It’s that time of the year again. The time when Stuyvesant students are reviewing between class periods, during class periods, and in any other seconds of their free time. AP fever is spreading like wildfire, and attendance rates are dropping considerably as students opt to use their time to review for tests rather than attend classes.

But is this a point of concern? Is the atmosphere that consumes Stuyvesant during the month of May a telltale sign of education gone wrong? Should the administration be tightening the AP course selection process to prevent students from getting caught up in this chaotic atmosphere?

We don’t think so. In fact, we believe that the Stuyvesant administration should consider taking steps to allow our underclassmen to have a greater variety of AP course selections to choose from.

Currently, freshmen are not offered AP classes unless they demonstrate abilities significant enough to be placed in one, and sophomores are only allowed to sign up for AP European History, AP World History, or, in some cases, AP Physics B. There exists, as a result, a great disparity between the number of AP courses that Stuyvesant offers and the number of AP courses that Stuyvesant’s underclassmen can take.

Offering ambitious underclassmen a wider selection of AP courses will have three main benefits. First, it will allow them to explore and experience rigorous curriculums early on. Second, by spreading out the AP courses we take over four years instead of two, students will be able to take more courses than they currently can. Third, though we acknowledge that rankings come second to the educational benefits that this potential plan could provide to students, offering more APs will undoubtedly raise Stuyvesant’s ranking on numerous “Best Schools” lists.

Stuyvesant students deserve these opportunities. They are not only some of the smartest students in the city but perhaps the most ambitious as well; they consistently demonstrate their desire to challenge themselves and learn. For certain students, exposure to more topics in greater depth would be far more educationally beneficial than an introductory course in Regents Biology. These students should be encouraged to push themselves in this way and not face deterrence from the administration.

Many underclassmen have free periods, and many upperclassmen cannot fit all the classes they want into their schedule. During the first two years of high school, students often find themselves with one or two free periods and no easy way to fill them. Electives fill quickly and give priority to upperclassmen; APs are, of course, largely unavailable to them. However, many upperclassmen find themselves with full schedules and are disappointed that they cannot take all the classes they want. There are simply not enough periods in the day for them to learn everything they want to.

This strange divide between underclassmen and upperclassmen is completely unnecessary and puts an unfair burden on students in their junior and senior years. Being seventeen rather than sixteen does not make someone more qualified to take an AP course. By recognizing that sophomores are able to handle AP work, we would be able to relieve some of the pressure on Stuyvesant’s upperclassmen. Rather than trying to cram eight APs into the last two years of high school, students would be able to spread them around. Freshman and sophomore year would be more engaging, and students would more easily be able to graduate having taken all the classes they desire.

Furthermore, many newspapers, such as the US News and World Report, judge high schools based on the proportion of students that take and pass AP courses. Though this seems like an arbitrary method of measuring academic efficacy, it’s true that AP tests are perceived as offering a fairly accurate indicator of academic mastery of a topic. Unfair or not, the “College Readiness Index” that US News and World Report uses to judge American high schools holds some significance. By allowing more students to take AP classes as underclassmen, we would not just be boosting our rankings. We would be teaching students the skills and information they need to excel in high school, college, and beyond.

We recognize that a lot of this is easier said than done. Offering AP classes to underclassmen would require a drastic increase in the number of sections of certain classes. But perhaps the problem isn’t the availability of funding but the inability to use it for this very worthy cause. Our school is well-endowed and frequently demonstrates its financial flexibility with construction projects and technological advancements. This contrasts with Bronx Science, a school that is far less aesthetically pleasing than ours but offers 19 sections of AP Psychology, a daunting number compared to our two.

Opening up our courses to underclassmen is the right thing to do. Not only does it increase exposure and allow students to explore, but it also decreases the perceived need for AP-crammed schedules in junior and senior year. Furthermore, though less important, it would also give us a boost in our ratings and would put us closer to schools like Townsend Harris and Brooklyn Latin, whose percentage of students taking APs hovers at 100 percent and 97 percent respectively.

As the administration reconsiders its AP selection policy, we urge it to reconsider a huge barrier for admissions that has been consistently been overlooked: grade level.

