#b#County Results#/b#
The first two weeks in May were busy ones for WW-P sports, with the lacrosse, baseball, softball, and golf teams all competing in the Mercer County Tournament.
Golf. High Schools North and South excelled at the Mercer County golf championship. The North teams both finished second overall, while the South boys were fourth and South girls were third. The golfer who stole the show, however, was North freshman Jacquelyn Cai, who won the individual title with a score of 80, five strokes ahead of the second-place golfer. Not far behind was South’s Olivia Ling, who shot 90 to finish sixth, and North’s Kaley Bohling in ninth at 92.
Four WW-P boys were also in the top 10. North’s top finishers were eighth-place Ben Perrine, who shot 73, and ninth-place Kevin Murphy, who shot 74. Tommy Hussong led the Pirates with a seventh-place 73. Byron Chin was 10th with 74.
The golf teams also stood out at the state level. The boys’ golf teams’ competed May 11 at the Central Section Group 4 tournament, seeking qualifying spots for the state Tournament of Champions on Monday, May 18, at Hopewell Valley Country Club. South’s Byron Chin had the best day of anyone, taking first individually to qualify for the T of C. He will be joined by teammate Tommy Hussong, who finished fifth, and by North’s Ben Perrine, who finished in second, one stroke behind Chin.
On the girls’ side, North qualified as a team with a second-place finish. Two individuals from South — Jess Jeon and Olivia Ling — will join the Knights at the Tournament of Champions on Thursday, May 21, at Cherry Valley Country Club.
Lacrosse. On the lacrosse field, the 16th-seeded South girls won their opening game, 18-7, over No. 15 Hamilton West, with dominant performances by Amanda Easter, with nine goals, and Dana Salerno, with eight. But the Pirates could not match that offensive output in the second round, falling to second seed Hopewell Valley, 15-2.
The No. 6 North girls made it one step further with a first-round bye and a 12-7 win over Hun in the second round in which seven different players scored for the Knights. North was eliminated in the quarterfinals with a 10-9 loss to No. 3 Lawrenceville.
The North boys, a No. 7 seed, easily advanced to the quarterfinals with a 20-6 victory over Pennington. Mike Bush led the Knights with seven goals, followed closely by Dan Bellezza with six. It was a different story in the quarterfinals, where North fell to No. 2 Allentown, 10-6. Bellezza and Kyle Siegler were the top scorers in the loss with two goals each.
The South boys, ranked ninth, fell in the first round to Robbinsville, 9-5. Luke Merrill led the Pirates with two goals.
Both boys’ teams qualified for the state tournament. North earned a seven seed and will play against Kingsway at home in the first round. No. 12 South will play at No. 5 Hightstown.
Baseball. Neither school had much luck on the baseball diamond as both North and South fell in the opening round. North was hitless in a 11-0 loss to Hopewell. South, the defending Mercer County champions, led Hun 6-5 going into the final inning but could not hold on. Hun won on a walk-off single, 7-6.
Softball. The No. 6 North softball team entered the Mercer County tournament favored to defeat No. 11 Princeton, but the Tiger pitcher gave a complete game effort to upset the Knights, 8-3 in the opening round. The No. 9 South Pirates, meanwhile, scored an upset of their own with a come-from-behind 8-7 victory over Hopewell to advance to the quarterfinals. Trailing 6-5 in the final inning, South posted three runs and held off a Hopewell rally in the bottom of the inning.
The win set the Pirates up for a quarterfinal matchup against top-seeded Notre Dame, but the Pirates proved no match for the Irish, who won 11-1. South took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, but Notre Dame posted two runs in the bottom of the inning and built on its lead from there.
Both softball teams will play in the state tournament, which begins Saturday, May 16. In the Central Jersey Group 4 sectional No. 13 North will play at No. 4 Sayreville, and No. 10 South will play at No. 7 Marlboro.
#b#Sports Scores#/b#
Baseball
North (7-12). A 7-3 loss to Notre Dame on April 29. RBI: Ben Arias, 2; Andrew Schoenblum. Steve Schilder pitched four innings, allowing three runs on four hits.
