Round of Applause
My station wagon will remain on the road through the summer (I hope, anyway). I came awfully close to buying myself a new Chevy this week but I decided that I wasn’t ready to part with my beloved wagon that has become an icon of the road and entered many of your hearts. No misfire in the engine or stalling from a bad fuel pump or rear-ending at 2 a.m. in Hamden (that happened) can tear the car off the road before I’m ready to take it off. Here’s fair notice for anybody who wants to take a ride in the wagon before she’s finally retired before the end of the year.
Chorus of Boos
The Jets don’t know how to operate at an NFL Draft. Their offense is just absolutely awful and they used both of their first-round picks on defensive players. Then they take a quarterback who will not be good. This team is comical and I hope the clowns go 2-14 next year so they can settle into the No. 1 pick of 2014.
Word from the Woods
Softball
Woodland (10-2) ran its winning streak to four games in a row with three victories over the last week. The most important of those wins came last Wednesday against Holy Cross, where the Hawks earned a 3-0 victory. Samantha Lee chucked a four-hitter with seven strikeouts in shutting down the Crusaders. Brianna Pacileo had a single, triple and a run, Natalie Veneri added two hits, an RBI and a run, and Steph Kiley knocked an RBI single to lead Woodland’s offense. The Hawks followed that win with a pair of blowouts of city schools as they beat Sacred Heart, 10-2, last Thursday and Kennedy, 14-5, on Monday. Woodland defeated Wilby, 20-0, in Waterbury on Wednesday and topped St. Paul, 6-0, in Beacon Falls Thursday to climb to 12 wins on the year. The Hawks will visit Watertown on Monday before a crucial rematch with Seymour on May 8.
Boys Tennis
After beating Naugatuck at the beginning of last week to remain as the lone unbeaten team in the NVL, Woodland (12-1 overall, 12-0 NVL) has ripped through its last three matches with 9-0 sweeps. The Hawks knocked off Holy Cross, Sacred Heart and Kennedy over that stretch. Winners for Woodland included Kyle Beynor, Steve Pec, Matt Murphy, Pat Dietz, Nick Rioux, Chris Zmuda, Mike Ventimiglia, Mike Costa, Jack Walsh, Mike Roulanaitis, Alex Tulk and Dan Johnson. The Hawks won 9-0 over Wilby on Wednesday. The Hawks won the rematch with Naugatuck, 7-2, in Beacon Falls Thursday to improve to 14-1 overall and 14-0 in the NVL. They will host Lewis Mills in a nonconference showdown Tuesday.
Girls Tennis
The Hawks (9-0) knocked off Holy Cross, 5-2, last Wednesday in a battle of the two remaining undefeated teams in the NVL. Although Woodland’s top two singles players fell, the Hawks took the remaining five matches to earn the victory. Lauren Tompkins and Salma Shitia took the Nos. 3 and 4 singles matches while the teams of Liz Martin-Hope Gavigan, Ayah Galal-Emily Rioux and Jesse Erickson-Erica Boccuzzi all earned doubles wins. The Hawks also beat Kennedy, 5-2, on Monday to stay undefeated. Woodland was scheduled to visit Wilby on Wednesday, the result of the match wasn’t available as of this post. The Hawks will play Friday against St. Paul in Beacon Falls. The Hawks will play three matches in three days to start next week, including Monday at Watertown and Tuesday at Wolcott.
Track and Field
Both the Woodland boys (11-0) and girls (11-0-1) had no trouble in their quad meets Tuesday against Wilby, St. Paul and Kennedy as they blew out all three teams to stay undefeated. Event winners for the boys included the 4-by-800-meter relay (Jimmy Jensen, Daemion Powell, Zach Noreika, Dean Conway), the 4-by-100 relay (Mike Lang, Rahmi Rountree, Hunter Watford, Nick LaPerriere), the 4-by-400 relay (Pat Hale, Powell, Jim Barrett, James Giacomazzi), Brett Fowler (110 hurdles, 300 hurdles), Rountree (100), LaPerriere (200, 400), Jack Pinho (800, 1,600), Lang (high jump, long jump, triple jump), Shane Classey (pole vault) and Levi Fancher (javelin, shot put). Event winners for the girls included the 4-by-800 relay (Emma Poryanda, Val Vinca, Bianca Poehailos, Clara Drozdowski), the 4-by-100 relay (Jiye Park, Steph Dumond, Ashley Michie, Tayler Boncal), the 4-by-400 relay (Boncal, Megan Lynch, Michie, Ava Capuano), Alison Knox (100 hurdles), Sydney Corneau (300 hurdles), Michie (100), Boncal (400), Drozdowski (800), Mary Sardinskas (1,600, 3,200), Jess Rodrigues (long jump), Park (triple jump), Lynch (pole vault) and Erika Tyrrell (discus). Woodland will complete the NVL regular season Tuesday at Torrington when the Hawks take on the Red Raiders and Holy Cross.
