Shamrocks shake the Bulldogs in three games

The Bulldog volleyballers wanted to forget about their first home game loss and focused on St. Patrick’s high school at home on Thursday April 7^th. Despite taking the first game, the Bulldogs lost the next two and took the loss.

It was an exciting match with a lot of back and forth action. Senior Mack Fiesler and Ben Bergstrom led the team with eight kills each throughout the match. Elliot Louthen had 25 assists in the match.

“I tihnk that we beat ourselves, especially with service errors making a big difference. There was a lot of chances for us to take the match, but our unforced errors hurt,” said assistant coach Jenna Passanati. Over the whole match, the Bulldogs had over 12 service errors which are easy points given to the other team and a momentum killer most of the time.

The Bulldogs faced a 16-20 deficit in the first game and rallied to win it 23-25. The second game was a quick victory for the Shamrocks as they took it 17-25. As the third game went on, the Bulldogs were digging themselves into another hole as they were down 18-24 and brought the game to a 23-24 faceoff, where the referee called one of the Bulldogs on a foul for going under the net after the Bulldog spiked it for a kill. It was a controversial call to say the least. The Shamrocks would take the point and the match after that.

Taking a team to three games is disappointing when your team wins the first game.  Errors to the Bulldogs hurt them a lot. There was a lot of frustration that circulated through the team after a blocking error or a bad dig that costed them. But the season is still young and the Bulldogs can learn from this and when they play to their full potential, they can dominate any team they face.

For the upcoming practices, the Bulldogs will focus on serving and creating more offensive attack from more opportunities. Their next set of games will be at the Rolling Meadows Tournament where they will face tough competition including Maine East and Elk Grove High School to start off their round robin.

Tough competition at annual swim invite

On the 15^th of January, the swimming team hosted the 57^th annual RB invite. The competition was tough as the team grabbed onto 5^th place out of 9 to finish the day.

Some of the schools that competed in the event included Lockport, St. Ignatius, Oswego, and Andrew. “I think it went really well, 5^th can be deceiving but many of our swimmers had season or even career best times,” said Coach Todd Fridrych.

Senior Kyle Miller finished 5^th in the 500 yard freestyle event with a time of 5 minutes and 13.53 seconds. Junior Sean Demuro posted a 3^rd place finish in the 50 yard freestyle at 23.02 seconds.

The swim team also worked well as a team. At the 200 yard Medley Relay, the team captured 4^th in the invite. It was the team’s best finish throughout the whole invite.

Many of the teams that competed in the invite will most likely be seen in the state competition at the end of the season. “It is good to swim against the top teams. It helps out the team to train harder and to see how they size up to them,” said Fridrych.

As the season winds down,  the team looks to conference and its competition. They have one final meet versus Fenton at home for Senior Night coming up within the week, and then the meet for conference where the team will be tapering until then.

A championship to Chicago?

The goal of every team and every player in sports is to win a championship. A team’s success is defined by how many championships they have won, and a player’s legacy is not complete until he has led his team to a championship. The Blackhawks achieved this goal by winning the 2010 Stanley Cup, their first since 1961. The parade that followed was evident that the city greatly appreciated what this team had done. But with their early struggles and the loss of key players like Dustin Byfuglien and Kris Versteeg, they are not looking like the Stanley Cup favorite.

So I ask, which Chicago professional sports team has the best chance of winning a championship in 2011?

First, we visit the Bulls. With the addition of Carlos Boozer this offseason, the Bulls believed that they could compete with the best of the Eastern Conference with a lineup featuring Boozer, Derrick Rose, and Joakim Noah. But the injury to Boozer has left the Bulls without big-time scoring threat out of the post, and the team has gotten off to a 5-3 start. The season is very long and with Boozer expected to come back in a month, the Bulls will inevitably begin to click with all-star candidate Rose and Boozer.

Senior Jake Johnson believes the Bulls have the best chance of the Chicago teams. “The Bulls (have the best chance). They have the best young talent in the nation,” said Johnson who believes the Bulls have a best chance of all Chicago teams to win a championship in the future.

But can they compete for a championship in 2011? I don’t think so, though it’s not because they lack talent. It is because of the talent of other teams. The Bulls cannot compete with the Celtics, Magic, and Heat, who are without doubt the class of the East. The Bulls could make run to the second round, and possibly to the conference finals, but a championship is probably out of the question.

The Cubs or White Sox? Not in 2011.

At the halfway point of the NFL season, the Bears are 6-3 and they are a half game behind the Packers in the NFC north. They have not played that great in spite of the start, and at times have looked worse than the lowly Lions. But if the offense begins to start clicking along with the solid defense, the Bears could make the playoffs. They still have to play the Packers again and the Vikings twice, so if they play well in the division they could make the playoffs. I think they will find a way into the playoffs, but no more than that. The NFC is not that strong this year, so that will give the Bears room to sneak into the playoffs.

