Yellowjackets’ Volleyball Edges Seymour to Reach Class M Final; Rosado Goes All-State in the Backstroke for Second Straight Year
Volleyball
The Yellowjackets’ volleyball team knocked off defending Class M champion Seymour in a five-set thriller in the Class M State Tournament semifinals to advance to the championship game, which will be played in its home gym. The 7th-seeded Easties topped No. 3 Seymour 3-2 (25-13, 25-23, 20-25, 18-25, 15-12) to move on to the Class M final against top-seeded St. Joseph (22-1) on Nov. 18 (after press time) at East Haven High School. This will be the second time the Yellowjackets will play for a state title in program history. In 2004, East Haven beat Masuk 3-1 in the Class L State Tournament final.
East Haven (21-5) came out firing against Seymour in the semis by taking the first two sets at Law High School in Milford on Nov. 14.
“We came out strong, served aggressively, and had a good first and second game,” Head Coach Craig Brown said. “Seymour showed tenacity having been there before, hung tough, and forced it to five.”
Seymour powered through to win the next two sets and put the Easties on edge, but the veteran leadership of the Yellowjackets stepped up in a big way in the final frame. The Wildcats held a 12-10 lead, when a huge block by senior Julia SanGiovanni gave East Haven possession, after which junior Megan Roberts’s solid serving guided East Haven to victory. With a 14-10 lead, senior captain Kylie Schlottman slammed home the game-winning point to send East Haven to the final.
“When you lose games three and four, all the momentum is on the other side. Julia had a big block or two to turn the tide, and then we scored the last five points,” Brown said. “Our team is tough. They gained experience and weren’t ready to quit or give up. Everybody was willing to hang tough and make the big plays when we needed to.”
SanGiovanni finished the match with seven blocks, six kills, and five aces, while Schlottman posted 15 kills and 10 digs. Fellow senior captain Summer Onorato had 10 digs and 15 kills for East Haven
Swimming
Senior Laura Rosado earned her second straight All-State nod in the 100-yard backstroke by finishing third in the event for East Haven-Wilbur Cross (EH-WC) at the Class LL Girls’ Swimming State Championship. As a team, the Yellowjackets put together an excellent performance with many swimmers posting personal-best times on their way to placing 14 out of 21 schools with 152 points scored at Wesleyan University on Nov. 14.
Rosado scored 50 points for EH-WC in her two events. In the 100 backstroke, she placed third with a time of 57.63 seconds to make All-State and score 26 points. In the 100 butterfly, Rosado finished fifth at 58.66 and scored 24 points. Rosado advanced to compete in both events at the State Open Championship that took place at Yale University on Nov. 18 (after press time).
In other individual events, sophomore Daniela Bedoya finished 15th in the 100 butterfly (1:01.04) to score 12 points for the Yellowjackets, while freshman Jung Joo Kim finished 19th in the 200 individual medley (2:18.15) for six points.
EH-WC also sent three relay teams to the Class LL Championship. The 200 medley relay squad of Kim, freshman Alora McCarroll, Bedoya, and Rosado had the best performances by finishing 11th in 1:56.75 to score 32 points. The 200 freestyle relay of Kim, McCarroll, sophomore Syreena Melendez, and Bedoya placed 13th at 1:48.78 to score 28 points. Also, the 400 freesyle relay squad of senior Gina DiVerniero, senior Ellyn DiVerniero, Melendez, and Rosado finished 15th with a time of 4:06.35 and scored 25 points.