The postseason for spring sports is in full swing, with the Naugatuck Valley League playoffs continuing through this week and the state tournaments beginning next week. Here’s a roundup of what else is happening on the postseason scene.
Girls tennis: It will be an all-area final Thursday in the NVL girls tennis team tournament after No. 1 Woodland (18-1) and No. 2 Naugatuck (17-2) both won quarterfinal and semifinal matches.
The Hawks won both of their matches last Saturday, just after the school’s prom. Woodland knocked off Watertown 6-1 in a quarterfinal before bouncing Wolcott 5-2 in a semifinal.
Hope Gavigan and Rachel Mariano, the Hawks’ top two singles players, won both of their matches Saturday, while No. 4 Salma Shitia also swept her matches. Ally Mayne earned a victory at No. 3 singles.
Lauren Tompkins and Erica Boccuzzi teams up to sweep both of their top doubles matches, while Paige Gainey and Chloe Ariola gained a doubles victory.
Naugatuck, meanwhile, shut out Torrington 7-0 in last Friday’s quarterfinal before surviving a 4-3 battle with St. Paul in Saturday’s semifinal.
Hannah Kim, Kayla Gallant and Mikaela Santo won the only three matches played against the Red Raiders, who forfeited at No. 4 singles and all three doubles matches.
The Greyhounds faced a much tougher test against the Falcons, who won the top two singles matches and the top doubles match. But Santo and Sarah Cook managed a singles split by winning their matches at Nos. 3 and 4, and the Greyhounds won the final two doubles matches to earn a berth in the final.
The duos of Ashley Burkman-Tathiana Serrano and Chelsea Iglesias-Crystal Wooster both posted victories to send Naugy to the NVL final.
In the only regular-season meeting between Woodland and Naugatuck, the Hawks earned a 4-3 win on April 17. The championship match will be played Thursday at a site and time still to be determined as of this post.
The girls individual tournament, meanwhile, began Tuesday and was scheduled to conclude Wednesday with the singles and doubles semifinals and finals. Results of early-round play were not available as of this post.
Both Woodland and Naugatuck will likely host first-round state tournament matches Monday.
Boys tennis: As there is no boys team tournament in the NVL, individual tournament play is all that remains for the league’s boys tennis slate. Opening-round play for the singles and doubles tournaments was set to begin Wednesday at Woodland before the semifinals and finals Thursday at Wolcott.
Naugatuck, which qualified for the Class L state tournament, will open play Saturday.
Track and field: The NVL track and field championships are Wednesday at Naugatuck. All events except the javelin finals and jumping trials were set to be contested at the Greyhounds’ new facility.
Woodland has already clinched the boys and girls team titles thanks to undefeated regular seasons. The Hawks are also defending champions of the meet.
Both Woodland and Naugatuck will regroup after the NVL meet to prepare for state competition. The Class L and Class M championships will be Tuesday.
Golf: The NVL golf tournament will be June 5 at the Watertown Golf Club. Any local teams that qualify for state tournament play will compete the following week.
