Tennis: The annual autumn battle between High School North and High School South girls tennis teams has been heavily tilted toward the South. But this year’s showdown, played on October 27 after the original September 15 date was rained out, bucked that tradition. North went home with a convincing victory, 4-1. ##M:[more]##
For four years South featured as first singles one of the top players in the eastern United States, Victoria Vaynberg. But Vaynberg graduated last June and now plays at Syracuse University. This put the 2004 Pirates in a rebuilding mode with a number of young players in key positions, including sophomores Joelle Nitzberg and Nisha Javeri at first and second singles. Despite earning a respectable 13-6 record, this season South has left the door open for the Northern Knights.
Much of the power in coach Albert Paulsson’s North team, which has a 13-2-1 record, is due to the dominating performances of its singles stars. Junior Jackie Wong, who has played first singles since her freshman year, has compiled a 22-1 overall record this season. Second singles is senior Christine Su, who played first singles as a freshman before being dethroned by Wong. A dominating player in her own right, Su turned in a 15-2 record this season. Allison Simon, also a senior, is in the third singles slot. Simon has a 10-5 record.
Battling on their home courts, all three of the Knights’ singles players controlled their matches. Wong defeated Nitzberg, 6-1, 6-0, and Su beat South’s senior Michelle Oo, 6-0, 6-1. Simon defeated Javeri, 6-1, 6-4. North’s first doubles pairs, freshman Sinthu Ranjan and sophomore Jackie Tseng beat South’s seniors Abhilasha Singh and Angie Xiong, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) while the Pirates second doubles, junior Carrie Wills and sophomore Jenn Stanton, picked up a win against North’s sophomore Betsy Bourassa and freshman Alma Chang, 6-2, 5-7, 6-0.
North then lost to Princeton, 3-2, in a hard fought match on October 29. But with a number of prime players returning next year, the Knights expect to be a force. South also closed things out negatively, losing to Notre Dame, 3-2, on November 2. But with a number of young players in the mix, the Pirates will build on experience with a hope to return to their former dominating ways.
Football: After the dizzying success of a string of early season wins, the 2004 football seasons looked golden for both North and South. But for South, mid October brought it its second and third losses in a row. After being demolished by Notre Dame, 31-0, on October 16 (its homecoming game), the Pirates faced a hungry Steinert team on October 23. The Pirates floundered early in the game, falling behind, 14-0, at the end of the first half. But South fought back valiantly to tie things up, 14-14, with under five minutes to play in the fourth quarter. Senior Grant MacQueen broke past Steinert defenders for an eight-yard touchdown run into the corner of the end zone. Jon Lupo’s extra point tied the game. But cheers quickly turned into groans on the ensuing kickoff when Hightstown took the ball for a 93-yard touchdown return and South lost, 20-14.
South then got knocked around by Lawrence, 26-13. Lawrence is building into a powerhouse with a 5-1 record. Morris completed six of eight passes and Earl Burgess picked up 48 yards in rushing.
South plays Hightstown at home on Saturday, November 6, at 2 p.m. It then faces an as yet unscheduled NJSIAA opponent, before facing North in the annual showdown on Friday, November 19, at home at 7 p.m.
The Knights, facing a Hightstown team with a losing record on October 22, were heavily favored. But Hightstown played strong defensive football and handed North a 36-15 loss. Senior quarterback Jeff Torralba was Knights’ top offensive performer, passing for 82 yards on six completions and rushing for 97 yards on 17 carries.
North then faced an improved Princeton team with a 4-2 record on October 30 for its Homecoming game. Torralba and senior running back Joe Mastrangelo were the offensive stars in a 42-28 win. Torralba rushed for 153 yards on 16 carries — including a 69 yard touchdown run — while Mastrangelo rushed for 74 yards and caught a pass from Connor Hayes for another 34 yards.
The Knights play Steinert at home on Saturday, November 6, at 2 p.m. North then plays a state playoff game with an as yet unscheduled opponent. The season ending battle against High School South will be an away game on Friday, November 19, at 7 p.m.
Field Hockey: It’s been a season of potential for the High School South field hockey team. First year coach Amy Bruschi has seen sparks of strength — particularly in the defensive game — that suggests that the program is headed in the right direction. This is despite their 3-11-3 overall record in the CVC’s Colonial Division.
