Spring Sports End: Baseball, Lacrosse, Tennis, Softball and Track Teams’ Progress

The men’s varsity track team at the MAC championships on Saturday. Photo by Kaiden J. Yu. 

Men’s Varsity Baseball 

The GDS varsity baseball team ended their season with a 5-7 record in the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAC) and a 5-10 record overall (including playoffs). The team lost three games outside of the regular season, two in regular playoffs and one during the District of Columbia State Athletic Association (DCSAA) playoffs. They ultimately placed fifth of seven schools. The team played Flint Hill in the first round of the MAC playoffs on Tuesday, May 9. The final score was 7-3, with Flint Hill winning, and GDS did not advance in the MAC playoffs. However, the team continued training for the DCSAA playoffs.

GDS faced off against St. Albans in the DCSAA quarterfinals on May 16. The game ended 7-2 with St. Albans winning and advancing to the next round to play Sidwell Friends in the semi-finals. 

– Sloane Holder ’25

Men’s Varsity Lacrosse 

The GDS men’s varsity lacrosse team finished the season with a 12-8 victory over D.C. International (DCI), making their season record 4-3. This was a significant win, as they had lost to DCI 7-6 at home just weeks earlier.

The game was held on senior night, honoring players Nick Mohr, Alex Swisher, Kofi Pobee, Arjun Pathiyal and Andrew Steves. Their leadership was instrumental in securing this final victory of the season, and they collectively contributed six goals.

Despite beginning the season with a relegation from the MAC, the team demonstrated its capacity to adapt and excel. With the help of athletic director David Gillespie, who organized each game individually, the team successfully navigated the challenges of their relegation.

The team’s head coach, Taylor Brown, will depart from GDS after 16 years of coaching lacrosse. Brown’s departure will prove a considerable challenge for the coming seasons; however, the strong foundation set by this year’s players has set a positive precedent. 

After a largely successful season, the team is left wondering whether they will be re-entered into the MAC, as this season was cut short due to a lack of championship matches. Gillespie declined an interview with the Bit.

– Henry Wachs ’26

Men’s Varsity Tennis

The GDS men’s tennis team lost in the semifinals of the MAC championship to the Potomac School, with a final score of 6-1. Once Potomac had the four wins needed to win the competition, the remaining two doubles matches were declared wins for Potomac, even though they had not taken place. Earlier in the regular season, GDS had narrowly defeated Potomac 4-3, which put them ahead in the seedings for the MAC tournament. In the lead-up to the semifinals, GDS beat Saint James with a score of 7-0.

In the regular season, the tennis team placed second in the MAC conference, with a record of 5-1. The only team they lost to was Sidwell, who ended up having an undefeated season and winning the MAC championship against Potomac.

Sophomore Issac Seiken said that while the team played well in the regular season, they were disappointed when it came to the MAC tournament. “It was a really good season for the standings, and then during the playoffs we kind of choked,” Seiken said. Though he was disappointed, Seiken was content with how his team played. 

Seiken is looking forward to next year’s season. “I think there’s a couple things we need to work on looking into next year, but other than that, we’re pretty set,” Seiken said.

– Sam Wood ’26

Women’s Varsity Softball

The GDS varsity softball team lost to Madeira, 24-15, in the Independent School League (ISL) tournament on May 10 after the game ended early due to lack of light. 

The team was ranked fourth of seven teams in the A Division of the ISL, and Madeira was ranked fifth. The team played Madeira earlier in the season and won 20-2.

According to senior and co-captain Elena Forlini, at the start of the game, the team played well. “Our hitting looked good, our defense was not the best, but we were holding it out the first few innings,” she said.

Forlini said that the Madeira team “had a lot of energy and came in ready to play and ready to win,” but the GDS team “came in with less energy than we normally have.” Later in the game, the team’s energy started to decrease. “We kind of started to get a little tired, and that’s when they were able to score a lot,” Forlini said.

Freshman Lia Oremland thinks the team improved throughout the season. In the beginning, the team struggled with “overthrows and getting the easy outs,” she said.

Forlini said that the team became “more aggressive at the plate and stopped watching strikes go by and instead started hitting.” As a result, they “were able to score a lot more,” Forlini said.

The team is not going to participate in the District of Columbia State Athletic Association (DCSAA) tournament because they “did not play enough D.C. teams” to qualify for the tournament, Forlini said. The majority of the softball team’s games were against schools from Maryland and Virginia in their ISL conference.

– Sabine Hletko Wood ’26

Track and Field

The GDS track and field team competed in the ISL and MAC championships last week. On May 11 and 13, the men’s varsity team competed, and they won the MAC, beating five other teams. The women’s varsity team competed on May 12 and 13, and they placed sixth of 14 teams. On May 9, the B teams competed. The men’s team came in first, and the women’s team came in eighth. The team’s next meet will be from May 24 to 25, when they will compete in the DCSAA championships.

– Molly Kurtzer-Ellenbogen ’26