Golf Team Meets the Iron
The Winthrop High golf team went up against some of the top teams in the area this past week.
In a match at the Winthrop Golf Club (WGC) against perennial Northeastern Conference power Marblehead, freshman Ryan Murphy and sophomore Tomas Babine turned in impressive performances to top their Marblehead counterparts.
Next up for the Vikings was another North Shore powerhouse, St. Mary’s of Lynn. Winthrop fell short by a score of 47-25 in the match held on the links at the WGC. Murphy, playing in the #1 spot for coach Jack Wallace’s crew, improved his individual record this season to 7-1 with a triumph over St. Mary’s top player. Sophomore Louk Belghiti continued his hot play, winning his match, 5-4.
The Vikings then made the long trek to the Ipswich Country Club and fell by a score of 108-93 to the host team.
“I was very proud of our team playing on a very difficult golf course,” said Wallace. Leading the way for Winthrop on the scorecard was Belghiti with 22 points. Senior Joey Rich and Murphy both tallied 17 points, with seniors Petey Silverman and Andrew Ferretra adding with 14 and 12 points respectively. “We’ll be looking forward to playing them at home in match play,” noted Wallace.
The Vikings’ contest with Danvers last Thursday at the WGC was not finished because of darkness. “I was happy with how the guys responded to the darkness with the other team showing up late,” said Wallace. “Danvers is an impressive team and a result will be determined soon.”
All of the Winthrop golfers kept their matches within two points or won. When the match was called, Murphy was shooting three over par through seven holes. Senior Jake Galurus and freshman Nikita Rossi each had 2.5 points through six holes. Captain Eli Wickham played strong through seven holes.
“We’re hoping for a big week in our upcoming match vs. Rockport and Gloucester,” said Wallace. “We need to split to keep alive our hopes for the state tourney.”
The Vikings have a busy final week of the season. After yesterday’s (Wednesday’s) tri-match at the Rockport Country Club with Rockport and Gloucester, they will host Ipswich on Monday and then trek to the Ferncroft Country Club to meet Masconomet on Tuesday and to Tedesco Country Club next Wednesday to take on Marblehead.
Boys Soccer Team Fights in Close Losses
The Winthrop High boys soccer team came up on the short end of a pair of hard-fought contests with Northeastern Conference rivals Peabody and Salem this past week.
In a battle last Wednesday with Division 1 Peabody, the Vikings trailed 2-1 at the half. Fabiano Alcala Rodrigues.delivered the Winthrop goal with a spectacular strike from 50 yards out. However, the Tanners pulled away with two goals in the dying moments of the game to pull away.
The match with Salem similarly was a tight affair in the first half with the teams level at 1-1 at the half. Salem notched a goal shortly after the intermission, but though the Vikings pressed the Witches until the final two whistles, they were unable to score the equalizer.
This past Monday the Vikings took on a strong Swampscott team and dropped a 5-0 decision. “We came out daydreaming and, coupled with some game-time adjustments by me that didn’t pan out and mental errors, we fell behind 2-0 within the opening
10 minutes,” said WHS head coach Phil Ronan. “We chased the game the rest of the way and lost 5-0, the worst game we played all year. I bear full responsibility for that. We need to pull up our bootstraps and get ready for our next game.”
Ronan and his crew are scheduled to play at non-league opponent Arlington Catholic tomorrow (Friday) and will trek to Masconomet next Tuesday and to Gloucester next Thursday.
Volleyball Team Continues to Battle
Although the Winthrop High volleyball team came up short in its matches this past week with Beverly (3-1) and East Boston (3-0), there were some highlights for coach Lauren Kelly’s squad in both contests.
In the encounter last Wednesday with Beverly, captain Bridget Hickey delivered two successful serves; Zoey Bogusz had eight successful serves; Anastasia Gajica served three aces; Samantha Correa had two digs and a kill, with an assist from Gianna Indrisano; and Mira Ivanis scored two kills.
In last Friday’s match at Eastie, Gianna Indrisano, Emily Maddalone, Adrianna Ferrera all served aces in the first set; Lily Conway had two kills in the second set; and in the third set, junior Tina Fabiano served two successful aces.
“The team has been working really hard,” said Kelly. “We are working through a few injuries on the team right now and I am grateful to all of the team for being flexible and keeping a positive attitude. We are hoping to finish the season strong and enjoy our last few weeks together.”
Kelly and her crew were scheduled to meet Salem yesterday (Wednesday) and will trek to Danvers next Tuesday and to Saugus next Wednesday.
Girls Soccer Battles NEC Foes
Although the Winthrop High girls soccer team came up on the short end of their contests this past week with Peabody and Swampscott, the Lady Vikings turned in some strong performances.
“A 3-0 loss to Peabody is a solid game for us,” said WHS head coach Tracey Martucci. “It was 3-0 at the half and we held them to 0-0 in the second half. The girls played great and they just never gave up. Senior Reese Brodin took the net again for us and did amazingly. We also welcomed back senior Samantha Dimento, who has been out since the beginning of the season due to an injury, so it’s great to have her back.”
The Lady Vikings then traveled to Swampscott and fell by a score of 7-0.
“We had sophomore JV goalie Marissa Macmullen in net for us and despite the score, she played a great first game at varsity. Senior Daniela Gomez has been locking down the back field for us.”
Martucci and her crew travel Excel Academy today (Thursday) and will host Lynn Classical at Miller Field on Saturday at 10:15. They will entertain Swampscott on Monday, Masconomet on Tuesday, and Gloucester next Thursday.