As the school year comes to a close, so does the spring sports season. Gonzaga athletics has had a strong spring so far, with big wins coming from the varsity lacrosse, tennis and golf teams, but there is still some work left to do as the spring sports teams look to cap off a great season.
The varsity lacrosse team had a strong regular season facing many tough nationally-ranked opponents. The team played well throughout WCAC play and with a spring break trip to Tampa Bay in the middle of the season. On Monday night, they went up against St. John’s College High School in the WCAC Championship, who they had lost to earlier in the year by a score of 12-5. It was a back-and-forth game all night, but in the end, Gonzaga came out on top with junior Chase Noyes’ game-winning goal.
“It still doesn’t feel real,” said Carter Cadin ‘25, who had the assist to Noyes on the game-winning goal.
Away from the lacrosse field and onto the baseball diamond, the varsity baseball team made a great run this season. The WCAC was stacked with talented players on all teams, and the Eagles made it all the way to the WCAC finals. In doing so, the team swept their series against Paul VI, which they lost 6-0 earlier in the season. The clutch walk-off home run in extra innings from Captian Peyton Battaglini ‘24 sent the Eagles into the championship where they ultimately fell to St. John’s. They look to bounce back and end their season on a high note in the D.C. State championship this week.
Undefeated in the regular season, the golf team went to the WCAC Championship and proceeded to shoot an incredible ten-under-par round to win the championship by 20 shots over Paul VI and St. John’s. Carson Looney ‘25 led the team with a five-under-par 67. The following week the Eagles went to the METRO Championship looking to bring the trophy back to Eye Street. The team shot 375 with low scores from Jacob Peel ‘24, Jake Lopes ‘27, and Jack Hartman ‘24, getting the win over Georgetown Prep by a margin of 15 shots.
“It feels great to achieve something that we have wanted to do since the beginning of the season,” Looney said. “It feels great for this team to have one last ride as a group.”
On the tennis court, Jack Scherner ‘24 captured the WCAC Singles Championship for the varsity tennis program. The Villanova commit was the stand-out player for the Eagles all year, and the championship to end the year was the perfect ending to his tennis career at Gonzaga.
The Gonzaga rugby team won the National Championship last year and is looking to go back-to-back at the end of this school year. The team has gone up against a lot of tough competition but has defeated them all in the regular season.
“Going to nationals is a great opportunity for us and it is a big team goal for us to win back-to-back championships,” Brody Johnson ‘24 said.
They have had a great season so far and look to defend their title next week at the 2024 National Championship in Indiana.
Ultimately, the spring sports season has been very successful for the varsity sports teams. While some have already finished their seasons or won their championship, some teams still have some work left to do.