Fast start: Boys lacrosse at 5-0
The Winthrop High boys lacrosse team remained undefeated with a trifecta of victories this past week over Northeastern Conference (NEC) rivals Swamposcott and Beverly and non-league opponent Bishop Fenwick.
Coach Brian Donnelly’s Vikings, who now stand at 5-0 overall and sit in sole possession of first place in the Lynch Division of the NEC, handily defeated all three of their opponents by wide margins.
“We had a great week of lacrosse. We are really starting to see our players click and get in sync,” said Donnelly.
Last Wednesday the Vikings made the short trek up the coast to Swampscott, Winthrop’s perennial challenger for supremacy in the NEC Lynch Divison, and came home with a 10-4 victory.
The Vikings grabbed an early 7-2 advantage that they carried into the half and never looked back. Seth Sacco paced the Winthrop attack with five goals and two assists. Ace Daignault added two goals and Matt Madalone, Mike Ferrara, and Alex Corea also found the back of the Big Blue net.
“Matt Madalone was excellent at faceoffs with Paul Ferrara coming off the edge to give us the edge on ball possession,” said Donnelly. “Our defense also played excellently, with Sean Dolen leading the charge against their best player game after game. Ace Daignault has also been playing excellent lacrosse and facilitates our offense. He is an excellent dodger and creates plays for everyone on the field. The guys were locked in for this one.”
Two nights later the Vikings hosted Beverly from the NEC Dunn Division and sent the Panthers packing, 13-7.
“Beverly is a very solid team,” said Donnelly. “They moved the ball really well and had some solid offense. It was tied going into the second half until the boys put on the gas and came out of the half flying.
“Freshman Johnny Ferrara played an excellent game and ended the day with a hat trick. These were massive goals and got the boys hyped up,” Donnelly said. “Seth and Ace ended up both with five goals on the day. These guys are just playing elite lacrosse and push each other to improve every day.”
WHS goalie Nick Romano turned in a superb performance with 18 saves. “Nick has been impressive so far this season and continues to shine as a leader,” Donnelly said.
The Vikings concluded their outstanding week with a 12-2 triumph at Bishop Fenwick this past Saturday.
“We took care of business early and controlled the tempo of the game,” said Donnelly. “We went up early, so it was good to get some of the young players in to get some varsity minutes.
“Overall, the team is really coming together,” Donnelly added. “They have a really high ceiling that they could reach, and if they keep putting in the work, I know they are going to continue to compete at a high level and make some waves in the NEC.”
The Vikings were scheduled to host NEC Lynch rival Gloucester yesterday (Wednesday) before going on the road for three games in a row during the vacation break. They will make the long bus ride to a non-league opponent Essex Tech on Saturday; travel to NEC Dunn adversary Danvers Monday morning at 10:00; and then trek to NEC Lynch foe Salem next Wednesday.
Boys tennis wins 2 of 3
The Winthrop High boys tennis team won two of its three matches in the opening week of the season.
In a 3-2 victory over Salem, third singles Chris Crocker won his match in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, with an impressive performance. Both of the Vikings’ doubles teams defeated their Salem counterparts handily. The first doubles duo of junior Dario Cerasani and freshman Luka Braga cruised to a 6-1, 6-2, victory, and the second doubles tandem of Juan Rodriguez and James Silva triumphed 6-1, 6-1.
Junior Tate Montgomery, Winthrop’s number one player, came up short in a hard-fought three-setter, 6-3, 0-6, 5-7. Junior captain Jackson Faber, playing at number two, fell by a score of 0-6, 3-6.
In a match with Revere this past Friday, the Vikings blanked their Patriot foes, 5-0, all in straight sets: Montgomery (6-1, 6-2) at first singles; Faber (6-1, 6-1) at second singles; Crocker (6-1, 6-0) at third singles; Cerasani & Braga (6-1, 6-1) at first doubles; and Rodriguez & Daniel McNeil (6-1, 6-0) at second doubles.
This past Monday, Winthrop hosted Beverly and dropped a 5-0 decision, all of which were in straight sets. The Vikings’ doubles teams turned in strong efforts, with the tandem of Cerasani & Braga battling well in their second set (1-6, 4-6) and the second doubles duo of freshmen McNeil & Silva coming close in the first set (4-6, 1-6).
“I’ve been very impressed with the off-season work of Tate Montgomery,” said long-time WHS head coach Marie Finn. “We’ve had the fantastic addition to our team of Chris Crocker, who is new to the sport, but you could never tell. All of our young doubles players show promise for the future.”
Finn and her crew were scheduled to travel to Swampscott yesterday (Wednesday) and will entertain Revere next Wednesday morning at 11:00 during the vacation week.
WHS softball team blasts Swampscott, 15-4
The Winthrop High softball team handily defeated Northeastern Conference (NEC) South Division rival Swampscott, 15-4, this past Friday at Cellucci Field.
Starting pitcher Lucy Boncore turned in a stellar effort for the Lady Vikings, allowing no earned runs and striking out 12 Lady Big Blue batters.
The Winthrop offense collected 17 hits, led by the hot bat of sophomore Giuliana Marenghi, who went 4-for-4 with three singles and a double. Kylie McFarland put an exclamation point on the victory with an inside-the-park home run.
The Lady Vikings’ bats thundered in a seven-run outburst in the third inning that put the game away. Among the big hits in the rally were RBI triples by Fran Indrisano and Molly Titemore; an RBI double by Makayla Herdt; and two-RBI base hits by Giuliana Marenghi and Boncore.
Coach Erin Vercruysse’s crew was aggressive on the basepaths, stealing eight bases.
Two days earlier last Wednesday, the Lady Vikings traveled to NEC North foe Beverly and came up on the short end of a 7-3 decision, despite out-hitting the Lady Panthers, 6-5.
