By Steve Sherman,
Sports Editor

George Mason University (GMU) sophomore Katie Gray of New Hope and her GMU Patriots women’s soccer team are trying to raise awareness for breast cancer.
You might remember Gray from her days with the New Hope-Solebury soccer team that won three consecutive Bicentennial Athletic League (BAL) titles before capturing the district championship in 2006.
Compiling 45 goals and 63 assists during her high school career, Gray was a first team All-BAL player from 2004 to ’06. She was also the recipient of the Tony Brandariz Scholarship and the Community Association Top Female Soccer Player Scholarship.
New Hope’s Lady Lions advanced to the state quarterfinals during Katie’s senior season.
Gray was recruited by Miami of Ohio, St. John's, Drake and New Jersey Institute of Technology but chose George Mason instead. She is currently a midfielder for GMU, which went 5-13-2 in the fall.
Katie got into 12 of the Patriots’ games last year, coming off the bench last September to score her first and only collegiate goal in a 9-1 rout of Howard.
The Patriots currently have spring season battles pending against Georgetown and Bucknell on April 5 and an April 8 date versus Navy.
After a 10-day break, GMU gets back into action on April 18 in the Kicks Against Breast Cancer tournament at the Maryland Soccer Plex in Germantown. The fundraising tourney requires a minimum of $1,000 donation per team. The Patriots will play Old Dominion at 10 a.m. followed by Stony Brook at 11 a.m.
“The tournament provides Mason with great spring season competition, but most importantly proceeds benefit Howard County General Hospital's Claudia Mayer Cancer Resource Center, which is a non-profit organization,” said Gray.
To donate to the GMU women’s soccer team’s cause, click here

Labels: New Hope, soccer

The St. Martin of Tours Fourth Grade boys team from New Hope capped an unbeaten season last weekend with a win over St Jude’s, 17-7. The Mustangs ended the season undefeated at 12-0.
None of the games was closer than five points all year, and 10 were double-digit wins. Team members included Matt Paulus, Brendan Shadle, Thomas Flavin, Rhys Vaughn, Ryan Miller, Sam Czupich, Chris Green, Mike O’Donnell, and Kevin Tokash. The coaching staff was led by Chuck Miller, with assistants Ted Czupich, Rusty Paulus, and Dave Shadle.
***
JV White Team Wins Comeback Thriller

The JV White team had another slow start which only led to an even more improbable finish. Trailing St. Isidore at halftime, 22-8, the team resolved to wake up in the second half and play tough. With the defensive intensity turned up more than a couple of notches, the Mustangs closed to within nine by the end of the third quarter.
The defensive pressure was led by Matt Mazza and Patrick McCann with Matt Kolen and Austin Maloney battling for every rebound. St. Isidore held a two-point advantage with less than a minute to go when Russell Abernathy sank a 17-footer to tie the game at 30.
A miss by Isidore and another rebound by Kolen had the Mustangs with the ball with only 20 seconds to go. The boys passed the ball around the perimeter like a ball in a Roulette wheel until finally, with time running out, "red hot" Blake Hildebrandt swished the game winner for a 32-30 win.
***
Maroon Sweeps Weekend Games

The JV Maroon squad started the closing weekend of the season with a 30-21 win over Mary, Mother of the Redeemer Friday night. Spencer Tinkel finished with a season-high 16 points and led the Mustangs with seven rebounds.
Anthony Vlahovic, Ryan O’Leary and Dan Martin each added four points with Martin contributing four rebounds. Pat Gimpel added a bucket and four assists while Jake Powell pulled down six boards.
***
In the season finale, the Maroon used a 14-point second quarter outburst to sweep past Our Lady of Mount Carmel 35-16 on Saturday. Tinkel was the high man again for the Mustangs with 11 points while pulling down eight rebounds.
Vlahovic and Gimpel added eight points and six points respectively. Martin led the Maroon on the glass with 10 caroms as well as a bucket. Powell, O’Leary, Jake Gianatassio and Sean Flahive all made it into the scoring column with the group combining for 13 rebounds.
***
Gray Tops St. Stan’s

The Gray team’s February 20 game against St. Stan’s proved to the Mustangs that they wanted to continue their winning streak and finish the season strong. The final score ended up being close, with St. Martin’s winning 25-22.
The Mustangs were behind until the second quarter of the game, however, when the squad regrouped and managed to pull ahead for the win.
Dylan Waterman led the Mustangs in the point column followed by Tim Heffernan, Brandon Griffing and Devon Rozycki. Tim Czupich supported the Mustangs with some great defense and Brian Hauch with his strong rebounds.
Tyler Nuel, and John O'Donnell played key roles for the Gray squad as they have all season.