That leaves us with the Blackhawks again. Sure, they are not looking like last year’s squad which never seemed to struggle. They have obvious flaws like the inconsistency of the defense and a few offensive players (Patrick Kane).

But the question I asked was which team has the best chance of winning a championship in 2011. And the answer to that question is the Blackhawks, regardless of their play thus far. They have the best chance because they will make the playoffs, and in the NHL more than any other professional leagues, once a team gets in the playoffs they can make a run. Rarely does an 8-seed beat a one seed in the NBA, but last year in hockey, the 8-seed Canadians beat the top-seed and went all the way to the eastern conference finals behind a hot goaltender. If the Hawks can get some momentum going forward, they could make a push similar to two years ago when they got off to a slow start, but reached the conference finals.

So in 2011, it looks like the Blackhawks have the best chance of all of the Chicago teams of winning a championship, and it would be a historic championship if they would have to repeat.

Boys swimming, gearing up for a new season

This year’s boys swimming will make a splash on November 22^nd, when the season officially begins. In the mean time, boys are invited to participate in the preseason till the real season starts. The preseason started in October and will end late November. The preseason consists of swimming from 6:00 to 7:30 am on Tuesdays and Thursday and they are encouraged to go to the weight room on their own time.

“I’m looking forward to working hard and hopefully making my way up the varsity team.” said sophomore Ian O’Day.

Once November 22^nd comes around the boys will start the season and will have practices Monday- Friday from 3:30 to 5:30 pm. They will also have morning practices from 6:00 to 7:30 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Eventually, the meets will start which are held on Saturdays.

Fall sports wrap up, winter sports begin

As the season changes from fall to winter, so too do the sports.  Moving from fall sports to winter sports means out with the old and in with the new.  Fall sports concluded with boys’ and girls’ cross country, football, boys’ and girls’ golf, boys’ soccer, girls’ swimming, girls’ tennis, and girls’ volleyball. 

The girls’ cross country team wrapped up their season Saturday, November 6^th at the IHSA State Meet in Peoria finishing 20^th in Class 2A.  The boys’ cross country team finished their season at their sectional meet. 

The football team ended their season with a tough loss to Fenton, holding them back from making the playoffs. 

Kris Strnad went down to state for the boys’ golf team.  The girls’ golf team finished their season in 6^th place at their regional meet. 

The boys’ soccer team had a disappointing loss against St. Joesph in the regional championship. 

The girls’ swimming team is still in action after they advanced to sectionals.  

The girl’s tennis team finished in 3^rd in the Metro Suburban Conference. 

The girls’ volleyball team lost in the first round of their regional to Queen of Peace.

Now that these sports have ended, winter sports are just beginning.  Winter sports have high hopes for this season in all areas.  These sports include boys’ and girls’ basketball, gymnastics, cheerleading, wrestling, and boys’ swimming.

Otto-man “empire” ends; a new era begins

There have been a lot of moves on the coaching staff for the football team in the off-season. One that has gained much popularity is long-term coach Otto Zeman being removed and having Jason Rech as the new head coach.  This also brought in a whole new system of offense, bringing in a running game that has not been seen at Riverside Brookfield in a long time.

New coaches, including Tim Brasic, Dan Monahan,  and Tom Fuller joined the team. Brasic is the new head coach for the freshmen and Monahan and Fuller are returning to the staff after taking a few years off.

“I’m excited to have them back,” Rech said.

The new offense will be running the ball more this year.  “We are going to be running the ball this year. There will be a lot more balance in terms of running and passing,” Rech said.

A greater variety of running plays will be brought in including options, traps, zones, etc. Stabilizing running backs and quarterbacks is crucial in helping this offense.  Some key players will be Nick Callahan starting at quarterback and Tyler Radek as running back/wide receiver.

Radek was quite pleased in the new systems this year. “I like running the ball, not as much passing, focusing on more people getting involved as oppose to just one or two players,” he said.

On the defensive end, the systems will basically stay the same. Many juniors will be added in the mix on defense.  Other notable defense players are David Skowronski as defensive end and Radek in the secondary.

Expectations are never at a low for the football team. “We can make playoffs. We all are striving to get there and I think we can this year,” Callahan said.

Radek expects similar goals as well. “I truly we can finish the season off strong and make playoffs, then take it one game at a time,” he said.

The Bulldogs are off to a rough start of 0-2, losing to Lemont the past Friday, but if the systems will kick in, fans can hope for some Bulldog victories.

Boys volleyball dreams of regionals

Currently, the word that is being thrown around by the RB varsity volleyball team is “regionals”. The team’s main goal is to finally win a regional title. It would be the first in school history and would be a landmark for RB.

Boys’ varsity volleyball is being coached by Mr. Bonarigo while sophomores are being coached by Jonathon Gorny. Both teams have promising futures, Varsity being lead by Juan Gomez and Elliot Louthen and Sophomores Richie Green and Joe Sauer.

