Afternoon and Evening at the City House

• 4pm and 8pm - Handball (Men and Women) - 21st Floor
• 5pm - Men's Basketball - 6th Floor Gymnasium
• 5pm - Squash (Men and Women) - 21st Floor

Saturday Morning and Afternoon at Travers Island

• 9am (Women) and 10:45am (Men) - Soccer
• 12pm (Women) and 1pm (Men) - Water Polo
• 12:30pm (Men) and 2pm (Women) - Lacrosse
• 3pm - Swimming (Mixed Relays)
• 4pm - Rugby

Handball appeared at the Humphrey-Thompson Cup for the first time this year. Fittingly, the competition was intense in all matches on the 21st floor of the City House. Each clash was a best of three games format, though all three matches were decided in two games. The winning club was determined by the total number of points scored across all matches. When the smoke had cleared, the points tallies were: NYAC 82, Olympic Club 57. A decisive victory for the home team, but one that was unquestionably hard fought.

For the record, the individual match scores were: 
Joe Kaplan (NYAC) defeated Dean Crispen (OC), 15-3, 15-9
Arthur Sayed (NYAC) lost to Rene Lopez (OC), 15-8, 15-14
Killian Carroll (NYAC) defeated Loren Collado (OC), 15-9, 15-6
 

The basketball competition in the sixth floor gymnasium was nothing short of torrid. With three minutes left on the clock, the Olympic Club held a three point lead - 62 to the NYAC's 59 - an advantage that they gave no sign of relinquishing. With 1:38 remaining, however, the Olympic Club incurred a penalty which allowed the NYAC to score twice from the free throw line and bring the score to within a single point, the O Club still holding the lead, 62 to 61. Thereafter, the winged foot team held the momentum, taking advantage of several fouls and assuming a lead with 53 seconds remaining that they maintained to the buzzer. The final score, after a bruising but sportsmanlike contest, was NYAC 71, Olympic Club 64.

The squash competitions, in men's singles and mixed doubles, were every bit as intense as would have been expected and hoped. As with handball, this was the first time that this sport was included on the HTC roster, fittingly as the sport will also make its Olympic debut in Los Angeles in 2028. All being well, the NYAC's and the O Club's elite players will be on the roster for Team USA for those Games, competing as intensely as they did here, though on this occasion it was the NYAC that gained the upper hand, claiming the victory with points tallied across both the men's singles and mixed doubles competitions.

The women's soccer match kicked off at 9am at Travers Island, against the beautiful backdrop of the Long Island Sound. The players had no interest in or time for admiring the scenery, however; this game was intense from the outset, with end to end play and neither side gaining the upper hand throughout the first half. Twenty seven minutes into the second half, however, the tide turned as the NYAC's Rachel Rouse found the net with an assist from Emily Smith. The O Club never gave up the fight, but that was how it stayed until the final whistle: NYAC 1, Olympic Club 0.

With the women's result determined, the focus turned to the men, with the O Club determined to ensure that a second defeat on the soccer field would not ensue. That was evident from the opening whistle as, with less than 90 seconds gone, the Olympic Club's attackers launched an assault which found them with an immediate one goal advantage. The NYAC could do nothing to redress that balance throughout the first half, while the O Club increased the pressure after the restart, adding a second goal which saw the final score set at a convincing 2-0 victory for the visitors.

 

The history of water polo rivalry between the NYAC and the Olympic Club is as lengthy as it is intense. The two teams have clashed numerous times over countless years, with the outcome often only determined in the final quarter. Neither team wanted that to happen here; so, both came fully loaded, meaning that anything could happen.

The women competed first, with Olympians and NYAC Hall of Famers Melissa Seidemann and Kami Craig anchoring the winged foot squad. It made a difference. The home team took the upper hand in the first quarter - which ended 6-1 - and never looked back. The O Club was always aggressive, but could not withstand the pressure of the seasoned NYAC squad. At the final buzzer, the score stood at 20-13, setting the scene for an epic men's clash.

Olympian Alex Bowen was among the powerhouse players in the NYAC squad, this being a match-up that also could go either way. The winged foot men, however, emulated their female counterparts, taking the lead from the outset - 7-4 up at the end of the first quarter - and never loosening their hold. At the conclusion of a torrid battle, the home team held a three point advantage, 19-16, an outcome reflecting the strength of both teams and the depth of the enduring rivalry.

