Several Guilford Squads Snag Victories
Boys’ Tennis
The Indians defeated East Haven 6-1 on April 18 to pick up their third-straight victory prior to stretching the streak to four and improving to 4-3 with a 5-2 win over North Haven on April 21.
The week before, following a 5-2 loss to Fairfield Prep on April 11, the Indians picked up their first two wins of the year with a 5-2 final over Waterford on April 13 and a 7-0 sweep of Foran two days after that. Versus Prep, Guilford wins came from Evan Powell (6-1, 6-3) and Jeffrey Eng wins (2-6, 6-1, 7-6 [7-1]).
“Even though it was a tough day for our team as a whole, the performances from Evan and Jeff were a clear sign of good things to come for us with them at the top of the lineup,” said Head Coach Rob Messer. “Evan handled a very good player and calmly held his ground every time his opponent started picking up some momentum. Jeff’s performance showed a lot of what he is made of. It’s not easy coming back and fighting when you are down a set and then being down a break in the third set. He refused to quit and got a big win.”
Victories against Waterford included Powell, Eng, Jackson Inchalik, Sam Inchalik, along with the tandem of David Kegel and Andrew Inchalik.
“We were up 3-2 in matches with the last two matches going on side by side at 5-5 in the third set,” said Messer. “Jackson Inchalik, and David Kegel and Andrew Inchalik, both were able to win 7-5 in the third and get us our first win of the season. I think we’ll look back on this match as a pivotal point in our season.”
Decisions against Foran were earned by Powell (6-0, 6-0), Eng (6-0, 6-0), Sam Inchalik (6-0, 4-6, 10-3), Jackson Inchalik (via forfeit), in addition to PJ Malafronte and Michael Hooker (6-1, 6-1), Luke Vilaseca and Kegel (6-3, 6-0), plus Michael Capibianco and Holden Culotta (6-2, 6-4).
“We were missing four of our starters, but everyone stepped up from top to bottom to get a big win for us,” said Coach Messer. “It was nice for some of our young guys to get their first varsity match experience and even better for them to experience their first win.”
Girls’ Tennis
The Indians picked up their first triumph of the year by a 4-3 margin over Hamden on April 18. Faren Roth (6-0, 6-1), plus the doubles teams of Charlotte and Molly Babbin (6-1, 6-2), Kate Dinauer and Emily Dietzko (4-6, 6-4, 6-0), and Allie Stankewich and Annabelle Wang (6-3, 6-0) were victorious.
Guilford improved to 2-2 with a 7-0 sweep of Foran on April 20. Wins here came from Claire Dinauer (6-1, 6-0), Sam Stofflet (6-4, 6-2), Roth (6-0, 6-0), and Stankewich (6-4, 7-6 [7-2]), plus the tandems of the Babbin siblings (6-1, 6-0), Kate Dinauer and Dietzko (6-1, 6-1), plus Kayley Byrne and Hannah Plaziak (6-4, 6-3).
Guilford closed out the week at 3-2 with a 6-1 victory over Mercy. Claire Dinauer (6-3, 6-1), Stofflet (6-4, 6-1), and Roth (6-0, 6-0), as well as the duos of the Babbin sisters (6-0, 6-1), Dietzko and Stankewich (6-1, 6-2), and Elaina Griffiths and Annnabelle Wang (6-3, 6-7, 6-4), prevailed against the Tigers.
Baseball
Guilford began the week with a 4-1 win over Xavier on April 18. Nick Rubino pitched a complete game, striking out nine and allowing one earned run on six hits. Charlie Danaher and Logan Hitchcock had triples with one RBI apiece and Tripper Rams also drove home a run.
The Indians then moved to 3-4 (1-2 in the SCC Hammonasset Division) with an 11-7 win over division rival Foran on April 20. Tyler Rogers got the win on the hill with two strikeouts and three hits allowed in four innings of work. Offensively, Zingarella was 2-for-4 with five RBI; Danaher added two RBI; plus Evan Song, Sean Kellaher, and Brody Ulrich also drove in a run each.
