Sports Highlights 01.16.2012

The Martlet defense smothered Choate, and Westminster had just enough offense to win the game, 34-26. Will Lammey ’13 was a force on the boards, and Sam Dardani ’14 led the way for the Martlet offense. Dillan Gomes ’12 handled the pressure well, and Cam Kurtz ’12 played inspired defense and smart offense in the second half. The Boars made a small run at the lead near the end, but Max Langlois ’13 and Dardani hit some big free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
 

The Martlets went to 3-0 in the Founders League with clean sweeps of Kingswood Oxford and Kent this week. Against the Wyverns, Ben Shively ’14 (with two shutouts) and Michael LeBlanc ’12 were particularly strong, allowing only two and three points against, respectively. Harry Ganek ’14, Alvin Huemann ’14, and Ahmed Abdel Khalek ’12 also won in three games. Against Kent, Heumann filled in ably at No. 2, only allowing six points on the day, five in the first game.
 

The Black and Gold came home with a 6-1 victory against Kent to move to 3-1 for the season. Four of the boys won their matches in straight games, including Miguel Castello ’13 at No. 2, Will Swanson ’14 at No. 4, Gavin Durham ’13 at No. 6 and Preston Miller ’13 at No. 3. Curtis Brackett ’13 took a game to get adjusted before buckling down for a (9), 10, 6, 5 win. Finally, Reed Melhado ’14 played a hard-hitting opponent at No. 1, grinding out 11-9 wins in the first two games, before taking the final game 11-4.
 

Westminster Third Boys’ Squash traveled to Kingswood Oxford and beat KO's JVs 6-1, winning 19 games and only losing 4. Victorious for the Martlets were Andrew Bell ’14 at No. 5, in four games, and Jack Richter ’13 at No. 2, Peter Tang ’12 at No. 3, Christian Coquoz ’12 at No. 4, George Brown ’15 at No. 6, and No. 7 Stephen Cox ’14 all won 3-0.
 

Westminster moved to 4-0 in Founders League play with a 4-3 win over rival Taft School. After a scoreless first period, the Martlets managed to notch three goals in the second. The first came on a power play when David Hallisey ’13 scored off of assists from Nick Finn ’12 and Chris Izimirlian ’12. Taft tied it up, but Vince Gisonti ’13 gave the Martlets the lead back with a nice backhand move on a breakaway. Ryan Mowery ’13 scored to send the teams into the break with a 3-1 Martlet edge. Westminster scored again early in the third with Finn converting on a 2-1, but Taft did not quit and scored twice to almost catch the Martlets before the buzzer sounded.
 

Westminster defeated a fast and physical Salisbury squad 2-0. Westminster jumped out to an early lead as Scott Shay ’12 found himself in the slot uncovered and scored. In the second period, the Martlet defense killed off a number of penalties and was anchored by Mark Pfister ’14. The third period matched the intensity of the second as the blue line crew of Riley Bitterli ’14, George Crawford ’15, Brennan Cross ’15, Teddy Swenson ’15 and Ryan Seymour ’15 forced all Salisbury rushes to the periphery and created transition opportunities for the Martlets. The Martlets sealed the victory when Derek Leydecker ’15 scored a short-handed empty net goal in the final minutes.
 

The First Girls’ team won their fourth match of the season, 6-1 over Suffield. Many of the matches were close. Eliza Worcester ’13 at No. 6 was the only Martlet to win in three games. Ginny Durfee ’15 at No. 2, Alex Regan ’13 at No. 4, Lauren Darnis at No. 5, Cricket di Galoma ’14 at No. 3 all won in four games. Christi DeSimone ’12 at No.1 had the marathon match of the day, winning in five.
 

The Second Girls’ Squash team was victorious against Kent by a 7-0 score. Emily Moran ’12, Gaby Foti ’14 and Lia Petersen ’14 got the girls off to an early 3-0 lead. Katherine Kelter ’14, Haley Lowenstein ’13, Annie French ’13 and Karlie Werdmolder ’13 completed the scoring, all winning in three games. Sophie Skinner ’15, Morgan Rubin ’13, Emma Conlon ’13, Margot Frank ’15 and Madeline Purdy ’13 all won their exhibition matches.
 

Westminster defeated rival Choate 5-2. In the first, Eleni Tebano ’13 took a pass from Nina Gozzi ’12 and Kaitlin Tse ’15 and ripped a slapshot off a Choate defender into the back of the net. Later in the period, Rachel Kennedy ’12 broke free on a pass from Kat Pate ’14 and beat the Choate goalie. In the second, Molly O’Sullivan ’12 scored on a wrap-around on a pass from Gozzi. Choate rebounded scoring two goals, but Sydney Daniels ’13 closed the door with two goals of her own.
 

The Martlets earned another couple of wins this week against Choate and Williston. Both games required Westminster to play good, hard hockey to earn their victories. Against the Wild Boars, Eliza Christman ’15 had a hat trick and Sally Sandoval ’15 helped pace Westminster with two additional goals. In the matchup against Williston, a number of girls contributed offensively, including Nina Wilmerding ’15, Ellie Deveaux ’14 Tyler O'Neil ’12, Christman, Katie Hovey ’14, and Katie O’Connor ’15.