Spring sports finish strong

Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team faced a formidable opponent in the state semifinals against Notre Dame High School. USN dominated the first 25 minutes of possession. The Fighting Irish showed resilience late in the first half that resulted in some pressure on the Tigers defense and goal. Thomas Mauries ‘24 and Mark Luschen ‘24 helped keep the chances low percentage with their size and speed in the middle.

Notre Dame was able to find the back of the net 15 minutes into the second half on a missed ball in the back at the top of the box. Eli Galentino ‘24 answered the call with a great move by his defender and slid the ball by the keeper less than two minutes later. The Tigers had another chance shortly after that, but the keeper made the save on Galentino this time. The ball was cleared long and slipped by the defense for a long breakaway attempt. An attempt to slide through the ball missed and Christopher Haynes ‘24 came out of the goal to break up the opportunity but was shown red for contact with a Notre Dame player. The free kick sailed wide but the Tigers needed to play the remainder of the game down a player.

The team was certainly up to the task and even regained momentum and possession through the end of the game and into the first overtime. USN was called for another penalty just outside the box and Notre Dame did not miss this time as they took a 2-1 lead. They would add another goal with the Tigers pressing up the field to try to get the equalizer for the final 3-1 tally.

The Tigers defeated Grace Christian of Knoxville 1-0  on a goal from Atticus Phlaum ‘25 on Saturday, May 25 to advance to the state semifinals. They upset the Fighting Irish on the road in the state quarterfinals in 2023. This was the third straight season for USN to make the state final four.

Track and Field
The state track and field meet started well in the morning for the garnet and Columbia blue-clad Tigers. Liv O’Hara ‘25 and Madeleine Wiseman ‘27 finished in second and third in the 3200m run to kick off the day. Ava Kavalali ‘26 added to the Tigers scoring tied for seventh in her first appearance in pole vault at the state meet.

The running events started at 4 p.m., but just before the first USN competitor was set to take the track, a lightning delay stalled the meet for three hours. The Tigers took the time to create some more memories on the bus before returning to the track at 7:30. Alima Kassim ‘24 set the tone and won her first of four medals on the night running away from the field in a time of 11.91 in the 100m dash. She turned around to anchor the 4x200m relay in the next event as the Tigers won the race alongside teammates Layla Fierce ‘27, Margot Phillips ‘27, and Harper Phillips ‘24. The dynamic distance duo took the track again for the 1600 and Liv and Madeleine finished in third and fourth to continue to build the Tigers team score. Jack Fruin YEAR put the boys team on the scoreboard, matching Liv with his third-place finish in the 1600m run. The speedy relay team for the girls took second in the 4x100m Relay before Braun Moore ‘26 picked up his first race of the night with a third place finish in the 400m. Alima capped the final race of her USN career with another gold medal in the 200m. The meet culminated with the 4x400m boys relay. Braun and Jack would help the Tigers team to a fourth place finish with Binyam Dunne ‘26 and Braylin Davis ‘26 rounding out the relay team.

The girls team scored 64.5 points to secure state runner-up. The team has finished in the top two in the past four years with one state title in 2022. The boys team finished in 15th out of 27 teams.

Tennis
The tennis teams completed their season in the state tournament. The boys team lost in the first round of the State XII tournament on the road at Silverdale. The girls team advanced to the state quarterfinals with a win over Trinity Christian before falling in a gritty match 3-4 on the road at Christian Academy of Knoxville in the state quarterfinals. They picked up wins from their 1-doubles team and earned points at line 4 singles.

In the individual state tournament, the Tigers were represented by Lily Duong YEAR and Saawan Duvvuri ‘26 in the singles brackets. Lily and Saawan both won their quarterfinal matches in quick order but faced tough opponents in the semifinals and ended their bids for a state title a day early.