Guilford ended the week at 3-5 overall with a close 3-2 loss to East Lyme on April 21.
Previously, Guilford picked up its first win of the year on April 16 with a 14-3 final over West Haven. Kellaher (3-for-4, 2 RBI) opened the scoring with his bases loaded double in the bottom of the first, scoring two runs. Connor Peters followed that with a two-run single. Hitchcock (2-for-2, 2 RBI) and Ulrich (2-for-3, 2 RBI) had multiple hits, as well. Zingarella (1-for-3, 3 RBI) roped a bases-clearing, three-run double. On the hill, Kevin Cargos (2 strikeouts) pitched four scoreless innings of relief for the win.
“This was a big win for us. Sean got a big hit to set the tone for the day. The offense was great all day and Kevin really threw the ball well,” said Head Coach Brian Hayden. “This was a must game for us and our guys responded in every way.”
Softball
Guilford started the week with a 6-3 win over Sacred Heart Academy on April 18 before taking a 6-0 loss to Lyman Hall on April 19. In the victory, winning pitcher Amanda King scattered five hits and struck out 10. Down 3-2 in the last inning, King led off with a double, followed by another two-bagger by Lilly Young to tie the game. Guilford then scored three more runs, highlighted by an RBI triple from Jordyn Goldstein. Versus the Trojans the next day, Goldstein had a double for Guilford, while Young, Leah Kornguth, and Emily Torre also had hits for Guilford.
The Indians evened their mark at 4-4 with a 29-2 thrashing of Hillhouse on April 20 and then went to 4-5 (2-2 in the Hammonasset Division) after a 4-3 loss to Foran on April 22.
Boys’ Outdoor Track
On April 20, Guilford took two in a quad-meet by losing 71-70 against Lyman Hall, but defeating Fairfield Prep (85-31), and Career (110-24) to sit with a dual-meet record of 2-5. Event victories came from Jordan Lembo-Frey (110, 11.2; 200 in 22.9); Caleb Benedict (300 hurdles, 50.0); Brian McCartney (high jump, 5-6); and the 4x100 relay group of Lembo-Frey, Sam Sessions, Corey Sondak, and Eathan Skinner (45.6).
“We had a stroke of good weather and took advantage of it. Our sprinters enjoyed some good state qualifying marks. Jordan Lembo-Frey did very well, contributing 45 points between the three meets,” said Head Coach Chris Skaggs. “It was good to get our first wins of the season started. We face a lot of great teams in the SCC and there are no easy days. Our underclassman really showed their talent and potential, as well. We have an exciting few meets and invitations in our near future and I’m excited to see what these guys can achieve.”
Girls’ Outdoor Track
Guilford lost two of three at its quad-meet on April 19. The Indians lost 91-59 to Branford and 82-67 to Amity, but defeated Hamden 80-60, moving the girls to 4-3 on the year. Top performers included the 4x800 relay (Elissa Strand, Jacqui Guerra, Kelsi Putnam, and Andrea Basilicato) winning in 10:23.37; while Chloe Shaw was third for the 400 in 63.48; Guerra finished runner-up in the 800 in 2:29.67; Meredith Bloss saw second in the 1,600 in 5:36.07 and won the 3,200 in 12:18.64; Lauren Hilgert was runner-up in triple jump (31-0); McCown won the shot put (31-1) and discus (92-4); Mallory Peters came in second for the discus (83-4); and Jane Danaher was third in the javelin (75-8).
On April 23 at the Panther Invitational in Plainfield, Rachel Lauzier was fifth in the 100 in 13.74; Guerra saw second in the 800 in 2:27.11; the 4x400 relay (Guerra, Strand, Jess Bohan, and Lauzier) finished fifth in 4:30.53; and McCown threw to third in the shot put (32-3).