INTER-AC NOTEBOOK 5/5
Episcopal Academy’s Whitaker winds down a brilliant career; Notre Dame’s Davis discusses her future, first-year Germantown Academy coach practicing patience, another big win for Agnes Irwin.
Photos/Videos: Marc Narducci, Grayson Rupp & Michael Szczepkowski
By: Marc Narducci
VILLANOVA, PA -- Fewer than two weeks remain in the high school career of one of the top lacrosse performers this area has seen in quite some time.
Episcopal Academy senior midfielder Quinn Whitaker is savoring each and every day that is left in her brilliant career.
She was Rookie of the Year in the Inter-Ac as a freshman, an All-American as a sophomore, a Boston College commit by her junior year and simply the catalyst of one of the best teams in the country as a senior.
“I think you know we have a lot of talent on this team, but she just makes it look so effortless,” Episcopal Academy coach Josie Tomaino said, following a win last week at the Academy of Notre Dame. “She is just a fluid, smooth player.”
Whitaker plays on her terms, never appearing too rushed. She might be smooth, but that shouldn’t mask her tenacity. And Whitaker is definitely a two-way player.
Episcopal Academy senior #7 Quinn Whitaker - PSD Photo by Lennie Malmgren
“Last year for a while I had her on attack and she was mad and came to me and said, ‘can I play low defense, I identify more as a defender,’” Tomaino said.
To which Tomaino replied, “Really, we kind of need you to score goals.”
So. during her career, Whitaker has done plenty of both. One game that showed her true skill was last year’s Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) state championship game, a 9-6 victory over Inter-Ac rival Agnes Irwin.
All Whitaker did in that game was score a double hat trick, six goals.
Yet getting her to dwell on that performance is as difficult as trying to stop her from scoring. For Whitaker that is past history, and she is only worried about doing her best in the next practice, the next game.
“We just try to focus on the game we’re playing that day and just play our way,” she said.
The only downer as far as Whitaker is concerned is that there aren’t that many days left for her in an Episcopal Academy uniform. The Churchwomen will conclude their season May 13 at home against Agnes Irwin.
“I really appreciate each day that I have with Episcopal Academy,” she said. “It’s kind of crazy how it is coming to an end.”
Episcopal Academy entered the week 16-0 and was ranked No. 2 nationally by Lacrosse Magazine.
“It’s been great, I mean I have learned so much every day,” Whitaker said. “The girls are so fun to play with an we get to play the best competition, whether it’s the Inter-Ac or playing non-league games so it has really been an awesome experience.”
Quinn Whitaker scores for EA in a 16-2 win earlier in the season vs. Germantown Academy - PSD Video by Marc Narducci
Episcopal Academy vs. Notre Game - PSD Highlights by Marc Narducci
Dente with yet another big game
Episcopal Academy senior Kate Dente (Princeton) had an all-around impressive effort in a convincing win over Germantown Academy. Dente had four goals, three assists, three ground balls and three caused turnovers.
Junior Sofia Gagliardi (Penn State) scored a hat trick, improving Episcopal Academy’s record to 16-0.
Notre Dame’s Davis looking for a future in lacrosse
Academy of Notre Dame sophomore Riley Davis is a two-sport standout in basketball and lacrosse, but she feels her future will be in the later sport.
For context, Davis was the Inter-Ac most valuable player in basketball this past season. This year in lacrosse, she has excelled in the midfield and on faceoffs for a young, up-and-coming Notre Dame team.
In either sport she appears to have a bright future.
"I kind of made up my decision by the end of basketball season that I want to play lacrosse in college,” Davis said after scoring a hat trick during a loss to powerhouse Episcopal Academy. “I thought about playing both, but it’s kind of tough.”
Davis has been playing lacrosse since…
“Kindergarten,” she said. “My mom (Megan) got me into it; she played at Rutgers.”
Davis didn’t need much more than her mom’s introduction to the sport in order to build up such a passion for lacrosse.
“As soon as I picked up a stick, I started to love it,” she said.
She gives her father Ben, a former Major League catcher and current Phillies television analyst, an assist for helping her in faceoffs.
“My dad got me a draw stick because he saw me in a game that I wasn’t winning a bunch,” she recalls laughing. “He got me one and I know how to use it a lot better.”
