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05/05/2019 12:00 AMGirls’ Lacrosse
The Branford girls’ lacrosse squad solidified a spot in the Class M State Tournament by winning both of its games on last week’s slate. The Hornets raised their record to 7-5 on the year with its recent wins versus Mercy and Lauralton Hall.
Branford started off its week by notching a 16-11 home victory against Mercy on April 30. The Hornets held a 10-7 halftime advantage and then put the game away by outscoring the Tigers 6-4 during the second half. Junior Karly King scored five goals, while fellow junior Isabel Mannle had four goals and an assist in the win. Sophomore Nicola Colossale and freshman Isla Lionetti both had two goals with an assist, junior Brianna Shaw scored a goal and had two assists, and freshman Julia McHenry posted a pair of goals. Senior Carly Shea made five saves in net for Branford.
On May 2, the Hornets punched their state tourney ticket with a 13-7 road win versus Lauralton Hall. Branford was up 5-3 at intermission and then won the second half by an 8-4 margin to seal the victory. Shaw had a huge game that saw her score six goals for the Hornets. King had three goals with an assist, and Mannle had a goal with two assists. McHenry, junior Hailey Brunner, and junior Gabrielle Gillis added one goal apiece, plus Lionetti contributed an assist to the winning effort. Shea came up with eight saves to get another victory in goal.
Boys’ Lacrosse
The Hornets locked up a berth in the Class M State Tournament and improved to 8-4 overall after winning both of their games last week.
Branford qualified for the Class M bracket by earning a 16-7 home victory versus Foran on April 29. Branford held a 3-0 lead after the first quarter and took an 8-5 lead into halftime. Branford was up 10-7 entering the fourth quarter and then outscored the Lions 6-0 during the final stanza. Robbie Lionetti turned in a gargantuan effort by netting nine goals to go along with three assists for the Hornets. Junior Jack Manware had two goals and two assists, senior Will Riggs scored two goals with an assist, and junior Max Bunton had a goal and an assist. Junior Cameron Mills and sophomore Nick Chieffo added one goal each in the victory. Freshman goalie Aidan Strebel had a huge game in net by making 23 saves.
On May 1, the Hornets traveled to New Haven to play Wilbur Cross and notched an 18-1 win over the Governors.
Boys’ Tennis
The Hornets won two of their three matches last week to improve to 10-3 on the year, while also clinching a berth in the Class M State Championship.
On April 29, Branford hosted North Haven and notched a 6-1 win to qualify for the state meet. Branford swept singles play behind victories from senior Praneeth Ganedi (6-1, 6-1), junior Eli Hanlon (6-0, 6-1), senior Dan McGuire (6-1, 6-3), and senior Paul Riccio (6-1, 6-2) at the No. 1 through 4 positions, respectively. In doubles, the Hornets’ No. 1 team of senior Kurt Schalper and junior Jaden Andresen earned a 6-4, 2-6, 10-8 victory, while the No. 2 duo of senior Dan Pagliaro and freshman Josh Berdon gutted out a 6-3, 3-6, 11-9 win.
The following afternoon, the Hornets took a 7-0 road loss to Fairfield Prep.
On May 1, Branford hit the road to face Shelton and edged out the Gaels by a 4-3 final. McGuire picked up Branford’s lone win on the singles court by posting an 8-3 victory in the No. 2 contest. The Hornets took all three doubles matches as their No. 1 team of Riccio and junior Jaden Andresen won an 8-1 decision, the No. 2 duo of Pagliaro and Wes Raymond claimed an 8-4 victory, and the No. 3 team of sophomores Alec Aceves-Acosta and Justin Fatheree won via default.
Girls’ Tennis
Branford stands at 7-7 after winning two of its last three matches.
The Hornets started off last week by netting a 4-3 home win against Law at Veteran’s Memorial Park on April 29. Junior Sam Velardi earned a 6-4, 6-3 victory at No. 3 singles, while fellow junior Gianni Benni prevailed by a 6-1, 6-1 score in the No. 4 singles match. On the doubles court, the Hornets’ No. 1 team of sophomores Alayna Boileau and Shae Lepre posted a 6-3, 6-3 victory, and the No. 2 tandem of juniors Ellie Bartlett and Sarah Berdon notched a 6-3, 6-7 (1-7), 6-4 win.
The day after that, Branford scored a 6-1 home victory versus East Haven. In their last match of the week, the Hornets dropped a 5-2 decision to Guilford on May 2.
Girls’ Outdoor Track
The Hornets were on the road to face North Haven and Amistad at Vanacore Field on April 30. Branford lost a 120-30 decision against North Haven and earned a 101-31 win versus Amistad to move to 2-7 overall. The Hornets also finished with a record of 2-2 in divisional action after losing to North Haven.
Sophomore Maddy Seward took first place in the pole vault by clearing a height of 6 feet-6 inches. Junior Rose Lockery finished second in the 200 (27.4) and the triple jump (29-10) to go with a third-place performance in the 100 (13.4). Junior Maya Kryiakides placed second (2:54) in the 800 for Branford. Senior Liante Claude finished third for both the 800 (2:56) and the 200 (27.6). Senior Khusbu Shrestha came in second place in the 3,200 with a time of 15:40. Junior Julia Robbins finished third in the javelin (65-0), and sophomore Ashley Duong placed third in the pole vault (6-6) at the meet.
Softball
The Hornets picked up a win over Career to go with three defeats in a stretch of four road games last week. Branford has a record of 4-11 on the season.
Branford edged out Career by a 6-5 score on April 29. Two days later, Branford took a 22-0 defeat at North Haven in an SCC Housatonic Division game. On May 2, the Hornets lost an 8-0 decision at divisional opponent Sacred Heart Academy. Branford finished the week by taking a 12-5 road loss against Sheehan in a Housatonic contest.
Baseball
Branford lost three games last week to move to 2-12 this season.
On April 29, the Hornets took an 11-1 defeat at East Haven in an SCC Housatonic Division contest.
Then on May 1, Branford hosted Notre Dame-West Haven and dropped an 11-6 decision in another divisional matchup. The Hornets trailed 7-2 before scoring four runs in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to one. Notre Dame came back with four runs in the top of the seventh inning and went on to get the win. Senior Anthony Burzynski had two hits and one RBI, sophomore Justin Elpi singled with a run scored and two RBI, and fellow sophomore Collin McNeil added two hits and scored two runs for the Hornets.
Branford closed out its week by dropping a 2-0 decision in Guilford on May 3.
Golf
Branford took four defeats last week is now 2-9 on the spring.
On April 29, the Hornets dropped a 163-205 road decision versus Hamden at Laurel View Country Club. Junior Minsok Lee shot a 44, sophomore Billy Linder finished with a 54, freshman Jacob Knapp shot a 54, and fellow freshman Justin Acquarulo scored a 55 for Branford.
The next day, Branford hosted Amity and took a 178-198 defeat. Lee (42), junior Spencer Engstrom (46), Linder (54), and Knapp (56) were Branford’s other golfers on the day.
Then on May 1, the Hornets were on the road to face Fairfield Prep and Cheshire. Branford scored a 203 and lost contests versus the host Jesuits (154) and the Rams (183). Lee totaled a score of 42 for the Hornets, who also saw Linder (50), Engstrom (54), and Acquarulo (57) compete at the match