Sports Highlights 05.11.2015

The Martlets moved their record to 16-2 this week with wins over Canterbury, Loomis Chaffee, Choate and the Gunnery School.
 

On a beautiful Wednesday at Hop Meadow Country Club, the team came away with a narrow victory (199-202) over a determined Canterbury squad. Dylan Cantwell, playing #5 for Canterbury, came away with match medalist honors with a solid score of 37 (+1). For Westminster, Ted Sirbaugh '16 led the way with a 38 (+2), followed by Addison Cilmi '16 (39), Taggart Corriveau '16 (40), Philippe Morin '15 (41), Rylan Williams '16 (41), and George Doolan '15 (46).
 

Westminster played a very solid round to capture wins over Loomis Chaffee, Choate and Gunnery in the 41st Annual Steven Bader Cup on Saturday afternoon. The final scores were Westminster (397), Loomis (400), Choate (428) and Gunnery (460). The individual match medalist was David Miccoli (Loomis) with an outstanding score of 71 (-1). For Westminster, Addison Cilmi and Brett Roenick '16 (playing in his first varsity match of the season) led the way with scores of 75 (+3). Other Westminster scores included Philippe Morin (82), MacKenzie Hawkes '15 (82), Rylan Williams (83), and George Doolan (92).
 

Despite suffering their first loss of the season earlier in the week, the girls rebounded nicely to record wins over Choate and Miss Porter’s and move to 13-1 on the season.

Brenna Monroe '17 pitched a two hitter and Jade Marlowe '15 had four hits as the Martlets defeated Choate in Simsbury on Wednesday afternoon. Catherine Crawley '16 and Emily Samar '18 contributed three hits apiece for the Martlets in what was a strong offensive performance for the team. Samar tripled and drove in five runs for the Black and Gold, while Gabby Brown '17 and Lucy Noel '18 each had two hits to help pace the Westminster offense. Katie Neilsen '18 played a fine game at first base, and Monroe fielded her position well off the mound. Both Crawley and Kaitlyn McCausland '16 made nice catches in the outfield.
 

On Saturday, Ally Marenco '18 pitched a pitched a two-hitter of her own in a win over Miss Porter's. McCausland and Samar led the offense with three hits - Samar belted two doubles, a triple, and five RBI for Westminster, and McCausland had three RBI. Mackenzie Griffith '17 and Hannah Stone '18 each drove in two runs for the Martlets. Neilsen and Marenco added run scoring singles. Defensively, Samar caught an excellent game on a hot day, and Marlowe made a number of nice plays at shortstop for the Black and Gold.
 

Special congratulations to Marlowe and Monroe, who were named to the Western New England Softball All-Star team!
 

The boys won their fourth and fifth consecutive games to put their record at 9-3. On Wednesday, The Martlets took on Berkshire in a tough road game, winning a thrilling 9-8 contest in the final minutes of the game. The boys led 8-5 at the half but did not score again until the 1:48 mark - just enough to get the “W” against a feisty host. Ryan Seymour '15 earned the game ball, going 2 and 1 and securing some key Westminster possessions toward the end of the game. Westminster won the crucial GB game, which helped push the team past the Bears. Despite some offensive struggles in the second half, the team pulled together to get the win late in the game in yet another gritty performance for the boys.
 
Dave Gollenberg '16 earned the game ball on Saturday with 2 goals and some great work on the ground and the ride as the Martlets won 11-8 over Kent. Jack O'Connell '17 once again led all scorers with 2 goals and 3 assists, while Brian Smyth '16 earned some key late game possessions at the FO and scored 3 goals as well. Tim Sanford '16 and Stephen Tortora '15 each grabbed 4 GBs as Westminster won that battle 32-18. Max Powers '17 stepped up into goal, making some big second half saves in a solid Founders League victory.
 

