Winter Sports Highlights 2014

For the third time in five years, the Martlets won the Girls’ Division I New England Championship, but this time the road to victory was more unpredictable. Seeded sixth, Westminster had to overcome No. 3 seed Pomfret, No. 2 seed St. Paul’s and No. 1 seed Nobles.
 

The quarterfinal matchup against Pomfret was a game for the ages. It took three overtime periods, which almost doubled the length of the game, to put away the Griffins. Tori DeAngelis ’14 scored the game winner. After losing to Pomfret earlier in the season, this was sweet revenge for the Black and Gold. Brooke Wolejko ’14 was a rock in goal and ended the game with 51 saves.

Next up, the Martlets had to travel almost three hours to play St. Paul’s. In an exciting back and forth game, Westminster was able to score the lone goal of the contest when Cat Crawley ’16 stole the puck and fed it to the front of the net where DeAngelis and Sarah Melanson ’16 were waiting. Melanson ended up putting it in after a scrum in front of the net. Wolejko was again unbelievable all afternoon long in order to secure the shutout.
 

In the finals, Westminster faced undefeated Nobles, which had beaten the Martlets on two previous occasions this season. Both teams had chances in the first period but it was DeAngelis who put the Black and Gold on the board first, off of a feed from Crawley. DeAngelis would go on to score two more goals (one was an empty-netter as the final buzzer sounded). In all three games, the defense was impenetrable. The defensemen, led by Kat Pate ’14, as well as the forwards threw everything they had at their opponents to keep the puck from getting near the goal. Over the course of the tournament, Woljeko stopped 101 shots and deservedly earned MVP for the tournament.
 

In celebration of the championship win, head coach David Pope allowed the team to shave his hair at assembly on March 3. He plans to donate his locks to charity.

PHOTOS - Celebration at Assembly
 
Girls' Squash
For the first time in the school’s history, Westminster can boast having a female New England squash champion. Laila Samy ’14 completed an undefeated season, capped by winning the Class A, No. 1 Flight New England title. Samy, who was the runner-up last year, faced two talented players in the final matches. It took four close games for her to win the semifinals, and in the finals, she clinched the victory with a 19-17 third-game win. Samy led the team to a 10th-place finish in the tournament, the team’s best result ever in New Englands.

The Westminster Girls’ team came in like a lion as they hosted the New England Prep School Athletic Conference Division II Championships. The girls put an all-out assault on their personal records and broke two school records in the evening finals session. After the team of Elizabeth Brewer ’17, Alex Kavle ’15, Leta Giordano ’17 and captain Emily Kunsman ’15 came up .01 second short of the school record in the 200 Medley Relay (4th place), Giordano powered through the 100 Fly final to win the championship with a new school record time of 1:01.12. Then the 200 Freestyle Relay Team of Giordano, Kunsman, NorniaXu ’17 and Kavle placed third, smashing the old school record by more than 1.5 seconds. In the 200 Freestyle, Kunsman swam her best 200 IM of the year to place sixth, and Kavle swam her best 100 Fly ever, good for fifth, and Giordano took seventh in the 100 Free. Brewer dropped three more seconds in her 100 Back to place 10th overall. Kavle added a best time in the 100 Breast to place third, and Kunsman won the consolation final in the 100 Breast for ninth place. The girls placed fifth in the overall team standings. The event was an exciting culmination to a great season, which saw the emergence of a number of new talents and committed swimmers.
 

The Westminster Boys’ team was on fire as they hosted the New England Prep School Athletic Conference Division II Championships. The boys kicked off the finals with a new school record in the 200 Medley Relay, set by co-captains Henry Chou ’15, Toby Casper ’14, Travis Percy ’14 and Tom Dudzik ’15, good for second place. Jordan Gabbidon ’17 followed up with a best time in the 200 Free to place seventh, and Chou was second with his best ever 200 IM. Casper, Dudzik and Percy all finaled in the 50 Free with best times, placing fifth, seventh, and eighth respectively, and Gabbidon added a best time in the 100 Fly to take fourth. Chou and Dudzik were fourth and seventh in the 100 Free, and Percy won the consolation final of the 100 Free to place ninth. The 200 Freestyle Relay of Chou, Percy, Dudzik and Casper powered in for the New England Championship win. Casper followed up with a fourth-place finish in the 100 Breast. The boys finished fourth in the overall team standings, capping an exciting day of career performances in front of the home crowd.

PHOTOS – Swimming