Girls’ Basketball

The East Haven girls’ basketball team continued its strong play of late by winning both games on last week’s schedule. The Yellowjackets are now standing at 4-5 on the season after recording a victory versus Lyman Hall and an overtime win against Guilford.

East Haven started off the week by claiming a 56-35 win over Lyman Hall in a home game on March 2. The Easties got out to a 15-9 first-quarter lead before taking a 30-17 lead into halftime. After the break, the Yellowjackets outscored Lyman Hall 26-18 during the second half to earn their 56-35 victory.

Three days later, the Yellowjackets played a road game against Guilford and prevailed by the final score of 60-53 in overtime. The Yellowjackets found themselves down 17-13 after the first quarter and 26-21 at halftime. However, the Easties were able to outscore the Grizzlies 23-12 in the third quarter to take a 44-38 lead into the fourth. Guilford won the fourth 11-5 to send the game to overtime tied at 49. East Haven responded by outscoring the Grizzlies 11-4 in OT to take home a 60-53 win.

Seniors Taylor Salato and Erin Curran scored 14 points apiece for the Easties in the victory. Junior Kate Pycela hit four 3-pointers on her way to scoring 13 points. Sophomore Gabriella Gaetano scored 11 points, and freshman Julian Iovino added six points for the Yellowjackets.

Boys’ Ice Hockey

The East Haven co-op boys’ ice hockey team went into quarantine last week due to potential exposure to COVID-19. Consequently, all of the Yellowjackets’ remaining regular-season games have been canceled.

East Haven’s scheduled contests against New Milford, North Branford, Watertown-Pomperaug, Sheehan, and Hand—all of which were slated to take place between March 8 and 17—are now canceled as the team goes into quarantine. Head Coach Lou Pane’s squad could still potentially compete in the SCC Tournament after the regular season is finished. The Yellowjackets, who feature athletes from East Haven, Morgan, Old Saybrook, Valley Regional, East Hampton, and Old Lyme, have a record of 0-4 on the year.

Boys’ Swimming and Diving

The Greater New Haven (GNH) Warriors boys’ swimming and diving team competed in a pair of virtual meets last week. Bolstered by performances from three East Haven students, the Warriors moved to 6-1 on the season after defeating Hand and Fairfield Prep in last week’s contests.

GNH started off its week with a March 2 95-76 win against Hand. Three days later, the Warriors faced Fairfield Prep and prevailed 95-86.

GNH turned in several lifetime-best performances between its last two meets. One of those performances came from North Haven sophomore Christian Butler, who set a school record total for diving by posting a score of 264.22 points in the win against Fairfield Prep. North Haven seniors Joe O’Connor and Tanner Powell also set lifetime bests for the diving competition by scoring 233.62 and 127.12 points, respectively, as part of last week’s action.

North Haven senior Ray Lewis swam lifetime-best times in the 200 freestyle (2:36.95) and the 500 freestyle (7:53.21) last week. Victor Zito, a freshman at North Haven, recorded lifetime bests in the 200 freestyle (2:08.29) and the 100 butterfly (1:04.55). East Haven junior Pavlo Melnyk set a lifetime best in the 100 freestyle (1:00.23), while Guilford freshman Alex Hansen did a lifetime-best time in the 100 butterfly (1:01.76).

The Warriors also saw several swimmers record season-best times last week. The athletes who did so included Guilford senior Dan Kamen in the 100 freestyle (52.35) and 200 freestyle (1:56.79), Guilford junior Finn Henry in the 50 free (23.05), the 200 free (1:44.64), the 500 free (4:47.03), and the 100 butterfly (54.16); Guilford freshman Will Cong in the 200 individual medley (2:23.35); and Guilford freshman Carter Bryan in the 50 free (29.98), the 100 free (1:05.07), and the 100 breaststroke (1:22.29).

Also swimming season-best times were North Haven senior Cam Cargan in the 50 free (23.63) and the 100 free (52.36), North Branford senior Connor Coyne in the 100 free (55.78) and the 200 IM (2:08.74), East Haven junior Hethon Foster in the 100 free (49.98), the 500 free (5:06.74), and the 200 IM (2:08.63); and East Haven sophomore Brendan Conners in the 200 free (1:49.92) and the 100 breaststroke (1:04.19).

GNH also celebrated its eight seniors when the team hosted its Senior Night meet when facing Fairfield Prep on March 5. The Warriors’ seniors are Kamen, Powell, and Coyne, who are the captains; along with O’Connor, Lewis, Cargan, Alan Penna of Guilford, and David Zhang of Guilford.