St. Bernard/Bacon and Housatonic/Northwestern last played on Friday, and the Saints learned a couple of valuable lessons from that match up: don’t fall behind and don’t lose your cool.
The Saints didn’t fall victim to either of those pitfalls on Wednesday night and, as a result, reversed their fortune as they gained a measure of revenge with a 3-0 win at the Norwich Ice Rink.
“Intensity and consistency is what we asked of them in the locker room,” St. Bernard/Bacon assistant coach Rich Steele said as he picked up his first win as a varsity coach. Head coach Chris Avena was serving a one-game suspension after he was ejected from a game Monday night.
“The other night, up at their rink, we came out flat. We didn’t start playing until we were down 4-0 and we were up and down all night long,” Steele said. “We just wanted a nice, smooth effort from top to bottom. We kept preaching ‘15 minutes down to zero’ every period.”
Housatonic/Northwestern beat the Saints, 4-2, in their previous meeting, but had problems not only with the Saints, but with themselves from the start this time around. The Mountaineers (9-8) gave the Saints five power-play opportunities in the first period alone.
“I’m dealing with a bunch of high school kids who don’t know how to shut their mouths — it’s plain and simple,” Housatonic coach Dean Diamond said. “You play smart hockey, work hard and keep your mouth shut and you’re in the game. When you don’t stop yakking to the refs, take stupid penalties, you’re going to lose — it’s that simple.”
The Saints didn’t take advantage of the Mountaineers’ penalty box minutes until just under five minutes were left in the first period. Sam Nassetta, with help from Jack Berry and Charlie Tufo, flipped the puck over Housatonic goalie Kevin Diamond’s right shoulder and into the corner of the net for a 1-0 St. Bernard lead.
St. Bernard squandered a five-on-three chance in the second period, but came up with an insurance goal with 4:12 left. Jerry Theiler — who has accounted for more than 40 points this season for the Saints — flipped it to team captain Colin Morgan to light the lamp.
“I think I had the puck down low and I just slid it across,” Theiler described. “It got under everyone and Colin just slipped it in.”
There were some antsy moments for St. Bernard in the third period as the Saints couldn’t score despite two power play opportunities and nine shots on goal early. In the first of those short-handed episodes, the puck ended up on the stick of Housatonic center Sam LeGoyt, who had a one-on-one with Saints goalie Scott Steele (22 saves).
“I just thought I would come out, challenge the shot, take away the angle and he didn’t do anything special,” said Scott Steele, who corralled the shot with his stomach for the save.
Steele and his teammates also had to weather through a five-on-three situation where the Saints goalie turned aside three Housatonic shots.
“One of the keys (Wednesday night) was that we didn’t give them shots from in close, for the most part,” Rich Steele said. “A credit to the goalie for the shutout, but a credit to the whole team for giving him a chance to see the puck and do his job.”
Theiler put the finishing touches on the win as he found himself with a short-handed break away with 1:17 to play and didn’t miss.
“I missed one earlier in the game,” Theiler said. “I was kind of snakebit and the goalie had me on one, so I just tried to put that last one in and it was nice.”
The Saints improved their record to 9-8 and have already qualified for the state tournament.
“That takes the pressure off,” Rich Steele said. “Last couple of years, we’ve had to go right down to the wire to see if we’re in or out. Now, we can fine-tune the team a bit.”
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Saints stop Clippers in season finale
It was a game that most thought would decide the Eastern Connecticut Conference Small Division in girls basketball. New London had other ideas.
The Whalers’ win over Putnam on Saturday took some of the starch out of the Clippers’ showdown with St. Bernard on Monday night as the Saints had already clinched the Small.
It didn’t mean, however, that either team played any less intense.
Putnam’s style of play caused the Saints some consternation, but the Clippers’ lack of offensive punch cost them in the end as they lost to the Saints, 37-28.
“We’ve been playing pretty good lately and we’ve been running, but they didn’t let us do it — they’re tough to play,” St. Bernard coach Mike Nystrom said.
The Saints (15-5, 11-1 ECC Small) looked like they were going to win their ninth in a row relatively easily as they came out and lit up the board in the first quarter. Senior Casey Brigham scored 11 of her 19 points in that opening period to give the Saints a 14-7 lead.
“I was just really excited about Senior Night and we really just came together,” Brigham said. “The JV team all wore T-shirts saying ‘We love our seniors,’ so I was just really excited about the night and felt it walking out on to the court.”
The opposite was true in the second quarter for the Saints. They cooled off rapidly and missed all eight shots from the floor, four of them from 3-point land, and scored only one second quarter point. The Clippers came up with 10 to take a 17-15 lead into the half. Putnam’s Katelyn Tarr scored nine of those and finished with 21 of the Clippers’ 28 points.
“The other kids need to grow around her and it’s a learning process,” Putnam coach Willie Bousquet said. “We’re just not as multi-faceted as we were. I give them credit because the defense is just as tenacious as its been and that’s a good thing. We’re one of the only division teams to hold (St.Bernard) under 40 points twice.”
The problem for the Clippers offensively is the absence of point guard Kelsey Rybacki, who injured her knee in the first game of the year against St. Bernard and has not returned.
“We’re uncertain, the ACL is loose,” Bousquet said of Rybacki’s injured knee. His hope is that she can return in time for the state tournament.
