Printer Friendly Version - Valley Boys’ and Girls’ Tennis Both Crown Champions at Shoreline Tournament

Jeffrey Riggio took the Shoreline Conference Singles Tournament title on behalf of the Valley Regional boys’ tennis team on May 24. After that, Riggio competed in the Class S State Championship and won two matches, before losing in the third round. Photo courtesy of Michael Baldwin

Jeffrey Riggio, the No. 1 singles player for the Valley Regional boys’ tennis team, recently took home the singles title at the Shoreline Conference Tournament and then advanced to the third round in the Class S State Championship.

At the Shoreline tourney, Riggio earned a 6-4, 6-4 win in the semifinal round to reach the final, where he claimed a 7-5, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2 victory to clinch the title on May 24. For the state meet, Riggio claimed a 6-2, 6-0 victory in the first round, netted a 6-7 (5), 6-4, 10-5 win for the second round, and then took a 7-5, 5-7, 12-10 defeat in a third-round matchup.

Teammate Freddie Kerr also competed at the Class S State Championship. Kerr posted a 6-4, 6-4 win in the first round and later lost a 6-1, 6-0 contest in the second round. Also for Valley, Kevin Baldwin took a 6-1, 6-1 loss in the first round of the singles competition.

In the doubles bracket, Jack Lima and Sean Patterson lost by a 6-4, 6-4 score in their first-round match. Jacob Decker and Matthew Martinez took a 6-2, 6-3 defeat in the first round.

Valley saw strong representation in the doubles bracket at the recent Shoreline Conference Tournament. At the first overall seed in the tourney, Valley’s No. 1 duo of Ellie Flynn and Caroline Baldwin earned a 6-3, 6-3 win in their semifinal matchup against Cromwell’s team of Jessica Faucette and Alexis Marselli. Meanwhile, Valley’s No. 2 doubles team of Allie Champion and Ada Ramos earned a 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2 semifinal victory against Westbrook’s Olivia Fabrizi and Marilyn Ulanowicz. That set up an all-Warriors’ final in which Flynn and Baldwin took home the title with a 6-1, 6-3 victory versus Champion and Ramos.

On May 26, Valley opened play in the Class S State Tournament, where the 12th-seeded Warriors lost a 4-3 match at No. 5 seed Westbrook in the first round. Jessica Weinstein earned the Warriors’ the lone singles victory with a 6-2, 6-1 win at the No. 4 position. On the doubles side, Ellie Flynn and Caroline Baldwin claimed a 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 victory at the No. 1 spot, while Allie Champion and Ada Ramos netted a 6-3, 6-1 win at the No. 2 position. Valley finished the season with a record of 14-7.

The Warriors had a busy stretch in which they closed out their regular season and then played in both the Shoreline Conference Tournament and the Class M State Tournament in recent action. Valley defeated Old Lyme in the Shoreline quarterfinals and then lost to North Branford in the semis, after which the Warriors took a loss against Stonington in the first round of states.

Valley’s last game of the regular season was a 13-4 loss against Hale-Ray on May 24. Addy Bullis had a double, while Lexi Ross hit a triple for Valley. Lauren Allen, Alex Figuenick, Carlee Kirla, Abby Cunningham, Riley Millburne, and Hannah Jenkins all added a hit in the defeat.

The next day, Valley earned an 11-6 victory over the Old Lyme in the Shoreline Conference Tournament quarterfinals. Bullis earned the win on the mound for the Warriors. Figuenick had a home run and a single in the game, Jenkins knocked a two-run triple, and Kirla had three hits, including two doubles.

On May 26, the Warriors dropped a 4-2 contest against North Branford in the Shoreline semifinals. After falling behind by two runs, Ross hit a two-run double in the fifth to tie the game at 2-2, although North Branford came back by scoring the final two runs of the contest. Millburne and Jenkins each had a hit, and Riley DaRe provided a key sacrifice bunt.

On May 29, No. 21 seed Valley lost to 12th-seeded Stonington by a 14-0 score in the first round of the Class S State Tournament. Ross, Jenkins, and DaRe each had one hit for the Warriors, who finished their season at 13-10 overall.

The Warriors kicked off play in the Class M State Tournament last week. In the first round, the 16th-seeded Warriors took a 4-2 loss at home against No. 17 seed Northwest Catholic to finish the season with an overall record of 13-10.

Chase Morris had a triple, and Garrhett Watrous hit a double for the Warriors in the loss. Cade Ensinger provided a pair of hits for Valley, which saw Sam Swap and Jacob Robertson split pitching duties.

The Warriors competed in the Class S State Tournament last week. Valley, the No. 13 seed, dropped a 21-6 contest at 4th-seeded New Fairfield in the first round to finish the season with an overall record of 9-9.

The Valley Regional crew competed at the Connecticut Public Schools Rowing Association State final at Lake Waramaug on May 22. There were 93 entries from 13 schools spanning the state competing in the regatta.

Head Coach John Laundon’s squad had a strong showing by earning four bronze medals in the competition. The boys’ novice four race, in addition to the girls’ first, second, and third four races, all took home third-place finishes at the regatta for the first time in Valley Regional crew history.

The Warriors hit the course for the Shoreline Conference Championship at the Stanley Golf Course on May 24. Valley finished in 10th place with a team score of 446 at the meet.

Valley Regional competed in the Class M State Championship at Willow Brook Park on May 29. The Warriors totaled 19 points and finished in 16th place at the meet.

Nick Braga took third place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.20 seconds, and he also placed eighth in the 200 at 23.35. Jason O’Brien earned a fifth-place finish in the long jump with a distance of 21 feet-6.25 inches to go with a sixth-place finish in the triple jump at 43-3.25. The Warriors’ 4x100 relay team of Braga, Andrew Ferguson, O’Brien and Ryan Santos took fourth place with a time of 43.96.

Ferguson finished 13th in the 200 with a time of 23.59 and placed 22nd in the preliminaries of the 100 at 11.68. Josh Donahue tied for 10th in the high jump by clearing 5-8, while Aiden Walsh came in 15th in the javelin with a distance of 123-3.

The Warriors were represented by several athletes at last week’s Class M State Championship.

Jennifer Caulfield scored a point for the Warriors in the javelin with a throw of 99 feet-10 inches, earning eighth place. Also in the javelin, Bonnie Caulfield took 10th place with a throw of 96-9, while Sydney Suedmeier finished 13th at 91-7.

Addie Byars took 13th place the 3,200-meter run with a time of 12.46.69. In the long jump, Audrey Lenda placed 11th with a distance of 15-8.25, and Suedmeier finished 37th at 14-3.5. Valley’s 4x800 of Caitlyn Bogan, Byars, Samantha Calamari, and Lacey Hall finished 18th with a time of 10:57.28. The 4x100 of Hanna Babek, Madelyn Costello, Lenda, and Addison Marchese took 27th in 54.03.

Marchese finished 26th in the 100 hurdles with a time of 18.30, while Rachel Trezza placed 29th at 18.76. Marchese also took 39th in the 200 with a mark of 28.40, plus Lenda finished 51st at 29.49.

The Warriors’ duo of Ellie Flynn and Caroline Baldwin claimed the crown in Shoreline Conference Doubles Tournament after earning a win against teammates Allie Champion and Ada Ramos in championship match. Photo courtesy of Michael Baldwin