Printer Friendly Version - Guilford Girls’ Tennis Loses in SCC Final; Boys’ Lacrosse Wins State Tourney Opener

Junior captain Riley Mullett and the Guilford girls’ tennis squad took a loss to Amity in the SCC championship and now get ready to compete in the Class L State Tournament this week.File photo by Kelley Fryer/The Courier

The Guilford girls’ tennis team earned a win over North Haven in the SCC semifinals and then took a loss against Amity in the championship match last week. With an overall record of 17-6, the Grizzlies will compete in the Class L State Tournament this week.

No. 2 seed Guilford hosted No. 3 North Haven for an SCC Tournament semifinal match on May 23 and won the contest by a 5-2 score. Junior captain Riley Mullett posted a 7-6, 6-2 victory for the Grizzlies in the No. 1 singles match. Freshman Caroline Hergan won a 6-1, 6-1 decision at No. 3 singles; while sophomore Molly Peterson won her No. 4 singles match by the score of 6-0, 6-0.

Guilford’s No. 1 doubles team of junior Izzy Bowman and freshman Sophie Gochman rallied for a 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory. The Grizzlies’ No. 3 team of junior Kate DeAngelo and sophomore Alexi Gipson triumphed by the tally of 6-3, 3-6, 10-4.

The following day, Guilford played at No. 1 seed Amity in the SCC final and took a 7-0 defeat. Mullett, sophomore Kallie Kagan, Hergan, and Peterson competed in the singles matches for Guilford. The Grizzlies were also represented by the doubles teams of Bowman and Gochman, Gipson and freshman Thitida Kham, and DeAngelo and sophomore Gabby Kellner.

Guilford is the No. 5 seed in the Class L State Tournament and hosted No. 12 Brookfield for a first-round matchup on May 31 (after press time). If the Grizzlies won, they played the winner of No. 4 Bethel and No. 13 East Lyme in the quarterfinals on May 31 (after press time). The semifinals take place on Thursday, June 2, and the championship will be held at Wesleyan University on Friday, June 3.

The Guilford boys’ tennis team took a defeat to Hand in the semifinals of the SCC Tournament last week. Guilford has an overall record of 9-10 as the team opens play in the Class L State Tournament with another match versus Hand.

No. 5 seed Guilford hit the road to face top-seeded Hand in the SCC semis and lost to the Tigers by a 7-0 final on May 23. The Grizzlies have the No. 15 seed in the Class L bracket and played at No. 2 seed Hand in the first round on May 31 (after press time). With a win, Guilford faced the winner of No. 7 Fitch and No. 10 South Windsor in the quarterfinals on June 1 (after press time). The semifinals are on Thursday, June 2, and the Class L final takes place on Friday, June 3 at Wesleyan University.

The Guilford softball team posted a win over Hand in an SCC quarterfinal game before taking a loss to Jonathan Law in the semifinal round last week. The Grizzlies are bringing an overall record of 19-3 into the Class L State Tournament.

No. 3 seed Guilford started off the SCC Tournament by earning a 3-2 home win versus No. 6 Hand in the quarterfinals on May 23, marking the Grizzlies’ 17th-straight victory. Sophomore Sophia Meade pitched a complete game for the Grizzlies, allowing just 2 hits while striking out 8. Freshman Ella Munson led the way for the offense by going 2-for-3 with a double and a home run. Munson’s homer in the sixth gave Guilford a 3-0 lead and ultimately proved the decisive run. Meade and sophomore Addie Smith both hit a double in the win.

The next day, the Grizzlies traveled to Milford to play No. 2 seed Jonathan Law and lost a 1-0 decision. Law scored the lone run of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning and then held on for the win. The Eagles went on to take a 6-1 defeat against East Haven in the SCC championship game.

Meade threw 6 innings for a complete game and had 8 strikeouts in the contest. Meade also hit a double for the Grizzlies, who saw Smith, senior Allie Petonito, and sophomore Sadie Iozzia each get 1 hit.

