By Kim J. Harmon

The 2006 post-season got into full swing this week and while all the news wasn’t good for Newtown High School, it was terrific for the girls’ tennis and softball teams.

While the softball team pinned quarterfinal loss on the Lauralton Hall (the second straight year the Lady Nighthawks knocked the Crusaders out of the tournament), the girls’ tennis team captured its first-ever South-West Conference team championship with a thrilling, 4-3, win over Pomperaug on Tuesday.

All of that could certainly ease the anguish of seeing the girls’ track and field team finish fourth and the boys’ track team finish ninth at the SWC championships and seeing the baseball and boys’ lacrosse teams being eliminated from their SWC tournaments.

Read on –

GIRLS TENNIS

Newtown 5, Lauralton Hall 2

Newtown 4, Pomperaug 3

 

After sailing through the first 12 matches of the regular season (including one over Joel Barlow) and then losing rather definitively to Lauralton Hall, some may have questioned whether or not the Newtown High School girls’ tennis team really had the mettle to handle the tough competitions.

And the answer to that? You bet.

With Lauren Nemeth, Sarah Salbu and Ashley Gabor turning the tables on their opponents – avenging losses suffered seven days before – the Lady Nighthawks defeated Lauralton Hall in the South-West Conference semi-finals on Monday.

And a day later, the ‘Hawks slipped past Pomperaug to earn their first team championship.

But the win over Lauralton Hall was the impetus for it all.

A week before, Nemeth, Salbu and Gabor suffered straight-set losses to Kat Patrikios, Amanda Teplen and Morgan Dunne, respectively, but on Monday – on a blustery, cold afternoon at the Newtown High School courts – fortunes changed.

Gabor was the first off the court and set the stage for the dramatic reversal with a straight-set win over Dunne. And then – after the No. 2 doubles tandem of Katie Serock and Jenna Moser suffered its first loss of the season – Kristene Salbu was next off the court with a straight-set win over Megan O’Connor to put the ‘Hawks ahead, 2-1.

Then came the match at No. 2 singles.

A week before, Sarah Salbu was man-handled by Teplen and dropped a 6-1, 6-1 loss.

“(Last time) I let her momentum keep her going,” she said, “and I really had no chance. She hits really hard and I don’t normally hit someone like that well. (Today) I was a little tired, but after I kept her to 6-4 in the first set I got a little burst of energy. The adrenaline was going.”

Salbu stood her ground and re-established her steady serve-and-volley game to slowly, inexorably put Teplen away.

“I will try and put something away if I can,” she said, “but I try not to make any silly mistakes. This was a key match; I knew second doubles had lost and I knew I really had to step it up.”

Her win put the ‘Hawks one win away from a trip to the championship match and the odds seemed to be in their favor with No. 1 singles and No. 1 and No. 3 doubles teams still on the court. That last win, though, was a little bit elusive as all three matches went to a third set.

But Nemeth settled it.

Seven days before she lost to Patrikios in a straight set tiebeak and on Monday she dropped the first set, 6-2, but worked her way back to a dramatic 7-6 (7-4) tiebreak win in the second set. That seemed to take the wind out of Patrikios’ sails as Nemeth rolled to a decisive 6-3 win, clinching the Nighthawks trip to the championship match against Pomperaug.

Jill Tanner and Emily Fields finished things off by notching a win at No. 1 doubles.

On Tuesday, the ‘Hawks had a chance to re-hash the season-ending win they earned over Pomperaug less than a week before and things remained pretty much the same on four courts (a straight set loss for Nemeth and wins for Kristene Salbu and the doubles tandems of Fields/Tanner and Serock/Moser).

For Salbu, it was her 17th win of an undefeated season but while she swept Emily Broderick last week 6-4, 6-3 this time the match went to a third set.

“I wanted to put it away so bad,” said Salbu, who saw her opportunity for a straight-set win go by the boards with a 6-3 loss in the second set. “The SWC thing kind of put some pressure on me and I was nervous, but I had to calm down and play my game.”

And then she calmly topped Broderick, 6-4, in the third set to put Newtown ahead, 3-0, in the match.

But Gabor was topped by Julianne Rowland at No. 4 doubles in a grueling three-set match and Nemeth was stopped by Kaitlynn Cates in straight sets to put Newtown’s championship hopes in some peril. It came down to the matches at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles, but before it could be left to the younger players the veteran tandem of Tanner and Fields settled the matter with a 6-1, 6-4 straight set win over Liz Dunbar and Paige Moore.

The ‘Hawks improved to 16-1 heading into the SWC individual tournament and the upcoming CIAC Class L state tournaments.

