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04/10/2022 12:00 AMBoys’ Golf
The Branford boys’ golf team started off its 2022 spring season by sweeping a quad-meet at Alling Memorial Golf Club on April 4. The Hornets earned wins versus Wilbur Cross, Career, and Hillhouse to open the year with a record of 3-0.
Branford finished with a score of 163 to notch victories over Wilbur Cross (239), Career (246), and Hillhouse (270) in its first match of the season. Junior Keegan LaLonde earned medalist honors by scoring a low total of 38 for the round. Senior Justin Acquarulo scored a 39, while juniors Mike Farricielli and Matt Morgan both shot a 43 for the Hornets.
Branford is coming off of a season that saw the team finish with a record of 12-2 on its way to qualifying for the SCC Championship and the Division II State Tournament. Jen Kohut is back for another year as the Hornets’ head coach.
Boys’ Tennis
The Branford boys’ tennis team played two matches to begin its season last week and came away with a sweep of the set. The Hornets earned a win versus Jonathan Law before defeating Sheehan for a 2-0 start to the year.
Branford claimed a 4-3 road victory over Jonathan Law in its season opener on April 4. Senior captain Josh Berdon earned a 6-0, 6-1 win in the No. 1 singles match for Branford. Senior captain William Mollow notched a 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 2 singles; senior captain Matt Gaudioso prevailed by a 6-0, 6-1 score at No. 3 singles; and junior Adam Albrecht was a 6-0, 6-2 winner at No. 4 singles for the Hornets.
On April 8, Branford hosted Sheehan and notched a 6-1 win over the Titans. Mollow earned a 6-2, 6-1 victory at No. 1 singles for Branford. Berdon netted a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles; Gaudioso won a 6-1, 6-1 decision at No. 3 singles; and senior Aidan Shamas claimed a 6-2, 6-3 victory in the No. 4 singles match.
Branford’s No. 2 doubles team of sophomore Dylan Dwyer and sophomore Luke Baylis triumphed by the score of 6-4, 6-1. The Hornets’ No. 3 doubles team of sophomore James Heier and sophomore Nirvan Paudyal rallied for a 1-6, 7-6, 13-11 victory.
Paul Gagliardi returns for his second season as Branford’s head coach. The Hornets finished with a record of 4-12 last year.
Girls’ Tennis
The Branford girls’ tennis squad is off to a 1-0 start to the season after winning its first matchup of the year. On April 4, the Hornets hosted Career and posted a 7-0 shutout versus the Panthers at Branford High School.
Last season, Branford finished with an overall record of 12-6 on its way to making the final of the SCC Division II Tournament and qualifying for the Class L State Tournament.
Girls’ Lacrosse
The Branford girls’ lacrosse team hosted Mercy for its second game of the season on April 8. The Hornets claimed a 17-11 victory versus the Tigers to put their record at 1-0 on the year.
Junior Jenny Spencer, sophomore Ally Colburn, and sophomore Tess Ferrie each scored 4 goals for Branford in the win. Junior Taylor Tracy netted 3 goals, and senior Nina Shamas and sophomore Raiyn Fries added 1 goal apiece. Spencer had 3 assists, while Colburn, Ferrie, Shamas, and senior Julia McHenry each had 2 assists for the Hornets. Sophomore Holly Fischer made 5 saves in goal for Branford, and junior Ellie Galdenzi made 8 saves in net.
Boys’ Lacrosse
The Branford-East Haven (Bfd-EH) boys’ lacrosse team played three games last week and came away with one win to move to 1-3 on the year. Bfd-EH earned a win versus West Haven before losing to Amity and North Haven in recent action.
Bfd-EH started off its week by claiming a 12-5 home victory versus West Haven on April 5. Junior Sean Bosworth scored 4 goals for the Hornets, while senior Cam Paleski, senior Kevin Lee, and freshman Gennaro Pompano netted 2 goals apiece. Pompano also had 2 assists in the win. Junior Matt McNulty and freshman Alex Dombrowski added 1 goal apiece. Senior goalie Aidan Strebel made 12 saves in net to help Bfd-EH get the victory.
Two days later, Bfd-EH hosted Amity and took an 8-5 defeat against the Spartans. McNulty scored 2 goals, while Paleski, Pompano, and junior Alex Milne each scored 1 goal. Paleski and Pompano both had 1 assist. Strebel made 13 saves.
Then on April 9, Bfd-EH played a road game versus North Haven and took a 4-3 loss to the Nighthawks. McNulty, Dombrowski, and sophomore Gavin Groves scored the goals for Bfd-EH, while Lee had an assist in the game. Strebel stopped 16 shots in net.
Softball
The Branford softball team played a road game against Hand in its first contest of the spring campaign last week. The Hornets took a 12-11 defeat versus the Tigers in the matchup on April 8.
Tori Ramada is back for another year as Branford’s head coach. The Hornets finished with an overall mark of 7-11 for the 2021 season.
Baseball
The Branford baseball team moved to 1-1 on the year after taking a defeat to Danbury last week. On April 5, the Hornets hosted Danbury for a non-conference game and lost to the Hatters by the final score of 19-4.
Girls’ Outdoor Track
The Branford girls’ outdoor track team opened its season by hosting East Haven and Mercy for a tri-meet on April 6. The Hornets took a 79.5-41.5 defeat to East Haven and lost to Mercy by a 110-35 final in the competition.
Branford’s 4x100 relay of Chayse Gueco, Sara Nwagboli, Sam Burzynski, and Joelle Budz finished in first place (53.0) at the meet. Budz finished second (12.9) in the 100 with Nwagboli placing fourth (13.6) for the event.
Senior Julia Duffy took second place in the 400 (64.9) and was fourth in the 200 (29.3) for the Hornets. Junior Lila Wasiolek came in fourth place in the 800 (2:47). Junior Hannah Jackson finished second in the 100 hurdles (21.2) and took third in the 300 hurdles (60.4).
Junior Gianna Piscitelli finished fifth in the discus (57-10) and placed seventh in the shot put (21-5) for Branford. Junior Sam Stroka came in fourth place for the javelin (50-4). Freshman Ella Stone finished fifth in the high jump (4-2), and freshman Zu Zu Pont Strong finished sixth in the long jump (14-3).