Girls Basketball Posts Big Win on Senior Night as Coach Wainwright Announces Retirement

The Dublin High School Varsity Girls Basketball team had a lot to celebrate on Tuesday night as they posted their most impressive win of the season 55-37 over Granada. It was not only the team’s best performance of the year against a playoff-bound Matador squad, but it was also the final game for two seniors along with Head Coach Mark Wainwright after an illustrious career.

Before the game, seniors Soha Ahmad and Anya Sengupta were honored for their contributions to the program. Ahmad was on the Varsity team for all four years of her high school career while Sengupta has been a member of the Varsity squad for three years. Both Ahmad and Sengupta provided steady leadership to the team during the COVID era and were key contributors in the win over Granada.

Ahmad scored 11 points, Sengupta added 10 points, and Sophomore Guard Sophia Ignacio led all scorers with 13 points in a game where an inspired Gaels squad jumped out to a 31-16 halftime lead and never looked back. It was a complete performance that saw the Gaels apply stifling full-court defensive pressure that forced numerous turnovers. In addition, Dublin dominated the boards, particularly on the offensive end where their second and third chance points proved to be decisive.

Despite the challenges of the 2022-2023 season which saw the Gaels finish 10-13 overall, it was a great ending to the four-year tenure of Coach Wainwright’s third stint at the helm of a Dublin Varsity Basketball team.

After previously serving as a successful coach at St. Elizabeth’s (Oakland) and Encinal (Alameda), Coach Wainwright was hired as Dublin’s Varsity Boys Basketball coach in 1996 following a dismal 0-26 season. Within two seasons, Wainwright helped lead the Gaels to their first North Coast Section (NCS) playoff appearance since the mid-1980’s. During his 7-year as Head Coach, the Gaels were in the postseason five times and came within minutes of winning the Diablo Foothill Athletic League (DFAL) title in 2003.

Wainwright took over as the Varsity Girls Basketball coach in 2004 after taking off a year from coaching, and guided the program through a period of sustained success that included a DFAL championship in 2009. During his 9-year run as Head Coach, the Gaels qualified for the NCS playoffs and won at least one postseason game each and every season.

Following his retirement from teaching and a six-year break from coaching, Wainwright returned one last time to Dublin High in 2019. He helped lead the team to three more winning seasons and two more NCS appearances, including last season when they advanced to the NCS Division I semifinals.

In total, Wainwright’s teams had 20 NCS appearances (16 at Dublin High), and he posted 414 career victories. Wainwright’s leadership was key in guiding a run spanning from 2004-2022 (excluding the COVID-shortened 2021 season when the postseason was cancelled) in which the Gaels qualified for NCS every year, the longest such run for any program in school history.

Most importantly, Wainwright’s impact as both a teacher and coach had a profound impact on all of those he taught and coached. Dublin High School Athletics wishes him all of the best in what appears to be his third (and final) retirement from coaching.

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