“It’s definitely difficult; we miss her points, she’s a very good outside shooter,” Tarr said. “But we’ve been practicing a lot and are getting a little better at getting open for the ball.”
Tarr put Putnam up by four with a basket to open the third quarter, but it was the only field goal that Putnam got in the entire quarter. The Saints turned the tables to take a 25-20 lead into the final quarter as Brigham scored five of the Saints’ 10 third-quarter points.
St. Bernard extended that lead to nine early in the fourth quarter before five more Tarr points cut it to four. The Saints put it away when they scored the next seven points.
Emma Sternloff added nine points and grabbed 11 rebounds for St. Bernard, while Ashley Walenta tossed in seven.
“We’ve been playing well lately,” Nystrom said. “When we get rolling, we’re looking pretty good.”
St. Bernard’s first postseason test will come against Lyman at home on Thursday night in an ECC play-in game. Putnam plays at home against Waterford the same night.
The Whalers’ win over Putnam on Saturday took some of the starch out of the Clippers’ showdown with St. Bernard on Monday night as the Saints had already clinched the Small.
It didn’t mean, however, that either team played any less intense.
Putnam’s style of play caused the Saints some consternation, but the Clippers’ lack of offensive punch cost them in the end as they lost to the Saints, 37-28.
“We’ve been playing pretty good lately and we’ve been running, but they didn’t let us do it — they’re tough to play,” St. Bernard coach Mike Nystrom said.
The Saints (15-5, 11-1 ECC Small) looked like they were going to win their ninth in a row relatively easily as they came out and lit up the board in the first quarter. Senior Casey Brigham scored 11 of her 19 points in that opening period to give the Saints a 14-7 lead.
“I was just really excited about Senior Night and we really just came together,” Brigham said. “The JV team all wore T-shirts saying ‘We love our seniors,’ so I was just really excited about the night and felt it walking out on to the court.”
The opposite was true in the second quarter for the Saints. They cooled off rapidly and missed all eight shots from the floor, four of them from 3-point land, and scored only one second quarter point. The Clippers came up with 10 to take a 17-15 lead into the half. Putnam’s Katelyn Tarr scored nine of those and finished with 21 of the Clippers’ 28 points.
“The other kids need to grow around her and it’s a learning process,” Putnam coach Willie Bousquet said. “We’re just not as multi-faceted as we were. I give them credit because the defense is just as tenacious as its been and that’s a good thing. We’re one of the only division teams to hold (St.Bernard) under 40 points twice.”
The problem for the Clippers offensively is the absence of point guard Kelsey Rybacki, who injured her knee in the first game of the year against St. Bernard and has not returned.
“We’re uncertain, the ACL is loose,” Bousquet said of Rybacki’s injured knee. His hope is that she can return in time for the state tournament.
“It’s definitely difficult; we miss her points, she’s a very good outside shooter,” Tarr said. “But we’ve been practicing a lot and are getting a little better at getting open for the ball.”
Tarr put Putnam up by four with a basket to open the third quarter, but it was the only field goal that Putnam got in the entire quarter. The Saints turned the tables to take a 25-20 lead into the final quarter as Brigham scored five of the Saints’ 10 third-quarter points.
St. Bernard extended that lead to nine early in the fourth quarter before five more Tarr points cut it to four. The Saints put it away when they scored the next seven points.
Emma Sternloff added nine points and grabbed 11 rebounds for St. Bernard, while Ashley Walenta tossed in seven.
“We’ve been playing well lately,” Nystrom said. “When we get rolling, we’re looking pretty good.”
St. Bernard’s first postseason test will come against Lyman at home on Thursday night in an ECC play-in game. Putnam plays at home against Waterford the same night.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Bacon topples Ledyard in ECC wrestling
Ledyard High School had won five straight Eastern Connecticut Conference Large Division championships in wrestling and four consecutive ECC Championship meets.
Bacon Academy coach Mike Voiland is quick to point out that the Colonels have won 29 of the 36 ECC wrestling titles overall, so indeed it was a rare occurrence that the Colonels didn’t find themselves atop again this year.
They didn’t go down without a fight, however.
Ledyard had a chance right up until the heavyweight match in the championship finals Saturday night at Waterford High, a match that Bacon heavyweight Brian Webster won and the Bobcats dethroned the Colonels by a slim, 192 1/2 to 186 1/2 margin, to win the championship. Bacon got an added bonus as Ledyard finished second, ahead of Waterford, which also gave the Bobcats the ECC Large Division championship.
“When someone hits a home run, it just has to clear the fence, it doesn’t have to be 500-feet, so six or 60 — it doesn’t matter,” Voiland said about the narrow margin of victory.
Bacon went into the championship round with an eight-point lead over Ledyard, but both teams had four wrestlers make it to the finals. Ledyard suffered a blow, however, when Nick Polonsky couldn’t wrestle at 189-pounds due to a neck injury suffered earlier in the day.
Bacon extended its lead by four points when Ryan Quinn scored an 8-5 decision over Killingly’s Tylor Herrick in the opening match of the championship round.
“I hate it,” Quinn said of being the first out on the mat, “but hopefully it got the rest of the kids in the finals a little loosened up.”
Like Quinn, who won the 112-pound ECC title a year ago, Ledyard’s Caleb Morth captured his second straight ECC individual title by taking the 145-pound championship with a pin 4-minutes, 30-seconds into his match with Montville’s Dan Alger.
