Dena Xifaras
Watch Dena's Induction Ceremony starting with presenter Amy Hartley Matteson here
Dena Xifaras was a standout athlete for ORR. She made an immediate impact in multiple sports as a 4-year varsity starter across 5 sports. She led the turnaround of the Lady Bulldog basketball program taking a team that was 5-15 her freshman year to 19-1 her senior year earning many accolades along the way (SCC MVP & All Star, Boston Globe All Star, Dave Cowens finalist, Bay State Games, etc.) A prolific passer, Dena’s legacy lives on as she still holds the school record in career assists (263) and is 10th in scoring (697).
Voted most athletic in her class, she also shined on the soccer pitch, volleyball & tennis courts, and on the track earning SCC All Star accolades multiple years across three sports. As the center midfielder she led the soccer team in assists and was second in goal scoring before switching to volleyball co-captaining that team as a senior.
As a track athlete she was named MVP of the SCC Freshman & Sophomore league meet, an SCC All Star, broke a Massachusetts state record in the discus relay, competed nationally at Loucks in the hurdles, 4x400 and discuss placing 8th. Dena switched to tennis the spring of her senior year, a sport she had never had any formal instruction in, only to earn a varsity starting doubles slot. Dena was blessed with tenacity, athleticism, work ethic, smarts, leadership skills and a generous disposition that made her, her teammates and our ORR teams successful.
"Dena is a tenacious competitor on and off the court and field. She thrives on a challenge - no one works harder than her. She's the type of player that you love to play with and dread to play against. She will not quit until the last second ticks off the clock. She finds joy in playing a role in the success of others (assist leader!) and will do whatever it takes to get the "W"."....teammate and friend Amy Hartley-Matteson.
Currently, Dena lives in the tri-town with her husband and ORR senior prom date, Michael Papadakis, and their two kids, Zoe (8) and Spiros (6). They own a local landscaping & home heating oil delivery business (Papa’s Fuels & Lawncare) and Dena is part of the executive team at Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH), a national non-profit affordable housing real estate developer, and does side work as a real estate broker and attorney. In her spare time, Dena serves on charitable boards and coaches youth sports sharing her passion for sports with the next generation of Bulldogs.