A 7-6 loss to Lawrenceville on April 30.
An 18-5 loss to Ewing on May 2.
An 11-0 loss to Hopewell on May 4. Alex Mitchell pitched four innings.
A 5-3 loss to Nottingham on May 6. RBI: Sid Kumar; Schoenblum.
A 9-5 win against Lawrence on May 7. RBI: Danny Demouth; Adam Gostomski; Brandon Kocher; Matt Phelan, 2; Schoenblum, 2. Ben Goldstein pitched four innings and Jeremy Lockwood pitched three in the win.
A 4-1 win against Nottingham on May 11.
South (9-12). A 10-8 loss to Princeton on April 29. Patrick Tso pitched four innings and allowed five earned runs.
A 4-1 loss to Notre Dame on May 1. RBI: Audtin Lindner. Dan Klein pitched six innings, giving up four hits and three runs.
A 7-6 loss to Hun on May 4. RBI: Rob Armus; Klein; John Lappetito; Lindner, 2; Brian Tso. Sean O’Brien pitched the whole game for the Pirates.
A 4-3 win against Trenton on May 5. RBI: Lindner, 2; P. Tso. Cole Millinger pitched three scoreless innings for the win.
A 6-5 loss to Robbinsville on May 6 in the consolation round of the Mercer County tournament. RBI: Armus; Danny Borup; B. Tso. Dan Klein and Jake Nieschmidt combined to allow four earned runs on nine hits.
A 2-0 loss to Robbinsville on May 11. Patrick Tso pitched a complete game, allowing just two runs on seven hits.
Softball
North (11-8). An 8-2 loss to Notre Dame on April 28. RBI: Justine Dowling. Gillian Adair pitched the complete games, allowing eight hits and five earned runs.
A 14-3 loss to Notre Dame on April 29. RBI: Dowling, 2; Shannon Radey. Adair had three strikeouts in four innings.
A 10-6 loss to Hun on April 30. Adair allowed seven hits in three innings.
A 2-1 loss to Robbinsville on May 1. Adair allowed seven hits in six innings.
A 7-6 loss to Ewing on May 4. RBI: Dowling, 3; Molly Plotkin; Carly Weinberg. Adair struck out two in 6.1 innings.
A 3-2 win against Lawrence on May 6. RBI: Plotkin; Weinberg. McKenna Carpenter pitched the complete game, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out five.
A 4-3 win against Nottingham in extra innings on May 7. RBI: Madison Bloom; Vanessa Richardson; Weinberg. Adair pitched eight innings.
An 8-3 loss to Princeton on May 9.
South (11-8). A 10-9 win against Princeton on April 29. RBI: Gina DeMilt; Rachel Julius; Catie Raeter; Sam Schattin, 2; Courtney Skolka, 2. Julius struck out seven in six innings.
An 11-2 loss to Notre Dame on April 30. RBI: DeMilt; Emily Vena. Julius pitched five innings, allowing nine hits and eight earned runs while striking out three.
A 12-2 win against Trenton on May 4. RBI: DeMilt; Sandy Kaul, 2; Maddi Lee, 2; Raeter, 4; Amanda Rutter; Schattin, 2. Taylor Britt pitched three innings, allowing two hits and striking out six.
A 5-4 win against Princeton on May 5. RBI: DeMIlt, 2; Kaul; Skolka. Julius pitched the complete game, allowing four hits and striking out 11.
A 4-3 win against Hightstown on May 6. RBI: Kaul, 2; Vena. Julius struck out seven and allowed three earned runs on three hits in a complete game effort.
A 7-3 loss to Robbinsville in extra innings on May 8. RBI: Schattin. Julius pitched eight innings.
An 8-7 win against Hopewell on May 9. RBI: Julius; Lee; Raeter; Vena. Julius pitched four innings, and Courtney Kobus contributed two innings of work.
An 11-1 loss to Notre Dame on May 11.
