Roundup
2 championships for Woodstock Academy boys’ volleyball
It's now two championships this spring season for the Woodstock Academy boys’ volleyball team.
“I can’t think of another team that has won two conference championships in the same year, same season; it’s pretty exciting,” coach Adam Bottone said.
The Centaurs, who had already captured the ECC tournament crown, now own the Connecticut Volleyball League tournament title as well.
But they had to work for it in Hartford on Thursday.
The top-seeded Centaurs had to battle back from a 2-1 deficit and did so with a 25-20 win in the fourth set before putting away the 3-2 victory over SMSA/Bulkeley with a 15-9 fifth set decision.
“It’s been nice to be part of the CVL for the first three years (of the Woodstock Academy program). I think it has been a nice place for us to enter into the boys’ volleyball world here in Connecticut. The competition, for the first couple of years, is where we needed to be and we have progressed but there are still some good teams in this league, Computer Science, SMSA, Wolcott Tech. It’s not like we rolled through everything, we got pressure especially in the tournament.” Adam Bottone said.
The Centaurs did win the first set in Hartford, 25-23, but then dropped the next two, 25-18 and 27-25.
Fortunately, some calls went against the Centaurs in those two sets.
While that may not seem like a positive, the team made it one.
“It was kind of what spurred the turnaround in our level of play, the type of intensity we had, the desire not to lose and get after it,” Adam Bottone said. “That type of grit and desire, though, needs to be there from the get-go. It needs to be intrinsic because we do not have an easy ride, even with being the No. 1 seed, in the state tournament.”
Brayden Bottone had 19 kills and 16 digs for the Centaurs while Owen Budd added 16 kills and Evan Chernik 15. Gavin Hecker had 38 assists and Sam Anderson contributed five blocks.
The Centaurs also had ECC and CVL All-Star Libero Christian Hart back on the floor and he contributed 14 service points and nine digs.
“He’s very solid in the back for us with his receive more than anything. His pass rating is between a 2.2 and 2.6 which is absolutely fantastic. Evan and Brayden also receive very well but Christian covers a lot of space in receive and I think he has more than double the amount of receives that Evan has and significantly more than Brayden so to have him back there, being able to read the serve, make the moves and get a good pass, it’s nice to have him there,” Adam Bottone said.
It also helps free up Owen Budd having to play six positions and takes some of the stress off a younger player like Eli Hamilton to step up in crucial situations.
“I can’t speak enough as to how well Owen has been playing but having that anchor back there to cover things and Christian always digs a lot of balls too, brought some relief to the players too, it’s great to have him back,” Adam Bottone said.
The Woodstock Academy coach also thought it was a good idea to play a big game on a foreign court.
The Centaurs were the top seed in the tournament and the match was supposed to be on a neutral court.
However, Adam Bottone was not too enthused about playing in a smaller gym that was being offered and said he would be happy to play at SMSA. His opponents were not about to complain.
“I wanted to have it there, it was a better space and we needed to face some adversity. We had to play on their court, they were comfortable being there and we needed to face some adversity. Traditionally, Woodstock Academy has not played well at SMSA, at least the girls program hasn’t, and anything I can do to create an environment for the guys that puts our backs against the wall, I will because we need that adversity,” Adam Bottone said. “We need to learn to execute on the road in an unfamiliar location and we struggled with that a bit (Thursday).”
The Centaurs (22-1) advanced to the championship match of the Connecticut Volleyball League tournament with a 3-1 victory over Computer Science Academy Wednesday.
Woodstock won the first two sets but it was close, 25-19 and 25-23 before losing the third, 25-21.
The Centaurs then clinched the championship berth with a 25-20 win in the fourth set.
Budd had a good all-around match versus Computer Science as the junior contributed 15 kills, 13 digs and 17 service points including three aces. Bottone added 17 kills in the win while Hecker had 26 assists and Jake Henderson added 22 helps.
