New Canaan High School Spring Sports Preview 2011

7/23/2019 New Canaan High School Spring Sports Preview 2011

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SPORTS PREVIEWNEWCANAANHIGH SCHOOLSPRING 2011


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2D NEW CANAAN ADVERTISER, NEW CANAAN, CONN., THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2011

By Dave Stewart

Sports Editor

The New Canaan Rams have justended one of their preseason scrim-mages and freshman Willie Burgeris one of the first players to make agrab for the medical kit or a bucketof baseballs, taking on one of themenial tasks typically expected ofincoming ninth-graders.

Unlike the majority offreshmen trying out forFCIAC teams, however,Burger is a bit different.This kid can flat-out hit a baseball.

Casey Ouellette and AndrewCasali, both sophomores, and Burgerwill all start for the Rams this seasonand its a pretty good bet that theyllbe making noise in the conference

for the next few years.Even more important to this sea-

son is how well the younger, risingstars have blended with the older,veteran seniors such as tri-captainsPeter Meadows, Thomas Krieger andCameron Armstrong.

Its a mix that second-year headcoach Mitch Hoffman calls the per-fect storm.

What were seeing this year isa very, very healthy mix of old andyoung coming together, Hoffmantold the Advertiser. The older kidsare giving life experiences to theyoung kids and the younger kids areactually giving a little bit of baseballexperience to the older kids.

The perfect storm came togetherbecause they are working off of eachother. It could go in the completeopposite direction because right now,I have two sophomores and a fresh-man who are going to start. Thatcould be an explosion, but insteadits helped create a family.

The Rams come into the seasonhaving put last years 7-13 campaignin the rear view mirror. They lost afew starters to graduation, includ-ing captains Willie Ouellette andAlex Freeman, Jeff Spindel, AndrewTropeano and Nick Bamatter, butshould have enough to make up forthose losses.

At the top are the three captains:Starting pitchers Meadows andKrieger, and outfielder Armstrong,an All-FCIAC East selection who led

New Canaan in hitting last spring.Armstrong has had an outstanding

senior year as an NCHS athlete, star-ring for the football team in the fall

and then helping the indoor track andfield team win a State championshipduring the winter.

Armstrong will be back in leftfieldand will be in the No. 3 spot in thelineup.

Cameron Armstrong is the bestkid in the world, Hoffman said.Everything for him is pretty much

easy going. The skysthe limit with him. Hehas the ability to go4-for-4 and steal fivebases. Whatever Cam

wants to do, Cam can do and werelooking for him to lead by exam-ple.

Meadows and Krieger will bothbe on the mound for the Rams. Boththrew some innings for the Rams lastyear, but will take on more promi-nent roles this season.

Peter Meadows is a kid that reallyhas come a long way, Hoffman said.I saw something in him last year.He probably didnt throw as manyinnings as he would have liked, butwhat he did was take the bull by thehorns over the summer and into thefall and winter, and worked extreme-ly hard. Hes going to be a guy whosgot a bit of a rubber arm, so he canstart and do a little spot relief whenwe need it from time to time.

Were looking for Tom Kriegerto be like the father to the team.Hes in a different situation this yearemotionally because hes primarilygoing to pitch and then be in the field

second. In years past, he was askedto balance both and I think that wasa deterrent to his progress. Now hesone of our top pitchers and he canreally be a leader.

Meadows and Krieger will makeup two-thirds of a rotation which willalso include senior Alex Farina.

Farina pitched a bit last year, butwas primarily in right field. Hellalso bat in the clean-up spot thisseason.

Hoffman is confident those threepitchers will give the Rams a chanceto win each time they take the hill.

We dont have a No. 1, we havethree No. 1s, the coach said. Whatyou find in the FCIAC is that, yeahyou might have a No. 1 pitcher, buthe can only throw once a week. We

feel that we have three guys who cango out on any given day and do well,

so each day Im very confident wevegot a good guy on the mound.

Also in the mix for some pitch-ing duties are juniors Nick Depuyand Michael Kreshin, senior SamGardina, and Casali, who may becalled upon to close out games whenneeded.

Guiding the staff from behind theplate will be Casey Ouellette, a soph-omore who impressed last season.Ouellette showed a solid bat anddefensive skills last year and earnedan FCIAC honorable mention.

Junior Nick Pelli will be the backupat catcher and could spell Ouelletteperiodically.

Burger will start at third base,while Casali will be at shortstop aftermissing his freshman season with ashoulder injury.

Willie Burger and Andrew Casaliare the youngest kids on the teambut theyre arguably the most expe-rienced in competitive baseball,Hoffman said. What they bring is anattitude that has spread like wildfirethrough the team. Thats been veryhelpful.

Hoffman has also been impressedwith the modesty of the young play-ers.

Willie Burger is the first one tograb the med kit and the baseballs,but hes also my starting third base-man and hes tearing the cover offthe baseball, he said. He isnt com-ing in brash and bold because I dontthink that would work. Hes modestand humble and he just wants to playa role on this team. Hes doing agreat job and hes being accepted byeverybody.

Theyre all heady baseball play-ers and their competitive baseballexperience is spreading throughoutthe team. Theyre just good baseballplayers.

On the right side of the infield, the

Rams will have Doug Reilly at sec-ond, with Will Karl at first.

Senior Chris Laird, a returning vet-eran, will see time at first base and asthe designated hitter. Krieger is alsoin the first-base mix although he willbe focusing on pitching.

Dan Popper will be the utilityinfielder, filling in at all positionswhen needed.

Farina and Armstrong will again bein the outfield with Matt Sammarcotaking over in centerfield. Sammarcowill also bat in the important ninthspot in the lineup.

Matt Sammarco will be in centerand he has really had a tremendousfall and worked hard to earn thatposition, Hoffman said. (Hittingninth) is an extremely important spotbecause it becomes a second leadoffhitter and Samarco has been doing agreat job turning the order over forus.

Also in the outfield mix are AlexCurto, Gogo Jones, Dan LoRussoand Andrew Redman.

Weve got some great sticks in thelineup, but these guys off the benchcan hit, Hoffman said. Were put-ting them in situations where if theysucceed, theyre going to play.

Diamond visionStrong mix of experience and youtha home run for Ram baseball team

Baseball

Rams at a glanceHead Coach Mitch Hoffman (2nd year)

2010 Record: 7-13

Captains: Peter Meadows, Cameron Armstrong

and Thomas Krieger

Others to watch: Alex Farina, Casey Ouellette, Andrew Casali,

Chris Laird, Matt Sammarco, Willie Burger,

Doug Reilly and Will Karl

The Big Games

April 11 vs. Darien at Mead Park -New Canaan hasnt beatenthe rival Blue Wave since the spring of 2007, when the Rams edgedout a 7-6 decision in Mead Park. Since then, Darien has won three

straight in the series, including a 2-0 nailbiter at DHS early lastseason. The Rams are looking stronger this year and will get anearly chance to exact some revenge in this game at Mead Park ;April 15 vs. Norwalk at Mead Park; April 27 vs. St. Joseph at MeadPark; April 29 at Staples; May 4 vs. Fairfield-Ludlowe at Mead Park;May 16 at Trumbull; May 19 vs. Westhill. at Mead Park.

Thomas Krieger fires in a pitch during a preasson scrimmage against Stamford in Mead Park. Krieger, a seniortri-captain, will be a part of New Canaans three-man pitching rotation that also includes senior tri-captainPeter Meadows and senior Alex Farina. The Rams are looking for their first playoff berth since 2007.

