The Naugatuck Open Tennis Tournament will be held Monday, July 25 through Saturday, July 30 at Naugatuck High School.

Registration for the tournament is now open. Players can sign up to play in men’s and women’s singles and doubles categories. There will be three divisions in singles play—open (any age), juniors (ages 12 to 20) and seniors (age 36 and up).
There will be three divisions in doubles play—men’s, women’s and mixed.

Singles play will cost $20 per division entrant and doubles teams will be $20 per team. Trophy’s will be awarded to division winners and plaques awarded to runner ups. All entrants will receive a tournament T-shirt.

Detailed information and player applications are available online at www.naugytennisopen.com. Deadline to register is July 20. Contact Ed Carter at (203) 720-7208 for more information.

After an 0-5 start for a team that lost seven of its 10 starters from 2010, the Greyhounds finished their conference season with an 11-2 record. Despite an opening-round loss to Farmington in the state tournament last week, Naugy found its stride down the stretch.

Head coach Jose Sendra, in his first season, attributed the strong completion of the regular season to positive thinking, leadership and playing time.

The team rebounded to beat several teams it lost to early in the season, including Torrington, Woodland and Kennedy.

“They didn’t have a lot of experience playing,” Sendra said. “But, when they got that experience, it made a difference.”

Success started at the top. Junior Miranda Jang, the team’s No.1 seed, faced off against the best the competition had to offer every time she hit the court and finished better than .500 on the year.

Jang played most of last season at the No. 3 position, and had to adjust to facing the NVL’s elite players. She finished the conference season with a second round loss in the NVL tournament and just missed qualifying for the state open.

“Miranda in her position had a lot of responsibility and pressure,” Sendra said.

Three other juniors progressed throughout the season for Naugy.

Kaitlin Carter, Katie Bottinick and Andrea Jiminez performed as seeds two through four.

Sendra said all three players won key matches throughout the year. He singled out Bottinick, who struggled early in the season but finished strong.

On the doubles side, the junior tandem of Alexa Ramos and Jess Buckley almost qualified for the state open following a second-round defeat in the NVLs. As Naugatuck’s top doubles team, Ramos and Buckley were key for the Greyhounds throughout the season.

“They were consistent all year and worked well together,” Sendra said of Ramos and Buckley.

Naugatuck’s No.2 doubles team of senior Megan Wilson and junior Lani Chucta also played well, as did the No. 3 doubles team of seniors Kristen Cuzzi and Abigail Janneke.

“Kristen and Abigail won a lot of matches for us,” Sendra said. “Abigail was on crutches last season, and came back this year to play a sport and was good at it.”

Off the court, the team had several leaders—including its seniors. Leadership was a quality that became infectious for the Greyhounds as the season progressed.

“As the season went on, everyone became their own leaders in their matches,” Sendra said. “We played smart by keeping the ball in play and letting our opponents make mistakes.”

The Greyhounds return a majority of their team next season. But, the Greyhounds will savor 2011 for now.

“We had a great bunch of girls who stayed positive all season,” Sendra said.

Woodland senior Meg Webster reached the semi-finals of the NVL singles tournament. FILE PHOTO

Meg Wester, the Hawks’ top seed, reached the semi-finals of the NVL singles tournament, while the double combination of Angela Vallillo and Avery Gartman advanced the conference championship match.

As a team, the Hawks finished NVL play at 9-8 overall and lost in the first round of the Class S state tournament to Litchfield. Liz Martin won a singles match, while Brooke Dragon and Eileen Hurley won in doubles against Litchfield in a 5-2 loss.

Head coach Mike Magas said the team performed well considering it lost three top players last season and played the entire season with the label of defending league champs.

Wester made a run for an NVL crown, and had a successful season against the league’s best players. In addition, Wester had a penchant for coming from behind.

“She had a great ability to fight back when she was down,” Magas said. “Megan had that inner-drive to turn the game around.”

Wester’s most notable wins came against Angela Pecci of Holy Cross, the eventual winner of the NVL singles tournament, and
Miranda Jang, Naugy’s top seed, who led by four games in the match. Wester, the only Woodland player to qualify for the state open, came back to win 9-7.

Lauren Tremaglio, the team’s No.2 seed, almost qualified for the states. Magas commended Tregmaglio on her day-to-day contributions throughout the season.

“She was like our anchor out there,” Magas said of Tremaglio.

Magas was also impressed with Julia Lawton, a freshman, who has all the makings of a future impact player.

“Julia was phenomenal,” Magas said. “She won more matches than she lost, and she was able to pull out matches that helped us win as a team. She’s a star in the making.”

