By Kim J. Harmon

Most head coaches don’t like to be so bold in their predictions, but Newtown High School swim coach Mary Atkinson said her team was going to be strong this year and so far the Lady Nighthawks have done nothing to disprove that.

With a 105-79 win over Joel Barlow last Tuesday and a 98-72 win over Brookfield last Friday, the Lady Nighthawks have jumped out to a 2-0 start as a date with Foran and New Fairfield approaches on Friday.

As expected, sophomore Abby Atkinson has been stellar, but the ‘Hawks – who returned a strong group of athletes – have gotten some spectacular finishes from new swimmers like Maggie Hemingway, Sally Tabler, Jen Iassogna and Maricate Conlon.

Atkinson was a double winner in the victory over Barlow, capturing the 200 individual medley (2:18.50) and 100 breaststroke (1:14.17). Amy Robinson (100 freestyle, 59.74) was the only other individual winner for the ‘Hawks, whose 200 medley relay (Liz Gugino, Atkinson, Jenny Cupero, Robinson) and 200 freestyle relay (Robinson, Kaitlyn Murphy, Hemingway, Tabler) teams captured first-place finishes.

In the win over Brookfield, Atkinson finished first in the 200 individual medley (2:20.10) while Tabler (200 freestyle, 2:13.49), Hemingway (50 freestyle, 27.28), Kim Mayers (diving, 133 points), Jen Iassogna (100 butterfly, 1:09.38), Robinson (100 freestyle, 59.78) and Conlon (500 freestyle, 5:52.99) were all individual winners. The 200 medley relay (Conlon, Atkinson, Cupero, Robinson) also finished first. After Conlon won the 500 free, the ‘Hawks swam the remainder of the meet unofficially.

After Foran and New Fairfield on Friday, the ‘Hawks will travel to Stratford on Tuesday, September 23 and Lauralton Hall (the really big test) on Tuesday, September 30.

GIRLS SOCCER (3-0-0)

The Newtown High School girls’ soccer team traveled to Milford, the home of one of its arch-rivals (arch-enemies may be a more appropriate term), and came away with a 2-1 non-league win over Lauralton Hall that was both impressive and frustrating.

Despite the one-goal differential, the Lady Nighthawks completely dominated the game and could have won by a much wider margin … if not for some problems finishing and if not for the superb goaltending working of Hall’s Laurel Neary, who made 16 saves.

Chelsea Morin and Carrie Lipnick both scored goals and both off assists from Alex Konneker. The ‘Hawks had a number of other opportunities at the net, taking advantage of the strength of Casey Frobey on the left wing, Becky Corrigan up the middle, or Konneker on the break. Junior co-captain Mary Anders had a strong game on defense and very nearly belted a left-footed goal from deep outside the penalty box.

The game was a 0-0 draw at the end of the first half, but the ‘Hawks scored two unanswered goals before Hall answered back late in the second half. Junior goaltender Kim Allen needed to make just three saves in the win.

The ‘Hawks came back last Friday afternoon and blanked Brookfield, 3-0. In that win, Frobey, Morin and Konneker all scored as Konneker, Rachel Vontobel and Morin provided assists. Allen needed to make just one save.

The ‘Hawks upped their 2003 record to 3-0-0 on Tuesday night with a convincing 7-0 win over Stratford at Penders Field. No one expected a tough time for the ‘Hawks, who coasted on two-goal games from Frobey and Morin. Also chipping in with goals were Anders, Tara Gaston and Lipnick. Konneker had another strong effort with two assists while Morin, Lipnick, Gaston and Frobey also had assists.

After spending the first week of the season on the road, the ‘Hawks finally came home on Thursday (if the weather was permitting) for a rematch with Lauralton Hall. The ‘Hawks were scheduled to take on Immaculate in Danbury on Saturday and then return home next Tuesday for a match against Foran on the new back fields at Newtown High School.

A visit to Notre Dame is slated for Wednesday.

FOOTBALL (0-1)

Running is not going to be a problem.

But passing will be.

With a huge offensive line that bullying open some huge holes, the Newtown High School football team – on the legs of five different runners – rushed for 275 yards on 54 carries (5.1 per carry) last Friday in Stratford.

But in the end, the ‘Hawks – who were just 0-for-3 in the air – dropped a 15-6 decision to the Red Devils.

The ‘Hawks never seemed to have trouble moving the ball on the ground as Bob Pattison (18-92), Ben Bagaglio (17-84), and John Collins (11-58) carried the heaviest load. In fact, Collins rushed for 21 yards on the first play from scrimmage.

But a couple of penalties (a false start here or a holding there) always seemed to stall a drive or  force a tough third-and-long situation. The first drive was hurt by two penalties and ended with an interception. The second drive ended with a false start and an incomplete pass. And the third drive – the last of the half – ended with a fumble.

It was a little bit more of the same in the second half (a nice punt return by freshman Joey DeVellis was pulled back by a clipping penalty), but with 3:37 left in the third the ‘Hawks took a 6-0 lead on a 29-yard cutback run by Pattison. The drive had started on the Stratford 41 and was kick-started with a 17-yard run by Kirch.

