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05/26/2017 12:00 AMBoys' Tennis
The Westbrook boys' tennis team defeated Granby Memorial 7-0 on May 23 to complete its undefeated regular season with a record of 20-0 one week after winning the Shoreline Conference title for the first time since 1999. Granby had just three losses on the season, two of which were at the hands of the Knights. Westbrook was the only team in the state to have a 20-win season.
Senior Gus Marx won a marathon 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (8-6) decision at the No. 1 singles position in the victory versus Granby. Senior Dave Amendola prevailed 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2, sophomore Nate Comment won 6-3, 6-1 at No. 3, senior Dylan Martinson recorded a 6-1, 6-0 victory at No. 4, and senior Jason Raunikar won at No. 5 by forfeit. In doubles play, the senior duo of Phil Hartzell and Austin Herzy won 6-0, 6-2 at the No. 1 position, while the junior pairing of Kevin Dickey and Binak Cecunjanin won in a 6-0, 6-0 sweep at the No. 2 spot
Head Coach Dan Shapiro was thrilled with his team's performance and the fact the Knights fulfilled one of the goals they set at the beginning of the season by winning the Shoreline Conference.
"Our No. 1 goal was the Shoreline championship," said Coach Shapiro. "We knew that in order to win the Shoreline, we would have to beat the four toughest teams in the conference: Old Saybrook, Old Lyme, Valley, and Morgan. Old Saybrook is very talented, and we knew that this year they would be our stiffest competition."
Westbrook's been bolstered by a deep roster this year that includes a singles lineup with a combined record of 75-11. Raunikar finished the regular season undefeated at 19-0. Hartzell and Herzy went 18-0 at the top doubles spot.
"The team had the perfect set of circumstances to succeed: senior leadership from captains Gus Marx, Dave Amendola, and Dylan Martinson, a talented group of players, and a team that cared about each other," Coach Shapiro said. "They practiced hard, competed among themselves, and supported each other. That's pretty much the formula. Every member of this team contributed to our success. I couldn't be prouder."
Westbrook is competing at the Class S State Championship that takes place this week.
Boys' Outdoor Track
The Knights were at the Shoreline Conference Championship on May 24 and earned fifth place by scoring 79 points.
Westbrook had several athletes come away with event victories at the Shoreline meet. Among them was the first-place 4x100-meter relay team of junior Andrew Naccaratto, junior Jake Marciniec, junior Sean Scully, and senior Maxwell Morris with a time of 44.75 seconds, narrowly beating second-place Valley Regional's 45.41. Naccaratto also won gold in the 200 with a time of 24.02 seconds to defeat second-place Bryce Thomas (24.04) of Morgan. Morris grabbed a win in the high jump with a height of 6 feet-3 inches to prevail against runner-up Sydney Franklin (5-8) of North Branford. Senior teammate Hayden Richardson (5-8) came in third place in the event. Senior Jay Donlan captured first in the discus with a throw of 136-8, while junior Vincent Dyer (129-5) placed second. Any athlete who claimed first in an event was named All-Shoreline Conference First Team, and anyone placing second was named All-Shoreline Conference Second Team.
Other athletes who earned points for the Knights were Naccaratto (2nd, 11.58) in the 100, Donlan (4th, 37-7.75) in shot put, senior Kevin Morrissey (6th, 109-8) in the discus, and juniors Daniel Driscoll (3rd, 145-4) and Elijah Panzera (6th, 137-10) in the javelin.
Girls' Outdoor Track
Westbrook competed in the Shoreline Conference Championship meet in Clinton and claimed fifth place with a team score of 61 points.
The Knights had a couple of individual victories on the day, including sophomore Kelly Donlan, who took first in shot put with a throw of 33 feet-4.5 inches. Junior teammate Danyelle Engels finished second in the event for the Knights at 32-0.5. Engels also claimed first place in discus with a throw of 112 feet-9 inches, while Donlan was second for the event with a 94-3. Any athlete who claimed first in an event was named All-Shoreline Conference First Team, and anyone placing second was named All-Shoreline Conference Second Team.
Several other athletes scored points for Westbrook at the conference meet. Among them were the relay teams of junior Halle Barron, freshman Alexandra Koplas, sophomore Avery Bauman, and sophomore Katherine Dahl (7th, 10:35.07) in the 4x800; senior Tyjah Childs, freshman Alexandria Young, junior Tirzah Bloomquist, and junior Christine Gallagher (7th, 53.36) in the 4x100; and Bloomquist, Dahl, Gallagher, and Young (7th, 4:27.09) in the 4x400. Other athletes who posted points included Bloomquist (2nd, 34-2.75) and Young (8th, 31-11.05) in triple jump, Engels (3rd, 99-2) and junior Isabelle Siewert (8th, 86-0) for the javelin, and Bauman (7th, 8-0) in the pole vault.
Softball
Westbrook traveled to Cromwell for a play-in game for the Shoreline Conference Tournament on May 23. Westbrook defeated the Panthers 4-3 to earn the chance to face Hale-Ray in the quarterfinal round.
On May 24, the Knights squared off against Hale-Ray in the Shoreline Conference Tournament quarterfinals and lost 16-1.
Westbrook (9-13) opens play in the Class S State Tournament this week.