For the Pirates, scoring was difficult and the team has had to rely heavily on the defensive game. In the Mercer County Tournament, South battled Notre Dame to a 1-0 victory to advance to the second round. Goalie Ali Trevorrow stopped 18 shots for the shutout while sophomore Lauren Petro slapped in the Pirates’ lone goal.
On November 1, South faced a weak Nottingham squad and limited them to just three shots on goal. Petro scored a goal and junior Megan Holeman added two more for the 3-0 shutout win. Junior Mary Jackson had an assist.
North’s field hockey team continues battle and will play in the NJSIAA playoffs on Friday, November 5, at 1 p.m. at Notre Dame. With a 10-5-1 overall record, the Knights are third in their division.
Cross Country: The High School South girls cross country team had an undefeated regular season, going 12-0 and taking first place in the Colonial Division of the CVC. This is despite the loss of some of its top runners — seniors Lisa Miller, Michelle Barbarasch, and Christina Brocker — for most of the season.
But senior Allison Warner proved to be one of the best runners in the state. She turned in the CVC’s top times at Veterans Park (19:02) and Mercer County Park (18:50), and second best time at Washington Crossing (19:36). Freshman Kelsey O’Connor is proving that she is a runner for the future, running Veterans Park in 19:52 (the county’s eighth fastest time all season) and Washington Crossing in 20:36 (ninth fastest).
South girls will next compete on Friday, November 5, at 2 p.m. at Veterans Park in the Mercer County Tournament. Then South will compete in the NJSIAA Group Championships at Holmdel on Saturday, November 13, at 11:15 a.m.
South Boys have been nearly as dominating as the girls, finishing the regular season with a record of 11-1. It sole loss came against Hopewell Valley on October 22, by the slimmest of margins, 29-30.
As anticipated, the highlight of the year has been the return of junior runner Joe Ennis. Having taken his sophomore season off (though continuing to run winter and spring track), Ennis was the only runner to complete the course at Veterans Park in under 16 minutes (he did it in 15:56) and had the county’s best time at Washington Crossing (16:27). South captain Everett Schlawin (a senior) turned in impressive runs all season and completed the course at Holmdel in the Shore Coaches Meet last month in 17:31 (ninth best in the county).
South boys will next compete in the Mercer County Tournament on Friday, November 5, at 3 p.m. They will then compete in the NJSIAA Groups championship on Saturday, November 13, at a time yet to be announced.
North’s girls cross county squad built on last year’s success (when it went 8-3) to turn in a 9-3 regular season record. This is despite the slow start by senior Rebecca Pierson, who was hampered by asthma early in the season. A number of other Knights turned in fast runs, including seniors Caroline Kirkup, Katie Walsh, and Kylea Meredith as well as juniors Kaitlin McNulty, Jill Kalinowski, and sophomore Sweeki Shankar.
North girls will compete in the Mercer County Tournament on Friday, November 5, at Veterans Park at 2 p.m. They then will run in the NJSIAA Group championship on Saturday, November 13, at Holmdel at 11:15 a.m.
North boys cross country has challenged the dominance of South all season, but came up just short, 26-29, on September 21. Nonetheless the Knights finished the regular season with a record of 10-2, second in the division behind undefeated Hopewell Valley.
North has two of the central New Jersey’s best runners in seniors Mike Page and Roland Bisio. Page ran the county’s second best time at Holmdel in 17:02 (12 seconds faster than South’s Joe Ennis), as well as the seventh best time at Washington Crossing, in 16:54. Bisio has the county’s third fastest time at Mercer County Park (15:54) and fifth best time at Holmdel (17:14). Senior Bo Wang, along with junior Will Munoz, and sophomores Sean McNulty and Colin Chudzik have also turned in some impressive performances.
North boys will next compete in the Mercer County Tournament on Friday, November 5, at 3 p.m. at Veterans Park. Then they travel to Holmdel for the NJSIAA Group Championships on Saturday, November 13.
Girls Soccer:It’s been a great run for the High School North girls soccer team this season. With a 12-2-1 record, the Knights are making a splash in the CVC.
The Knights have had a season in which they didn’t dominate opponents so much as played solid offensive and defensive soccer. In a 6-0 win over Trenton on September 13, North only allowed five shots on goalie, Amy Hashem. Against arch-rival South on September 20, the Knights allowed just three shots. In a tight 2-1 win over Hamilton on October 18, North’s defense allowed just five shots.
