Weekly Highlights – December 13

First Boys’ Squash

The Martlets can boast three wins over the past week. In a tri-match with Berkshire and Loomis, Westminster came away with 7-0 and 6-1 wins. The Martlets also hosted a tri-match with tough opponents Brunswick and Exeter. While Brunswick proved to be too much for the Black and Gold, the home team was able to defeat Exeter, 6-1. Ahmed Abdel Khalek ’12 won all four of his matches this week without dropping a game. Michael LeBlanc ’12, at number two; John Eder ’11, at number four; and Jacob Lee ’11, at number six, all won big matches against Exeter. The three boys were pushed to five games but able to come away with the victories.

Second Boys’ Squash

The Martlets started their season with two convincing wins this week over Loomis and Avon. Winning in straight games against Loomis were Beau Orchard ’13, Andrew Fu ’11, Drew Leach ’13 and Gavin McGovern ’11. The Martlets dominated the Winged Beavers of Avon with a 7-0 victory. Orchard, Fu, Leach and McGovern again refused to drop a game and were joined by teammates Charlie Geitz ’11, Ben Shively ’14 and Nick Mahany ’11. While it is early in the season, it is clear that this team is going to be tough to beat.

Third Boys’ Squash

The Martlets notched two sweeping victories last week over Salisbury and Avon. Against Salisbury, the top seven players lost only three games in total. Jake Medina ’12, at number three; Miguel Castello ’13, at number five; Greg Jarvis ’13, at number six; and Peter Tang ’12, at number seven, all won in straight games. Against the Winged Beavers, the Martlets did even better, dropping only two games. Winning for the Martlets in straight games were Will O’Donnell ’13 and Willy Green ’12, at number one and number two; and Castello, Preston Miller ’13 and Will Swanson ’14, at numbers five through seven.

First Girls’ Squash

The First Girls' Squash team began the 2010-11 season with a 5-2 win at Millbrook. At number three, co-captain Chessy di Galoma '11 won a close first game before dropping the next two. Finding her composure, she played more patient squash toward the end, but had to fight off match balls in both the fourth and fifth games, before prevailing (13-11, 12-10). At the bottom of the ladder, the Martlets were dominant; co-captain Olivia Frank '11 (number four), Hannah Leathers '11 (number five), Cricket di Galoma '14 (number six) and Katie Polio '11(number seven) all won in straight games.

Second Girls’ Squash

The Martlets defeated Ethel Walker School in their first match of the season. Mimi Ryan '12 was the first to finish, winning three straight games by a 11-0, 11-0 and 11-3 margin. Emily Moran '12, Eliza Worcester '13 and Emma Pinney '11 completed the first round of matches, all winning three straight games. Nina Grey '11, Alex Regan '13, Sydney Rivers '13 and Sophie Harris '11 rounded out the scoring, all with 3-0 victories.

First Girls’ Hockey

The Martlets produced two solid wins this week: 5-0 over Kent and 5-2 over Loomis. Against the Lions, the scoring started quickly as Rachel Farrel ’11 slapped the puck by the Kent netminder in the first 30 seconds of the game. Sydney Daniels ’13 had the assist. After quite a bit of pressure, Brooke Heron '12 scored to make it 2-0. In the second, Nina Gozzi ’12 banged home a rebound for the goal. Casey Breese ’11 and Molly O'Sullivan ’12 earned the assists. In the third, Amanda Boulier ’11 scored on a deflection off a Kent defender, and Heron made the pass. Then O'Sullivan scored her first goal of her career on a rebound of a Gozzi shot. Boulier collected another assist. After getting down 0-1 against Loomis on a Loomis penalty, Farrel slammed a rebound home to tie the score. The Martlets then had a big third period. Daniels scored twice to give Westminster a 3-2 lead. Boulier put the game away, and in the last minute Rachel Kennedy '12 scored on an empty net to finalize the scoring.

