Printer Friendly Version - Branford Boys’ Lacrosse, Tennis Qualify for States; Girls’ Lacrosse Goes to 13-1

Junior Rob Lionetti scored six goals when the Branford boys’ lacrosse team defeated Law 22-12 to qualify for the Class M State Tournament last week. The Hornets went on to defeat Lyman Hall and improve to 8-6 on the year. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Sound

The Branford boys’ lacrosse team won both of its games last week to improve its record to 8-6 on the season and secure a berth in the Class M State Tournament. The Hornets posted lopsided victories versus Law and Lyman Hall in last week’s action and have now won six of their last seven games.

Branford clinched its spot in states by recording a 22-12 home victory against Law on May 7. The Hornets held a 5-4 edge after the first quarter and then outscored Law 8-1 in the second quarter on their way to win. Junior Rob Lionetti had another big game for Branford by scoring six goals to go with two assists. Senior Matt Potter and junior Will Riggs both scored four goals, senior Mike White had two goals with two assists, Conor Francis scored two goals, and freshman Nick Chieffo had a goal with two assists. Also for Branford, senior Nick Esposito and sophomore Jack Manware each had a goal and an assist, sophomore Cam Mills scored a goal, and senior Marc Funaro and sophomore Aiden MacNeil both posted a goal with an assist. Junior Anders Brown and freshman Connor Erickson both saw time in net for the Hornets, making 11 and four saves, respectively.

Two days later, the Hornets netted a 15-6 victory at Lyman Hall. Lionetti had eight goals and an assist, Riggs had two goals with an assist, Potter and White also scored two goals, Manware had a goal with three assists, and Francis added a goal. Brown made seven saves in net to get the win.

The Hornets picked up a couple of non-conference victories last week to run their record to an impressive 13-1 on the season. Branford posted a home win over Staples and then notched a victory at Old Saybrook later in the week.

Branford hosted Staples on May 8 and claimed a 15-11 win against the Wreckers. The game was tied 7-7 at halftime and then the Hornets outscored Staples 8-4 in the second half to come away with the victory. Senior Sophie Spencer turned in a huge performance for Branford by netting seven goals to go with an assist. LanLe Crotty had three goals and an assist, fellow senior Sabrina Torcellini found the back of the net three times, and senior Autumn McHenry had a goal and two assists. Seniors Erin O’Brien and Haley Maercklein both added a goal for the Hornets, who saw senior Daly Hynes pick up the win in net.

Then on May 10, the Hornets hit the road to face Old Saybrook and came home with a 7-2 win versus the Rams.

The Hornets hosted their first meet in two years when Career, Cross, and Law came to Branford High School for a quad-meet on May 9. Branford defeated Career 140-10, took an 81-69 loss to fellow Oronoque Division opponent Cross, and lost an 87-63 contest against Law at the meet. Head Coach Rich Biondi’s squad finished the regular season with an overall record of 6-6 to go with a mark of 2-2 in the Oronoque Division.

Junior Marzio Mastroianni won the 800-meter run in a time of 2:08 and also took first place in the 1,600 with a 4:43 for the Hornets. Brandon Perez won the high jump by clearing 5 feet-8 inches. Fellow junior Aidan Kropiwnicki finished first in the javelin by launching a toss of 147-5 and also claimed second in the pole vault by clearing 10-2, qualifying for the Class MM State Championship in both events.

Also for Branford, junior Matt Alexander took second in the long jump (21-2.5), and freshman Mekhi Barnette finished third in the high jump (5-6).

The Hornets concluded their regular season by hosting a quad-match against SCC Oronoque Division opponents Career and Cross, as well as Law, on May 9. Branford earned a 98.5-24.5 victory versus Career, took a 107.5-35.5 loss to Cross, and lost to Law by the score of 88-37. The Hornets finished the regular season with record of 2-8 and went 2-2 in the Oronoque Division.

Senior Bridget Wirtz cleared a height of 9 feet-6 inches to win the pole vault for Branford in its regular-season finale. Junior Liante Claude took first place in the 400-meter dash by running a time of 61.1 seconds. Senior Leah Pendl-Robinson took second in both the pole vault (8-6) and the 100 hurdles (18.0) for the Hornets. Branford’s 4x100 relay of junior Lily Milici, sophomore Kayla Pollard, junior MaryBeth Nwagboli, and Claude took second place (51.6), while the 4x400 relay of Pollard, Nwagboli, sophomore Molly Zaffino, and Claude also finished in second (4:27.3). Pollard threw a personal-best distance of 76-8 in the discus, and Nwagboli finished with a time of 13.2 seconds for the 100.