Guilford is the No. 3 seed in the Class L State Tournament and had a bye through the first round. Guilford hosted the winner of No. 14 Fitch and No. 19 Hand for a second-round matchup on June 1 (after press time). The quarterfinals are on Friday, June 3; the semis will take place on Monday, June 6 and Tuesday, June 7; and the championship game will be held on either Friday, June 10 or Saturday, June 11.

The Guilford baseball team dropped a 6-1 decision against Fairfield Prep in an SCC quarterfinal game last week. The Grizzlies own an overall record of 11-10 as they get ready to compete in the Class L State Tournament.

The 6th-seeded Grizzlies were on the road to face No. 3 seed Fairfield Prep in the SCC quarterfinals and lost the contest by a 6-1 score. Senior captain Aiden McBrierty had an RBI single for Guilford. Senior Tyler Zajkowski, junior Jack Farrah, and junior Alex Vincent had 1 hit apiece

As the No. 16 seed, Guilford began the Class L State Tournament by hosting No. 17 Masuk in the first round on May 31 (after press time). With a victory, the Grizzlies faced the winner of top-seeded Windsor and No. 32 Kaynor Tech for a second-round game on June 1 (after press time). The quarterfinals are on Saturday, June 4; the semifinals take place on Tuesday, June 7; and the Class L state final will be held at Palmer Field in Middletown on either Friday, June 10 or Saturday, June 11.

The Guilford boys’ lacrosse squad kicked off the Class L State Tournament by earning a victory over Lyman Hall in a qualifying-round game last week. The Grizzlies are sporting an overall record of 10-8 as they get ready to face East Catholic in their next matchup.

On May 28, No. 14 seed Guilford hosted No. 19 Lyman Hall for a Class L qualifying contest and defeated the Trojans by the score of 18-5. The Grizzlies advanced to take on No. 3 seed East Catholic for a first-round game on June 1 (after press time). With a win, Guilford would play the winner of No. 6 Wethersfield and No. 11 E.O. Smith in the quarterfinals on Saturday, June 4.

The semifinals of the Class L State Tournament are on Wednesday, June 8. The title game takes place at Sacred Heart University on Sunday, June 12.

The Guilford High School rowing team traveled to Lake Waramaug in New Preston for the Connecticut Public Schools Rowing Association Championship Regatta on May 22. Guilford brought a total of five crews to the race, featuring three boys’ eights and two girls’ eights.

In girls’ first varsity eights race, the Guilford crew was comprised of seniors Cathlyn Marinis, Moira McGovern, Sarah Walsh, and Vesper Hawkes; juniors Hailey Hutchison, Panorea Vasiliou, Ashlyn Garrick, and Katherine Hicks; and freshman Tea Hawkes. In their morning heat, the Guilford girls finished third, advancing them to the grand final in the afternoon. The Grizzlies then finished sixth with a time of 5:56.9 over the 1,500-meter course.

The boys’ first varsity eight included seniors Nicky Amter, Max Petra, Will Sheldon, Henry Gunderson, and Adrian Pawelek; junior Bradyn Benben; and sophomores Ryan Michna, George Fenollosa, and Cooper Formica. In their morning heat, the Grizzlies finished in fourth place, just 2.4 seconds behind Farmington. The boys then rowed in the petite final, where they comfortably defeated crews from Middletown and Avon.

The girls’ novice eight finished third in their morning heat with a time of 6:23.9, just missing qualifying for the afternoon final. The boys’ second varsity eight finished sixth in their final with a time of 6:08.1.

The lone Guilford boat to medal at the championship was the novice boys’ eight. After finishing second in their morning heat, the Grizzlies advanced to the grand final against Lyme-Old Lyme, East Lyme, Glastonbury, Lewis Mills and Middletown. Guilford finished third with a time of 5:25.5 in a very competitive race. First-place finisher Glastonbury posted a time of 5:12, while runner-up East Lyme finished in 5:14.5.

Head Coach Matt Wilson said that all of Guilford’s rowers put in a tremendous effort at the State Championship. Wilson added that the Grizzles’ seniors did a nice job of keeping everyone in the program motivated throughout the year.

