Sports Highlights 02.22.2015

The Martlets have been on fire of late, playing two solid games in a row, including a 54-38 victory over Kent on Wednesday afternoon. Meg Richard '15 and Jacqui Richard '16 combined to lead the team in scoring, while Devin Selvala '16 had her second-best all-around game of the season, contributing 9 points and 8 rebounds. Sophia Tawney '17 was again a force on the defensive end, grabbing 13 rebounds, blocking three shots, and chipping in 6 points.
 

Another highlight for the team: Meg and Jacqui Richard have both been named to the Class B All-Star Team!
 

Westminster's First Boys' Basketball team seems to have hit its stride, as the boys beat Berkshire 72-54 on Wednesday afternoon for their second win in a row. Once again, Colin Doughtery '15 led all scorers with 19 points and 5 steals. The Martlets came out strong and took an early lead, but the Bears clawed their way back into the game right before the half. Westminster entered the second half up by 6 points, but the team quickly extended the lead and kept it for the rest of the game. David Ryan '15 had a great effort, adding 17 points and 10 crucial rebounds for the Martlets, and Chandler Rohde '15 notched 11 points.
 

The First Girls’ Hockey team won two close games this week to bring their record to 11-4-5. The Martlets defeated Taft in a hard-played and evenly matched 3-1 contest on Wednesday afternoon. After a fast-paced and scoreless first, The girls notched two goals in the second, while Taft scored as well to put the game at 2-1 heading into the final period. Westminster scored another in the thirf to give themselves a cushion, and the defense stood strong to hold the score at 3-1.
 

On Saturday, Ashlee White ’17 scored the game’s only goal in the second period, and the Westminster defense once again came up big to keep Berkshire out of the net in a 1-0 win.
 

The Martlets headed out on a snowy day to face-off against the Berkshire Bears. Berkshire is always a tough place to play because of their Olympic-sized sheet, but Westminster was up to the task. Both teams played a tight first period and held each other to only a few shots and no goals. Cal LeClair '17 got the visitors on the board in the second period with a bang-home rebound shot in the crease. Later in the period, Taggart Corriveau '16 scored a power play goal in front of the net off of a rebound from a shot attempt by Will Brophy '15. The Martlets exploded in the third for four quick goals, two from Connor Lloyd '16, one from Joe O'Connor '16 and a final goal from LeClair to secure the 6-1 win. LeClair's was particicularly impressive, as he took a pass from Johnny McDermott '16 and backhanded the puck into the top corner. Stephen Gasior '16 bounced back with a solid 32 save game.
 

Westminster recorded two impressive wins this week with a 7-0 sweep of Kent and a 6-1 roll over K.O. The Martlets enjoyed a huge advantage in experience over the Lions on Wednesday, dominating in particular at the top of the ladder and dropping only one game overall, and they followed it up with a strong performance against K.O. on Saturday. Ginny Durfee ‘15, Abby LeBlanc ’17 and Wells Poler ‘16 were overpowering at the top of the ladder, although each had to overcome a determined opponent. Margot Frank ‘15 used her trademark combination of hustle, power and touch to prevail at #4, while Kate Breed ‘15 won for the second time since ascending to #5, using decisive drives. Julia Cooper ‘15 showed new variety in her shotmaking in an epic battle at #6, and Katie Deveaux ‘16 prevailed in a battle of wits and defensive tenacity at #7.
 

The boys won two games this week, with a 4-1 victory over Hillside on Tuesday and a 6-1 win over the Bears of Berkshire on Saturday.
 

Max Torrez '18 got the home team on the board first on Tuesday with an assist from line mate Zack Orzech '16, but Hillside countered at the very end of the first period to even the score at one apiece. Effective forechecking by the line of John Hunt '17, Bryson Tomcik '15 and Philippe Morin '15 led to a goal by Hunt in the second, assisted by Tomcik. Although the third period was highly contested, the Martlets were able to snag two more goals by eventually wearing down their younger opponents. Mac McCormick '16, assisted by Orzech, jammed one in off the right post, and Orzech completed a very fine day for this line by scoring the final goal from high slot, assisted by Torrez. Hunter Chaisson '18 played a strong game in goal, particularly in the first period, making 21 saves on the day.
 

Westminster took advantage of some very undisciplined play by Berkshire in the first period on Saturday and scored two pretty power play goals early on. Drew Simeon '15 scored both goals on almost identical plays - one-timing passes by Max Torrez '18 and then Ryan Seymour '15. Because of poor crease coverage by the Martlets, Berkshire countered with their first and only goal of the day. The hosts regained their two-goal lead when Torrez fed Mac McCormick '16 who dangled through a couple of Bears before a confident finish. In the second period, defenseman Simeon feathered a breakaway pass to Jack Griffth '17 who found an opening stick-side high. In the final frame, Max Torrez added to an already strong game by scoring the final two goals. For his first, Torrez intercepted the puck in the high slot and scored a breakaway, five-hole goal. Shortly thereafter, he collected a McCormick rebound to complete a 4-point day. Blueliner and co-captain Ryan Seymour '15 brought a lot of energy and intensity during the course of the game, while Spencer Rellinger '17 turned away 14 of the 15 visitor shots. Given the number of Westminster players sidelined, this was a fine effort and result by the Martlets. Despite this adversity, the team came together and got the job done.
 

