Monday, April 1, marks the start of the spring sports season in WW-P, and rivalry games dominate opening week for North and South.
The baseball teams will see action on the April 1 at North. The Knights finished 2012 at 7-13, while the Pirates were 13-13.
North head coach Michael Santoro said there will be a little bit more chatter in the dugout when his squad faces off against South.
“Those are the kids that they have grown up with, went to elementary school with, and played on rec teams with,” he said. “There are some bragging rights that go along with winning our games against South.”
After graduating seven seniors at the end of last season, Santoro said, the Knights have their work cut out for them.
Junior Christian Waters is the key to the pitching staff. After sustaining an injury that knocked him out for part of last season, Waters is now the team’s ace, Santoro said. Juniors Nick Meduski and Matt McSpirit and freshmen Steve Schilder, Mike Radey, and Josh Miller round out North’s pitching staff.
Senior Scott Feryus will start at catcher. Santoro said Feryus has an exceptional baseball IQ and “is as solid as you get behind the plate.” Third baseman Kyle LaForge is another senior who Santoro expects to contribute. Junior Matt Duplack will serve as his backup.
Junior Mike Mazzeo will start at shortstop, having moved from the outfield last season. After some initial discomfort, Santoro said, Mazzeo “looks like he’s been playing there for years.”
For South, seniors Matt McCann and Paul Balestrieri hope to lead the team above the .500 mark. If Balestrieri is at his best on the mound, that might not be so difficult.
The Pirates lost a sizeable, talented senior class, including Chris Skolka, Chris Campbell, Ryan Dontas, Ben Ruta, and Kyle Inverso. In addition to McCann and Balestrieri, though, veterans Pete Altamore, Mark Sitek, Pete Carman, and Jeff Paskewitz could do more than enough to fill that void.
The softball teams will face off April 1 at North as well. North is coming off a 13-11 season, while South went 16-7.
North graduated four seniors — Kaitlin Perrine, Emily Weinberg, Brianna King, and Sarah Bush — who all went on to play college softball. Head coach Jason Petrone said he expects sophomore Madison Bloom, juniors Anaahita Padmanabhan and Kerry Shanaberger, and senior Kristie O’Cone to help fill the void.
He said he has also seen good things from freshmen Easter Rucchi, Gillian Adair, and Carly Weinberg. Sophomores Molly Plotkin and Kristen Meale and junior Paige DalCourt are new to the team as well.
The Pirates lost two solid players and leaders in pitcher Liz Mendez and center fielder Tiffany Gagliardo, but the young team of 2012 returns many starters in 2013.
Head coach Nicole Arias said seniors Hye-Jin Kim and Anjelica Sitek are among her top performers. Sitek, who is currently injured, is banking on an early return. Juniors Caroline Brooks, Lindsay Philbin, and Rachel Gagliardo will contribute as well. Gagliardo is also injured, though Arias said she expects her to be back on the field in late April.
Arias said she and her staff added seven freshmen to this year’s roster, including Rachel Julius, who will be a starting pitcher. Sophia DiLeo, Lindsey Hinczynski, Emma Kothari, Amanda Rutter, Sam Schattin, and Kim Solomon are among the new additions.
The boys’ lacrosse teams will face off on Tuesday, April 2, at South. The Knights are following a 7-13 season, while the Pirates went 13-5. In their last game, in the first round of the Group III state tournament last year, South came out on top.
North head coach Kevin Main seeks added continuity in his second season at the helm now that he and his players have gotten to know each other. The Knights lost seven seniors last season, including three All-CVC selections. Despite the holes, Main said his team has meshed well so far, due mostly to a solid group of veteran starters.
“I like the chemistry and team play I am seeing,” he said. “I think Aristotle was right when he said ‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.’”
Main said North’s defense, made up of seniors Kyle Newman, Liam Corbett, and Ben Meshumar, will be a strong point this year despite the loss of Josh Bloom to injury. Returners Jay Biletta, Scott Mansfield, Sam Engel, Mike Bush, Dan Bellezza, Jarrett Luoma, and Gregg Olsson will also be impact players.
Seniors Mike Miller, Jeff Yung, Jose Salinas, Drew Weinberger, Harrison Kuzbyt, and Sandeep Molugu are not newcomers, but they will play bigger roles than they have in the past. Main said juniors Joe Bryde, Frank Tsaur, and Zach Meiner provide depth at midfield, while freshmen Kyle Siegler and Yanni Stasinos will contribute on offense.
After graduating several key players including Garrett Vena, Marty Flatley, Josh Shanker, Jeff Leyden, and Jon Plester, the key to this season for South could be last year’s youth. Niall Clancey and Jonathan Matthews had some playing time as freshmen but could see more action this season.
Juniors Jacob Arbeiter and Mike Domino will contribute. Veteran seniors Zack McCann, Chris Clancey, Alex Sandgren, and Thomas Efstathios will all continue to be impact players.
Boys’ tennis will face off on Wednesday, April 3, at North. Both squads finished strong last season, with North at 15-4 and South at 21-1.
After losing two key athletes in Kevin Shi and Vikram Kesavabholta after last season, the Knights are looking to their veterans.
After winning the second singles spot last season after a stint on the JV squad, senior Nihal Narsipur is expected to have a solid season. Juniors Dan Wang, Lev Gedrich, and Sanandh Ravu could lead North deep into tournament season.
The Pirates have a lot to live up to after 2012. The team took home the Group IV state championship and advanced all the way to the Tournament of Champions finals, where it eventually lost to Millburn.
South lost three starters in Peter Ku, Nikhil Gavai, and Mike Herelle, but the squad could make another run at the state title. Juniors Michael Song and John Hu and seniors Thomas Weng and Dan Vaysburd have the talent to lead the way.
