Season Preview: Softball Begins Year Two Under Tornovish

The Whaler softball program transitioned into a new era last year after Grace-Anne Tornovish assumed the role of head coach following long-time head coach and former Athletic Director Chris Maury retiring from the position after 30 successful seasons.

Now entering year two, Tornovish is excited about the talent on this roster with most of her players returning and feels like she has a better feel for what all of them bring to the table.

“We look really good, and everyone has been working very hard,” Tornovish said. “We are hoping to pick up where we left off last season because by the end of last season, I think we had a good thing going so we are hoping to continue on that path.”

Nantucket finished last year with a 4-15 record, however their final game was a 29-8 win over Martha’s Vineyard at home. While they lost to Mashpee 15-14 and Nauset 12-10 in the two games prior to that Vineyard game, both results were far greater than the team's earlier matchups with Mashpee (11-6 loss) and Nauset (14-0 loss).

“I have really seen good things from everyone,” Tornovish said. “Everyone has a good attitude and that is all you can really ask for right now as we look to improve on last year.”

Seniors Sydney Ard and Yahely Del Rosario Gomez should continue to play key roles after strong junior campaigns last year. Tornovish said senior Madison Silva, who returned to Nantucket High School this past fall, also appears ready to assume a major role for the team.

Seren Cristler will be the team’s starting pitcher for the second consecutive year after taking over for Maclaine Willett in 2023. Tornovish said Cristler has improved a lot over the past few years.

“She has been working in the offseason a little bit on her pitching, which is awesome, and she looks really good,” Tornovish said. She added that Ard and Lil Wullschleger will also be available and ready to pitch if need be.

"I kind of forced Sydney and Lil to also learn how to pitch just so we have some more depth than we had last year,” Tornovish said. “We had two pitchers last year and one was a senior.”

The softball team will begin their regular season on Saturday, March 30^th at home against Martha’s Vineyard with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. The Whalers were scheduled to face Mashpee on Thursday; however, the game was postponed due to weather. You can view the full softball schedule by clicking here.