Roundup
Girls’ tennis finishes up regular season with 8 wins
The Woodstock Academy girls’ tennis team became the second program, after track, to finish off the regular season.
The Centaurs did so on Thursday on the road where they recorded a 5-2 victory over Ledyard.
The win left the Centaurs with a final record of 8-6.
“I’m very happy with it,” junior Gianna Musumeci said. “We had a lot of tough matches and we pulled some of them out for wins.”
Musumeci and Worth both posted wins over the Colonels in the first two singles matches.
Worth downed Rachel Kulterman 6-1, 6-2 while Musumeci was a 6-2, 7-5 winner over Teresa Eberly,
Kerrigan Reynolds also posted a singles win while the Centaurs swept doubles including a 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 victory by senior captains Abby Budd and Linnea Barlow at first doubles.
The Centaurs played pro sets Monday and won the majority of them. Woodstock prevailed, 6-1, over Montville with Worth, Musumeci and Reynolds all collecting wins in their singles match. The doubles teams also swept their matches.
It was more than a little more difficult against Stonington on Tuesday.
Woodstock’s top two singles players, Wynter Worth and Gianna Musumeci, both took their Bear opponents to three sets at the Pomfret School courts but the Bears prevailed in both those matches and took home a 7-0 victory.
The Centaurs will be involved in postseason play.
“I’m really excited for (the ECC) tournament and States,” Worth said.
Boys’ Tennis
It has been a while — a long while.
“I was holding back tears,” said coach Siana Green. “I’m going back 10 years that we had not beaten Ledyard, We’re in their division and every year, it’s like ‘we’re going to get them.’ “ The Centaurs finally did on Thursday.
On a night where they celebrated Senior Night, Woodstock finally broke through and scored a 4-3 victory over the Colonels.
It wasn’t easy. The match went about three hours before it was decided.
That was true of both first and third singles.
Owen Murdock and Daniel Jameson clinched the win for Woodstock despite losing the first set of first doubles, 3-6.
They played for a while longer as the Centaurs squeaked out the second set 8-7 (7-5) on a tiebreaker and won the third set, 6-4.
Adriano Peniche, Ryan Chabot and Ashley Abrams had given the Centaurs a big advantage by winning their singles matches.
Chabot downed Alex Olcazk 6-1, 6-4.
“It was really special for me. The only time I had won a match (against the Colonels) was when Tyler (Chamberlin) got moved down to first doubles with me because of an injury. To do that by myself for a first time was a great achievement for me,” Chabot said.
Leo Larkin didn’t win his doubles match but the senior did enjoy Senior Day.
He also accomplished his goal this season - he won a doubles match.
The Centaurs improved to 6-6 with the win and with two matches left have a chance to finish at or above. 500.
“We want to finish above .500 so badly. I’ve never as a member of a team in the state tournament before and I really want to do that before I graduate,” said Chabot, a junior.
The Centaurs have missed the state tournament for the last two seasons.
The boys’ tennis team, at least, picked up a win against perennial power Stonington Monday.
The Centaurs lost to the Bears, 6-1, with the third doubles team of Wilmot and Carlos Rodriguez picking up the only victory of the day for the Centaurs.
Girls’ Track
Coach Josh Welch didn’t even have a word to describe his feelings on Wednesday. He didn’t need one.
“Ughhhhh....” was all Welch could muster after his Centaurs lost to Norwich Free Academy, 76-74.
“It was a great meet,” Welch quickly added. “I scored this out as best we could and we tried to maximize points as best we could but they are a strong team and we knew it was going to be a within a few points either way.”
The two-point loss gave the Wildcats the ECC Div. I regular season title, denying the Centaurs the three-peat they had hoped for.
“It’s kind of rough,” said Juliet Allard. “As a senior, it’s sad knowing my last home meet and last regular season meet ever didn’t end with a win, but I’m so incredibly proud of how this team did.”
Allard participated in four events, the 100-meter; 200-meter, 300-meter hurdles and 4x400m relay. She finished first in all four events.
