Sports Roundup: Boys Lax Beats Nauset, Girls Tennis Wins Fourth Straight Match, Baseball Blows Out Cape Tech
David Creed •
This Whaler sports roundup includes an update on the boys lacrosse team following a home victory against the Nauset Warriors, the baseball team following a road victory over Cape Tech, the boys tennis team, the girls tennis team following their fourth straight win, the sailing team, and the softball team.
Boys Lacrosse Beats Nauset 13-7
The boys lacrosse team welcomed one of Cape Cod’s top programs to the island Thursday afternoon for a measuring stick matchup in the Nauset Warriors, and came away victorious 13-7 on the back of a strong second half where they outscored Nauset 8-3.
"We played pretty sloppy in the first half as far as picking up ground balls and doing stupid things, going for hits instead of possession," Whaler head coach Sam Aloisi said. "We knew we were going to have to possess the ball to win and that's what they did in the second half. Our guys listened and to the best of their ability, they played the body, they picked up the balls and took care of the ball a lot more in the second half.”
The Whalers had six different goal scorers in the game. Nolen Mosscrop, Arann Hanlon, and Noah Stringer each scored three goals. Canton Jenkinson scored two goals. Kyden Whitfield and Andrick Mooney each scored one goal.
Jeremy Jenkinson made nine saves in the game, including an incredible kick save as captured below.
"I think in the end, one of the biggest factors was that our guys were just conditioned better, plain and simple, with what they do with Wally (Lester) every day," Aloisi said. "I think you could probably see in the fourth (quarter) where it was crickets out here. Not only were the fans silent, but their defense was silent, and that's telling. When the defense isn't talking, they either have no clue what they're doing, or they're just tired, and these kids were tired.”
The Whalers are now 7-1 this season and they will travel to play the Monomoy Sharks on Friday, April 17th at 4 p.m. before taking April School Vacation Week off and returning to action at home on Tuesday, April 28th at 4 p.m.
Baseball Bounces Back With Win Over Cape Tech
The Whaler baseball team bounced back from a frustrating 10-4 loss to Bourne on the road Monday afternoon to beat Cape Cod Regional Technical High School 15-5 Wednesday afternoon – improving their record to 6-3 this season.
Sophomore outfielder Justin Torres, as he has been most of the season, was at the center of the Whaler’s offensive production. Torres went three for four at the plate with a home run, double, and five runs batted in.
Ronald Del Rosario Gomez and Joao Silva each had three hits and drove in two runs. Silva showed off his speed with a pair of doubles, and Colby Lucas drove in two runs and continues to be a consistent presence in the Whaler’s lineup.
Gomez was also sharp on the mound, striking out 13 batters in six innings of work. Keegan Bedell closed the game out with one shutout inning and two strikeouts.
Nantucket is now four wins away from clinching their first state tournament appearance in a decade. They will be back in action on Friday, April 17th when they host the Sturgis West Navigators at 4 p.m.
Boys Tennis Beats Sturgis West
The boys tennis team beat the Sturgis West Navigators 4-1 on Wednesday to improve their record to 4-3 this season.
Nik Krastev was the first singles player and won his match in straight sets 6-3, 6-0.
Knox Keating was the second singles player and won his match in straight sets 6-0, 6-1.
Toni Todorov was the third singles player and won his match in straight sets 6-1, 6-2.
Prosha Artemenko and Dalton Frazier were the second doubles pairing and won their match in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.
Nantucket will try to win their fifth game of the season on Friday, April 17th when they host the St. John Paul II Lions at 4 p.m.
Girls Tennis Wins Fourth Straight Match
The girls tennis team hosted the Sturgis West Navigators Wednesday afternoon and won the match 5-0. The victory is the fourth straight for the Whalers, and their record is now 5-3 this season.
Viki Bozhkova was the first singles player and won her match in straight sets 6-0, 6-4.
