Spring Sports Highlights 5.8.17

 

Undeterred, four Black and Gold players -- Abby LeBlanc '17, Annie Hicks '17, Elisabeth Morin '18, Elaina Comia 19 -- ventured once again to Southampton Country Club to participate in the first quad match of the year against Williston, Loomis and Choate. Even before departure from campus on a foreboding, blustery afternoon, the mood was grim. Due to a host of unforeseen circumstances and without the team's usual #1 and #2 players, the Martlets recognized that by not fielding an entire five-player team, they were already one down against each school. But sport is sometimes fickle, and LeBlanc's extraordinary opening drive at the #1 spot, reaching the first green on the opening par four, seemed to signal that the girls might rise to the occasion. LeBlanc would go on to display a gritty performance against her opponents, perhaps realizing that if she can get her putter going, anything might be possible. While she was unable to seize any points on the day, she remained an eminent threat through nine holes. Right behind her at #2, Hicks' performance quietly gained momentum as she too began to string together a series of colossal and straight drives, serving notice that although she may usually play in the #4 spot, she was all game for her new challenge. As Hicks’ play and confidence surged, her opponents fell to the wayside, leaving her smiling behind the ninth green with a scorecard that reflected a clean sweep of her competitors and a personal best of 41 (tournament medalist was Loomis' #1 at 38). Comia, at #3, struggled early to find her swing plane, but even from afar, she sensed an underdog opportunity in the air. Battling back and forth with her rivals and also striking her drives beautifully, Comia secured a critical point over Williston and provided a spark of hope that the team might not go home empty handed. With all eyes on Morin sauntering up the ninth fairway in the #4 spot, it was difficult for the team to read body language. She too had been consistent in her ball striking, especially off the tee, and had also found a smooth rhythm to her putting stroke. Following another ho hum par on the ninth, Morin compared cards with her foes, meandered to her teammates, and casually informed them that she had beat her Williston opponent and tied Loomis. Could it be? In the end, Westminster defeated Williston 3-2, and lost to Choate 2-3 and Loomis 1.5-3.5. With a collective exhale and a sense of team accomplishment during the ride home, these girls and this coach were reminded of why we play golf.

A late match time following the SAT tests, sent the Black and Gold to Lakeville, Conn. to take on the tough Bearcats and Ethel Walkers in a familiar tri-match on May 6. With some thoughtful reconnaissance via text messages from Becca Gavel's '18 brother who knew the Hotchkiss course well, the Martlets considered strategies during the trip to help them find an edge. Playing #3, Abby LeBlanc's '17 drive on the first hole was an inauspicious beginning, however, sailing OB and forcing her to take a provisional. As it turned out, that would be one of only a few bad strikes on the day as LeBlanc would have a breakout afternoon, defeating both of her opponents and sinking a key putt on #9. Both Susie Mahoney ’20 #1 and Gavel #2 had solid afternoons as well, going back and forth with both of their opponents and prevailing over EWS but falling late in their matches to Hotchkiss. Gavel found a nice putting stroke early and is threatened to settle into an effective midseason form. Eve Cathcart '20 came out swinging, surging to four up after four and apparently awakening her Bearcat opponent who rattled off the next five holes to sneak by Cathcart on the final hole. Cathcart, too, is starting to get a good feel for match play and will be someone to watch in future matches. It was fun to witness both Sophia Gasser '18 and Caroline Kelter '19 experience their first matches of the year. Kelter comes off the injured reserve and showed very quickly that consistent drives and shrewd scramble work around the green will keep her in any match. She closed out her opponent two up. Gasser, too, matched up well with her opponents but had to work that much harder to find her usually consistent swing. She battled right to the end and clearly enjoyed in the competition.

Under very windy conditions at Farmington Woods Country Club, First Boys' Golf fell to strong squads from Taft and Avon Old Farms, but was able to pick up a victory over Hotchkiss. The final team scores were Taft (194), AOF (198), Westminster (215) and Hotchkiss (222). Evan Deckers (AOF) was the individual medalist with an excellent score of 36 (even par). Jack Griffith '17 and Sam Knowlton '17 led the way for the Martlets with matching scores of 40. Other Westminster scores included Ned Blanchard '20 (43), Logan Hinton '17 (46), Justin Flaks '20 (46), and Grant Noble '18 (48). 

