GHS Sports Recap

GHS Boys Tennis Remains Unblemished
The Guardians have defeated all nine opponents they faced this spring, including five convincing wins over the last two weeks. Coming into the week, the team is ranked #2 in Class LL.

Over the 14-day span, the team has defeated Newington, Northwest Catholic, South Windsor, Middletown and E.O. Smith by a combined score of 32-3. Both Newington and South Windsor were undefeated heading into their matches against Glastonbury.
The latest victory was a clean sweep of E.O. Smith (7-0) last Friday. #1 singles player Christian Kaverud defeated Kenny Wu, 6-0,6-4. #2 singles Luke Vrenenburg defeated Daniel Zhou, 6-2, 6-2, #3 singles Dhanush Kalanghi defeated Jake Bernstein 6-3, 6-0. #4 singles Elliott Kim defeated Max Boulay, 6-0, 6-0.

On the doubles side, #1 Liam Kelleher/Matt Guasta defeated Leonard Schweitzer/Zach Scruggs, 6-1, 6-0, #2 Matt Daniels/Niteesh Kalanghi defeated Reza Shahroudi/Andrew Li 6-0, 6-0. #3 Josh Souder/Nick Bonavito defeated Jeff Roy/Amogh Chaubey 6-2, 6-2.

GHS Girls Tennis Improves to 9-0
The Guardians defeated Berlin (7-0) and South Windsor (6-1) last week, improving their record to 9-0 this spring.

#1 singles player Catherine Zak defeated Katy Sparmer of Berlin and Jina Lee from South Windsor. Annee Bess Blair, Olivia Lee, Emma Kantor also picked up singles wins for GHS last week.

Double teams of Mirta Atigetchi/Bridget Corey, Anna Radulescu/Erin Canaba, Zoe Gates, Sammie Chung/Norah Andersson, and Emma Miller/Leila Azimov also took home victories for the Guardians.

GHS Baseball Wins Two of Three
GHS baseball took home victories over Windsor and Simsbury early last week before dropping a close one to Berlin to close out the week.

On Monday, the Guardian defeated Windsor 10-2. Owen Stephens pitched a gem, tossing a complete game and giving up only three hits. Stephens threw 63 strikes on 80 pitches. Glastonbury's offense broke the game open on a strong six-run fifth inning. Stephens, Luke Fahey, Sean Borden, and Sam Benedict, each had RBIs in the productive inning. After Windsor scored a run in the top of the third, Glastonbury answered when Benedict singled on the first pitch of the at bat, scoring a run. In the fourth inning, Jake Benedict tripled, scoring a run, and Fahey singled, scoring a run. The six-run fifth offensive came from singles by Stephens and Borden, an error on a ball put in play by Fahey, and a double by Benedict.

The next day, the team beat Simsbury 11-5 at Dunkin Donuts Park in Hartford. Spencer Azzara was on the bump, pitching four innings and allowing one run on one hit. Nick Verdone, Dan Cantafi, and Dan Beagle provided the bullpen relief in the win. Ben Curcio went 2-3 at the plate with an RBI to lead the Guardian's hitting. Jayden Sgro showed speed on the bases, stealing two. In all, the Guardians stole seven bases total.

​Berlin edged the team 6-5 last Friday. The Guardians got things going in the first when Verdone reached on an error, and advanced to third on a hit by Sam Benedict. Verdone scored on a pass ball, and Benedict scored on an RBI by Jake Benedict. Beagle was on the mound, lasting three innings, allowing three hits and three runs, while striking out three. Cantafi pitched well in relief, going 3.1 innings giving up 3 hits and striking out 2. Sam Benedict went 2-3 at the plate. Glastonbury could not hold a 5-3 lead going into the seventh, giving up three runs in the bottom of the inning for a tough loss. The loss dropped Glastonbury to 6-5 on the season.

Another Great Week for GHS Boys Golf 
GHS boys’ golf had a tri-match hosting Wethersfield and Manchester at Glastonbury Hills Country Club last Monday. On a day that wasn't ideal for scoring, the Guardians posted one of their finest team scores in recent years, an even par 144. Glastonbury’s score bested Manchester (173) and Wethersfield (181), bringing the Guardians our overall record to 6-0. Junior Connor Goode led the way by shooting a (-2) 34. Senior captain Ethan Kalk followed with an even-par 36 and juniors Nick DiNino and Charlie Dolan each posted 37. Head coach Tom Zelek stated, “The damp, cool and breezy conditions made this team score even that more impressive. Everyone handled the weather well by being prepared and managing both the course and the conditions. I couldn't be more impressed by this team as they worked their way around the course doing what they needed to do to keep the ball in play.”
 
The next day, the team posted their 7th win of the season, defeating Rocky Hill (153-234) at Glastonbury Hills Country Club.  Goode, posting another sub par round of 35 on a cool, breezy day, once again led the home team. Kalk and DiNino each posted 39 with junior Charlie Dolan rounding out the team scoring. Zelek said of this win, “The weather hasn't been ideal for scoring but Glastonbury Hills is in fine shape early in the season and the players have handled the conditions extremely well. I'm very pleased where we are at this stage of the season. As we get deeper into our schedule and the players have had more time to practice and play I only expect us to be able continue scoring well.”
 
On Friday, the team traveled to Timberlin Golf course and walked away with a tie against a strong team from Berlin, each posting scores of 159. Dolan led Glastonbury with a 38, which also made him the match medalist by posting the lowest score of anyone from both teams.  Goode and DiNino (39) followed and freshman Gavin Kvadus completed the scoring. Zelek added, “It's not very often that golf matches end up with a tie and the athletes of both teams were disappointed as they realized one stroke would have made the difference to secure a victory. We didn't come away with a win but I'm pleased how we played against a team that has always risen to the occasion when challenged. I knew this was going to be our toughest competition so far this season and I understand the players' feelings but as a team we scored well and should be proud of holding our own playing on the road.”