Spring Sports Highlights 4.10.17

Note: Due to the weather, a fair amount of games were canceled or rescheduled.   

There were some highlights to this lopsided game. Will Leathers '17 had two solo home runs. Also with hits in the game were Matt Cosentino '18 with a double; Simon Aber '18, Jackson Schopp '19 and Ryan Pineault '20 each had singles.

 

 

With anticipation and excitement on a blustery, cold, faux spring day, the First Girls' Golf Team donned ski hats and gloves and headed to Tower Ridge golf course to take on both Ethel Walkers and Hotchkiss. Knowing that function over style would rule the day and warmth would be key, the girls competed hard and with confidence following their preseason efforts in Florida and some challenging practice conditions back in Simsbury. In match play the Martlets beat Ethel Walkers 5/0 and lost to Hotchkiss 0/5 with some tight matches for everyone. Susie Mahoney '20 was the low Westminster medalist of the day at 51 with everyone else clustered within several shots of her. More importantly the rest of the group, including captain Abby Leblanc '17, Annie Hicks '17, Becca Gavel '18 and Elisabeth Morin '18, struck the ball well and played consistently, tee to green. To a player, there was agreement that the team needs to focus on putting in the week ahead. 

   

On a blustery day at East Mountain Country Club, the First Boys' Golf team struggled in its opening match, falling to Williston-Northampton, Salisbury, and Suffield. The final scores were WNS (191), Salisbury (207), Suffield (218) and Westminster (219). Jack Phelan from WNS was the match medalist with a score of 36 (+1). Logan Hinton '17 led Westminster with a score of 40, followed by Jack Griffith '17 (43), Sam Knowlton '17 (44), Grant Noble '18 (45), Ned Blanchard '20 (47) and Justin Flaks '20 (49).

 

This was a hard fought game that went back and forth. Westminster was up by four at one point, and ahead by two going into the second half. Westminster again went back and forth with Northfield Mount Hermon School in the last 12 minutes of the game. The Martlets had possession of the ball in the last minute, but despite a few attempts, couldn't find the back of the net. The team fought hard and battled, but a few unforced errors and missed opportunities made all the difference.

 

Despite a long bus ride to Greenwich Academy, the First Girls' Lacrosse Team started very strong, winning the first draw and scoring the first two goals of the game. The Martlets held the Gators scoreless for the first 10 minutes. The play was back and forth for much of the first half as the Martlets often struggled with their midfield transition and to contain the Gators' powerful fast break offense. The Martlets found themselves down 3-4 with a yellow card penalty to start off the second half. The Gators capitalized on the Martlet penalty and scored three unanswered goals early in the second half. A stellar 15-save performance by goalie Leah Klaussen '17 kept the Martlets in the game, allowing the offense to chip away at the Gator lead. The Martlets soon found themselves only one goal down but they weren't able to score the equalizer as time ran out. Despite a disappointing outcome, the Westminster team executed many strong plays and look forward to building on this experience. It was a team effort as six different players scored today: Kylie Murphy '17, Kendall Brown '17 and Lily Farriss '19 all scored twice and Blake Cote '19, Georgia Swank '19 and Emma Alpaugh '18 each netted one. 

 

 

After a long bus ride to Greenwich Academy, the Second Girls’ Lacrosse team had trouble finding its rhythm in the first half. The Martlets soon found themselves trailing the Gators who capitalized on every Martlet turnover. McKenna Burelle '17 drove to goal and finally put the Martlets on the board 15 minutes into the first half. After a quick halftime regroup, the Martlets started working better together. Ridgely Green '20 won many of the draws at center and the Martlet attack and midfield began to have some success against the Gators' stingy defense. Burelle, Green and Maddie Dwyer '18 each netted second half goals and goalie Nadia Lee '18 stopped many point blank Gator shots. Natalie Fay '19 and McKenzie Roller '20 caused several Gator turnovers but the Martlets weren't able to convert them into goals. The Martlets will continue to work on their team play.

In their season opener, the Martlets hosted a strong Greenwich Academy squad on a blustery but thankfully rainless afternoon. Due to inclement weather, this is the first time in a few years that these two teams have met. Based on the past, the Black and Gold knew they had a competitive match on their hands, which it proved to be. Westminster came out strong in the doubles matches and was up in all three at the five-game break. Each contest proved to be tight as predicted but the Martlets prevailed in all three. Mary Kille '18 and Lily von Stade '17 at #1 picked up where they left off last year. The two players communicated well and finished out points nicely at the net, putting continuous pressure on their opponents for the 8-6 win. At #2 doubles, the new pairing of Nat Wilson '18, who has returned from a year off due to injury, and rookie Clara Ekholm '20 got out to a quick start. Their opponents battled back to tie the match at 7-7 but Wilson and Ekholm bared down in the final two games to win 9-7. Without a doubt this is going to be a fun team to watch this season as both girls play aggressively at net and like to win. At #3 doubles, Fourth Formers Maggie Chaves and Alex Wolf were reunited and earned a solid 8-6 win. Both girls are playing with more confidence this season and are showing great potential in doubles. With the 3-0 start, the Martlets were feeling positive. The singles matches, however, proved to be a different story. It was clear from the start that the Black and Gold were going to have play their best to find another two matches in order to secure the team victory. Their best chance came at #1 where von Stade held her own against a strong player. While she lost 4-6, 4-6 von Stade made a number of great gets and hung in against a powerful opponent. At #5 singles, Wilson rallied after losing the first set 2-6 and battled in the second, almost tying the match at 5-5, but ultimately fell short 4-6. Chaves also put up a great fight after dropping the first set; she refocused and was up 3-0 in the second. Her Gator opponent responded, and ultimately went up in the second set. Chaves would not quit, however, and tied the match at 5-5. Unfortunately that was all she had, and the Black and Gold's hopes to pull out a singles win were dashed. This was an excellent first match for the team. They showed great potential and grit in doubles, and it is clear what the girls need to work on to improve. With some warm, sunny days ahead, the Martlets are looking forward to getting into the groove of playing on a daily basis.