 

Second Boys’ Golf hit the road to oppose host Taft and Avon Old Farms at Watertown Golf Club. The day was sunny but an extremely strong and gusty wind made play more ragged than usual. The Martlets total of (234) fell short of Avon's (223) and Taft's winning score of (220). Taft's freshman golfer, Henry Horne, took match medalist honors, shooting an impressive 40 (+4) under most difficult conditions. Ian Broadbent '18 and Alex Biedron '18 led the way for the Martlets, both carding a (44). Other Westminster scores included Carson Roth '19 (50), Brendan Jacobs ’17 (51), Darion Benchich ‘20 (45) and Jagger LeClair ’18 (61).

Second Girls' Lacrosse travelled across town to compete against the Ethel Walker School. The game was back and forth for the first five minutes until McKenna Burelle '17 buried a shot for the first Martlet goal. The Martlets continued to exert offensive pressure as they scored three more times before Walkers snuck a goal past goalie Nadia Lee '18. The team from Walkers played aggressively all day and at times the Martlets had trouble maintaining possession in the offensive end. However, a deep bench allowed the Martlets to substitute often and keep fresh legs in the midfield. Eight different Martlets found the back of the Walkers' net as Lee stymied Walkers seven times. Burelle, Brinley Cuddeback '17, Maddie Dwyer '18 and Ridgely Green '20 each scored twice and Katy Maxon '18, McKenzie Roller '20, Rebecca Sargent '20 and Cecilia Raymond '20 each scored once as Dora Mitchel '17 assisted on three tallies.

The sun finally decided to come out for the Martlets game against Renbrook. It was windy up on the hill making it harder for people to hear each other on the field. However, this didn't stop the team. The girls were ready. Renbrook scored the first goal within a couple of minutes but Eliza Polukhin '19 managed to tie up the game shortly thereafter. With the play on both sides of the field, the score remained tied for a while. But towards the second part of the first half, Renbrook scored four more goals making the score going into half-time 5-1. Mia Stevens '18 worked hard on defense along with her teammates Ondine Finley '19, Olivia Falk '19 and Sarah Levine '19. Kyani Jemmotte played in goal saving nine goals. Sofia Raymond '19 put a lot of effort into playing center by bringing the ball up the field and marking up her player. And Kate Lovas '18 scored two more goals for Westminster in the second half. In the end, Renbrook led the play and Westminster lost 8-3. The team is ready to work on passing accuracy, improving on defense and communicating.

 

The Martlets arrived to the game eager to play, warmed up quickly, and got out on the field. Sofia Raymond '19 got possession of the ball from the draw, which set the pace for the game. Kate Lovas '18 scored the first goal of the game. Hotchkiss came back and scored a few minutes after, tying up the game. Eliza Polukhin '19 saw a path to goal and scored again. And Hotchkiss put two more balls in net. During the first half, Kyani Jemmotte '20 had six saves in goal. Abby Davis '20, Jane Ogden '19, Reese Poe '19 and Abby Hoglund ’18 all played well keeping up with the play in the midfield. Mia Stevens '18 brought the ball back up the field many times from defense. Olivia Falk '19 marked her player nicely and Sarah Levine '19 pressured very well in defense. The score was 3-2 going into the second half. The Martlets were enthusiastic and ready to get back out onto the field. Ondine Finley '19 and Abigail Moss '20 stepped up to play positions they don't normally play and managed very well. Lovas scored two more goals and Hotchkiss scored two more in the second half. Nadia Lee '18 had five saves in goal. The final score was 5-4, Hotchkiss. While the Martlets didn't win in the end, they played very well. They cheered each other on and are looking forward to continuing to support each other in their next game. 

The Martlets would host the Falcons of the Indian Mountain School on Hovey turf field May 3. The game got off to another fast start for the home team as Ral Reyes '20 would score in the first minute. The first quarter would see Westminster forcing a few bad shots and the Falcons sitting on some good offensive possessions. Heading into halftime the score was 5-0 in favor of Westminster. The Martlets were able to play some great defense in the second half and held the Falcons to only two goals both late in the fourth quarter. Game balls went to: Will Scott '20 for his many great slides and double teams, Daniel Pinckney '20 for three goals on the day and Reyes for his hard work at the face-off and two goals on the day.

