Preview - Girls’ Tennis
Cocozza-O’Hara to guide Centaurs
Dena Cocozza O’Hara is not a new face around the Woodstock Academy girls’ tennis team.
She helped boys’ coach Siana Green coach the girls’ team a year ago and also serves as the coach of the Pomfret School boys’ team, whose facility the Centaurs use throughout the course of the spring.
But now, she is officially the girls’ coach of the Woodstock program.
“I’m thrilled and to be honest, because Siana and I have worked so well together, it’s not like I’m going to try and spread my wings, I love it the way that it is. I have been training some of these kids since they were five or six years-old so it’s really nice to see them go and scaffold to see them do things. I just have never been in a position to do so,” O’Hara said.
But with her own children grown, O’Hara is free a bit more to pursue her true passion- tennis.
O’Hara was an All-American in three sports but opted to play tennis when she attended UConn. She then went off to Spain to play before returning stateside.
‘It’s a great game; a lifelong game. It’s like life. Make a mistake, correct it, and then you can do better, it’s about progress not perfection,” she said.
The players are certainly all for the elevation of O’Hara.
“I love Dena so much. She helps the girls out so much and is super-encouraging and super-kind,” said senior co-captain Linnea Barlow.
“I’m pretty excited for the year and just seeing the girls playing together is really nice,” said fellow co-captain Abby Budd.
The Centaurs will miss some key players from a year ago where they qualified for the state tournament with a 6-9 record and finished with a 4-2 mark in ECC Div. II.
The Centaurs did lose five players from a year ago; Peyton Bentley, Ellie Bishop-Klee, Maeve Lusignan, Emma Massey and Margaux Reck.
But many are returning including the two co-captains and Katie Bruce as seniors; juniors Gianna Musumeci, Kerrigan Reynolds and Wynter Worth. Delilah Kesselman and Catherine Trudeau are sophomores.
Worth, Musumeci, Reynolds, Trudeau and Kesselman are all vying for singles spots and others could follow.
The program also has four freshmen that may or may not play some official matches as there is no JV team but O’Hara said they are important as she loses the three seniors next year.
The Centaurs do have the advantage of playing at Pomfret School.
Early in the season, it’s a gift as other teams are trapped inside a gym when the weather doesn’t cooperate.
“We are so grateful to Pomfret for letting us use the courts and we’re the only team that has inside courts right now so it’s nice to have this,” Budd said.
The division is what O’Hara has her sights set upon.
“I would like to continue to compete for the Div. II title and make States again. More so, I look at it as skill-based. I want them to learn some new skills, because it carries over to life. I want them to enjoy themselves. This is a grind. You have to be out here day in and day out, win or lose, and my job is to establish that team culture. I have graduates who come back. That is my gold star,” O’Hara said.
She agrees that playing at Pomfret School is a profound advantage.
“Our Woodstock families have been phenomenal” helping, O’Hara said.
The other nice thing about Pomfret is that it also has the outdoor option right next to the indoor courts which can be used when the weather improves.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
caption:
Seniors Linnea Barlow, left, and Abby Budd will serve as captains for the Woodstock Academy girls’ tennis team this season. Photo by Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy.
Preview – Boys’ Track
Seeking elusive dual meet win
While the girls’ outdoor track team has been experiencing a lot of success in Div. I of the ECC, the boys have had a little more difficulty navigating the waters against the likes of Fitch, East Lyme and Norwich Free Academy.
“We have it tough with those three, they are always difficult. East Lyme is always strong in the same events that we are strong in especially this year. That’s always tough matchup. NFA just has so many kids on their team and it’s tough to beat the numbers game. Fitch, generally, has a lot of talented sprinters and jumpers. Fitch and Stonington might be opportunities for wins this year,” coach Gerry LaMontagne said.
The Centaurs were 0-3 a year ago and have not won a dual meet since 2021.
There are 45 athletes who signed up for the team and most have been consistently coming to practice.
That includes 10 who identify as sprinters which has traditionally been a soft spot.
On the opposite side of that, one of the strengths of the Centaurs, middle and distance runners, will remain so as both Christian Menounos and Colton Sallum return for their last campaigns as seniors.
“It doesn’t feel real. I had 11 total seasons before this and this is my 12th and last one. It’s kind of surreal to have all my running here to come to an end- a little hard to digest,” Sallum said.
Sallum is coming off a tremendous indoor track season where he finished with a personal best that, according to LaMontagne, “blew away” anything the senior had accomplished previously.