The streaking lacrosse team swept its three games this week to go to 8-4 on the season. Facing off against a competitive Founders League rival on Wednesday, Westminster was a little bit slow out of the starting gate, but was able to pull out a 12-7 win. Micaela Quinn '17 put Westy on the board first, but Choate answered back a couple minutes later. Sarah Migliori '16 and Susanna Baker '15 put in goals next to make it 3-1, but again Choate clawed their way back into the game. The girls had trouble with ground balls, transition passes, quality shooting and holding possession in the first half, but went into halftime with Eliza Christman '15 scoring to take a tenuous 5-3 lead. The second half was a lot stronger for the Martlets, as the team was determined to Grit it out. Baker, Emma Stevens '16, Christman, Quinn, Kendall Brown '17 and Stina Ladd '15 all netted goals to pull away from the Wild Boars. Katie Savage '15 had an incredible 10 saves on the day to hold the Westminster lead.
 

On what felt like the first day of summer, the Martlets beat the heat and the Wyverns on Friday afternoon in a 12-2 victory. The girls had the jump right away and worked together up and down the field to out-muscle the competitors. Stevens was first to score, and Baker netted a goal less than a minute later. Stevens had another shortly after, followed by Christman and Baker for two more to close the first half at 6-2. The second half was more of the same dynamism; Quinn, Katie O’Connor ‘16, Sarah Melanson '16, Margot Frank '15 and Baker also scored in the second half. The Martlet defense played well together – Devin Selvala '15, Charlotte Lennox '16 and Katie Simeon '16 all stepped up to be active and strong for the girls in the defensive zone – held together by senior masters Olivia Bey '15 and goaltender Katie Savage '15.

Westminster's aim for its game against Hopkins was to keep improving as a team all over the field and to play consistent, measured lacrosse. The girls succeeded and then some, winning 17-6 for their second win in as many days. Though the team didn't have its best day catching the ball, the transitions were on point and kept the ball moving up field for the Martlets. Baker, Stevens, Quinn and Melanson scored in the opening minutes to push the team ahead. Christman, Sarah Migliori '16, Quinn, Stevens and Baker all scored before the whistle to take a sizable lead into halftime. The girls were clearly focused on team play, with lots of different players scoring. The second half was more of the same, with goals from Stevens, Quinn, O’Connor, Migliori, Frank (2), Nina Wilmerding '15 and Baker. The win capped off a stellar week for the squad, which has seemingly found its footing in smart team-play.
 

First Track & Field competed in the Founders’ League Tournament on Saturday and had great individual and team showings. The boys took third place out of eight teams – the team’s best ever finish in the tournament – with David Carter ‘15 winning the Triple Jump, Payton Prendergast ’16 taking the High Jump and Ben Feola ‘15 winning the Shot Put. The girls earned a fifth place finish, highlighted by another record-breaking performance from Katherine Eckerson ’17, who broke the Triple Jump record she’d broken just one week prior.
 

The Martlets had a strong week, winning a close 5-4 match over Miss Porter’s on Monday and having a fine showing at the de Villafranca Inivitational on Saturday.
 

With a late arrival on Monday due to AP exams, the Black and Gold jumped on the courts at Miss Porter’s and started immediately. It took awhile for some of the girls to get their feet moving, but ultimately Westminster swept the doubles matches. Ginny Durfee '15 and Julia Cooper '15 won at #1 8-6. Katherine Ogden '16 and Paige Brackett '16 battled back for a 9-7 victory at #2. Mary Kille '18 and Natalie Wilson '18 were in command throughout their match at #3, winning 8-2. After eking through the doubles matches, the Martlets struggled in singles at most spots on the ladder. Durfee had the only easy win at #1 singles. Kille and Wilson both battled back in their matches but the holes they were in were too deep. With the match tied, it came down to Ogden at #3 singles. Having trouble early in the match, she found herself down 3-7 but chipped away at the lead and ultimately won the match 9-7.