“She’s killing it,” Welch said. “I’m really excited to see what her postseason will look like. The whole team for that matter. If we’re going to lose by fractions to a very strong NFA team, it looks really good for us in terms of our state class meet and where we will be at the State Open.”
This one came down to the last event. Ella Lidonde finished first and Isabella Selmecki third in the triple jump, leaving the Centaurs nine points behind going into the last event - the javelin.
“It would have had to be a miracle to get 1-2-3 in the javelin which is what we needed to tie but we were not far off from that,” Welch said.
Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain won the event by 40 feet over teammate Lily Morgis who placed second. NFA captured third to avoid the tie and go home with the win.
Avery Plouffe now owns the school outdoor record in the shotput as she finished first with a 38-foot, 2-inch launch.
Morgis won the discus, D’Alleva-Bochain was first in the high jump, and Emma Weitknecht was first in the 100m hurdles.
The Centaurs will have another shot at the Wildcats at the ECC Div. 1 championship on Wednesday in East Lyme.
Boys’ Track
The boys’ track team was downed in Norwich by the Wildcats, 103.33 – 46.67 Wednesday.
The loss ended the regular season for the Centaurs with a 1-3 overall mark.
Two of the seniors again stood out.
Christian Menounos took first in both the 800m and 1600m races and Colton Sallum won the 3200m, was second in the 1600m and was also a member of the winning 4x800m team.
Abraham McGregor won the 100m race and Eli Manning was first in the javelin and second in discus. Owen Williamson took a pair of second-place finishes in the 110 and 300m hurdles.
Baseball
It was an interesting week for the baseball team. The rain that was experienced the week before meant the Centaurs had to play five games and in four of those games, the outcome was decided in the seventh inning.
“We’ve had a lot of experience in late and close. We’ve got to win in that situation, that’s where execution matters,” said coach Connor Elliott.
The Centaurs saw a game slip away in the seventh inning against Waterford to start the week but came back to capture wins in the seventh against Fitch, Montville and, on Saturday, Rockville.
Woodstock pulled out the 5-2 non-league victory over Rockville which sent the Centaurs into the final week of the regular season with a 9-7 record.
Tied at two going into the top of the seventh, the Centaurs were playing for the one run.
Will Bushey delivered that all by himself. “He put a heck of a swing on the ball and sent it down the left field line. I don’t know how deep it is but it may have had a chance to go out at Bentley,” Elliott said.
The Rockville field does not have a fence surrounding it and in the ground rules before the game, Elliott asked what the ruling would be if a ball went into the trees in left field. He was told it would be a home run.
It turned out to be a good thing to know as Bushey’s drive found its way into the trees to give the Centaurs the lead.
Then Logan Coutu walked and Colin Ericson delivered a pinch-hit double center. Coutu would cross the plate courtesy of an error and Caleb Simoneau followed one out later with an RBI single to account for the winning runs.
Coutu got Rockville in order in the bottom of the seventh to pick up the win.
He gave up just five hits and struck out six.
“Pitching was phenomenal all week, obviously, that’s huge with all those games. Pitching keeps us in it and the defense has been getting stronger and stronger,” Elliott said.
Simoneau, Bushey and Matt Hernandez all had two hits in the win for the Centaurs.
A game on Friday versus St. Bernard wasn’t as nerve-wracking.
The Centaurs bats came alive against the Saints with 11 hits and they scored in every inning in a 12-3, one-sided victory.
Hernandez was the catalyst with three hits in four trips to the plate and Brady Ericson had a pair of runs batted in.
The win was big as it officially clinched the Centaurs return to the Class L state tournament where they are the defending champs.
“We missed on one of our goals in terms of winning (ECC Div. I) but everything else is still in play. Making the states, trying to get as good a draw as we can for the ECC tournament. In tournament time, it’s anyone’s game. It’s one game at a time and each game is its own season,” Elliott said.
Winning one-run games had not been the forte of the baseball team this season — until last week.
The Centaurs won their first close encounter of the season the Saturday before when it nipped North Branford, 2-1.