“I think indoor was a huge confidence boost for me. I had some personal bests and broke some school records,” the senior said.
LaMontagne said he is really looking forward to see what both Menounos and Sallum can accomplish this season.
“They will be stalwarts for this team and they are great leaders as well. All of the other distance runners look up to them. They are great at leadership. They are encouraging, demand a lot of themselves and that translates. The other kids see it and want to mimic it, work hard and follow that lead,” LaMontagne said.
Menounos also holds several Woodstock school records but he wouldn’t mind bettering those.
“I want to bring down my school records a lot to make it hard for the upcoming class to come and get.” Menounos said. "The 400 meter record I have not got yet and I will be working on my speed early, running some 400’s and hopefully, I can snatch that record. It has been up there for 20 years; and lower my record in the 800 to maybe 1 minute, 52 seconds and lower my mile as well.”
LaMontagne also has another source for optimism and that comes from the throws.
Junior Eli Manning qualified for States in both the shotput and discus a year ago and LaMontagne is hopeful that he could challenge for an ECC individual title.
David Sumner threw the shotput over 40-feet during the indoor track season and LaMontagne thinks he can improve on that.
Kayden Menor and Chandler Folkerts have also steadily improved in another lesser known event, the hammer.
In addition to those athletes, the Centaurs also should have a good amount of leadership from a host of seniors as sprinters Aiden Brailsford, Aidan Kane and Gabe Luperon are on the squad alongside senior classmates Eli Susi (pole vault); Michael Susi (throws) and Khang Tran (distance).
“I love the outdoor season,” LaMontagne said. “I’m looking forward to see what all of our returners are going to be able to do. A lot of these guys I have watched for the last four years and it’s going to be fun to see what they can do and how far they can push themselves,” LaMontagne said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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Preview - Boys' Golf
A conference title is a
possibility for Centaurs
High hopes. That’s what Woodstock Academy boys’ golf coach Rich Garceau has.
Entering his 21st year at the helm of the Centaurs, optimism abounds even before his team was able to step on the course at the Quinnatisset Country Club.
“We have the talent; I have a lot of good athletes. Some of those athletes are new to the game but they are working hard and embracing the game.
"If we get on the golf course consistently, I think we could win a lot of matches and possibly a title,” Garceau said.
It won’t come easy. “I fully expect East Lyme to be a good challenge. Norwich Free Academy, generally speaking, has been having some good teams recently and Waterford looks really good. But I think a divisional title is a reasonable, realistic expectation and it wouldn’t shock me if we won the (ECC) tournament title too,” Garceau said.
The tournament title is something that has not happened since 2013.
“I’m ready for another one,” Garceau said.
The Centaurs do return senior Logan Rawson who was only the ECC Player of the Year in the sport a year ago.
“I was really proud of Logan last year, not only for getting that recognition, but I was really pleased to see how hard he worked to achieve it. He was open to constructive criticism. He has matured as a golfer. As a freshman and a sophomore, he wanted to do it his way.
"That’s how young kids play. Now, he’s willing to embrace the potential for change. He’s realizing that he still has room to grow and has been taking lessons,” Garceau said.
Some of those lessons have taken place at the Lake of Isles Golf Club.
Those lessons have helped him start to develop a nice right to left ball flight as opposed to his more traditional cut.
The entire team got to experience some of that last week when they also went to the Lake of Isles for a clinic,
Fellow seniors Brady O’Brien, Jonathan Eddy, Austin Sebastian and Jayden Fuller are also out for the team.
Fuller, Eddy and Clark are out for a first time.
“But having those new seniors arrive is creating some internal competition and it’s good. It’s been really friendly but everybody is pushing everybody.
"Some are starting to see that getting into that top five is not going to be as easy as they thought,” Garceau said.
Garceau has also been impressed by sophomore Max Kopp who participated in some junior PGA events last summer.
Junior Blake Hudock has also been impressive.
“He has been in the shadows the past couple of years but he is really developing into a golfer. He played a lot over the summer, has clearly worked on his game and he hits the ball further than I can possibly imagine for myself,” Garceau said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
.
caption:
The Woodstock Academy boys’ golf team spent some time last week taking part in a golf clinic. Photo by Rich Garceau/Woodstock Academy.
Service
BROOKLYN — For information on the Trinity Episcopal Church Holy Week services please go to: https://www.facebook.com/trinitychurchbrooklyn or: http://www.trinityepiscopalchurchbrooklyn.org.
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