The Centaurs would like to make it three championships before the spring season comes to a close.
Woodstock is the top seed in the CIAC Class S state tournament and will host either No. 9 Kolbe Cathedral or eighth- seeded Masuk in a quarterfinal match on Friday at the Alumni Fieldhouse.
“I know that Masuk played and beat SMSA earlier in the season but the SMSA coach thinks we should be able to do well against them. He didn’t seem too concerned about the matchup. But our schedule wasn’t the toughest this year, they played tougher teams, so I don’t think it will be a walk in the park. I don’t know anything about Kolbe. All I know is that one of them, will have a really, long drive,” Adam Bottone said.
Girls’ Tennis
The season continues for the girls’ tennis team.
The Centaurs, the eighth-seed in the Class L state tournament, advanced to the quarterfinals with a 5-2 victory over No. 9 Simsbury.
“I think it was special just to get a home state tournament match,” said coach Stephen Wetherell. “To have all of our friends and family there was definitely a big motivator for the girls. I will say it was a great feeling to get a first-round win. The girls definitely deserved it.”
The win raised the Centaurs overall record to 14-1.
For the Centaurs, Friday was a trip into the unknown as they knew little about Simsbury.
“Playing an unfamiliar foe is always challenging and its typical in States because you don’t play in the regular season and don’t have many common opponents. I think our focus was just to play our best tennis which has been our approach all season,” Wetherell said.
The Centaurs won three of the four singles matches with Wynter Worth (6-4, 7-5), Kerrigan Reynolds (6-2, 6-3) and Catherine Trudeau (6-2,6-4) all taking straight set victories.
The second doubles team of Andrea De Cos Ortiz and Jayda Ngibuini posted a 6-2,6-2 victory over their Simsbury opponents and Mariia Oliinyk and Lillian Gregorzek sealed the deal with a 6-3, 6-2 victory at third doubles.
“I think there were two keys to the win. The team supported each other throughout and we were focused on playing good, fundamental tennis. We were able to get comfortable with the pressure of the moment, settled in and everyone stepped up,” Wetherell said.
The Centaurs will likely have to travel to top-seeded Guilford on Monday for their quarterfinal match.
Guilford is slated to play No. 17 Brookfield in a first-round match Saturday.
“We have heard Guilford has a great tennis program. I mean, they are No. 1 for a reason,” Wetherell said. “They have had a great season and we know it will be a challenge but we have been reminding the girls that we have also had a great season and are playing outstanding tennis. I know our girls are going to work hard and leave it all on the court.”
The week began with the ECC tournament in Stonington. The scheduled Memorial Day start was pushed back a bit by inclement weather to Tuesday.
Worth and the two doubles teams advanced to the quarterfinal round of the league's individual tennis tournament but that would be as far as the Centaurs would get.
Worth lost her quarterfinal match to Gwen McGugan of Stonington 6-2, 6-0; the doubles team of De Cos Ortiz and Ngibuini lost to Sophia and Jessica Joe of East Lyme, 6-3, 7-5 and the doubles team of Gregorzek and Sofia Aguilar Del Olmo fell to Angie Chen and Queenie Yang of East Lyme, 7-5, 6-1.
The Centaurs No. 1 singles player, Gianna Musumeci, was ousted in the first round.
“It was a great experience for us,” Wetherell said of the ECC event. “We had both of our first and second singles and first and second doubles playing which was great to get these girls some experience. I thought they played well in some very tough matches which was good for the States coming up.”
Musumeci and Worth were selected as ECC Div. II All-Stars as were De Cos Ortiz, Ngibuni, Delilah Kesselman and Sofia Aguilar Del Olmo in doubles. Kesselman is the team’s ECC Scholar-Athlete with Reynolds named as the team’s ECC Sportsmanship Award recipient.
Baseball
The baseball team did not go quietly into the night at the ECC Div. 1 tournament.
Instead, the Centaurs decided to make a little noise.
