Sports Roundup: Girls Lax Beats Falmouth Behind Best Performance Of Season
David Creed •
This Whaler sports roundup includes an update on the girls lacrosse team following a strong home performance against a solid Cape & Islands opponent, the baseball team following a dominant road victory, the girls tennis team following a road victory, the boys lacrosse team following a road loss, and the softball team, and the boys tennis team.
Girls Lacrosse Rides Season-Best Performance To Home Victory
The girls lacrosse team pieced together their best all-around performance of their young season on Thursday in a 9-5 victory against the Falmouth Clippers at home. The Whalers got their goal scoring from six different players against a Clippers squad that was Div. 3’s number nine seed in the first state tournament bracket.
“I honestly think all of these girls on the sideline and every single person on the field, I don't think I've said this in like six years, it was a complete, 100 percent team effort," Whaler head coach Jami Lower said. "Everybody just wanted it so badly and everybody worked together. It was a total team effort. It was just awesome."
Dylan Damian led Nantucket with three goals while Claire Genthner scored twice. Louisa Beni, Mayson Lower, Maddie Lombardi, and Grace Hanlon each scored one goal. Two of the nine goals were assisted with Beni and Myah Johnson tallying the helpers.
But where the game may have been won was with the Whaler’s stingy defense led by Lombardi and Johnson, as well as some timely goalscoring from first-year starter Ella Douglas. Douglas had seven saves on the day including three timely stops in the final quarter while Nantucket narrowly led 7-5.
“The whole momentum would have shifted (if Ella didn't make those saves)," Lower said. "Then Maddie being smart with it up the sideline, Myah running it up the sideline. Sophia (Sullivan), Alex (Wisentaner) (strong on defense). The biggest thing was that they maintained composure in a game that is so energetic and crazy. They were so composed. The physicality didn't get to them, which it usually does, the pressure. I'm so proud of them.”
Nantucket is now 5-1 this season and due to some postponements, will have a busy month ahead to close out the season. Their next game will be Friday, May 2nd on the road against Bridgewater–Raynham at 3:30 p.m. and then they will travel to Martha’s Vineyard on Sunday, May 4th at 12:30 p.m.
Some more photos from Thursday's game below.
Baseball Beats Rising Tide
The Whaler baseball team improved to 4-5 this season following a 20-3 victory over the Rising Tide Herons on the road Wednesday afternoon.
Nantucket hadn’t played a game since April 19th, but the bats were red-hot from the first pitch. Nantucket exploded for 10 runs to begin the game in the first inning. From there they scored three more runs in the second, three in the third inning, and four in the fourth inning.
While Nantucket got contributions up and down their lineup, the top of their order had a heavy hand in much of the offense with Eli MacIver going 2 for 2 with a walk and three runs out of the leadoff spot, Ronald Del Rosario Gomez went 3 for 4 with two runs out of the two hole, and Henry Tejada went 1 for 2 with a walk and two runs as the three hitter.
The Whalers will be right back in action trying to improve to 5-5 when they travel to play the St. John Paul II Lions on Friday, May 2nd at 4 p.m. and then host the Mashpee Falcons on Saturday, May 3rd at 10:45 a.m.
Girls Tennis Beats Sturgis West
The girls tennis team improved to 4-3 this season following a 4-1 victory over the Sturgis West Navigators on Wednesday. Below are the scores from each player’s match, as well as some insight from head coach Luke Thornewill on how they performed.
Elis Vieth was the Whaler’s first singles player and won her match in straight sets 6-0, 6-0. Thornewill said Vieth played solid tennis all around for the win. He said she had strong strokes and serves and not many errors, which made it some fun tennis to watch.
Viki Bozhkova was the Whaler’s second singles player and lost a close match in three sets. She won her first set 6-0, lost the second set 3-6, and then the third set 2-6. Thornewill admitted that Bozhova’s game was off a bit on Wednesday, but he said she played a deceptively tough opponent. He said he has no doubt she will come "roaring back" in their next match.
Vicky Todorova was the Whaler’s third singles player and won her match in straight sets 6-1, 6-2. Thornewill said Todorova rode a strong, deep, purposeful shot while making some solid strategies on the court, coupled with a positive on court attitude to earn the win.
Sara Dussault and Sutton LeBrecht were the Whaler’s first doubles pairing and won their match in straight sets 6-0, 6-2. Thornewill said this duo was solid per usual. He said LeBrecht had numerous aces and Dussault had reliable ground strokes and net play to help earn the win.
Gabby Fee and Presy Penkova were Nantucket’s second doubles pairing and won their match in straight sets 6-3, 6-0. Thornewill said this duo had great all-court coverage and net play. He said they played a really strong game with some big-time points for the win.
Nantucket’s next match is scheduled for Friday, May 2nd on the road against the Rising Tide Herons at 4 p.m.
Boys Lacrosse Loses To Falmouth
The boys lacrosse team faced a tough test Thursday afternoon on the road against the Falmouth Clippers, but eight unanswered goals ultimately led to Falmouth beating Nantucket 10-3.
Nantucket came out strong and held a 3-2 lead at halftime. The game remained close after three quarters with Nantucket trailing 5-3. Whaler head coach Sam Aloisi said he felt his team ran out of gas in the final quarter which led to five goals being let up in the fourth.
“We couldn’t get the ball in the second half and when we did we did not possess it enough,” Aloisi said. “We did a good job in the first half controlling the pace and it got away from us in the second half.”
Junior Arann Hanlon scored two goals for Nantucket while Tyler Miller had the other Whaler goal. Jeremy Jenkinson finished with 12 saves and kept the Whalers in it for most of the afternoon.
The Whalers are still in good shape with a 6-2 record. They will face another tough test when they travel to Cohasset for a matchup with the Skippers on Saturday, May 3rd at 4 p.m.
Softball Loses To Rising Tide
The softball team dropped to 1-7 this season following a 7-5 loss to the Rising Tide Herons Wednesday afternoon. One of the Whaler’s biggest issues this season has been their slow starts offensively that have put them into early holes. Nantucket scored four of their five runs in the sixth inning, but their late inning rally came up just short.
"We played a lot better than our game (Tuesday) against Falmouth," head coach Grace-Anne Tornovish said. "However, our offense was lacking, and we just weren't swinging the bats as much as we should have been. We do need to get our bats going in the first inning, rather than the sixth inning, which is usually what we do.”
Nantucket’s next game is scheduled for Friday, May 2nd at home against the St. John Paul II Lions at 4 p.m. The Whalers beat SJP 8-5 for their lone win of the season on April 9th.
*Boys Tennis played on Wednesday, however the game was suspended mid-match and will be made up at a later date. Below are some photos from the day. All photos taken by Chris Tran.*
SCHEDULE AHEAD:
Friday, May 2nd:
The boys tennis team will be at home playing Rising Tide at 4 p.m.
The softball team will be at home playing St. John Paul II at 4 p.m.
The girls lacrosse team will be on the road playing Bridgewater-Raynham at 3:30 p.m.
The girls tennis team will be on the road playing Rising Tide at 4 p.m.
The baseball team will be on the road playing St. John Paul II at 4 p.m.
Saturday, May 3rd:
The baseball team will be at home playing Mashpee at 10:45 a.m.
The boys lacrosse team will be on the road playing Cohasset at 4 p.m.
Sunday, May 4th:
The girls lacrosse and softball teams will be on the road playing Martha's Vineyard at 12:30 p.m.
You can view all of the MIAA power rankings here.