• After losing five of its first seven games, Stuyvesant’s boys’ varsity baseball team, the Hitmen, is 3-1 in its last four games, but still need to win two of its last three to avoid missing the postseason for the first time in 17 seasons.
• After making the city championship match last season, Stuyvesant’s boys’ handball team, the Dragons, did not lose a match all season and is headed to the playoffs hoping to replicate their success from a year ago.
• Although they struggled against Bronx Science and Beacon, going 0-4 against those two teams, the Hitmen, Stuyvesant’s boys’ tennis team, won all of their other games to finish the season at 8-4.
• Stuyvesant’s boys’ lacrosse team, the Peglegs, finished with a mediocre 5-8 record and struggled to find consistency throughout the season.
• Despite an 11-1 record to end the regular season, Stuyvesant’s boys’ volleyball team, the Beasts, disappointingly lost in the first round of the playoffs in two sets.
• The Lady Peglegs, Stuyvesant’s girls’ varsity tennis team, lost two of their last three games following a nine-game winning streak to begin the season, but are still going to the playoffs.
• With help from a four-game winning streak, Stuyvesant’s girls’ fencing team, the Vipers, is 7-2 with just one game remaining in the regular season.
• With a 10-2 record on the season, Stuyvesant’s girls’ handball team, the Furies, is advancing to the postseason.
• When the Huskies, Stuyvesant’s girls’ lacrosse team, started off the year with six consecutive losses, they didn’t give up. They finished the season on a strong note by emerging victorious in three games near the end of the season, including the season finale.

After winning a close game against the High School of Economics and Finance on April 19, the Dragons, Stuyvesant’s handball team, continued their success by dominating the Chelsea Career and Technical Education Lions on Monday, April 23. Both teams had squared off earlier in the season, and this match was no different from their previous meeting.

In the first singles match, senior and co-captain Cody Tong started off slowly, allowing the Lions’ sophomore David Li to come within two points of Tong’s lead. However, after winning the serve, Tong scored 13 unanswered points in a routing stretch. Li attempted to come back, but the deficit was too great to overcome. Tong won the match 21-9.

In the second singles match, senior and co-captain Alexander Bu worked quickly to dominate. The score was 8-3 when Bu began his own 13-0 run to win the match 21-3.

In the last singles match, senior John Hu defeated the Lions’ Chandon Reese 21-10, recording three aces in the game.

“The team played great today, as they usually do, although most of the schools we play are not at the same skill level nor do they take handball as seriously as Stuyvesant does,” Bu said.

The doubles’ matches were just as decisive as the singles’ were. Sophomore Marco Liu and junior Wilson Li defeated their opponents quickly with a score of 21-2, scoring the last 15 points. In the second doubles match, junior Long Yip and sophomore Young Kim defeated their opponents similarly, 21-6. This closed the match, and the Dragons came out winning 5-0.

“I think the team played a very solid game today,” Yip said. “Of course, we as a team have areas that we need to improve in, such as consistency, but generally speaking, today was a good representation of our skill and potential.”

The Dragons had played the Lions earlier this season; in both matchups the Dragons crushed their opponents.

“They were very businesslike in their approach. It wasn’t a difficult game to win,” Coach Robert Sandler said. “They don’t joke around, and they were serious, made good shots, and moved around.”

The Dragons have improved to a 10-0 record and continue to strive for a perfect record. The playoffs are around the corner, and they anticipate an exciting and competitive atmosphere.

“Teams [that] we play are not on the level that we compete against in the playoffs,” Bu said. “Hopefully, we will be able to make it far in the playoffs again this year and take the championship home to Stuyvesant.”

In the beginning of the game, both pitchers, Marie Frolich of the Renegades and Ashley Librera of the Blue Demons, started out rocky, but soon settled down. By the end of the first inning, the Renegades stood in the lead 4-2; neither team would score until the top of the fourth. The Blue Demons seemed to catch up after a solo homerun, but the Renegades countered back with a strong five-point bottom of the inning, highlighted by freshman catcher Georgia Kamm’s 2-RBI triple to right field. “I’ve been working on my swing a lot, and this game I really started getting the ball where I wanted to go,” Kamm said.

Along with her offense, Kamm’s defense was excellent as well. Earlier in the game, Kamm threw someone out at second base—it was the third time Kamm did so this season, which earned praise from many of her older teammates. After being hit in the face during her first game, Kamm has matured both at the plate and on the field. She attributes her success to her teammates; according to Kahm, they were “really supportive and I feel like that’s helped me a lot. My team is behind me no matter what.”

The game seemed to be in the bag for the Renegades, as they were up by nine by the end of the sixth. In the next inning, the Blue Demons began to show some life, but their five points were not enough to come back, and the Renegades won with a final score of 12-8.

“I had expected them to hit the ball that hard all day,” junior pitcher Marie Frolich said, “We had a secure enough lead and I wanted to end the game with them scoring less runs than they did but I was still super happy with the way we played.”

Despite the win, the Renegades were not quite satisfied with their performance. “The score was a lot closer than it should have been,” senior and co-captain Gabrielle Gillow said, “We left a lot of base-runners stranded at the end of innings. For the rest of the season, our biggest issue is communication. We aren’t always able to talk to each other while on the field.” Often, the players would forget to stay vocal on the field, even if a ball between two fielders needed to be called for or a fielder needed to be directed.

Notwithstanding the outburst in the five-run inning, senior and co-captain Kathleen Mullaney said, “We’re not a very powerful team hitting-wise so we need to work on playing small ball and getting on base and taking advantage of base runners.”