The seventh-seed in the tournament opened some eyes when it knocked off second-seeded Waterford in a league quarterfinal game.
The Centaurs followed that up by hanging tough with third-seeded Norwich Free Academy before falling short, 7-5, on Thursday.
Like they did against Waterford, the Centaurs dug a hole early against the Wildcats.
NFA wasted no time when it put three runs across the plate in the first inning.
But Woodstock (10-12) answered in the third inning.
Jameson Costa reached on an error and both Caleb Simoneau and Rhys Asikainen singled to load the bases. One out later, Will Ellsworth drew a bases-loaded walk and Brady Mullin followed with an RBI infield single.
The Centaurs tied the game when Collin Ericson had a sacrifice fly and went ahead on a Logan Coutu single. A walk and an error pushed the final run across to Woodstock Academy the 5-3 advantage.
But NFA tied the game with two runs in the fifth inning and won it as two more scored in the sixth.
In the quarterfinal game the day before, Woodstock was able to push three runs across in the sixth inning and that is all Coutu needed.
Coutu surrendered two first inning runs but shut out the Lancers the remainder of the way as the Centaurs prevailed in the quarterfinal game at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, 3-2.
Woodstock fell behind early but came up with enough offense to turn its fortunes around in the sixth inning.
Costa had his second hit of the game, a double, and went to third on a single by Simoneau. Asikainen was then hit by a pitch to load the bases and the Centaurs did not need a hit to bring three runs home.
Costa was awarded home plate on a balk and Simoneau tied the game when he crossed the plate on a passed ball. Asikainen advanced to third on the play and scored what proved to be the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly by Hayden Maloney.
Coutu allowed only five hits in a complete game performance to pick up the victory.
On Friday, prior to the ECC Div. 1 championship game, Simoneau and Asikainen were announced as ECC Div. II All-Stars while Maloney received honorable mention. Drew Bundy is the team’s ECC Scholar-Athlete with Collin Gaudette chosen as the team’s ECC Sportsmanship Award recipient.
The Centaurs, the 24th seed in the Class L state tournament, have a first-round game at No. 9 North Haven on Monday at 3 p.m.
Boys’ Golf
The last home match of the season for the boys’ golf team was played at the Quinnatisset Country Club on Wednesday.
The Centaurs had a non-league showdown with Plainville and also celebrated Senior Day.
Woodstock improved to 10-5 on the season with the 164-203 victory over the Blue Devils.
“I would say we are happy so far. It’s a lot better than the hockey season was and it’s pretty similar to last year’s record. There are a couple of losses that I would like to have back that could have been turned into wins but I’m happy with 10-5,” junior Brady Hebert, who played goalie for the Centaurs hockey team, said.
Hebert and Max Kopp each with as four-over par 40 with Blake Hudock adding a 41.
Following the match, the Centaurs recognized their six seniors, Aidan O'Connor, Hudock, Nate Faucher, Alex Haggerty, Alec Nunes and Luke Thompson for their contributions to the program.
“I am going to miss playing golf a lot. I played all four years, it’s been a part of my life throughout the spring and then I play golf in the summer. I will miss the team, miss the boys for sure,” Nunes said. “I’ve played with Aidan, Luke and Blake and Nate all four years and Alex joined us this year and getting to know him was fun, too.”
Hebert and Kopp will be the top returning players next season.
“I’m going to miss (the seniors) a ton. I’m great friends with all of them. I love playing with Aidan every day,” Hebert said.
The best performance of the season so far was had by the boys golf team earlier in the week as it blanked Fitch, 7-0.
The Centaurs have clinched the second spot in Division I of the ECC with a 4-2 record.
The Centaurs had four players, O’Connor (38), Hudock (38), Hebert (39) and Kopp (39) all finish under 40 as the team had a season-best 154 stroke total in the win.
Woodstock finishes off the regular season this Tuesday versus Lyman Memorial.
