Whaler Sports Roundup May 17 & 18, 2023

In this Whaler Sports Roundup made up of games on May 17 and May 18, you’ll see the girls lacrosse team secured a win in their final road game of the regular season, the boys tennis team cruised to a win that consisted of one senior getting his first ever singles win, sailing won a pair of regattas and honored their late classmate and friend, Baxter Waldman in the process, the girls tennis team won a road match against Rising Tide to keep their state tournament hopes alive, and the baseball team had a chance to play on their new baseball field.

Girls Lax Scores 19 In Road Win Over Nauset

The girls lacrosse team continues to produce offensively. The Whalers scored 19 goals in their 19-9 win over the Nauset Warriors on the road Thursday afternoon and are now averaging over 14 goals per game while averaging just a touch over eight goals against per game.

Nantucket, who improved their record to 13-3 this season, was led by Bailey Lower’s nine goals while Cydney Mosscrop (five), Emerson Pekarcik (three), and Dylan Damian (two) rounded out the scoring. Pekarcik led the team with five assists and continues to show game after game that she can impact the result in a variety of ways aside from goal scoring.

The Whalers will not eagerly anticipate Friday’s release of the updated state rankings. They were slotted into the #5 slot in the latest release, which came on Tuesday but are hoping they can catch #4 Weston with a strong end to the season.

Thursday’s victory over the Warriors was the final road contest for the Whalers, who after a brutal eight straight road games to begin their season will now have four home games to end their regular season.

Nantucket’s next game will be on Monday, May 22 when they play the St. John Paul II Lions at 4 p.m. That game will be followed by matchups against Dennis-Yarmouth on May 23, Cape Cod Academy on May 25, and Martha’s Vineyard on May 27.

Hunter Gross Wins First Career Singles Match In Boys Tennis Victory Over Rising Tide

Hunter Gross knew that with Sturgis West and Martha’s Vineyard as the final two teams on Nantucket’s regular season schedule, Wednesday’s matchup with the Rising Tide Herons may have been the final chance the senior had to play a singles match. He approached head coach David Cheever and asked if it would be possible for him to be the team’s third single in this matchup, and Cheever obliged.

Gross, who has been a steady, reliable presence in Nantucket’s lineup as a doubles player all year, won his matchup in convincing fashion 6-1, 6-0 – leaving Cheever walking away from the courts impressed after Gross helped the team secure a 5-0 victory to improve their record to 7-5 this season.

“He really wanted to play singles one time in his career,” Cheever said. “I put him in and he won. He played great.”

The other results were as followed:

First single Quinn Keating won his matchup in straights sets 6-3, 6-0.

Second single Henry Kathawala won his matchup in straight sets 6-0, 6-2.

First doubles pairing of Boyan Kalpazanov and Nik Krastev won their matchup 6-0, 6-1.

Second doubles pairing of Aidan Sullivan and Wes Thornewill won their matchup 6-1, 6-1. Thornewill, who is in the midst of his first season playing tennis at the high school level, is undefeated this season.

The Whalers are currently the #5 team in the Div. 4 state tournament bracket and will hope to maintain that spot in these final two games with their game against the Navigators being Friday, May 19 at 4 p.m. and matchup with the Vineyard being on Thursday, May 25 at 1:30 p.m. Both games will be played at home at the Great Harbor Yacht Club Tennis Courts.

Sailing Wins Two Regattas, Honor Late Teammate In Touching Gesture

The sailing team went into their back-to-back regattas against Dartmouth High School on Wednesday and Sturgis East on Thursday hoping to improve their record to 7-2 this season, and they accomplished that goal with a pair of 3-0 wins.

But as they coasted to a win over Dartmouth, they did so while honoring their late classmate, friend, and acquaintance Baxter Waldman who tragically lost his life in a motorcycle accident in December by inscribing the #81 he wore as a Nantucket Football player on their sail.

“160 days from the fatal accident that took young Baxter Waldman from our Nantucket community, our win today goes to his legacy and family,” the team said on their Instagram account following Wednesday’s win. “You will forever be in our hearts.”

It was a touching gesture by a sailing team that is also enjoying a successful season. Their next regatta is scheduled for Friday, May 19 and it is the girls Cape & Islands championship regatta, which will consist of up to 12 teams Their next standard regatta will be on Tuesday, May 23 in a road matchup with the Barnstable Red Hawks at 4 p.m.

Girls Tennis Wins Second Consecutive Game

The girls tennis team is clinging to the #30 seed in the Div. 4 MIAA state tournament bracket, and with only the top 32 teams and any team with a winning record qualifying, the 4-9 Whalers needed a win Wednesday against the Rising Tide Herons.

They got the result in the form of a 4-1 victory to improve their record to 5-9 this season.

First single Joan Harris won her matchup in straight sets 6-1, 6-1.

Second single Lauren Cutone, who has been one of the Whalers best players this season, came up short on Wednesday losing in straight sets 6-1, 6-2.

Third single Hannah Gerardi won her matchup in straight sets but needed to earn it. She won the first set 7-6 after winning the tiebreaker 7-4) and then won the second set 6-3.

First doubles pairing of Chloe Marrero and Fiona Keltz won their matchup in straight sets 6-2, 6-0.

The second doubles pairing of Julia Swietlik and Sutton LeBrecht won their match 6-3 and then 8-6 following a tiebreaker.

The Whalers next match is on the road Friday, May 19 at 3:30 p.m. against Sturgis East.

Baseball Debuts New Field, Loses 10-0

The Whaler baseball team may have lost their season opener 10-0, but they had the opportunity to play at their new home on Backus Lane.

The field has been a longtime coming and while this has been a tough and at some points frustrating season for the Whalers, they hope that this field will be the spot for many wins in the years to come.

Nantucket is 1-13 this season and they are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Sunday, May 21 on the road. The first game is scheduled against O'Bryant at 11 a.m. and the second game is scheduled against Boston Latin Academy at 1 p.m. Some more photos from Wednesday's baseball game are below and to see some photos and video of the new baseball field, click here.

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