Sports Roundup: Victories Across The Board For Whaler Sports Over The Weekend
David Creed •
This Whaler Sports Roundup includes updates on the boys & girls tennis teams, who both secured key home victories over the weekend, the girls & boys lacrosse teams, who both took care of business on the road in convincing fashion, and the sailing team who was off to Greenwich, Connecticut for a regatta featuring 18 races.
Kathawala Rallies To Clinch Boys Tennis Big Win Over Plymouth South
After losing his first set of the day 4-6 on Saturday, senior Henry Kathawala found himself in the face of adversity. Nantucket was tied 2-2 with Plymouth South Saturday afternoon with Kathawala’s match being the deciding matchup to determine which of the two programs would walk away with a victory.
Back on April 1, Kathawala lost his match despite winning the first set. His team was able to win in spite of that defeat, but now his teammates and coaches really needed him to grind out a win – and he did just that. Kathawala put on a strong performance and beat his opponent 6-2, 6-2 in the final two sets to help Nantucket improve to 2-0 this season.
“Henry was amazing today,” Nantucket head coach David Cheever said. “He wasn’t feeling well today. He lost the first set, but Henry does that. He figures out how to beat somebody and I was surprised in the first match when he didn’t do it but today he did do it. It was good stuff.”
Kathawala’s win wouldn’t have meant much had his doubles teammates not come through. The Whalers were without Soren Edwardes – leaving his brother Hawkin to play with Sam Iller, who came through for Cheever after nearly giving away the second set.
“Hawkin and Sam made it interesting 6-4, 7-5,” Cheever said. “They were up 4-1 in the second set and Hawkin said my favorite time of the set is when I am serving 4-1 and they proceeded to lose four games in a row without any inspirational speech from me. Then I came back and yelled at them when they were losing 4-5 and they pulled out three in a row. They decided who to pick on, picked on one kid, and it worked out for them.”
Forbes Keating made his varsity debut alongside freshman Fuller Holland to make up the second doubles pairing. They won their matchup in straight sets 6-0, 6-1.
“Forbes (made his) varsity debut and he played great,” Cheever said. “You guys know I am really high on Fuller Holland as a freshman. He plays great and the two of them were like ‘we play great together’ and that was awesome.”
Boyan Kalpazanov was Nantucket’s top singles player and while he lost his first set 0-6, he was much more competitive in set two despite losing 2-6. Second single Nik Krastev lost his match in straight sets 6-7, 2-6.
“The second set was better. But number one and number two (players) gave up,” Cheever said. “Now Boyan had something to give up to – that kid was good. But Boyan could have played him tougher. The Bulgarians just seemed to be getting down on themselves and they need to get Bulgarian tough. Boyan’s Dad said (to me) ‘Don’t worry the Bulgarian will come out’ and I’m like I’m waiting for it, I’m waiting for it and I have nothing to show for it. Both of them have to get tougher.”
Nantucket is now 2-0 and they will have a chance to improve to 3-0 on Wednesday, April 10 when they host Rising Tide at 4 p.m.
Girls Tennis Beats Sturgis East For First Win Of 2024
The girls tennis team was able to secure their first win of the season following a 3-2 victory over the Sturgis East Storm and were led by seniors Joan Harris and Chloe Marrero, who were the Whaler’s first and third singles.
Harris and Marrero each won their matches in straight sets 6-1, 6-2. The second doubles team of Preslava Penkova and Andrea Bunlerssak won their match following a 10-7 win in the third set tiebreaker.
“They have only had six practices so it was fine, it was good,” Nantucket head coach Luke Thornewill said. “We definitely needed a win to get a nice boost given all the bad weather and having lost our first match. It is nice to get this win for sure.”
“The depth is really deep this year and it showed,” assistant head coach Mark Gerardi said. “Second and first doubles played extremely well. We all stepped up. I thought Joan really controlled the points. It was great watching her play.”
The Whalers were without senior Lauren Cutone, who is normally Nantucket’s second singles player as well as freshman Lily Chibnik, who slotted in as Nantucket's third single in the Whaler's first match of the season. Thornewill has spoken very highly of Chibnik to begin the year and believes she is one of the program’s most promising young athletes.
“Chloe did some really good work today,” Thornewill added. “They all did. Some ran into stronger players than others.”
Nantucket, now 1-1 this season, will attempt to improve to 2-1 when they travel to Rising Tide for a 4 p.m. match on Wednesday, April 10 at 4 p.m. Photos below by Chris Tran.
