Athletes of the Week for April 18, 2021

Congratulations to Owen Tatro ’21 and Austin Knott ’21 for receiving Cardigan’s Student-Athlete of the Week Award. Read what their coaches have to say about them below, and meet all the students who were nominated.

Varsity Student-Athlete of the Week

Owen Tatro ’21 - Green Baseball 

With the warm temperatures this spring and dry fields on The Point, Owen Tatro has stepped up and been a quiet, hard-working leader for the Green Baseball Team. Owen brings 100% effort each day to practice, clearly looking to improve as a baseball player, no matter the drill or game we are playing. His willingness to lead warm-up stretches, bring the baseball equipment to and from the field, and win each conditioning sprint is a clear testament to his strong character and focus on details. His coachability makes him a true pleasure to work with every day!  

Sub-Varsity Student-Athlete of the week

Austin Knott '21 - Gray Baseball

Austin has been a true leader of the Gray Baseball Team this spring. He leads by example on the field with his effort and hustle and off the field as one of the first players to pick up gear after practice. A great example of his leadership was when a pop-up fell to the ground because he and another player got confused. Austin immediately grabbed the ball and made a terrific play to get an out. There was no finger-pointing about the mistake, just some hustle to turn a bad play into something good. Not only was there no blame pointed out, we were able to actually laugh at what happened afterwards. Terrific player plus terrific attitude equals lots of fun!

Other Varsity Nominations 

Alex Wang ’23 - Green Tennis  

Alex has shown a great deal of effort these last couple of weeks on the tennis court. He is an excellent player whose groundstroke technique makes him a very difficult player to beat. He also has contributed to the positive atmosphere of this group, coming to practice with a smile on his face. The coaches are very impressed with his work ethic, and we are looking forward to seeing him on the court next week. 
 
Conley Bohan ’21 - Green Lacrosse

Conley has done an excellent job stepping up as both an on-field and off-field leader in the early part of the lacrosse season. He has done a great job helping his teammates improve while bringing a level of competition that gets the most out of the group. Every day in every way, he shows up ready to work hard, have fun, get better, and, more importantly, help everyone around him do the same. He is always stepping up to make sure things are done right with leadership and service to the team. He is not only a talented lacrosse player, but he is a talented leader and supporter of our culture on and off the field. 

Other Sub-Varsity Nominations 

Joseph “Bear” Prime-Spivak ’24 - Gray Lacrosse
 
Bear has had an outstanding start to the spring season. He has shown an outstanding work ethic and brings a willingness to get better every day. Most notable is his light-hearted and positive attitude that tends to rub off on those around him. He has also been willing to try multiple positions for the betterment of the team. Great work so far, keep it up!

Jason Jung Lee ’22 - Gray Tennis 

Jason has done an outstanding job so far this year with the Gray Tennis Team. He always shows up to practice on time, ready to learn every day. His hard work has allowed him to improve his game and show his teammates that effort matters. He was also voted by his peers as one of the team's captains. Keep up the great work, Jason!

Matthew Jung ’21 - White B Tennis 

Matthew played great tennis this week. He earned the number one spot on our singles ladder and won the intersquad doubles tournament as the leader of his team. He brings an intensity to each aspect of practice, and this is what enables him to consistently improve and maintain his focus throughout an entire match. His teammates have frequently pointed him out at the end of practice as someone who plays with heart and full effort. He is also an incredible sportsman, giving accolades to his opponents when they hit great shots and always calling the ball fair for his opponent. He takes advice from his coaches and uses it to improve his game. We are excited to see him continue to improve this season, as he has already shown great improvement from the first day of practice until now. It will be very difficult for anyone on the team to take his number one spot on the ladder. 

Sunghoon “Willy” Park ’23 - White A Tennis   

Willy comes to practice with a great attitude every day and works extremely hard. He is improving rapidly and is a pleasure to coach!

Ian McDonnell ’22 - CORE

Ian started the spring season with the Lifetime sports team, and seamlessly transitioned to CORE with a smile on his face. He shows up prepared and ready to work hard and learn every day, always embodying our Cardigan Core Values.  

Sanggyu “Jayden” Lee ’22 - White Lacrosse

Jayden’s quiet leadership, paired with maturity, effort and execution, has made him a valuable role model. He has brought an intensity to drills and scrimmage situations. 

Rinto Nakazawa ’23 - White Baseball 

Rinto's quick reaction to a ball hit down the third-base line earned him the play of the day; he recovered the ball, stepped, and threw the runner out at first for the last out of the inning. Since the beginning of the season, he has demonstrated his athletic talents on the baseball field with exceptional hitting, catching, fielding, and throwing skills. His attitude and interest in the game are fun to watch. He has already shown some great improvement in just two weeks. He is one to watch on the baseball field!