Sports Roundup: Girls Lax Beats Ashland, Remains Undefeated

This sports roundup includes recaps and updates on the girls lacrosse team, which remains undefeated, the boys lacrosse team following a big road win, the softball team following a blowout victory over Martha’s Vineyard, the sailing team earned a win on Saturday, the girls and boys tennis teams earned victories, and the baseball team hosted St. John Paul on Friday.

Girls Lax Scores 11 Unanswered Goals To Remain Unbeaten

The Nantucket girls lacrosse team hasn’t faced much adversity this season. If you asked head coach Jami Lower, she would say that her team dealt with adversity in their win over Boston Latin Academy last month, but even that was a fairly convincing victory in the form of a 20-13 triumph.

But on Sunday, the Whalers welcomed Ashland High School to the island. The Clockers were 10-2 entering the game and ranked #6 in the Div. 3 state power rankings. They proved to be a formidable opponent – jumping out to an early 4-1 lead in the first quarter that prompted a timeout by Lower – but Nantucket faced the adversity head on and went onto score 11 unanswered goals en route to a 14-7 victory.

“This was a very physical game right from the start which we aren’t really used to playing. It’s not really our style,” Lower said. “So it is hard to go up against but I am thrilled with the way they all played. Every single person worked really hard and never gave up.”

Seniors Emerson Pekarcik and Cydney Mosscrop scored in the first quarter for the Whalers. They trailed 4-2 after one. They came out aggressive in the second quarter and scored three goals in the first four minutes of the quarter to make it a 5-4 game, and then senior Bailey Lower made it 6-4 with 5:21 left in the first half – forcing Ashland to take a timeout.

Pekarcik scored one more goal in the first half with 2:50 remaining to give Nantucket a 7-4 lead at halftime. The Whalers carried that momentum into the third quarter and scored five more goals to take a 12-4 lead into the final quarter.

Jami Lower was complimentary of her team’s maturity and the ability to relax and calm their nerves after the first few minutes of the game. She said she felt like that was the change that led to such a drastic turnaround in their production.

Nantucket allowed three goals in the final quarter but still held a very comfortable seven goal lead as the final horn sounded. Lower was very complimentary of senior goalie Claire Misurelli and her nine-save performance after the game.

“Claire was insane and I mean, thank God,” Lower said. “They were nine clutch saves. She’s really put herself in a position where she’s playing not only goalie but she’s also being a trail passer. She is becoming that middle pass to change field, which is awesome. To have an athletic person in goal is awesome and she’s not afraid.”

Bailey Lower finished with six goals. Pekarcik had four goals and two assists. Mosscrop had four goals and an assist. The Whaler’s big three stepped up offensively in a big way, but Jami Lower said the message to her team before the game was that the game would come down to defense.

“I told the defense yesterday that it will be their first true test since the beginning of this season and they’re going to win this game for the team or you’re not,” Lower said, “And they stepped up and again it was a cohesive effort. Maddie (Lombardi) with the groundballs, Myah (Johnson) – I could name every single defender. They all worked hard to play together and come up with it.

Nantucket is now 11-0 and their next game will be on Tuesday, May 7 at home against Barnstable at 5 p.m.

Boys Lacrosse Completes Fourth Quarter Comeback, Wins Sixth Straight

Nantucket rode four goals from sophomore Arann Hanlon to a 7-6 road victory Sunday afternoon against King Phillip Regional High School – the #14 seed in the Div. 2 state tournament bracket with a record of 6-4 entering the Sunday matinee game.

“Arann has a really good field sense on offense,” head coach Sam Aloisi said. “He finds the open seams. He's just a good player all-around. He's a very good defender too.”

Nantucket trailed 6-4 in the fourth quarter before scoring three unanswered goals to win the game. The victory was their sixth straight and now puts their record at 8-1 as they sit atop the Div. 4 state tournament rankings.

The other goal scorers for Nantucket included seniors Jack Halik, Cole Chambers, and Colby O’Keefe. Aloisi said the depth of goal scorers on this team allows players such as Hanlon to be even more dangerous on the offensive end of the field.

“I think a big part of (Arann’s success) is the offense in general is very good. Teams can't just double team any one of them so they're all basically facing one on one matchups,” Aloisi said. “Arann being a midfielder, he usually has a short stick on him so there's a lot of things he's able to do. With Colton and Colby and Nolen (Mosscrop) and Jack (Halik) and Paddy (Carroll) and Ryan (Davis), you can't leave any one of those guys alone. Arann is probably the best, either he or Jack, probably the best dodger that we have. He's also obviously one year quicker, stronger, more confident, more experienced.”

Aloisi said his defense was outstanding and pointed to the play of sophomore Canton Jenkinson, who is filling in for senior captain Griffin Starr after Starr sustained an injury against Falmouth last week.

“The defense played incredible today. The whole defense,” Aloisi said. “We went up 3-0, then it was 3-1 at half. Then in the third we had a bit of an offensive breakdown by throwing balls away, turning balls over. Jeremy (Jenkinson) was great in net (13 saves). Canton stepped right in there for Griff and did a great job.”