“It was definitely a goal, to win the ECCs and hopefully, the (State) Open — those were my big goals,” Morth, a senior, said.
Morth’s pin also pulled the Colonels within six of the Bobcats. A Shane Sullivan pin could have tied that up at 152, but the junior had a battle with Woodstock’s Brohen Krsulic and had to settle for a 7-2 win by decision.
Waterford’s John Millaras helped Ledyard as he defeated Bacon’s Dan Thompson at 160, 7-1, to set up what turned out to be the decisive battle three matches later. Bacon’s Webster was pitted against Ledyard junior Alex Lawrence, and everybody in the gym knew what was on the line.
“That’s a whole lot of pressure for a high school kid,” Voiland said. “The season comes down to that on both sides of the house.”
The importance wasn’t lost on Webster.
“I was just like, ‘Oh my God, I have to win this thing.’ It was overwhelming, but I knew I had beaten him before and I knew I could do it again.”
Voiland didn’t like what he saw early on as Webster took a 2-1 lead, but then found himself on his back for only the second time this season in the second period. He escaped and then changed his strategy. Webster stayed on his feet the rest of the match, scored a takedown, let Lawrence get back up and scored on another takedown. The strategy was repeated four times in the third period and produced a 13-6 win.
“I knew it was coming,” Ledyard coach Jason Lanoue said. “I knew exactly it was going to be the strategy. I was loving it because the Bacon coaches had kind of forgotten about it in the beginning, but when (Lawrence) hit those two dangerous rolls, they were like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s right, we told you to let (Lawrence) up last time.’ ”
The team that was on top last week, Waterford, ended up going home empty-handed as the Lancers finished in third with 182 points.
“It’s a disappointment — clearly a disappointment,” Waterford coach Chris Gamble said. “You’re hoping that you will get some 3, 4, 5, 6th-place finishes and we didn’t get them. It’s a tough tournament and that’s what happens, we didn’t make our breaks.”
The other team that went home with a title was Montville as it finally untangled itself from Killingly and beat the Redmen by seven, 133 1/2 to 126 1/2, to capture the Small Division crown. The two teams had to go to criteria in their two regular-season encounters.
“We’ve been sick all week, and we didn’t wrestle as well as we should have, but my compliments to our kids because they came through in the end and did enough to win the ECC outright,” Montville coach Gary Wilcox said.
East Lyme senior Ryan Clarke, the 140-pound champion, was named the Most Outstanding wrestler in the tournament.
Bacon Academy coach Mike Voiland is quick to point out that the Colonels have won 29 of the 36 ECC wrestling titles overall, so indeed it was a rare occurrence that the Colonels didn’t find themselves atop again this year.
They didn’t go down without a fight, however.
Ledyard had a chance right up until the heavyweight match in the championship finals Saturday night at Waterford High, a match that Bacon heavyweight Brian Webster won and the Bobcats dethroned the Colonels by a slim, 192 1/2 to 186 1/2 margin, to win the championship. Bacon got an added bonus as Ledyard finished second, ahead of Waterford, which also gave the Bobcats the ECC Large Division championship.
“When someone hits a home run, it just has to clear the fence, it doesn’t have to be 500-feet, so six or 60 — it doesn’t matter,” Voiland said about the narrow margin of victory.
Bacon went into the championship round with an eight-point lead over Ledyard, but both teams had four wrestlers make it to the finals. Ledyard suffered a blow, however, when Nick Polonsky couldn’t wrestle at 189-pounds due to a neck injury suffered earlier in the day.
Bacon extended its lead by four points when Ryan Quinn scored an 8-5 decision over Killingly’s Tylor Herrick in the opening match of the championship round.
“I hate it,” Quinn said of being the first out on the mat, “but hopefully it got the rest of the kids in the finals a little loosened up.”
Like Quinn, who won the 112-pound ECC title a year ago, Ledyard’s Caleb Morth captured his second straight ECC individual title by taking the 145-pound championship with a pin 4-minutes, 30-seconds into his match with Montville’s Dan Alger.
“It was definitely a goal, to win the ECCs and hopefully, the (State) Open — those were my big goals,” Morth, a senior, said.
Morth’s pin also pulled the Colonels within six of the Bobcats. A Shane Sullivan pin could have tied that up at 152, but the junior had a battle with Woodstock’s Brohen Krsulic and had to settle for a 7-2 win by decision.
Waterford’s John Millaras helped Ledyard as he defeated Bacon’s Dan Thompson at 160, 7-1, to set up what turned out to be the decisive battle three matches later. Bacon’s Webster was pitted against Ledyard junior Alex Lawrence, and everybody in the gym knew what was on the line.
“That’s a whole lot of pressure for a high school kid,” Voiland said. “The season comes down to that on both sides of the house.”
The importance wasn’t lost on Webster.
“I was just like, ‘Oh my God, I have to win this thing.’ It was overwhelming, but I knew I had beaten him before and I knew I could do it again.”
Voiland didn’t like what he saw early on as Webster took a 2-1 lead, but then found himself on his back for only the second time this season in the second period. He escaped and then changed his strategy. Webster stayed on his feet the rest of the match, scored a takedown, let Lawrence get back up and scored on another takedown. The strategy was repeated four times in the third period and produced a 13-6 win.