But they slipped to 1-4 in one-run affairs when Waterford handed them a 1-0 loss on Monday.
They followed that up, however, with a pair of one-run wins over Montville and Fitch.
The 4-3 win over the Falcons was on Wednesday.
After three scoreless innings against the Falcons, Woodstock finally broke through on the home field when Hayden Maloney reached on a fielder’s choice. Brady Ericson singled and Bushey walked. One out later, Rhys Asikainen drove one into left field for an RBI single.
The Centaurs made it 3-0 in the fifth when Simoneau and Tanner Graham both singled and Maloney doubled them home for a three-run Woodstock lead.
With Ericson pitching (a 0.81 earned run average), the writing appeared to be on the wall.
The Falcons reached the Centaurs ace southpaw, however, in the sixth inning with a little help.
Errors by Woodstock allowed two runs to score and a single by Anthony Spader tied the game.
That’s how it remained until the bottom of the seventh when Graham reached on an error and Maloney singled. Graham advanced to third on a fly out and Maloney took second base courtesy of defensive indifference.
The Centaurs posted the walk-off win when Hernandez singled to center.
Bushey picked up the win on the mound as he came on in relief of Ericson in the seventh.
The Centaurs had to manufacture the game-winning run in the seventh against Montville to post a 5-4 victory on the road on Tuesday.
Ericson singled, advanced to second on an error, stole third and scored on an error. Maloney guaranteed the Centaurs the win when he worked out of a bit of a jam in the bottom of the seventh. He got a strikeout and ground ball out after yielding two singles.
Cam Nason had two of the six hits for the Centaurs.
The bats were largely silent on Monday as Waterford pitching limited the Centaurs to three singles and the Lancers pushed a run across in the top of the seventh for a 1-0 victory.
Maloney singled in the first inning, Simoneau had a base hit in the third and Nason had the other in the sixth.
The lack of offense spoiled a fine pitching performance by Coutu who limited the Lancers to seven hits and just the one run in the final inning.
The Centaurs finish off the regular season with four more games this coming week against Stonington, Ellis Tech, East Lyme and Killingly.
Softball
The softball team moved to within a win of qualifying for the Class L state tournament. And it didn’t even have to take to the field to do so.
The Centaurs were awarded a 1-0 forfeit victory over New London on Thursday for their seventh win of the season as the Whalers did not have enough players available to field a team.
The Centaurs finished the week with a 7-9 record as they lost to Norwich Free Academy on Saturday, 14-0.
Ella Chitmanotham had the only hit in the game for Woodstock Academy.
Earlier in the week, Woodstock was held to five hits by Ledyard pitching as the Colonels delivered the shutout, 5-0, over the Centaurs Tuesday. Ellary Sampson (2 hits) and Kaya Nichols both had a double for the Centaurs.
Girls’ Lacrosse
The offense has been coming along for the girls’ lacrosse team.
The Centaurs produced two double-digit scoring efforts this past week and were just short on a third as they were in all three games that they played but just could not get over the hump to pick up a victory.
The Centaurs finished up a busy week on Friday with a 15-11 loss to Wheeler.
The Centaurs trailed by only one goal after the first, second and third quarters.
“We just ran out of gas in the fourth quarter and they got some late goals on us,” coach Heather Miller said.
Junior Kaylee Saucier led the offensive attack with six goals and three assists while Clara Dowdle added a pair of goals and two assists. Anna Hernandez, Vivian Bibeau and Maggie Marshall also scored. Grace Lescault and Abby Converse added assists.
The loss dropped Woodstock Academy to 3-10 on the season.
Woodstock traveled to Hebron on Thursday and quickly fell behind their hosts who rattled off the first six goals.
But the Centaurs didn’t give up and made it respectable, falling 17-10.
“I thought we played with a lot of class. I’m proud of the girls, proud of the way they came back,” said Miller.
Saucier and Dowdle paced the offensive attack for the Centaurs. Saucier finished with four goals and three assists and Dowdle added a hat trick and an assist.
Converse also scored twice for Woodstock while Bibeau, a defensive player, fought her way on to the offensive side and scored for a first time this season. Emma Forcier added an assist for the Centaurs.
