Boys' JV Volleyball Undefeated Conference Champs

What comes to mind when one considers Garden City High School sports? Of course, it's excellence and distinction in athletics. On the girls' side, you have lacrosse, field hockey, swimming, volleyball, track and field, soccer, golf, tennis, fencing, and so on. On the boys' side, there's football, swimming, soccer, wrestling, tennis, track and field, lacrosse, baseball, golf, and more. Now, there's a new team in town. You can add boys' volleyball to the long list.

In its inaugural season as a varsity sport in 2006, GC (16-3) captured the 2006 Conference VI Championship. The Trojans went on to upset #7 seeded Lawrence in the playoffs before bowing to #1 Hewlett in the Nassau County quarterfinals. After its initial success, the Trojans lost 10 of its 12 team members to graduation, so the team's two returnees, Chris Bingold and Gerard Hugel, did some serious recruiting to hopefully restart the 2007 season with a new JV team. Their labor was fruitful as GC wa able to field a new team with mostly young and inexperienced players. Shortly after a team meeting in February, they set team and individual goals during training, and went on a mission. This group of neophytes quickly developed into a hard working, highly competitive, and very successful unit as it captured its Conference Championship with an impressive undefeated season, 13-0 (39-3 in games). Along the way, the team exhibited excellent sportsmanship, teamwork, discipline, tam spirit and character.

the offensive attack was orchestrated by setters Ryan Gallant and Ryan Theobalt while Gerard Hugel, Blaise Ancona and Chris Bingold were more than impressive attacking and blocking at the net. James Naples and Tom Buonincontri contributed up front while Kenyon Male, Brain Gillespie and Matt Giacometti led a tenacious backcourt defense. Chris Theobalt and Eric Giacometti also contributed significantly towards overall team performance.

Team honors included: Gerard hugel an Blaise ancona - Most Valuable Players: James naples - sportsmanship Award; Chris Bingold - Unsung Hero Award; Kenyon Male - Determination Award; Ryan Gallant - Rookie of the Year.

Coach Phil Opinante stated, "To win a conference title in our very first season as a varsity team last year was a tremendous accomplishment. It took dedication, a lot of hard work, great attitude, and solid teamwork. To follow it up with such a successful season with an entirely new bunch of team members has been a huge, rewarding accomplishment for these kids. I'm extremely proud of th terrific effort and the competitiveness of this team. We're looking forward to making volleyball another tradition at GC."