Dwight-Englewood and thirteen other area High Schools competed in Varsity Baseball, Softball and Tennis contests helping to raise funds and awareness. Saturday’s games were witnessed by approximately 450 fans throughout the 12-hour event and an additional 25 fans packed the Binghamton indoor tennis courts for Sunday’s Varsity tennis showdown between Dwight-Englewood and Ridgewood.

The Tournament began with a game between softball rivals Dwight-Englewood and Bogota. The Bogota Bucs jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first inning and after the Dwight-Englewood Bulldogs closed the gap to 7-4, Bogota scored eleven unanswered runs to take a commanding 18-7 lead in the third inning. Seemingly on the brink of becoming a victim to the ten-run mercy rule, the Bulldogs showed grit and determination and exploded for 12 runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 19-18 lead. The Bulldogs batted around in the inning with Stacy Goldberg hitting a home run down the left field line, only to be followed by Haley Brescia who launched, not one, but two homers in the inning. The first one being a solo shot, followed by a grand slam that landed in almost the exact same spot in her second at-bat of the inning. At this point, both coaches agreed to implement a time limit to the game so that the following Tournament contests would not need to be seriously delayed. The Bulldogs added another run in the 5th inning, only to see The Bucs battle back and take a 21-20 lead in the top of the 6th inning. Dwight-Englewood tied the game in the bottom of the 6th, and the game ended in a 21-21 tie.

Next it was the Bulldogs' turn.  The Boys Varsity Baseball Team effectively played against Bogota, bashing 15 hits and breaking a 7-7 tie at the bottom of the sixth. Four players earned 3 hits each: Brian Breslin, Mike Merjian, Noah Rosenberg, and Gordon Marquardt. Big hitters Rosenberg enjyed a 2-run homer in the bottom of the fourth inning, and Merjian hit a 3-run triple in bottom of the sixth inning.  The game-winning hit was an RBI single by Joel Birnback which established D-E at the top for good at 8-7 in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Rain moved the Boys Varsity Tennis Team's match on Sunday from D-E's outdoor Graham courts to the Binghamton Club in Edgewater, courtesy of a generous, anonymous donor.  The team hosted perennial tennis power Ridgewood and came away with a hard fought 3-2 victory over the Maroons, who were ranked #3 in Bergen County and #17 in New Jersey. The team is led by senior captain Jason Katz, who plays third singles behind junior Jake Eagan at second singles and freshman sensation Jordan Runyon, who mans the difficult first singles spot. Sophomore David Shutov is also vying for a singles spot. The doubles pairs are led by the junior tandem of Luke Sherman and Blake O'Connor, followed by sophomore Jason Yoon, who plays with freshman Zach Canelos, and the pair of sophomore Sumukh Sridhara and freshman Larry Suprun. Coach Joe Iwanski enthusiastically summarized, "With so much youth on the team the future is bright for Bulldog tennis!"

“This is my favorite Tournament to play in!” exclaimed one Fort Lee softball player as she received her pink game socks and wristbands. Saddle Brook Varsity Softball Coach Darren White added, “To be able to participate in a worthwhile event, while playing a sport that we love makes this an extra special day for our team”.

Many coaches and players expressed the desire to be invited back in 2103 for the 4th annual CVC Tournament. Tournament Founder and Director, and D-E Varsity Softball Coach Matthew Schukis explains, “We started this Tournament as a way for Student-Athletes to play for something a little more than wins and losses. Unfortunately, pretty much all of us have been touched by some type of cancer; either personally, through a loved one or through a neighbor.

Schukis continued, "This is one small way that we can give back and let the people in our lives know that they are not alone. And every penny we make during the Tournament helps patients in Bergen and Passaic Counties."Seeing the players getting excited to get a t-shirt, socks and wristbands and then play in their game re-energizes and inspires us to make every attempt that we can to continue this event next year.”