The Centaurs also battled hard but came up one goal short as it fell to Bacon Academy, 9-8, earlier in the week.
Saucier had three goals and three assists while Dowdle added a goal and an assist.
Marshall, Converse, Kaelyn Tremblay and Avery Nielsen had the other goals for the Centaurs.
Lescault and Baylee Rosinski added assists for Woodstock while Abby Houle made 14 saves in the cage.
The Centaurs will finish up the season with matches at Montville and Wheeler before the finale at home against Norwich Free Academy on Thursday.
Boys’ Lacrosse
Coach Jason Tata said the remaining schedule would not be easy for his Centaurs. That was proven true early last week.
The Centaurs traveled to Colchester and finished on the wrong side of a 17-7 score to the Bacon Academy Bobcats.
Dylan Phillips scored four goals in the loss to Bacon Academy while Gunnar Basak added two assists.
Woodstock has three games remaining and with a 4-9 record, now has to win all three of those to make the postseason.
The Centaurs had a little time to work on some things.
The final three games of the regular season all take place this week with road games at Somers and RHAM and a home contest versus Granby.
Boys’ Golf
The weather and the scheduling provided quite the hurdle for the boys’ golf team as it had a match every day this past week.
“It presented a significant mental challenge for the team,” said coach Rich Garceau. “Competing in five matches over five consecutive days is an unusual schedule, and it was particularly demanding starting with the long drive to the CIAC Spring Classic in Orange on Monday. Despite their youth and fitness, the mental aspect of the game, compounded by the consistently wet course conditions, has been tough. However, I’m incredibly proud of how the players have handled themselves this week. They’ve maintained a reasonably good level of play while still staying focused on their schoolwork.”
The Centaurs finished up the week in good fashion as they improved to 7-3 overall with a pair of victories over Stonington including a 6-1 win against the Bears on Friday at the Elmridge Golf Course.
Three Centaurs finished in the 30’s with Logan Rawson leading the way with a 36, Jayden Fuller shot a 38 and Aidan O’Connor added a 39.
Just the day before, Woodstock had beaten Stonington by that same score.
Rawson came back to form a bit on the home course as he finished with a 1-over par 37 against the Bears.
Fuller was one stroke back of his teammate while Brady Hebert and Max Kopp both finished with 43’s.
The home-and-home matches were fine with Garceau.
“I actually appreciate these back-to-back situations. For me, coaching these young men goes beyond just the game itself; it’s also about the camaraderie between competitors and students from two different schools. It helps us build relationships which again is something very unique to golf. This situation gives the players a chance to get to know their fellow competitors a little better over the course of the day,” the coach said.
The Centaurs picked up their first ECC Div. I win of the season with a 6-1 victory over Fitch earlier in the week.
Fuller and Kopp shared medalist honors with a 41 while Rawson carded a 43 for the Centaurs.
Unfortunately, the Centaurs had a different result on Wednesday as they lost to Killingly, 5 1/2 - 1 1/2.
Fuller picked up the only win for the Centaurs with a 42 while Kopp halved his match with a 44. Rawson was best for the Centaurs as he carded a 41.
The week started far from home as the Centaurs took part in a new multi-team CIAC-sponsored event.
Woodstock finished 11th in the nine-hole competition with a 178 total as a team.
Fuller led the way with a 42 while O’Connor and Kopp both carded 45s.
The Centaurs do get a little break this week as they have only two matches and finish up with two more matches after Memorial Day.
“The persistent wet course conditions have been a major factor. Our shoes haven’t even had a chance to dry out since Monday’s tournament because we’re back out in the rain or at least soaked turf every day. Playing golf in these conditions presents unique challenges. The greens are slower, our tee shots are shorter, and we often have to deal with mud on our golf balls or hitting shots when we know wet grass is about to kick up into our face. It can be frustrating because everything changes, and the course conditions can vary significantly across different areas – some spots are dry, bunkers are wet, and the greens can be inconsistent,” Garceau said.
