WHS golf team wins two more; ties Danvers, 36-36
The Winthrop High golf team continued its strong play this past week, winning two matches and tying another. Coach Jack Wallace’s squad now stands at an impressive 5-2-1 on the season.
In a 42-30 victory over non-league opponent Rockport at the Winthrop Golf Club (WGC), the highlights for Winthrop came from sophomores Ryan Murphy and Nikita Rossi, both of whom won their matches at #1 and #2. Captain Tomas Babine also defeated his Rockport counterpart and sophomore Tony Bordonaro won his match, 5-4, to close out the Viking victory at the #8 spot.
Next up for Winthrop was a match at the WGC with Northeastern Conference (NEC) rival Danvers, which traditionally is one of the NEC’s strongest programs. Sophomores Ryan Murphy and Nikita Rossi both won at #1 and #2, shooting a pair of 38s (3 over par).
“These two are a dangerous duo and they likely will be the favorites to win the NEC individual title when they are seniors,” noted Wallace.
The junior duo of Louk Belghiti and Tomas Babine contributed 10.5 points between them at #3 and #4.
“Our top four have been our team’s foundation all season,” noted Wallace. Babine improved to 4-2 on the season with his victory.
Sophomore Paulie Ferrara won a huge match for the Vikings at the #5 spot, 5.5-3.5. “Paulie has really improved and will continue to have success as the season goes on,” observed Wallace.
Eighth grader Max Dassau fought hard for his four points vs. a tough Falcon opponent at #6. By the time all of the scorecards had been tallied, the final score showed the Vikings and Falcons in an even-steven deadlock, 36-36. “This is the first time I have ever been part of a tie as either a coach or a player,” noted Wallace.
In the matches at #9 and #10 (which do not figure in the scoring), junior Declan Howard won his match, 4-2, and freshman Danny Connolly also won, 3.5-2.5.
“This was the best finish a Winthrop team has had vs. Danvers since 2014,” said Wallace. “I am very proud of the team. They are doing special things this fall so far.”
Last Thursday the Vikings easily handled NEC foe Salem, as every Viking golfer won his match.
“We had two Viking seniors, Mike Holgerson and Spencer Parco, making their debut and both won their matches,” said Wallace. “Senior Dylan Sykes won his match, 9-0, to cap off the huge win for us. We’ll be looking to Dylan to step up for us next week as we head for some away matches.
“Freshman Danny Connolly won at the #8 spot, 6-3, and improved to 2-0 in his young career,” added Wallace.
Sophomore Ryan Murphy was the medalist at #1, shooting a one over par 36.
Winthrop’s next hosted non-league foe Wakefield this past Monday and came up short by a score of 45.5-26.5, snapping the Vikings’ home winning streak. “This was a good non-conference matchup as everyone kept their match close,” said Wallace. “It was a great taste of what is to come when the state tournament rolls around.”
Highlights for Winthrop were wins by juniors Tomas Babine and Louk Belghiti at #3 and #4. “These two have been an amazing duo and are tough to beat,” said Wallace.
Sophomore Ryan Murphy lost a tough matchup, despite shooting a fine round of two over par. Eighth grader Max Dassau continued to have a great first year, scoring 3.5 points at #6. Sophomores Paulie Ferrara, Jojo Pumphret, and Tony Bordonaro all contributed points at the back-end matches. “These three will be very important for the rest of the season and can compete with anyone in the conference,” noted Wallace.
Wallace and his crew headed to Bass Rocks this past Tuesday to play Gloucester and to Olde Salem Green yesterday (Wednesday) to meet Salem. They will journey to The Meadows to meet Peabody today (Thursday) and to Cedar Glen on Monday to face Saugus. They’ll return to the WGC next Tuesday to host Northeast Regional and then will take on Swampscott next Wednesday at Tedesco Country Club.
“We’ll be looking to get closer to qualifying for the state tournament,” said Wallace.
Girls cross country defeats Salem
The Winthrop High girls cross country team gave new WHS head coach Eric Ferguson his first victory with a triumph over Northeastern Conference opponent Salem last week in a tri-meet with Masconomet on the Vikings’ home course at Deer Island.
Leading the way for the Lady Vikings was Vienna Cardoza, who was followed by teammates Bailey Ferguson, Annabelle Giardino, Hailey DeMarco, and Aitana Bartolome.
For the boys, who came up short to both Masco and Salem, Liam Kenney was the first Viking across the line, followed by Gabriel Perez, Liam Natareno, Sean McGloin and Owen Nargi.
“Cross country is off to a great start,” said Ferguson. “Our participation numbers have grown from last season. Although our boys and girls teams lost to Peabody in our opening meet the week before, It was a learning experience for our team as most of our athletes are first-time cross country runners.”
Ferguson and his crew were scheduled to host Beverly yesterday (Wednesday) and will travel up the coast to Marblehead next Wednesday.
Busy week for volleyball team
The Winthrop High volleyball team will have a busy week ahead, starting with a match at Winthrop High today (Thursday) against non-league opponent Excel Academy.
Coach Jeremy Wein and his crew then will host non-league foe Pioneer Charter School of Science on Monday and Northeastern Conference opponent Masconomet on Tuesday.
Although the Vikings came up short in their matches with Swampscott, Marblehead, and Revere this past week,Wein saw some positive signs from his squad.
“Our serving has improved and our serve-receive looked okay against Swampscott and in the second and third sets with Marblehead,” said Wein. “I told the girls at the beginning of the season that wins and losses will not tell me what they are capable of. We’ve played good teams and we did not go away.
“Every team we face is the best team we will see all season and that has to be our approach,” Wein added.
WHS boys play well in 2-I loss
The Winthrop High boys soccer team played well, but came up short by a score of 2-1 in a contest with Northeastern Conference (NEC) South rival Swampscott last Wednesday at Miller Field.
Viking captain Noah Bayersdorfer scored on a brilliant free kick to account for the Winthrop tally.
“We.made a few adjustments to our lineup and we played our best game of the year,” said WHS head coach Phil Ronan. “Sophomore goalkeeper Jackson Faber played an outstanding game in net. The boys played great, but unfortunately, an unlucky bounce was our undoing. We dominated our opponents, but also failed to convert on at least 5-6 great chances.”
Ronan and his crew will travel to non-league opponent Arlington Catholic tomorrow (Friday) and will make the long treks to NEC South rivals Glouceser on Monday and Salem next Wednesday.
Girls soccer to host Gloucester, Salem
The Winthrop High girls soccer team will host Northeastern Conference South Division rivals Gloucester and Salem next week.
Coach Tracey Martucci’s squad, which came up short in its contests with Swampscott and Danvers this past week, will meet Gloucester on the Miller turf on Monday and Salem on Wednesday. Both matches will kick off at 4:30.