After a day of heavy rain, the sun came out in time for a great day of lacrosse. Westminster would jump out to a 2-0 lead before Salisbury would settle into its offense and part-time zone defense. Both teams had solid scoring opportunities but the score would be 3-2 Salisbury entering the fourth quarter. About midway through the last quarter, Jack Detwiler '19 would lower his shoulder for a power move to the crease and score in tight. With the score tied with less than four minutes to go, Daniel Pinckney '20 would drive from behind the net and score a diving goal to give the lead back to the Martlets. Some great hustle plays late would keep the ball in possession of the home team and secure the toughest win of the season. Eddie Lie-A-Cheong '19 would be a wall again in net with 11 saves. The game ball went to Detwiler for his huge goal in the fourth quarter, which was a momentum swinger.

Emily Samar '18 and Gabrielle Nemarich '20 each homered and Brenna Monroe '17 pitched seven strong innings as the Martlets defeated a talented Suffield team. The game was hard fought and intense from the start, with two of the top pitchers in the region (Monroe and Suffield's Julia Murphy) taking the mound. In the first inning, Mackenzie Griffith '17 scored on a single by Samar and Ashlee White '18 followed by driving in a run. Monroe struck out the side in the second frame, but Suffield came back with two runs in the third inning. Nemarich then opened the fourth by blasting a home run over the left field fence to make it  a 3-2 ballgame. Her swing energized the Westminster dugout, and the Martlets carried the enthusiasm and momentum into their next turn at bat. Griffith led off the fifth inning with a double and promptly scored on a single by Monroe. Samar then stepped to the plate and launched a two-run homer to centerfield, giving the Black and Gold a 6-2 lead. Monroe finished strong, allowing just three Suffield hits over the last four innings. The game ended with her pitching a 1-2-3 seventh frame. Defensively, Samar had an impressive day behind the plate, while Griffith and White each made excellent plays in the field to end Suffield rallies. Gabby Brown '17 was strong at second base.

 

Emily Samar '18 drove in five runs and Ally Marenco '18 pitched six strong innings as the Martlets defeated Berkshire at home. Lucy Noel '18 had three hits and two RBIs, while Mackenzie Griffith '17, Hannah Stone '18 and Marenco added two hits apiece. The game began with Berkshire taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning. However Westminster quickly responded with an offensive outburst, scoring 10 runs in the bottom of the frame as Brenna Monroe '17, Gabby Nemarich '20, Noel, and Samar had run scoring hits. Additional highlights for the day included three RBIs off the bat of Stone and a triple in the sixth inning by Abby Munger '20. Marenco held Berkshire to just six hits and struck out seven.

  

In an exciting game, Westminster prevailed over a fine Rumsey Hall team. Pitching and strong fielding by both teams led to the contest being a scoreless tie until the fourth inning. Abby Munger '20 and Ally Marenco '18 doubled, leading to Munger and Bethany Winters '20 scoring. Annie Sherbacow '19 later added a base hit to drive in a Martlet run. Meg Cournoyer '19 had a big day at the plate, with multiple hits and two RBIs. There were also some impressive defensive plays by Westminster. Taylor Adams '20 and Kiki Magid '19 each made excellent catches in the outfield for the Black and Gold. Fielding highlights included Adams throwing out a runner at home plate with Cournoyer applying the tag.

The Martlets hosted the perennially strong Bearcats on a blustery May day and put up a good fight. While Hotchkiss proved tough to contend with at the top of the ladder, Westminster was more competitive at the bottom. In doubles, Olivia Zhang '20 and Ellie Suit '20 earned a great 8-5 win at #3. Still new to doubles, these two are looking increasingly comfortable and aggressive in their play. Nat Wilson '18 and Clara Ekholm '20 also played well at #2, exchanging games with their opponents until Hotchkiss pulled away to win 8-5. In singles, Wilson had the lone win at #4. She maintained control of the match from start to finish, proving to be more consistent, and won 10-6. Suit had a very close match at #6. In fact she was up 9-5 but was unable to put her opponent away. She lost in a tiebreaker. It was a good lesson in the mental game for this young player. After losing 9-0 last year to Hotchkiss, the Martlets were pleased with their improvement and determined effort. 

