Winter Sports Highlights 1.23.17

Westminster lost to a tough, tall Miss Porter's team that played good fast break offense and solid pack line defense. However, at least some of our 19-point halftime deficit was the result of a less-than-excellent effort. Rejuvenated after the half and also by exceptional verbal support from the bench, Westminster played much faster and more aggressively in the second half and actually cut into the MPS lead by a few baskets. Ultimately, the guests were too good and the Martlets found they were too far behind, but the team can take pride in its outstanding teamwork and better effort. Eight different players scored, and the team was again led by captain McKenna Burelle ’17 and Gaby Salgar ‘18. McKenzie Roller ’20 and Emma Alpaugh ’18 had strong all-around games.

 

 

 

Andrew Lee '17 led the Martlets with 31 points and five steals in a home victory over Loomis Chaffee. Nikola Kostic '18 added 11 points and had six rebounds for the Black and Gold. Westminster fell behind by nine early in the contest, but fought back to take a 31-27 advantage at the half. Loomis reclaimed the lead with seven minutes remaining, but a scoring burst by Lee on offense combined with a tenacious defensive effort by the Martlets led to Westminster getting the win. Kostic, Riley Larsen '18, and Hayden Fox '19 each had key rebounds in the second half. Lee and Adrian Enchill '17 were strong defensively throughout the game.

The Martlets played well defensively and also featured a balanced offensive effort in a hard fought win at Kingswood Oxford. Eli Cohen '19 scored 20 points and had a few key offensive rebounds for Westminster. Andrew Lee '17 ran the offense effectively and scored 15 points. Nikola Kostic '18 had 11 points and pulled down nine rebounds for the Black and Gold. Kingswood took a quick 10-2 lead at the beginning of the game, but Westminster went on a big run during the last nine minutes of the half to build a 32-16 advantage at intermission. Souley Ballo '19, Adrian Enchill  '17 and Riley Larsen '18 turned in strong defensive performances to hold off Kingswood's effort to close the scoring gap. Hayden Fox '19, Liam Seeley '20 and Marshall Watts '18 also made contributions during the victory.

Nikola Kostic '18 scored 14 points and Matt Marciano '19 added 12 to lead the Black and Gold to its fourth win in a row. Andrew Lee '17 had four steals and five points in the game, and Riley Larsen '18 led the team with eight rebounds. Marciano had 10 points in the first half and the Martlets led 22-10 at the break. Throughout the week, Westminster was energetic and tenacious on defense. The contest against the Bearcats was no exception, as Larsen, Adrian Enchill '17, Eli Cohen '19 and Souley Ballo '19, contributed to important defensive stops. Hotchkiss tried to battle back, however, baskets by Lee and Kostic in the second half secured the victory.

Jackson Rink was on fire tonight as old rivals Westminster and Loomis went head to head. The first period was incredibly exciting as each team looked to set the tempo. Westminster forward Rosy Sieglaff '18 got the forecheck going causing turnovers behind the net and drawing penalties. Westminster made good use of the power play earning three shots with the advantage. Loomis stole the momentum following its penalty kill and earned a 2 on 1. Despite valiant back-check efforts by Cynnie White '17, Loomis capitalized with a top shelf shot to go up 1-0. Westminster did not let up. Defenseman Hannah Carbone '19 was tough in the corners and helped set up breakouts that gave the forwards speed entering the zone. The team struggled to match the tempo in the first few minutes of the second. Thankfully, goalie Leah Klassen '17 kept the team in it with a number of initial and then rebound saves. Westminster forward Jill Parsons '19 worked to turn the tide and drove to the net putting Loomis on its heels. The pressure paid off as Westminster earned yet another power play. The unit took care of the puck, moving it quickly getting the Loomis goalie moving post to post. Lilly Holmes '18 put away a rebound off of Lily von Stade's '17 shot in front, evening the score 1-1. The teams broke after the second tied and everyone knew the third would be a battle. Westminster came out flying and scored at the 12-minute mark. Captain von Stade slipped one over the goal line after a quick pass from Carbone and a shot by Abby Munger '20. Westminster would not rest as the forwards got pucks deep and kept the forecheck going. At the 11-minute mark, Mackenzie Griffith '17 pulled the puck out of scrum in front and found an opening to score Westminster's third goal with Sieglaff and Lauren Ferraiuolo '17 earning assists. Loomis would not go away silently and started to battle back. Just 40 seconds later, Loomis scored to get the score within one. Westminster soon gave up a penalty and Loomis made it count again. Leadership on the Westminster bench stepped up, raising the morale of the team. Defensemen Emma Lange '18 and Ashlee White '18 played hard until the final whistle.

 

Westminster earned one for the win column against a gritty Canterbury team. The game was locked at 0-0 late into the game, with the Saints scoring first. Both teams traded opportunities with the Martlets again outshooting their opponent and Kai Edmonds ‘19 keeping Canterbury off the board until the third. Jack Flanagan ‘17 scored for the Martlets with three minutes remaining in the third off a strong effort from Cam Scott ‘18 who found Flanagan open in front. Ryan Doolin ‘18 finished off the Saints with a goal in the last 30 seconds of the game off an assist from Patrick Dawson ‘18.