Martin was a duel threat for the Hawks, playing singles and doubles.

“Liz is an athlete and is still learning the game,” Magas said. “She won some big matches and contributed to the well-being of the team.”

On the doubles side, Vallillo and Gartman lost in the finals of the NVL tournament, and it was the second year the duo had advanced to at least the semis.

“They are like Miss Octobers,” Magas said. “They were fairly consistent all year, but they really stepped up their game late in the season.”

Dragon and Hurley teamed up after the season started and finished the season with a 10-5 record.

“The decision to put them together paid off,” Magas said.

Rachel Mariano played with Martin late in the season. Mariano, a freshman, and Lawton have lots of upside.

“They have tremendous futures in front of them,” Magas said.

In the opening round, Jimmy Tompkins defeated Suffield’s Greg Cristina, 6-0, 6-2, while Matt Murphy beat Bull Havens Tech’s George Costa, 6-2, 6-3.

Tompkins later lost in the first round to No. 4 Bradley Orban of Foran, 6-0, 6-0. Murphy also fell in the first round to No. 11 Trevor Robinson of Lewis Mills, 6-4, 6-1.

Also in the first round, Stephen Pec lost to Waterford’s Alan Luner, 6-3, 6-2, while Naugatuck Valley League champion Mike Krakowski lost to Avon’s Michael VanDusen, 6-1, 6-0.

Krakowski was somewhat disappointed by his straight-set loss in the first round.

“Of course, I wanted to go farther, but I was up against a very talented Avon player,” Krakowski said. “I don’t think I played my best at states or was mentally set on the match in front of me.”

The Hawks met more success in the doubles tournament, where two teams advanced to the second round.

NVL runners-up Kyle Beynor and Pat Dietz beat Waterford’s Matthew Getty and Tucker Murphy, 7-5, 4-6, 10-4, to earn a spot in the second round. Beynor and Dietz lost to top-ranked Daniel Banker and Devin White of Stonington, 6-1, 6-1.

Also making the second round was the team of Mike Castro and Mike Ventimiglia, who earned a 6-2, 3-6, 10-8 over Berlin’s Etan Cope and Jaydip Patel in the first round. Castro and Ventimiglia fell to No. 11 Logan Gregoire-Wright and Connor Hoge of Guilford, 6-2, 7-5, in the second round.

Nick Boccuzzi and Mike Patsiarikas also qualified for the tournament but lost to Lewis Mills’ Zachary Marcoux and Cal Simko, 6-1, 6-0, in the first round.

Woodland finished the season a perfect 19-0, winning the NVL title for the first time in program history. Although the undefeated record was unexpected, Krakowski knew it was going to be a special year.

“We did not expect to go undefeated, but I would not say that we didn’t see it as realistic,” Krakowski said. “I knew we would have a lot of returning players who had been practicing year-round and I’m glad everyone’s hard work paid off.”

Krakowski became the first player in school history to win the NVL singles championship when he beat Torrington’s Steve Consolini and Crosby’s Pat Vincente in straight sets two weeks ago.

“It was my ultimate goal for the season,” Krakowski said of winning the league title. “I had come such a long way since starting sophomore year and winning the NVL title felt like the final chapter to my Woodland tennis career.”

Krakowski is one of two graduating seniors on the team as the Hawks will return their Nos. 2-6 singles players as well as most of their doubles teams. Krakowski thinks the future looks very bright for the team in the next few years.

“I believe the best of Woodland tennis is yet to come,” Krakowski said. “With the return of most starters, I see possibilities of more NVL championships and gold medals. The one thing I hope my team takes from me is that you must never expect anything. You must earn the right to play on that court day in and day out.”

Woodland’s Mike Krakowski took home the Hawk’s first-ever NVL gold metal for boys tennis last Friday. FILE PHOTO

Krakowski, seeded second, defeated No. 3 Steve Consolini of Torrington, 6-3, 6-3, in the semifinals before dismissing top-ranked Pat Vincente of Crosby, 6-0, 6-3, to capture Woodland’s first-ever gold medal in boys tennis.

“It’s not really there yet,” said Krakowski, as his championship was still sinking in. “I’m still getting over the hot flashes and dizziness. But I’m proud. I know the goals I set over the years. I got here last year, and now I won it.”

Players had to battle through the hottest weather of the season as temperatures soared through the mid-80s.

“Everyone definitely had to push and dig down for every ounce of power they had,” Krakowski said of the heat’s effect on play. “I thought my first match was worse than my second one because the sun was beating down and it was boiling.”