Heading into Wednesday’s game against Environmental Studies, the Renegades feel optimistic about their success. Coach Vincent Miller said, “We beat them the first time around. They’re a lot stronger this time around, but I’m confident that we can go in there and win another game.” Hopefully, this confidence can carry them through the next four games and into the playoffs.

Renegades Walk-Off After Nail-biter Against Laguardia

The Spectator / Sports / Issue #13

TD: This article was very good! You captured every single important moment of the game and it made it seem as if I were actually there. Your quotes are strong and your lede is pretty good as well. The only problem is that this article is way too long! SIBs are supposed to be around 350 words, and this is almost twice that. I tried to cut some things by combining paragraphs, but it is still very long. Edric/David, do you have any suggestions?

DC: Anique this is great! Did you apply for Sports EIT – because you should. I’m fine with the length at this point, because I think you really understand both the game and the team. See my in-text edits.

To Tim: I would consider just replacing the SIB with a “Featured Game” article so that Annique has more room to deal with this game. What do you think?

Alright, I think that’s a good idea, we should tell layout to do something about this right?

By Annique Wong

730 words

Outquote(s): “Everyone is part of the game, everyone makes mistakes. You make a mistake but the most important thing to do is to forget about it and move on, because it’s going to take you out mentally,” – Gabrielle Gillow, senior and co-captain

“I have this ritual with Katie where she flips the ball before every inning and my catcher and we have this thing where she talks to me and taps her glove,” – Marie Frolich, junior

Focus Sentence: Renegades win again against Laguardia with an extra inning and clinch a playoff spot in their division.

The tunes of Hey Mickey and Unfaithful may be heard from an unusual music convention, but these songs were also heard from the Dewitt Clinton field on Friday, April 26, where the Renegades prevailed over the Fiorello H. Laguardia Athletics.

Because the Renegades are ranked 2nd and Laguardia 5th in the Manhattan A league, the Renegades knew they would have to play hard if they were going to win. Since the Renegades faced Laguardia before (they won 3-2 on April 23), they knew that their biggest threat was going to be junior ace Casey Cady, who Coach Vincent Miller dubbed “one of the better pitchers in the division and the city.”

Although Cady started off strong, as the first three Renegades failed to get on base in the first inning, she was not untouchable.

In the bottom of the second, freshman Georgia Kamm was able to score off a hit from sophomore Lauren Sobota, making the first point of the game. Sobota was substituted in the top of that inning for freshman third basemen Taylor Joines, who left due to throbbing elbow pain after completing a double play.

By the end of the top of the third, Laguardia was able to score due to a miscalculated throw by Sobota to first baseman co-captain Gabrielle Gillow, tying the score at 1-1. But at the end of third, the Renegades fought back, and they were able to get up to bat more than any other inning. Co-Captain Katie Mullaney was able to reach first base off of a drop third strike and junior Marie Frolich followed with a double that advanced Mullaney to third. Mullaney and freshman pinch runner Caitlin Stanton were able to score due to hits from Kamm and junior Julia Witkowski respectively, leaving the Renegades ahead 3-1.

By this time, most spectators were leaving, muttering that the Renegades had this game in the bag, but the top of the fifth inning proved them wrong. Laguardia had their bases loaded and no outs, and it was time for Frolich to step up her game. In response to how she handles the pressure, Frolich cites the support of her teammates.

“It’s definitely my teammates. All of the infield that comes in to tell me to calm down,” Frolich said. “I have this ritual with Katie where she flips the ball before every inning and my catcher and we have this thing where she talks to me and taps her glove.” Despite the team support, Laguardia was able to comeback with a lead of 4-3. In response, at the end of the fifth, the Renegades were able to score two runs, leaving the score at 5-4, Renegades.

By the end of the sixth inning, the score was level once more with a score of 5-5, and in the top of the seventh, Frolich was again under pressure. This time, she was able to keep her cool and didn’t allow any of Laguardia’s players to score.

During the top of the eighth, a pop to right-center field got both Mullaney and senior center fielder Liana Penny running. However what should have led to an easy catch led to a very big mistake. Mullaney and Penny collided into each other, letting the ball bounce away and allowing Laguardia to score twice, leaving the score in their favor 7-5.

However, the competitive edge and perseverance shown throughout the game was not about to wither.

At the bottom of the eighth, both Sobota and co-captain Miranda Kalish were able to score on a grounder from Joines. Kalish scored all the way from second base on what volunteer assistant David Fleischner called “a purely instinctive call” with an approving nod. Stanton scored the winning run with a hit that allowed Mullaney to score and give the Renegades a tough 8-7 walk-off win.

Though the Renegades won, after every inning, many players were seen in the dugout blaming themselves for bad calls and in tears for not hitting. This heartfelt emotion and dedication expressed behind the scenes is what allows the Renegades to succeed in their division.

