Sports Roundup: Girls Swimming Beats Martha’s Vineyard
David Creed •
There were just three sports teams in action this weekend prior to Christmas Day. The girls swim team remains undefeated following a win over Martha's Vineyard, the boys swim team dropped to .500, and the girls hockey team was shut out on the road.
Girls Swim Improve To 4-0, Boys Drop To 2-2 Following Meet Against Martha's Vineyard
The girls swim team beat Martha’s Vineyard 114-38 on Friday while the boys team lost 91-46. For the girls, they got strong performances from some familiar faces including Sara Dussault, Martina Savova, and Hannah Gerardi.
Dussault placed first in the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:26.11, which was just .69 seconds quicker than Nantucket’s Evie Phelps who placed second with a time of 2:26.80. Dussault also placed first in 100-yard backstroke (1:07.26).
Dussault was also a part of two heats that took home first place finishes. Dussault, Hannah Gerardi, Savova, and Phelps placed first in the 200-yard Medley Relay (2:03.91) and Dussault, Gerardi, Hannah Harrington, and Emery Bouchard placed first in the 400-yard freestyle relay (4:16.09).
Savova placed first in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 29.61. Gabby Nikolova was right behind her and placed second with a time of 30.25. Savova also finished first in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:07.71.
Gerardi placed first in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 1:00.69. She also placed first in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:14.31.
Other first place finishes from members of the girls swim team included:
Harrington placed first in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:13.54.
Phelps, who also had a very strong meet, finished first in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:52.38 with Harrington right behind her with a time of 5:55.79.
Gabby Fee, Bouchard, Phelps, and Savova formed a heat in the 200-yard freestyle relay and finished in first place with a time of 1:57.39.
As for the boys, they struggled to accumulate many points due to their lack of depth – but did have some strong performances from individual swimmers.
Eli MacIver placed first in the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:15.68 as well as the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:11.01.
Robert Graves was the lone swimmer in the 500-yard freestyle – gutting it out and finishing first by default with a time of 7:15.30.
Pavlin Aleksiev nearly placed first in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:12.93 but was narrowly beat by the Vineyard’s Emmett Silva, who finished with a time of 1:11.78.
The boys’ heat in the 200-yard medley relay of Aleksiev, Graves, MacIver, and D’Marco Lewis secured the first-place finish with a time of 2:08.95.
The girls team is currently 4-0 through four meets while the boys are 2-2. The Whalers next meet is not until Thursday, January 4th when they travel to Nauset. The girls beat Nauset 95-74 on Dec. 12 while the boys lost 56-91.
Girls Hockey Shut Out On Road Against Sandwich
The Whaler girls hockey team was unable to beat the Sandwich Blue Knights on the road Saturday afternoon – losing 7-0. Nantucket is now 0-3 this season and has been shut out in two of their first three games.
Nantucket has struggled early on to find consistent scoring with senior Bailey Lower, who has been one of the team’s top scorers in each of the past two seasons, out of the lineup due to an ankle injury.
The Whalers have also faced a very difficult schedule to date. They began the season at home on Dec. 9 against Martha’s Vineyard, who is now 2-0 this season after beating Barnstable 7-6 in their second game of the season.
The Whalers hosted the Falmouth Clippers in their second game of the season on Dec. 16. The Clippers are currently 3-0-1 and one of the top 25 teams in Massachusetts according to the Boston Herald’s latest rankings (#16).
Sandwich is currently the #20 team in the Herald’s rankings.
The schedule doesn’t get much easier for the Whalers. Their next game is scheduled for Wednesday, January 3 at home against Nauset at 5:15 p.m. The game is on the island against a Warriors team currently ranked #18 in the Herald’s latest rankings.
SCHEDULE AHEAD:
Wednesday, December 27:
The boys basketball team will begin holiday tournament play today, December 27 at 2:30 p.m. when they take on Medway High School (3-0) at Milford High School. The Whalers are currently 2-2 this season and are coming off a 59-56 victory over the Barnstable Red Hawks at home on December 19. There are no other teams in action today or tomorrow, December 28.
The boys hockey team will be the only other team in action between now and January 3rd when they host the Div. 1 Framingham Flyers on Saturday, December 30 at 2 p.m. The Whalers are currently 3-1 and are riding a three-game winning streak. Framingham is currently 2-0 and are playing the Marshfield Rams today, December 27 before heading to Nantucket on Saturday.