(Dave Stewart Photo)

New Canaan sophomore Casey Ouellette follows through on a swing during a game last season. Ouellette willbe back behind the plate as the Rams starting catcher and will bat in the leadoff spot of a potentially potentNew Canaan lineup. (Dave Stewart/File Photo)


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NEW CANAAN ADVERTISER, NEW CANAAN, CONN., THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2011 3D

By Dave StewartSports Editor

Danielle Simoneau didnthesitate when talking aboutthe attributes New Canaansoftball captainsTory Rusch andLindsey Schmidbring to the dia-mond.

Energy. Commitment.Determination, Simoneausaid. They both play travelball, so they know what itslike and they see the talentthis team has. They push eachother and they push the team,which is a good mix.

Speaking of good mixes,this years edition of the Ramsis looking pretty darn good.

With Simoneau taking overas head coach of a young,talented and now more expe-rienced New Canaan squad,the Rams are primed for a bigspring.

Simoneau, a former starpitcher for the Westhill Vikingsin the late 1980s, is replac-ing former head coach LarryTomaselli

Tomaselli stepped down fol-lowing last season, when heguided New Canaan to its firstState playoff appearance since2002.

The Rams, who went 8-13,

were at their best down thestretch, winning five of theirfinal eight games to qualify forthe postseason.

That rally included a pair ofwins in the final week and a3-2 victory over the St. JosephCadets, who went on to claimthe FCIAC championship a

few weeks later..New Canaan returns withseven starters and will havea sophomore-heavy roster, asnine of the 14 players are in the10th grade. The list is roundedout by the two senior cap-

tains, two juniorsand one fresh-man. Whateverthe combination,however, top to

bottom, the Rams certainlyknow how to play the game.

Its an extremely talentedteam, Simoneau said. Its ayoung team, but a young teamthats definitely going to com-pete in the FCIAC and a teamthats going to go far. Theyre

that good. I have all the confi-dence in the world that weregoing to be right where weneed to be come FCIACs andStates.

Returning for another sea-son on the mound is sopho-more Cydney Ventura. Venturastepped right into the role offront-line hurler last seasonand passed the test with flyingcolors.

Ventura will also have somehelp this year, as freshman AliReilly, another member of thetalented New Canaan Stormsoftball team, will also seesome time on the mound.

Cydney is back, butAli Reilly will also pitch,

Simoneau said. Ive told Cydand Ali that having someoneto compete against is good.It makes you push yourselfharder. So theyre both goingto make an equal contributionto the team.

It takes the pressure off

Cyd. Shes going to be thestarter and shes got the expe-rience on varsity, but shell

know that Alis there for her ifshe needs her.

Back behind the plate thisseason is Cydneys twin sisterJordan Ventura. Jordan beganthe season at shortstop lastyear, but quickly took over asthe teams catcher.

New Canaan is also loadedacross the infield.

At first base, Rusch returnsafter earning All-FCIAC FirstTeam honors as a junior.

Katie Krueger, a junior, is

also in the picture at first,but she was recovering froman injured shoulder duringthe preseason, so the Ramswill likely work her back inslowly.

Simoneau said sophomoreAmanda Frattaroli and Reillycan also play first base ofneeded. Frattaroli also givesthe team a solid pinch-hitter.

Sophomore Marlee Ready,an All-FCIAC Second Teampick at second base last year,is moving to third to fill theteams need.

Taking over for Ready atsecond is sophomore CourtneyRogers, who missed her springcampaign with an ACL injury.

She is coming off a strongseason with the Rams girlsbasketball team.

At shortstop, the Ramswill have the steady BrittanyOveracker, another sophomorewho started last season.

When we were playingscrimmages, we were tryingto see who jelled with who andwould be best utilized at whatposition, Simoneau said. Idput that infield up against anyinfield in the FCIAC. Thats astrong group.

Schmid, a four-year varsityplayer, returns to centerfieldfor her senior season.

Junior Jamie Kuhn will be

the leftfielder, with a combo ofsophomores Abby Jenkins andAnna Von Oehsen in right.

Sophomore Steph Torromeowill be used as a pinch hitterand pinch runner, and couldsee some time in the outfieldas well.

The fact that the Rams have

hitters as good as Frattaroliand Torromeo coming off thebench is an indicator of justhow deep the team is.

They all can hit, Simoneausaid. The hardest part is find-ing a lineup where youregoing to utilize everybodysbat. When you have six powerhitters, you still need thosegirls who are going to get onbase for them. Thats the chal-lenging part as a coach. Butwe have 14 girls who can hit

the ball.New Canaan opens the sea-

son with a home game againstthe Danbury Hatters, with theusual suspects in the FCIACcoming up over the next twomonths.

One of the bigger matchupswill be on the final day of theregular season, Thursday, May19, when Simoneau returnsto her old stomping groundsat Westhill High School for agame with the Vikings.

The positive thing isI know a lot of those girlsand I know Tommy (Pia, thehead coach), Simoneau said.

Will it be awkward coach-ing against your high schoolteam? Yeah, but you cantthink about that. You thinkabout the team youre sittingwith, so for me, itll be justanother game.

The coach said the biggestthing for the Rams is simply tobelieve in themselves and gainconfidence.

We tell them all thetime: This is a strong team,Simoneau said. And we want

them to believe that theyrestrong and that they cancompete in the FCIAC. Wehad three strong outings inthe scrimmages and we sawsome wonderful things. Wehad lots of compliments andthats what they need to hear.They need to hear the wows.Were looking to get that firstgame under their belts so thatthey can get comfortable andbelieve in themselves.

Theyre working hard andthey know that with the talentthats on this team, theyreready to compete. Its fullforce, full-speed ahead.

Softball

Rams at a glance

Head Coach Danielle Simoneau (1st year)

2010 Record: 8-13

Captains: Tory Rusch and Lindsey Schmid

Others to watch: Cydney Ventura, Jordan Ventura,

Marlee Ready, Brittany Overacker, Courtney Rogers,

Ali Reilly, Katie Krueger, Jamie Kuhn,

Anna Von Oehsen and Abby Jenkins

The Big Games

April 11 at Darien - The Rams emerged as a viable con-tender during the second half of last season and cappedit off with a great performance in the first round of the

State playoffs. Darien won that game, 2-1, and withmany players back for both teams, this contest shouldbe another great one; April 18 vs. Stamford at WavenyPark; April 27 at St. Joseph; May 2 vs. Ridgefield atWaveny Park; May 16 vs. Trumbull at Waveny Park; May19 at Westhill.

Simoneau has Rams ready to contend

Sophomore Cydney Ventura returns on the mound for New Canaan and will have addedhelp with freshman pitcher Ali Reilly joing the team. (Dave Stewart/File Photo)

Senior Tory Rusch is back for a second year as a team captain and will play first base for New Canaan. Rusch and the Ramsare looking for a return trip to the postseason, after earning the programs first playoff bid since 2002 last spring.

(Dave Stewart/File Photo)

After strong finish in 2010,softball team looks loaded


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By Dave Stewart

Sports Editor

Its been 12 years since Bill Brownbecame the head coach of the NewCanaan High School boys golf team.While looking back during the pre-

season, even Browncouldnt believe thatits been that long.

As the old sayinggoes: Time flieswhen youre having fun.

Browns Rams have qualified forthe FCIAC championship match forthe past 11 seasons and theyve wona State championship in seven of thepast nine years.

The Rams have become peren-nial powers and, to make things evenbetter, theyre returning the entirestarting lineup from last years Statechampionship team, including a pairof All-State and All-FCIAC golfers

in senior co-captains Brian Tohir andC.J. Swift.

Its the same old story for us,Brown told the Advertiser. We justhave great kids and great golferswho are very dedicated players. Thisis my 12th season already, which

is crazy, but every

year I feel very for-tunate to have theplayers that Ive hadand the teams weveput together.

There were a few question markswhile putting together last yearsteam, but in typical fashion, Brownand the Rams found a good mix andwent on to compile a 15-3 recordduring the regular season.