“Everyone is part of the game, everyone makes mistakes. You make a mistake but the most important thing to do is to forget about it and move on, because it’s going to take you out mentally,” Gillow said. The win against Laguardia allows the Renegades to clinch a spot in the playoffs.

Both Omar and Shin frequent national and even international tournaments for top-notch fencers, through which both have attained the highest rating possible in fencing: A. While Shin is adept in foil fencing, in which the target areas are the torso and back, Omar’s area of expertise lies in the other famous style of fencing: épée, in which the target area is the whole body.

Both are excellent students. Both have incredible talent. What’s interesting is the different paths each of them took to arrive at the skill levels they have currently reached.

“I began fencing in the second grade to hang out with one my good friends more often,” Shin said. “But after a year he quit fencing, yet I continued even though I didn’t want to. I never quit because I didn’t want to be a quitter.”

At first, Shin only trained once a week due to other extracurricular activities such as chess and soccer, but as time went on, he honed in on his true passion for the sport. Shin began fencing competitively in the sixth grade. After his first taste of a Y-12 tournament in 2008, he began taking fencing more seriously, increasing the numbers of days per week that he trained from one to three.

Shin achieved his first rating of D10 (in 2010) in a local senior Open. He began to train five times a week as he traveled up the rankings.

Throughout his time as a fencer, Shin has set up goals for which to strive. Last October, he managed to achieve an A rating after making the top eight at a Cadet U-17 North American Cup. “I was really proud when I made top eight since it was my first major placement,” Shin said. “I got my first national medal, and my first video replay.”

A second goal, which Shin achieved, was to compete in the World Cup, a competition in which Team USA takes only the top 20 fencers in the country to compete in stifling international tournaments. In February 2013, Shin traveled to Italy in order to compete in the Cadet U-17 World Cup, one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world.

“Although the divisions in the tournament are smaller than some of the national tournaments, the fencers are much better and the competition is more challenging overall.” Finishing an impressive 54th out of 138 top-notch competitors, Shin made a prominent debut at this international competition.

Shin began this impressive nine-year run with the same coach he has now—coach Michael Petin of the Fencers Club. After many years of collaborative work and instruction, Petin and Shin have formed a student-instructor battery that goes beyond that of instruction and into genuine care. With an impressive training regimen of three hours every day after school except on Wednesdays and five hours on Saturday, Shin is hungry for high-level competition.

“My life revolves around schoolwork and fencing,” Shin said. “My goal is to continue to fence in college and pursue the sport I love.”

Somewhat similarly to Shin’s introduction to the sport, Josef Omar began his fencing career due to his older brother and sister, who both fenced in college. Starting at the age of 12, Omar found a new passion and began competing in impressive tournaments almost immediately after beginning the sport.

In 2010, Omar competed in the National Championships for U-14, achieving a B10 rating and placing third overall in his event. Continuing down the road that his first notable placement suggested, Omar competed in many national tournaments across the nation, including one in Virginia Beach in which he received eighth place and an overall ranking of fifth in the nation for all U-14 competitors.

As Omar progressed in the sport, he continued to post striking numbers, including 24th place at the National Championships 2012 for the U19 division and 14th place in another national tournament in 2013, thus renewing his B rating.

Hungry for an A rating, Omar continued to compete in larger-scale tournaments until he achieved his A rating in a local tournament in Rocky Point. He then moved on to his first international tournament in Austria.

“Going to Europe was difficult because that’s where the concentration of the very best fencers are. They have a different style: quick and very intense,” Omar said. “I didn’t do so well my first time, but it was fun being a member of Team USA, and I may end up competing internationally again.”

In order to attain such high accolades, Omar maintained a rigorous training schedule, practicing every other day during the week and both days of the weekend. “In preparation for tournaments, I go to the track to run sprints and run the bleachers,” Omar said. “Fencing takes a lot of cardio and leg work. To be ready to compete against strong competitors you need to have both of these.”

Omar has an impressive resumé, and, like Shin, hopes to continue adding to this resumé in a Division 1 college on a fencing scholarship.

Both Shin and Omar display incredible aptitude athletically, academically, and socially. They maintain good grades and a social life while fencing at the national and even international level. How Shin and Omar manage to find time for everything they do remains a mystery.

After the 2012 draft produced some spectacular quarterbacks, a different approach was taken this year. The first round was dominated by linemen; specifically, eight offensive linemen and eight defensive linemen, as well as Dion Jordan (OLB), who would play defensive end as announced by the Dolphins.

What was least expected of this draft was the way in which the quarterbacks were chosen; namely, the fact that most of them weren’t, until the fourth round that is. EJ Manuel, the only quarterback chosen in the first round, wasn’t even considered the top quarterback on the board. With the 16th pick, the Bills selected Manuel worrying that their dire needs at the quarterback position might not be filled after the first round. To the surprise of most, the next quarterback taken, Geno Smith, was taken in the second round by the New York Jets. And then the QB’s kept falling — ironically, too. Though not a strong quarterback draft, considering the problems some teams have, any quarterback will do. To name a few: the Jaguars, Browns, Bills, Titans, Chiefs, and Raiders. And who could forget the Jets, now with five quarterbacks — none of whom any Jets fans would trust to catch a single snap during any game other than the preseason?