Golf
After the first month of the regular season, Woodland is 2-5 overall and 2-4 in the NVL. The Hawks earned their second victory of the year last Wednesday against Crosby when they took a 179-262 victory at Oxford Greens. Mike Erickson was the medalist as he shot a 40 on the par-36 course, while Ryan Warner was right behind him with a 41. Andy O’Dell posted a 47 and Matt Greggis carded a 51. Woodland dropped matches to Watertown and Torrington on Thursday and Monday before falling to St. Paul, 171-185, on Tuesday. Warner led the Hawks with a 42 and Erickson shot a 43. Owen Harris was third-best with a 49 and Mike Classey rounded out the scoring with a 51. Woodland hosted the second Woodland Invitational on Thursday at Oxford Greens. Woodland sent two teams to the course and the Hawks’ A-squad finished 12th with a score of 371. The Hawks will visit Hop Brook on Monday to face Naugatuck.
Naugy Notes
Softball
Naugatuck (10-4) broke its three-game losing skid last week and has now opened up a three-game winning streak. The Greyhounds took an important 8-7 win over Watertown last Wednesday that kept Naugy in the top four of the NVL before pounding Ansonia and St. Paul in back-to-back road games. Naugatuck beat Ansonia 15-0 on Friday and knocked off St. Paul 11-2 on Monday. Against the Falcons, Jenna Miller tossed an eight-hitter with five strikeouts while Gillian Fortier had three hits, including a homer, with four RBI and three runs. Shannon Searles had three hits, Gretchen Hale had two hits and two RBI, and Erica Bohuski contributed two hits, a run and an RBI. Naugy beat Derby, 11-0, to improve to 11 wins on the season on Wednesday. The Greyhounds will visit Holy Cross on Monday in another important game for potential NVL tournament seeding.
Boys Tennis
The Greyhounds (11-1) rebounded from their first loss to Woodland by rattling off a pair of wins over Watertown and Holy Cross. Naugy swept Watertown, 9-0, last Wednesday with Julian Milek, Mike Popescu, Tyler Posser, Jeff Hensley, Yun Yen Chen, Nate Lindsly, Jake Gingold and Fernando Branco all contributing to the victory. The ‘Hounds fell in a rematch with Woodland in Beacon Falls on Thursday, 7-2. The Greyhounds will return home Monday to face Watertown.
Girls Tennis
After a promising start, Naugy (8-5) has dropped four of its last five matches. The Greyhounds’ last two losses came against the top two teams in last year’s league tournament, Watertown and St. Paul. Sandwiched between those losses came a 6-1 victory over Crosby on Friday. Martina Niebryzdowski, Kayla Gallant, Mikaela Santo, Sarah Cook, Liz Perez, Amelie Franzen, Wynter Tremlett and Chelsea Iglesias all earned wins during the match. The ‘Hounds were scheduled to visit Wilby on Thursday, the results of the match weren’t available as of this post. Naugatuck will take on Holy Cross on Monday.
Track and Field
The Naugatuck boys (8-2) and girls (8-2) came out on opposite ends of close meets against Seymour and Torrington on Tuesday. The Naugy girls swept both the Wildcats (84-66) and Torrington (92-58) while the boys beat the Red Raiders (94-55) but suffered a loss to Seymour (82-68). Event winners for the girls included the 4-by-100 relay (Heyi Cheng, Ariana Alvarado, Elena Gordon, Jasmine Grey), the 4-by-400 relay (Grey, Alexis Paul, Regina Roper, Harmony Sturdivant), Alvarado (100, 200), Sturdivant (400), Grey (high jump), Christina Batista (javelin) and Brianna Ritter (discus). Event winners for the boys included the 4-by-100 relay (Mick Pernell, Nate Buie, Brian Reilly, Justin Jimenez), the 4-by-400 relay (Patrick Alves, Jimenez, Collin Reilly, Isaque Monteiro), Buie (100), Collin Reilly (800), Dan Schumacher (3,200) and Ajay Guntapalli (discus). Naugatuck will close the regular season Tuesday against Derby and Kennedy.
Golf
The Greyhounds (2-2) dropped a 168-177 decision to Holy Cross on Monday at Hop Brook Golf Course. Nick Tribanas and Tyler Sounamthanum both carded 42s while Dan Capone shot a 46 and Brendan Waldron posted a 47. Naugy rebounded Tuesday to knock off Crosby to even up its record on the young season. The ‘Hounds finished 10th with a score of 361 in the Woodland Invitational on Thursday at Oxford Greens in Oxford. Naugatuck will host Woodland on Monday and defending league champion Watertown on Tuesday.