“I knew it was coming,” Ledyard coach Jason Lanoue said. “I knew exactly it was going to be the strategy. I was loving it because the Bacon coaches had kind of forgotten about it in the beginning, but when (Lawrence) hit those two dangerous rolls, they were like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s right, we told you to let (Lawrence) up last time.’ ”
The team that was on top last week, Waterford, ended up going home empty-handed as the Lancers finished in third with 182 points.
“It’s a disappointment — clearly a disappointment,” Waterford coach Chris Gamble said. “You’re hoping that you will get some 3, 4, 5, 6th-place finishes and we didn’t get them. It’s a tough tournament and that’s what happens, we didn’t make our breaks.”
The other team that went home with a title was Montville as it finally untangled itself from Killingly and beat the Redmen by seven, 133 1/2 to 126 1/2, to capture the Small Division crown. The two teams had to go to criteria in their two regular-season encounters.
“We’ve been sick all week, and we didn’t wrestle as well as we should have, but my compliments to our kids because they came through in the end and did enough to win the ECC outright,” Montville coach Gary Wilcox said.
East Lyme senior Ryan Clarke, the 140-pound champion, was named the Most Outstanding wrestler in the tournament.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Caron, NFA win ECC titles
Fitch/Waterford senior Allie Black knew she had her work cut out for her from the start as she glanced over from the floor exercise to see Killingly junior Christine Caron compete on her opening apparatus, the bars.
Caron nailed her routine and the judges responded, giving Caron the top individual score of the night, a 9.65. She used that momentum to capture her second- consecutive Eastern Connecticut Conference individual gymnastics championship. Caron finished with a 37.4, while Black finished with a 36.95 on Friday night at Deary’s Gymnastics.
As happened last year, Caron’s individual win didn’t result in an ECC Championship meet title for the Redgals. Instead, NFA walked away with its fourth title in five years, 137.85 to Killingly’s 133-point total. The Fitch/Waterford cooperative actually finished with the highest points total (139.3), but wasn’t allowed to compete for the team title as it didn’t meet league criteria for the season.
“She’s awesome on bars,” Black said of Caron’s routine to open the championship meet. “There’s no competition there. I give her props — that’s a sick routine. I really enjoy it; I wish I could do it.”
The key for Caron on that bars came from a stunt that she’s been working on for awhile but has just started hitting consistently.
“I’ve been trying to get that release move for so long now and I finally got it,” Caron said. “I was having trouble actually making it in meets, but I finally started hitting it every meet.”
The release move, as described by Caron, is when she goes backwards around the upper bar to a handstand, let’s go, and then catches the lower bar.
Caron also finished first in the beam with a 9.3, was second in the vault (9.35) and tied for second on the floor (9.1).
“I’m happy, I just came out and tried my best as usual and whatever happens, happens — it’s in the judges’ hands from there,” Caron said.
Kathrin Lewis of Tourtellotte was third with a total of 36 points.
NFA won the championship thanks to Courtni McFarlane’s fifth-place finish, a sixth-place tie by Allie Sullivan and a seventh by Cindy Briggs.
“Part of me expected this, part of me wasn’t sure,” NFA coach Sue Hopkins-Terrell said of the title. “Fitch/Waterford has a heckuva group, but we’ve been pretty loose the past couple of days thanks to some goofy things we’ve been doing at practice.”
The Fitch/Waterford girls fully expected to compete as a team coming in, but were disallowed from doing so as they didn’t compete against NFA over the course of the season and had just one meet versus Killingly, thus not meeting the league’s criteria for eligibility.
“We don’t follow the (ECC) rules,“ Black said. “It’s hard being a gym that isn’t at the school. Our coaches do so much for us. They do it on their own, they’re not getting paid for this — our high schools don’t have a budget. We buy everything, like our leotards. We were fortunate just to come here and compete as individuals.”
Fitch/Waterford coach Carl Cavrell said he thought that the ECC athletic directors had agreed to relax the rules and allow the co-op to compete, as a team, in the ECC championship.
“That’s how the girls and I understood it. Whether it was real or not, I wasn’t a part of that (athletic director’s decision), I wasn’t in the loop,” Cavrell said by phone Friday night as he didn’t attend the championship.
“It’s my personal decision (to not meet the league criteria),” Cavrell said. “I have scheduling issues and it was our choice not to do, but we understand the consequences and if that’s the decision of the ADs, that’s fine.”
Caron nailed her routine and the judges responded, giving Caron the top individual score of the night, a 9.65. She used that momentum to capture her second- consecutive Eastern Connecticut Conference individual gymnastics championship. Caron finished with a 37.4, while Black finished with a 36.95 on Friday night at Deary’s Gymnastics.
As happened last year, Caron’s individual win didn’t result in an ECC Championship meet title for the Redgals. Instead, NFA walked away with its fourth title in five years, 137.85 to Killingly’s 133-point total. The Fitch/Waterford cooperative actually finished with the highest points total (139.3), but wasn’t allowed to compete for the team title as it didn’t meet league criteria for the season.
“She’s awesome on bars,” Black said of Caron’s routine to open the championship meet. “There’s no competition there. I give her props — that’s a sick routine. I really enjoy it; I wish I could do it.”
The key for Caron on that bars came from a stunt that she’s been working on for awhile but has just started hitting consistently.
“I’ve been trying to get that release move for so long now and I finally got it,” Caron said. “I was having trouble actually making it in meets, but I finally started hitting it every meet.”
