By Kim J. Harmon
By Kim J. Harmon
I
f a team is going to have to rebuild, then this is the year to do it.
Coach Jim Casagrande could be singing the blues in 2000, since the Nighthawks enter the season with an almost totally revamped roster â gone are Mike Marusa, Russell Walker, and Tara Fiscella, three of the top players from 1999 â but he does gain a little comfort in knowing that most of the teams in the South-West Conference are in the same predicament.
Not Pomperaug, though.
And certainly not Weston.
But the majority of the teams have entered that nebulous rebuilding stage, which will give the new Nighthawks a chance to acclimate themselves to the program. Of course, with Marusa, Walker, Fiscella, Nick Deluca and Brian Giesen having all graduated and Kevin Carolan having left the fairways for the baseball diamond, the new players will have to acclimate quickly.
The No. 1 position has fallen to senior captain Mike Rostafin, a solid performer who was All-SWC as a junior. Coach Casagrande said, âMike can shoot anywhere from the low 30s to the high 30s. He can hit the ball really well if he stays within himself.â
Behind Rostafin, however, the other positions are still a bit jumbled but the work should fall to players like Rich Mackay, Taylor Gunn, Joe Ziemann, Adam Bagger, and Pat Curran. Mark Werbeck, Nathan Gaines and Jared Nathanson may also see some time.
âI donât have any idea (how the season can go) at this point,â said coach Casagrande. âWeston is loaded, Foran is decent, and Pomperaug is pretty good â but outside of that, I just donât know. We hope to play to a .500 record, get to the SWCs, and go from there.â
Coach Casagrande still has some time to flesh out his team. The season doesnât start until Tuesday, April 18, with a trip down to Candlewood Valley to take on New Milford. The following day, the âHawks will be home (at Heritage Village in Southbury) to host Notre Dame.
DATEÂ Â Â Â Â OPPONENTÂ Â Â Â Â H/A
April 18      New Milford               A
April 19      Notre Dame               H
April 24      Jonathan Law             H
April 25      Foran                         A
April 27      Bethel                      H*
May 1         Watertown                 A
May 2         Weston                    H*
May 4         Joel Barlow              H*
May 8         Kolbe                         A
May 9         Brookfield                  A
May 10       Stigberg                     A
May 11       Pomperaug                 A
May 15       Stratford                    A
May 17       Immaculate                 A
May 18       Masuk                        A
May 23       Bunnell                    H*
May 24       Staples                       A
May 25       Chappa                      A
May 30       SWCs                        A
* - match at Newtown Country Club