Malvern Preparatory School

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Name Malvern Preparatory School
Address 418 South Warren Avenue
Town Malvern, Pennsylvania, 19355-2707
Established 1842 (at present location in 1922)
Community Suburban
Type Private (Independent)
Religion Catholic (Augustinian)
Students Male
Grades 6 through 12
Nickname Friars
Colors Blue and Gray
Motto Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow
Web site MalvernPrep.org

Malvern Preparatory School, commonly referred to as Malvern Prep, is an independent Catholic middle and high school for boys located in Malvern, Pennsylvania. It was started and is still run by Augustinian friars. Malvern Prep is a member of the Inter-Academic League which also includes Episcopal Academy, Germantown Academy, Penn Charter, The Haverford School, and Chestnut Hill Academy.

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[edit] History

Malvern Prep was founded as a preparatory academy on the campus of Villanova University in 1842 at the Belle-Aire farm, which the Augustinian order purchased in January 1842. The academy was named "St. Nicholas of Tolentine Academy" in 1901.

In 1922, due to the expansion of Villanova's college program and increasing distinctions being made between the attendees of the academy and the college, it was decided to remove the academy from Villanova's campus. The Rosengarten family of Malvern sold a 143 acre (579,000 m²) part of its old farm between Warren Avenue and Paoli Pike to the Augustinians, and the academy became Malvern Preparatory School. The property included the site of the Paoli Massacre, a Revolutionary War battlefield that Malvern Prep owned until 2000, when it was purchased by the federal government. [1] Only two original buildings were suitable for classes and are still preserved; these are the original farmhouse (Austin Hall) and another farm building (the Friary, or Alber's Hall). Three new buildings were built in 1924 to house the need for more space. The first graduating class of Malvern Prep, who were almost all boarders, graduated in 1927.

Malvern Prep reached 200 students in 1953 and went through another construction phase, erecting six new buildings in the next eight years. Over the next twenty years, the number of boarders decreased, eventually to zero; the school is now entirely a day school. Malvern Prep is currently undergoing another construction phase, the main feature of which is a large building (slated to be named the Rev. David Duffy Center) that will replace the current auditorium (Vasey Hall) and fine arts facilities in Tolentine Hall. The school has erected a new sports center (O'Neill Sports Center), dining hall (Stewart Hall, which is actually a previously existing building (Villanova Hall) that was recently renovated and renamed), and athletic fields in the last few years.

[edit] The Augustinians in North America

The North American foundation of the order happened in 1796 when Irish friars arrived in Philadelphia. Michael Hurley was the first American to join the Order the following year. Friars established schools, a University and other works throughout the Americas, also including Villanova University in Philadelphia and Merrimack College. While this school was founded in 1842, by 1909 two Augustinian houses and a school had been established in Chicago, 1922 in San Diego, by 1925 a school in Ojai and Los Angeles; 1926 a school in Oklahoma; in 1947 Merrimack College; in 1953 a school in Pennsylvania; 1959 a school in New Jersey and in 1962 a school in Illinois.

[edit] Athletics

Malvern, a member of the Inter-Ac League, participates in sixteen varsity sports: Baseball, Basketball, Crew, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Ice Hockey, Indoor Track, Lacrosse, Soccer, Squash, Swimming, Tennis, Track, Water Polo, and Wrestling. Malvern competes for the Heyward Cup with five other schools: Germantown Academy, Haverford School, Chestnut Hill Academy, William Penn Charter, and Episcopal Academy. Thus far in the 2005-06 academic year, Malvern has taken Varsity Inter-Ac championships in Cross Country and Football. Malvern's Ice Hockey team has also won the Varsity AAA Flyers Cup five years in a row (2001 to 2005)(8 total), and the Pennsylvania Varsity AAA State Championship (2003-04).

In 2006, Malvern Prep's Lacrosse team, being coached by John McEvoy went on to win the Pennsylvania State Lacrosse Championship, and boasts three All-Americans. Also, Malvern Prep's baseball team finished off the season by winning the Pennsylvania Independent School's tournament. The baseball team could not win the State chanpionship because the Inter-Ac league is not part of the PIAA. The six senior baseball players are all moving on to play at the next level in college. The Cross Country team has won the Inter-Ac Championships the past 5 years including a perfect 15 points in 2005 (placed 1st through 5th). In addition to being highly successful, Malvern's rowing team, under Coach Hoffman, has produced more Ivy League students than any other sport in the school's history. In 2004, the varsity quad won it's first SRA National title in addition to a USRowing National Youth Invitational Championship, Philadelphia City Championship, and a second place finish at the Sotesbury Cup. In the summer of 2004, the team elected to train together, and two of the memners of its varsity quad, Pat Ryan and Justin Teti, went on to represent the United States at the Junior World Championships in Banyoles, Spain in the double event. In 2005, the varsity quad won the Stotesbury Cup and repeated it's victories at SRA Nationals and the USRowing Youth Invitational. Again the following summer, the team continued to train together and competed at the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta in England, where they advanced to the quarterfinals. In 2007, the Malvern Varsity Quad won the triple crown, coming in first place at the Philadelphia City Championship, and again repeating victories at SRA Nationals and the Stotesbury Cup Regatta. They also traveled over seas to compete at the Henley Royal Regatta, and the varsity quad made it to the semifinals of the Fawley Challenge Cup Event. swilliams.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 40°1.6′N, 75°30.6′W

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