Brianna Rizzotto, Gabriela Bustamante, Titemore, Indrisano, Norah Zaffini, and McFarland all collected a hit, with RBIs by Rizzotto, McFarland, and Bustamante.
The Lady Vikings have a busy week on tap. They were scheduled to meet NEC South opponent Salem this past Monday, and then will make the short trip to non-league rival Revere this afternoon (Thursday) and the longer trek to non-league foe Ipswich tomorrow (Friday).
They will host NEC North adversary Danvers on the holiday on Monday at 4:00 and then make the long journeys to NEC South rivals Gloucester next Wednesday and Salem next Friday.
WHS baseball to host Lynn Tech Saturday at 11:00
After winning its season-opener, the Winthrop High baseball team ran into a tough stretch of four games in the past week.
On Saturday, April 4, the Vikings came up short to a very-seasoned Essex Tech team, 12-2. Freshman Ethan Staff drew the start for Winthrop, with Bryalen Ancillo and Joseph Dalton also seeing time on the mound.
“Ethan will be a big part of our pitching staff in the coming years,” said WHS head coach Tom Capasso. “He showed grit against a very veteran Essex Tech team for someone making their first varsity start.”
Braedon Lounsbury led the Winthrop offense, going 2-for-2 with a run scored. Joe Pumphret had a hit and a run scored, with Danny Connolly and Nathan Previte also contributing hits on the day.
Last Monday, April 6, the Vikings lost a hard-fought battle to Saugus, 9- 6. “We had the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning with no outs, but we just couldn’t push any more runs across,” said Capasso. “The entire team really battled, but we just fell a bit short.”
Lounsbury started the game on the mound for the Vikings. He was relieved by Jimmy Lyman, who saw his first action of the year after an injury in the pre-season. Danny Connolly finished the game on the mound, throwing two scoreless innings in his first action of the year on the hill.
Offensively, Pumphret had a big game, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored while stealing four bases. Danny Connolly also had two hits and an RBI. Dominic Spinale had a hit, a run scored, and an RBI; Charlie Ferrara, who has come back to baseball this season after having not played for three years, contributed a hit and an RBI; Nathan Previte added a hit, an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base; and Lounsbury delivered an RBI. Steven Barron and Carmine DePrisco also scored runs for the Vikings.
Last Wednesday the Vikings entertained Beverly and came up on the short end of a 14-3 decision. Spinale got his first start of the year on the pitcher’s mound, but his debut was marred by mistakes behind him. Of the six runs that the Panthers scored against him, only one of those runs was earned.
“We really played poorly defensively against Beverly,” said Capasso. “Dom deserved better, as did all our pitchers today.” Ethan Staff and Joseph Dalton closed out the game on the hill for the Vikings.
Joseph Pumphret shone at the plate, socking a triple, scoring two runs, and stealing two bases. Lounsbury added an RBI, and Michael Barron scored a run. Junior Jacob Buchman and Steven Barron added a stolen base for the Vikings
This past Friday the Vikings trekked north to Swampscott and returned home with a 16-2 loss. “Swampscott is a very senior-laden team with a lot of talented players, especially on the offensive side,” noted Capasso. “We just couldn’t slow down their bats.”
Joseph Dalton drew the start for Winthrop and was followed by Danny Connolly, with Carmine DePrisco closing it out on the hill.
Spinale, Lounsbury, and Connolly all had hits for the Vikings. Previte added a hit and a run scored, DePrisco had a hit and an RBI, and catcher Braylen Ancillo added two hits and a run scored.
The Vikings were scheduled to travel to Salem this past Monday and to Danvers tomorrow (Friday). They will return to Veterans Field to host Lynn Tech this Saturday morning at 11:00; Gloucester next Wednesday afternoon at 4:30; and Salem next Friday morning, April 24, at 11:00.
Thomas D’Amico shines for WHS boys track team
The Winthrop High boys and girls outdoor track and field teams hosted a tri-meet with Gloucester and Masconomet last Thursday at Miller Field.
Junior Thomas D’Amico was the top performer for the Vikings. Thomas took first place vs. both Gloucester and Masco in the 400 meter hurdles with a clocking of 62.7 seconds and in the triple jump with a final landing of 40′-8″.
He also added a first place vs. Gloucester and a second vs. Masco in the 400 dash with a time of 53.5, and second vs. Masco and third vs. Gloucester in the long jump.. Altogether, D’Amico tallied 16 points each vs. both Gloucester and Masconomet.
Viking sophomore Ali Benchikhi turned in a memorable meet, topping the field in the high jump with a leap of 6′-0″, which was seven inches beyond his closest competitor.
Also scoring points for the Viking boys were:
— Dominic Farrell with a second vs. Gloucester and a third vs. Masco in the 100 dash;
— Liam Kenney with a third vs. Gloucester in the 400 dash;
— Sean Mcgloin with a third vs. Gloucester in the 800;
— freshman Owen Harty with a third vs. both opponents in the 1-mile; and
— Senior Brody Burrill with a point for a third-place vs. Gloucester in the javelin.
On the girls’ side, sophomore Hailey DeMarco scored points for the Winthrop column on the scoresheet across three events: In the 400 hurdles, Hailey scored three points for her second place finish vs. Gloucester and a point vs. Masco for her third-place effort; in the high jump, Hailey’s leap of 4′-4″ was good for second place vs. both Gloucester and Masco; and in the 800 meter run, she earned a point vs. Gloucester with a third-place finish.
WHS girls lax at 3-3
The Winthrop High girls lacrosse team improved to 3-3 on the season with a 16-4 victory over Malden this past Monday.
Coach Anthony Hatzisavas and his crew are scheduled to host Revere today (Thursday) and Salem next Wednesday. They will trek to Peabody next Thursday.