Labels: Mustangs, New Hope, St. Martin's

Today at New Hope-Solebury Upper Elementary School, World Famous Harlem Globetrotter “Buckets” Blakes will join students there in Jump Rope For Heart week by shooting buckets while jumping rope. Jump Rope For Heart Week is a national educational fund-raising program that is sponsored by the American Heart Association and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.

New Hope-Solebury Upper Elementary School is located at 186 West Bridge Street in New Hope.

Jump Rope For Heart engages elementary students in jumping rope while raising funds to support lifesaving heart and stroke research. Students ask friends and family for donations and receive thank-you gifts based on the dollars they raise.

This educational program teaches physical fitness and promotes the value of community service to students and their families. It shows students that they can contribute to their community's welfare.

The Globetrotters will play six games in four area arenas from Tuesday, March 3 through Sunday, March 8. They will take on the Washington Generals at the Sovereign Bank Arena (Saturday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m.), the Wachovia Center (Sunday, March 8 at 12 p.m. and 5 p.m.), the Liacouras Center (Tuesday, March 3 at 11 a.m. and Saturday, March 7 at 1 p.m.), and the Bob Carpenter Center (Thursday, March 5 at 7 p.m.).

Tickets are available via ComcastTIX.com, 1-800-298-4200, or each arena box office.

Labels: New Hope

This fall, six exceptional student-athletes from The Hill School including a squash player from New Hope will continue their successful athletic careers in college.
Alexander Hsu, of New Hope, will play squash at Brown University.
A high honors student and captain of Hill’s varsity boys’ squash team, Hsu has been an asset to his team as well as to his coach this year.
This fall, he will join the men’s squash team at Brown University.
“He is having a great season considering the quality of his opponents this season,” says Head Coach Matt Kraynyak ’96. “It would be easy to get frustrated when you are facing opponents ranked in the top 20 in U19 (under 19 years of age) squash, but Alex has fought through and played some excellent squash.
“At nationals last weekend (Feb. 6 to 8), he stepped on the court knowing that his team needed a win to play in the championship match on Sunday. He carried the team on his back and won 3-1, which placed his team in the finals against Brunswick’s C team.
“He has been my greatest asset as a coach: hard working, accountable, and inspiring to his teammates. They will miss his steady demeanor and work ethic next season."

Labels: New Hope, squash

(Jan. 30-Feb. 1 game action)

The JV Maroon team outscored Our Lady of Mount Carmel 17-5 in the second half to win 24-10 Friday night.
Anthony Vlahovic led the Maroon, scoring 10 points on the night with five steals and three rebounds.
Dan Martin led on the boards, pulling down 10 on the night.Spencer Tinkel added four points for the Maroon.
The balanced Mustangs attack also got buckets from Jake Gianatassio, Pat Gimpel, Ryan O’Leary, Jake Powell and Sean Flahive.
***
Girls Come From Behind to Win 10-8 Thriller

The Saint Martin of Tours Girls JV team won a thrilling 10-8 defensive game over a scrappy MMR squad Friday night.
After being down 5-0 at the half, Hannah Miller opened the second half with a bucket for SMT.
Trailing 8-2 in the third quarter, Saint Martin’s managed to tie the score in the fourth with Kelly Hyland getting four points and Bridget Newman dropping in two.
The Lady Mustangs tenacious defense led to the final basket in the 10-8 win.
***
White Bowls Over St. Stan’s on Super Sunday

In a physical contest that saw the JV White team outscore Saint Stanislaus 10-1 from the free throw line, St. Martin’s won 24-21 in a pre-Super Bowl matchup.
Blake Hildebrandt provided consistent scoring throughout the game, ending with 15 points.
Three-for-four foul shooting from Matt Kolen and a clutch free throw from Russell Abernathy at the end proved to be the difference as the Mustangs recorded their 7th win in their last 9 games.
***
Fourth Grade Mustangs Roll to 9-0 Start