The release move, as described by Caron, is when she goes backwards around the upper bar to a handstand, let’s go, and then catches the lower bar.
Caron also finished first in the beam with a 9.3, was second in the vault (9.35) and tied for second on the floor (9.1).
“I’m happy, I just came out and tried my best as usual and whatever happens, happens — it’s in the judges’ hands from there,” Caron said.
Kathrin Lewis of Tourtellotte was third with a total of 36 points.
NFA won the championship thanks to Courtni McFarlane’s fifth-place finish, a sixth-place tie by Allie Sullivan and a seventh by Cindy Briggs.
“Part of me expected this, part of me wasn’t sure,” NFA coach Sue Hopkins-Terrell said of the title. “Fitch/Waterford has a heckuva group, but we’ve been pretty loose the past couple of days thanks to some goofy things we’ve been doing at practice.”
The Fitch/Waterford girls fully expected to compete as a team coming in, but were disallowed from doing so as they didn’t compete against NFA over the course of the season and had just one meet versus Killingly, thus not meeting the league’s criteria for eligibility.
“We don’t follow the (ECC) rules,“ Black said. “It’s hard being a gym that isn’t at the school. Our coaches do so much for us. They do it on their own, they’re not getting paid for this — our high schools don’t have a budget. We buy everything, like our leotards. We were fortunate just to come here and compete as individuals.”
Fitch/Waterford coach Carl Cavrell said he thought that the ECC athletic directors had agreed to relax the rules and allow the co-op to compete, as a team, in the ECC championship.
“That’s how the girls and I understood it. Whether it was real or not, I wasn’t a part of that (athletic director’s decision), I wasn’t in the loop,” Cavrell said by phone Friday night as he didn’t attend the championship.
“It’s my personal decision (to not meet the league criteria),” Cavrell said. “I have scheduling issues and it was our choice not to do, but we understand the consequences and if that’s the decision of the ADs, that’s fine.”
Thursday, February 12, 2009
ECC Wrestling championship begins tonight
The fun is just beginning in Eastern Connecticut Conference wrestling.
Waterford has won the first set of battles, but the war is far from lost for programs such as Bacon Academy and Ledyard going into this weekend’s ECC championship at Waterford High School. The tournament begins tonight and continues through Saturday with the championship finals slated to begin around 4:30 p.m., that afternoon.
The championship tournament counts toward the regular season standings and even though Waterford swept through the first six matches against its Large Division foes, the Lancers still haven’t won anything yet. The same could be said for the Small Division title as Montville and Killingly have one more opportunity to decide things.
“If we’re not on our ‘A’ game, we’re not going to be challenging for anything,” Waterford coach Chris Gamble said after his now-No. 7 Lancers upset the No. 5 team in the state, Bacon, last weekend in Colchester.
“I tell my guys what really matters is the ECC and state tournament because if you go there and fall on your face, all of a sudden that (6-0) record means nothing, because you don’t have anything to show for it.”
Waterford had a battle with both Ledyard and Bacon, needing a point to move past the Colonels and two to beat the Bobcats. Bacon had it a little easier with the Colonels in handing them a 35-21 loss on Jan. 29.
“I’m just hoping that Jason’s (Ledyard coach Lanoue) premonition of what’s to come, (Ledyard) not being counted out, actually comes true,” Bacon Academy coach Mike Voiland said after his team’s loss to Waterford. “But I hope we finish ahead of them.”
Just like Gamble was telling his team that it hadn’t won anything yet, Voiland was telling his team that it hadn’t lost anything yet either.
“It’s always a battle in the ECC (Championship) and we’re just hoping to place as many guys as we can in the top four,” the coach said.
In a tournament setting, it’s not always how many weight-class championships a team take, but rather, how many wrestlers place that determines a squad’s fate.
“Last year, we only had two champions, (Ryan) Quinn and (Sean) Burgess, and we placed second above Windham and were just a few (points) away from Ledyard,” Voiland said. “I don’t see anyone dominating it this year. I think it’s pretty open.”
One thing going against Bacon is that it doesn’t have a full complement of wrestlers, as it will have a forfeit in the middle of its lineup in the 135-140 pound range.
“That’s a gimme,” Voiland said. “We realized the second week of practice that it was a hole.”
Waterford had a hole of its own last week when Reggie Allen was out due to sickness. Mental fatigue, meanwhile, could plague all the teams involved this weekend.
“Wrestling is mental and there are probably kids right now that are cashing out, because it’s a grind, (and) it’s hard to go to practice every day now,” Gamble said. “You’ve been sick, coach has been nagging you and telling you that you have to hold it together. The mental part is huge right now.”
While the Large Division will be a battle between Waterford, Ledyard and Bacon with other teams and wrestlers having their say, the Small Division championship will likely come down to Montville and Killingly.
The teams have met twice this season and on neither occasion was there a clear-cut winner, although Montville was declared the winner twice by criteria. The Indians won, 40-39, at the Killingly New Year’s duals on Jan. 3 (which didn’t count toward the league standings) and, in the regularly scheduled league match, they beat the Redmen, 34-33, at home.
Montville senior Jessica Bennett will be making her final appearance at the championship and thinks the Indians are going in with high hopes.
“Our record for the ECC Small is looking pretty good,” she said. “Generally speaking, we’re a pretty good tournament team, although this late in the season we do have a lot of injuries and illness. It should be a great tournament.”