“My opponent today was a pusher, which meant she would return every single one of my balls, whether I hit them fast or slow,” Bozhkova said. “I did a good job today in placing my balls in smart strategic areas, as well as following patterns to make sure I had a chance at winning a point. To ensure I stay with the pace that I was following in my first set, I need to relax and swing through all of my shots and not get nervous or tense, which leads me to miss my balls and make them go in the net. Overall, this was a successful match however, I will improve on it so that I can try to avoid what happened in the second set in the future.”
Sara Dussault was the second singles player and after losing the first set 5-7, won the second set 6-4 and the tiebreaker 10-2.
“Today was definitely the most mental match I’ve played and definitely not the best match I’ve ever played,” Dussault said. “I kept getting in my own head. I couldn’t tell if my girl was cheating or not. Then I kept getting in my own head and just messing up all by myself. The second set, I did much better. I basically hit only to her back hand and waited for her to mess up. It was definitely hard to stay calm with the circumstances. I hope next time I don’t get as worked up.”
Gabby Nikolova was the third singles player and won her match in straight sets 6-3, 6-2.
“My opponent really challenged me,” Nikolova said after the match. “She was moving me all over the court and I started getting frustrated. I would attempt to go up to the net and hit angles but was unsuccessfully as my opponent would just lob it over my head. As soon as I calmed down, I began playing my game again. I started hitting deep shots and making my first serve in, often times acing. To improve, I need to focus on my net play and finishing the ball when I get up to the net.”
In doubles play, Sutton LeBrecht and Evie Phelps were the first pairing and won their match in straight sets 6-1, 6-0.
“Sutton and I focused on keeping the ball in play for a longer period of time,” Phelps said. “I think this helped us stay focused and allowed for the right shots to be set up correctly. We both were very aggressive at the net and were able to score many points by fast, sharp volleys. We also did a lot better with communication throughout every point. We were able to call balls fast and read each other in a more efficient manner. Overall, I think something I personally need to work on is staying loose when I serve and focus on getting every first serve in rather than attempting to use too much power and making the ball go out. I’d say we had a pretty good match and are continuing to better understand each other as players.”
Presy Penkova and Elissa Holdgate were the second pairing and won their match in straight sets 6-2, 6-2.
“I think that we played a good game and had good communication,” Holdgate said. “We had good ground strokes and really good placement. Presy had great volleys as well, but I personally want to work on my volleys. Presy also said that she wants to work on her serves as she double faulted a couple of times. I feel like we were really utilizing doubles strategy today as well. Overall, I am proud of how we played today.”
The Whalers will try to extend their win streak to five games and improve to 6-3 this season when they travel to play the Dennis-Yarmouth Dolphins on Friday, April 17th at 4 p.m.
Softball Loses On The Road
The softball team fell to 1-4 this season following a 15-3 loss to the Sturgis West Navigators on the road Thursday afternoon.
The Whalers struggled to get much offensive production from their lineup again after a hot start to their season, where they scored 15 runs in their season opening victory, followed by seven in their second game and 10 in their third game. They have scored just three runs in back-to-back games since.
The Whalers will have time over the April School Vacation week to regroup before traveling to Mashpee on Monday, April 27th for a 4 p.m. game.
Sailing Loses To ORR
The sailing team welcomed Old Rochester Regional High School to the island Thursday afternoon and lost their regatta. They will be off during the school vacation week and host Falmouth Academy on Tuesday, April 28th at 3:30 p.m.
SCHEDULE AHEAD:
Friday, April 17th:
The boys tennis team is HOME against the St. John Paul II Lions at 4 p.m.
The boys lacrosse team will be on the road playing the Monomoy Sharks at 4 p.m.
The girls lacrosse team will be HOME playing Falmouth Academy at 4 p.m.
The girls tennis team will be on the road playing the Dennis-Yarmouth Dolphins at 4 p.m.
The baseball team will be HOME playing the Sturgis West Navigators at 4 p.m.
There are no games fro Saturday, April 18th through Friday, April 24th. Baseball will return to action on Saturday, April 25th at home against O'Bryant High School at 1 p.m.
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