As Sidwell Athletics transitions into the winter season, expectations are high for the four varsity sports — Girls Basketball, Boys Basketball, Wrestling and Swimming.
To start, the Sidwell basketball program has seen immense success in recent years. Just last year, both teams won the 2022-2023 D.C. State Championship and the 2023 State Champions Invitational.
In the 2021-2022 season, Girls Varsity Basketball rose to national prominence, as the team was ranked number one in the nation and remained undefeated in league games throughout the season. The following year, the girls remained within the top five in national rankings.
This year, the team hopes to continue as one of the best teams in the nation and secure a highly ranked spot as they have had in the past. Freshman Jayda Dixon says, “I’m excited for the winter season and our team trip to Hawaii. Coach Dudley is a great coach and will lead our team to many wins this season.”
Head Coach Tamika Dudley has been working with the team since the 2019-2020 season. Since then, she has led the team through numerous wins and state championships. Dudley has collected numerous accolades throughout her coaching career, including the 2019 Cardinal District Coach of the Year, Regional Coach of the Year, Virginia Class 6 Coach of the Year, USA Today Virginia Coach of the Year and Washington Post All-Met Coach of the Year.
Freshman Ian Condon ’27, a member of the Boys Basketball team, said, “We are going to play two top five teams and it is going to be a very intense season in general, but I am sure that we will remain competitive.”
Eric Singletary ’93 has been Head Coach of the Boys’ Varsity Basketball team since 2008. Following his high school career, he was a four-year letterman at Rice University and played basketball professionally in Germany and Portugal, as well as stateside in the International Basketball League. During Singletary’s time at Sidwell so far, the team has shared or won five Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAC) Championships, including a precedent-setting 2016 season, in which the team finished as 2016 MAC co-champions of the regular season and MAC tournament winners.
This winter, Head Coach Josh Markey begins his fifteenth year with the Sidwell Friends wrestling program and his sixth season as its head coach. Under Coach Markey’s leadership, Sidwell Friends Wrestling has captured ten individual MAC championships, earned two individual D.C. championships and achieved a second-place team finish in the women’s division at the National Prep Wrestling Tournament.
The swimming team is also looking to build upon past success this season with new freshman talent coming in. One of the team’s goals is to qualify for the highly competitive Metro Swim Meet. Freshman Sofia Harms says, “I am excited for the swim meets because I will be able to represent my school while doing my favorite sport. I will compete hard while still having fun.”
Coach Megan Miller heads the varsity swim and dive program. She has been working at Sidwell since 2000 and has worked with the team since 2009. The girls’ team had an impressive third-place finish in the DCSAA Championship during the 2021-2022 Season, with the boys’ team finishing eighth overall.
The winter season is always the longest, ranging from November to February, and is sure to be filled with exciting competitions across a variety of sports.