What stands out when watching Davis is her athletic ability. Couple her speed and strength with her stick work and it makes for an awfully dangerous scorer.
“We are so lucky to have her,” Notre Dame coach Anna McNevin said. “She is an unbelievable athlete in every sport she plays.”
Academy of Notre Dame sophomore Riley Davis #31 - PSD Photo by Grayson Rupp
Riley Davis scores three goals in game vs. Episcopal Academy - PSD Video by Marc Narducci
Davis says playing in the Inter-Ac has definitely helped her lacrosse game. It’s a league in which two of the six teams, Episcopal Academy and Agnes Irwin were ranked among the top 10 in the country by Lacrosse Magazine.
“The Inter-Ac is one of the best lacrosse leagues in the country and I think the competition just helps me grow as a player and helps me so much,” Davis said.
So, there is no doubt that Davis will have a busy upcoming September. In that month of a student-athlete’s junior year, they are able to be contacted by college lacrosse coaches. Many quality lacrosse players commit to college in September of their junior year.
“Hopefully I will be super busy in September,” she said.
That appears to be a goal that will be achieved.
More on Notre Dame
Davis led the way with seven goals, one assist and seven draw controls in a 21-6 win over Germantown Academy. Junior Emma Anthony (Rutgers) had four goals and four assists, classmate Keira McHugh (Boston College) had four goals, two assists and six draw controls and freshman Erin Conroy added a hat trick.
In a 19-12 non-league win over Villa Maria, Davis had five goals, one assist and three draw controls. Anthony had four goals and four assists and McHugh and Conroy each scored four goals and Cate Fox had six assists. Morgan Kelly made six saves.
Agnes Irwin with the sweep
Earlier this season Agnes Irwin defeated Penn Charter 7-6 at home. In the rematch at Penn Charter, Agnes Irwin earned a 10-6 victory.
Sophomore Kelsey Young led the way with three goals, four caused turnovers, two ground balls and one draw control.
Senior Mairyn Dwyer (North Carolina) contributed two goals, one assist and two draw controls, while senior Rowan Lawrence (Denver) contributed a goal and three assists.
Penn Charter update
In the aforementioned 10-6 loss to Agnes Irwin, there were still some bright spots for Penn Charter. Freshman Makenna Myers had 10 draw controls and two ground balls. Junior Molly Dougherty (Michigan) had three draw controls, while junior Ana Buckley (Dartmouth) contributed two goals. Junior Maeve Magarity (Boston College) made seven saves.
On Friday, May 2, Penn Charter bounced back and secured a dominant 17-4 win vs. Springside Chestnut Hill on Senior Day.
Penn Charter Senior Day Gallery vs. Springside Chestnut Hill - PSD Photos by Grayson Rupp
New GA coach showing patience with young team
It’s been a season in transition for Germantown Academy, which has a new coach Colleen Dawson, who was the head coach at William & Mary for the previous five years.
Senior Sydney Wanner has been among the team leaders on a unit that has just six seniors, but 24 freshmen. So, this was expected to be a season of learning and development.
Dawson understands that a rebuilding team in the Inter-Ac could take its lumps, so in her first season at GA, she has had to practice patience. She also feels that the young players will benefit long-term by competing this season in such a difficult league.
“These kids are getting a lot of game experience and that has been good,” Dawson said. “And when we’re recruiting, we are telling kids that you can come here and make an immediate impact.”
One way of bringing the team together is keeping them together.
“We not divided into freshman, sophomores, juniors and seniors,” she said. “We want them all to be one group and even within the JV and varsity, we want them to be connected.”
It takes much more than looking at statistics to see what level the players are developing.
“Many players have stepped on the field in a varsity game for the first time,” she said. “I feel we have grown since the beginning of the season.”
Germantown Academy freshman Ellerie Catullo #17 scored 5 goals in 11-8 win vs. Springside Chestnut Hill - PSD Photo by Michael Szczepkowski
Some of that growth was shown during last week’s 11-8 Inter-Ac win over Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.
Freshman Ellerie Catullo led the way with five goals and two assists, while junior Maggie Luviano (Syracuse) added three goals and one assist, while Anna McVeigh scored twice.