Sreesha Venkat As a sophomore, Sreesha Venkat already played 1st singles for the New Providence girls’ varsity tennis team this season. During the season, Venkat won straight set matches against Glen Ridge (6-4, 6-3), Ridgefield Park (6-0, 6-0) and Secaucus (6-1, 6-1) in the State Tournament and contributed to the overall team victories against Secaucus and Ridgefield. “I think I did a lot better [in the State Tournament] than last year,” Venkat said. “Last year I played 2nd singles for New Providence and I went down pretty easy; I think it was 6-1, 6-1. I think I definitely improved and did …

Alexandra Schlobohm Don’t let her 5’0 ½ frame fool you — Alex Schlobohm is an effective competitor on the field for the New Providence Girls’ Varsity Soccer Team. In recent games, Schlobohm, a junior who plays outside/center midfield and forward, has either scored or had an assist against each opponent. Against Kent Place on Sept. 20, Schlobohm had the assist on the only goal scored and the team won 1-0. The following day against Cranford, Schlobohm scored the only goal in the tied game that went into overtime.  “We went into overtime and no one scored. It counts as a tie. We are undefeated. …

Christina Coppolino Senior captain Christina Coppolino just finished a very successful season with the New Providence varsity softball team. As the team’s starting second baseman for the last four years, Coppolino has left her own mark on the team. Most recently, she assisted the team in defeating Dunellen in the North 2, Group 1 sectional semifinal, 7-4, advancing the Pioneers to their first-ever sectional championship against Whippany Park. Although the team fell to the Wildcats on Thursday afternoon, 8-0, the team had a stellar season, finishing 19-7 overall. Coppolino had a hand in …

Alexandra Schlobohm In her first season on the New Providence girls’ varsity track team, Alexandra Schlobohm is performing well as a sprinter in the 100M and 400M races. The sophomore also competes in the 4X400, 800 and 200 at times, but regardless of the race, she continues to improve. At the Conference meet last weekend, the Schlobohm took first in the 400M in 1:02.09. To make it double sweet, the girls’ team took first place overall. “I thought overall, we did a really good job. I think a lot of individuals stepped up. There was a freshman girl who ran the last leg in the 4X400M. I think …

Olivia Arent Although this is Olivia Arent’s first season with the girls’ varsity lacrosse team, she has been an asset on the field and continues to improve with each and every game. The starting Low D and D-Wing began playing lacrosse in fifth grade with the Rebels, a New Providence/Berkeley Heights club lacrosse team. After competing with the spring track team during her freshman and sophomore years, she decided to join the lacrosse team under the new direction of head coach Jennifer Henry. “We have the new team and new coach. I used to play lacrosse when I was younger so I figured I’d try …

Alex Hocken The boys’ varsity tennis team is well on the way to repeating as the Group 1 State Champs this year, part of which can be attributed to having a newbie on the team. Freshman Alex Hocken, with a record of 7-3 as of Friday morning and the team’s third singles player, has been an asset to the team this season. Against Jonathan Dayton on April 29, Hocken was up against Zach Corey, who was putting up a tough fight. But Hocken fought back, winning the first set 6-4 and cruising through the second, 6-1. Facing Cranford last Tuesday, Hocken won a “pretty easy” match-up, 6-1, 6-1. In the …

Nicole Anerios Junior Nicole Anerios is carrying her success from the indoor track season into her season with the girls’ varsity track team this spring. During her indoor season this Winter, Anerios high-jumped 4’8” and finished tied for third at the Sectional Meet to qualify for the State Group I Championships, at which she tied for seventh in all of Group I with a jump of 4’10”, said head coach Corey Arnold. The spring season has started of well for Anerios, who was a quadruple winner against Oak Knoll, taking first in the long jump, high jump, triple jump and pole vault. More recently …

Brian Valerio In a lacrosse game, it’s obvious that a strong goalkeeper is important to a team in preventing the opponent from scoring. Luckily, the New Providence boys’ varsity lacrosse team has sophomore goalkeeper Brian Valerio, who had 18 saves against Westfield on Monday in the team’s 13-1 victory. “We knew they were a good team so we put forth our best effort and at halftime, it with 4-0 and we thought it was pretty good to hold them to 4-0,” Valerio told Patch Thursday afternoon. “I was making great saves. They were a better team, we gave them a lot of second chance shots and a better …

