Dreams came true last Saturday, as the Philadelphia Flyers selected Gunnery defenseman Nick Luukko ‘10 in the 6th round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft in Los Angeles, California.

Chelsea Simpson, Gunnery crew alumna ’08 and her University of Virginia teammates captured their first ever NCAA Rowing Championship title this past Sunday, May 30th, at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center on Lake Natoma. 

The Gunnery community took a breather from exams, graduation, and end-of-year activities to cheer their favorite son playing for Duke in the exciting overtime win against Notre Dame in the NCAA Lacrosse National Title match. 

 “All of you realize that we cannot survive without contribution from everyone, both faculty and students.  There are so many great stories & memories from this past spring,” said Athletic Director, Jon Russillo as he acknowledged several season highlights at the spring athletic banquet.

Thunder showers threatened, but never materialized as a hot, beautiful day with light to moderate wind on the water provided great racing in the 51st Founder’s Day Regatta at Lake Waramaug.

At a recent school meeting, Alex Vazzano ’10 signed a Letter of Intent to play for the University of Vermont Catamounts.

Saturday was a great day for the young Gunnery girls’ hockey squad as they beat Canterbury on Canterbury’s ice 4 -2, thereby clinching a berth in the NEPSAC playoff tournament.

Once again making school history, The Gunnery defeated Berkshire 2-1 at home on Saturday afternoon to clinch their second consecutive NEPSHC West Championship and a bid into the New England Division I “Elite Eight” Tournament.

Nick Luukko '10 committed to the University of Vermont for the 2011-2012 season.  Luukko's decision came down to Vermont and his father's alma mater, UMass-Amherst but he ultimately selected the former.

In a true clash of the titans, second-ranked Gunnery defeated top-ranked Kent 2-1 today at the Linen Rink.  The Highlanders avenged their 3-1 loss to the Lions in the Avon Christmas Classic Championship just over a month ago. 

In December the coaches of the Colonial League named four Gunnery players to the League’s 1st and 2nd all star teams.

The Gunnery Highlanders defeated Northfield Mount Herman by a score of 8-5 on Sunday, January 3rd to capture the school’s first EJ Watkins / Cushing Academy Tournament championship.  

Gunnery student-athlete Michelle Beck ’10 recently signed a national letter of intent to attend the University of Texas to continue her studies and row for the crew team. 

Gunnery athletes were honored at the Athletic Banquet on November 16, 2009. After congratulating the athletes and coaches on a wonderful season, Athletic Director Jon Russillo announced a new award that would be given at year’s end to the team which had the best academic merit score. The non-competitive afternoon programs such as outdoor club, community service, the winter musical and arts option would be included in this award process.

The National Hockey League’s Central Scouting Bureau recently identified The Gunnery’s Alex Vazzano ’10, Terrence Wallin ’11,  and Nick Luukko ‘10 as players to watch for the 2010 NHL Draft.  Central Scouting graded Vazzano and Luukko as B level prospects, while Wallin was rated as a C level prospect. Highlander alums Pat Street ’06 and John Vazzano ’08 also found themselves on Central Scouting’s radar heading into their respective senior years.  The elder Vazzano currently plays with the Vermont Catamounts (Hockey East), while Street has become an All-League player at SUNY Fredonia (SUNYAC). Austin Smith ’07 spent two years at The Gunnery before being drafted in his senior year by the Dallas Stars in the 5th round. He is currently playing Division I at Colgate.

Gunnery Crew traveled to Middletown, CT to compete at the Head of the Connecticut regatta this past Sunday, October 11, 2009. The day began early as the boys first and second boats combined to race in the eight, placing 6th in a field of 22 boats.  The girls followed with a 5th place finish out of 16 in their varsity eight race.  The rest of the team arrived by mid-morning, ready to join their teammates for the racing ahead.  Gunnery launched six boys’ fours and five girls’ fours for the afternoon events. 

Goaltender Alex Vazzano '10 continued to move up the draft rankings for the Central Scouting Bureau who released their final list April 14th. Vazzano passed all of the prep school goaltenders previously in front of him and is up to the 6th spot among draft eligible goaltenders currently playing in North America. Vazzano also attended the NHL Draft combine in May, an event that brought together an elite group of approximately 100 potential draft picks. See the links below for more information. The Entry Draft will be held in Ottawa in late June.

The Gunnery golf team today showed that its 19-3 record for this season was not a series of flukes as they won the 36th Annual Kingswood Invitational Tournament. This is The Gunnery's first win ever at the KIT. Gunnery captain Addison Owens ‘09 was a medalist with a fine one over par 71. Teammate Kevin Tarsa ‘09 was close behind at 76. Cameron MacKay ‘12 (82), John Thom ‘09 (82) and Eric Squinto ‘09 (85) were the other Gunnery scores.