Aloisi also mentioned the play of Halik, who has proven to be an excellent goal scorer throughout his varsity career but is making an impact with his defense of late.

“Jack played really well on defense and he had that first goal,” Aloisi said. “We are really leaning on him as one of our top defensive middies now as well because he has really picked it up.”

Aloisi said he feels the team is where he and his coaching staff believed they could be when evaluating them before the season began.

“We laid an egg against Falmouth that first time. The whole team just got off the bus with their heads somewhere else,” Aloisi said. “Even (Sunday) they honestly didn’t play well all four quarters. That third quarter was bad on offense. We told them if they can put four quarter together, they’ll be tough to beat. They are also in great shape and that is with great thanks to Wally (Lester).”

Nantucket will try to improve to 9-1 on Tuesday, May 7 when they travel to Barnstable for a 4 p.m. game.

Softball Earns Blowout Victory Late Over Martha’s Vineyard

The Nantucket softball team welcomed Martha’s Vineyard to the island on Sunday and while the game was close entering the bottom half of the 5th inning (12-9 Whaler lead), Nantucket exploded for 10 runs in the inning to win the game 22-9. The inning was capped with a two-run home run by Lil Wullschleger.

"We started the game off with our bats, which is what we've been working on the past few practices is getting those hits early,” Whaler head coach Grace-Anne Tornovish said. “It was kind of a nail-biter going into the last inning and we got 10 runs. We were really paying attention on the bases today. Heads up base running. The Vineyard was very good at base running, so I think we kind of were watching them and then following their lead, which is good for our girls to learn and see.”

The Vineyard scored three quick runs in the first inning, but the Whalers matched them and scored three first inning runs of their own thanks to a bases clearing double by Ava Watson with the bases loaded.

Defensively, Tornovish said she was overall pretty happy with how her team played in the field.

“Defensively we were making plays that needed to be made," she said. "A few errors, but we came back from them. We didn't hang our head. That's a good lesson that we've also learned.”

Nantucket was also in action on Friday and exploded for 33 runs in a 33-14 victory over St. John Paul II. The Whalers are now 4-5 this season and will try to improve to .500 on the season when they host Sturgis East on Wednesday, May 8 at 4 p.m.

Sailing Beats Old Rochester

The Nantucket sailing team hosted Old Rochester Regional High School on Saturday and earned a 3-1 victory. Assistant coach Jim Meehan was taking photos throughout the regatta and shared some with the Current, which we have included below.

Girls, Boys Tennis Earn Wins Over Rising Tide

The girls and boys tennis teams earned victories over the Rising Tide Herons on Friday 5-0 and 4-1 respectively. Below are the results for each team.

Girls:

First Single: Joan Harris beat her opponent in straight sets 6-0, 6-3.

Second Single: Lily Chibnik beat her opponent in straight sets 6-1, 6-2.

Third Single: Lauren Cutone beat her opponent in straight sets 6-0, 6-0.

First Doubles: Chloe Marrero and Hannah Gerardi beat their opponent in straight sets 6-4, 6-2.

Second Doubles: Sara Dussault and Andrea Bunlerssak beat their opponents in straight sets 6-1, 6-1.

Exhibition matches: Vicky Todorova and Presy Penkova won their match 6-0, 6-1.

Vicky Borchova and Emery Bouchard beat their opponent 6-0, 6-1.

The Whalers are now 5-2 and their next match is scheduled for Monday, May 6 at home against Dennis-Yarmouth at 4 p.m.

Boys:

First Single: Boyan Kalpazanov beat his opponent in straight sets 6-0, 6-3.

Second Single: Nik Krastev beat his opponent in straight sets 6-0, 6-0.

Third Single: Henry Kathawala beat his opponent in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.

First Doubles: Sam Iller and Fuller Holland beat their opponent 2-1. They lost the first set 6-7 but rallied to win set two 6-2 and set three 6-3.

Second Doubles: Ethan Watson and Manny Castro lost their matchup 4-6, 4-6.

Nantucket is now 5-3 and their next game is scheduled for Monday, May 6 on the road against Plymouth South at 4 p.m.

Baseball Loses To SJP

The Nantucket baseball team lost to St. John Paul II on Friday 13-3. They are now 1-10 this season and will try to get back into the win column on Monday, May 6 on the road against Atlantis Charter School at 3:15 p.m.

Monday, May 6:

The girls tennis team will be at home facing Dennis-Yarmouth at 4 p.m.

The baseball team will be on the road facing Atlantis Charter School at 3:15 p.m.

The boys tennis team will be on the road facing Plymouth South at 4 p.m.

Tuesday, May 7:

The sailing team will be at home facing Sturgis East at 4 p.m.

The girls lacrosse team will be at home facing Barnstable at 5 p.m.

The boys lacrosse team will be on the road facing Barnstable at 4 p.m.

For more coverage of all the Nantucket spring sports teams, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, or X (Twitter). You can follow photographer Chris Tran by clicking here. You can view the MIAA power rankings here.