On January 15, Peddie started the new year with a jam-packed community meeting that featured a special tradition: the Student-Faculty Basketball Game.
Community meeting kicked off with a moving performance of Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga’s “Die with a Smile” featuring singers Aria Shi ’27 and Chloé Cheng ’27 and their band, which included Josh Li ’26, Jerry Liu ’26, Rohit Nunugonda ’26, and Tevin Zhou ’26. As students sang along to this heart-wrenching song, selective students and faculty were preparing their hearts for the Student-Faculty Basketball Game that followed the performance.
One of the players that caught the audience’s eyes was former varsity and junior varsity player Owen Piepszak ’25, who scored a high of about fourteen to sixteen points throughout the game for the students. Although Piepszak’s focus is on baseball, he has quite a history with Peddie basketball, as he was on the team from his freshman year to his junior year. When asked about his experience following the game, he noted that he “had a great time playing and was super stoked to get the W for the students after a tough loss last year.”
Joining the faculty team, who won the title of the Student-Faculty basketball game last year, Mr. Cirnigliaro caught spectators’ eyes by pulling up to the game in a full costume from the movie “Semi-Pro,” poking fun at the character Jackie Moon, played by Will Ferrell. It was definitely a change of scenery to see the theater teacher and director of countless productions at Peddie on the basketball court. It is interesting to know that Mr. C. loves basketball and is a huge Knicks fan. Although Mr. C. used to play basketball more frequently when he was younger, he still enjoys playing recreationally with friends on the blacktop or in an occasional community league. When asked how he felt during the game, he recounted that he had a lot of fun as he finds fun “in the actual competitive gameplay.” So if you are a student playing in the Student-Faculty Game next year, beware, as Mr. C. himself even described himself as an “extremely competitive person” who is “looking forward to next year, when [the teachers will] win it.”
Boarders of the Casperson Dormitory must’ve been proud to see their dorm supervisor, Dr. Venanzi, participating and playing hard at this event. Eric Cho ’25 and Mr. Wriede encouraged Dr. Venanzi and other colleagues to play in this event, but what ignited Dr. Venanzi’s lifelong passion for basketball in the first place? Dr.Venanzi played basketball since she was in seventh grade and continued to play in high school and at Randolph-Macon College. Although Dr. Venanzi doesn’t get to play as often as she did before, she participates in drills with the JV boys basketball team as their assistant coach. Dr. Venanzi also likes to play sports with her kids as she helps coach them in basketball in the local HEWYBL league, a local volunteer-run organization helping children learn valuable sports lessons. Overall, Dr. Venanzi thoroughly enjoyed the Student-Faculty Basketball Game. She stated that this event is one of those rare opportunities “where you can bring students and adults together to compete in a sport or activity that is fun to play. I enjoy the camaraderie among my colleagues whom I may not see every day, and it’s also fun to see hidden talents from our students who may not play basketball officially as a winter sport for Peddie!”
Sophomores and the girls varsity basketball team were well represented by Samantha Forte ’27. Although competition was fierce on the teacher’s side, Forte played with a smile as she served as an exemplary example of sportsmanship and teamwork, passing the ball to her teammates whenever she could.
Another player who tallied a lot of points for the student team was Rishabha Swaminathan ’25. Swaminathan is currently a part of the indoor track team at Peddie, but he did participate in Peddie’s thirds basketball team during his freshman year. This tradition was a great opportunity for Swaminathan to play in front of a high-spirited Peddie crowd once more. He enjoys playing pick-up basketball with friends like Keaton Chien ’25 in his free time.
Like Swaminathan, Chien participated in Peddie’s thirds basketball team in addition to the junior varsity team in his sophomore and junior years. This year, he takes on wrestling as his winter sport. But, this does not stop him from continuing his passion for basketball as he too enjoys playing pick-up basketball with friends — sometimes a little more intense than a “friendly match.” Being able to play in the Student-Faculty Game in his senior year was a remarkable experience for Chien as he was unable to take part in a similar tradition at his middle school as the event was unable to continue as normal due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking of remarkable experiences, the audience was definitely in shock during the final seconds of the game when football player NaCari McFarland ’25 made a crucial move to determine the outcome of this event. The students were down 27 to 28. Mr. Frank had just blocked Piepszak’s layup, yet McFarland managed to grab the rebound and gain possession of the ball, and try a layup – but missed. Coach Anderson, head coach of the JV boys basketball team, was now in possession of the ball and passed it to Mr. Ocampo, whom students rarely see unless injured as he is one of the trainers at Peddie. However, Piepszak stole the ball and passed it to McFarland who redeemed himself by making the game-winning buzzer-beater with three seconds left, leaving students shocked and excited after a very fun and eventful community meeting.