Right side hitter for the varsity team, Junior Ben Bergstrom,  hopes to beat Morton, who has been a “consistent competitor and has beaten us several times.” He also hopes the team works hard because “We have a chance at competing with every team in our conference.” he commented “I think we have a real chance at conference and regional’s this year.”

While on the sophomore front, team leader Richie Green has set his goals as “To improve and become a better player for varsity.” Coach Jonathon Gorny especially wants the sophomore front to become some-what of a training ground for soon-to-be varsity players.

“My hope does not lie in wins and losses but in the player’s potential.” said Gorny.

Sophomore player, Kyle Perfect, has said that he wants to have an above 500 team, which if the team rallies together is more than possible.

The Bulldogs do not exactly have an easy season ahead of them but with all the hard work and practice they are receiving they definitely are going to put up a fight. Senior and team captain Juan Gomez says “Go Bulldogs!”

More than just a rally

Spring has finally arrived which means the start of new sports. On a nice spring day, twenty-four boys tried out for the RB tennis team. Boy’s tennis is essentially a no-cut sport, so all twenty-four hopefuls made the team.

Even though all of the boys automatically made the team, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t all top-notch players. As of April 9th, the varsity team is 1-1. Their only loss so far was a conference game, which makes them 0-1 in conference. The JV team had a rough start to their season, but the players have no doubt that they will have a strong performance for the rest of the season.

When tennis coach, Tom Fuller, was asked about how he feels the team will do in conference this year, he responded with, “We’ll struggle with Timothy Christian, but we’ll have a chance to win it! Anything lower than 2^nd place would surprise me.”

Every year the tennis program expands, but it also improves as it goes along. Fuller also commented that the best part of coaching the tennis team is, “Working with the students to improve their skills. [He] couldn’t care less about winning.”

Sophomore and tennis player, Aron Perfect, said of his involvement in the sport that “Tennis is fun. It is a constant competition and it really forces you to play your hardest.”

The boys still have a long season ahead of them and are determined to make the best of it. Winning conference isn’t everything to them; they just love going out on the court everyday and being able to play a sport they love.

RB Ultimate Frisbee Photos

Photos from the Riverside Brookfield Ultimate Frisbee team’s games this weekend. The “Mudfish” are part of a club Ultimate league for high school students and compete every Sunday. These photos are from their games against Loyola and Lake Forest High Schools.

Wrestlers finish with solid season

The 2009-2010 Wrestling season has come to a close, but not before experiencing a huge amount of success. RB wrestlers finished with a dual meet record of 11-4 and completely dominated their conference with a record of 4-0.

One of the high points of the season was when the team beat powerhouse Fenton for the first time in seven years. Fenton has been the conference champions for the last seven years, but RB was able to pick up a victory against them in the end.

They finished in the top 3 as a team in three separate tournaments including 3^rd against Mundelein, 2^nd against Lisle, and 3^rd in the Regionals.

Head Coach Jason Rech feels that the season as a whole went very well this year.

“This season was highly successful for the team and individuals.  We won the conference for the first time in 7 years, so that was a big goal achieved by our team. We are young in many spots and I think our young wrestlers learned a great deal from their experiences” Rech said.

Besides their 3^rd place finish as a team in Regionals, individual wreslters were also able to earn a lot of points and recognition. A total of six wrestlers qualified for Sectionals.

Sophomore Mike Abbatacola finished with a 27-7 record and placed fourth in Sectionals in the 103 pound weight class.

Junior Keegan Buttimer finished with a 21-15 record and placed fourth in Sectionals in the 112 pound weight class.

Junior Eduardo Orihuela finished with a 21-13 record and placed fourth in Sectionals in the 125 pound weight class.

Senior Chris Russell finished with a 27-11 record and placed fourth in Sectionals in the 140 pound weight class.

Senior Juan Gomez Velez finished with a 27-7 record and placed fourth in Sectionals in the 189 pound weight class.

But the biggest accomplishment was Junior John Schraidt, who finished with a 27-8 record, placed second in Sectionals, and qualified for State in the 285 pound weight class. This represents the end of a very successful season for the talented junior.

“John is a tireless worker and since the end of last year he has worked for everything he has achieved,” commented Rech.

“I was upset with my performance at State, but it was great to make it. The Semi-Final match was the biggest match of the year and I won 8-3 qualifying for state so I was really happy with that.” Schraidt added.

With another season in the books, Rech feels that next year holds a lot of opportunities for the team.

“We lose four senior starters and return 4 wrestlers who will be seniors and a solid group of underclassmen, so I feel like we can reload for next year and be even better.” said Rech.

Both Schraidt and Rech seem very confident about Schraidt’s chances to go back to State again next year.

“This year was good to get down there and get his feet wet, but next year’s goal is bring home the school’s first wrestling state championship in 28 years.” Rech said.

“I am really confident that I can go back to state. And I have a realistic goal of winning state.” Schraidt added.

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