The Hornets won all three of their road matches last week to improve to 11-5 and qualify for the Class M State Championship. Branford started the week by defeating Lyman Hall, followed by victories versus Foran and East Haven.

On May 7, Branford prevailed at Lyman Hall by a 5-2 final to qualify for states.

Two days later, the Hornets claimed a 5-2 victory at Foran. Senior Brad Stutzman won a 6-3, 6-2 decision in the No. 1 singles match, while junior Praneeth Ganedi prevailed 6-2, 6-1 at No. 2 singles for the Hornets. The No. 1 doubles team of senior Charles Hall and sophomore Eli Hanlon earned a 7-5, 6-4 victory; the No. 2 duo of seniors Will Benni and Shane Dostie won 6-4, 6-1; and the No. 3 tandem of juniors Kurt Schalper and Dan McGuire won by the final of 6-0, 6-1.

Branford closed out the week by posting a 7-0 road shutout against rival East Haven on May 10.

The Hornets lost three of their four matches last week, but with a record of 6-8, they can still make the Class M State Tournament by winning three of their final four regular-season contests. Last week, Branford defeated West Haven to go with losses against Foran, Lyman Hall, and Sacred Heart Academy. The team’s last four regular-season matches are against Sacred Heart Academy, Platt Tech, East Haven, and Shelton.

Branford took a 5-2 home loss to Lyman Hall on May 7 and then defeated West Haven 6-1 at home the following day.

The Hornets then dropped a 5-2 home decision against Lyman Hall on May 9. Senior Lauren Elmasry earned a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 1 singles, and freshman Alayna Boileau recorded a 6-2, 6-2 victory in the No. 3 singles match.

Then on May 10, Branford took a 4-3 road loss to Sacred Heart Academy at Hamden Middle School. Elmasry won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1 singles, while Boileau claimed a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 4 singles. The Hornets’ No. 3 doubles team of sophomores Ellie Bartlett and Sarah Berdon won by the score of 6-4, 6-1.

Branford had a busy week by playing four matches in as many days last week. The Hornets swept a tri-match at home, then lost to Hand on back-to-back days, followed by a home victory versus Hillhouse. Branford now has a record of 6-6 on the season.

Branford started off the week by scoring a 175 to defeat both Morgan (191) and Sheehan (199) in a tri-match at Pine Orchard Country Club on May 7. Spencer Engstrom posted a score of 42 to lead the Hornets, and fellow sophomore Minsok Lee was next in line with a total of 43. Junior Max Bunton shot a 44, while senior Liam Deane finished with a round of 46.

The following afternoon, the Hornets dropped a 161-176 home decision versus Hand at Pine Orchard. Deane finished the day with a score of 39 for the Hornets, who also saw Lee (45), Bunton (46), and Engstrom (46) compete at the meet.

The day after that, Branford faced Hand at Madison Country Club and took a 158-202 defeat. Minsok Lee (45), Bunton (48), senior EJ Lee (54), and freshman Jared Yakimoff (55) were the golfers who totaled the Hornets’ score in this match.

The Hornets closed out their week by notching a 179-207 home victory against Hillhouse on May 10. Minsok Lee and Bunton both scored a 42 to earn medalist honors as the low scorers of the contest for Branford. Engstrom shot a 43, and EJ Lee totaled a score of 52 in the victory.

Branford saw its nine-game win streak get snapped by Xavier last week, after which the Hornets lost to North Haven in another SCC Quinnipiac Division matchup. Branford is now 11-6 overall and 3-2 in the division.

Two days later, Branford hosted North Haven and dropped a 3-1 decision. North Haven scored three runs in the top of the first inning on its way to the win. Branford plated a run in the bottom of the sixth, but was unable to get any more runs on the board.

The Hornets faced three Quinnipiac Division opponents last week and posted a win over Hillhouse to go with defeats versus Hand and East Haven. Branford is now 5-12 on the year and needs to win its last three regular-season contests to qualify for the Class L State Tournament. The Hornets will face West Haven, Lyman Hall, and Cross in their last three games.

Two days later, the Hornets hosted Hand and dropped a 7-6 decision. Branford trailed 7-2 entering the bottom of the seventh inning and then rallied for four runs to make it a one-run game, although the Hornets were unable to get the tying run home.

Branford finished off the week by posting a 21-7 blowout at Hillhouse on May 10.

Senior Sophie Spencer and the Hornets’ girls’ lacrosse squad improved to 13-1 on the year after recording wins against non-conference opponents Staples and Old Saybrook last week. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Sound

Praneeth Ganedi and the Branford boys’ tennis team are on their way to the Class M State Championship following a solid week that saw the Hornets win all three of their matches. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Sound