J.P. Doyle and Parker Embree lift Eric Tack During a line out.
The Greenwich rugby team won its first game at Nationals in Elkhart, Ind. 53-14 over LaSalette.
Extra Time
The staff blog for the Greenwich Time sports department
GHS graduate Emma Kramer in lacrosse final four with Middlebury
Emma Kramer and the Middlebury College woman’s lacrosse team are Final Four bound.
Kramer, a 2008 Greenwich High School graduate, is having a standout senior season for Middlbury, recording 39 goals and 12 assists. Kramer, an First Team All-State and First Team All-FCIAC lacrosse player for Greenwich, ranks second on the team in goals scored and is third on the squad in scoring. Her hat trick helped power Middlebury to a 10-8 win over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute last week – a victory that gave Middlebury its 16th berth in the NCAA Division III Final Four.
Middlebury will play Salisbury in the NCAA semifinals Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at Stevenson University in Owings Mills, Md. Trinity College will face SUNY Cortland in the other semifinal game at 1:30 p.m. The national championship game is scheduled for Sunday at noon. Middlebury enters the game with a record of 18-2.
Also an All-State field hockey player while at Greenwich High, Kramer was named the MVP her senior year on the Cardinals lacrosse team. Several other players on the Middlebury squad have Greenwich ties. Freshman Laurel Pascal had an outstanding freshman season, registering 29 goals and three assists for the Panthers. A Greenwich native, Pascal is a Taft School graduate.
Junior defender Dee Miller, a Convent of the Sacred Heart graduate also plays for Middlebury, as does freshman attack Alli Sciarretta (Convent of the Sacred Heart grad). Miller has played well defensively for the Panthers, while Sciarretta has two goals as a freshman.
Loynaz, Greenwich Academy tops Greenwich High
Greenwich Academy goalie Lexie Seidel made 10 saves in her team’s 18-15 win vs. Greenwich High. Bob Luckey photo
The Greenwich Academy lacrosse team entered Tuesday’s game against host Greenwich High School averaging 17 goals per game, while the Cardinals were putting up an average of 15. All signs pointed to it being a high-scoring affair and it was, as the Gators outscored the Cardinals, 18-15.
The win was the first over Greenwich for Greenwich Academy since it beat the Cardinals 11-8 in 2009. The two teams didn’t meet last year, but the Cardinals took the previous two games against the Gators. Sophomore attack Angie Loynaz was the star of the game, breaking loose for nine goals to propel 15-1 GA. Here’s a few key points of Tuesday’s cross-town matchup.
GATORS GET OUT OF THE GATE FAST: Greenwich Academy seized a 5-0 lead the first 5:56 and the Cardinals never really recovered. GHS cut GA’s lead to one goal at one point in the first half and two goals on three occasions in the second, but never got over the hump. Loynaz tallied twice, while Gabby Noto, Emilia Tapsall and Sasha Fritts scored, putting GA up 5-0.
“I was very pleased to see us get off to such a fast start,” GA coach Angela Tammaro said. “The key was we were getting the ball off the draw, which gave us possession. Izzy Nixon really stepped up for us today off the draw.”
SHARP SHOOTERS: Complementing Loynaz in the scoring department were Fritts, who scored four times and Tapsall (2 goals, 2 assists). The Gators showed a lot of patience when running their settled offense.
“I think we were really patient, we noticed early in the game we could be successful in 1 vs. 1 situations, so we moved the ball and waited for those opportunities.”
“We had a good shooting day,” Tammaro said. “We tried to get most of our shots from the middle and it paid off. When you have the whole goal to look at it seems to be bigger than it is.”
SEIDEL STEPPING UP: Though the Cardinals scored 15 goals, led by Emma Christie’s four tallies, it more opportunities to put points on the scoreboard. But GA goalie Lexie Seidel came up with some key saves during both halves. She finished the game with 10 saves.
“Lexie has been amazing for us this season,” GA defender Julia Conway said. “She’s come up big for us in big games.”
EXTRA NOTES: Greenwich Academy played without one of its leading scorers, senior attack Lexi Henkel. She sprained her right ankle Monday and it looks as they she will miss the team’s game Saturday against Loomis Chaffee and the FAA Tournament next week. Henkel, who has starred on the team for several seasons, will spend her summer getting ready to play lacrosse at Yale University. GA senior defense wing Mary Taussig tweaked her ankle four minutes into the first half and did not return. She may be ready to play this weekend or in next week’s’ tournament.