Boys’ Lacrosse
For four quarters of play on May 5, the North and South lacrosse teams were practically mirror images. Tied at three after one quarter; tied at nine after three; and tied at 11 at the end of regulation. After two overtimes, North came out ahead, 12-11. Dan Bellezza was the Knights’ leading scorer with five goals. Jonathan Matthews and Luke Merrill led the Pirates with four goals each.
North (8-10). An 18-8 loss to Princeton on May 1. Goals: Dan Bellezza; Mike Bush; Kade Laforge, 4; Kyle Siegler; Ioannis Stasinos. Saves: Chris Kenkelen; Greg Olsson, 11.
A 20-6 win against Pennington on May 7. Goals: Bellezza, 6; Bush, 7; Laforge; Siegler, 2; Stasinos, 2; Stephen Wemple, 2. Saves: Kenkelen, 8.
A 10-6 loss to Allentown on May 9. Goals: Bellezza, 2; Bush; Laforge; Siegler, 2. Saves: Kenkelen, 17.
South (4-12). A 9-6 loss to Robbinsville on April 30. Goals: Robert Brown; Jonathan Matthews, 3; Sam Merkovitz; Andrew Schoepfer.
A 9-5 loss to Robbinsville on May 7. Goals: Brown; Matthews; Luke Merrill, 2; Nick Tello. Saves: Matthew Anglim, 17.
A 13-4 win against Pennington on May 9 in the consolation round of the Mercer County tournament. Goals: Michael Greenberger; Matthews, 6; David Mattia; Schoepfer, 2; Tello, 2.
Girls’ Lacrosse
North (4-10). A 17-1 loss to Moorestown on April 30. Goal: Carli Harpel. Saves: Rachel Loo, 11.
A 12-7 win against Hun on May 2. Goals: Georgia Castoro; Courtney Dignan; Haley Ghesani; Harpel; Victoria L’Insalata, 3; Catherine Mak, 3; Talise Redmond, 2. Saves: Loo, 5.
A 10-9 loss to Lawrenceville on May 5.
A 13-10 loss to Hillsborough on May 11. Goals: Ghesani, 2; Harpel, 3; Morgan Hendry; L’Insalata, 2; Mak, 2. Saves: Loo, 5.
South (4-14). An 18-7 win against Hamilton West on April 29. Goals: Clare Clancey; Amanda Easter, 9; Dana Salerno, 8. Saves: Lisa Maina, 14.
A 15-2 loss to Hopewell on May 2. Goals: Malikah Croom; Easter. Saves: Maina, 14.
A 19-7 win against Steinert on May 5. Goals: Clancey; Croom; Easter, 6; Maddie Maley, 2; Julia Ramirez; Salerno, 6; Allie Strouse, 2. Saves: Maina, 3.
A 15-7 win against Lawrence on May 6. Goals: Croom; Easter, 4; Maley, 3; Ramirez; Salerno, 5; Strouse. Saves: Maina, 14.
A 16-5 loss to Allentown on May 8. Goals: Clancey; Ramirez; Salerno; Strouse, 2. Saves: Maina, 9.
A 16-9 win against Hamilton West on May 11. Goals: Easter, 3; Maley, 6; Salerno, 7. Saves: Maina, 11.
Boys’ Golf
North (14-0). A 198-214 win against Notre Dame on April 29. Kevin Murphy, 37; Bennett Perrine, 37; Jeffrey Lee, 39; Harsh Sharma, 42; Patrick Zeoli, 43; Rohan Pakianathan, 47.
A 201-229 win against Allentown on May 6. Murphy, 36; Zeoli, 39; Perrine, 40; Lee, 40; Kelvin Chen, 46; Prasanth Yedlapalli, 48.
A 196-213 win against Ewing on May 7. Zeoli, 35; Murphy, 37; Lee, 40; Perrine, 41; Sharma, 43; Vishal Thadimari, 45.
A 220-274 win against Lawrence on May 12. Murphy, 41; Perrine, 43; Lee, 43; Zeoli, 43; Yedlapalli, 50.