It was not until the first pick of the fourth round that the highly esteemed Matt Barkley was chosen by the Philadelphia Eagles. It came as a surprise to all that a potential top five pick in the 2012 draft dropped to the 98th pick in the 2013 draft. What is most confusing is why none of the aforementioned struggling teams chose a quarterback in Barkley whose only weakness was an injured shoulder that has fully healed. Of course it’s a risk, but isn’t everything? The only teams with a good reason not to take Barkley was the Jets. After all, look at their most recent history with USC quarterbacks (Mark Sanchez).

This draft didn’t provide many NFL-ready quarterbacks, but the one who ranked highest in NFL preparedness, Ryan Nassib, fell to the fourth round and was picked up by the New York Giants, who held the 110th pick in the draft, and already have an elite QB. Syracuse’s offensive giant (pun intended) is the only QB in the draft with no health issues, a good attitude, and the proper size and skill-set to adjust to the professional level. Nassib may not be best at ball placement, but with NFL coaches, that can be easily fixed. With Nassib now backing up the great Eli Manning, the Giants are set for a good season, at least as far as QBs go. Whether Nassib will take the reins after Manning, or whether he will be developed and traded, the Giants got a steal with the best quarterback in this year’s draft.

The closing of the draft has left one of New York’s teams with a somewhat improved roster and the other with roster that might not make the playoffs if they were in the Canadian Football League. See for yourself:

New York Giants: The G-Men entered the draft in the middle of the pack and came out still in the middle. Their needs were a younger o-line and a better secondary. By drafting Justin Pugh in the first round, they acquired an offensive lineman that can be adjusted to any position on the line. Most notably however, the Giants picked up another defensive end, Damontre Moore, who may soon take the place of Justin Tuck and join Pierre-Paul on the unstoppable Giant defensive line. The Giants had no standout players coming out of the draft — no one who would immediately impact their team — and they need to realize that relying on a 9-7 or 8-8 record every year to make the playoffs is not always going to work out in their favor. The Eagles are reborn with a new offensive playbook and a new, talented coach. The Redskins made the playoffs last year, but their thrilling quarterback RGIII will no longer be a rookie. The Cowboys… well, the Cowboys don’t have a shot at the playoffs as long as Romo is their quarterback, but the Giants are still going to need to step up their game.

New York Jets: Many may disagree, but the New York Jets are still the worst. Well, maybe off the paper they’re not, but they seem to be the only ones making the front page of the paper. If the Jets spent half the time they spend getting negative publicity on trying to draft or develop a quarterback, they might actually be a competitive team in the NFL. Perhaps they need to focus more on winning some games rather than the controversy between Tim Tebow and Mark Sanchez. Furthermore, this draft failed to provide them with the talent that wins games. They drafted a new o-line allowing for their old one to be replaced — that’s a plus. But a problem the Jets failed to address was their depth at receiver. Santonia Holmes is unreliable coming off his Lisfranc injury, and it seems like the only person on the team that can catch passes is Antonio Cromartie, who plays defense. The Jets did draft quarterback Geno Smith to replace the infamous Mark Sanchez. Some say this is what they need, but in an already bad QB draft, why Geno Smith? Smith has shown many weaknesses in college especially when facing defenses like Syracuse. With an attitude that can easily turn from happy to angry, a poor work ethic, and positive results only coming out of easy games, Smith was not a gamble the Jets could afford. Still, with his wild attitude and arrogant personality, Smith will fit in very well amongst the other Jets. He is taking on a disgruntled, badly run team that has an old runningback, receivers who keep getting injured, and a defense with a weakness at every position. Of course, their first-round pick, Dee Milliner, might be the savior of the secondary, but with only one safety left, the Jets need a lot more than Geno Smith and a new offensive line to win them games.

By Chris Kim

The Beasts, having recently suffered their first divisional loss in over three years, knew that they had many problems to fix on the court if they wanted to be a strong competitor in the playoffs. When they took on the School of the Future Bulldogs on Tuesday, April 16th, they looked to communicate as an experienced team and pass the ball accurately and consistently.

However, despite winning both sets with scores of 25-13 and 25-20, the Beasts still demonstrated poor passing and communication. “We weren’t passing the ball well, mostly because we weren’t talking enough on the court,” sophomore Eric Lee said.

The Beasts took control of the first set, capitalizing on the inconsistent receiving of the Bulldogs while displaying some cases of excellent serving and accurate passing. The Beasts quickly broke away with a 6-0 run led by junior Connor Pfister, during which Pfister scored four service points. Despite two desperate time-outs called by the Bulldogs, the demoralized team was unable to close the large gap, and the Beasts took the first set with relative ease.