While the defense continued to hold Stratford at bay (the ‘Hawks held the Red Devils to just 83 yards on the ground – 70 of those coming on one play), it couldn’t hold off Stratford forever. Quarterback Ray Pierro rushed two yards for a score with 6:03 left in the fourth quarter to give the Red Devils an 8-6 lead and then – with 2:16 left – a 70-yard run by Shaun Young gave the Red Devils the eventual 15-6 run.

The ‘Hawks will host Bethel (weather permitting) on Friday and will travel to Brookfield next Thursday for a 7 pm game.

VOLLEYBALL (0-3)

It has been the scene of some thrilling matches and some dramatic finishes and last Thursday was no different.

The Newtown High School volleyball team was involved in a tough battle with arch-rival Masuk and looked ready to extend the match (with its new scoring rules) well into the evening, but in the end the Lady Nighthawks ran out of steam and dropped a 3-1 decision (22-25, 25-22, 22-25, 11-25).

The ‘Hawks fell to 0-3 after being swept by New Fairfield (17-25, 19-25, 18-25) last Friday and Darien last Saturday. The ‘Hawks were hoping to find a way into the win column on Wednesday with a rematch against Masuk … or, at least, on Friday against Stratford.

But it was a promising start.

The ‘Hawks jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first game against Masuk as Stephanie Logan (20 kills, four blocks) took charge. Although Lisa Morgan played real well at the net and Alia Kemsley displayed some consistent service, Masuk rallied back and from there the game turned into a see-saw battle. Courtney Brunton sailed a pass over the net for a point, Jenna Van Waalwijk fired off a kill from the left corner, and Diana Grimaldi collected an ace, a block and a kill to help the ‘Hawks take the Lady Panthers right to the brink before faltering.

The ‘Hawks made up for that in Game 2, but the going was just as difficult. After the ‘Hawks took an 8-2 lead, the Lady Panthers rallied back and once again it became a see-saw battle. Some of the best plays of this game were a dig by Brunton, a couple of smashes by Logan and a soft kill by Van Waalwijk. Logan had a kill to take the ‘Hawks to 24 and a net fault by Masuk took them to 25 for the win.

In Game 3, the ‘Hawks fell into a 16-9 hole (in a 7-2 run by the Lady Panthers, the ‘Hawks looked really out of sorts) but kept working at it and eventually drew as close as two points (23-21). Paula Wickman had a nice kill and Grimaldi came up with another ace in the tail end of that run, but a serve into the net and a bad pass allowed the Lady Panthers to escape with the win.

Right then, it seemed as if the ‘Hawks had run out of steam and the Lady Panthers eased their way to a 25-11 win in Game 4.

FIELD HOCKEY (1-2-0)

With a group of young and inexperienced players on the field, most people expect the Newtown High School field hockey team will struggle at times in 2003. And they might do just that, the Lady Nighthawks started the 2003 season with a bang.

The‘Hawks rallied from a 1-0 deficit to defeat New Fairfield, 3-1, last Friday. Although Brie Mallon put the Lady Rebels on top early, the ‘Hawks put some fierce pressure on the cage in the latter stages of the first half.

The first goal came from Meg Regnery and the second came from Amanda Hadgraft to give the ‘Hawks a 2-1 lead at the end of the first half. Maggie Boushell finished off the rally with a goal in the second half. Goaltender Jenny Urfer needed to make six saves to record the win.

It was a nice start, but the ‘Hawks stumbled a bit on Monday in a 3-0 loss to Bethel (in a game rescheduled from last Tuesday). The ‘Hawks had some problems moving the ball up the field and a little trouble in the circle and were victimized by a two-goal effort from Olivia Kurtoglu. Meg McCormick also scored.

Urfer made nine saves in the cage.

Things did not get much better on Tuesday as the ‘Hawks dropped a 2-0 decision to New Milford at Treadwell Park. The Green Wave scored 30 seconds into the first half on a goal from Caitlyn Duggan. Urfer made eight saves.

The ‘Hawks are slated to meet Masuk on Friday (weather permitting). Next week, they will host Pomperaug on Tuesday and then travel to Brookfield on Thursday.

BOYS SOCCER (1-0-1)

The last time the Newtown and Brookfield High School boys’ soccer teams met it was in the 2002 South-West Conference championship game – a debacle that ended with the Nighthawks claiming an 8-1 victory.

But last Friday night it was an entirely different story.

The ‘Hawks – without much of the potent firepower that carried them all the way to the CIAC Class LL state championship game last year – dueled the Bobcats to a 0-0 double-overtime draw in front of a large crowd at Blue & Gold Stadium.

The ‘Hawks had a chance to slough off that draw on Tuesday afternoon on the back fields at Newtown High, where they pummeled Stratford, 9-0, to run their record to 1-0-1.

Marcus Tracy scored three goals while Rodrigo DeSouza and Brian Conroy added two goals apiece to fuel the onslaught. Nick Mentessana and Marc Doherty also scored.

DeSouza, Tracy, Brian Miles and Matt McFadden provided assists while goaltender Andrew Fiscella had to make just six saves.

