a full pg 7 4-4-24
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Juniors Owen Rigney, left, and Tyler Chamberlain will serve as captains for the Woodstock boys’ tennis team this season. Photo by Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy.
Boys’ Tennis Preview
A full team for the Centaurs
Happiness is 10 players. The Woodstock boys’ tennis team has reached nirvana this season.
The Centaurs can field a full squad.
“It’s much different, because we do have enough players this time,” junior co-captain Tyler Chamberlain said.
Chamberlain will be the No. 2 singles player with fellow junior and co-captain, Owen Rigney, in the top spot.
“I’m very much looking forward to this last year,” Rigney said. “We have enough players to field a team with alternates.”
Even though he has another year of school to complete, this will be Rigney’s last at Woodstock he will complete high school abroad in Switzerland.
Despite the fact that the Centaurs often could not field a full squad, they still made States with a 7-7 record and were 4-2 in Div. II of the ECC last season.
Still, it was difficult.
“It was a trying year not having the full team, it really dampened everyone’s spirits, mine included. This year, everything is just feeling positive. The relationships between those on the team are great, everybody is enjoying each other’s company and it doesn’t feel cliquey,” coach Siana Green said.
The Centaurs did lose Cormac Nielsen, James Le and Diego Rodriguez but there is additional experience behind Rigney and Chamberlain.
Senior Eli Staples will play third singles and fellow senior Cang Nguyen will be No. 4.
Ryan Chabot and Steve Shen, both sophomores, will be the first doubles team.
“While Steven has not been on the team, he has played tennis for the last two years and played in Germany for multiple years before that,” Green said.
Freshmen Heath White and Ben Sperger are also avid tennis players.
The only duo that will have to build experience as they go is the third doubles pairing of junior Max Lim and freshmen Cayden Worth.
One thing the Centaurs do have to continue to deal with is the fact that there are no courts at Woodstock.
The boys’ and girls’ tennis teams have to share facilities with Pomfret School on the Griffins courts.
As the weather improves, and the outdoor courts at Pomfret may be utilized, that may not be as big a deal but for now, practices and matches can be at odd times.
“It’s definitely different and if we have a practice right after school, sometimes, we’re a little late as everyone has to get on a shuttle or get a ride from someone. It’s also nice to be able to come into the indoor courts where games are not canceled or rescheduled. So, it’s a big help but also a minor inconvenience at times,” Chamberlain said.
The Centaurs had one of those odd times to get started as they hosted NFA in their season opener on Monday night at Pomfret School. They also played at Killingly on Tuesday and are now off for almost two weeks as their next match is on April 15.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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miller pg 7 4-4-24
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Captains
Junior Abby Converse, left, and senior Piper Sabrowski will be the captains this season for the Woodstock Academy girls’ lacrosse team. Photo by Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy.
Girls’ Lacrosse Preview
Miller likes how things have started
If there is anything spring is known for in high school athletics, it’s the coaching carousel.
It happens in just about every school thanks, in part, to the number of athletic programs taking place.
Woodstock has its share of first-year head coaches this spring and the girls’ lacrosse team is not immune as Heather Miller has assumed the helm of the program.
The one thing the team has noticed immediately is the more structured ways that Miller goes about things.
“Things are going really well,” said senior co-captain Piper Sabrowski. “She has everything planned out and everything flows smoothly. It’s something that we need.”
On the field, Miller said she has been stressing the fundamentals, the passing and receiving and the ground balls.
And the new discipline has helped.
“I think the girls are thriving off the structure and the organization,” Miller said. “We are connecting very well. The girls are just really clicking.”
The Centaurs did have one scrimmage against Shepherd Hill and while they did not end up on the winning side of the scoreboard, Miller found plenty of positives.
“I don’t think the scoreboard tells everything. After that scrimmage, I have complete confidence that the girls are going to be able to get exactly what I am teaching and everything will fall into place,” Miller said.
The new head coach does have the advantage of a host of returners.
The Centaurs return their top goal scorer, senior Caroline Harris (11 goals, 1 assist) who will join classmates Sabrowski (three goals) and Sophia Petrella; juniors Kaelyn Tremblay, Maggie Marshall and Abby Elliott and sophomore Kaylee Saucier (9,1) as returners up front and in the middle.
