Defending Champion Spikers Have New Look

By Andy Hutchison

Coming off a thrilling double championship season — Newtown High School’s girls’ volleyball team claimed conference and state bragging rights in 2011 — the Nighthawks are an almost entirely different looking squad.

Five of the six starters on the floor in Newtown’s state final match win over Southington graduated this past spring. Coach Tom Czaplinski, despite all of this turnover, doesn’t enter into this campaign with any different level of expectation. “I’m expecting the same as last year. To me there’s no point in coaching if you don’t expect to win,” he said.

Not that Czaplinski believes it will be easy. “We’ve got a whole new group of girls, so I think it’s just going to be a matter of everybody kind of finding out what works, what people respond to in different situations, and what they need to do to promote togetherness,” he said.

Coming off a season in which the Hawks went undefeated in the conference and lost only to East Lyme in the regular campaign’s finale, then won their second straight SWC title before capturing the state championship, the Hawks could have that proverbial target on the back as teams look to take down the defending champs.

“I don’t think we view ourselves as having a target on our back,” Czaplinski said. “I wouldn’t put us as a clear-cut favorite. But other teams might just because we won last year.”

Joel Barlow of Redding and Weston are likely the teams to beat, the Newtown coach said, but he enters into the campaign with the goal for his squad to again be at the top.

Newtown is led by senior captains Sam Steimle, a middle hitter, and Courtney Escoda, the libero. Senior Amanda Rowan is another returnee who saw a fair amount of playing time a year ago. Czaplinski was sorting out his new-look lineup as preseason gave way to the start of the regular campaign this week.

“We definitely have a lot to live up to with last year’s win, but we’re hoping to continue the tradition,” Steimle said.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Escoda added.

Newtown was scheduled to have a tough test right off the bat with Barlow scheduled to visit on Wednesday (after The Bee sports section went to press). The Nighthawks will host Lauralton Hall of Milford on Friday, September 14, at 5:15 pm, and begin the season with their third straight home match when Weston visits on September 18. For the second straight year, NHS will close out the regular campaign against East Lyme as Czaplinski tries to get his squad ready for the playoffs.