South (10-3).
A 217-227 win against Princeton on April 29.
A 212-216 win against Notre Dame on April 30. Byron Chin, 39; Tommy Hussong, 43; Paul Lee; 43; Mrigank Saksena, 43; Austin Meo, 44.
A 215-238 win against Steinert on May 4. Hussong, 34; Meo, 44; Lee, 44; Ishaan Attri, 47; Saksena, 48; Max Rona, 53.
A 214-203 loss to Hopewell on May 6. Hussong, 38; Chin, 40; Lee, 41; Meo, 47; Saksena, 48; Attri, 50.
A 231-238 win against Hightstown on May 12. Lee, 38; Meo, 46; Rona, 48; Attri, 48; Saksena, 51.
Girls’ Golf
North’s top golfer, Jacquelyn Cai, out-dueled South’s top golfer, Olivia Ling, by one stroke to lead the Knights to a two-stroke victory over the Pirates on May 4. Cai, Kaley Bohling, Shreya Jahagirdar, and Saachi Bedi gave North a total of 170 strokes. Ling, Jessica Jeon, Sarah Chen, and Rhea Khera totaled 172 for South.
North (12-0). A 171-199 win against Robbinsville on April 29. Jacquelyn Cai, 38; Kaley Bohling, 39; Shreya Jahagirdar, 46; Aruja Patel, 48; Oishi Goswami, 54; Maansi Jayade, 55.
A 174-227 win against Hightstown on April 30. Saachi Bedi, 40; Ashley Desai, 43; Bohling, 44; Ritu Vyas, 47; Jayade, 49; Vatsala Jha, 60.
A 167-201 win against East Brunswick on May 5. Cai, 38; Bohling, 39; Bedi, 44; Desai, 46; Jahagirdar, 47; Vyas, 48.
A 174-184 win against Moorestown on May 6. Cai, 39; Bohling, 41; Bedi, 41; Vyas, 53; Jahagirdar, 53; Goswami, 60.
South (8-3). A 171-192 win against South Brunswick on April 29. Jessica Jeon, 40; Olivia Ling, 42; Rhea Khera, 44; Kara Benerofe, 45.
A 176-214 win against Robbinsville on April 30. Ling, 36; Jeon, 42; Benerofe, 49; Anne Farrell, 49; Khera, 50; Funing Zhang, 50.
A 181-184 win against Moorestown on May 5. Ling, 44; Khera, 45; Benerofe, 45; Jeon, 47; Sarah Chen, 54; Farrell, 61.
Boys’ Volleyball
North (5-14). A 2-1 loss to South Brunswick on May 5. Aces: Guillermo Fonseca, 2.
A 2-0 win against Cinnaminson on May 6. Aces: Navid Ali; Yumin Choi; Guillermo Fonseca; Eric Sang; Ethan Vaca; William Yin.
A 2-0 loss to J.P. Stevens on May 6. Aces: Fonseca; Rohin Kumar, 2.
A 2-1 loss to Collingswood on May 9. Aces: Kumar; Sang.
A 2-1 loss to Hopewell on May 11.
South (6-14). A 2-0 loss to Piscataway on Apri l30. Aces: Daniel Chen; Daniel Selyutin.
A 2-0 win against Moorestown on May 1.
A 2-0 win against J.P. Stevens on May 5. Aces: Salil Desai, 2; Malik Patel; Eric Wang, 3.
A 2-1 win against Cinnaminson on May 6. Aces: Chen; William Liu; Patel, 3; Wang.
A 2-0 loss to East Brunswick on May 7.
A 2-1 loss to Collingswood on May 9.
Boys’ Tennis
The Northern Knights knew what would come next if they won their first-round matchup in the Central Jersey Group 4 tournament: a berth in the quarterfinals, and a tough match against none other than High School South, which earned a first-round bye.