At first, the second set appeared like another blowout for the Beasts, who took a quick 4-0 lead against the discouraged Bulldogs. However, the Bulldogs responded with a 4-0 run of their own, and the seemingly no-sweat Stuyvesant victory devolved into a sloppy mess. The Beasts began giving away free points because of bad serves—a rarity for such an experienced team.

Miscommunication, a problem that was evident throughout the season, plagued the Beasts in this match, preventing effective service reception. The Bulldogs went on an effortless 3-0 run due to a series of short serves that could have been easily played. Because no one called out whether the serves were short, the Beasts were unable to respond. “There were some easy opportunities that we missed because we weren’t communicating enough with each other,” sophomore Vincent Huang said.

With the team down 11-15, Coach Vasken Choubaralian called a time-out and reassembled his disorderedly Beasts. They were able to regroup and, with a series of strong serves, took advantage of the Bulldogs’ poor receiving ability to close out the game on a 14-5 run.

If the Beasts want to identify themselves as a valid contender in the playoffs, they will have to focus on better communication and accurate passing.

“We couldn’t pass the ball well at all, and we were also missing serves. We also needed to talk to each other more on the court,” Choubaralian said. “We can’t afford to give easy points to [the other team] because of small mistakes.”

Stuyvesant Beasts 2, LaGuardia Athletics 0

By Samantha Lau

The Stuyvesant Beasts sought revenge in their game on Tuesday, April 30. This game marked both the closing of regular season and a last chance to get back at the LaGuardia  Athletics, who upset the Beasts in the early season.

“We were not overconfident because we know how LaGuardia plays by now. They beat us the first time because we were still getting used to the season and our teammates,” senior William Huang said. “Now that we have a firmer lineup, we were able to make them ‘LaG’ behind us.”

The Beasts jumped off to a good start in the first set, pulling ahead to a four-point lead.  Many times throughout the first set, Huang saw that the Athletics’ blockers were too far off the net. He took advantage of this, hitting between the blocker and the net for easy points and helping the team with the first set 25-21.

In second set, the Beasts were continuously communicating and giving each other feedback. The chemistry between the players was evident in the back-to-back passes between junior Connor Pfister and senior and captain Calvin He, the control in defense, and the perfect sets from senior Darien Lam. The second set finished with a score of 25-16.

“I was pleased with today’s performance overall. There were some moments where I wasn’t pleased, such as the misserves and miscommunication during service reception,” Coach Vasken Choubaralian said.

Besides these mistakes, the team needs to make other improvements in order to meet their goal of making it to the second round of playoffs. “We still have to improve on our passing because we tend to overpass or underpass. We also have to work on covering and not solely depend on Darien [Lam],” He said.

The victory against LaGuardia helped prepare the team for the upcoming playoffs. “We did what we had to do today and I’m proud to call this a victory,” Choubaralian said.

Previously, in their third game of the season, the Hitmen lost to the Wolverines 5-0 on the Wolverines’ home court. Despite the tough blowout, the Hitmen remained optimistic toward the April 23 rematch, as they were at their own Hudson River Courts this time.

After El Naggar’s victory, the Hitmen ended with crushing 8-4 defeats in first and second doubles. “We were leading the match 2-1, we only needed one of our doubles to clinch the match, but both of them lost,” senior and captain Peter Becht said.

According to El Naggar, the deciding factor in the doubles games was neither technical skill nor stamina. “I think we lost confidence at the end. The doubles team started off decently but slipped,” El Naggar said.

The Hitmen believe that they can win if they have confidence. Coach Philip Fisher could not attend the matches, but he, too, was positive. “Fisher said it seemed like you guys were the better team and could have beaten them,” junior Evan Tao said.

Although the Hitmen lost, they remain upbeat about the rest of the season. El Naggar and Becht are driven to carry the team in matches down the road, but the main reason for their optimism is that their players already know what to improve.

“I need to get back my confidence in my backspin,” said sophomore Leonard Margolis, who also lost the second singles game of a score of 8-4.

After the loss to the Wolverines, the Hitmen are now 7-3 and have a slim advantage over Bronx Science and Hunter, who are both tied at 6-3. With two games left in the season, the Hitmen need a strong finish to capture the second-place spot, especially because the Wolverines have the season tiebreaker.

By Eric Morgenstern

Against most teams, losing 15-0 with only two hits is unacceptable, but against the George Washington Trojans’ 80 mph pitching, an exception may be made. In fact, the Hitmen’s disappointing performance against the Trojans on Thursday, May 2 was expected by many.

Junior starting pitcher Peter Lucido was not very pleased with the team’s performance, but neither was he shocked. “Our chances were slim at best, and a few fielding mistakes as well as inconsistent pitching didn’t help us out,” Lucido said.

