On the fields, courts and the water, spring 2012 was a season of “wonderfully dramatic moments,” as Athletic Director Karen Geromini reflected at the Upper School spring sports celebration in late May. Sixty percent of Winsor students played on a Wildcat team this spring!
Varsity lacrosse finished the season on a high note, capturing the B-Pool championship in the EIL tournament. The Wildcats ended the regular season with a 6-8 record overall, and 4-5 in the league to take sixth place. In tournament action, they won their first game against Beaver Country Day 19-10, giving them the chance to face NCDS and avenge a tough one-point loss. Despite the heat and having played two games in as many days, they dug deep for a 12-10 victory. The team showed its competitiveness from the start, opening the season with wins over LCA and Bancroft. Led by senior co-captains Elise Green and Mary Richardson, as well as the senior trio of Emily Bloch, Erika D’Andrea, and Sarah Thomsen, the team kept its focus and team spirit, even after a tough stretch of close losses in mid-season. In individual honors, Elise and Mary were voted to both the EIL All-League and the NEPSWLA All-Star teams, and Corinne Candilis ’13 received EIL honorable mention.
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Varsity rowing has exceeded expectations all season. The Wildcat crews have two more days of competition ahead, with the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association’s championship on May 26. Going into this weekend Winsor’s 1st boat is seeded third, and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th boats are all seeded second. Thanks to a mostly warm and dry spring, at least until recently, the team was able to put in mileage early. Once the racing began, the depth and commitment of Winsor rowing showed in three sweeps. After a scrimmage on the Charles against Deerfield in eights, the Wildcats raced first against St. Mark's, Brooks and, for the first time in the regatta, Greenwich Academy, on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester. Winsor’s 1st and 2nd boats both came in second. The Winsor 3rd and 4th boats won, showing determination in their first 1,500-meter race together. Racing next at home against Nobles and BB&N, all four Wildcat boats won. At the Wayland/Weston Regatta, all boats turned in solid performances, including second-place finishes for the 1st and 4th boats in a tough field. At the DuPont Cup at Pomfret, the five Winsor boats swept every race. A Winsor sweep in races against Lincoln followed. Solid margins in all four boats put the team in a good mindset for the championships.
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Winsor sailing made the best of a challenging season, consistently placing at least one boat in the top five in every outing. On the final day of racing, Maddie Sovie, Isabel Fine and Nuala Spillane placed 2, 3, and 4 overall. With that strong finish, Winsor vaulted from fifth to third place in the league. In individual rankings, Nuala was ranked 9th out of 30 skippers, and was the second-ranked female skipper in the Mass Bay League C Division. Besides the regular racing schedule, the girls made their first road trip up to Marblehead to race against Pingree, where they locked up the second, fourth and fifth places in a three-race series. In the Massachusetts Bay League regatta, seniors Maya Ebsworth and Grace Venezia came away with a respectable 20th place finish in their division. At the state championships, Winsor took 16th.
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Varsity softball went 3-5 in the EIL, and 3-9 overall. Loaded with young talent, the Wildcats had 11 freshmen and sophomores. In a test of their resilience, they lost their first six games, including five one-run losses. Finally, in the seventh game, the team exploded offensively, scoring 13 runs against Newton Country Day in their first win. Another dominant win followed: 15-0 over Beaver. The next league game was at home against Dana Hall, a team they hadn’t beaten in three years. In an unbelievable finish, the Wildcats came back to score three runs with two outs in the ninth inning to win 9-8. In the B pool of the EIL tournament, they opened with a 7-2 win over Portsmouth Abbey before bowing to Bancroft in the finals. All season, senior captains Emily Morton and Maggie Larkin provided steady leadership. At season’s end, Emily joined Caroline Ognibene ’14 on the All-League team and Maggie earned EIL honorable mention.
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Varsity tennis proved they were a team not to be taken lightly, going 6-4 overall to finish fourth in the EIL. Senior captain Molly Evans led a veteran team with all but one player returning from last year. A big opening win against Tabor set the tone for the season. The team kept up its winning ways in their next two matches, including a 5-0 victory over Bancroft. Traveling to Maine to play Berwick without two regular players, the Wildcats suffered their first loss, 2-3. Hungry for another victory, they beat Andover 6-3 and then Pingree 4-1. It was then that the rain hit. Despite many rained-out practices, the players kept their spirits high. In the A pool of the EIL tournament, Winsor opened against the number 1 seed. Even in a loss, each girl played great tennis. In postseason honors, three Wildcat juniors received EIL honorable mention: Sabrina Gosman, Christina Schiciano and Tiffany Xie.
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Winsor track and field had a very young team. Led by tri-captains senior Kristen Skillman and juniors Zoe Flavin and Hannah McGrath, the athletes remained positive week after week, undaunted by close losses. As they gained experience, they also earned their share of wins, beating 15 different schools. They capped the season with a sixth place finish at NEPSTA in a very competitive field, relying again on the one-two scoring punch of Kristen and Hannah. In the 3000, Kristen ran away from the field in 10:53, while Hannah took fourth. Hannah and Kristen also placed three-four in the 1500. Sarah Goodman ’14 placed an impressive fourth in the triple jump, setting a new school record. Zoe ran a season best to place fourth in the 300 hurdles. In the 800, both Emily Koch ’16 and Naomi Gordon ’14 ran huge PRs to place 4-5. Rookie Kayla Camacho ’15 delivered upset sixth places in both the 100 and 200. In the final event the 4x400 team of Sarah, Kayla, Naomi and Nicole Cerulli ’16 ran a season best to finish fifth. Kristen, the team’s lone senior, capped her Winsor track career by being named to the All-New England team. She leaves with her name etched in two school records and two NEPSTA 3000 titles.
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