Bocce started the season strong with a 2-0 win against Whitman. They then won a close 2-1 victory against Richard Montgomery. A 2-0 win against Walter Johnson continued their winning streak. Then they won a close 2-1 win against Churchill to remain undefeated going into the last game of the season.
The final game of the regular season was against BCC on senior night, where they won 2-1.”My favorite memory from this bocce season is our senior night. As a team, we were able to celebrate each senior and recognize them for their contributions to the team,” junior Mckenna Kupersmith said.
Bocce was looking to have a successful postseason and hopefully repeat as state champions again this year. Bocce doesn’t have traditional playoffs like in other high school sports, and instead, they have tournaments so teams have a chance to compete for all championships, including division, county and state. The school played in their first tournament, which was successful and placed second out of six teams in the divisional tournament. Then in counties, they placed fifth out of eight teams.
The state tournament was in a round-robin format, meaning every team played one another, and the team with the best record won the tournament. The team played in five total games and won four of them, putting them in first place and winning the State tournament for the second straight year. ”I had a great time at the bocce tournament. We had some very close games and I am very excited we won states again this year,” senior Jimmy Youssef said.
Bocce is one of three unified sports that any student who goes to this school can play, including students in the special needs programs. ”I think it is very important we have unified sports offered here at Wootton so that every kid here feels included,” Athletic Director Al Lightsy said.
Previous to this year, there was a rule that every high school student only gets four total years of eligibility, similar to what is like for college athletes. However, that became a problem as kids in the special needs program often are at high school for longer than four years, so despite still going to school, they were unable to play high school sports. The athletic directors agreed it was unfair. “Many of the kids in our special needs program who were on the bocce team ran out of eligibility and we thought that it wasn’t right they couldn’t play even though they were still going to school here,” Lightsey said.
Joining bocce is a way to make new friends while also being involved in a fun sport for school. “Anyone considering trying out for the bocce team should try out. It is a great way to meet others,” Kupersmith said.