Girls’ Golf
While the boys’ golf team had a match every day last week, the girls’ golf team had a relatively easy week with only two matches.
The Centaurs took on Stonington and recorded a 209-236 win.
Sophomore Reagan Scheck was medalist with a 44 while Lily Moran chimed in with a 51 and Bella Mawson added a 56 for Woodstock.
Scheck bettered her score on Wednesday as she shot a 40 but the Centaurs fell short to Killingly 186-207.
Lily Moran and Sophia Giourellis both added 54 totals for the Centaurs. The Centaurs are 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the ECC.
All four of their matches come at home as the Centaurs are scheduled to host Killingly, East Lyme, Bacon Academy and Quinebaug Valley over the course of the first four days of the week.
Boys’ Volleyball
Feeling good. It was clear that coach Adam Bottone was having a good time on Thursday night.
Wearing a neon outfit and sweatband to celebrate “Throwback Night” to help raise money for the Woodstock Academy B Club, Bottone watched in the third set as sophomore middle hitter Owen Budd crunched a return off a Norwich Tech player.
Bottone just turned and displayed a grin that a Cheshire cat would have been proud of.
Budd and his teammates delivered a strong performance and handed the Warriors a 3-0 win.
It was the second meeting in three days between the two teams. Woodstock had downed Norwich Tech, 3-1, on Tuesday. The wins left the Centaurs with a 9-3 mark in the Connecticut Volleyball League.
On Thursday, the first set was a little sketchy with the Centaurs just pulling out a 25-23 victory but things got better thereafter. Woodstock downed Norwich Tech 25-17 and 25-12 in the next two sets.
“We had a great game (Thursday) and just kept our energy up,” senior Nathan Billings said.
Billings played a strong defensive game and was also skillful behind the service line where he delivered 13 service points. “I came in not knowing anything but with Bottone’s coaching, it just became something natural for me,” the senior added.
Bottone said Billings has been impressive especially in his play along the back row.
Bottone’s son, Brayden, dominated the offensive side for the Centaurs with some big arm windups that led to 17 kills in the match.
The win earlier in the week also helped the Centaurs confidence as has the 12 wins already this season.
“That’s really big for us. That’s helping our seeding for States. We already have a better record than last year,” Brayden Bottone said.
Christian Hart added nine digs while Budd had six kills and Evan Chernik tossed in three assists.
Budd had a big night earlier in the week against the Warriors as he pounded12 kills and delivered 14 service points while Hart contributed on the defensive side with 19 digs and Jake Henderson had 29 assists.
Chernik added 10 service points and Brayden Bottone chipped in with six kills.
The Centaurs saw their record dip to 12-6 on Saturday when they fell to Newtown, 3-1. But Adam Bottone was happy with how his team played in the match.
The visitors prevailed in the first two sets but had to play a little overtime, winning 27-25 and 26-24.
The Centaurs took the third, 25-23, before losing by that same score in the fourth.
Budd and Brayden Bottone were both in double figures for kills with 12 and 10 respectively, Hart had 22 digs and Henderson added 36 assists.
Track and Field
Some of the track and field team’s younger athletes, freshmen and sophomores, took part in the Rising Stars Invitational Saturday.
Lucas Hecker was first in the 3200m race (10 minutes, 35.7 seconds); Sam Green took the 800m event (2:07.2) and Owen Williamson was best in the 200m (23.7 seconds).
Williamson finished fourth (11.8 seconds) and Kai Brailsford (11.9) was fifth in the 100m.
On the girls side, Elise Coyle won the 200m (26.7); Bella Amlaw captured the 400m (62.8) and Kathryn Dobosz was third in discus (73-feet, 11-inches).
Two girls also brought home fourth-place finishes with Avery Schaeffer doing so in the 800m (2:47) and Nova Almquist in the 1600m (5:52).
All of the performances represented personal bests for the athletes.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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The boys’ tennis team celebrated Senior Day before their match with Ledyard. Photo by Siana Green/Woodstock Academy.
Juliet Allard takes the baton from teammate Bella Amlaw. Photo by Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy.
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