New Canaan then capped the springwith a dominating performance in theCIAC Div. 2 final at Fairfield FarmsGC in Harwinton. The Rams shot a298 to win the championship by 14strokes over second-place Avon, with

all five New Canaan golfers shootingan 80 or better.

Tohir took State medalist honorswith a 2-under par 70, which includ-ed five birdies.

The entire lineup, with Tohirand Swift joined by seniors AlexGeanakos and Patrick Hagerty and

junior Ben Katz, finished the seasonon an upswing, something Brown ishoping carries into this spring.

Geo played well at the end ofthe year; Patrick Hagerty shot a 75in the State tournament so he wasgreat at the end of the year and BenKatz is an excellent golfer and hesimproved, the coach said. We havesome depth and I feel like if we playto our potential, well have anothergreat season.

New Canaan has had a unique feelfor the past two seasons, with a pairof two-year captains on the roster.Tohir and Swift fit the leadershiprole perfectly last year and are back

in charge again.Its rare that you have two juniors

as captains, but they were terrificlast year, Brown said. It workedwell because a lot of the kids who

were playing with them were thesame grade. The kids liked them andtheyre both very hard workers. Imexpecting big things out of Brian andC.J. this year.

Tohir will start the season on thesidelines, but should be back on thecourse in a few weeks. After seeingsome time in varsity matches as afreshman, Tohir moved into the start-ing lineup as a sophomore, playingat No. 3 before moving up to No. 1last season.

Brians always had the wholepackage, Brown said. Hes reallygood, he knows how to play thegame and hes been great for us forthe past three years.

Swift overcame some up-and-downplay and became much more consis-

tent last season, something Brownattributed to the seniors working onhis short game.

As a sophomore, C.J. would flythe greens on his second shots,Brown said. Hed hit the ball a mileand I was thinking Boy, this kid canreally hit it. Then hed hit a pitch-ing wedge over the green. He justdidnt know how hard to swing or ifhe wanted to hit it high or soft. Hereally, really worked on that last yearand became a much better putter witha much better short game. He gotsome confidence last year and wasmuch more consistent.

As for being captains, the twoare the unquestioned leaders of theRams.

Theyre good friends, Brown

said. They sort of jab each otherat times and they really work welltogether. The other seniors all like

them and respect them, so theyregreat leaders. I try and stay out oftheir way.

Geanakos, another senior, joinedthe varsity squad last year and played

well enough to earn an All-FCIACEast nod.At No. 4 is senior Patrick Hagerty,

who was great in the State final,while junior Ben Katz rounds out thelineup at No. 5.

The Rams are carrying 16 golfersbetween the varsity and junior varsitysquads and several others have a shotat playing time with the big team.

That group is led by seniors JackPiantkowski and Spencer Clark, bothof whom played J.V. last year.

Also in the mix for playing timeare a pair of juniors, Parker Dennisand Ryan Christie, sophomore WillEssigs and promising freshmanConnor Miller.

The preseason has been tough, asthe poor weather has kept the Rams

off the greens for the most part.Theyve gotten plenty of work in onthe driving range and still have untilWednesday, April 13 to get ready fortheir opener.

Theyre 17-year-old kids and theyall want to hit the Titlelist gigantichead driver 320 yards, which is a lotof fun, but the short game is really animportant part of the game, Brownsaid. They all understand that andthey all have good short games.

The season always has its highsand lows from week to week, matchto match and even hole to hole, butBrown said hes trying to keep thingson an even keel.

If you make a good shot, dontget too high and if you have a badhole, dont get too low, Brown said.

They all know the game, they playa lot and they know what theyredoing.

By Dave Stewart

Sports Editor

Take a quick look at the ros-ter of the New Canaan varsity

girls golf team and you wontfind many familiar names.The Rams

were wiped outby graduationand the lineupwill be com-pletely revamped for the 2011season. Rather than that beinga negative, however, headcoach Dave Fine and the Ramssee this year as an opportunityto set a foundation for futuresuccess.

We have a lot of youth butthe youth has a lot of talent anda lot of potential, Fine toldthe Advertiser. Were veryexcited about this season. Wegraduated our entire varsity

squad, so we are starting freshand its absolutely a rebuildingyear. We have goals set, butthey are two-year goals.

The hope, and they reallyseem to be into it, is to progressas far as we can through thisseason and hopefully make itback to the State tournament.

Wed like to get the experi-ence and then come back nextyear as a force in the state. Wedefinitely have the talent to beable to do that.

The Rams have no seniors

on the roster, but they do haveseveral playerswho have beenin the program,including threejuniors whohave begun to

take on leadership roles Krissy Parrett, Chloe Davisand Amanda Chin.

Ive decided to call themcaptains in training, Finesaid. My original gut feel-ing was to have no captainsthis season, but three of thejuniors really stepped forwardand said we need some leadersand that was what I was look-ing for from someone. I toldthem wed put it as CITs. Its

a big role, Im not sure of youguys are ready but these arethe things I expect from you.

At the end of the season,if everythings all good, welletch them in as captains fornext year.

Parrett stands out in that trioafter falling just short of mak-

ing the varsity lineup the pasttwo seasons. Fine said shesdefinitely ready to compete atthe next level.

Krissy Parrett has beenunder the radar for the past

two years, the coach said.Weve been watching for herand waiting for her to progressand we knew shed be readythis year. I think shes readyto do very well. She playedover the summer, shes readyto lead and I think shes goingto do very well.

Davis and Chin have alsobeen in the Rams programsince their freshman years,and will be looked upon aspossible leaders this spring.

These juniors have beeninvolved in the program sincethey were freshmen, they justhavent played in any varsitymatches because our varsityteam has been that good,

Fine said. The lack of experi-ence will be a tough hurdle,but these girls have talent. Ifwe can overcome that hurdle,well be all right.

All have been in program,theyve played JV and theyknow whats expected ofthem. I think theyre going to

make great leaders.Among the sophomores,

Gabby Balzano and BridgetFalcone have opened someeyes this year.

Gabby Balzano has a

wealth of talent, Fine said.She has the fundamentals andshe puts a lot of work into thegame. Shes like a sponge. Shekeeps absorbing all this infor-

mation but she hasnt gottenit out yet. Shes very youngand if she can start to learn hergame, shell really progress.

Bridget Falcone startedto come alive last year and

Im very excited for her. Sheplayed in a bunch of tourna-ments over the summertime,which in my eyes is the bestway to practice for these girls

outside the season. You cango out there every Sundayand play by yourself, but itsa whole different experienceplaying in matches. Being inthose tournaments, shes in a

good position to succeed.Fine and the Rams also

picked up a new talent injunior Kate Gilhool, whojoined the team after playinglacrosse and tennis the pasttwo years. Gilhool has shownsome good skills and will be inthe varsity lineup.

Also in the mix for varsityplaying time are a trio of soph-omore in Michelle Paturzo,Ember Parker and SamanthaEsposito, all of whom playedJV last season and have showngood improvement.

Fine said the keys for NewCanaan will be competing asa team and having the golfersplay within themselves.

The best way to score isto know yourself, Fine said.Know your strengths, knowyour weaknesses and playtoward your strength. Dontplay outside of yourself.

Its not the superstar, itsthe team. If they can keep thatin mind, well be fine.

Rams at a glance

Head Coach Dave Fine (6th year)

2010 Record: 9-4

Golfers to watch: Krissy Parrett, Chloe Davis,

Amanda Chin, Gabby Balzano,

Bridget Falcone and Kate Gilhool

The Big Matches

April 13 vs. Ludlowe at Smith Richardson GC - TheRams are looking to build experience and develop theirnew talent and this match is the first stepping stone intheir plans; May 14 vs. Trumbull at Country Club ofNew Canaan; May 2 vs. Greenwich at Griffith E. HarrisGC; May 11 vs. Darien at Country Club of New Canaan;May 24 vs. Darien at Country Club of Darien.