The Guilford boys’ golf team finished the regular season with a record of 9-7 after winning one of its three matches during the final week of play.

On May 23, Guilford took a 161-162 home loss against Fairfield Prep at Madison Country Club. Freshman Andrew Beauton earned medalist honors by posting a low total of 35 for the Grizzlies. Senior Miguel Pearce carded a 37 for Guilford. Junior Leo Hergan shot a 44, and fellow junior Aidan Webster finished with a 46.

The next day, Grizzlies were on the road to face Cheshire and lost to the Rams by the score of 159-161. Then on May 25, Guilford played a road match versus Morgan and claimed a 163-174 win over the Huskies.

The Guilford girls’ outdoor track team’s 4x400 relay took first place at a postseason meet for the second-straight week when the Grizzlies won the event at the SCC Championship at Bowen Field on May 24. Guilford finished in fifth place by scoring a total of 50 points at the conference meet.

Guilford’s 4x400 relay team of freshman Daniella Selig, senior Julia Antony, freshman Ella Heckler, and freshman Riley Hickey recorded a season-best time of 4:07.19 to claim first place at SCCs, finishing two seconds ahead of the runner-up unit from Cheshire (4:09.19). The Grizzlies’ quartet had previously placed first at the SCC West Sectional Championship with a time of 4:10.04.

Guilford’s 4x800 relay of sophomore Clara Gahm, senior Olivia Skapczynski, junior Alexa Suchy, and Antony finished in second place at SCCs by recording a time of 9:50.35. Antony also finished third in the 1,600 with a time of 5:18.21. Junior Alexa Suchy finished third for the 3,200 (11:55.91) and placed fourth in the 1,600 (5:18.21). Kaisin took fourth place (12:07.16) in the 3,200 and was followed by Gahm in seventh (12:14.53).

Hickey finished fifth (1:00.63) in the 400 with Heckler taking eighth place (1:01.63). Skapczynski finished sixth in the 800 (2:28.76) and was 11th in the 1,600 (5:40.25).

Sophomore Tea Davison took 13th place in the 200 (28.72) and also finished 17th in the long jump (15-1.5) for the Grizzlies. Junior Clara Laughlin placed 13th (13:07.91) in the 1,600, while sophomore Juliana Montgomery finished 18th (13:25.08) in the event. Freshman Ella Young finished 14th in the 300 hurdles (52.52), and freshman Lily Sullivan came in 16th place for the high jump (4-6).

The Guilford boys’ outdoor track team sent several competitors to take part in the SCC Championship last week. The Grizzlies scored 33 points as a team and finished in ninth place at Bowen Field on May 24.

Senior Justin Shiffrin finished third in the 800 with a time of 1:59.55 and also recorded a mark of 4:24.21 in the 1,600 to take fourth place for Guilford. Shiffrin improved upon both of his times from when he had won both the 800 (2:01.67) and the 1,600 (4:32.10) at the SCC West Sectional Championship the previous week.

The Grizzlies’ 4x400 relay of Shiffrin, senior Thomas Gregory, senior Callum Stephens, and junior Joshua Chen earned a fourth-place finish (3:31.22) at the SCC Championship. The 4x800 relay of sophomore Alex Hansen, junior Bretton Garrick, sophomore Coleman Love, and junior Michael Masotti also finished in fourth (8:19.52).

Sophomore Andres Gutierrez claimed fifth place in the 300 hurdles (42.81) and finished fifth in the triple jump (42-1). Gregory finished seventh in the 800 (2:00.31), while Masotti placed seventh in the 1,600 (4:37.05).

Pensa finished 11th (10:16.05) in the 3,200 and was followed by Love in 15th (10:21.65). Milano finished 12th in the 1,600 (4:43.34) for the Grizzlies. Guilford’s 4x100 relay of senior Mitchell Yaggi, Stephens, Chen, and junior Mike O’Brien also came in 12th place (46.19).

Chen took 16th place in the 200 (23.88) for Guilford at the SCC meet. Junior Zach Pawelek placed 18th (2:01.45) in the 800, and sophomore Mackinley Cho finished 20th (2:12.19) for the 800.