Posted: June 15, 2010 |(0) Comments

Nicolet girls soccer

Timing is everything in life.

Just ask Whitefish Bay forward Abby Starker, who happened to be in the right place at the right time June 10 in the Blue Dukes' home WIAA sectional semifinal game.

Just 28 seconds into overtime against border rival Nicolet, Bay midfielder Kelsey Corrigan launched a long bomb of a shot from the right side. The ball carried high and long in the cool, wet night air and struck the crossbar of the goal squarely.

It came down right at the feet of Starker, who was scarcely five yards in front of the Knights' goal. She wasted no time popping the shot in to decide the physical, hotly contested game, 2-1.

Bay (17-7-3) eventually lost to DSHA in the sectional final while Nicolet finished at 13-12-1.

Bay coach Robert Williams was pleased with the come-from-behind win. The game itself was a vast departure from the Blue Dukes' easy 6-0 regular season win over the Knights.

"Tony (Nicolet coach Quintero) does such a good job with his kids," Williams said. "It was a well played game, and we had to remain so patient. A lot of times this season, when we've gotten down, we've lost our composure, but this time we were able to stay the course."

Quintero thought Starker might have been offside on the play, but the officials said she was not. He was very pleased with his team's defensive effort against the potent Blue Dukes offense.

"I thought we did an absolutely fabulous job on that end," he said. "We knew they were a little stronger and more technically gifted, but I thought we defended extremely well tonight."

And he had a point. The Blue Dukes only had a couple of really good scoring chances in the first half. Knights goalie Sarah Barth made one great reaching save early in the session and then later in the half, a Bay shot went off the left post.

The Knights then took advantage of a Blue Dukes defensive lapse to take a 1-0 lead with just 48 seconds left in the half. Forward Laila Eslami took a long pass down the right side, passed one Bay defender, and when Blue Dukes goalie Sarah Platzer couldn't scoop up the loose ball, Eslami swept past her to an open net and an easy goal.

Nicolet held that lead despite pressure from the Blue Dukes until the 65:24 mark of the second half, when a Bay player was pulled down in the box. Junior midfielder Lydia Kaminsky then stepped up and easily pounded in the penalty kick.

Quintero praised the efforts of sophomore Briana Lopez and seniors Abby Williams and Barth.

Other seniors for the Knights included Sam Lautmann, Becca Stern, Erica Lurie, Tierney Snow, Katie Simpson, Jennifer Winston and Lizzie Smith.

Homestead girls track

The Highlanders' recently completed North Shore Conference triple crown championship season had plenty of highs including a repeat state title and new record from 100-meter high hurdler Marissa Savitch.

Also included in the effort was a major meet championship run that started with the outdoor opener at Kettle Moraine and didn't end until the fourth-place finish in the WIAA sectional. Included among those wins were the Kettle Moraine, Watertown, Wauwatosa West, Homestead and Cedarburg invitationals; the North Shore Conference relays and outdoor meets; and the WIAA regional.

"A lot of those were really pleasant surprises," said Highlanders coach John Krueger. "We even won the Highlander right there at the end, which not a lot of our girls teams have done. We're very proud of our coaches and athletes this year."

At the core of the team was a strong senior class, headed up by the mentally tough and deep distance squad. Leaders of that group, which helped the Highlanders set a new school record and earn a state third-place medal in the 3,200-meter relay, included Sarah Miller, Caity Bobber, Kelsey Boyle, Carolyn Apfelbach, Emily Jeanpierre, Carrie Rice and Dana Griepentrog.

Other key seniors included top thrower Natalie Goniu, all-purpose performers Ashley Heding and Amy Slawson, and school record-setting pole vaulter Katelyn Wright.

The quad-captains of the team included Slawson, Heding, Miller and Wright.

Homestead finished with about 80 athletes this spring.

"The seniors really did set a good standard for this group," said Krueger. "Over 12 new kids came out as upperclassmen, just for the love of competing."

Whitefish Bay softball

The Blue Dukes finished off their strong season on a sad note, dropping a heartbreaking 9-8 WIAA Division 2 regional final to Cudahy on June 3.