The St. Martin’s fourth grade Mustangs topped Our Lady of Mount Carmel Friday night, 29-9, to improve their record to 9-0.
Brendan Shadle had six rebounds, four steals, three assists and 10 points.
Matt Paulus had five steals, two blocks, and 13 points. Sam Czupich and Rhys Vaughn cleaned up the glass with seven rebounds each, and the hustling Thomas Flavin had three clean picks to go along with a blocked shot.
***
Mustangs Varsity Takes Two

As the season winds toward the closing week, the St Martin’s Varsity Mustangs won two games last week.
On Thursday, the team hosted Saint Maria Goretti and was able to use a strong team defense led by Danny Cherkowsky, David Cherkowsky, Cameron Cathcart, and Bryce MacKinnon to hold in check the SMG inside game.
The offense was led by Jack Dougherty, Dylan Waterman and Jake Vesling during the first half for the Mustangs.
The second half brought much of the same, with both sides trading baskets in a see-saw match.
The Mustangs led by Daniel Rubino, Zach Bandurick, and Brian Kerr and the clutch fourth quarter heroics of Noah Hutkin were able to hold off the feisty team from SMG to secure the 36-22 win.
On Friday, the varsity was back in action at St. John the Baptist.The game started with a flurry by the Mustangs, as Dougherty scored the team’s first eight points.
The Mustangs were able to expand their cushion to seven points (19-12) just before halftime due to solid play of Waterman, Bandurick, Cathcart, Vesling and Kerr.
Kerr made several key plays in the quarter scoring four points, securing three key rebounds and playing strong defense to support the Mustangs efforts in the 33-26 win.

Labels: basketball, New Hope

Fourth Grade Mustangs Remain Unbeaten
(Jan. 24-25 game action)

The St. Martin’s Fourth grade Mustangs rolled to their eighth win a row in a 30-8 victory over St. John’s. Rhys Vaughn finished with 14 points on 7 for 9 shooting, with six boards.
Matt Paulus went 4 for 5 from the field and ended with 10 points to go along with four steals.
The Mustangs kept up the heat in the third quarter with Chris Green and Thomas Flavin hitting buckets.
Sam Czupich pulled down five rebounds as the Mustangs’ raised their record to 8-0.
***
JV Gray Fights Tough St. Isidore Squad

After the Saint Martin of Tours JV Gray team fell behind in the first half in Friday night's game against Saint Isidore, Tim Czupich started the second half scoring for the Mustangs.
Dylan Waterman successfully made a three- point basket, making the score 18-10. Tim Heffernan made a foul shot and Brandon Griffing scored a basket to close the gap.
Brian Hauch sank a foul shot with one minute left, making the final score 21-14 in favor of St. Isidore.
***
White Sweeps Weekend Games

The Saint Martin of Tours JV White team swept its weekend games.
With Mike Peters and Luke Accardo providing the height under the basket, Saint Martin’s held the smaller MMR squad to only 13 points in the first game.
The offense was provided by Matt Kolen and Russell Abernathy. Kolen dropped in a game-high 11 points, leading Saint Martin’s to an 18-13 victory.
In the second game, Saint Martin’s gave a tough Saint John’s team their first loss of the year.
Good foul shooting combined with driving layups by Abernathy and Blake Hildebrandt helped the Mustangs to a 7-2 first quarter lead.
A long jump shot from Austin Maloney and perfect 4 for 4 foul shooting from Kolen helped stretch the SMT lead in what became St. John’s first loss, 20-12.
***
St. Martin’s JV Girls Top OLG, Fall to SMG

The SMT girls split their weekend games, beating Our Lady of Guadalupe and falling to Saint Maria Goretti.
In the first game, the Mustangs jumped out to a quick lead with baskets by Lindsey Park and Darby McCann.
A bucket by Bridget Newman, a foul shot by Maria Lelie, and some good old-fashioned defense gave the Lady Mustangs a 7-4 half-time lead.
The lead was increased to 9-4 on a Kelly Hyland lay-up. Newman added her second basket to seal the win for St. Martin’s, 11-6.
Against St. Maria Goretti, the Mustangs fell behind before Newman got SMT on the board with a nice put back.
The Lady Mustangs found their rhythm in the second quarter. Hannah Miller and Kelly Hyland had field goals for SMT and the defense, led by Jacqueline Hart, stiffened and held SMG to four points.
Kelly Hyland added two more baskets in the second half on the way to her team high six points. In the end, SMT fell 26-13.
***
Maroon Falls to SASH

The JV Maroon team fell to SASH 32-26 on Saturday, Jan. 24.
The Mustangs fought back from several large deficits, but could not close the gap.
Spencer Tinkel led the Maroon with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Patrick Gimpel added eight points for the Maroon.
Anthony Vlahovic chipped in five points and Jake Gianatassio blocked three shots.