The ‘Hawks traveled to Kolbe-Cathedral on Thursday and will host Immaculate on Saturday (weather permitting) at 7 pm. Games against Foran and Notre Dame will follow next week.

BOYS X-C (4-1)

As is their very nature, the Newtown High School boys’ cross country team has hit the ground running.

The Nighthawks opened the 2003 season last week with a sweep of Immaculate (15-50), Joel Barlow (22-39) and Stratford (15-50), followed that up with a strong finish at the Wilton Invitational last Saturday, and then split a pair with New Milford and Jonathan Law on Tuesday to run their record to 4-1.

While the ‘Hawks cruised past Law (15-45), it was New Milford – capturing the top seven places – which stole the show and handed the ‘Hawks a 15-45 loss.

In the season-opening sweep, Newtown captured eight of the top 10 places. Phil Zencey was second overall at 18:09, just seven seconds behind Brian Colonnese of Joel Barlow. Peter Dittmar (18:18) and Alister Ratcliff (18:31) finished third and fourth and then Chris DeRoo (19:01), Jay Schunter (19:07), Charlie Baldour (19:18), Doug Bonjour (19:23), and Jake Sullivan (19:46) finished sixth through 10th.

Dittmar was Newtown’s top finisher, coming in seventh at 16:39 (1:21 off the winning pace set by Ben Danton). Zencey followed in eighth at 16:52 with Ratcliff (11th, 17:20), Schunter (13th, 17:28) and Baldour (17:40) coming in later.

In the Wilton Invitational last weekend (which has no bearing on the South-West Conference season), the ‘Hawks finished sixth overall in the varsity race with 141 points, eighth overall in the jayvee race with 227 points, and first overall in the freshman race with 68 points.

In the varsity race, Dittmar was 19th overall at 16:06. He was followed in by Ratcliff (27th, 16:29), Zencey (28th, 16:31), DeRoo (30th, 10:38), Schunter (37th, 17:08), Jake Sullivan (39th, 17:17) and Bonjour (45th, 17:30).

In the jayvee race, Jon Larsen was ninth at 17:44 and he was followed in by Matt Cole (10th, 17:50), Jeff Lipnick (14th, 18:07), Tyler Law (96th, 23:02) and Nicholas Isle (98th, 24:24).

And in the freshman race, Baldour was first overall at 8:51 and was followed in by Eric MacKnight (4th, 9:17), Ryan Morrissey (6th, 9:27), Scott Nichols (24th, 10:02), Greg Hill (33rd, 10:13), Seth Hull (34th, 10:14) and Kevin Donahue (41st, 10:19).

 

GIRLS X-C (5-1)

The Newtown High School girls’ cross country team might not have started its defense of its 2002 South-West Conference championship in perfect fashion, but it was a pretty good start nevertheless.

The Lady Nighthawks opened the 2003 season winning two of their first three decisions – defeating Immaculate (18-45) and Stratford (15-50) while falling to Joel Barlow (24-37). A sweep of New Milford (24-35), Lauralton Hall (19-42) and Jonathan Law (15-50) boosted their record to 5-1.

In the season opener, Carolyn Brennan finished first overall at 17:30 with newcomer Sadie Ball coming in third at 18:22. The only other Newtown top 10 finisher, Caitlin Thursland, finished ninth at 19:20.

On Tuesday, Brennan finished second at 15:40, eight seconds behind Kara Fisher of New Milford. But Ball once again claimed third, coming in at 16:27. Laura Reid (sixth, 17:05), Thursland (seventh, 17:06), Kelly Collier (10th, 17:22), Caitlin Weber (11th, 17:32), Leah Herity (12th, 17:40), Amy Busko (14th, 17:57), and Emelye Neff (16th, 18:01) helped boost the ‘Hawks to the sweep.

Last Saturday, the ‘Hawks finished third at the Wilton Invitational with 89 points – not to far behind Ridgefield (39) and Fairfield (63). Brennan was fifth overall at 17:15 and was followed by Ball (14th, 17:45), Thursland (21st, 18:52), Herity (18:58), Collier (26th, 19:04), Weber (29th, 19:16) and Kate Fenton (30th, 19:18).

Meanwhile, the jayvees took fifth overall with 160 points. Busko was the top Newtown finisher, coming in third overall at 19:21. She was followed by Quincey Blanchard (fifth, 19:37), Kaitlyn Sullivan (34th, 21:36), Sophie Cerreta (57th, 23:12), Karli Beitel (61st, 23:36), Theresa Villafano (66th, 23:58) and Jenna Zigman (69th, 24:30).

But the freshmen – with four runners finishing in the top 10 – took first overall with 51 points. Moira Collier was second overall at 10:46 and was followed by Ellen Reid (fourth, 11:19), Jessica DiVanno (sixth, 11:20), Michelle Brennan (ninth, 11:38) and Shannon Tredennick (30th, 13:55).

The ‘Hawks will be at the Bethel Invitational on Saturday and next Wednesday will travel to Milford to take on Foran, Masuk and Weston.