Facing Princeton in the quarterfinal round of the Mercer County Tournament on October 25, the score was knotted at 1-1 after regulation. But it wasn’t until the second overtime period — with a shoot-out looming as a possibility if neither team scored — when senior forward Erika Mitos kicked in the winning goal. Junior Regina Potter had scored the Knights first goal early in the second half of regulation.
This buoyed North into the semifinals to face Pennington on October 27, but lost, 1-0. Hashem had 10 saves. The Knights turned things around on October 30, beating Hopewell, 2-1, in overtime when junior Jessica Carnevale and sophomore sensation Emily Grato scored goals to match Hashem’s seven saves.
Carnevale is one of the top scorers in the CVC with nine goals and three assists for 21 points. Lauren Lentine, a junior, has 17 points (seven goals and three assists) while Grato has 13 points (four goals, five assists).
North next plays in the NJSIAA playoffs on Monday, November 8. Opponent and time were unavailable as the News went to press.
South girls soccer has also set the CVC on its heels, with an 11-7-1 overall record and some of the most potent scorers in the conference. Junior forward Kristina Shemming is second in the conference in scoring with 34 points (12 goals and 10 assists) while junior Kelly McLaughlin is fourth, with 12 goals and four assists for 29 points.
After suffering a bitter 2-0 loss to Princeton that eliminated them from the Mercer County Tournament on October 23, the Pirates took out their collective frustrations on Ewing in the consolation game two days later, winning 6-0. Shemming and McLaughlin each had two goals while junior Jillian Scheer added two. Junior goalkeeper Lauren Fucetola faced only 4 shots to earn the shutout.
Boys Soccer:North boys soccer team has had a roller-coaster season, with a few more highs than lows. With an 8-6-2 record, the Knights have been led by the goal scoring prowess of senior Steve Tenenzapf, who has 10 goals this season. Sophomore goalkeeper Matt Jacques has been a strong backstop for the Knights and is likely to develop into one of the tops in the CVC.
The Knights started strong in the Mercer County Tournament by beating Hamilton, 2-0, on October 23. Tenenzapf and senior Nestor Yepes scored the goals while Jacques made just two saves for the shutout. South then lost to Notre Dame, 4-1, on October 26, eliminating it from the tournament. It then played to a 2-2 tie in the consolation game with Princeton on October 28. Tenenzapf scored both Knight goals.
North will next play in the NJSIAA playoffs on Tuesday, November 9. Time and place were not yet determined as the News went to press.
The High School South boys soccer team have played to an 11-8 record and are in second place in the Colonial Division of the CVC. Junior Chris Wesson and senior co-captain Gerber Vega have provided much of the scoring punch for the Pirates. Junior Max Stember-Young has emerged as the Pirates goalie, after sharing duties with senior Geremy Rosenberg for much of the season.
South made it into the quarterfinal round of the county tournament by beating Ewing, 4-1, on October 23. Senior Alger Fredericks, also a co-captain, had two goals, with Wesson and junior Zach Howes rounded out the scoring. South then lost in the next round to Hightstown, 2-0, and the consolation round to Hopewell, 3-0.
South was eliminated from the NJSIAA playoffs on November 2. Despite outplaying East Brunswick for most of the game, the Pirates only scored a single goal in regulation time. Fredericks bounced a shot off the post and into the net in the first half. South was then outscored, 5-4, in the shootout. Stember-Young had 10 saves.
People in Sports: Chris Martin, a resident of West Windsor, won the Great Floridian triathlon championship on October 30 with a final time of 9 hours, 40 minutes and 47 seconds. The race consists of a combination of swimming, biking, and running.
Adreienne Verbich, a 2002 graduate High School North, scored all three goals for the Muhlenberg College field hockey team in a 3-0 win over Swarthmore. She has scored seven goals this season.
Youth Sports Registration: Lightning Lacrosse is conducting open registration for new players for the spring 2005 season beginning Wednesday, December 1. Walk-in registration will be held on Saturday, December 11, from 10 a.m. to noon at the West Windsor Public Library. For more information visit their website at www.lightninglacrosse.org or call John Kalinowski, director of the boys program, at 609-716-6717 or Leah Schraudenbach, director of the girls program, at 609-655-5511.