Labels: basketball, New Hope

Pennington School senior Amber Brooks (center) signs a National Letter of Intent to play soccer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Here she is pictured with her mom Jean (left), dad Allen (right), co-coaches Bill Hawkey (rear, left) and Patrick Murphy, of Newtown (rear, right).

Labels: girls soccer, New Hope, Pennington

Brian Hauch of the Mustangs JV Gray team looks
for an open man in the 26-21 win over St. Maria Goretti.

McCann Free Throw
Seals it for JV White ‘Stangs

On Saturday afternoon, Jan. 17, the St. Martin of Tours JV White squad tangled with SASH (Saint Agnes/Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) White in Hilltown.

The Mustangs took a 16-15 lead into halftime with the final points of the half being a “banker” from Chris Yingling off a Patrick McCann pass.

The start of the fourth quarter saw St. Martin’s extend their lead to eight points. SASH closed the gap to within three points with 12 seconds remaining in the fourth.

After a foul on the inbounds pass, McCann swished his first foul shot to end the SASH comeback and seal a 28-24 victory.

Blake Hildebrandt had 10 points, Russell Abernathy six, and McCann and Matt Kolen each had four in the victory.
***
Gray Falls in SASH Squeaker

St. Martin of Tours JV Gray Team played another tight game on Saturday, Jan. 17, but they could not come away with a victory against a tough SASH opponent.

The Mustangs ran into late foul trouble and SASH took advantage of extra free throws to seal the victory, 23-21.

Dylan Waterman led the Gray scoring with 11 points. Brandon Griffing had four points for the Mustangs, Tim Heffernan had three, Tyler Nuel had two and Brian Hauch added one.
***
St Martin’s Mustang Varsity Defeats SMG 54-43

St. Martin’s burst out to a quick ten point lead against Saint Maria Goretti the weekend of Jan. 18-19 on strong play from the starting back court of Jake Vesling (10 points total), Dalton Waterman (nine points total) and Jack Dougherty (18 points total) along with strong defense and rebounding by Danny Cherkowsky, Bryce MacKinnon and Brian Kerr.

By halftime, however, SMG pulled into a one-point advantage at 25-24.

The teams battled back and forth in the second half. Finally, in the final minutes of the fourth quarter St Martin’s, led by a key basket by Daniel Rubino and the inside play of Zach Bandurick, started to pull away.

Bandurick had several key breakaway baskets during a fourth quarter run that finally gave St Martin’s the breathing room they needed to secure the 54-43 victory.
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Third Quarter Surge Propels Maroon Past St. Stan’s

The JV Maroon Squad used a 12-point third quarter burst to break up a tight game and top St. Stan’s 28-17 Friday night, Jan. 16 at their home court in West Amwell, NJ.

Center Spencer Tinkel poured in 12 points on the night, including four in the decisive third quarter when the Mustangs broke open a tie game to take a 19-13 lead.

Pat Gimpel and Ryan O’Leary each had four points in the decisive stanza. Gimpel finished with eight points on the night.

Anthony Vlahovic led the Maroon off the glass with six rebounds, Tinkel added five, while Gimpel and Dan Martin contributed four boards apiece. Jake Gianatassio had three rebounds in addition to his two points.
***
St. Martin JV Girls Fall to St. Jude

The St. Martin JV Girls fell to the St. Jude Jaguars 15-10 on Friday night, Jan. 16.

The Lady Mustangs hung on to a slim one-point lead at halftime (4-3), thanks to a field goal each by Maria Lelie and Hannah Miller.

In the second half, Bridget Newman added four points and Darby McCann had two, but it was not enough to overcome a tough St. Jude team.

Labels: basketball, New Hope