Girls Lacrosse Wins Two Games Over Weekend
The girls lacrosse team continued their strong start to the regular season this past weekend by beating St. John Paul II on the road 14-3 on Friday and Boston Latin Academy 20-13 on the road Saturday afternoon. Nantucket is now 4-0 and has outscored their opponents 67-22 to begin the year.
"There's always room for improvement. I think it just comes back to being ready to make these faster, sharper passes,” Nantucket head coach Jami Lower said of her impression of her team through four games. “Really working on clean and connecting passes as opposed to dropping the ball or ending up with a turnover. This speed of the game is something that I really am trying to implement and focus on because as we get to the tougher opponents that's where it comes down to winning and losing. It's smart play and it's speed. So introducing more offensive plays, more defensive plays, and then just really working the speed from the defensive end all the way up to the offensive end.”
The BLA game in particular was one that Lower felt tested her team. Senior Bailey Lower led the team with 10 goals and added seven assists. Senior Emerson Pekarcik had six goals. Senior Cydney Mosscrop had two goals and two assists. Junior Mayson Lower had two goals. Jami Lower said the game was physical but her team embraced it.
“It's the type of game I love to play and the girls love to play,” Lower said. “They rise to the occasion. They take it seriously. Their level of focus and intensity is all in. It's fun. It's fun to see. It's fun to play competitive games.”
Senior goalie Claire Misurelli struggled in the first half but responded with a spectacular second half where she made 10 saves. Misurelli has had a strong start to the season overall and Lower said she was very impressed with Misurelli’s ability to have a short memory.
"She definitely bounced back, and she recognized that,” Lower said. “I think that in and of itself, her ability to recognize that she was able to bounce back, I think that's huge as well. I thought that was really impressive and exciting.”
Nantucket’s next game is scheduled for Thursday, April 11th on the road against Barnstable at 4 p.m.
Boys Lacrosse Beats Boston Latin 18-3
The boys lacrosse team has only played two games so far this spring but in both, the Whalers have walked away with wins in convincing fashion. Nantucket most recently traveled to face Boston Latin Academy on Saturday and won 18-3.
Head coach Sam Aloisi said after the game the real test will come on Tuesday when Nantucket faces the Falmouth Clippers, who made it all the way to the Div. 3 state final last spring and are currently 2-0 this season.
Nantucket was led by senior attacker Cole Chambers, who finished with five goals and two assists. Contributions came from up and down the lineup with 10 different Whaler players registering goals.
Attacker Nolan Mosscrop had three goals and two assists, midfielder Arann Hanlon had two goals and four assists. Midfielder Jack Halik had two goals and an assist. Colby O’Keefe, Mike Culkins, Owen Sullivan, Paddy Carroll, Kinnick King, and Tyler Miller each had one goal.
The Whalers matchup against Falmouth will be on the road and begin at 3:15 p.m. on April 9.
Last year these two teams played two thrilling games, however Falmouth won both of them. The first game saw the Whalers come up just short from completing an extraordinary comeback. After trailing 8-1 at halftime, Nantucket rallied to come back and trail 9-8 in the final minute with possession of the ball.
In the second game, Nantucket lost 7-6. They were tied with Falmouth late in the third quarter before the Clippers took the 7-6 lead late. Falmouth then held Nantucket scoreless in the final quarter to secure the win.
Sailing Completes Regatta In Connecticut
The Nantucket sailing team was off island this weekend to compete in 18 races in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Junior Rory Murray, who runs the sailing team’s social media, said the team sailed “some of their best competition yet” and came away with some wins.
“The best part was the experience the team gained,” he said. “From watching top teams compete in different ways to using our own methods more times, this weekend was packed full of sailing.”
Some individual sailors sailed as many as 15 races total in approximately five and a half hours of constant competition.
“This regatta was a good way to get extra practice for team racing that we plan to implement into our regattas in our regular season,” the team said. “So stay tuned for upcoming events and whenever you find yourself free, get to the Great Harbor Yacht Club to see what we’re all about.”
The sailing team also thanked the Monto family for sharing their home with the team for the weekend and providing them with food as one of their kids, senior Rocky Monto, is on the team.
The Whalers next regatta is scheduled for Thursday, April 11 at home against Bishop Stang at a time to be determined.
SCHEDULE AHEAD:
Monday, April 8:
No games scheduled.
Tuesday, April 9:
Boys lacrosse travels to Falmouth for a 3:15 p.m. game
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.