D.A. Athletics: The Tigers are Roaring

By Mike Benigno 

It wasn’t long ago that sports at Dominican Academy were an afterthought. Athletic programs were small and largely informal. Teams were coached by parents stepping up to help, and a few girls joined club teams outside school, but D.A. wasn’t known for competitive athletics—in fact, the school competed in a charter school league. Sports at D.A., while well intentioned simply weren’t a priority.

That story has changed.

In just a few short years, D.A. athletics has undergone a structural and cultural transformation. Every team now has a dedicated coach, and tryouts are mandatory. Practices are consistent, and teams compete in the Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA), one of the most competitive leagues in New York. And most importantly, D.A. athletes are winning—city championships, division titles, recognition at the state level, and for the first time, scholarships to elite Division 1 universities.

“Every sport has moved up a tier,” said the school’s athletic director, Annie Sullivan, P ’20. “In every single program, we’ve seen growth in competitiveness, discipline, and spirit. The change has been gradual but deeply intentional.”

From Club to Commitment

The transformation began when the school made a bold commitment: to transform sports at Dominican Academy from an extracurricular activity to a core part of what it means to educate the whole person.

One of the first steps was to phase out volunteer coaching. “Parent coaches often gave everything they could, and did so much with so little,” Sullivan said. “But to build something sustainable, we needed to create a system with clear expectations, medical protocols, professional oversight, and structure.”

Tryouts were implemented, and practice schedules became routine. Sports were no longer something students attended week-to-week if they had time—they became an integrated part of the student experience. And slowly, D.A. started to become known not just for its academic excellence but for its rising athletics.

 

Defying the Odds

Facilities, however, remained a challenge. D.A. has no gym of its own; practices and games require creative coordination with external venues, often involving travel across the city.

Basketball and volleyball practice at a rented gym at the nearby St. John Nepomucene Church. Tennis plays at West Side Tennis Club, in Forest Hills, or Queens College. Swimming takes place at Leman Preparatory School downtown. The soccer and softball teams negotiate with NYC Parks for field space on Randall’s Island, DeWitt Clinton Park, and elsewhere. Each practice and game is a commitment.

“Given our constraints, what our girls have accomplished is extraordinary,” Sullivan said. “Many teams only practice twice a week, yet they compete against schools with full-time facilities and JV programs that feed into varsity squads. We often have freshmen competing at the varsity level against seniors who’ve played for years.”

And still, D.A. teams have risen.

 

Breakout Years for Tennis and Soccer

In the past two years, two programs in particular made history: tennis and soccer.

Tennis began just a few years ago with a portable net and an empty indoor gym. Eventually participants transitioned to private courts through a parent connection, and what started as an intramural team grew more serious when it became clear that D.A. had real talent.

“We had some girls who were just incredible players,” said Sullivan. Among them was Olivia Chin ’25, who joined the team as a sophomore. This year, Olivia ended her high school tennis career undefeated—not losing a single match across three years, including the city championship and the state tournament.

The 2023-24 season marked the team’s first as a Varsity sport. Not only did they dominate their regular season, but they also clinched the city title and advanced to the state finals under the lights at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Olivia won her singles match, and the team finished as first runners-up—a stunning achievement for a debut Varsity program.

“These girls were commuting hours to get to matches on Staten Island and back,” Sullivan said. “They were so dedicated. And it changed how those 12 girls experienced high school. They weren’t just teammates. They were a family.”

Soccer has also triumphed. Once relegated to Tier 3 in the CHSAA, D.A. steadily climbed to Tier 1. During the 2023 season, the team won the city championship and advanced onward to the state championship.

On the afternoon of the state championship game, 30 D.A. students who were part of the Spirit Team, filled a rented bus to travel to Aviator Sports Complex, near the Rockaways. Faces were painted blue and white, but as the bus weaved through traffic on Brooklyn streets, it became apparent that they would arrive well after the start of the game.

When the group neared the field, they exited the bus, ran to the field mid-game, and were met with a spectator section supporting the opposing team, cowbells ringing from the stands. The girls screamed to let the D.A. team know they had arrived, cheering and singing the alma mater with full voices—and D.A. won.

“You could feel the energy shift,” Sullivan said. “It wasn’t just a soccer team out there. It was the entire school, and the girls felt it. That kind of spirit changes the trajectory of a game.”