 

After struggling against K-O the last couple of seasons, the Martlets were hoping to make more of a competitive match out of this year's contest, and they did. While the Black and Gold were unable to secure five wins, the team tested the Wyverns at various points on the singles and doubles ladders, ultimately winning three. In doubles, the Martlets were solid at #2, where Nat Wilson '18 and Clara Ekholm '20 did a nice job of playing aggressive tennis to win 8-6. Ellie Suit '20 and Olivia Zhang '20 also were in a close one at #3 but fell 5-8. In singles, Mary Kille '18 was a machine a #3 and won the team's second match 6-1, 6-0. Suit earned the third win at #6 with a big com-from-behind victory. After losing the first set 2-6, she bounced back to win 6-3 and then held on in the third set tiebreaker 10-8. Maggie Chaves '19 lost a heartbreaker at #5. She also split sets, winning the first set but dropping the second. After getting a nice lead in the tiebreaker, she couldn't hold on for the win and lost 8-10. Alex Wolf '19 won her exhibition singles match 8-6.

First Boys’ Tennis drove down to Deerfield on a windy afternoon and lost 0-7. The boys lost all three doubles. Azat Mukhametkulov ’19 and Kevin Kuang ’19 lost 0-8, Ethan Na ’19 and Carl Ekholm ’19 lost 3-8, finally Chris Whipple ’18 and Connor Seeley ’18 fell 1-8. The boys also struggled in the singles matches. Mukhametkulov and Na had similar scores for the first set, and both lost by 2-6 in the second set. Ekholm lost #3, 1-6 and 0-6. Whipple and Kuang lost #4 and #6 with identical 2-6 scores, and Seeley lost #5, 1-6 and 1-6.

 

First Boys’ Tennis took on TP at home and won 7-0. Azat Mukhametkulov ‘19 and Nikola Kostic ‘18 lost 4-8 in #1 doubles, but Ethan Na ‘18 and Carl Ekholm ‘19 took down #2 8-0 with ease, followed by Chris Whipple ‘18 and Connor Seeley ‘18 who won 8-2, securing the double point for Westminster. The boys kept the momentum throughout the singles, #1 Mukhametkulov won 6-3 and 6-3, #2 Na won 6-3 and 6-0, #3 Kostic won 6-1 and 6-1, #4 Ekholm won 6-2 and 6-0. Whipple had a close first set, and eventually defeated his opponent 7-5 and 6-1. Stone Brown ‘17 finished strong, winning both sets 6-0.

 

Second Girls’ Tennis had another fine weekend with a 5-2 win against KO. Doubles teams Stacia McBreen ’18 and Klaudia Khegay ‘19, Rosy Sieglaff ’18 and Susannah Van Leuven ’20 and Isabel Niles ’18 and Annabel Bradley ’19 all won their matches. Solo stars Mia Poling ’18 and Elena Lie-A-Cheong ’17 also brought home the win. The team kept its energy up through this hot afternoon. 

 

The early and late highlight of the day was having an activity bus with lots of heat. On a day in which the wind blew and rain and sun alternated and at times even came at once, Second Boys’ Tennis wasn't able to win a lot of games. In doubles it was Ashton Howey ’18 and James Chun ’19 leading the way with three games. In singles, Max Torrez ’18 at #5 lost 2-6, 4-6 after many, many deuces at 4-4 in his second set. Torrez battles every match and has won the most matches on the team. Scott Wilson ’19 at #3 played his best tennis of the season with very well conceived points, designed to move his opponent to all four corners. Unfortunately, his opponent was able to run down most of those shots and often hit winners on the run. He had been #1 at one point for Deerfield. The best match of the afternoon, though, was at #6, where Curtis Brockelman ’19 made a strong bid to earn a point for the Black and Gold. His first set went 3-6 to Deerfield but left Brockelman confident. In set two he stormed out to a 3-0 lead and then 5-2, but lost the thread at that point. His 5-7 second set loss left him with eight games won on the day, out of 20 total that the team won.

  

With pleasant temperatures, light winds and plenty of courts on which to play, the Martlets seemed poised to pull off an upset of the mighty Boars. However, it was not to be. Despite the gritty, grind it out brand of play on display all afternoon, the Martlets fell to Choate by a final score of 6-1. There was some consolation in knowing that just six games, across three matches, separated the two sides on a beautiful mid-spring afternoon at the Hunt Tennis Center.