Girls Golf

Boys Golf

Rams at a glance

Head Coach Bill Brown (12th year)

2010 Record: 15-3; FCIAC finalists; State D2 Champions

Captains: Brian Tohir, CJ SwiftOthers to watch: Alex Geanakos, Patrick Hagerty and Ben Katz

The Big Matches

April 28 vs. Darien at Country Club of New Canaan; May 9at Wilton; May 10 vs. Trumbull at Tashua Knolls GC; May 12vs.Greenwich at Country Club of New Canaan - Greenwich andNew Canaan are perennial powerhouses at the FCIAC and Statelevels. Whenever they clash head-to-head, its bound to be interest-ing; May 19 vs. Staples at Longshore GC; May 24 vs. Ridgefield atRidgfield Public GC.

Young Rams building a new foundation

Tohir, Swift have golfers thinking big

New Canaan senior C.J. Swift surveys the green during the FCIAC boys golf championship last season. Swiftand Brian Tohir are back as co-captains this season as the Rams return their entire State championship lineup.(Dave Stewart/File Photo)

Make it a photo fi nish!Purchase New Canaan sports photos online. Click on the Photo Store link at

www.NCAdvertiser.comOr you can go to HersamAcorn.MyCapture.com


5/8


By Dave Stewart

Sports Editor

Dan Borgman is hitting the big4-0 this spring. As in 40 years as thehead coach of the New Canaan HighSchool boys tennis team.

During the past four decades,Borgmans Ramshave captured 26State and 11 FCIACchampionships, andwon more than 500matches, as the coach hit that mile-stone two seasons ago.

New Canaan is also coming offone of its most exciting seasons,when it defeated Staples, 4-2, forthe FCIAC title before claiming asecond consecutive CIAC Class Lchampionship.

The Rams also made the finalsof the Class L brackets an All-NewCanaan affair, as then-senior Ben Leedefeated classmate Kevin Budrawichfor the singles title and Chase Urbanand Nick Laub won the doublescrown against Peter Huff and PatrickNewton.

Coming off the dual champion-ships, the Rams appear ready torumble in 2011.

I see 100 percent enthusiasm about

working out this year, Borgmansaid. I dont have that every year,theres just some kids who dontwant to do that, but this group isready to go.

The Rams will be led by their threecaptains: Chase Urban and SteveEvans, both seniors, and Nick Laub,a junior.

Urban will slot into the No. 1singles position after a big seasonplaying at No. 2 last spring. Urbanis a steady, consistent player, whorarely makes mistakes.

Chase Urban is just a dedicatedplayer, Borgman said. Hes outthere doing warm-ups even before

the team gets togeth-er. He has a verydisciplined way ofplaying. He doesnttake shots that arenta part of his arsenal

and hes very patient. Hes got theskills to really be a good No. 1 playerthis year.

Evans, a hard-hitter and good lead-er, played at No. 5 singles and sawsome time in doubles as a junior.Hell likely start the year in the No.3 singles spot.

Hes very conscientious aboutdoing things as a captain, Borgmansaid. He was calling me before theseason and asking if there was any-thing he could do for the team andhes kind of the CEO of the team.

Laub brings an unparalleled energyto the team and is a strong presenceon and off the court. Hes alreadyexcelled in the spotlight, as his three-set victory at No. 4 singles clinchedthe Rams first FCIAC championship

since 1995 last spring.I dont usually name a junior a

captain but hes not only an excep-tional player, he has exceptionalenthusiasm, Borgman said. Hereally can inspire the rest of the team.Thats why hes a captain.

Unfortunately for the Rams, Laubis recovering from a fracture in his

back and the team will have to makedo without him for at least the firstthree to four weeks of the season.

When healthy, Laub would likelystart at No. 2 singles and possiblychallenge Urban for the top spot.Borgman said Laub is working to getback in game shape, but the processis slow.

He wants to play and hes startedto play a li ttle bit, but hes backed off

on that a li ttle, Borgman said. Ivetold him to take it easy and dontgo anything more than 10 minutes.Hes so enthusiastic about tennis.Last year in the counties he won thematch to beat Staples and he was aperfect guy to have in that spot.

With Laub sidelined for the timebeing, the No. 2 singles spot will go

to Will Burger, a sophomore whosaw time in both singles and doubleslast year.

Wills done very well againstChase so its not like theres anygreat distance between our top twoplayers, Borgman said. Theyrevery close and Wills just a sopho-more, so thats good for him.

Burger will be followed by Evans at

No. 3 and sophomore Tom Worcesterin the No. 4 position.The No. 5 singles spot was still

open late in the preseason, with soph-omore Devin McVeigh and juniorJacob Reiss in the hunt.

In doubles, the Rams return thejunior Newton, who had a fine seasonwith Huff at No. 1 last year. Borgman

said Newton has been looking betterand better as the season nears.

Patrick Newton played No. 1doubles last year and hes coming onstrong, the coach said. He starteda little slower because he didnt playany winter tennis, so hell probablycome on even stronger as the seasongoes along.

Im running a round robin tosee who plays better with who andPatrick is emerging as one of the bet-ter doubles players.

If he doesnt end up on the singles

lineup, Reiss may fit into the doublespicture.The other strong doubles player

is Jacob Reiss and hes shown hecan be a cagey player, Borgmansaid. He might make a good doublepartner with Patrick Newton becausetheyre both southpaws and Patrickhas a strong backhand.

Also in the double mix aresenior Connor Hedley, junior LukeMcDermott and sophomore TimCasavant, all of whom saw varsitytime last spring.

Jack Howard, a sophomore, islooking to move up from junior var-sity, while freshmen David Salamaand P.J. Webb are also in the picture.

Whatever the final roster lookslike, Borgman is hoping the success

from last season carries over thisyear.

They havent talked about it butIm sure as the season starts, theyregoing to say we want to do it again,the coach said. You never knowhow things will work out, but I thinkdepth-wise we have and even stron-ger team than last year.

Rams at a glance

Head Coach Dan Borgman (40th year)

2010 Record: 19-3; FCIAC and State Class L Champs

Captains: Chase Urban, Steve Evans and Nick Laub

Others to watch: Will Burger, Tom Worcester, Patrick Newton,

Devin McVeigh, Jacob Reiss and Connor Hedley

The Big Matches

April 13 at Fairfield Prep; April 14 vs. Darien at NCHS; April 19 vs.

Weston at NCHS; April 26 at Westhill; May 12 vs. Staples at NCHS- Last spring, Staples won the regular season match with NewCanaan but the Rams beat the Wreckers in the FCIAC final a fewweeks later. That makes this years contest a grudge match and abig one in the league playoff hunt; May 17 at Greenwich.

By Dave Stewart

Sports Editor

The 2010 spring campaignwas a dream season for theNew Canaan Rams girls ten-nis team.

A 24-0 record, a seventhstraight Statechampionship,an FCIAC titleand two victo-ries over rivalGreenwich including onethat ended the Cardinals 83-match winning streak wouldbe enough to put a smile onthe face of any coach.

For New Canaan head coachGail Overbeck, now enteringher 17th year with the Rams,the challenge is to maintainthe level of success her team

has become used to.And if the early signs of the

talent level are any indication,everything looks to be brightskies and sunny days for theRams.

I think were going to bestrong, Overbeck told theAdvertiser. Ive got a goodlineup with the singles and myfirst two doubles teams are

going to have very good sea-sons. We should have anothergood year.