Ed Pequignot ’09 pitched a complete game and Shane Gorman ’10 finished 4 for 4 with 2 RBI to lead The Gunnery Highlanders to their second Western New England Prep School Baseball League championship in the last three years with a convincing 11-3 victory over Salisbury School on Wednesday afternoon in Salisbury, CT.

The Gunnery Highlanders Baseball team beat the Brunswick Bears 6-3 last Wednesday to finish their regular season with a 14-2 record. Led by senior co-captains Andrew Romanella (Allentown, NJ) and Eddie Pequignot (South Kent, CT), the Highlanders finished second in the Young Division of the WNEPBL (Western New England Prep Baseball League), earning them a trip to Salisbury, CT on Saturday, May 16th, to take on the Williston Northampton School, the Cleary Division regular-season champs, in the first round of the WNEPBL Championship Series.

Gunnery boys’ crew hosted Taft, South Kent, Berkshire, E.O. Smith and Canterbury for the 15th annual Smith Cup on their home course on Lake Waramaug, Wednesday May 13, 2009. Gunnery won four of the five races, beating their closest competitor, Taft, by wide margins to defend the cup. Longtime Gunnery coach William Smith, for whom the race is named, presented the cup to captains William Sutherland ’09 and Blake Tretter ’09 and coxswain JP Gould. Gunnery’s final race of the season before the NEIRA championships in Worcester, MA is another home race against Choate and Deerfield on Saturday May 16.

The Gunnery Boys Lacrosse Program hosted a youth clinic on Sunday May 10th. Young players from the area came to the two hour clinic and received instruction from The Gunnery coaching staff and members of the varsity boys’ lacrosse team. The younger players benefited from the experience of The Gunnery team members, and The Gunnery players shared in the exuberance of the next generation of lacrosse players. The boys’ lacrosse program looks forward to continuing the tradition next spring with a new group of players.

Gunnery starting shortstop Greg Kumpel ’09 became the latest in an ever growing list of Highlander baseball players to take his game to the Division I college level. The Cornwall, NY native accepted a scholarship offer and will continue his career as a student-athlete with the St. Joseph’s Hawks.

The rain held off until the lunch break at the 50th Anniversary of the Founder’s Day Regatta. But the showers did not daunt the participants in this day-long event, the second largest regatta for fours in New England (after the NEIRA New England championships). The Gunnery hosted 26 high school and boat club teams from as far away as Cincinnati with approximately 1400 student athletes. There were 280 boats entered in 50 events who rowed an estimated total of 11,178 miles (not including warm-ups).

On Saturday, March 7th, in Salem, NH the boys’ varsity hockey team lost 3-2 to Philips Exeter in the semi-finals of the New England tournament. Ari Baum ’03 summed up the outstanding boys’ varsity hockey season succinctly: “The Highlanders finished with a 25-7-3 record, the most wins ever recorded by a sports team at The Gunnery in a single season. The program won its first ever Avon Tournament Championship in December, won its first NEPSHC West League Championship, qualified for its first Division I New England Tournament, and won its first ever Division I New England Tournament game against Taft.”

Nick Luukko’s goal with under three minutes to play propelled The Gunnery Highlanders to a 2-1 victory over Taft and a berth into the New England Tournament semi-finals. It was another extraordinary day for Gunnery hockey as the team went on the road and defeated the higher-seeded Taft on their own ice in front of over 1000 spectators. The game proved to be an all out war in typical playoff-style with very little room to operate and scoring chances at a premium. More importantly, the rink found itself filled with droves of Division I and Division III NCAA coaches.

It was an extraordinary and historic day in Sheffield, MA on Saturday afternoon, as The Gunnery defeated Berkshire 4-3 to clinch its first NEPSHC West Championship and first bid into the New England Division I Tournament.

The National Hockey League’s Central Scouting Bureau recently rated Gunnery’s Alex Vazzano the 9th best domestic goaltender for the 2009 NHL Draft in their midterm rankings. The NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau ranked the top 30 domestic goaltenders with Vazzano being the second highest rated prep school netminder. The final CSB rankings come out in a few months, but the current report stands as a tremendous honor for Alex. Highlander alums Pat Street ’06 and John Vazzano ’08 also found themselves on Central Scouting’s radar heading into their respective senior years, but neither found themselves on the midterm list. The elder Vazzano currently plays with the Vermont Catamounts (Hockey East), while Street has become an All-League player at SUNY Fredonia (SUNYAC).

Bowdoin Polar Bears, a member of the Division III New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). Bowdoin was Tara Connolly’s first choice. “I fell in love with the college and surrounding town of Brunswick, Maine the moment I stepped on campus.” She was accepted December 15th, Early Decision.

Chris Sheahan ‘09, the starting center and nose guard on Gunnery’s 2008 Varsity football team, has decided to take his game – both athletically and academically – to Williams College in Williamstown, MA, as part of the class of 2013.