Krakowski broke Consolini’s serve in the last game of both sets to earn a spot in the final. Krakowski had time to watch the third set of Vincente’s semifinal match against Kennedy’s Enea Dervishi, which Vincente won, 6-3, 2-6, 6-0.

The Woodland senior breezed through the first set as he broke Vincente’s first four service games. Krakowski earned the decisive break at 3-2 in the second to take a 4-2 lead.

Krakowski held his serve twice more and on the final rally utilized a passing shot behind Vincente to clinch the gold medal.

“I definitely analyze each player before,” Krakowski said. “I looked at Pat and saw his weaknesses. I keep saying to myself while I’m playing, ‘Go for that shot, go for that shot.’ Today, it worked.”

Woodland coach Jim Amato saw Krakowski’s championship as the culmination of his work over the years.

“Mike is the only three-year player on the team,” Amato said. “He and I both started at the same time. I know we both wanted success for the program. It’s rewarding to see that he was able to translate his team goal into his personal goal and manifest that into a gold medal.”

Wolcott’s Jon Ramirez and Sean Tansley, seeded first in the tournament, easily captured the league doubles championship as they beat Naugatuck’s Riker and Richard Mitchell, 6-0, 6-1, before dispatching Woodland’s Pat Dietz and Kyle Beynor, 6-2, 6-2.

Dietz and Beynor, a pair of sophomores, helped the Hawks win the medal count with their silvers. Amato said the duo continued to play beyond their years throughout the tournament.

“They are sophomores, but they were also the No. 2 seed and I think that’s important to note,” Amato said. “It’s not how old you are, it’s the level you’re willing to play at.”

Amato attributed part of his players’ success to the team’s commitment to conditioning.

“Thank God for the hill,” Amato said, referring to the steep hill next to Woodland’s tennis courts used for conditioning. “This year I think we made sure we conditioned. We didn’t expect it to be as hot as it was, but I think it helped down the stretch to make sure we stayed in every point until the last.”

Each of the players competing in the semifinals earned All-NVL honors. In the consolation matches, Dervishi defeated Consolini, 8-4, to earn the singles bronze while the Mitchell brothers beat Watertown’s Connor Fenn and Kevin Lvovich, 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (2-7), 10-8, to win the doubles bronze.

Woodland qualified for the Class M state tournament, which was scheduled to begin Thursday at Hamden High.

The Hawks, seeded 20th in Class S, lost to No. 16 Litchfield, 5-2, in their qualifier at Old Saybrook. The Cowgirls went on to lose to Old Saybrook, 5-2.

Naugatuck, the No. 17 seed in Class L, was shut out by No. 16 Farmington in the qualifying round at New Canaan. Farmington later lost a shutout to top-ranked New Canaan.

In last week’s Naugatuck Valley League singles and doubles tournaments, both teams sent representatives to the second day of play at Woodland.

The top local performers were Woodland’s Angela Vallillo and Avery Gartman, who earned All-NVL honors for the second year in a row by forging a trip to the doubles final. Vallillo and Gartman beat Naugatuck’s Alexa Ramos and Jessica Buckley, 8-2, in the quarterfinals before dispatching St. Paul’s Angela Sabino and Neda Zagaja, 6-2, 6-1, in the semifinals.

Vallillo and Gartman lost to Wolcott’s Pam McWaid and Tayler Mazurski, 7-6 (3), 6-1, in the tournament championship.

In the singles tournament, Woodland’s Meg Wester earned All-NVL status by earning a spot in the final four. She beat Crosby’s Alba Hoxha, 8-2, in the quarterfinals before losing to eventual champion Angela Pecci of Holy Cross, 6-0, 6-2, in the semifinals. Wester lost to Watertown’s Kelly Lewis, 8-1, in the bronze medal match.

Naugatuck’s Miranda Jang also made it to the quarterfinals, where she lost to Lewis, 8-2. The girls tennis State Open begins Saturday afternoon.

Kyle Brennan

In boys action in Beacon Falls, Woodland’s Mike Krakowski earned a spot in Friday’s semifinals by beating Kennedy’s Vitmar Harizaj, 6-1, 6-3, in the quarterfinals. That victory followed Krakowski’s 8-0 victory over Holy Cross’ Nick Street in the second round after Krakowski earned a first-round bye.

Naugatuck’s Jake Burrell made it to the quarterfinals by beating Wilby’s Reynaldo Morillo, 8-2, before Torrington’s Steve Consolini dispatched Burrell with a 6-2, 6-2 victory.

Woodland’s Matt Murphy also competed in the singles tournament but fell to Sacred Heart’s Romney Tiru, 8-2, in the second round.