“It’s definitely felt like a very short season. It seems like just yesterday we were at the (Woodstock) Fairgrounds (where the team held its first practices prior to any course opening for the season. Hockey season is long, this felt a lot shorter even though it was about the same amount of games or matches,” Hebert said.
The Centaurs also have two 18-hole events on the agenda in the near future as they travel to the Eastern Connecticut Conference championship on Thursday at the Shennecossett Golf Course in Groton and have qualified for the CIAC Div. I state tournament on June 8 at the Tallwood Country Club in Hebron.
Girls’ Golf
The girls’ golf team is one win away from finishing undefeated in the ECC for the regular season.
The Centaurs can clinch the league’s regular season title with a win over Killingly on Monday.
The two teams are still neck-and-neck at the top of the standings as Woodstock is 11-0 and Killingly 10-1.
The match will be played on the Centaurs home course at the Quinnatisset Country Club.
It will also mark the start of the end of the season for the Centaurs girls.
They will host the ECC championship tournament on Wednesday at Quinnatisset and have qualified for the CIAC Div. II state tournament at the Tashua Knolls Country Club in Trumbull on June 8.
The Centaurs finished the week with a 14-2 record after a 189-209 non-league victory over Suffield Thursday.
Reagan Scheck, who has qualified individually for the State Open championship, carded a 42 in the win while Lily Moran added a 43.
It was a special day for Moran who was recognized after the match as the only senior on the program’s Senior Day.
The Centaurs recorded a 184-218 victory over Bacon Academy the day before.
The win kept the Centaurs record spotless in the ECC.
Scheck and Moran were co-medalists for the match as each shot a 43. Brianna Beck added a 48.
Somewhat to their chagrin, the Centaurs had to go back to the Norwich Golf Course last Tuesday and managed to post a 201-224 win over host Norwich Free Academy.
East Lyme was also at the match and posted a 197-201 victory over the Centaurs but it was a non-league victory for the Vikings as the two teams have already played their two league matches.
Scheck carded a 43 for the Centaurs while Beck shot a 48 in the tri-match.
Boys’ Tennis
Coach Siana Green had another goal fulfilled; the boys’ tennis team got to go on the road for a state tournament match against an unfamiliar opponent.
Unfortunately, it also marked the end of the road for the Centaurs as a team this spring season as the 19th-seeded Centaurs lost to No. 14 North Haven in a Class L state tournament qualifying match, 5-2.
The loss means the Centaurs finish up the season 9-6.
There is still the possibility that No. 1 singles player Rodrigo Diez could qualify for the state individual tournament which begins on Sunday.
Diez did score another victory this past Friday as he downed Priyam Upadhysy of North Haven, 7-5, 6-4 in the No. 1 singles match between the two.
The Centaurs No. 2 singles player, Ryan Chabot, in his final outing as a Centaur followed suit with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Jack Segna.
But the Nighthawks picked up victories the remainder of the way to advance to the first round of the tournament.
Diez was able to advance earlier in the week to the semifinals of the ECC boys’ individual tennis tournament.
There he ran into Christos Matsas of Waterford.
The Centaurs junior finished on the wrong side of a 6-2, 6-3 score to the Waterford player.
The second-seeded Diez defeated East Lyme’s Ethan Dong 8-5 in the first round and then downed Justin Wang of Waterford, 6-1, 7-5 in the quarterfinals.
Chabot lost his first-round singles match, 8-6, while Cayden Worth and Steven Shen lost their first-round doubles match, 8-4.
Diez and Chabot were selected as ECC Division II All-Stars while Shen and Worth were named honorable mention. Heath White is the team’s ECC Scholar-Athlete with Diez chosen as the ECC Sportsmanship Award recipient.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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Junior Brady Hebert tees off on the third hole at the Quinnatisset.
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Max Kopp putts on the second hole at the Quinnatisset.
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The six seniors on the boys’ golf team were recognized during Senior Day festivities following their last match. Photos by Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy.
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