Four Martlets traveled to Kent for the 2015 de Villafranca Invitational Tennis Tournament on Saturday. Durfee and Cooper played in the singles brackets while Wilson and Kille represented Westminster in doubles. Cooper played hard but was unable to finish the day with a win. Durfee won one of her matches in the round robin, defeating the #1 player from Loomis handily 8-1. Durfee also won her first round in the consolation bracket against Taft 8-6. In the consolation finals she faced a hard-hitting player from Exeter, and though Durfee held her own she ultimately fell 5-8. The story of the day belonged to the Third Form doubles team. After losing their first match to a strong Hotchkiss team, the Martlets rebounded with a big 9-8 (9-7) win against Kent. In the consolation round, Wilson and Kille played two long matches. The first faced a Loomis team that required the Black and Gold to be patient and consistent. After a slow start, Westminster bounced back for the 9-7 win after fighting off match point against them. In the consolation finals against Taft, the Martlets got out to a good start but the Rhinos rallied. Both teams did a good job of keeping the ball in play, and there were some very well played points. Wilson and Kille dug deep defensively but also were aggressive at net and played a number of smart points. They once again pulled out another 9-7 victory to win the consolation finals. It was a great day for this young duo who showed heart and determination in their five matches. The future is bright for these Martlet players.
 

Second Golf remains undefeated, with a perfect 9-0 record after wins over Kent and Brunswick this week.
 

The team traveled to Kent to compete against the Lions at the beautiful Bull's Bridge Golf Club. It was a spectacular day for golf and the Westminster team played much like the weather - great. The Martlets won by a score of 197 to Kent's 231. Brett Roenick '16 was match medalist shooting a (+2) 38. Brett played a very smart round of golf, scaling back when he needed to and managing the interesting course layout superbly. Other Westminster scores included George Crawford '15 (42); MacKenzie Hawkes '15 (40); Wonjune Kang '16 (40); Jack Griffith '17 (39); Bryson Tomcik '15 (40). Tee to green, each member of the team had a special day. The very fast greens provided the biggest challenge for the team, but everyone would agree that it was a real pleasure putting on such pristine surfaces. Any score under 200 for a JV team is an impressive accomplishment.
 

The Martlets had a rougher go of it on Saturday. The squad hosted Brunswick School at Hop Meadow Country Club and won the match 211 to 224, player-for-player it wasn't one of the better efforts of the season. Two players stood out for the Black and Gold; Crawford shot a fine 37 (+1) and was the match medalist. His putter was hot early in his round, one-putting four of the first five greens. He was closely followed by Griffith, who carded an impressive 38. Much like in his last match at Kent, Griffith played a very steady tee-to-green game. Westminster's other scores included Kang (45); George Brown '15 (47); Preston Eppler '16 (45) and Tomcik (46). The Seconds face a big test on Wednesday at Taft's Watertown Country Club, when they compete against Choate, Hotchkiss and Taft.
 

The Martlets earned their second win of the season on Wednesday with a 6-1 result over Kingswood Oxford. All of the singles matches save for one were won in straight sets by Martlets. In doubles, the result was split, with K.O. winning #1 doubles 8-3 and Westminster taking the other two 8-3 and 8-2. Doubles winners were Arthur Renehan '17, Connor Seeley '18, Cal LeClair '17 and Jayme Stepto '16. Singles winners were Stepto, LeClair, Stephen Gasior '16, Johnny McDermott '16 and Seeley. It was Gasior's third singles win of the season. McDermott was down 3-5 before reeling off four straight games to take the first set 7-5. He then continued his streak by winning six more games in a row, making some great gets on balls that seemed to be almost by him and finishing many points with precision and pace. It was excellent tennis. Not to be outdone, Seeley won 12 straight games to take his match 6-0, 6-0. He was tenacious, patient, and precise; When he wanted to hit the ball to a spot, it went there. It was by far his best tennis of the season.
 

The girls had an excellent week of lacrosse, highlighted by a 45-11 scoring differential in three games.
 