A Culture of Spirit and Faith

D.A. has also invested in the culture surrounding athletics. Students of all years participate on the Spirit Team, rallying to cheer on athletes and build community in the building and alongside games. Every team celebrates a Senior Night, and Dominic the Tiger, the school’s costumed mascot, makes
frequent appearances at games, awards ceremonies, and Open House. A sports managers program gives students the opportunity to participate in athletics and hone their time management and organizational skills while becoming experts in the rules and regulations of a particular sport.

Through it all, faith is central. Teams pray before games and student athletes lead reflections and prayers. There’s even a bus chaplain assigned to pray for safety and success each time the vehicle departs 68th Street.

“Faith and spirituality aren’t boxed off at D.A.,” Sullivan said. “We want our girls to see that God belongs in every part of their lives, including sports. These four years matter for these girls, as far as sports go, and within that, it should matter that God is there, too.”

On to the Next Level

This new era of D.A. athletics has opened doors for graduates. This year alone, five D.A. graduates went on to compete at the collegiate level, including Olivia, who will play tennis at Smith College while double majoring in Classics and economics.

Emilianna Gonzalez ’25 broke an 11-year CHSAA 50-yard freestyle league record, and then broke it again with a time of 23.43. She went on to set a new record for 100-yard freestyle and won both the Millie Tavaras Outstanding Swimmer Award and the Career Swimmer Award, which came after being unanimously elected by league coaches. Emilianna will swim on the Division I team at Rutgers this fall, studying computer science.

 

Claire Story ’25, co-captain of D.A.’s track team, crushed several D.A. track records and was the first track star in the school’s history to win the 3000 meter race at the CHSAA New York/ Brooklyn Varsity Sectionals. Claire qualified for the New York State Federation Championship and signed to run with Colgate University’s Division I Raiders track team, studying neuroscience.

Fellow co-captain, Caroline Iversen ’25, broke many of her own personal best records while running for D.A., qualifying for the New York State Federation Championship for both track and cross country. At the Manhattan Invitational, the largest single-day high school cross country meet in the nation, Caroline medaled in the 2.5 mile race. She signed to run on the track team for Hamilton College.

And in early March, Alexandra O’Brien ’25, who has played on Newark’s Ironbound Hockey Club AAA travel team, committed at SUNY Oswego while studying communications. Earlier in her career, Alex was the only female player to compete in the USA Hockey Youth Tier II 14U National Championship Championship and, more recently, she scored an overtime game-winning goal for the Ironbound Elite during the the National Girls Hockey League semi-finals.

This marks the first time in D.A. history that students who trained and competed at the school have earned multiple athletic scholarships, particularly at the D1 level. But, beyond wins and scholarships, the real story of D.A. athletics is what it fosters: grit, leadership, time management, resilience.

“I feel incredibly fortunate to be part of a school community that not only supports me in being my authentic self but also challenges me to strive for my best. At D.A. I’ve learned that growth and learning have no limits, and I am constantly encouraged to push beyond boundaries I once thought existed," Chin said.

“We talk a lot about mental health, and we should,” said Sullivan. “But getting girls physically active, involved, showing up for something bigger than themselves—that changes them and supports well-being. It prepares them for leadership in life.”

And, in a small school like D.A., that impact is multiplied. Most teams don’t have the numbers or budget for JV programs, so freshmen often jump straight into varsity roles.

“At D.A., you’re not just a freshman or a senior. You’re a teammate. And that makes all the difference,” Sullivan said.

 

A Program with Purpose

There’s a framed photo on the third floor of D.A.’s library, with words that call D.A. athletes to find even greater significance in their endeavors: “Be it known to all who enter here that Christ is the reason for this school. He is the unseen but ever present teacher… He is the model of its faculty and the inspiration of its students.”

That message comes to life every time a Tiger steps onto the court, field, or track. In striving for excellence, showing discipline, and competing with integrity, D.A. athletes embody the values at the heart of the school’s mission. They play with the understanding that skill is a gift to be honed, competition is an opportunity to grow, and teamwork is a way to reflect a loving and supportive presence to one another.

The gym may be borrowed, the fields may be rented. But the heart belongs entirely to Dominican Academy.