In boys doubles, two local teams moved on to Friday’s semifinals. Naugatuck’s team of Richard and Riker Mitchell swept a team from Wilby in the second round before coming from behind to beat a squad from Torrington, 3-6, 7-6, 6-2.

Woodland’s Pat Dietz and Kyle Beynor also made it to the semifinals with a pair of wins. The Hawks’ duo first dispatched Naugatuck’s Randy Kostcka and David Justice, 8-4, in the second round before earning a three-set win (2-6, 6-4, 6-4) over a team from Holy Cross. Kostcka and Justice had defeated a duo from Wolcott, 8-5, in the first round.

Jimmy Tompkins and Steve Pec of Woodland also competed in boys doubles but lost, 9-8, to a team from Wilby.

In girls singles action at Wolcott, Woodland’s Megan Wester and Naugatuck’s Miranda Jang earned spots in the quarterfinals. Wester won her second-round match, 8-1, to advance to Friday’s quarterfinals at Woodland, while Jang needed two victories–8-3 in the first round and 8-0 in the second–to also earn a quarterfinal berth.

Woodland’s Lauren Tremaglio won her first-round match, 8-5, but lost, 8-1, in the second round. Naugatuck’s Kaitlin Carter also fell in the first round, 8-0.

In girls doubles, Woodland’s Angela Vallillo and Avery Gartman earned a quarterfinal spot with an 8-1 win over Naugatuck’s Lani Chucta and Megan Wilson in the second round. Chucta and Wilson had won their first-round match, 8-1, before bowing out.

Boys action will conclude with semifinals and finals on Friday at noon at Wolcott while the girls play the final three rounds of their tournament starting Friday at noon at Woodland. Any players who reach the semifinals of their tournaments will earn All-NVL honors.

Naugatuck's Gillian Fortier tags out Holy Cross' Theresa Marcelynas at home during the semifinals of the NVL softball tournament Wednesday. The Greyhounds fell to the Crusaders 2-1. RA ARCHIVE

Naugatuck fell to Holy Cross 2-1 Wednesday in the semifinals of the NVL softball tournament.

The Crusaders slipped past the Greyhounds on an RBI single by Mikaela Rice in the bottom of the seventh.

The Greyhounds found themselves in the semifinals after outlasting Woodland 8-5 earlier in the day in the conclusion of a quarterfinal match up that started on Tuesday.

The Greyhounds and Hawks were knotted up at 5 a piece after seven innings Tuesday night when the game was postponed due to rain.

Naugatuck scored 3 runs in the top of the eighth when the game resumed Wednesday and Woodland couldn’t find an answer in the bottom of the frame.

Girls Tennis

Woodland fell to Wolcott 4-3 in the semifinals of the NVL girls tennis tournament Wednesday.

Woodland’s Julia Lawton attacks the net Thursday during the NVL girls tennis tournament semifinals. Lawton defeated Wolcott’s Natalie Pagano 8-3. Overall, the Hawks fell to the Eagles 4-3. PHOTO BY LARAINE WESCHLER

Singles: Megan Wester (Woodland) defeated Jessica McHugh, 8-5; Lauren Tremaglio (Woodland) defeated Christina Santos, 8-5; Mackenzie Miller (Wolcott) defeated Liz Martin, 8-6; Julia Lawton (Woodland) defeated Natalie Pagano, 8-3.

Doubles: Pam McWaid/Tyler Mazurski (Wolcott) defeated Angela Vallillo/Avery Gartman, 8-3; Cara Nelson/Alaysia Trotman (Wolcott) defeated Brooke Dragon/Eileen Hurley, 8-6; India Trotman/Alexa Harrison (Wolcott) defeated Amanda Oliveira/Rachel Mariano, 8-6.

Woodland, the defending league champion, squeaked past Watertown, 4-3, while Naugatuck fell to Wolcott, 6-1, in Tuesday’s team tournament quarterfinals.

The Hawks seemed to right the ship quickly in Watertown after losing their final five matches of the regular season but had to rally in the later matches to overcome a strong Indians squad.

Woodland’s top three singles players—Megan Wester, Lauren Tremaglio, and Liz Martin—all lost to put the pressure on No. 4 Julia Lawton and the doubles teams.

Wester lost to Kelly Lewis, 8-6, while Tremaglio fell to Gabby Rinaldi, 8-2, and Martin was defeated by Alyssa Mucciaro, 8-6.
But Lawton salvaged an important win at No. 4 singles by beating Lindsey Parenteau, 8-4, to keep the Hawks in the match.
Woodland fairly easily swept the doubles matches to complete the comeback and move on to the semifinals.