Junior outfielder Michael Mazzeo, who struck out in both of his plate appearances, was in agreement with Lucido. “That team is a top five team in the city,” Mazzeo said.

The team’s struggles were spread across their performance. The Hitmen failed to get runners on base, had five fielding errors, and walked a total of nine batters. “It was a combination of everything today. We only got two hits, the outfield made three crucial errors, and [the pitchers] had a total of three wild pitches that cost runs,” Carlesi said.

The team has much room for improvement, and it starts with making routine plays. “The issue throughout this season has been that we haven’t been playing clean baseball. We made a lot of errors in the field and we couldn’t support our pitchers,” senior catcher and co-captain Kevin Moy said. “We have to focus for the next two weeks. We always have bright spots, but everything needs to come together.”

The Hitmen have four games left in the season: two against the High School for Environmental Studies, who have not had much success this season, and two tougher ones against Beacon High School, the top team in the division. With the Hitmen now 5-7, they will almost definitely have to take a game from Beacon to make the playoffs. “For the next game, we just need to go out there and do what we can, and what we are able to do at our best,” Lucido said.

Stuyvesant Hitmen 19, Lab Museum United Gators 6
By Ari Hatzimemos
Going into their game against the Lab Museum United Gators, the Hitmen were 4-6 with only six games remaining, putting them in an almost must-win situation for every upcoming game to enter the playoffs. With the pressure mounting, the Hitmen came up with an exciting win on Tuesday, April 30, beating Lab Museum United 19-6.

The Hitmen didn’t need much time to get started, scoring 10 runs in the first inning. They were effective at the plate and took advantage when they got the right pitches, totaling 13 hits and drawing 11 walks in the game. “We hit well today. We were also more aggressive at the plate than usual,” senior and co-captain Noah Hellerman said.

Hellerman also did his part on the mound, pitching 3.1innings in relief with no runs allowed. He came in after a rough start by junior starting pitcher Max Litvack-Winkler, who gave up six runs in the first two innings. Litvack-Winkler’s struggles cut Stuyvesant’s lead to 10-6 at the end of the second, which wasn’t as much a cushion as the Hitmen would have liked. Hellerman settled the team down, and kept the Hitmen in the lead with his pitching. “We struggled defensively early in the game, but after that we focused and Lab didn’t score again,” senior and co-captain Kevin Moy said.

Juniors Mike Mazzeo and Ben Sydel, two breakout stars this year, both also had big days. Sydel went 2-3 with two doubles and two RBIs, and Mazzeo continued his recent hot streak by going 3-4 with two RBIs.

All in all, the game was a team effort, and the Hitmen proved why they deserve to be in the postseason for the 18th straight year. But completing this goal won’t be easy. “In baseball, anything is possible, [but] we have to play flawless baseball,” coach John Carlesi said. If the Hitmen play as consistently as they did in this game, they may just land themselves a place in the playoffs.

Norman Thomas Tigers 7, Stuyvesant Hitmen 4
By Louis Susser

With every loss, the chances that the Hitmen, who have a 2-5 record for the season, will take a playoff spot slip lower and lower. In the Manhattan “A” league, the Hitmen will have to improve their hitting to remain a highly-regarded team around the league. In a preseason interview, coach John Carlesi expressed his high expectations and foreshadowed the Hitmen’s major roadblock for this season. “We have a good pitching and a great defense. All that has to come together is our hitting,” Carlesi said.

When the Hitmen faced the highly talented Norman Thomas team on Thursday, April 18, it marked their second loss in a row. They weren’t able to capitalize in certain situations and failed to drive runners in and to close their deficit.

“We need to improve on everything,” coach John Carlesi said. “Every day we improve on one thing and get worse on another.” The Hitmen are having trouble piecing everything together, and in this game the problem was their ability to hit. They had a total of 10 strikeouts but only three hits.

During the sixth inning with no outs, the Hitmen worked the bases loaded while trailing 2-7. However, the next two batters both struck out in a clutch situation, killing the Hitmen’s momentum. Though they managed to score two runs off of walks with the bases loaded, cutting the deficit to 4-7, they failed to score again. “We left too many people on base,” senior and co-captain Noah Hellermann said.

Defensively, the Hitmen strengthened their pitching and managed to let only a couple of errors sneak past them. One error in right field occurred when a pop-up was blown in by the wind, resulting in two runs scoring. Besides that error, their fielding remained up to standards, as did pitching by starter Jack Haggerty and the three other relief pitchers, senior Nathaniel Biggs and juniors Aaron Coppa and Max Litvack-Winkler.

“Our pitching kept us in the game,” senior and co-captain Kevin Moy said. “During the fourth inning, Jack Haggerty was able to get out of a jam, with no outs and men on second and third base.  Also, [Biggs] threw a 1-2-3 inning in the sixth, but at that point there was no sign of a comeback for the Hitmen because they weren’t getting anything done at the plate.”

