Sports Roundup: Girls Tennis Earns Signature Win, Girls Lacrosse Remains Undefeated, Boys Lax Beats Sandwich
David Creed •
This Whaler sports roundup includes an update on the girls tennis team following their first win in program history over the St. John Paul II Lions, the girls lacrosse team following a pair of wins - including one in overtime on the road, the boys lacrosse team following a blowout victory over the Sandwich Blue Knights on the road, the boys tennis team, the sailing team, the baseball team after a road loss, and the softball team after losing their first home game of the season.
Girls Tennis Beats SJP For First Time In Program History
The girls tennis team is on a roll and improved to 4-3 this season following their third consecutive victory on Monday after a 1-3 start to the season. On Monday, they beat St. John Paul II High School on the island 3-2 – leading head coach Luke Thornewill to praise his group for their efforts.
Thornewill called the win “one of their greatest ever” – noting that the program has never beaten SJP collectively as a team in his five years as head coach until Monday, and just once has an SJP singles or doubles player lost to Nantucket (Sutton LeBrecht and Sara Dussault beat SJP as the first doubles pairing last year). Nantucket lost to SJP 5-0 in this year's season opener on the road.
Before the match, the Whalers presented SJP with t-shirts, stickers, and bands sharing the “Angel Warrior Message,” which is the girls tennis team’s ongoing mission to combat drug use, alcohol use, and bullying on the island. Thornewill said they will be doing this before each home match to help spread the message.
The three winners of the match for Nantucket were second single Sara Dussault, third single Gabby Nikolova, and first doubles pairing Evie Phelps and Sutton LeBrecht.
Dussault beat her opponent in a three-set match. She won the first set 6-4, lost the second set 5-7, and won the third set 6-4. Dussault said post-match that she was not feeling her best throughout the match but felt she played pretty well.
“The girl I was playing did not seem very good at the beginning, but after the first few games something clicked in her,” Dussault said. “I unfortunately was struggling with my back hand at the beginning, but it seemed to improve towards the end. I would say I did very well with ball placement and my opponent did a good job getting the ball back. Overall, it wasn’t my best match, but I’m still happy with the win.”
Nikolova also needed three sets to earn her victory – losing the first set 3-6 before winning 6-3 in the second set. She won the 10-point tiebreaker 10-7. She said she felt she had a really good match and that she was focusing on keeping the ball in play and forcing her opponent to make mistakes.
“I’m proud of my serves because I didn’t double fault as much as I usually do, but most of my mistakes came from hitting the ball out on the baseline,” Nikolova said. “I was winning the first set, until my opponent turned it around and began winning games. This caused me to have a mental breakdown which made me keep losing. However, I reminded myself of my last match against her and remembered that I lost because I let my emotions control me. I calmed myself down and was able to win the second set. We went into a tiebreaker which made me nervous. I remained relaxed, got my serves in, and played more defensively. Overall, I’m happy that I was able to turn the game around and finally get a win.”
Phelps and LeBrecht won their first set 6-2 but lost the second set 1-6. They won the third set 7-6 to clinch the Whaler’s victory. They felt they did really well with communicating with each other and moving around the court on Monday.
Nantucket will try to improve to 5-3 when they host Sturgis West High School on Wednesday, April 15th at 4 p.m. You can view more photos from this match (and boys tennis) here.
Girls Lacrosse Wins Two More Games, Remains Undefeated
The girls lacrosse team won a pair of games to begin their week and remain undefeated this spring with a 7-0 record. On Monday, the Whalers beat St. John Paul II 14-13 in overtime on the road and then followed it up with a 14-9 victory at home against the Barnstable Red Hawks.
"It's much better to have games that are close like that because it teaches girls not to put their heads down, even when they go down or the game gets close... it teaches them to keep fighting through it," Whaler head coach Kelly Brown said. "(Monday) we were down most of the game, so for them to continue to fight, continue to just go for every ball. That is so huge for their development.”
On Monday, the star of the day was sophomore Louisa Beni – who has been used as a midfielder this year by Brown to take advantage of her skillset. Beni scored a team-high five goals in the game, including the overtime winner.
"She was an attacker last year and she's just so good on both sides of the field, to put her on attack is just limiting her potential as a player," Brown said of Beni. "She is so strong defensively too. Then also having her be on the draw, she has been dominating the draw. She had 14 draw controls (Monday against SJP), and that is why we were able to stay in that game. She was giving us so many opportunities. As a player she is so composed, so smart. She is a good, quiet leader. She leads by example.”
On Tuesday, Grace Hanlon was the star of the game for Nantucket scoring a team-high seven goals. Hanlon has consistently created offense this season with her tremendous speed (a track star in the fall and winter) and is using it to create opportunities for herself and her teammates.