 

Newtown 5, Lauralton Hall 2

SINGLES: Lauren Nemeth (N) def Kat Patrikios 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3; Sarah Salbu (N) def Amanda Teplen 4-6, 6-4, 6-4; Kristene Salbu (N) def Megan O’Connor 6-3, 6-4; Ashley Gabor (N) def Morgan Dunne 6-4, 6-2. DOUBLES: Jill Tanner/Emily Fields (N) def Tess Hanley/Maggie Steiner 6-7, 6-3, 6-2; Katie O’Connell/Katherine Peck (LH) def Katie Serock/Jenna Moser 6-3, 6-3; Katerina Craft/Katherine O’Hara (LH) def Nikia McFadden/Lauren DeFelice 3-6, 6-1, 7-5.

 

Newtown 4, Pomperaug 3

SINGLES: Kaitlynn Cates (P) def. Lauren Nemeth 6-2, 6-2; Sarah Salbu (N) def. Caitlyn Walker 6-4, 4-6, 6-3; Kristene Salbu (N) def. Emily Broderick 6-3, 3-6, 6-4; Julianne Rowland (P) def. Ashley Gabor 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4. DOUBLES: Jill Tanner/Emily Fields (N) def. Liz Dunbar/Paige Moore 6-1, 6-4; Katie Serock/Jenna Moser (N) def. Kris Huber/Nicole Salerno 6-1, 7-5; Katelyn Cusano/Jessica Rutledge (P) def. Nikia McFadden/Lauren DeFelice 6-1, 6-4.

 

SOFTBALL

Newtown 4, Lauralton Hall 1

 

In the space of just 24 hours, the Newtown High School softball team had to square off against perennial South-West Conference power Lauralton Hall … and came out of the home-and-home series with two wildly different outcomes.

How do a 19-4 loss one day and a 4-1 win the next day sound?

Now, despite the shifting nuances of tournament seeding, the first game was the regular season finale and meant little, presenting head coach Bob Guerrera the opportunity to give his bench players – his seniors – a chance to play. But a day later, with a lot more at stake in the SWC quarterfinals, the Lady Nighthawks stood tall and for the second season in a row pinned a dramatic tournament loss on the Crusaders.

Freshman Jenna Legros – who was superb in a 14-inning thriller against Brookfield just three days before – toed the rubber against Lauralton Hall and was superb again, firing a two-hitter while walking one and striking out seven.

The ‘Hawks scored twice in the top of the second as Ashley Ferris led off the frame with a single, moved to second on a passed ball, and then to third on a single by Sam Ciaccia before scoring on a passed ball.

Ciaccia would later steal home to put the locals on top, 2-0.

In the top of the fifth, Melissa Fracker reached on a one-out error by the left fielder and would score on a two-out single by Kelly Tenney. And in the top of the sixth, Fracker would again reach on an error and then score on a double by freshman Nora Lynn Shimko.

The ‘Hawks managed just four hits in the game, but made them count. The Crusaders scored their lone run in the bottom of the sixth.

The win sent the locals into the SWC semi-finals against Brookfield on Wednesday (after press time), which topped Newtown, 3-1, in a 14-inning battle last Saturday.

Newtown 4, Lauralton Hall 1

BATTERIES: Lauralton Hall – Blozzon and Pennick; Newtown – Jenna Legros and Ashley Ferris. WP: Legros (5-8). LP: Blozzon. SO: Blozzon 7, Legros 7. BB: Blozzon 4, Legros. 2B: Nora Lynn Shimko (N). RBI: Newtown – Shimko, Kelly Tenney.

GIRLS TRACK

SWCs – 4th

 

A record-setting performance in the 4x100 relay and a pair of wins by senior Alex Konneker weren’t enough to give the Newtown High School girls’ track and field team its third consecutive South-West Conference championship.

After titles in 2004 and 2005, the Lady Nighthawks fell to fourth this week behind Weston, Masuk and Pomperaug.

“I went in figuring Weston could win it even though our last week was a fluke thing,” said head coach Doug Russell, whose team – missing a fair portion of its front-line athletes – was beaten rather handily by Weston during the regular season. “I think where we really got hurt was in the 4x800 when Darcy (Fiscella) had to pull up.”

Fiscella pulled a groin muscle around the last turn on the first leg of the relay and managed to limp across the finish line while dropped behind several other runners. In a true show of grit and heart, sophomore Jacqui Kirol, freshman Emily Weber and senior Remy Ball (2:30 in the final leg) picked up their teammate and managed a 10:23.88 fourth-place finish.

Considering the ‘Hawks finished fewer than five points out of second place, a more typical performance could have put the locals behind Weston instead of Masuk.