The girls were on a roll this week, winning both of their games this week over Kent and Suffield Academy. Despite some travel difficulties, Westminster was riding high on Wednesday night as they returned to campus with a 44-13 win over Kent School. It was truly a team effort, with everyone on the roster scoring, including Katelin Gochberg '17, who had her first basket of the season. Once again, Unique Shakoor '15 led all scorers in the game with 12 pts, while Nadrina Ebrahimi '15 recorded 8 pts as well. Even more impressive was the team's defense, which held Kent to a meager 13 points. Next, the Martlets outmatched Suffield Academy on Saturday in a 33-16 win. In what turned out to be a scrappy affair, Ebrahimi had another strong game, leading the scoring for both teams with 10 points. Overall, it was a stellar week for the team, with great press-defense and all players getting involved.
 

Second Girls’ Hockey increased their record to 10-4 this week, defeating a much improved Taft squad 7-2 on Wednesday. The girls came roaring out of the gates, scoring on their first shift out, but Taft turned around and hit right back with a breakaway goal shortly after, proving that they'd improved since the teams last met in December. The Martlets picked up the pace and kept the puck in their offensive zone for most of the game, scoring another one in the first, two more in the second and then three in the third period. Goal scorers were Susanna Baker '15, Katie Simeon '16 (2), Katie Neilson '18, Anne Bitterli (2) '16 and Fraser Allen '17. Bitterli's goal was especially impressive. It shot right above the goalies shoulder, hit the crossbar and bounced in, nabbing her a well-deserved compliment from the referee.
 

The Martlets knew Wednesday's match against Loomis Chaffee would be a battle, since the December match ended up 5-4 in favor of the Black and Gold, and it was. All but one of the nine matches went to at least four games, and two went to five games. Both teams also had very different lineups for this rematch, so that made for an interesting and fun match. This time Westminster won 6-3.
 

George Doolan '15 played smart and efficient squash to win the three-game match at #5, and Bryan Yekelchik '16 rebounded from a tough 10-12 loss in his first game at #1 to win his match 8, 8, 6, once again using his very quick hands to his advantage. Luke Tressy '16 at #2 also had to rebound from an early deficit to win his match with a trajectory that suggests that he figured out quickly what he needed to do (hit shots to length and stay off the tin). George Knight '15 also found himself in an early hole, surrendering the first game by a 10-12 score. Knight too found his stride in winning the next three games. The Martlets showed some resilience at the bottom of the ladder, as Connor Seeley '18 lost handily 3-11 in his first game, but then made adjustments, steadied himself, and used good width and length to win the next three games. Chris Hark '17 took a 2-0 lead (8 and 11) before losing 3-11 in game #3. But Hark took a deep breath and went back to playing good fundamental squash to snatch the victory with an 11-2 fourth game. All in all it was a good day for the Martlets, who now face three very talented opponents to close out their season; Eaglebrook (6-1) at home on Friday, Choate (11-2) away on Saturday, and Taft (4-4) at home next Wednesday.
 

The Martlets had a clean sweep this week, winning 7-0 over K.O. and Miss Porter’s with two of their most inspired matches of the season. On Wednesday, Dora Mitchel '17, Isabel Tibbetts '15, and Rachel Halfon '16 prevailed in the first round of matches, while Abby Newman '16, Katherine Ogden '16, Annie Hicks '17 and Lucy Noel '18 completed the scoring with excellent play. Emma Filler '15 and Ellie Klein '16 were victorious in their exhibition matches.
 

On Saturday, Newman, Ogden and Hicks got the girls going on the right track, winning in three straight games to set the tone for the contest. Sarah Poling '16, Mitchel, Tibbetts and Halfon completed the scoring at the #1, 3, 5 and 7 positions, respectively. Noel and Organ both won their exhibition matches. The girls finish the season away on Wednesday against an always-talented Taft squad.
 

Westminster outscored their opponents 14-3 in two wins this week, including an 8-0 win over Avon Old Farms on Wednesday and a 6-3 win over Simsbury’s U14 team the next day. The boys played especially well at the end of the second period and the beginning of the third, when they tallied 7 of their 8 goals on the day. Cooper Bellet '17 scored the first goal of his career, tipping in a blast from Merlin Ennis '17 to put the birds up 5-0. Josh Cosentino '18 recorded a hat trick in the win as well.
 

Third Boys’ Squash had a great week, beating Eaglebrook 7-4 on Friday and then winning 10-2 over Salisbury the next day. In the Saturday match, Westminster squared off against Salisbury for the third time this season, and for the third time, the Martlets came away with a victory. Dylan Murphy ’17 used his finesse, John Pfister ’17 used his power, and Chris Zheng ’18 used his well-placed volleys to sweep their respective opponents in three games and give the hosts a lead they would never relinquish. Finishing out the evens round, Spencer Organ ’18 moved his opponent around the court in winning his match 3-1. The odds continued to play well, as Sean Ryan ’18, Hayden Cathcart ’18 and Andrew Doucette ‘18 kept their opponents guessing with a wide variety of shots, including a sneaky reverse angle serve by Doucette. They all won in three straight. Ryan Lee ’18, he of the two-handed backhand, split his first two games, eked out a 14-12 thriller in the third frame, and then hung on to take the fourth. In the match of the day, Max Grout ’17, won his first game 14-12, only to lose the next by the identical overtime score of 14-12. Seemingly on his last legs, Grout somehow hung on to pull out the next two games 8 and 8 for an exciting and well-deserved victory.