Twin Towers doing damage for RBHS girls b-ball
Dabney, Rettke are big reasons why the Bulldogs are 7-0
Forward/center Janae Dabney, at 5-10, is unequivocally the best player on the Riverside-Brookfield High School girls basketball team. She turned in a typically stellar performance with 21 points to power the visiting Bulldogs past Fenton 51-41 in a Metro Suburban Conference game last week. The emergence of 6-foot-5 freshman center Dana Rettke, meanwhile, particularly on the defensive end of the floor, has the RBHS coaching staff buzzing about her upside.
“Dana was a tremendous force inside against Fenton. She blocked 10 shots,” head coach Dallas Till said. “Janae played outstanding as we have come to expect.”
Throw in a plethora of talented perimeter players like Caroline Waas, Samantha Bloom, Lindsay Hoyd, Miranda Chavez, Sydney Martinez, Lexi Walker and Angela Comicho to complement the Bulldogs’ imposing frontline bookends, and it’s easy to see why the Bulldogs are unbeaten.
“I am obviously pleased that we are 7-0 to start the season,” Till said. “We know we haven’t played our best basketball yet and that we have some tough opponents upcoming. Not to be cliché, but we are trying to take it one game at a time.”
Against Fenton, the Bulldogs jumped out to an 8-0 lead and held their advantage the entire game despite several rallies by the scrappy Bison.
The Bulldogs will celebrate Senior Night on Thursday (7 p.m.) against Illiana Christian. RBHS takes on Richards in an opening-round game of the Oak Lawn Holiday Basketball Tournament on Saturday at noon.
At Oak Lawn, the Bulldogs will also face Lincoln-Way North, Rich East and an opponent to be determined.
Cortes becomes first female RBHS varsity wrestler to record win
The Bulldogs (5-6) won three of four matches last week with victories over Nazareth, Kennedy and Hubbard. The only loss for RBHS was a 34-28 setback against Vernon Hills. The Bulldogs’ Lily Cortes not only became the first female starter on varsity, but also the first to earn a varsity win via a pin in the first period against her Vernon Hills opponent.
Freshmen Robert Martinez and Josh Contreras, along with sophomore Ernesto Bobe, also recorded their first varsity wins last week. The Bulldogs’ best wrestler, junior John Szydlo, already has five pins.
Smith-led RBHS girls gymnastics take two
Competing in a difficult environment at best, the Bulldogs (2-1) battled host Hinsdale South on Saturday and emerged with a 107.30-100.65 win over the Hornets.
“The competition atmosphere was perhaps the most difficult and most challenging situation we have ever experienced,” head coach Tom Cisulak said. “The balcony gymnastics gym was open-walled next to the main gymnasium where a varsity wrestling invitation was going on. The noise level in the building was so loud we could not hear each other unless we were less than a foot apart.
“We adjusted as best we could and we defeated Hinsdale South, the West Suburban Conference champions.”
The victory marked the Bulldogs’ first-ever varsity win against Hinsdale South, Junior Lacey Smith won four of five events for RBHS with top scores of 8.25 on uneven bars, 8.50 on balance beam, 8.50 on floor exercise and 33.55 in the all-around competition. Sophomore Alissa Rojas (22.10), junior Louise Martin (22.45) and freshman Campbell Hayes (26.55) competed in the all-around as well. Sophomore Alexia Kingzette performed in three events against the Hornets.
The Bulldogs 116.05 also defeated Morton 90.50 last week.
Bulldogs bag second at Maine East boys swimming relays
The boys swimming team finished second at the Maine East Relays behind Whitney Young. The 300-yard breaststroke relay team of Kevin Garza, Christian Chavez, Dominic Rosa and Christian Hernandez earned first place for RBHS.