Meanwhile, the 4x100 relay of Ciara Simek, Julie Landin, Kristi Nowak and Konneker stormed to a first-place finish in a record 51.25, about four-tenths of a second ahead of Weston. Konneker then took the 100 dash in 12.79 and the 200 dash in 26.50 – both times edging out Sara Cram of Joel Barlow – and finished second in the 400 meters behind Ali Atkinson of Weston and earned herself the Most Outstanding Athlete award.

Senior Sadie Ball ran a spectacular 5:23.50 in the 1,600 meters, but she was almost two seconds behind Stephanie Paradis of Weston.

“Not having javelin, shot put or hurdlers hurt us,” said coach Russell, “but, overall, it was a good day. It would have been nice to win it again, but it was okay.”

BOYS LACROSSE

New Milford 9, Newtown 7

 

Hanging tight as long as it could, the Newtown High School boys’ lacrosse team finally lost it grip on the 2006 season.

Less than a week after qualifying for the South-West Conference tournament (in its new, one-division format) with a 7-4 win over Notre Dame, the Nighthawks re-hashed things with New Milford and saw their season come to an end with a 9-5 loss.

Back on May 4, the ‘Hawks played the Green Wave tough before finally succumbing, 10-8, and Tuesday was more of the same as the Wave – boasting a 15-2 mark – clung to a one-goal lead heading into the final period.

But the locals ran out of steam, scoring just once in the last 12 minutes while New Milford tallied four times to grab the win.

Devon Dobson and Drew Haig had three-goal efforts for the Wave while Will Mahony notched a pair of goals for the ‘Hawks. Brendan Martin, Zach D’Agostino and Travis Speer also scored while Zach Varga and Grant Speer registered assists. Goalie Drew Harmata made 11 saves in the loss, which dropped the locals to 6-10 overall.

New Milford 9, Newtown 5

GOALS: New Milford – Devon Dobson 3, Drew Haig 3, Doug Kuring 2, Ryan Duggan; Newtown – Will Mahony 2, Zach D’Agostino, Brendan Martin, Travis Speer. ASSISTS: New Milford – Dobson, Duggan; Newtown - Zach Varga, Grant Speer. SAVES: New Milford – Chris Leier 13; Newtown – Drew Harmata 11.

 

BASEBALL

Stratford 7, Newtown 1

 

Back on Friday, May 5, the future looked so, so bright for the Newtown High School baseball team.

But then things got all cloudy and gloomy.

With a 10-1 win over New Milford on May 5, the Nighthawks – who opened the 2006 season with eight consecutive wins, including a 3-2 thriller over Pomperaug at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, New York – were sitting at 11-2 and beginning to really set their sights on a South-West Conference championship.

Then came the almost inevitable slump … a slump the locals simply could not shake.

A 5-4 non-conference loss to Wilton on May 6 started the ‘Hawks off on a five-game losing streak that did not end until the locals topped Brookfield (13-0) and Joel Barlow (4-3) in a season-ending doubleheader last Saturday (see related story).

The sweep did little to reverse the fortunes of the ‘Hawks, who dropped a 7-1 decision to Stratford Tuesday afternoon at Penders Field in the quarterfinals of the SWC tournament. The loss dropped the locals to 13-8 overall.

Now all they can do is await the CIAC state tournament.

In the loss, Stratford scored three times in the bottom of the first and three times in the bottom of the second off Newtown ace Steve Marks, who dropped to 4-3 on the season. The ‘Hawks scratched out only five hits off Stratford pitcher Chris Carboni, with Joe DeVellis banging out three singles for Newtown.

BOYS TRACK

SWCs – 9th

It other years it would have been a harbinger of things to come, but this year it was a great moment in an otherwise disappointing day.

The Newtown High School boys’ track and field team took ninth at the South-West Conference track and field championships on Tuesday afternoon and largely because of the performance of the 4x800 relay team, which started off the meet with a convincing first-place finish.

Charlie Baldour, Eric MacKnight, Scott Nichols and Jake Sullivan – three of whom helped lead the cross country team to a State Open title in the fall – ran an 8:27.59 and bested Weston by nearly nine seconds.

Mike Mitchell had the Nighthawks’ next-best performance, a third-place finish in the high jump at 5-10.

Elsewhere, it was a bevy of sixth-place finishes – Baldour in the 1,600 meters (4:34.21); Ryan Morrissey in the 400 meters (53.84); Jeff Lipnick in the 300 hurdles (43.86); Scott Nichols in the 800 meters (2:05.34); Ben Snyder in the 200 dash (23.89); Eric MacKnight in the 3,200 meters (10:13.30); and Josh Tenenbaum in the discus (107-30).

Weston won the meet with 99 points with Pomperaug finishing second at 89 points.