 

The Martlets got off to a slow start in doubles dropping all three matches and conceding the critical doubles point. Jack Flanagan ‘17 and Justin Liu ‘18 lost their first match of the season at number one, 5-8. They battled all the way back from a 5-0 deficit to make it interesting. Kai Edmonds ‘19 and Quoc Anh Truong ‘20 fell to their opponents 3-8, while Nick Wee ‘18 and Jack Hajdukiewicz ‘18 also lost 3-8.

 

The singles matches were tightly contested. Flanagan improved to 3-0 in singles with an 8-1 lambasting of his opponent. Liu played another outstanding match in which he battled the physical fatigue of a 16-game pro set and the mental fatigue of having just completed his AP English exam. Liu’s final was 7-9.  Scott Lee ‘20 faced a strong player and fought hard before eventually losing 0-8 at three singles. Aidan Wood ‘20 battled back from an early 2-5 deficit to nearly take his match at number five, 6-8. Darian Purcell ’19 was just one point from evening his match at seven a piece. He came up short 6-8 at number six singles.

 

The match of the day was played by Cal LeClair ‘17 at number four singles. He faced a talented and more  experienced player with a good serve and steady groundstrokes. LeClair was also feeling nauseous and battling stomach cramps, but he somehow managed to even the score at four a piece after eight games. LeClair was broken on his next service game and was unable to finish off his healthier opponent, 4-8. However, LeClair competed exceptionally well, and he showed true grit and grace in defeat. 

 

Third Coed Tennis traveled up the mountain to Renbrook to face a younger and talented squad of middle school youth. Scott Lee '20 played a strong opponent at first singles. The ability of the Renbrook player to place the ball in the back corners of the court proved to be too much for Lee, who nonetheless played a solid game. Aidan Wood '20 at second doubles won the first game after multiple deuce points. As with Lee, his opponent had a hard and accurate shot that resulted in a 1-6 decision. The most competitive games were played on a court that was up the hill and out of sight. Quoc Anh Truong '20, playing third singles, fought to a 4-6 decision after going down 0-3 to start his match. The doubles team of Alex Ellis '20 (who is a Renbrook alum) and Vincent Wang '19 also lost 4-6. Rounding out the afternoon of play were Eda Chen '20 and Michelle Kim '20 playing first doubles, Zachary Burelle '20 and Brad Donegan '20 playing third doubles, and Chris Turino '20 playing fourth singles. All won at least one game, and many of the games lost went to deuce. The play was more even overall than the score might suggest, and the Westminster athletes look forward to getting back on the courts.

The day began with a victory on the track in the 4x100m relay thanks to Lauren Nam ‘18, Katherine Eckerson ‘17, Chloe Sealy ‘18 and Alexa Green ‘17. Eckerson had a great day: she won the 200m and triple jump and placed second in the long jump. Green also went on to win the 100m dash. Sealy was also a point scorer in the pole vault and the high jump. Also in the high jump, Amanda Liu ’18 won the event and Hannah Kaye ’19 scored her first points of the season, finishing fifth. In the distance events, Morgan Peirce ’17 finish fourth in the 3000m and Sarah Minella ’17 finished fifth in the 800m. Sophie Tawney ’17 won the discus and shot put and finished second in the javelin. Also scoring in the throws were Anissa Joseph ’17 and Nathali Madrid ’17 in both the shot put and discus.

 

The boys began their day with a big win in the 4x100m relay thanks to Brandon Williams ’18, Tim Callahan ‘17, Isaiah Preyer ‘17 and Delando Clarke ‘17. Clarke won the 200m, high jump and triple jump. Williams won the 300m hurdles and finished second in the 110 hurdles. Preyer finished third in the 200m and fourth in the discus. Preyer and Callahan also helped the 4x400m relay team, also consisting of Teagan Stedman ’18 and Joel Groves ‘17, to second place, and a season best time, to close out the meet. Devonte McCall ’17 won the long jump and 100m. Dom Cirillo ’17 won the shot put, discus and javelin. Payton Prendergast ’17 won the 110m hurdles and finished second in the high jump. In the distance events, Stedman won the 800m while John Kuzminskas ’18 and Daniel Chey ’18 placed second and fourth respectively in the 3000m. Drew Brownback ’19 scored points in the pole vault, 300m hurdles and triple jump. Cam Gould ’17 placed in the pole vault, as did Joel Groves ’17 in the Javelin.