Second Girls’ Hockey

The Martlets opened their season with two wins. In a 6-1 victory over Deerfield, Andrea Cross ’11 and Tyler O’Neil ’12 each scored two goals. The Black and Gold also notched a 9-1 win over Loomis.

First Boys’ Hockey

Westminster went on the road and came back with a hard fought 5-4 victory against Choate. Choate got on the board first, but a minute later, the Martlets went on the powerplay, and Chris Izmirlian '12 found Nick Finn '12 open on the far side of the ice. The Martlets took the lead when Izmirlian found defenseman Jake Bolton '11, who rifled a shot past a screened Choate goalie. The Wild Boars tied the game and went into the third ahead 3-2. Captain Corey Taber '11 threaded a pass to linemate Emilio Audi '12 who went hard to the net and slid the puck between the legs of the Choate goalkeeper. Choate took the lead again, and then a minute after that, the Martlets tied the score for a third time when a shot from newly converted defenseman Evan Neugold '12 found its way through a screen and into the back of the net. The Martlets would not fall behind again as Taber netted the game winner off of a pass from Tim Acker '11 to secure the tremendous victory.

Second Boys’ Hockey

After tying Choate earlier in the week, the Martlets came away with a 4-2 victory over Pomfret. Tristan Rai '14 netted a pass from Andy Dines '12 for the first goal. Pomfret evened the score with a goal of their own a few minutes after. However, John Pappas '14 gave the Black and Gold the lead again after he backhanded an Emmet Shipway '12 pass over the Pomfret netminder's shoulder. Fortunately, it didn't stay that way for long due to a great individual effort by defensemen Ryan Strange '13, who took a Hayden Johnstone '13 feed and rushed the puck almost end-to-end to net the game winner. Shortly after, Westminster got the insurance goal they needed from Dines (assist John Pappas) to secure a 4-2 victory.

Second Boys’ Basketball

The Martlets started their season with two wins. Against Kingswood Oxford, Westminster came out strong on defense and limited the Wyverns to 20 points. John Hersey '12 (12 rebounds, 12 points) played well at both ends of the floor, and Will Lammey '13 (8 rebounds) was very tough on the glass for the Martlets. Ryan Cholnoky '12 had nine points and five rebounds, while Mike McNally '14 had 10 points and four assists. In their home opener against Deerfield, Westminster played very aggressively on the defensive end, while McNally scored 16 points as the Martlets earned their second victory of the young season. Westminster led 23-19 at the half and had the momentum from a Tommy Kirsch '11 put-back at the buzzer, which the Martlets turned into a strong defensive second-half effort where they held their guests to just nine points over the final 16 minutes. Hersey had 10 rebounds and five points while Ryan Cholnoky '12 added six points and created four Deerfield turnovers, and Max Langlois '13 grabbed five steals.

Swimming and Diving

The Martlets competed in the Kingswood-Oxford Invitational at Wesleyan for their first meet of the season. Both the boys and girls earned fourth place finishes. Leading the charge were rookies Drew Poling '13, who swam impressive 50 and 100 Freestyle races, and Charlie Januszewski '13 in the 50 free and 100 IM. Veterans Conor Mullen '12, co-captain Josh Kokulis '12 and Jake Cahill '12 were in solid early season form in the middle distance freestyle and IM events, and co-captain Eric Wainman '11 placed third in diving and sixth in the 100 Breaststroke. For the girls, veteran co-captains Emily Schwartz '11 (500 Freestyle and 100 Backstroke) and Caitlin Fabbri '11 (200 IM and 100 Breaststroke) put up solid early season swims in their respective events. Newcomers Emily Kunsman '14 and Sarah Holmes '13 brought an immediate impact in the 200 IM and the 100 Fly respectively, and Whitney Powel '10 was impressive in the middle distance freestlyes. Emily Teschner '11 swam a quick 50 Free and a good 100 Fly, and Sarah Dimmitt '11, Kayla Foley '13 and Caroline Brady '11 placed second, third and fourth in the diving event, respectively.