Bay advanced to the regional final with wins over Milwaukee Lifelong Learning (15-0) and St. Thomas More (26-3). Cudahy lost 13-0, to Union Grove in a WIAA sectional semifinal.

"Our regional final with Cudahy was a great game, but definitely a disappointing loss," said Blue Dukes coach Jeff Trask. "We were right there, it just came down to who had the last at bat. Unfortunately for us it was Cudahy.

"Winning that game would have been a major breakthrough for our program. The good news, however, is that we are still a young team, we were able to experience a regional final, and now we know what it will take to get back there and win it in the future."

Senior Jo Ruppa pitched a strong game with six strikeouts, four walks, 11 hits and six earned runs. Offensively, Meridith Ludwig had three hits with a triple and two runs scored while Maggie Hankerd also had three hits with a double and two runs scored. Leslie Fuda also had three hits with a double.

Ruppa and Ludwig each earned second-team All-North Shore Conference. Hankerd, Fuda and Kay Burns received honorable mention.

Bay hit .306 as a team, led by Fuda with a .463 mark and 22 RBI. Kristin Enea hit .361 and Kay Burns hit .388.

Seniors included Rachel Whaley, Ludwig, Hilary Stein, Ruppa, Sarah Gebel and Britt-Marie Murphy.

"For the season as a whole, we have taken major steps toward our goal of becoming a competitive program," Trask said.

Shorewood softball

Things are looking up for the Greyhounds as they recently completed an 8-15 season.

"I felt as the season progressed we had improvement every time we took the field," said Greyhounds coach Dave Berghaus. "The girls played hard and enthusiastically every pitch. Near the end of the season I saw a lot of confidence from players who may have been struggling early on."

The Greyhounds beat St. Francis 7-4 in WIAA Division 2 regional quarterfinal play, before falling to the top regional seed Cudahy, 21-3, in the regional semifinal on June 1.

The team was led by senior Kaitlyn Wick and sophomore Addie Prochnow who both earned second-team all Woodland Conference. Junior Celia Carroll also earned honorable mention.

Departing seniors include four-year players Kim Pham, Raifeh Saqer and Wick.

"Their leadership and dedication to the team and the sport will be missed," said Berghaus.

Top returning players are freshman Meredith Behm, leadoff hitter Prochnow, second baseman Quincy Rice, and the first baseman Carroll, whom Berghaus said is a proven leader.

"I feel with this nucleus returning we can have a very productive and competitive season next year," said Berghaus.

Nicolet softball

The Knights recently ended a sound upward moving season with a 10-0 WIAA regional final loss to eventual sectional finalist Germantown on June 3.

Leaders for the team this spring included junior catcher Emily Gadzichowski (.344 batting average, 18 walks, 26 runs scored, seven triples and an impressive 45 percent of runners thrown out); freshman shortstop Lanoira Duhart (.400 BA, 16 RBIs, four doubles, 18 runs scored, 12 stolen bases and 35 putouts with 50 assists); freshman centerfielder Jessica Kloehn (.354 BA, 19 RBIs, three triples, 36 putouts); and senior leftfielder Carli deFelice (.333 BA, .418 on base, 18 RBIs, 3 doubles, 28 putouts).

Coach Brad Kuehl called Gadzichowski "the true leader of the team" while noting that while Duhart still makes freshman-style errors, "she will be something special".

Of the outfielders, Kuehl noted that Kloehn is a "sponge for knowledge" and saved at least two games with clutch catches. deFelice was also called a leader, who rarely missed a ball she should have caught.

Seniors on the Knights roster included deFelice, starting pitcher Amy Popp, Briana Harris, Andi Weissgerber, Sarah Stevens-Freuk, Bilquanna Sanders, Brittany Griffin and Erika Davis.

Homestead golf

It was an odd WIAA state meet last week for the Highlanders for one reason. Coach Steve O'Brien went alone, as Homestead failed to advance a team to the annual event for the first time in 17 years from the sectional at Blackstone Creek on June 1.

"It just turned out that it was a bad day to have a bad day," said O'Brien of the fourth-place finish in the sectional. "It was never for a lack of effort … and that's the beauty and the sadness of this game. You're on an island and in control as much as you can be of anything else in this life."

