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12/30/2013 11:00 PMGuilford athletics kept things pretty warm during the winter with multiple teams earning state tournament berths.
Boys' Ice Hockey
The Indians' main concern was playing well during the season's stretch run and they did just that by earning late-season SCC Division I wins over Cheshire, North Haven, and East Haven to finish 11-7-2 and earn the sixth seed in the Division II State Tournament. Once there, Guilford defeated SCC DII foe in Milford 5-3 in the first round on March 5 before losing to Brookfield-Bethel-Danbury 4-3 in double overtime the next round on March 9.
The Indians were led to the round-of-eight by four senior captains in defenseman Zach Cattaruzza, forward James Mackey (SCC Scholar Athlete), defenseman Ryan Moore (First Team All-State, First Team All-SCC, team MVP; school-record 95 points in four years for defensemen), and winger Mike Ring (First Team All-SCC; team-leading 33 points).
While marveling at the seniors' final year, Guilford got a glimpse into its future with contributions from junior forward Carson Sperry, sophomores wingers Matt Horton (Second Team All-State, Coaches' Award), Charlie Molloy, and Jack Petrick, along with a freshmen goalie Brandon Maio, defensemen Evan Powell and Will Dacey with forward Chris Cafiero.
Girls' Ice Hockey
Notching an 11-9 regular season mark (6th in the SCC) before losing 5-0 to eventual state runner-up Hall-Conard in the first round of the state tournament on Feb. 24. For first-year Coach Gil Schaper, he could not have asked for a better group in his rookie campaign.
Captaining the Indians to a double-digit win season were seniors Tess Cianciolo at forward (Second Team All-SCC, Sportsmanship Award) with assistant captain Sarah Rosadini at defense (Team Scholar and Unsung Hero Awards), while joined by wingers Alexa Brand and Phoebe Singleton, alongside manager Laura Deskin.
Guilford's underclassmen also shined under the lights of its second SCC season with sophomore stopper Edy Moritz (First Team All-SCC, team MVP; 19 games played, 522 total saves, 0.43 goals-against average, and a .928 save percentage), freshman defender Sarah DeLucia (Most Improved), sophomore wing Nicole Raccuia (Second Team All-SCC; Head, Heart, and Hustle Award), and freshman defender Tessa Mackey (Coaches' Award).
Boys' Basketball
Following a 5-15 campaign, Coach Jeff DeMaio's squad upped its mark to 11-9, clinching the program's first state tournament berth since the 2006-'07 season. Even with falling to Waterford 48-40 in the first round of the Class L bracket on March 5, Guilford showed success is here to stay.
Leading the turnaround 2012 campaign were a trio of seniors in center Andrew Kelly with co-captain guards Dante Parisi (team-leading 2.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game) and Nick Moretti (SCC All-Hammonasset Team; 11.3 points per game).
Girls' Basketball
Coach Bob Welsh's squad ran off 10 wins in 11 contests on its way to a 13-7 regular season and both SCC and Class L tournament berths.
Led by senior captains in forward Ali Hart and guard Carla Puchini, who combined for 18 points per game, the Indians made the eight-win swing from a campaign ago possible with additions of starters in juniors with guard Presley Altieri and forward Tori Loukakes, who led in both scoring (9.5) and rebounding (9) per game.
Wrestling
After surpassing their 20-win goal, the Indians, like the rest of the SCC, dealt with the disappointment of the conference's championship meet being cancelled due to Winter Storm Nemo. Yet Guilford did not dwell on it, as it finished 10th in the Class M State Championship on Feb. 15 and 16 with four top-10 finishers, all of whom advanced to the State Open the following week. Those wrestlers were seniors Mark Lisitano (2nd in 195, Second Team All-SCC; 28-3 overall record), Tony Dinse (5th in 220, 24-10), and captain Noah Criscuolo (6th in 132, 29-5, Second Team All-SCC), along with freshman Colin Rook (5th in 120, First Team All-SCC; 24-7), who was the first freshman in Guilford history to reach the State Open, earning a 1-2 record.
In addition to Criscuolo, senior Nate Misbach (160, 22-6) also captained the Indians, as they were joined by fellow seniors in Kevin Carregal (138, 20-14), Brendon Carney (145), Billy Bell (152), David Cooper (182), AJ Jaywardena (160), Mike Ferrara (manager), Shaun Sullivan (285), and Colton Schilling (220) with Lisitano and Dinse.
Indoor Track
Head Coach Jon Faitsch's boys' squad finished 15th with eight points at the SCC Championship prior to its 21st-place spot (4 points) at the Class L State Championship, while Faitsch's girls' team came in 11th (15 points) at the SCCs before a four-point, 17th-place finish for Class L.
The boys were led by seniors Sam Meskill as captain, Mike Albergo, Chris Burkle, Josh Cash, Zach DeMarco, Nicholas Landock, Matthew Mirek, and Mark Severino, while senior counterparts for the girls were Fiona Doolan, Madison Fucci, Anna Kwochka, Ellen Page, and Erin Strait.
Fencing
Head Coach Kyle Mezzi and his Indians had a very strong conclusion to their 2012 campaign, as at the Team State Championships, the girls' épée finished second and the boys' foil finished sixth. In addition at the event, the girls' foil squad finished third.
Guilford was led by senior co-captains Ben Baldwin (Second Team All-State) and Albert Kraus for the boys' side, while seniors Athena Yang (Second Team All-State) and Belinda Sam were captain counterparts for the girls.