The 53rd Annual Holiday Tournament: Fun, Festivities, and a Third-Straight Championship

The 53rd annual Rivers School Holiday Tournament kicked off on Thursday, December 14, with the girls’ varsity basketball team facing Nobles at 5:00, following the last day of classes before the break. The team fell to Nobles for their first loss of the season but went on to notch two straight wins at the Nickerson Classic at Nobles, to head into break at 5-1. They defeated Sacred Heart Greenwich on Saturday behind 17 points from Natalia Hall-Rosa ’25, 16 points from Payton Richard ’24, 15 points from Chase Anderson ’25, and 13 from Grace O’Sullivan ’25. They took down Winchendon on Sunday thanks to 28 points from Hall-Rosa, who surpassed 1,000 career points in the win. Chase Anderson ’25 also added a career high 18 points for Rivers.

Following the girls’ game on Thursday, the boys’ basketball team began the tournament by defeating Beaver 70-41 in the quarterfinals in a packed Benson Gym. They then faced off with Proctor on Friday in the semifinals, defeating the Hornets 82-57. Rivers was led by their four returning starters, Ryan Altman ’25 (25 points), Amir Lindsey ’24 (20 points), Andrew Alekseyenko ’25 (19 points), and Jay Jones ’25 (18 points), who combined to score all 82 points. For the second year in a row, the host Red Wings faced off against Brooks in the championship. And for the third straight year, Rivers claimed the Holiday Tournament Championship, heading into break with a record of 7-1, with the team’s only loss coming to nationally ranked Brewster Academy at the buzzer. Ryan Altman led the way for Rivers with 19 points and 13 rebounds and was named tournament MVP. Senior co-captains Jay Jones ’24 and Amir Lindsey ’24 were named to the all-tournament team for their performances.

Boys’ varsity hockey competed in the Mutch Cup Hockey Tournament at St. Sebastian’s. They lost their first game to Brunswick 4-1 but bounced back against Williston on Saturday, winning 1-0 thanks to a last-minute power play goal by Cayden Miceli ’24. Jason Delehoy ’24 had the shutout in goal. In their final game of the tournament, Rivers defeated Winchendon 4-1 to head into the break 6-3-1 on the season. Goals were scored by Justin Graf ’26 from Darren Iversen ’25 and Eben Alden ’28; Carter Meyer ’28 from Finn Sears ’28 and Graf; Sam Pandolfo ’28 from Meyer; and Sears from Meyer and Pandolfo.

Girls’ varsity hockey competed in the Dexter Southfield Holiday Tournament. In their first game, the Red Wings pulled off the upset against the host Dexter 1-0, thanks to a goal from Lindsey Berlucchi ’25 and a standout 45-save shutout in goal from Serafina Applegate ’25. The team defeated Middlesex Saturday morning 3-0, thanks to goals from Simone Burns ’28 (her first career goal), Lindsay Morin ’25, and Sophie Rousell ’24. Ellie Beigel ’26 had the shutout in goal. Girls’ hockey fell to Hill on Saturday afternoon 1-0 before falling to Nichols 4-3, to head into the break at 3-3. Lindsay Morin ’25 earned Team Most Valuable Player honors for the Red Wings.