No. 1 Angela Vallillo-Avery Gartman beat Megan LaPorta-Emily Smith, 8-2, while No. 2 Brooke Dragon-Eileen Hurley defeated Kelly Marcal-Miranda Squillace, 8-0. No. 3 Amanda Olivera-Rachel Mariano clinched the victory by beating Taylor Bugryn-Elizabeth Mendes, 8-5.

In Wolcott, Naugatuck couldn’t keep up with the Eagles, earning just one victory on the day.

No. 2 Kaitlin Carter beat Christina Santos, 8-6, to earn the lone victory for the ‘Hounds. No. 1 Miranda Jang fell to Jessica McHugh, 8-2, while No. 3 Katie Bottinick lost to Mackenzie Miller, 8-6, and No. 4 Andrea Jiminez was defeated by Natalie Pagano, 8-6.

The doubles matches were also swept by Wolcott. No. 1 Alexa Ramos-Jess Buckley fell to Pam McWaid-Tayler Mazurski, 8-4, while No. 2 Lani Chucta-Megan Wilson lost to Cara Nelson-Alaysia Trotman, 8-1, and No. 3 Abigail Janneke-Kristen Cuzzi fell to India Trotman-Alexa Harrison, 8-2.

Woodland was set to continue its attempt to defend the NVL championship on Wednesday afternoon, after press time, against Wolcott in the semifinals in Beacon Falls. The winner was scheduled to face either St. Paul or Seymour in the finals on Wednesday afternoon.

Naugatuck will compete in the Class L team state tournament while Woodland will compete in the Class S team state tournament. Both tourneys start Tuesday.

Mike Krakowski led the Hawks on the court this year as Woodland’s No. 1 player finishing the season with a 16-3 record. FILE PHOTO

“The first goal was to get enough wins to get into the state tournament as a team,” third-year coach Jim Amato said. “Once we got there, it was to get the best record in Woodland history, which was to win 10 games. From there, since we had a shot at it, we decided to take a stab at the NVL championship. Then we accomplished that and had two games left, so we wanted to finish the season undefeated.”

Missions accomplished. The Hawks finished their regular season 19-0, almost doubling the previous best win total in program history. It’s an amazing turnaround considering the fact that Woodland was coming off a pair of 8-10 seasons in which the team failed to qualify for state tournament play.

Amato said that the return of the team’s top player, Mike Krakowski, helped considerably especially since he came back as a much stronger player this season.

“I have definitely seen Mike developing a lot more nuance to his game,” Amato said. “He was always fleet afoot and would track balls down. But now in addition to his speed he’s developed a strong shot, too, and he has definitely used it to dictate tempo this year.”

Krakowski finished the regular season 16-3 as Woodland’s No. 1 player. His losses came to Pat Vincente of Crosby, John Ramirez of Wolcott and Steve Consolini of Torrington, but he also beat all three of them.

Amato said the NVL’s best player will be determined by how well each plays during the league’s tournament, which begins Thursday at Woodland with play-ins, the first round and quarterfinals. The semifinal and championship rounds will be played at Wolcott on Friday.

Woodland has already proven itself to be the best team in the NVL this season. Amato said a big reason for that was the great offseason improvements made by a corps of sophomores. The team’s No. 2 (Pat Dietz), No. 3 (Matt Murphy), No. 4 (Kyle Beynor) and No. 5 (Stephen Pec) singles players are all sophomores while the No. 6 player, Jimmy Tompkins, is a junior.

“Our sophomore corps came back focused on the mission of making it to states,” Amato said. “Those kids all really improved their level of play from their freshman year. They played a big role in helping us achieve of our goal of making it to states, and everything else we have gotten has just been icing on the cake.”

Beynor is the one player who is undefeated as an individual this season as he is 19-0 playing both No. 4 and No. 5 singles. Pec is 18-1. Amato said that this season his No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 players, with Nick Boccuzzi getting into the mix in the No. 6 spot, combined to go 56-1.

That depth has served the team very well, but whether or not it can carry the team deep into the state tournament remains to be seen. Amato said Krakowski has a very good chance to get a solid seed and move right through the early rounds of the tournament. Last year he won a play-in round match and then lost early in the tournament.

The team as a whole may be too inexperienced against the type of quality competition it will face in the tournament. The Hawks did lose a preseason scrimmage, 11-1, to a very talented Pomperaug team. But Amato said the team reacted very well to that humbling rout and gained a lot inspiration and focus as a result.

So much so, in fact, that the team has gone undefeated since in matches that actually counted on its record. He’s not surprised the Hawks are undefeated even if their initial goal wasn’t close to that.

“As a coach that is what you aim for,” Amato said. “As a team, that is what they planned on, and as a program that is what we attained.”