New Canaan will certainly

have experience on its side asat least eight of the 10 startingspots will be filled by girlswho played extensively lastyear. The Rams graduated two

key seniors:Co-captainsTina Tehrani,a singles ace,and Alyssa

Baker from the No. 1 doublesteam.

Leading the way this springare senior tri-captains KateMannelly, Kimmy Glerum andCaitlin Gallagher.

Mannelly returns at theNo. 1 singles spot for a thirdstraight season. Mannelly wasat No. 1 full-time as a sopho-

more and played the majorityof the schedule at that positionlast spring, spelled by Tehraniin a few matches.

She was named All-FCIACand All-State as a junior, butOverbeck said Mannellyscontributions to the team gobeyond her accomplishmentson the court.

First of all, shes a greatgirl, the coach said. Shesvery level-headed, she doesntget rattled very easily and

shell have another good year.I have a lot of faith in her atthe one position. Shes a goodleader and shes good with theother kids.

Glerum and Baker had tre-mendous success as a doublestandem, earning FCIAC MVPhonors while going undefeat-ed over a two-year span in theNo. 1 spot.

Kimmy Glerum has gonethe last two years withoutlosing a match playing withAlyssa Baker, Overbeck said.Shes extremely bright andvery focused. Shes also greatwith the girls. We had a girlwho was upset after one of thechallenge matches (during the

preseason) and Kimmy wentright over and sat down withher and consoled her a littlebit. Shes just a good leader.

With Baker having gradu-ated, Glerum will be adjustingto a new partner in sophomoreSara Greene, who is movingup from the No. 2 spot.

Its been good, Overbecksaid. I have to get them to be alittle more aggressive becauseAlyssa was quite aggressive atthe net. I want Sara to get rightin there and mix it up at the netand go for her shots. Theyreboth really steady from thebaseline and I think theyll befine.

Caitlin Gallagher, anothervarsity veteran in singles, willbe in the No. 3 spot this sea-son, and Overbeck likes whatshes seen so far.

Shes been coming on, thecoach said. Im really proudof the way shes handling her-self. Shes been stepping upand taking on the leadershiprole and I think shes going tobe a great captain.

Junior Courtney Gallagher,who saw time at No. 3 and4 singles last spring, willjump up to the No. 2 spot this

spring.Shes playing a whole lot

better than she was last year,Overbeck said. She workedreally hard over the winter andshes hitting the ball a ton. Itsbetter for her to be up therebecause the matches at threewouldnt have given her thechallenge the two spot willgive her.

In the No. 4 spot again issophomore Jensen Lee, whohad a fine year in her first sea-son with the Rams.

Shes another hard-work-er, Overbeck said. She playshard all the time and she nevergives up on a point. She lostjust one match last year and Ithink shes ready for anothergreat year.

Putting together the No. 2and 3 doubles tandems is thebiggest coaching challenge

Overbeck faces each year, butshe feels she has a winner withsophomores Kristin Laub andAmanda Merjian in the secondspot.

Kristin was at No. 2 lastyear and Amanda was at No. 3and they were both very strongin those spots, the coachsaid. I put them together justrecently and they did well,so I think theyre going to bestrong as long as they stayfocused.

The No. 3 spot was in fluxduring the preseason and fiveRams will get their chance.

That group includes juniorPhoebe Wilks and seniorEmily Greene, both of whomplayed varsity last year.

Also in the mix are sopho-more Katie Howard and fresh-men Jackie Millisits and EmilyBrand.

The three spot is toughbecause all of them have aboutthe same ability, Overbecksaid. Ill have to keep rotat-ing them and see what works.Theyll all have a chance toplay because its just at theend when we get to the Stateswhen you cant move peoplearound.

As for the competition, theRams will have their first testright away, as their secondmatch is against last yearsCIAC Class L championWarde Mustangs at the NewCanaan courts on Thursday,April 7.

Darien and Wilton are alsoon the first half of the sched-ule, with New Canaans annu-al showdown with Greenwichin the final match on Tuesday,May 17 at the NCHS tenniscourts.

Rams at a glance

Head Coach Gail Overbeck(17th year)

2010 Record: 24-0; FCIAC and State Class M champs

Captains: Kate Mannelly, Kimmy Glerumand Caitlin Gallagher

Others to watch: Courtney Gallagher, Jensen Lee,Sarah Greene, Amanda Merjian and Kristin Laub

The Big Matches

April 7 vs. Warde at NCHS; April 14 at Darien; April18 at Wilton; May 5 vs. Ludlowe at NCHS; May 12 atStaples; May 17 vs. Greenwich at NCHS - Its NewCanaan vs. Greenwich in the annual battle betweenFCIAC contenders. This season, the Rams get to servesome home cooking at the NCHS courts.

Boys Tennis

New Canaan defending two court crowns

Seven State titles and counting for Rams

Girls Tennis

New Canaan senior tri-captain Kimmy Glerum returns at No. 1 doubles this spring, and willhave a new partner as sophomore Sara Greene takes over for Alyssa Baker, who graduatedlast June. (Dave Stewart/File Photo)

New Canaan girls ready for court drama


6/8


By Dave Stewart

Sports Editor

The New Canaan Rams girls trackand field team heads outdoors forthe spring season with one new headcoach, a good crop of rising fresh-man and sophomore athletes and ahandful of talented vet-erans to lead the way.

With 80 girls on theroster, the Rams wontbe hurting for peoplein the many differ-ent events at outdoormeets.

As new head coach Art Brownsaid, the only difficult thing is givingeach one of the athletes time.

One of our goals is to get asmany kids as possible but the down-side is its hard to manage, Brownsaid during the preseason. As theseason goes on, well get a betterhandle on it. Well have them brokeninto groups now throws, sprints,middle distance and distance andeach group has its own captain sothats made it easier. We have a lotof kids in a lot of different events sothats good.

Brown, who has been an assistantcoach in the girls track and field pro-gram for the past couple of seasons,

takes over the head coaching reinsfrom Fred Word, who stepped downafter the indoor season. Brown alsocoaches the Rams girls cross coun-try team in the fall.

With his time in the program,Brown is familiar with the athletes,making for an easy transition.

Heading up the Rams as cap-

tains is a quartet of athletes: SeniorsMelanie Escalante, Danielle Martinand Maureen Dinnie and juniorStephanie Benko.

Benko, a standout on the girls soc-cer team, has emerged as one of NewCanaans top track athletes. Duringthe FCIAC indoor finals, Benkoran second in the 3,200-meter run,

trailing only seniorteammate CarolineMurray.

As a runner, I thinkshes taking it serious-ly now, Brown said.

I think she realizesthat she can run at thenext level and she has a lot of talent.We had her do the two-mile indoorsand the last outdoor season but thatsreally not her favorite event. She pre-fers the mile but she also realizes forthe sake of the team, we need her inthe two mile. Well move her aroundand see how it plays out.

Escalante, another soccer player, isa sprinter and can run several differ-ent events and relays.

She was fifth in the 300-meterdash and eighth in the 600 at theFCIAC indoor finals.

Melanie is a hard worker, Brownsaid. Ive really been impressedwith her the last couple of years. Shebroke 60 in the 400 last year and I

expect her to do it again. She hasgood speed and shes very strong.Well probably use her in the 200,400 and the 4x400.

Dinnie gives the Rams a solidhurdler, but her biggest benefit maybe in the intangibles she brings tothe team.

Maureens a hurdler and shes

really made an effort to succeed,Brown said. The kids look up toher and I think shell make a goodcaptain. Shes a good person to haveon the team.

Martin is a top-flight javelinthrower who will also gain points inthe shot put and discus.

Danielles great, Brown said.She really works hard, shes intoit and shes made a lot of progress.Shes another one the kids really lookup to. Javelin is her primary event.

Murray, a star athlete at NCHSwho will play soccer and run track at

Ohio State next year, will compete ina few events for the Rams, includingthe mile, two-mile, 800 and possiblyrelays.