WHAT’S NEXT? The Cardinals wait to see if they play their quarterfinal round game of the FCIAC Tournament on Thursday or Friday. Coach Caitlin Keane told me if they are the No. 2 seed they will play Thursday and if they’re seeded third they will host the game on Friday. GA will play Loomis Chaffee on Saturday.
Taylor Ryan scores 100th career goal
Sacred Heart senior middie Taylor Ryan with the ball from her 100th career goal which she scored as the last of her five tallies against Taft Saturday in her final home game.
Sacred Heart lacrosse player Taylor Ryan scored her 100th career goal as part of a five-goal outburst in her final home game Saturday against Taft.
Ryan scored three in the first half and two more in the second as the Tigers beat the Rhinos 13-7.
OGRCC 2013 MLB Hit, Pitch and Run Champions
(Left to Right) Kirk Schubert, Christian Close, Johnny Riehl, Nathan Jones, Jake Shredders, Drew Kral, Kelly Martyanov and Olivia McClammy.
The OGRCC announced that fourteen youngsters from Greenwich have been namedl 2013 MLB Hit, Pitch and Run Champions along with the All-Around Champion. These boys and girls will go on to compete on Sunday, May 19, 2013 at Old Tavern Baseball Complex in Orange, CT.
BOYS 7/8
Christian Close 2013 All-Around Champion
Johnny Riehl 2013 Pitch Champion
Wyatt Gibson 2013 Hitting Champion
Nathan Jones 2013 Running Champion
GIRLS 7/8
Nina Clark 2013 Pitch, Hit, Run and All-Around Champion
BOYS 9-10
Alex Plavoukos 2013 Pitch and All-Around Champion
Jake Shredders 2013 Hitting Champion
Drew Kral 2013 Running Champion
Girls 9/10
Kelly Martyanov 2013 Pitch, Run and All-Around Champion
Olivia McClammy 2013 Hitting Champion
Boys 11/12
Avery Caulfield 2013 Pitch and All-Around Champion
Jack Gibson 2013 Hit and Run Champion
Girls 11/12
Lucy Mini 2013 Pitch, Hit, Run and All-Around Champion
Boys 13/14
Nicholas Glass 2013 Pitch, Hit, Run and All-Around Champion
YMCA Marlins diving team places 4th at Nationals
The YMCA of Greenwich Marlins Diving Club placed an impressive fourth at the 2013 YMCA National Championships at the International Swimming Hall of Fame pool in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., last weekend. The Marlins posted the fourth-place showing with only seven divers competing.
“YMCA Nationals is always a great, fun experience,” Marlins coach Dylan Korn said. “The kids don’t often get a chance to dive outdoors, so it can be a challenge diving with the sun shining or the wind blowing, but they all did an outstanding job and we’re proud of them.”
Representing the YMCA of Greenwich Marlins at the YMCA Nationals were: Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, Lee Christensen, Elizabeth Uhl, Madeline Kenney, Shannon Daine, James Hopper and Carolina Sculti.
The seven Marlins divers garnered 19 medals over the course of the weekend. The Marlins men’s team, which included only two divers, finished fourth with Greenwich resident James Hopper earning the High Point Award (a combination of team points earned by a single individual on all three events). Lee Christensen of Darien posted an eighth place finish in the men’s all-around. Christensen was among the top finishers of his 16-21 year old age group throughout the competition. He finished second in the platform event and took fourth in both the one and three-meter springboard.
Hopper swept all three of his events in the 12-13 age group, earning three gold medals and securing himself a prequalification to USA Diving Summer Junior Nationals in August where he will battle for a spot on Team USA for the Junior Pan-American Games in September.