Waterford has won the first set of battles, but the war is far from lost for programs such as Bacon Academy and Ledyard going into this weekend’s ECC championship at Waterford High School. The tournament begins tonight and continues through Saturday with the championship finals slated to begin around 4:30 p.m., that afternoon.
The championship tournament counts toward the regular season standings and even though Waterford swept through the first six matches against its Large Division foes, the Lancers still haven’t won anything yet. The same could be said for the Small Division title as Montville and Killingly have one more opportunity to decide things.
“If we’re not on our ‘A’ game, we’re not going to be challenging for anything,” Waterford coach Chris Gamble said after his now-No. 7 Lancers upset the No. 5 team in the state, Bacon, last weekend in Colchester.
“I tell my guys what really matters is the ECC and state tournament because if you go there and fall on your face, all of a sudden that (6-0) record means nothing, because you don’t have anything to show for it.”
Waterford had a battle with both Ledyard and Bacon, needing a point to move past the Colonels and two to beat the Bobcats. Bacon had it a little easier with the Colonels in handing them a 35-21 loss on Jan. 29.
“I’m just hoping that Jason’s (Ledyard coach Lanoue) premonition of what’s to come, (Ledyard) not being counted out, actually comes true,” Bacon Academy coach Mike Voiland said after his team’s loss to Waterford. “But I hope we finish ahead of them.”
Just like Gamble was telling his team that it hadn’t won anything yet, Voiland was telling his team that it hadn’t lost anything yet either.
“It’s always a battle in the ECC (Championship) and we’re just hoping to place as many guys as we can in the top four,” the coach said.
In a tournament setting, it’s not always how many weight-class championships a team take, but rather, how many wrestlers place that determines a squad’s fate.
“Last year, we only had two champions, (Ryan) Quinn and (Sean) Burgess, and we placed second above Windham and were just a few (points) away from Ledyard,” Voiland said. “I don’t see anyone dominating it this year. I think it’s pretty open.”
One thing going against Bacon is that it doesn’t have a full complement of wrestlers, as it will have a forfeit in the middle of its lineup in the 135-140 pound range.
“That’s a gimme,” Voiland said. “We realized the second week of practice that it was a hole.”
Waterford had a hole of its own last week when Reggie Allen was out due to sickness. Mental fatigue, meanwhile, could plague all the teams involved this weekend.
“Wrestling is mental and there are probably kids right now that are cashing out, because it’s a grind, (and) it’s hard to go to practice every day now,” Gamble said. “You’ve been sick, coach has been nagging you and telling you that you have to hold it together. The mental part is huge right now.”
While the Large Division will be a battle between Waterford, Ledyard and Bacon with other teams and wrestlers having their say, the Small Division championship will likely come down to Montville and Killingly.
The teams have met twice this season and on neither occasion was there a clear-cut winner, although Montville was declared the winner twice by criteria. The Indians won, 40-39, at the Killingly New Year’s duals on Jan. 3 (which didn’t count toward the league standings) and, in the regularly scheduled league match, they beat the Redmen, 34-33, at home.
Montville senior Jessica Bennett will be making her final appearance at the championship and thinks the Indians are going in with high hopes.
“Our record for the ECC Small is looking pretty good,” she said. “Generally speaking, we’re a pretty good tournament team, although this late in the season we do have a lot of injuries and illness. It should be a great tournament.”
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
CIAC, Mohegan Sun announce partnership
It’s been well known for a couple of months that the boys and girls high school basketball state championship games were coming to the Mohegan Sun in March.
The two parties, the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference and Mohegan, just made that official on Tuesday morning at Mohegan Sun Arena.
For the first time, the girls and boys championship games will be held on the same weekend, in the same venue.
The first session, consisting of two games, will be played on Friday, March 20 at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. That will be followed by six games on Saturday, March 21, beginning with the second session at 9 a.m. Two other games will follow at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. before an intermission. The last session will be played at 4:30, 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. on that Saturday.
The CIAC will wait and see what kind of match-ups take place before it makes a decision as to who plays when. Admission will be a flat rate for each session with a $10 ticket granting admission to all games in that session.
The big question on the mind of CIAC Executive Director Mike Savage on Tuesday was not whether there will be fall-out about having high school games played in a casino venue, but rather how many seats of the 10,000 in the Mohegan Sun Arena will be filled.
“We are always worried about that, because it’s an issue of our draws,” Savage said. “If we get quality draws, highly competitive teams with large spectator draws, it won’t be a problem. If we don’t, it could be.”
It’s not like the CIAC is on the hook for a lot of money. It’s more of a case of whether or not Mohegan will continue to host the games beyond this March. The two sides have agreed on a one-year deal and Savage is hoping that if the March games are successful, a multi-year deal could be struck.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to negotiate a financial package that is of minimal risk to the CIAC based on past attendance,” Savage said. “Our use of the Mohegan Sun is not a financial risk to us.”
The CIAC has come to Mohegan for several reasons, according to Savage. One was that the member of the state’s educational hierarchy have become less concerned about the casino’s gambling activities as proms and other high school activities are held regularly on the site. The Eastern Connecticut Conference actually opened the door to negotiations when its superintendents and principals approved the league’s championship games to be played at the arena, something that was eventually displaced by the state championship games.
