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05/22/2022 12:00 AM

North Haven Girls’ Tennis Reaches SCC Semis, Boys Make States; DeCusati Wins Discus at Sectionals


Junior Chandler Morris and the Nighthawks advanced to the SCC semifinals after earning a 4-3 win versus Cheshire in a quarterfinal match last week. File photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier

Girls’ Tennis

The North Haven girls’ tennis team defeated Lauralton Hall in its regular-season finale and then claimed a victory over Cheshire in the SCC Tournament quarterfinals last week. The Nighthawks have an overall record of 13-5 entering their SCC semifinal matchup versus Guilford.

North Haven hosted Lauralton Hall on May 18 and notched a 5-2 win versus the Crusaders. Freshman Sophia Padro earned a 7-6, 6-1 victory for North Haven at No. 2 singles. Junior Risa Tobin notched a 6-0, 6-0 shutout at No. 3 singles; while freshman Anna Hansard won her No. 4 singles contest by the score of 6-0, 6-1.

The Nighthawks’ No. 2 doubles team of senior Taylor Morris and sophomore Chandler Morris netted a 6-0, 6-2 victory. The No. 3 team of sophomore Samantha Ide and freshman Emily Cerasoli triumphed by a 1-6, 7-5, 10-4 final.

On May 21, No. 3 seed North Haven opened the SCC Tournament by claiming a 4-3 home win against No. 6 seed Cheshire in a quarterfinal contest. Padro earned a 7-5, 6-2 win in the No. 2 singles match; Taylor Morris won a 6-0, 6-7, 6-0 decision at No. 3 singles; and sophomore Alyssa Cherian won her No. 4 singles contest by a 6-0, 6-0 score. North Haven’s No. 3 doubles team of Cerasoli and Hansard notched a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 victory to solidify the win for Head Coach Bob Migliorini’s squad.

The Nighthawks faced No. 2 Guilford in the SCC semifinals on May 23 (after press time). With a win, the Nighthawks would have faced the winner of top-seeded Amity and No. 5 Lauralton Hall in the championship at Amity High School on May 24 (after press time).

Boys’ Tennis

The North Haven boys’ tennis team solidified a berth in the Class M State Tournament after winning both of its matches last week. The Nighthawks earned wins over Foran and East Haven to improve to 9-10 with one match remaining in the regular season

North Haven punched its state tourney ticket by posting a 5-2 road victory against Foran on May 17. Freshman Seth Tobin netted a 6-4, 6-4 win for the Nighthawks in the No. 1 singles contest. Senior Ben Rudikoff posted a 6-0, 6-0 shutout at No. 2 singles; and junior Billy Lipinski won his No. 4 singles match by a 6-4, 5-7, 10-8 score.

North Haven’s No. 2 doubles team of sophomore Parthiv Patel and freshman Nick Sabina claimed a 6-1, 6-3 victory. The No. 3 team of juniors Alex Ranciato and Evan Looney netted a 6-2, 6-2 win.

Two days later, the Nighthawks hosted East Haven and defeated the Yellowjackets by the score of 7-0. Junior Lucas de Lencastre claimed a 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 1 singles; while Rudikoff won his No. 2 singles contest by that same score. Tobin notched a 6-0, 6-3 win at No. 3 singles; and Lipinski was a 6-0, 6-0 winner at No. 4 singles.

North Haven’s No. 1 doubles team of senior Justin Geremia and Andrew Bautz earned a 6-2, 6-2 win. The No. 2 duo of junior Jonathan Chin and junior Oscar Hammarlund posted a 7-5, 1-6, 10-5 victory; and the No. 3 tandem of junior Ellwyn Michael and freshman Hashim Ibrahim won their matchup by the final tally of 6-4, 3-6, 10-7.

Boys’ Outdoor Track

Senior Cole DeCusati finished first in the discus to help the North Haven boys’ outdoor track turn in a fourth-place performance at the SCC East Sectional Championship last week. North Haven totaled a team score of 66.33 points on its way to taking fourth place when sectionals were held at Bowen Field on May 17.

DeCusati launched a toss of 143 feet-4 inches on his way to winning the shot put at the sectional meet. Junior Ethan Anderson finished second (127-2) in the discus, while sophomore Dillon Songhurst took fourth place (108-9) in the event.

Junior Youdef Gebril claimed second place in the shot put (44-10) for North Haven at sectionals. DeCusati finished third (44-9.5) in the shot put, and Anderson placed fourth (44-3) for the Nighthawks.

Senior Matt O’Connell finished fourth in the pole vault (11-0), took fifth in the high jump (5-4), and also came in seventh place for the long jump (19-8). Junior Dan Thomas finished fourth (53.42) in the 400, while sophomore Andre Ohanyan took eighth place (54.39) in the 400 for North Haven. Thomas also finished 10th in the long jump (18-7).

North Haven’s 4x800 relay of senior Danyal Saleem, senior Luke Nugent, sophomore Nico Boyle, and junior Tyler Wurm finished in fifth place (8:58.14). The 4x400 relay featuring Ohanyan, Saleem, senior MJ DeVilliers, and Thomas took seventh place (3:52.02).

Sophomore Jake McCreven finished seventh (16.90) in the finals of the 110 hurdles after placing fifth (16.94) in the preliminaries. Junior Matthew Crispi finished 10th (18.36) in the prelims of the 110 hurdles. Junior Christian Butler claimed eighth place in the pole vault (10-0) for the Nighthawks.

