RE LOG - Spring 2017

62 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017 “What other language?” I ask. Surely there’s a mistake, I think in a panic. “Vamos” in Spanish means, “Come on.” It is universally understood. It is Rafa Nadal’s battle cry. More importantly, it’s my word, my battle cry. I’m half-Colombian on my mother’s side, and although I’m born and raised in the United States and fully bilin- gual, Spanish is my first language, still my default setting in moments of joy or stress. Will Pol , a University of Chicago stu- dent majoring in physics and minoring in philosophy, came back to the Upper School campus this past October to play with the 15-member 2016-17 RE Guitar Ensemble. He counts the guitar, piano and harmonica as among his passions. Caro Ribeiro was named a Harvard “Leader of the Week” by Harvard Leadership Magazine on Oct. 13, which lauded her for her founding role in Harvard College Musical Theater, a student group dedicated to producing musical theater on the Cambridge, Mass., campus. The musical theater group offers at least one full-length show each semester as well as a small-scale cabaret performance. Ribeiro, majoring in sociology, founded the group with class- mate Chris Lee after winning the lead in a campus musical and directing a number of other performances. Harrison Tafur was a utility player and captain for the record-breaking men’s water polo team at Harvard University this past season. He was recently featured in a photo that accompanied a New York Times article Class Notes Lucas Rodriguez wrote an article for the Standford Political Journal titled The State of Disunion that was happily shared by his former teacher, Greg Cooper. http://bit. ly/2kPmxBa 2016 Lauren Archer ran into Brandy Smith ’13 and Franchesca Burgos ’14 at a track meet in the fall. The trio sent in the following picture of the former Raiders getting together at the meet that included Dartmouth College, Ithaca College and Tufts University. In Loving Memory Michael Clifford ’07 died Oct. 26, 2016 . Marsha Evans Jackman ’72 died Dec. 27, 2016. Reverend Sandy McKay ’61 died Nov. 4, 2016, in Wellington, New Zealand. Jeffrey Stewart ’84 died Sept. 24, 2016. Sue Miller. See page 22. 2014 Franchesca Burgos (See Lauren Archer ’16 ) Nikki Colonna of the Lynn University volleyball team made the NCAA South Regional All-Tournament team in December 2016, becoming just the fifth all- tournament honoree in the school’s history. The sixth-seeded Fighting Knights made their first postseason appearance since 2010 but couldn’t pull off an upset against No. 3 seed and 23rd-ranked University of Tampa in the quarterfinal round. Colonna, who led Ransom Everglades to a Class 4A state title in volleyball as a senior, had three 20-plus dig performances during the season, includ- ing two in the final five matches. Lynn University’s women’s volleyball team fin- ished the 2016 season with a 20-11 record, including a program-record-tying 11-5 mark in Sunshine State Conference play. Allegra Hanlon was featured in The Washington Post (http://wapo. st/2h9RnTw) and on National Public Radio for speaking out against a U.S. Tennis Association rule that penalizes players for outbursts in a foreign language. Hanlon, a junior at Cornell, drew a penalty for shouting “Vamos!” after winning a point in a USTA tournament in Kalamazoo, Mich. Hanlon wrote about the experience in a story that appeared in the Post on Sept. 9, 2016, and she was later interviewed on National Public Radio. During her senior year at Ransom Everglades, Hanlon won state titles in singles and doubles. Here’s an excerpt from the Post story. I toss the ball and spin it out wide for an ace. My opponent smacks the side of her shoe with her racquet as we prepare to switch ends of the court, and in a moment of elation after two and a half hours of tennis, I yell, “Vamos!” “Point penalty, Hanlon! No speaking in other languages!” I’m not even halfway to my chair when I turn around to see a short, round, blue- shirted referee make a beeline toward me. “I’m sorry, what?” I ask. “It’s 5-4 now, for me.” I look at my opponent for some sign of disagreement, but she looks confused, too. “You can’t say ‘bamos’ or whatever you said. You gotta speak English out here, not some other language.” found here http://nyti.ms/2gN1QCc. The ninth-ranked Harvard men’s team advanced to its first NCAA Final Four last December before losing to the top-ranked University of Southern California in Berkeley, Calif. The Crimson finished the season with a mark of 27-7, the best in program history. Harvard won two NCAA tournament games with victories over then-No. 12 Bucknell and No. 9 UC Davis to earn its spot in the Final Four.