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Alpine Ski Racing

Most Improved: Olivia B. ’25

During the 2023 season, Olivia was challenged with some of the psychological aspects of ski racing, among them bridging the gap between making a plan before competition and executing that plan during her race run. When presented with sports psychology literature pertaining to mental focus, intensity, and emotional resilience during competition, Olivia took a keen interest. During the 2024 season, Olivia continued to show an interest in this aspect of competition and began experiencing a significant improvement in her race results. Olivia's dedication to improving the psychological aspects of her competition skills has made her a better athlete and has earned her the distinction of 2024 Emma Willard Alpine Ski Racing most-improved player award.  Congratulations, Olivia!

 

Basketball

Unsung Hero Award: Carly H. ’25

The Unsung Hero Award is intended to acknowledge the contributions of a player who, both on and off the court, has a quiet yet dramatic impact on the performance of the team. While their stats may not appropriately reflect their influence on the game, their contributions were always recognized by their coaches and teammates. This player is incredibly smart and quick in her execution on the court, always playing solid help defense, deflecting any pass the other team throws by her, understanding the right place for a trap, and looking to make the extra pass to an open teammate. Although this player is never worried about her own stats, she consistently knocks down open jump shots and is always a threat on the court. You are just as likely to find this player explaining the premise of a drill to a younger teammate as you are to find her picking someone up who's having a bad game. For these reasons and many more, we are thrilled to present the Unsung Hero Award to “Confident” Carly.

Coaches’ Award: Charlotte L. ’24

The Coaches’ Award goes to a player who leaves it all on the court during each and every game. Even if she’s having a bad day, her hustle never wavers and she plays tenacious defense. She leads with her fiery intensity just as she does by providing a laugh when we need it most. This player will fight for every loose ball or rebound and isn’t afraid of drawing (or creating) contact in the paint. We’ve had the pleasure of seeing this player mature from a 9th grader who lacked confidence on the court to a senior who has stepped up to play a big role when we needed it most. Although she still doesn’t consider herself a point guard, her willingness to bring the ball up the court and take some pressure off our offensive set has contributed greatly to the success we’ve had this season. For being a team player who never backs down, we’re proud to present the Coaches’ Award to Charlotte.

 

Crew

Rising Star: Lila D. ’25

This athlete merges incredible strength with strong cardiovascular fitness. She brings her best to practice each day and is always pushing herself to perform at an even higher level. Her consistency and focus are a true example for everyone on the team. This award recipient came into winter crew as a new rower and has shined ever since, bringing a positive attitude to each practice. You would never know that she was a new rower based on her incredible erg times. We'll be sad to see this athlete move to another sport in the spring, as she is a true powerhouse. Congratulations, Lila!

Coaches’ Award: Liv V-W. ’27

This athlete is an all-around all-star. She is a talented rower, a supportive teammate, and an energetic ray of sunshine. This athlete always performs at her 100% best, even on a challenging day. Fiercely competitive, this award recipient is also the biggest cheerleader on the mezzanine, always encouraging her teammates with positivity, humor, and a whoop. This athlete is incredibly fast for her age and has so much potential in the years ahead. Her energy and confidence are contagious, and our entire team is faster because of her spirit. Congratulations, Liv!

Top Banana: Victoria L. ’26

This athlete is incredibly driven to succeed. Each day, she puts in the work to become faster on and off the water. She worked hard this summer to improve, and this really shows in her improved erg scores. This athlete brings positivity and determination to practice and is a wonderful supporter of her teammates. She is always looking for ways to improve her form and fitness, and this leads to powerful results. Her growth over the past year and a half has been amazing, and I look forward to seeing what she can achieve in the future. Congratulations, Victoria!

Top Banana: Nikki L. ’25

This athlete is a standout new rower on the team this season. Determined and focused, this award recipient does her best to improve on the erg while keeping an eye on her form. This athlete is consistent, hard-working, and a supportive teammate. She has made steep improvements this season and holds real promise as a rower. Congratulations, Nikki!

 

Indoor Track

Most Valuable Player: Anyla L. ’25

Sometimes, coaches are granted the option of awarding a Most Valuable Player, a Most Improved, or a Coach’s Award. To choose a single most improved indoor sprinter this season would involve slicing minute differences between several individuals who made great gains this year. Anyla was certainly in the running. Similarly, a Coach’s Award generally denotes someone who contributes something essential but intangible to the team community. Anyla played a key role in helping out the team, but she is not alone in this, either. Many sprinters serve essential roles - whether great or small - to help us become a stronger community over the season. To choose between them would be possible, but agonizing. Thankfully, in consideration for Most Valuable Player, Anyla is without peer. She scored by far the highest number of points for the team, she achieved all-time Emma Willard records both individually and as a leader of the relay squad, and she worked daily to help the team run smoothly. I am happy to award her the Most Valuable Player award for the indoor track season.

 

Coaches’ Award: Cai-lin H. ’24

This year's winner really puts the “leader” in Squad Leader. When Coach Riley was on paternity leave, he left my athletes with several weeks' worth of exercises, trusting the squad leader and captain to carry them out. As it turns out, his confidence was well-placed. Cai-Lin met with the head coach before every practice to go over the day’s drills and keep him informed. During meets, Cai-Lin was a source of constant encouragement and support for the rest of the Mids and Longs. But she also learned to step back at times and let her captain take the reins.  As Coach Riley said at the awards dinner, “There was only one person bossy enough to take over in my absence,” which is why he was so delighted to present this year's Coaches’ Award to Cai-Lin.

 

Indoor Field

Coaches’ Award: Liji H. ’27

It is not easy to learn a new sport. It takes courage, patience, tenacity, curiosity, resilience and passion. This comes with a desire to get better each day. A mindset to conquer the fear of failing and an openness to take constructive feedback. This athlete is quiet and unassuming; however, she has a fierce inner competitive drive. The pole vault and the high jump are unique events where your event does not end until you have failed on your last three attempts or you have decided not to continue. This challenges the very core of your psyche to fail over and over again but get up the next day to try it all over again. It takes an athlete of great inner strength and determination, even when they are experiencing doubt and uncertainty, to keep going, pushing, and competing. This athlete had that very moment this season while running the 45 meters, inexplicably, tripped on a ghost and fell face down on the track.  In that moment, I was not sure if I would see this athlete ever step back on a track again. The next day she came to practice, bandaged up like a mummy, I could still see her eyes light up when we started our weight training. It was then that I knew this athlete had a passion for track and field, to be with her teammates, compete, and make a commitment to a newfound sport. As only a freshman, she entered Emma’s All-time Top Ten in both the High Jump and Long Jump. It is with great pleasure that I present the Coaches’ Award to Liji.

Most Improved: Eloise N. ’26

This athlete is very quiet and reserved but possesses a fiery competitive instinct to do her very best at every competition. The ability to listen, learn, and then perform at a high level each week is a skill not everyone has developed, but this athlete certainly has. This athlete took on the challenge of learning about a new event this season and embraced the complexities of each technical aspect of that event. In another event, she improved by nearly 30% in her performances from last year. When you look at our indoor track performance and leaderboards, you only see times or distances. What you don’t see is the behind-the-scenes work that is put in during training sessions and practices. This athlete has had the greatest improvement in the weight room this season, increasing her strength in various strength and conditioning exercises. This athlete has also had the greatest improvement in her performances this year, throwing an astonishing four and a half feet further in her main event this season. It is with great pleasure I present the most improved award in the field events to Eloise.

 

Congrats to all of our winter athletes on a great season!