“I think it’s a really good thing,” junior back and co-captain Abby Converse said of the number of players coming back from last season. “It’s a lot of building blocks that we just keep putting on top of each other and it’s helpful.”
Adding to the depth up front and in the middle will be sophomores Clara Dowdell, Sophia Rattray, Olivia Manbeck and Grace Lescault.
“I hope that if I can get all of these sophomores (the team has over 20 of them) to come back and finish their junior and senior years, we will have a phenomenal senior season (in two years),” Miller said. “This will be a building season on fundamentals, game IQ, concepts, team building, and trying to put together some cohesiveness.”
Converse will anchor the back along with sophomore Vivian Bibeau and senior Ava Hovestadt with junior Abby Houle back in net.
Miller said the defense is where much of the focus is this season but that should improve as the unit gets a chance to work together on a regular basis.
“The scoreboard is not our main priority this season. It’s not that I don’t want to win games, I do and the girls do, and everything we do has a competitive edge because that is necessary to build a competitive spirit. The scoreboard, however, never reflects everything that the girls do quality wise. I don’t emphasize winning or losing, I emphasize that when we walk off the field, we did exactly what our principles of play were and that we feel good about our performance. That will reflect on the scoreboard in time,” Miller said.
Sabrowski agreed with that approach as she said she plans to return just to see the improvement occurring over time with the program.
She would, however, like to get more than just the one win the Centaurs were able to achieve last season.
Sabrowski said, “Winning is not the most important thing but it helps and it makes the season seem like it was worth something.”
Miller said the goal is certainly to win, at least, more than last season.
“It’s a good place to start,” Miller said. “I believe one win more than last season would be an improvement from where they came from and I do believe the more wins we have, the more confident we will be. We’re not setting any high win goals, we’re being realistic because I want the girls to feel accomplished.”
The new head coach does see one very good sign already.
The team has a good vibe about it.
“I’ve already fallen in love with them,” she said. “My weakness as a coach is remembering names and I’ve accomplished that so it can only go up from there. These girls are awesome. They signed a commitment form and have pledged to be here and to give their best every time they set foot on this field, but most important, I think they are having fun.”
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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psa pg 7 4-4-24
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Team
From left to right: Cody Heselton, Jacob Hines, Matt Blachuta and Cris Peguero. Celine Hines photos.
They were due.
PSA’s baseball team, mired in a collective weeklong offensive slump, broke out in a big way Saturday night in a convincing doubleheader sweep of Bridgton Academy to end its week on an upbeat note.
The Mustangs had been shutout in three games earlier in the week, but Matt Blachuta erased all that with one swing of the bat in the first inning of the first game. His three-run homer took some pressure off his teammates and gave starting pitcher Jacob Hines some room to work with in what eventually became an 8-5 win.
Ryan Ponte added a two-run home run in the third inning to push PSA’s lead to 7-0. Jeffry Ferreira had two hits for PSA in support of Hines, who struck out seven and allowed just two runs (one earned) over 5 1/3 hitless innings.
PSA won the second game 15-1, and blew it open by scoring 10 runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by David Batista’s two-run double and Ferreira’s two-run triple. Blachuta, Robbie Natale, and Junior Mesa all delivered run-scoring hits in the inning.
Harry Roy got the win, scattering six hits and striking out nine in five innings.
Monday, PSA lost 9-0 to AIC’s JV team. Cody Heselton struck out seven and allowed just one run on two hits over four innings, but the Mustangs mustered just three singles in the game.
PSA had just three more hits in another shutout loss Tuesday to Paramount Academy, before falling 2-0 Wednesday at Hamden Hall, a Top 10 team in New England. But the at-bats were better in that game, and things finally broke out for PSA after that.
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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educ briefs pg 8 4-4-24
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President’s List
CANTON, N.Y. — Karyssa L. Maynard, a SUNY Canton Veterinary Technology major from Chepachet, was named to the President’s List during the fall 2023 semester.
Honored
PLYMOUTH, N.H. — Logan Gagnon of Thompson has been named to the Plymouth State University President’s List for the fall 2023 semester.
Dean’s list
PLYMOUTH, N.H. — Two local students were named to the Plymouth State University dean’s list for the fall 2023 semester: Matthew Siegmund of N Grosvenordale and Caroline Gagnon of Thompson.
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