A few days after sectionals, North Haven hosted Notre Dame-West Haven for its last matchup of the dual-meet season on May 21 and took an 82-68 defeat to finish at 5-5. DeCusati finished first in the shot put (46-2) and the discus (133-4), while Boyle won the 1,600 (4:53.3) and the 3,200 (11:58.4) for North Haven. Junior Christian Butler won the pole vault (10-6), Thomas finished first in the 400 (54.8), and McCreven was tops in the 110 hurdles (15.9). North Haven’s 4x100 relay of sophomore Dan Malone, sophomore Nigel Ragsdale, freshman Russell Collins, and sophomore Liam Millman recorded a first-place performance (48.9).

Boys’ Lacrosse

The North Haven boys’ lacrosse team played two games to close out the 2022 regular season last week. The Nighthawks took losses in both contests to finish with a record of 4-12.

North Haven dropped a 15-7 decision to Guilford in a road game on May 17. Two days later, the Nighthawks hosted Cheshire for their regular-season finale and took a 21-8 loss versus the Rams.

Girls’ Outdoor Track

The North Haven girls’ outdoor track team competed in the SCC East Sectional Championship at Bowen Field on May 17. The Nighthawks finished in 10th place in the sectional standings by scoring 16 points at the meet.

Sophomore Erika Fronte finished fourth in the javelin (85-4) and took fifth place in the shot put (31-1.5) for North Haven at the sectional meet. Senior Emily Cocco finished seventh in the discus (83-7) and came in ninth place for the shot put (28-11.5).

Senior Brooke Waldron finished in 10th place (31-7) in the triple jump for the Nighthawks. Sophomore Rebecca Ford took 10th place in the 800 (2:42).

North Haven’s 4x400 relay of senior Grace Finch, freshman Daniella Rapuano, sophomore Anna Morteli, and Ford finished seventh (4:46.08) at the East Sectional Championship. The 4x800 relay of Mortali, junior Payton Orosco, freshman Grace DeNardis, and Ford also came in seventh place (10:59.57). The Nighthawks’ 4x100 relay of Finch, Waldron, sophomore Jade Lewis, and freshman Brooke LaPierre finished in eighth place (54.95).

Girls’ Lacrosse

The North Haven girls’ lacrosse team finished its regular season by posting an 18-4 home victory over Lyman Hall on Senior Night on May 17. The Nighthawks completed the regular season with an overall record of 5-11.

Senior Shea Saracino scored 5 goals for the Nighthawks versus Lyman Hall, while seniors Eliza O’Connor and Sophia Dorio both scored 4 goals in the win. Senior Riley Minns scored 3 goals, and senior Liz Hansen had 2 goals for North Haven. Senior Ellie Kerzner handed out 2 assists, as did O’Connor and Dorio.

North Haven’s defense turned in a strong effort, led by seniors Jenna Pine, Erin Johns, Lauren Bogaert, Sophia Chagnon, and Emma Kircaldie. Senior Hannah Sommer had 10 saves in net to help the Nighthawks win the game.

Softball

The North Haven softball team finished its regular season with a record of 11-9 after winning two of its last three games. North Haven, which has qualified for the Class L State Tournament, earned wins over Lauralton Hall and Jonathan Law to go with a loss against Cheshire in last week’s action.

The Nighthawks kicked off their week by notching a 13-12 road win against Lauralton Hall in a back-and-forth 10-inning game on May 17. North Haven held 9-6 lead entering the bottom half of the sixth inning, where the Crusaders scored 3 runs to tie the score. The Nighthawks plated 3 runs in the top of the seventh, but Lauralton rallied for a 3-spot in the bottom half to send the game into extras in a 12-12 deadlock. Following scoreless eighth and ninth innings, North Haven scored a run in the top of the 10th and then kept Lauralton off the board in the bottom of the inning to come away with the 13-12 victory.

Senior Caroline Toni had 2 singles and a double for the Nighthawks in the win. Sophomore Gabby Blanchard and freshman Alyssa DiGiovanna had 2 hits apiece for North Haven.


The following day, North Haven took a 15-3 defeat to Cheshire in 6 innings in a home game. Junior Maria Lockery and Toni both hit a double in the contest.

Then on May 22, North Haven posted a 2-1 home win over Jonathan Law in its regular-season finale. Law has a record of 18-2 on the year, and both of those losses have come against North Haven. Blanchard tossed a complete game for the Nighthawks, allowing 6 singles and 1 unearned run. Toni homered in the fifth inning to break a 1-1 tie and put North Haven in the lead.

Boys’ Golf

The North Haven boys’ golf team took two recent defeats to move to 6-8 with one match left in the regular season.

On May 17, the Nighthawks took a 162-183 home loss against Shelton at Tradition Golf Club. Freshman Will Sagnella recorded North Haven’s low score of the day by shooting a 40 for the round. Junior Christian Basmadjian carded a 43, while sophomore Chris Labanara shot a 45. Sophomore Dinny LaDore finished with a 55, and sophomore Kevin Lawlor posted a 67.

The next day, North Haven hosted Branford and lost to the Hornets by the score of 163-183. Sagnella earned medalist honors by carding a score of 39 for the Nighthawks. Labanara scored a 43, Basmadjian shot a 48, Lawlor carded a 53, and LaDore finished with a 54.