The best game of the week came on Wednesday, when t he girls hosted Choate and won handily 15-2. The Martlets came out fast against the Wild Boars and set the tone for the game early. Emily Burstein '17 led off the scoring, netting her first goal in the second minute of the game. She started the scoring in the second half as well. She had beautiful draws that allowed the Martlets to win nearly every draw control of the game. Lily von Stade '17 led the scoring with 4 goals, 3 assists. She dominated play in the offensive end and had several key ground ball pick-ups and fingertip catches to maintain possession for the Martlets. Emma Merlin '16 also had 4 goals and played very well in the midfield, helping teammates to double-team the Choate midfielders and wreak havoc with Choate's transition game. The prettiest play of the game was started in the fourth minute by Abby Newman '16 who, passed the ball to Fraser Allen '17, then set a pick that freed von Stade for the feed from Allen. Von Stade then beat the Choate netminder in the upper corner. Anne Bitterli '16, who also had two assists on the day, closed out the scoring in the first half with a lovely drive to goal armed with a nifty feed from von Stade. The Marltet defense, led by Katherine Berry '16, Katie Deveaux '16, Kate Breed '15, Lexi Organ '15 and Lily Holmes '18 stifled most of the scoring opportunities that Choate had. One of the highlights of the second half was the goal by Meg Richard '15 who, in her first season of lacrosse, scored on a beautiful, lefty shot, after a nice give and go from Burstein. In her second game in net for the team, Alyssa DiMaria '15 continued to surprise, letting in only two goals.
 

The girls didn’t let up in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday, winning over Kingswood Oxford 16-2 and then defeating Hopkins 14-7 to move to a spectacular 9-2 record.
 

The boys won big on Saturday by a final score of 14-3 over Taft. Josh Cosentino '18 pitched five complete innings, and the entire team contributed on offense with big hits to power the team to a win. Westminster has now won four of its last five games.
 

On Friday, the Thirds Girls' Lacrosse team played Loomis for the third time this season. Having lost the last time the two teams met, the girls were very excited for this game and played their best lacrosse of the year. Westminster started off determined to get draw control, ground balls and to play good defense in the offensive end. The first half was strong for the Martlets, who did all the things they'd set their minds to and went into the half tied 3-3. Despite the good work being done on both sides of the field, and the strong effort being put forth by the Black and Gold, poor passes were undermining Westminster's momentum and giving Loomis opportunities to stay in the game. For the second half, the team was determined to take their time and be patient with the ball. Loomis scored a couple of times, but the Martlets started to find their rhythm. Kate Lovas '18 had a great run out of the defensive end of the field and Nadia Lee '18 made some critical saves. Ana Wigmore '16 was tough on the draw and Lily von Stade '17 and Emma Stevens '16 did a great job with draw control. Maddie Dwyer '18, Mia Stevens '18 and Dallis Alvarez '18 were awesome on defense, while Fiona Fan '18 worked hard in the center of the field and came up with a beautiful goal in the middle of the second half to tie the game. Donatella Mancinone '18 and Sophia Gasser '18 did a great job with the ride and made Loomis really have to work to clear the ball out of their end. Morgan Peirce '17 and Dora Mitchel '17 settled the offense and each ended up with goals. Emma Lange '18 and Lily Holmes '18 made some great passing combinations that resulted in more goals for Westminster. With one minute left in the game, the girls - up by one point - called a time out and agreed that holding possession and to running out the clock was key. Unfortunately, nothing went according to plan. Loomis got the ball and went down to score, but with good defense and a save by Lee, they did not tie it up. The Martlets finally got the ball and ran it out of the defensive end to preserve the lead as time ran out, securing the 8-7 win in another exciting finish for the Thirds team.
 

On a beautiful and warm Monday afternoon, the girls took the short trip to Ethel Walker. Playing in the #1 spots, Mia Poling '18 in singles, and Cindy Jeong '17 and Yilun Zheng '17 in doubles, faced tough challengers on the EWS squad. However, each of these girls gainred valuable experience with the matches and their individual improvement was evident. Playing at #2 and #4 singles respectively, Hannah Buckley '18 and Bo Jumrustanasan '15 both won for the first time this season. Nicole Fox '17, playing #3 singles, also continued her winning streak when playing female opponents. Spectators were also treated to two competitive matches at #2 and #3 doubles. Elizabeth Brewer '17 and Katelin Gochberg '16, as well as Annie Ogden '17 and Mariah Davis '16, took their sets to the wire and came away with 8-6 wins. Rounding out the afternoon, Karus Sabio '18 won her exhibition singles match and Stacia McBreen '18 and Sarah Minella '17 won an exhibition doubles game. Overall it was a delightful way to celebrate the coach's birthday, and the win was the perfect gift!