Sophomore Jordan Niebrugge, the state individual runner-up a year ago, had a chance to advance as an individual if he had chipped in on the last hole, but the ball rolled just past the cup.

The Highlanders turned in a 334 total at sectionals, good for fourth as Marquette (301) and Germantown (316) earned the team state berths.

Junior Joe Tautges led Homestead with an 18-hole total of 79 while Niebrugge came in with an 80. Seniors Bryan Silver (86), Dylan Drozdowicz and Kyle Waugaman (89) also contributed.

"Life goes on," said O'Brien. "We learned so much this year and I had a blast coaching this group."

Nicolet boys golf

A championship season came to a quiet close when the Knights finished a disappointing third in the WIAA sectional meet at Blackstone Creek on June 3.

"I thought our guys were a little tight and were trying just a little too hard," said Knights coach Ted Wachs. "I think they wanted it (a state tournament berth) a little too much."

Nicolet turned in an 18-hole score of 330 as Marquette (301) and Germantown (316) secured the state tournament team berths.

Senior Ben Schlossmann led the way with an 80, while Noah Hersch (82), Robby Bamberger (83), Aaron Sandock (85) and senior Kyle Lurie (86) also chipped in.

"We got a good practice round in here, but my guys just didn't hit the shots that they normally would," said Wachs. "Normally, we're a little more aggressive on our chipping."

The meet finished a sensational year for the Knights, who won three major invitationals as well as the North Shore Conference championship. Schlossmann and Lurie were the two varsity seniors.

"My guys were classy young men and solid competitors," Wachs said. "We're going to come back with a lot of experience, so we can possibly make another run at this next year."

Sophomore Mike Goldstein won the NSC junior varsity championship for Nicolet.

Whitefish Bay golf

The Blue Dukes ended their sound rebuilding year with a sixth-place showing in the WIAA sectional meet at Blackstone Creek on June 1.

"It was just a little disappointing because we had played so much better the week before (at the regional meet)," said Bay coach Frank Donadio. "But it was definitely a different kind of situation for us.

"We didn't expect to be one of the top two teams (going to state), but we were just hoping individually that we could have done better."

The Blue Dukes finished with a 344 in the eight-school field.

Sam Richtman led the way with an 80, while freshman Jack Comiskey continued to show great promise with an 85. Other players included Danny Umland (87), George Schley (92) and senior Mike Armstrong (99).

Bay finished with 25 players this spring including 13 freshmen, only one of whom (Armstrong) played regularly on varsity.

"This was a nice bunch of boys who were all good students and all of whom have a passion for the game," said Donadio.

Donadio was very grateful to other North Shore coaches like Steve O'Brien of Homestead, Ted Wachs of Nicolet and Gary Anderson of Germantown for their help in guiding him through the ropes in this his first season of coaching for Bay.

Brown Deer golf

The Falcons season came to a competitive end as Sean Andryauskas (18-hole score 85), Eric Seonbuchner (88) and Sam Kuchenreuther (92) all competed well in the WIAA Division 2 sectional at Badger Creek Golf Course in New Holstein on June 1.

Andryauskas (42-43) had a very steady round with the exception of one nine, and finished tied for third among all individual regional qualifiers who had advanced to the sectional. A 76 was needed to advance as an individual from the sectional to the WIAA State Tournament.

Seonbuchner had nines of 45 and 43 while Kuchenreuther came in with efforts of 44 and 48, respectively.

Shorewood girls track

Distance runner Emily Bachhuber and the 800-meter relay team of Cara and Emily Jacobson, Sydney Cross and Caroline Devitt all had competitive finishes in the WIAA State Meet in La Crosse, June 4 and 5.

Bachhuber was ninth in the 3,200-meters in 11:35.81, just nine seconds away from a sixth-place medal and placed 11th in the 1,600 (5:17.18).

Meanwhile, the relay advanced as the 10th team to the finals with a 1:48.59 trials time and moved up one spot to ninth in the finals with a much quicker effort of 1:47.65.

The Jacobsons were the only seniors on the Greyhounds state team.

 

- Steven L. Tietz