This game was a difficult one for the Martlets, who conceded four goals to the Pelicans at Loomis. Westminster didn’t get off the bus until the second period, when the team was already down 0-2. From there, the Martlets played a better game, but the deficit was already too large to make a comeback possible.

Westminster played a close game on Jan. 29, but ultimately lost 7-5. Blake Cote '19 had a hat trick and Susie Mahoney '20 scored twice. 

Lily Farriss '19 scored the first goal in the first period. Maddy Paro '17 scored in the third period. Hotchkiss tied it up with 22 seconds left on the clock and Hotchkiss scored again in the opening minute of overtime to win the game. Julia Krys '19 played an excellent game between the pipes.

 

   

   

The Avon team traveled up route 10 to visit the Westminster team for an off-day match. Avon dominated the results with 3-0 wins all the way down the ladder except at #1. The Winged Beavers had strong skills and the team was deep. The Martlets did their best to absorb their pressure and wait for attacking opportunities, but there weren't many. Chanler Miller ’18 nearly took a game in his second game, losing 10-12. Next closest were Andrew Doucette ’18 and Riley Wood ’19 who both managed seven points in one game. The match ended well for the boys, though, when Aly Tolba ’18 won a nail biter 3-1 with 16-14 and 12-10 wins in games three and four. His play showed a maturity mostly unseen before. Tolba was patient and surgical with many changes of pace. He mixed feathery drops with cross-court lobs and blistering rails. His Avon opponent was very talented. The many long rallies delighted the crowd and made good drama. Especially dramatic was Tolba fighting off three game points in the fourth game on his way to winning five points in a row to close out the match. Despite a final score of 1-6, the boys took a lot away from the match -- individual and team lessons -- and, best of all, inspiration.

Trinity-Pawling arrived at Kohn Squash Pavilion with a strengthened top of the ladder and with experience and depth in its lower ladder. With last year's #1 playing now at three, the TP team was formidable. Aly Tolba ’18 kept the match from being a sweep by winning in three at #1, including an 11-0 opening salvo in game 1. Riley Wood ’19 took a game at #4 and only had game point to take his match to five games. Jack Sargent ’17 lost two tiebreakers, including a 12-14 third game. Chris Hark ’17 took a game and lost a tiebreaker as well. Andrew Doucette ’18 took a game and nearly two others, playing his best match of the season in a 1-3 defeat at #3. TP's experience showed with their victories in every tiebreaker and all of the 3-1 matches.

 

 

 

They don’t get any closer than this. With the match tied at five all, Jack Hajdukiewicz ’18 and his opponent were tied two games apiece, setting up a fifth and decisive game. The overall team result between the Martlets of Westminster and the Scarlet Knights of Salisbury hinged on this single game. Oh, the drama. Hajdukiewicz took the early lead, making some perfectly placed, deceptive drop shots, but his counterpart hung in there and rallied back to eke out the victory. Playing at #1, Spencer Organ ’18 forced his match to five games with a decisive victory in game four, but was unable to sustain the momentum in the final frame. Meanwhile, the #3-#6 players all proved victorious. Ryan Lee ’18 lost his first game, but then took control of the match to sweep the next three. Travis Paulsen ’20, Vincent Wang ’19, and Scott Lee ’20 each one in straight sets. The remaining Westminster win came from Quoc Truong ’20, who after losing a marathon 16-14 first game, came back to win the next three, in what has recently become typical Truong fashion.

 

With its top two players called up to help out the Second Team, and #6 down in New Haven for the Model UN Conference, the Martlet squad was one-fourth depleted. As a result, five players moved up three rungs in the ladder, while the other three moved up two. Add in the fact that they were facing a JV team, and the situation seemed bleak. However, the mighty eight stepped it up to make it a close match. Playing for the first time in his career at #1, Ryan Lee ’18 gave it his best shot but was unable to secure a victory. Likewise for Travis Paulsen ’20 at #2, who looked sharp in winning his first game 11-15, but ultimately couldn’t handle the sheer power of his opponent’s shots. Down 2-0, Carter Henshaw  ’20 got himself back into the match by eking out a 13-11 victory in the third game, as both his serves and return of serves started to click. Unfortunately, he couldn’t sustain the momentum in the fourth game. Dinh Truong ’19 continued his all-around improvement, losing in three closely contested games, including a 12-10 battle that easily could have gone his way. Quoc Truong ’20 lost a tight first game by two points, and was unable to mount a viable comeback. The three victories came at #5, #4 and #3. Will Carlisle ’19 looked real sharp, winning decisively in three straight for his first Westminster Squash victory. In what has become the norm, Boyan Alipiev ’19 dug himself in the hole early and needed to win both the fourth and fifth games to secure his match. Finally, Vincent Wang ’19 fought his opponent for every point in a battle of boasts and deep, well-placed shots, with Wang coming out on top in four games.