The Hitmen are 2-5 for the season and need to be above .500 to make the playoffs. The Hitmen’s struggles are continuing, and, as coach John Carlesi said, they “have to put everything together” before it’s too late.

But while the American people decry the inadequacies of their leaders, anti-drug policies continue to miraculously succeed at stemming drug flow from Latin America, weakening drug cartels and reducing border and Latin American violence and instability. Today, we ought to thank the government for successfully protecting its citizens instead of protesting and critiquing the policies that have saved thousands of civilian lives.

According to the Center for Foreign Relations, US anti-drug policies have resulted in the arrest or death of more than 68 percent of Latin America’s most-wanted drug traffickers through bilateral intelligence and operational cooperation. Last year, the U.S. disrupted or dismantled 612 cartels, including Latin America’s most powerful ones: Cali, Medellin, Pablo Escobar, and Super Cartel, responsible for 50 percent of all cocaine on US streets, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Even Los Zetas, considered the “reigning narco-trafficking operation of our time” by the Washington Office on Latin America, is slipping. Foreign Affairs reports that by fragmenting large cartels into smaller gangs, the US has debilitated them; while they may still traffic drugs, they are less powerful, less violent, and no longer threaten the State or the US.

Before current anti-drug policies, violence was skyrocketing. US efforts curbed this violence. Violence growth fell from 142 percent in 2008, to 60 percent in 2010, to 11 percent in 2011, and for the first time in over a decade, violence actually decreased by 28 percent in 2012. To put this in perspective, in 2011, if violence had increased at past rates, 20,000 to 30,000 drug-related homicides would have occurred, according to the Justice for Mexico Report. Instead, 16,000 did. That’s a tangible 4 to 14 thousand lives saved in just one year. The number of municipalities free from violence increased by 16 percent and the number of organized-crime style homicides has decreased by 28 percent. Reforma reported a roughly 21 percent reduction in human rights abuses such as executions. According to KPBS, drug-related killings in northern Border States fell by 12 percent and in border cities by 44 percent.  That means less people in Latin America and a safer, more stable border.

Ginger Thompson of The New York Times explains a few of the reasons for declining violence: “the US has trained nearly 4,500 new federal police agents” and “has provided sophisticated equipment, including Black Hawk helicopters” to the military to assist in the defeat of cartels. As of September 2012, 4,400 federal police investigators and 5,000 penitentiary staff had completed US-funded courses; 7,500 federal and 19,000 state justice sector personnel had received training on their roles in Mexico’s new justice system, which has resulted in reduced governmental and police corruption. Furthermore, according to the GAO, the US has built 134 schools, health facilities and water systems, 205 kilometers of road, and 12 bridges and irrigation projects. The result has been decreased violence and narco-terrorism and increased stability.

Plan Colombia, which sought to stabilize Colombia, has succeeded as well. A decade ago, experts agonized over the possibility that Colombia hovered on the verge of becoming a failed narco-state. Ten years later, Colombia, with the active assistance of the US, has successfully reduced homicides by 15 percent, massacre events by 52 percent, kidnappings by 34 percent, and massacre victims by 48 percent. More than 1,300 of Colombia’s top crime bosses and their most dangerous enforcers have been arrested, according to CNN, and Colombia’s primary paramilitary organization responsible for violence and narco-terrorism, FARC, has been set back by more than a decade.

Beyond reducing violence, US drug policies have reduced drug flow into the US. The United States USAID program provides Latin American families with Alternate Development programs which give farmers the opportunity to replace their illicit crops with legal ones. Alternate Development programs reduced the percent of households in Latin America growing coca (from which cocaine is made) as their primary crop from 40 percent to five percent. There has been a 22 percent reduction in Latin America’s coca production and a 67 percent reduction in opium poppy crop cultivation (from which heroine is made), according to the Congressional Research Service. These US anti-drug policies, in addition to eradication policies, have significantly reduced the supply of drugs.

Drugs are being eliminated during transit as well. Increased patrols have seized 31 percent more drugs, 75 percent more cash and 64 percent more weapons between 2008 and 2010. The Defense Department estimates that only 850 metric tons of cocaine departed South America last year toward the US, down 20 percent in just a year. The Christian Science Monitor reported that over 75 tunnels have been discovered and shut down by US authorities in recent years, cutting off roots of transit.

Critics are wrong. They claim that violence is rising, but in reality, violence growth fell from 2006-2011 and in 2012, violence itself fell for the first time in a decade. They claim that drug use is rising but ignore the fact that because of US policies, 1/3 fewer illicit drugs are able to enter the US across the Mexican border. Critics are right that US policies aren’t perfect; we don’t have a magic wand to make everything perfect. But the US is flattening the slope of increased violence and of increased drug US, and that in and of itself is a huge success.