Boys Tennis Punches Ticket to States, Football Posts Fifth 50-Point Game
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Father Gabriel Richard Athletics continued its fall season with several highlights, led by Girls Golf capturing the first regional title in program history, Boys Tennis securing a berth in the MHSAA State Finals and Girls Volleyball advancing to the CHSL Final.
Cross Country
Both FGR Cross Country teams competed in the Portage Invitational on Saturday (Oct. 10).
The Boys squad placed 11th out of 44 teams. Jonathan Rapoza ’27 led the way for the Irish, posting a time of 16:44.8. Joaquin Cherney ’28 competed with the varsity squad and secured a personal-best time of 19:05.
The Girls team finished 20th out of 48 teams and was led by Bridget Fidkowski ’27 with a time of 20:47.8. Mary Hickey ’30 followed closely behind Fidkowski with a time of 20:55.1. Ava Pfaffenbach ’27, Megan Welch ’27 and Brigid Flanagan ’29 rounded out FGR’s scoring five.
Up next, the Irish will host the 42nd Father Gabriel Richard XC Invitational at Hudson Mills Metropark on Saturday (Oct. 17).
Girls Field Hockey
Girls Field Hockey picked up a 3-1 road victory over Grand Blanc on Wednesday (Oct. 7).
FGR will open MHSAA postseason play on Thursday (Oct. 15), traveling to Northville for a first-round regional matchup against Northville High School. The match is scheduled to begin at 6 pm.
Football
The Irish scored at least 50 points for the fifth time this season in a 58-0 road victory over Detroit Loyola on Friday (Oct. 9).
This week, FGR will return to Detroit for the second consecutive week, this time to face University of Detroit Jesuit on Friday (Oct. 16). Kickoff is scheduled for 7 pm.
Girls Golf
Girls Golf made history on Tuesday (Oct. 6), capturing an MHSAA Regional title for the first time in program history.
FGR will compete in the MHSAA Division 3 State Finals on Friday and Saturday (Oct. 16-17) at Ferris State’s Katke Golf Course.
Boys Soccer
The Irish fell 6-1 to Clarkston Everest Collegiate at home on Monday (Oct. 5).
Today (Oct. 12), FGR will close out the regular season by traveling to Monroe to face St. Mary Catholic Central at 4:30 pm.
The Irish will open MHSAA District play at home on Friday (Oct. 16) against Star International Academy. The match is scheduled to begin at 4:30 pm.
Girls Swim and Dive
Six FGR swimmers competed in the MISCA Invitational at Oakland University on Saturday (Oct. 10), joining swimmers from more than 90 teams across the state. The Irish turned in a strong showing, setting four school records during the meet.
The 200 medley relay team of Lucy Tribble ’29, Ellie Robison ’29, Cece Adelman ’30 and Isabelle Gatza ’27 placed seventh with a school-record time of 1:50.72. FGR also finished 12th in the 400 free relay and 21st in the 200 free relay.
Individually, Tribble placed third in the 200 IM with a school-record time of 2:07.36, cutting nearly five seconds from her previous record. She also set a new school record in the 100 back, finishing fourth with a time of 57.05.
Julia Fidkowski ’29 added another school record in the 100 breast, posting a time of 1:10.91. Adelman and Robison also earned top-25 finishes, while Gatza secured her first state cut of the season in the 50 free.
Boys Tennis
FGR competed in the MHSAA Regional on Wednesday (Oct. 7) at Grosse Ile High School, finishing third with 10 points to secure a berth in the MHSAA State Finals.
At No. 1 doubles, Alex Skoczylas ’30 and Simon Schorer ’28 earned a 6-3, 6-2 victory. Joseph Brewis ’30 and Jackson Burak ’30 added a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 3 doubles.
The Irish will compete in the MHSAA State Finals on Wednesday and Thursday (Oct. 21-22) at the Midland Tennis Center.
Girls Volleyball
The Irish defeated Jackson Lumen Christi in straight sets (25-17, 25-7, 25-11) in the CHSL Semifinals on Wednesday (Oct. 7).
Mia Keefer ’30 paced FGR with 16 kills and a 75.0 percent kill percentage, while Alison Oleszkowicz ’30 added nine kills. Janie Osness ’30 dished out 38 assists and collected 11 digs, while Rylee Burke ’28 anchored the back row with 14 digs.
In the CHSL Final, FGR came up short in a five-set thriller against Dearborn Divine Child (17-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-18, 13-15) at Eastern Michigan on Saturday (Oct. 10).
Keefer finished with 18 kills, Courtney Dyer ’27 added 16 and Mary Lynn Hendershot ’29 recorded 11. Osness dished out 50 assists, a total that will be added to the MHSAA list for assists in a match. Burke collected 29 digs, while Oleszkowicz added 27.
FGR carries a 26-4-2 record into its final home match of the season tomorrow (Oct. 13) against Royal Oak Shrine for Senior Night. The match is scheduled to begin at 6 pm.
Recaps cover Oct. 5-11; previews cover Oct. 12-19.
View all upcoming competitions here.