Carolines had a great careerhere, Brown said. Shes a verygood runner. The mile is probablyher best event and Id like to seeher bring her two-mile time down.Shes a good 800 runner and I thinkshes another one that well have tosee what events we need her in asthe season goes along. Shes a hardworker and shes got really goodspeed.

Brown also pointed to senior PortiaSchultz, a middle-distance and dis-tance runner who brings leadershipto the team.

Portia Schultz is a phenomenal

kid and shes really made a contri-bution to the program just with thekind of person she is, Brown said.The kids look up to her, shes a hardworker and she always has a positiveattitude. I cant say enough abouther. I respect her and shes reallywell-respected by the kids. Shes thekind of kid you can move around in

any event, and shes glad to jump inif you need her.

After Benko, the junior classfeatures several other strong ath-letes, including Alexis Najarian andCastina Konstantinovic in the hur-dles and jumps, Rebecca Evenson inthe discus and shot put, Kally Saizand Cara Schulte in the middle dis-tance and distance races, and AbigailWasden, Emily Lambdin, AbbeyBuckenheimer and Becky Thompsonin the pole vault.

The sophomore corps includesKatie DiFazio, Eileen Dinnie and

Julie Spindel in the relays, IsabeleHerde, Sydney Czech and KayleeBrea in the throws, Brea and JackieMcCurdy in the jumps, and Heather

Schumacher, Ariana Ross and BiancaSchultz in the pole vault.

A good group of freshmen willinclude Elizabeth Gordon, IsabelleHetherington, Sara Mussico, EmilyWood and Elizabeth Perry in themiddle distance and distance races,Alex Naughton in the hurdles andmiddle distance races, and MaureenSchott, Keara Fahy and Kit Malozziin the sprints.

For a lot of kids this year, itsreally going to be a year of learn-ing, Brown said. People like ourlong jumpers, high jumpers, vaulters

theyll be learning this year. Ireally think were going to start outnext year in a much different placethan we are now.

By Dave Stewart

Sports Editor

Alex Spinu, Patrick Daly, TaylorParsons, James Arliss, Henson Orserand Brant Hoffman are just a few

of thea th l e t e swho havededicatedt h e m -selves tothe New

Canaan boys track and field programfor the past several seasons.

And when New Canaan raised theState indoor championship plaque forthe first time in more than 50 yearsthis past winter, they were among theRams with the widest smiles.

Their commitment was vindicatedby winning the championship, headcoach Steve Bedard said. It was areward for the work theyve put in.

The Rams roster for the springoutdoor season will be different thanthe State title team, but make no

mistake, this team is loaded withpotential with the aforementionedlineup of names.

Thats going to core of our teamand it was the core of our teamindoors, too, Bedard said. Thosekids are excited and I think thatenthusiasm will help the other kidsimprove.

Bedard hadnt named captainsprior to the first meet, but NewCanaan has several leaders amongthe upperclassmen.

In the senior class, Daly returns fora fourth season after a strong winter.He won the Class L crown in the1,000-meter run and was second inthat event at the FCIACs. Daly alsostarred on the 4x400 relay team thattook first place at the State meet.

Place-wise he did well, but per-sonally I think hed like to haveachieved some better times, Bedardsaid. So for him, I think theressome unfinished business hed liketo take care of. That should motivatehim to train hard and finish off hiscareer here on the right note.

Spinu, a junior, has been the Ramsleader on the cross country team forthe past couple of years and had astellar indoor track season. Spinuwas third in the 600-meter run at theFCIAC and State level, and was alsoa part of the solid 4x400 and sprint

medley teams.Spinu gives Bedard plenty of room

to maneuver, as the junior can runanything from the 400 up to the twomile race, while also competing onthe relays.

Hell probably qualify in the 400,800, the mile and two mile for theStates and hes going to be a part ofour relays, the coach said. Weregoing to have to assess the situationwhen it gets to the championship

season and determine whats best forthe team. He might not compete inall of those individual events, but wehave a chance of winning with ourrelays.

Nelson Conover, a senior, is alsoa jack-of-all-trades in the technicalevents. Hell compete in the high,long and triple jumps as well as thepole vault.

In a dual meet situation, he cando all four and that really makes ourjob that much easier, Bedard said.Well have points from him in allthose events.

Parsons and Hoffman, both seniors,had big winters and Bedard is look-ing for that to shift into the springseason. Both can run the distanceraces and fit in perfectly on the relayteams.

Taylor Parsons had a great indoorseason much better than wethought it was going to be, Bedardsaid. So were looking for the samekinds of things from him for the out-door season.

Brant Hoffman had a breakoutsenior season indoors and werelooking for him to continue that.

Orser, a junior, also returns afterplaying a key part on the Ramsindoor relays. He was on the 4x400team which won the Class L champi-onship, and was on the 4x800, whichfinished second in Class L.

Arliss, a senior, and IsaiahMaisonette, a junior, give Bedardtwo more talented runners, alongsidesenior Will Hoover, junior DylanKavookjian and sophomore KalanLysenko.

In the hurdles, New Canaan returnssenior Paul Templeton and sopho-more Devaun Bovell. Bovell will

also compete in the high, long andtriple jumps.

The Rams lost FCIAC and Stateshot put champ Alex Farina, whois back with the baseball team thisspring, but they still have some depthin the throwing events.

Junior Rami Hamdan is coming

off a solid winter and will moveout of Farinas shadow and into thecenter ring. Hamdan was third in theFCIAC and fourth in Class L in theshot put. Hell also compete in thediscus.

He had the best junior season ofany thrower we had, Bedard said.He was overshadowed (by Farina)a little bit, but he knows the potentialhe has and the gains he made aregoing to propel him to do even betterduring the outdoor season.

Also in the throwing events arejunior Kalin Killinger, who will com-pete in the shot put and discus, andjunior Matt Milano, who will com-pete in the javelin.

Bedard feels the technical eventsare a good indicator of where the

program stands.The best way to gauge how good

a track program is how well theirtechnical events do. the coach said.Those are the events that rely oncoaching and thats why a team likeours will beat a lot of teams in dualmeet situations. A lot of teams mayhave faster kids, but we can winbecause we spend a lot of time on thetechnical events.

Rams at a glance

Head Coach Steve Bedard (7th year)

2010 Record: 12-5

Athletes to watch: Patrick Daly, Brant Hoffman, Nelson Conover,

Alex Spinu, James Arliss, Rami Hamdan, Taylor Parsons,

Isaiah Maisonette, Henson Orser, Paul Templton,

Devaun Bovell and Matt Milano

The Big Meets

May 3 vs. Danbury and Wilton at Danbury - Danbury was the onlyteam to outscore New Canaan at the FCIAC indoor track and fieldchampionships in February. The rosters have changed with themove to a new sports season, but the Rams should be able to pushthe Hatters; May 10 vs. Darien and Bassick at NCHS. -

Girls

Track & Field

BoysTrack & Field

New Canaan senior Patrick Daly leads a pack of runners through a turn during the FCIAC indoor track andfield championships in February. Daly and the Rams were second in the league before capturing New Canaansfirst State championship since 1958 a week later. (Dave Stewart/File Photo)

New Canaan boys running with a full tank

Ram girls hope to find strength in numbers

Rams at a glance

Head Coach Art Brown (1st year)

2010 Record: 7-4

Captains: Maureen Dinnie, Danielle Martin,

Melanie Escalante and Stephanie Benko

Others to watch: Caroline Murray, Portia Schultz, Alexis Najarian,Castina Konstantinovic, Rebecca Evenson, Kelly Saiz,

Katie DiFazio and Eileen Dinnie

The Big MeetsApril 11 vs. Warde and Norwalk and Norwalk at NCHS; May 5 vs.Wilton and Danbury at Wilton; May 9 vs. Darien and Bassick atDarien - New Canaan features a lot of athletes this season, withmany in the technical events which Darien is well-known for.Coming later in the dual-meet season, this competition will be agood test for the Rams in preparation for the postseason.