There was also the fact that the CIAC had nowhere else to go. Central Connecticut State University in New Britain — a facility that the CIAC “loves,” according to Savage — holds only 2,800 people. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs was not available either, and frankly, according to Savage, the “time was right to re-kindle negotiations with the Sun,” which had been smoldering for about 12 years.
Since the announcement was originally made, Savage said he has received just one negative e-mail.
“Our biggest concern is hosting an event at a substantial distance from many of our member schools and the travel,” Savage said. “We are not particularly concerned about the issue of exposing our kids to a gambling facility because we’ve been assured that can be handled in a limited way.”
The senior vice-president of sports and entertainment at the Mohegan Sun, Paul Munick, expects more will be said about the partnership between the two and the issue of gambling, but he doesn’t expect it will be a long-term discussion.
“The colleges came in and that caused an uproar for a day or two,” Munick said. “I remember we were having a Nike clinic and I was standing next to (Duke coach Mike) Krzyzewski, (UConn coach Jim) Calhoun and the Marquette coach and the press asked me a few questions and I said, ‘If you really think there’s more gambling going on here — because the issue is about gambling on basketball — than on the campuses of these three schools, I think you’re all nuts.’ ”
The coming of high school basketball to Mohegan could pave the way for another athletic opportunity for the facility as it’s actively engaged in negotiations with two college basketball conferences to bring their postseason tournaments to Mohegan.
Although Munick declined to name the conferences, he did say another conference looked eager to come to the arena but the Sun turned them down out of fear of a lack of attendance.
“If high schools can do it, why can’t colleges do it?” Munick said.
The two parties, the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference and Mohegan, just made that official on Tuesday morning at Mohegan Sun Arena.
For the first time, the girls and boys championship games will be held on the same weekend, in the same venue.
The first session, consisting of two games, will be played on Friday, March 20 at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. That will be followed by six games on Saturday, March 21, beginning with the second session at 9 a.m. Two other games will follow at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. before an intermission. The last session will be played at 4:30, 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. on that Saturday.
The CIAC will wait and see what kind of match-ups take place before it makes a decision as to who plays when. Admission will be a flat rate for each session with a $10 ticket granting admission to all games in that session.
The big question on the mind of CIAC Executive Director Mike Savage on Tuesday was not whether there will be fall-out about having high school games played in a casino venue, but rather how many seats of the 10,000 in the Mohegan Sun Arena will be filled.
“We are always worried about that, because it’s an issue of our draws,” Savage said. “If we get quality draws, highly competitive teams with large spectator draws, it won’t be a problem. If we don’t, it could be.”
It’s not like the CIAC is on the hook for a lot of money. It’s more of a case of whether or not Mohegan will continue to host the games beyond this March. The two sides have agreed on a one-year deal and Savage is hoping that if the March games are successful, a multi-year deal could be struck.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to negotiate a financial package that is of minimal risk to the CIAC based on past attendance,” Savage said. “Our use of the Mohegan Sun is not a financial risk to us.”
The CIAC has come to Mohegan for several reasons, according to Savage. One was that the member of the state’s educational hierarchy have become less concerned about the casino’s gambling activities as proms and other high school activities are held regularly on the site. The Eastern Connecticut Conference actually opened the door to negotiations when its superintendents and principals approved the league’s championship games to be played at the arena, something that was eventually displaced by the state championship games.
There was also the fact that the CIAC had nowhere else to go. Central Connecticut State University in New Britain — a facility that the CIAC “loves,” according to Savage — holds only 2,800 people. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs was not available either, and frankly, according to Savage, the “time was right to re-kindle negotiations with the Sun,” which had been smoldering for about 12 years.
Since the announcement was originally made, Savage said he has received just one negative e-mail.
“Our biggest concern is hosting an event at a substantial distance from many of our member schools and the travel,” Savage said. “We are not particularly concerned about the issue of exposing our kids to a gambling facility because we’ve been assured that can be handled in a limited way.”
The senior vice-president of sports and entertainment at the Mohegan Sun, Paul Munick, expects more will be said about the partnership between the two and the issue of gambling, but he doesn’t expect it will be a long-term discussion.
“The colleges came in and that caused an uproar for a day or two,” Munick said. “I remember we were having a Nike clinic and I was standing next to (Duke coach Mike) Krzyzewski, (UConn coach Jim) Calhoun and the Marquette coach and the press asked me a few questions and I said, ‘If you really think there’s more gambling going on here — because the issue is about gambling on basketball — than on the campuses of these three schools, I think you’re all nuts.’ ”
The coming of high school basketball to Mohegan could pave the way for another athletic opportunity for the facility as it’s actively engaged in negotiations with two college basketball conferences to bring their postseason tournaments to Mohegan.
Although Munick declined to name the conferences, he did say another conference looked eager to come to the arena but the Sun turned them down out of fear of a lack of attendance.
“If high schools can do it, why can’t colleges do it?” Munick said.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Bennett brings home 100th career victory
It came a lot easier for Montville senior wrestler Jess Bennett than the previous 99 victories.
Bennett became the first female wrestler in Connecticut history to record 100 career victories Monday when she stepped to the middle of the mat and accepted a forfeit from New London in the 103-pound match of the Indians’ 77-6 win.
“I would rather have had it be an actual match,” Bennett said. “It’s nice to reach that kind of milestone, but at the same time, I wish it were a true win. Just the fact that I made weight makes it feel like I haven’t achieved much (Monday night).”