Cassandra Squeri Coming off a very successful run with the New Providence girls’ varsity basketball team, sophomore starting pitcher Cassandra Squeri is off to a stellar start with the varsity softball team this season. Squeri recorded 13 strikeouts, two hits and one walk against Bernards High School on Monday, but with four errors in the field. However, Squeri’s efforts were not enough, as the Lady Pioneers lost 2-1. “For our first game, I don’t think anyone was really nervous. Everyone was really excited and getting pumped up during the day,” Squeri said. “Our first game showed us that we …

Julia Kudryashova Anyone who has been following the varsity swim team this season, and last season, knows Julia Kudryashova. The senior star swimmer is featured as a Patch Athlete of the Week for a second time this season, and rightfully so. Last month, Kudryashova won both the 50 and 100 freestyle at the Union County Relays, breaking both of her prior records with a time of 24.05 in the 50 and 51.55 in the 100. But most recently at the Meet of Champions last weekend, Kudryashova improved even further and placed well among swimmers from around the state. “We qualified for the 200 freestyle …

Laura Gregory Without question, it's evident that Senior forward Laura Gregory is a leader on the girls’ varsity basketball team. In most games, Gregory has racked up points in the double digits, sometimes as the leading scorer. At the Union game on Feb. 25, which was fittingly Senior Night, the Lady Pioneers triumphed behind Gregory’s 29 points, topping Union 52-41. This was just one night after the team was knocked out of UCIAC Tournament to rival Governor Livingston, 47-37. Gregory went to the bench with foul trouble late in the third quarter. Coming back in the fourth, Gregory and the …

Madison Ricks Senior shot putter Madison Ricks has improved with every throw in her last few varsity winter track meets this season. At the Central Group I State Track Meet on Feb. 11, Ricks had a personal best toss of 36’ 2”. “I was nervous going into it because I hadn’t really done well in the past few meets,” Ricks said. “Somebody that is an official and used to coach here gave me a few pointers so I tried them out at that meet and I threw my personal best so I was pretty excited.” Ricks continued to throw even further at the Feb. 18 State Group I Championship meet, where she placed first …

Jack Cole Standing at 6-foot-7, towering over most of his competition on the court, senior center Jack Cole is performing well for the Pioneers’ varsity basketball team. At last Friday’s home game against Oratory Prep, Cole played well on offense and defense, securing 16 points. The went on to win the game 45-44 at the buzzer. The Pioneers had a losing streak after games against Jonathan Dayton and Roselle. Cole was able to score 22 points in the first three quarters against Dayton, but the Pioneers ultimately lost 60-55. “We lost to Roselle and Dayton. They were both close games and hard …

David Barletta The boys’ varsity basketball team (13-3) recently had its first losing streak of the season, but junior forward David Barletta played a leading role in ending it. At Friday night's game against Oratory Prep, Barletta scored 13 points and put back Vinny Fuschetto's desperation miss at the buzzer to give the Pioneers a 45-44 win, ending the team's two-game losing streak. Although the Pioneers had a few tough losses over the last few weeks, Barletta  performed well and helped the Pioneers gain key leads in each game. Last Tuesday against Roselle, Barletta had two key rebounds …

Emma Culleton Starting forward Emma Culleton has been an asset to the girls’ varsity basketball team this season. Despite the team's unsteady offensive effort against Hillside last Friday, Culleton managed to secure 12 points for the Lady Pioneers. The team won 49-34. Playing against Elizabeth on Tuesday, where the Lady Pioneers won 53-37, Culleton managed six points and assisted her teammates on the court. “Lately, we’ve struggled as a team, coming off a loss against Governor Livingston so we really wanted to sort of prove ourselves and play better defense, and we found our chemistry against…

Zach Troutman Senior 285-pounder Zach Troutman is a force to be reckoned with this season. With a 14-0 record, not a single opponent has pinned him yet. Taking home an individual title at the Pioneer Classic Wrestling Tournament last Saturday and pinning Gov. Livingston’s Anthony Manganiello Wednesday night in 38 seconds, Troutman has 8 pins in the first period, 12 pins overall and is ranked third in the state in the Heavyweight class. “At the Pioneer Tournament, I did alright. I was seated first by far. I wrestled well,” said Troutman, who finished first overall and pinned Plainfield senior …

Caitlin Toner Senior distance runner Caitlin Toner is off to a stellar winter track season. So far, Toner set a school record in the 600-meter run at the Dec. 21st DeSchriver Invitational with a time of 1:46.0, breaking Stephanie Fonseca's former record of 1:46.44. But Toner didn't stop there, setting another record at the Jan. 5th Pietrewicz Polar Bear Invitational with a time of 3:14.91, which broke another Stephanie Fonseca record of 3:18.74. “I think I’m doing really well. My coaches have been really supportive of me and they give me the right balance of workout and rest,” Toner said. “I’…