A 4-1 win over 10th-seeded Old Bridge on May 7 set up the rivalry match, which South — ranked ninth in the state — won, 4-1. North’s lone victory came at first doubles, where Vihan Desilva and Aditya Shastri came back to win after dropping the first set against Martin Malik and Rahul Ramanathan of South. South was scheduled to play a semifinal match against Hillsborough on May 14.
The North-South game was the second in as many weeks, with South also coming out ahead in the schools’ May 4 match, 3-2. While South won the three singles matches in straight sets, North swept the doubles matches, with Arjun Krishnan and Nidal Sidha winning at second doubles.
North (12-6). A 5-0 win against Steinert on April 29. Singles 1: Kristian Dudchak, 6-2, 6-0. Singles 2: Aditya Bemby, 6-0, 6-2. Singles 3: Nihal Sidha, 6-0, 6-0. Doubles 1: Arjun Krishnan & Louis Wang, 6-3, 6-3. Vihan Desilva & Aditya Shastri, 6-0, 6-0.
A 5-0 win against Robbinsville on April 30. Singles 1: Sriram Bapatla, 6-4, 7-6. Singles 2: Dudchak, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Singles 3: Bemby, 6-3, 6-3. Doubles 1: Krishnan & Wang, 6-4, 6-4. Doubles 2: Desilva & Shastri, 6-0, 6-1.
A 3-2 loss to Princeton on May 1. Doubles 1: Desilva & Shastri, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4. Doubles 2: 6-2, 6-3.
A 4-1 win against Hopewell on May 5. Singles 2: Dudchak, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1. Singles 3: Bemby, 6-3, 6-2. Doubles 1: Krishnan & N. Sidha, 6-1, 6-3. Doubles 2: Desilva & Wang, 6-4, 7-5.
A 5-0 win against Ewing on May 11. Singles 1: Bapatla, 4-6, 7-6, 10-4. Singles 2: Dudchak, 6-1, 6-2. Singles 3: Bemby, 6-0, 6-0. Doubles 1: Desilva & Shastri, 6-0, 6-3. Doubles 1: Desilva & Shastri, 6-0, 6-3. Doubles 2: Sidha & Wang, 6-0, 6-1.
South (19-3). A 5-0 win against Lawrence on April 29. Singles 1: Kabir Sarita, 6-0, 6-1. Singles 2: Matt Michibata, 6-1, 6-0. Singles 3: Visal Anandakumar, 6-3, 6-4. Doubles 1: T. Feng & J. Yuan, 6-1, 6-0. Doubles 2: S. Bhayan & S. Fazle.
A 4-1 win against Moorestown on April 30. Singles 1: Sarita, 6-1, 6-0. Singles 2: Robert Siniakowicz, 6-1, 6-1. Singles 3: Michibata, 6-1, 6-1. Doubles 1: Martin Malik & Rahul Ramanthan, 6-4, 6-3.
A 5-0 win against Trenton on May 1. Singles 1: Sarita, 6-0, 6-2. Singles 2: Paul Yin, 6-0, 6-0. Singles 3: Aditya Ravi, 6-0, 6-1. Doubles 1: Chiru Koiloth & Kai Zheng, 6-0, 6-0.
A 4-1 win against Princeton on May 6. Singles 1: Sarita, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. Singles 2: Siniakowicz, 6-0, 6-1. Singles 3: Michibata, 7-6, 6-2, 6-2. Doubles 2: Feng & Koiloth, 7-6, 6-4.
A 4-1 win against Notre Dame on May 8. Singles 1: Sarita, 6-1, 6-1. Singles 2: Siniakowicz, 6-0, 6-0. Singles 3: Michibata, 6-1, 6-0. Doubles 1: Malik & Ramanathan, 6-4, 7-5.
A 5-0 win against Trenton on May 12. Singles 1: Sarita, 6-0, 6-2. Singles 2: Yin, 6-0, 6-0. Singles 3: Jelan Samatar, 6-1, 6-0. Doubles 1: Anandakumar & Yuan, 6-0, 6-0. Doubles 2: A. Mohanty & S. Pant, 6-0, 6-0.