7/8


By Dave Stewart

Sports Editor

Joe Costigans collegiate path wasalready set when the New CanaanRams boys lacrosse team was bat-tling for FCIAC and State supremacy

last year.But even with

his path to NorthCarolina mappedout, Costigan didntkick back. Now, oneyear later, Costiganis a New Canaan senior captain and,to put it mildly, the Tar Heels aregoing to get one heck of a player.

Joes almost been like a bluntinstrument, a work horse, for the lastseveral years, but now hes cominginto his own, Ram head coach AlexWhitten said. Hes worked hard inthe offseason to become more of adynamic player, so hes not just a runand shoot player anymore. He can doa few other things, so were excitedabout that. And physically, he looks

awesome. Hes lost a lot of weight,hes stronger, and hell be a big cor-nerstone in our offense this year.

Costigan and the remaining veter-ans on the New Canaan roster willhave their work cut out for them thisyear. A class of 17 graduates has leftsome huge shoes to fill all across thefield, so the Rams will be decidedlyyounger.

Initially, we had a lot of spots justbecause we have a lot of open spotsfrom the graduating class from lastyear, Whitten said. They were agreat class for us and when you lose17 seniors, theres a lot of vacanciesthat need to be filled. Weve got a lotof guys who are stepping in to fill alot of roles, especially on defense.

The list of graduates includesmiddies such as Cody Newton, anAll-State player, Sam Stanton andTodd Bratches and defenseman suchas All-Stater Kevin Campbell, All-FCIAC long pole Ian Knechtle andBobby Femia. New Canaan also lostattack Oliver Norton and faceoff spe-cialist Ron Balzano, among others.

One spot where the Rams are load-ed is at goalie, where they return twoexperienced and highly-skilled play-ers with senior tri-captain Jimmy JoeGranito and junior, Thomas Carey.

Granito, a starter for the footballand ice hockey teams, has been inbetween the pipes since his sopho-more season and is tough as nails.

When Granito went down with aninjury last season, Carey, a junior,

took over in the net and excelled.Carey was at his best in the playoffsas the Rams reached the FCIAC finaland the State Class M semis.

Whitten said the two would bothsee time as the starter this year.

Goaltending is probably the stron-gest part of our game right now, thecoach said. Jimmy Joe and Tom are

two of the best in the state, in myopinion, and theyre going to battleall year for that starting position. Itsnot Jimmy Joes or Toms theyregoing to have to fight it out everyweek, so thats going to be interest-ing.

Theyve both played very, very

well in the preseason and they bothbring a differentdynamic. JimmyJoe is a tougher,grittier player andToms a bit quicker

and better outside of the cage. Theyboth bring different aspects to thegame, which is good. Both of thoseguys are going to have a huge impacton our program even if they just pusheach other to be better.

Joining Costigan and Granito as acaptain is senior long pole defense-man Willie Gould. Gould didnt startlast spring, but he saw extensive var-sity time and has had an outstandingsenior year with the Rams footballand boys track and field teams.

Whitten is looking for Gould to bea field general on the defensive sideof the field.

Willie kind of came into his ownthis year, Whitten said. He was along pole last year and his abilitieskind of got overshadowed by theguys that we had at long pole. Willieis a tremendous kid. He was a two-way player on the football team andAll-State runner for the indoor trackprogram, and hes working hard forus. He brings a certain toughness tothe position.

As for the rest of the defense,Whitten said right now the win-dows wide open for a lot of differentguys.

Leading the way for a starting spotis junior Kevin McDonough, who,like Gould, had a solid football sea-son in the fall.

Also looking good are sophomoreEric Persky, juniors Hunter Buddand Paul Clemente, sophomore JohnRhudy and promising freshmanMichael Root, who Whitten calledthe real deal. Junior Patrick Burkewill be a long pole middie, andsenior Alex Millisits will also playmiddie for the Rams.

Were looking to be a rougherteam this year, Whitten said. Wewant to be more physical around thegoal. If people are going to shootinside, we need to slide to the bodyand make them earn it.

Costigan leads the midfield corpswhich will feature juniors JohnBrainard and Jake Miller.

John Brainard has stepped in andis a formidable athlete with his sizeand strength, Whitten said. Helooks really good for us right now.And Jake Miller has stepped up andis looking good as well. Hes goingto fit into our offense very well.

Also in the mix are juniors JackBratches and Wes Rhudy, as well asspeedy sophomore Duke Repko.

Dukes probably the fastest kidon our team, Whitten said. Hesquick as lightning and we need himto rapidly mature from sophomore-dom to junior status as soon as he

possibly can.Taking over for Balzano on faceoffsis junior Bobby Distler.

If youre going to score goalsand maintain momentum, you needto win faceoffs, Whitten said.Bobbys done a really good job inthe offseason working on his own onfaceoffs and hes doing a pretty goodjob right now.

New Canaans attack has beenhampered this preseason by injuriesto a pair of veteran seniors: ScottOBrien, who suffered a sprained

ankle during then basketball season,and Henry Eschricht, who is outwith a wrist injury. The Rams hopeto have both of them back as soonas possible.

Matt Blasko, a lefty, has lookedstrong this year and Whitten calledthe junior a tremendous asset.

Junior Peter Kraus is a varsity vet-eran and New Canaan will also getcontributions from seniors Tim Foxand David Crandall, junior MichaelBossidy, another lefty, and sopho-more Puck Richardson.

One big factor for the Rams couldbe their toughness, as the roster fea-tures numerous football players.

For the last several years, wehavent really had a lot of footballguys on this team and now weve got

them, Whitten said. I applaud LouMarinelli on his football program.Its one of the best athletic programsin the state and Im fortunate to coacha sport where a lot of those kids aregoing to play. Weve promoted themulti-sport athlete and those footballand hockey guys are tough. They puttheir nose into traffic and you cantell when theyre playing if theyrea football guy or a hockey guy rightoff the bat.

New Canaan will again play atough out-of-conference schedule,beginning with the season openerat Somers, N.Y., on Saturday. TheRams will also play at Summitt andLawrenceville, N.J., at Rye, N.Y.,and at Cheshire, while hosting JohnJay on Saturday, April 23.

The Rams will get a first look atthe FCIAC with a title game rematchagainst conference championGreenwich at 7 p.m., Tuesday, April12, at Dunning Field. New Canaanalso has home games against St.Joseph on Thursday, April 21, Wiltonon Tuesday, May 3, and Darien onSaturday, May 7.

Boys Lacrosse

Rams at a glance

Head Coach Alex Whitten (4th year)

2010 Record: 17-5; FCIAC runner-up; Class M semifinalists

Captains: Joe Costigan, Jimmy Joe Granito and Willie GouldOthers to watch: Thomas Carey, Scott OBrien, Henry Eschricht,

John Brainard, Kevin McDonough, Eric Persky, Bobby Distler,

Matt Blasko, Peter Kraus, Duke Repko and Michael Root

The Big Games

April 9 at Somers, N.Y.; April 12 vs. Greenwich at Dunning Field-Darien is the bigger rival, but Greenwich left the Rams with abad taste after beating favored New Canaan in the FCIAC final.This early meeting between the two teams will give the Rams achance for revenge under the lights at Dunning Field.; April 21 vs.St. Joseph at Dunning Field.; April 23 vs. John Jay, N.Y., at DunningField; April 30 at Lawrenceville, N.J.; May 3 vs. Wilton at DunningField; May 5 vs. Darien at Dunning Field.

