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12/26/2021 11:00 PMThe year in Westbrook sports was highlighted by an amazing campaign from the Knights’ boys’ tennis team during the spring season. The Westbrook girls’ tennis squad had a fine year in its own right, as did several other clubs. Let’s go back and look at the year that was in Westbrook sports.
Winter
The 2020-’21 winter season was an abbreviated one that featured no state tournaments or state championship meets. Instead, conference competitions served as the culmination of the season. There were no wrestling or cheerleading seasons held, and indoor track teams competed on a limited basis, if at all. Several teams around the state missed portions of their seasons after going into quarantine due to exposure to COVID-19.
The Westbrook boys’ basketball squad posted a mark of 2-12 during the winter campaign. The Knights claimed a 73-62 win over Old Lyme and a 58-55 victory against North Branford. Westbrook competed in the Shoreline Conference Tournament at the end of the season and took a 57-50 loss to Old Lyme in the opening round.
Jack Naccarato and Nick Palumbo served as Westbrook’s senior captains. Naccarato made the All-Shoreline Conference Second Team on behalf of the Knights.
The Westbrook girls’ basketball team finished with a record of 1-13 this year. The Knights picked up their victory when they defeated Hale-Ray by a 48-35 score in the first round of the Shoreline Conference Tournament. Westbrook went on to take a 51-38 loss to Morgan in the Shoreline quarterfinals.
Junior Jami Sacco earned All-Shoreline Conference Second Team honors for Westbrook. Emma Parkhurst was the lone senior on the Knights’ roster.
The Westbrook girls’ indoor track team participated in the Shoreline Conference South Showcase this winter, taking fourth place as a squad. Senior captain Elizabeth Gallagher claimed first place in the 300 for Westbrook at the meet. Fellow senior captain Brooke Neri finished first in the 1,000. Marguerite Bartlett and Cierra Brundage also served as senior captains for the team.
The Westbrook boys’ indoor track team participated in the Shoreline Conference South Showcase during the winter season. Senior Luca Troop finished first in the 300 for the Knights, who came in fourth place as a team. Zach True and Cole Strzelecki were also senior captains for Westbrook.
Spring
Following the cancellation of the 2020 season, spring sports came back to play in Connecticut this year. Teams played full seasons, and state tournaments were completed for the first time since the fall of 2019.
The Westbrook boys’ tennis team enjoyed a plethora of success during the 2021 spring season. The Knights finished with an overall record of 21-1 on their way to advancing to the Class S State Tournament final, where the Knights took a 4-3 loss against Granby.
Westbrook went 18-0 in the regular season to win the Shoreline Conference title. Then in states, the Knights claimed victories over Northwestern (6-1), Shepaug Valley (5-2), and Valley Regional (5-2) in the first three rounds of the Class S bracket before losing to Granby in the final.
Senior captain Jesse McGannon earned All-Shoreline Conference Second Team honors for Westbrook. Junior Joey Caslin was an All-Shoreline Conference Second Team honoree on behalf of Head Coach Dan Shapiro’s club. Senior Cooper Whitehouse earned All-Shoreline Conference First Team honors after winning the Shoreline Conference Tournament 3-4-5 Singles Tournament. Freshman Elliot Koplas also received All-Shoreline Conference First Team honors.
Westbrook’s doubles pairing of senior Gareth Whitehouse and junior Mason Malchiodi earned All-Shoreline Conference First Team honors after reaching the final of the Shoreline Conference Doubles Tournament. The duo of Junior Jonah Freund and sophomore Ryan Engels garnered All-Shoreline Conference Second Team accolades.
The Westbrook girls’ tennis team put together an excellent season this spring. Head Coach Paula Fitzgerald’s squad posted an overall record of 17-3 on its way to reaching the semifinals of the Class S State Tournament.
The Knights finished second in the Shoreline Conference after going 15-2 during the regular season. Then in states, Westbrook earned wins versus Immaculate (6-1) and Shepaug Valley (4-3) in its first two Class S matches. The Knights then took a 5-2 defeat versus Litchfield in the semis.
The Knights were led by junior captains Julia Farnoli, Gianni Salisbury, Bree Koplas, and Alexandra Zanzalari. Farnoli earned All-Shoreline Conference First Team honors for Westbrook, while Sailsbury made the All-Shoreline Conference Second Team. Zanzalari and Koplas earned All-Shoreline Conference First Team honors after reaching the final of the Shoreline Conference Doubles Tournament.
The Westbrook baseball team finished with a record of 1-17 this year. The Knights earned an 8-7 victory versus Portland in their final game of the campaign.
Senior Jack Naccarato made the All-Shoreline Conference Second Team for Westbrook. Junior Dan Zambrano earned All-Shoreline Conference Honorable Mention.
The Westbrook girls’ outdoor track team finished in fifth place at the Shoreline Conference Championship. Senior Brooke Neri delivered Westbrook’s top performance by taking second place in the 3,200 at the Shoreline meet.
The Westbrook boys’ outdoor track team came in ninth place at the Shoreline Conference Championship this spring. Senior Luca Troop finished second in the long jump for the Knights. Junior Brett Metcalfe finished second in the high jump. Westbrook’s 4x100 relay of senior Zachary Boardman, senior Brenden Engles, sophomore Brandon Naccarato, and Troop also placed second. Metcalfe went on to finish second in the high jump at the Class S State Championship.
Fall
After no state competitions were held last fall, the 2021 fall season was played in full this year. Football teams also returned to the field to play a season for the first time in two years.
The Westbrook girls’ soccer squad posted record of 6-10 in its first season with co-head coaches Caitlin Rickaby and Brittany Cusano. The Knights finished the year strong by winning five of their last nine matchups.
Senior Sadie Susi earned All-Shoreline Conference First Team accolades for Westbrook. Fellow senior Alexandra Zanzalari made the All-Shoreline Conference Second Team.
The Westbrook boys’ soccer squad went 4-10-2 this fall, finishing their campaign by notching two wins and two ties in its last four contests.
Westbrook was captained by senior Jonah Freund and junior Jacob Perreault. Junior goalie Ryan Engles made the All-Shoreline Conference Second Team for Westbrook. Junior Henrik Gustafson earned All-Shoreline Conference Honorable Mention.
Westbrook joined forces with Old Lyme to field a co-op field hockey team this fall. The Knights finished with an overall record of 4-13 on the campaign, taking a 9-0 loss to Valley Regional in the semifinals of the Shoreline Conference Tournament.
Senior Samantha Nunez and junior Delaney Belcourt served as the captains for Head Coach Janet Dickey’s club. Belcourt and junior Caroline Dias both made the All-Shoreline Conference Second Team on behalf of the Knights.