzo ’23, Peter Unger ’23, William Welburn ’23, and Mike Markowski ’23, all three-year seniors, were also among this year’s standouts.

In the Piatelli/Simmons Bracket Finals on March 5, Gunn faced #4 seed Lawrence Academy at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. LoGuercio had two goals and Kyle Smyth ’23 had one, giving the Highlanders the lead, 3-2. Lawrence Academy scored late, and followed up with a second goal to win the finals 4-3 in overtime.

“Not the ending we wanted, but what an incredible season it was!” Gorman said via Instagram @GunnHockey1850. “Thank you to the 14 seniors who gave us their best all season. Your collective leadership and character has left a remarkable impact on our program and we will grow stronger because of it. A special thank you to all of our fans, parents, and everyone who supported us along the way. It is always a wild ride. Gunn hockey for life!”

14 Highlanders REceiveD ALL-NEPSAC RECOGNITION this winter

Congratulations to these student-athletes, who received All-NEPSAC and All-NEPSAC Honorable Mention Awards for winter sports.

All-NEPSAC Awards were presented to:

Caption to come

All-NEPSAC Honorable Mention Awards were presented to:

Natalia Zappone ’23 Scores 1,000th Point

On January 11, Natalia Zappone ’23, a four-year senior, scored the 1,000th point in her basketball career at The Frederick Gunn School. It is the kind of accomplishment that does not happen often, and requires years of practice, commitment, hard work, and consistency.

“For a lot of kids it takes a full four years to get there, even among the best players. Natalia hit her 1,000th point in only her 46th game. We didn’t have a season her sophomore year, and so that piece alone puts her in a totally different category,” said Amy Paulekas, Director of Studies and Head Coach for Girls Varsity Basketball, who noted that Zappone’s scoring record was on track with that of Zion Williamson, who broke 1,000 points in 44 games playing for the NBA. “She averaged 27.3 points per game this season. Over the two and a half seasons she played here, she averaged 21.9 points per game, and she led the team in scoring for three years.”

Zappone had to score 19 points during the game to break 1,000. The moment came on an offensive play with just over two minutes left in the third quarter. “She carried the ball up. Cheshire was set up on defense. She saw an opportunity to take her opponent one-on-one. She got a step on her, cut down the middle, and just put up a floater. That’s what went in. She scored to make the game 30-42 in favor of Cheshire, who went on to win the game,” Paulekas said.

The score did not deter Zappone’s teammates from launching into a full-on celebration. “I have loved how supportive and excited this group of girls was for her, because it certainly is a huge thing. I did not plan on a storm-the-court celebration in the middle of the game but it’s what naturally happened and it was a special moment for sure,” Paulekas said.

Zappone’s parents, Mark Zappone P’23 and Dr. Luci Juvan P’23, were in the crowd, along with her two older brothers, Alec, who is a student at Bentley University, and Eric, who is a student at Elon University. Among the many friends also cheering her on was Marylou Walsh-Iannone P’15, her favorite teacher and former principal at St. John the Evangelist School in Watertown, Connecticut.

The team presented Zappone with a gift basket stuffed with chocolates, basketball knick knacks, and gift cards, her parents made a poster, and Paulekas brought in oversized silver balloons that spelled out 1,000.

On January 20, Paulekas spoke about Zappone’s accomplishments at School Meeting and Prefect and team co-captain Viv Boucher ’23, her best friend, presented a video of highlights from her career. Head of School Peter Becker and Athletic Director Mike Marich P’23 ’24 presented Zappone with a commemorative basketball in honor of her achievement.

Zappone said she was influenced in her decision to play basketball from a young age by her brothers, who both played, andshe broke 1,000 points in middle school, playing for the St. John’s Eagles. Throughout her years at Gunn, her commitment to the game exceeded what was required during team practices. She played basketball six days a week, and could often be found on the court alone, even — as Becker pointed out at School Meeting — on holidays from school.

Paulekas said it is what Zappone does outside of scoring that sets her apart. “She is the one who, preseason, is taking the time in warmups to help a teammate work on a skill. She’s the one who is picking up her teammates after a missed shot and saying, ‘Well, go get the next one.’ Her teammates look up to her, knowing that she can teach them something about the game of basketball, but even more importantly, that she is going to be the player that’s ready to support them, to pick them up, to push them to be a better version of themselves.”