The Marlins women’s team enjoyed the same success, finishing fourth overall. Carolina Sculti of Rye, N.Y., shared a three-way tie for the High Point Award. Elizabeth Fitzpatrick of Darien tied for fourth, while Elizabeth Uhl of Greenwich, tied for seventh. Shannon Daine of Greenwich placed 19th and Madeline Kenney of Rye was 28th. Sculti came away with first-place finishes on the one and three-meter springboard and a silver medal on the platform in her 12-13 year-old events. Fitzpatrick finished first in the one-meter springboard in the 16-21 year-old division, was second on the three-meter, and third place on platform. Sculti and Fitzpatrick will join Hopper at the Junior Nationals in August, in the hope of earning a spot on the Junior Pan-Am team.
Ellie Uhl turned in an outstanding performance as well, finishing second in her 14-15 year-old platform event, third on the one-meter springboard and sixth on the three-meter springboard. Daine celebrated her birthday by finishing seventh in her 14-15 year-old platform event. She also placed eighth on one-meter springboard and ninth on the three- meter springboard. Kenney placed in both of her springboard events, earning a seventh-place finish on the one-meter and eighth on the three-meter.
“These amazing performances from our Marlins divers show how well our team is doing, but we just lack the depth that other teams have,” coach Lindsay Weigle said. “Once we can build our numbers, I’m confident that we’ll not only be on top at YMCA Nationals, but we will place higher at USA Diving Junior Nationals as well. We have great kids, and some potential future olympians. But we always encourage less experienced divers to try out our club because there’s a place for everyone here.”
Greenwich Academy, Sacred Heart go down to the wire
Sasha Fritts, right, scored four goals for Greenwich Academy in its 11-10 win over Sacred Heart. Bob Luckey photo
The Greenwich Academy and Convent of the Sacred Heart lacrosse teams have been embroiled in close games the past few seasons and Saturday was no different, as their annual regular season matchup went right down to the wire.
The Gators, who beat the Tigers twice last season, after falling to CSH two times in 2011, prevailed Saturday, posting an 11-10 road win. GA, which trailed 6-5, at halftime, received four goals from Sasha Fritts, two goals and one assist from Gabby Noto and two goals from Lexi Henkel.
Sacred Heart was paced offensively by Colleen O’Neill, who scored three times, Allie Kenny (2 goals, 1 assist) and Mo Leitner (2 goals). With five lead changes it was a back-and-forth battle throughout. Watching the game, you got the feeling whichever team opened a two-goal lead late in the game would be in the drivers’ seat. That’s what the Gators did, taking an 11-9 lead with 7:21 to go in the game. CSH scored to close to within one, but couldn’t tally the equalizer, as GA took a lot of time off the clock running their stall.
The Tigers, who have had ups and downs in some of their games this season, turned in their most impressive performance of the season so far and could be boosted by this effort. Here’s what some of the players had to say after the game.
Sacred Heart goalie Maddie Pillari: “We could come away from this game with our heads up. After this game we look forward to seeing what we are capable of. A one-point game is about just one mistake, so it could have gone either way.”
Greenwich Academy defender Emma Olney: “We really needed to get our heads into it and believe we could do this. At the end of the game it came down to us trying to keep possession.”
Sacred Heart midfielder Colleen O’Neill: “I think in the end we needed to keep our composure. We lost the ball a few times and that hurt us in the long run. Even though we lost we did a lot of things well and this will motivate us for the rest of the season.”
GA is 9-0 after the win and is on pace to breeze through another regular season en route to reaching the finals of the FAA Tournament. At 5-4, Sacred Heart has some work to do, but after the effort it displayed Saturday, this team has what it takes to make it back to the FAA finals once again.
“That’s the plan,” CSH coach Courtney DePeter said. “To make it back there.”
Bluefish home games to be broadcast on 1490 WGCH
The Bridgeport Bluefish today announced a radio partnership to broadcast all home games for the 2013 season on AM 1490 WGCH and live webcast through wgch.com and bridgeportbluefish.com.
“We are very excited about this partnership and allowing Bluefish fans to listen live to all of our homes games,” Bluefish general manager Ken Shepard said in a press release. “WGCH is a very reputable station and having our games on their AM signal will help us expand our presence in Southern Connecticut.”
The Bridgeport Bluefish Broadcast Network’s team is headlined by RJ Garcea who is in his second year with the Bluefish and his first as the lead broadcaster.
All broadcasts will begin 15 minutes prior to first pitch and can be heard live on AM 1490 WGCH or on www.wgch.com or www.bridgeportbluefish.com.
