Staples sports roundup

Girls tennis match suspended

To be continued!

That was the story for the season-opening tennis match between the Fairfield Ludlowe girls tennis team and host Staples on Wednesday. Staples had a 3-2 lead with two matches hanging in the balance before the match was suspended because of rain. The match is tentatively but unofficially scheduled to be concluded today.

The Lady Wreckers won at first, second and third singles while Ludlowe won at first and second doubles.

At first singles, Staples junior Katie Reiner used a service break to her advantage to take a 4-3 lead in the first set and beat senior captain Alyssa McAndrew, 6-4, 7-5. In the second set, Reiner had a service break and Reiner broke the Bucknell-bound McAndrew twice.

McAndrew showed why she'll be playing at Division I Bucknell with a few well-placed service aces to the corner. She also hit some nice winners. In the end, Reiner also hit a few winners and was the superior player.

Freshman Melissa Beretta made a successful varsity debut at second singles for the Lady Wreckers with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Daria Effimov.

Staples senior tri-captain Molly Rudinger was dominant in a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Morgan Hilliker at third singles.

Falcons senior captains Brooke Mackno and Layne Rissolo won a tie-breaker in the first set and used their momentum in a 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 victory over Lady Wrecker senior tri-captain Hannah Bjornson and junior Leigh Rubin.

Ludlowe's Dillon Casey and Paige McCormick won a three-setter at second doubles over senior Alex Walsh and junior Nicole Marcante. Walsh and Marcante won the second set before Casey and McCormick came back to win the rubber set.

At fourth singles, Staples senior tri-captain Farrel Levenson won the first set but Kendall Quinn kept the Falcons alive by winning the second set with a dominant performance. The third set was about to start when the rains started to come down. Lady Wrecker juniors Margot Stamm and Kate Collins were in the first set with Liz Searght and Taylor Boyd when the match was suspended.

Boys tennis sweeps

The staples boys tennis team opened the season with a 7-0 win at Fairfield Ludlowe Wednesday.

Senior co-captain Danny Hirschberg bageled his opponent at first singles, 6-0, 6-0. Sophomore Jake Hirschberg won 6-2, 3-2 at second singles with his opponent retiring in the middle of the second set.

Winning in straight sets at singles were junior Graham Hyman and freshmen Luke Foreman and Jack Reardon at third, fourth and fifth singles, respectively. Junior Evan Davis and freshman Baxter Stein won in straight sets at first doubles and seniors Justin Kleiner and Josh Kaseff swept their opponents at second doubles.

Water polo grabs historic win

The Staples girls water polo team won its first match in its history with a 12-11 verdict at Hopkins Wednesday.

Senior tri-captain Stephanie Nussbaum and sophomore Sarah Cooperman led Staples with three goals each. Scoring two a piece for the Lady Wreckers were senior tri-captain Maddy Mafilios and junior Gabby Wimer. Senior tri-captain Danni McGovern and junior Emily Greene had one goal each for Staples.

Coming up with six saves was senior goalie Margot Bruce.

Softball nips Ridgefield

The Staples softball team opened the season with a 6-5 home win over Ridgefield.

Senior quad-captain Alex Massiello hit a two-run single in the bottom of the seventh to win the game for Staples. The Lady Wreckers had 11 hits and senior Sam Saccamano was the winning pitcher.

Girls lax wins 20-3

The Staples girls lacrosse team opened the season with a 20-3 win at St. Joseph.

Junior Maeve Flaherty led Staples with seven goals and one assist. Senior quad-captain Nikki Seo (three goals, four assists), junior Jessie Ambrose (three goals, two assists), senior quad-captain Elizabeth Driscoll (two goals, one assist) and junior Ali Crofts (two goals) also had multiple goals for the Lady Wreckers. Sophomore Ryan Kirschner (one goal, two assists) had multiple points for Staples and senior Margot Colwell, junior Adele Mackey and sophomores Sami Bautista and Megan O'Shea each had a goal.

Boys golf wins

The Staples boys golf team opened with a 144-175 home win over St. Joseph.

Junior Sam Shaffer shot a 33 to lead Staples and was the overall medalist. Senior co-captains Andrew Gai (35) and Kirk Massie (38) and junior Austin Alianiello (38) also contributed.