Her coach, Gary Wilcox, begged to differ.
“This girl has more than earned her 100 career wins,” Wilcox said. “She hasn’t had many forfeits, because most all teams have a 100-pounder, and if they don’t, we usually bump her up to 112. So she doesn’t get it too easy.”
Wilcox and Bennett both believe her feat to be a first in the state; the records listed on the Connecticut Sportswriters Alliance web site indicate the same thing.
That’s not a surprise, according to Wilcox, as Bennett has been able to do something that’s a must for female wrestlers: Maintain her weight over the four years of her career.
“I believe it’s going to be awhile before we get another one, because if a girl goes up too high on her weight, the testosterone and the strength (of males) really becomes different,” Wilcox said. “A girl has to remain at 103 and wrestle varsity for four years and average (more than) 25 wins a season to do this. It’s really quite a feat.”
It’s one that Wilcox feels compares favorably to a girl scoring 2,500 points in basketball.
Bennett began wrestling when she was 7-years-old, inspired by her brother Dylan, although it wasn’t exactly her mom’s choice of sport.
“I’m extremely proud of her and amazed, too,” Kim Bennett said. “She first told me that she wanted to do this, and I just so didn’t want it for obvious reasons. I was unfamiliar with the sport and it’s rough, but she’s quite the little firecracker and she was right and I was wrong.”
Bennett’s role started as a little sister on the wrestling team, according to her mother, but that role has gradually changed as she is now, as a senior, more like a mother to some of the younger Montville wrestlers. Her teammates, however, respect what Bennett accomplished Monday night.
“It’s pretty special,” junior captain Dustin Wilcox said. “Girls hardly can compete in this sport most of the time. Most of the time they’re lucky to be a good varsity wrestler, and she’s been great.”
Bennett said she knew there was a possibility she could reach the 100-win plateau when she was trying to consider whether she could reach 28 wins for the extra seeding point in state competition.
“I realized if I did that, I would reach 100,” Bennett said. “My goal in wrestling has always been to do the best that I can. This milestone means you’re a fairly accomplished wrestler.”
Bennett is making the most of her final year of high school wrestling. Her future plans have changed and they don’t include the sport. She has been offered an academic scholarship to Purdue University where she plans to pursue veterinary medicine.
“My ultimate goals in life are bringing me in a different direction,” she said. “I still want to be an active athletic person, but on a less competitive level. Women’s wrestling and veterinary medicine didn’t really mesh too well.”
Bennett became the first female wrestler in Connecticut history to record 100 career victories Monday when she stepped to the middle of the mat and accepted a forfeit from New London in the 103-pound match of the Indians’ 77-6 win.
“I would rather have had it be an actual match,” Bennett said. “It’s nice to reach that kind of milestone, but at the same time, I wish it were a true win. Just the fact that I made weight makes it feel like I haven’t achieved much (Monday night).”
Her coach, Gary Wilcox, begged to differ.
“This girl has more than earned her 100 career wins,” Wilcox said. “She hasn’t had many forfeits, because most all teams have a 100-pounder, and if they don’t, we usually bump her up to 112. So she doesn’t get it too easy.”
Wilcox and Bennett both believe her feat to be a first in the state; the records listed on the Connecticut Sportswriters Alliance web site indicate the same thing.
That’s not a surprise, according to Wilcox, as Bennett has been able to do something that’s a must for female wrestlers: Maintain her weight over the four years of her career.
“I believe it’s going to be awhile before we get another one, because if a girl goes up too high on her weight, the testosterone and the strength (of males) really becomes different,” Wilcox said. “A girl has to remain at 103 and wrestle varsity for four years and average (more than) 25 wins a season to do this. It’s really quite a feat.”
It’s one that Wilcox feels compares favorably to a girl scoring 2,500 points in basketball.
Bennett began wrestling when she was 7-years-old, inspired by her brother Dylan, although it wasn’t exactly her mom’s choice of sport.
“I’m extremely proud of her and amazed, too,” Kim Bennett said. “She first told me that she wanted to do this, and I just so didn’t want it for obvious reasons. I was unfamiliar with the sport and it’s rough, but she’s quite the little firecracker and she was right and I was wrong.”
Bennett’s role started as a little sister on the wrestling team, according to her mother, but that role has gradually changed as she is now, as a senior, more like a mother to some of the younger Montville wrestlers. Her teammates, however, respect what Bennett accomplished Monday night.
“It’s pretty special,” junior captain Dustin Wilcox said. “Girls hardly can compete in this sport most of the time. Most of the time they’re lucky to be a good varsity wrestler, and she’s been great.”
Bennett said she knew there was a possibility she could reach the 100-win plateau when she was trying to consider whether she could reach 28 wins for the extra seeding point in state competition.
“I realized if I did that, I would reach 100,” Bennett said. “My goal in wrestling has always been to do the best that I can. This milestone means you’re a fairly accomplished wrestler.”
Bennett is making the most of her final year of high school wrestling. Her future plans have changed and they don’t include the sport. She has been offered an academic scholarship to Purdue University where she plans to pursue veterinary medicine.
“My ultimate goals in life are bringing me in a different direction,” she said. “I still want to be an active athletic person, but on a less competitive level. Women’s wrestling and veterinary medicine didn’t really mesh too well.”
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