"Grace is so fast and she's got this grit," Brown said. "She came into our huddle and she said, 'Guys, we can play more intense. We do this at practice.' We play this thing called ground ball clean floor where every single person is trying to go for the ground ball, and she says, 'Let's bring that into this game.' and after that huddle she went out there and continued to dominate. It’s always impressive when a player can lead like that and then bring it right onto the field.”
The Whalers will try to improve their record to 8-0 when they host Falmouth Academy on Friday, April 17th at 4 p.m. You can view more photos from this game here.
Boys Lax Blows Out Sandwich
The boys lacrosse team went on the road to play one of their biggest rivals – the Sandwich Blue Knights – and won handily 14-3 to improve their record to 6-1 this spring.
Whaler head coach Sam Aloisi said his team was able to control possession for most of the game, which was a huge part of their success.
“Our faceoff guys Noah Stringer, Kyden Whitfield, and Canton Jenkinson did a great job, and the offense moved the ball really well in tight spaces today,” Aloisi said. “We were up 5-1 after the first quarter. I think our first five or six shots missed, and four of them hit the pipes. Two of the goals we gave up were just defensive lapses, but Jeremy also made two ridiculous one on one-point blank saves.”
Jenkinson continues to be tremendous in net and is now getting some help from his offense. Senior attacker Nolen Mosscrop scored five goals and is getting closer and closer to 100 percent as each game passes by. Senior midfielder Arann Hanlon had four goals and three assists. Stringer finished with three goals and two assists.
The Whalers will face another tough test when they host the Nauset Warriors on Thursday, April 16th at 4:15 p.m.
Boys Tennis Beats Dennis-Yarmouth
For the second time this season, the boys tennis team beat the Dennis-Yarmouth Dolphins, this time on the island 5-0 on the Backus Lane Courts.
Nik Krastev was the first singles player and won in straight sets 6-0, 6-0. Knox Keating was the second singles player and won in straight sets 6-0, 6-0. Toni Todorov was the third singles player and won in straight sets 6-1, 6-1.
In doubles play, Nantucket’s first pairing was Rojus Rascius and Maxim Iancu, who won in straight sets 6-0, 6-1. The second pairing was Prosha Artemenko and Dalton Frazier, who won their match in straight sets 6-1, 6-1.
Now 3-3 on the season, Nantucket will try to improve to 4-3 when they travel to play the Sturgis West Navigators on Wednesday, April 15th at 4 p.m.
Sailing Beats Barnstable
The sailing team was at home for a regatta against the Barnstable Red Hawks and won 3-0. Their next regatta is scheduled for Thursday, April 16th at home against Old Rochester Regional High School at 3:30 p.m.
Baseball Loses To Bourne
The Whaler baseball team was on the road playing the Bourne Canalmen Monday afternoon and lost 10-4. The Whalers beat Bourne in their first matchup on the island 11-0 on March 31st but struggled to make Bourne work much at the plate and giving them free base runners – surrendering 11 walks.
Joao Silva and Colby Lucas each went two for four at the plate with a run batted in for Nantucket. The Whalers also made four errors in the field, which is uncharacteristic for a team that has mostly played very clean baseball through eight games.
At 5-3, the Whalers will try to get back on track when they travel to play Cape Cod Regional Technical High School on Wednesday, April 15th at 3:30 p.m. Nantucket beat Cape Tech 7-0 on the island April 1st.
Softball Loses At Home
The Whaler softball team lost to the Rising Tide Herons 19-3 Tuesday afternoon, dropping their record to 1-3 this season. Sophia Yelverton led the game off with a double and was driven in by Chloe Washington on a fielder’s choice ground ball to third base.
In the third inning, it was Yelverton again getting on base with a triple and being driven in by Sianna Ivilova. In the fourth inning, Shelbi Harimon got on base with a single, stole second base, and was driven in by Molly Bedell’s RBI single.
The Whalers will try to earn their second win of the spring on Thursday, April 16th on the road against the Sturgis East Storm at 3:15 p.m.
SCHEDULE AHEAD:
Wednesday, April 15th:
The baseball team will be on the road playing Cape Cod Regional Technical High School at 3:30 p.m.
The boys tennis team will be on the road playing the Sturgis West Navigators at 4 p.m.
The girls tennis team will be HOME playing the Sturgis West Navigators at 4 p.m.
Thursday, April 16th:
The softball team will be on the road playing the Sturgis East Storm at 3:15 p.m.
The sailing team will be HOME racing Old Rochester Regional High School at 3:30 p.m.
The boys lacrosse team will be HOME playing the Nauset Warriors at 4:15 p.m.
For more photos and Whaler sports coverage, follow Nantucket Current Sports on Instagram here.