As anticipated, the men's and women's lacrosse matches were intense, end to end and fraught with competitive tension. The men were up first, immediately going nose to nose with no quarter given on either side. The first quarter saw the score tied at 3-3. With eight minutes remaining in the second quarter, the NYAC inched ahead scoring two goals in quick succession, and taking a lead they would not relinquish. At the end of the third quarter, the score was 7-5 in favor of the NYAC, with the final whistle seeing those numbers at 11-9.

The women's match was no less intense, though the NYAC women took command early on and never let go. With less than four minutes remaining in the final quarter, the score stood at 12-4 in favor of the NYAC. The O Club pulled two back in the dying minutes, but, by that stage, the writing was on the wall. At the final whistle, a score of 12-6 gave the NYAC a convincing win, but did little to illustrate the ferocity with which both sides battled throughout an enthralling competition.

 

Although the opening moments of this game gave few indications of where the outcome would ultimately lie, that changed demonstrably as the first half wore on. Both teams employed aggressive and open tactics, with evident speed along both wings and ample power among the forwards; but, once the tide turned the end result was not in doubt.

At the end of the first half, the NYAC held the upper hand, a 19-5 margin that they compounded once the second half began. With the scores mounting, there was little that the Olympic Club could do to stop the relentless attacks on their goal-line. With 90 seconds to go, the NYAC scored the final try of the game, making the score 43-10. After the conversion, those numbers had adjusted to 45-10, an end result that was gratifying for the home team, though frustrating for the visitors, given the superb rugby they had played.

On a day of intensely fought competitions, few were more intense than the swimming events that took place in the Travers Island pool. With 15 different races on the schedule, including men's, women's, mixed and "skins-style" competitions, the import of the contests was illustrated by the fact that superstar swimmers such as Hunter Armstrong were among those on the NYAC roster. Illustrating the intensity all the more was the fact that, as things unfolded, the final race of the day was the one that was to determine the overall winner.

That was the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay. Armstrong led off for the NYAC, establishing a commanding lead early on and one that lent increasing confidence to the home fans. The visitors were not to be cowed, however. Inexorably, the Olympic Club swimmers ate into the lead that the NYAC had established, refusing to accept that the race was over until it was, in fact, over. And when it was, in fact, over, it was the O Club that had claimed a masterful tactical victory, bringing a memorable end to an afternoon of superb swimming competitions. 

The first edition of the Humphrey-Thompson Cup saw the Olympic Club travel to New York to take on the NYAC in four sports: lacrosse (men), soccer (men and women), water polo (men and women) and rugby (men). With NYAC President Bob Geary and OC President David Bonelli cheering from the sidelines, the competitions were every bit as intense as had been anticipated. Once the dust had settled, however, the home team emerged as the victors, with the coveted trophy being installed in a place of honor in the NYAC Hall of Fame. Fittingly, the post-games celebrations in the Travers Island ballroom were replete with toasts from each side to an unforgettable inaugural event.

For HTC-II, the NYAC team travelled west, carrying the pressure of defending its title on the Olympic Club's home turf. This time around, the schedule of sports was expanded to include basketball (men), in addition to the repeats from 2010: soccer (men and women), rugby (men), water polo (men and women) and lacrosse (men). Once again, all competitions were torrid, but with the basketball clash being especially so, going into triple overtime and with the NYAC eking a two point win. Reflecting the caliber of the competition, two other matches also went into overtime before reaching a decisive result. Once all had been tallied, however, the NYAC had been successful in its defense, meaning that the Cup would make a return trip to the east coast and resume its place in the NYAC Hall of Fame.

The third edition of the Humphrey-Thompson Cup returned to the east coast, with events taking place in the NYAC City House and at Travers Island. (The competition did not take place in 2012 due to that year's Olympic Games in London). The roster of sports remained the same as in 2011 - basketball (men), soccer (men and women), rugby (men), lacrosse (men) and water polo (men and women) - as did the caliber and intensity of the competition. With powerhouse players appearing in all sports - among them water polo players Betsy Armstrong, Brenda Villa and Heather Petri, all stars of Team USA - it was certain that the OC had come with all guns loaded, not wishing to endure a third straight defeat. The sporting gods did not smile on them, however, as, with five NYAC victories to the Olympic Club's two, the coveted Humphrey-Thompson Cup remained in the hands of the teams wearing the winged foot.