The annual fall pep rally kicked off Sidwell’s Homecoming weekend on Friday, Oct. 18. The following day featured various varsity games and the club fair.
The first teams to perform at the event were the volleyball and football teams. They played volleyball against each other, and in a surprising upset, the football team beat the volleyball team 5-4.
The boys’ soccer team played a 4-v-4 soccer-tennis tournament with teams of sophomores, juniors and seniors. The sophomore team consisted of Cooper Dwight, Ryan Sanai, Angel Jacome-Velasquez and volunteer Ardashes Hamparian. First, the sophomores played against the juniors — Connor Graham, Cameron Linehan, Daniel Rodriguez, and volunteer Zach Boukkouri — and lost 2-0.
Following the first match, the two freshmen on the team, Kellan and Ian Keyes, gave a half-time performance in which they sang the iconic theme song from the popular Disney show Liv and Maddie.
The final was between the juniors and seniors. Ben Kang, Ian Mangra, Manuel Schmukler and volunteer Asher Sedwick represented the class of 2025. After a close match, the seniors ultimately won 2-1.
Following boys soccer, the cross country team gave a fashion show based on the Roblox game ‘Dress to Impress.’ Team members went in groups of two or three and strutted across the gym, giving a model pose in each corner.
The team also had student and teacher volunteers “rate” each group of models out of 10. To determine the winning groups, the crowd was asked to cheer for their favorite group, and the fashion show winners were the two freshman duos.
The girls soccer team was up next after the cross-country team. They danced to “Get’cha Head in the Game” from High School Musical and incorporated some soccer skills, including passing and shooting, into the choreography.
Girls tennis performed a short dance routine to Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie,” followed by an evil laugh competition between the two freshmen, Priya Khanna and Sienna Morigi. Finally, each member of the tennis team picked a teacher, and they played a mini-tennis tournament with teachers as their partners.
Following tennis, the field hockey and golf teams worked together to create a relay race for student volunteers. The participants needed to dribble a field hockey ball through a line of cones and then hit a golf ball into a bucket.
The last team to perform in the pep rally was the robotics team, which had one student from each grade, excluding the freshmen, race their robots around the gym. They also picked a freshman to race against the robots by crab-walking.
After all the sports teams participated, the FAN led the students in a classic teacher-vs.-student dodgeball game and an intense game of musical chairs.
On Saturday, the boys soccer team defeated School Without Walls 4-0. Rodriguez scored two goals, Linehan one and Kellan Keyes one. Sophomore Cyrus Rosenthal won the man of the match.
Reflecting on the game, Sanai says, “We played well as a team and controlled the game how we wanted to.”
Senior Peppin Thomas said, “the team was playing great and I was very proud of the people who don’t play as much stepping up into a bigger role.” He shouted out Mangra for “stepping up as a striker instead of staying in goal like usual.”
The girls field hockey team was also successful in their 8-0 victory over Jackson-Reed. Sophomore Brennan Kneller said, “The team played great. It was a super fun game to see all of our hard work over the season pay off.”
Although Jackson-Reed came an hour late and the team was “a little worried they wouldn’t show up,” Kneller says that overall the game “was great for trying new things and to further bind as a team. Lots of people played new positions and stepped up during the game.”
Sophomore Nylah James said, “during our homecoming game I felt we really played as a unit and we really connected as a team.”
The girls volleyball team also displayed their skills when they lost a close game to Georgetown Visitation. Sophomore Amaia Fowler said, “I felt a little more anxious because I knew it was a better team than what we played before. But even though we lost, I still am proud of how we performed as a team.”
Sadly, girls soccer and football were not able to play games on Homecoming weekend. However, girls soccer still hosted a kick around for the players and alumni.