Joe Costigan (5) gets room to runduring the Rams FCIAC semifi-nal win over St. Joseph last season.Costigan returns as a senior tri-captain alongside Willie Gould andJimmy Joe Granito.


Laxmen turn page, look to contend again

New Canaan senior tri-captain Willie Gould (37) defends during a playoff game with Wilton last spring. Gouldand the Rams open the 2011 season with a game at Somers, N.Y., on Saturday. (Dave Stewart/File Photo)


8/8


By Dave Stewart

Sports Editor

Eight games into the girls lacrosseschedule last year, the New Canaan

Rams were muddling along with a5-2 record and were trailing FCIACcontender Greenwich 5-3 late in the then firsthalf of a showdownunder the lights atDunning Field.

Then, somethingclicked.

The Rams suddenlyhad everything going in the rightdirection. They were winning draws,collecting ground balls and rackingup goals seemingly at will. Thirteenunanswered goals later, New Canaanhad a 16-5 victory.

In that second half, I dont thinkthey even saw the ball, head coachKristin Wood said. We scoredaround 10 unanswered goals. Thatjust gave the girls more confidenceand we were 10 games in at thatpoint, so everybody had some expe-rience. It was a big game for us.

Propelled by that win, the Ramswon 17 of their final 18 games andeventually captured their first Statechampionship when they again beatGreenwich, 10-9, in the Div. 1 finalat Bunnell High School.

The news gets better for the New

Canaan: With eight key playersreturning, including much of theoffensive attack, the Rams are againon course to be one of the top con-tenders for FCIAC and State cham-pionship.

All of which suits Wood just fine.Its exciting and the fact that

theyre now a year olderis going to make a bigdifference, Wood, whois entering her fifth yearat the helm, said. Ithink theyre going tofill the graduates shoesquite well.

The losses of last years captainsKacey Pippitt, Anjalie Christie andErin Fessler, along with several otherkey seniors, give the Rams some bigspots to fill, especially on the defen-sive end of the field.

New Canaan will be led by itsthree senior captains: Erin Markey,Liz DeTour and Lauren Freeland.

Freeland, a midfielder/defenderwho will play at UMass next year,has been working at getting the moreinexperienced defense in gear duringthe preseason.

Lauren Freeland has reallybrought our team along defensivelyat practice, Wood said. Leadership-wise, she does a really nice job ofleading by example and gatheringthe team when everybody doesntseem to be too focused. Before the

Sacred Heart scrimmage she realizedthat not everybody was fully thereand she brought everybody in andgave them a nice little chat. It wasnice to see because shes ready totake on that responsibility.

Markey and DeTour, on the otherhand, are key cogs in what should bean offensive machine.

Erin Markeys been on varsitysince her freshman year and shes ahuge part of our attack and Liz is alsoa big part of the offense, Wood said.Erin and Liz are a great combo andtheyre really stepping up as leadersin the offensive end.

To get a sense of how much poten-tial the New Canaan offense has,look no further than the end of lastseason, when the underclassmenbegan to shine.

In the State championship game,nine of the Rams 10 goals werescored by underclassmen, includinga hat trick from DeTour and a game-

best four goals from junior SarahMannelly.Mannelly earned an All-FCIAC

First Team nod last year and returnsas a huge weapon in the midfield.

Shes going to get more and moreconfidence as the year goes along,Wood said of the junior. By theend of last year, she was full steamahead. This year, shes a year moreconfident and she put in a lot oftime during the offseason. So I think

were going to see a huge improve-

ment from her both offensively anddefensively.

The offense will also feature soph-omores Olivia Hompe at midfieldand Bea Eppler on attack. Both girlsare varsity veterans who are comingoff a stellar season with the FCIACand State champion girls ice hockeyteam.

Theyre coming along, Woodsaid. Theyll definitely have abreakout year. I think last year theywere still learning how to play at thenext level, but now, I think theyllhave an even bigger impact.

Joining Freeland and Mannelly atmidfield will be senior Abby Lee,who will step into a s tarting role thisspring.

Shes been stepping up as a leadereven though shes not a captain,Wood said of Lee. Its huge to herhave her as another confident seniorout there.

The Rams received a boost atmidfield with the addition of seniorJana Persky, a two-sport captain whohelped lead the girls ice hockey teamthis season.

Persky has been recovering froman injury during the preseason, butWood said shes looking forward tohaving the senior on the field thisspring.

Shes a spectacular athlete and agreat leader, the coach said. Shesa perfect addition to our senior class.I think shell make just as much ofan impact as anyone else out there,

weve just got to get her healthyfirst.On defense, the Rams were nearly

wiped clean by graduation, as juniorsJulia Tuttle and Hannah Femia arethe only two returnees. Femia willmiss the first few weeks with aninjury, but Tuttle has taken over as aleader on the defense.

Julia Tuttle is a real mature and

a smart kid, Wood said. At the

Wilton playday we only had threepractices before that and we wereplaying some of the top teams in thecountry, so our underclassmen werea little overwhelmed. Julia did agood job of getting them going in theright direction.

Also in the defensive mix aresophomores Wheatley Raabe, whowill start, and Brianna McEwan.Adding depth are two more sopho-mores, Kelly Armstrong and AbigailSawabini.

In between the pipes at goalie,sophomore Elizabeth OSullivansteps into the starting role, replacingCharlotte Spitzfaden. OSullivan islooking like the real deal thus far.

Ive never met a kid whos moreconfident in what she does and itsa good confidence Its not likeshes arrogant, Wood said. Shespracticed a lot and really put a lot oftime and effort into it and it shows inpractice. Shes really done a fabulousjob so far.

The Rams have plenty of tal-ent coming off the bench as well,with sophomore Madzie Carrolland juniors Devon Calhoun andAnnie Horstmeyer at midfield, andjuniors Caroline Lizzio and KristineRyan and sophomore Lily Citrin onattack.

New Canaan will have an earlytest when they face rival Darien atDunning Field next Wednesday, April13. The Rams also have Yorktown,Newtown, Loomis Chaffee, Fox Lane

and Glastonbury, the team they beatin the State semifinals last spring,on a very difficult out-of-conferenceschedule.

I think were going to start offstrong but our goal is to play consis-tently and thats one of the things welacked for a little while last season,Wood said. But it should definitelybe another exciting season.

Rams at a glance

Head Coach Kristin Wood (5th year)

2010 Record: 19-3; FCIAC runner-up; State Div. I Champions

Captains: Lauren Freeland, Liz DeTour and Erin Markey

Others to watch: Sarah Mannelly, Olivia Hompe, Bea Eppler,

Abby Lee, Julia Tuttle, Hannah Femia and Elizabeth OSullivan

The Big Games

April 13 vs. Darien at Dunning Field - New Canaan lost its early-season meeting with the Darien Blue Wave last spring and neversaw their rivals again. Darien will be looking to regain the FCIACand State titles it won two years ago, while the Rams will look tokeep the wave from the winners circle again ; April 16 at Yorktown,N.Y.; April 21 at Glastonbury; May 3 at Greenwich; May 7 at FoxLane, N.Y.; May 13 vs. Wilton at Dunning Field.

Champion Rams reload for title defense

New Canaans Erin Markey(3) battles two Greenwichdefenders during the Rams10-9 win in last years State

D1 title game. Markey is asenior tri-captain this sea-son as the Rams get set foranother shot at FCIAC andState crowns.


Girls

Lacrosse

New Canaan junior Sarah Mannelly looks for room to manueverduring last years D1 final against Greenwich.Mannelly, an attacker, became a big source of points for the Rams during the second half of last season and willbe one of the biggest weapons this spring. (Dave Stewart/File Photo)

New Canaan High School Spring Sports Preview 2011

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