Staples sweeps Ridgefield for FCIAC boys volleyball title After a two-year hiatus, Staples boys volleyball returned to a place that it's called home more than anyone else: atop the FCIAC. The team that rolled through the regular season with 16 straight wins -- 14 of them sweeps -- added to its legacy Friday as No. 1 Staples trumped No. 2 Ridgefield 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-22) in the FCIAC final at Fairfield Ludlowe High School. The Wreckers, who won eight straight conference titles from 2003 to 2010, captured their 11th overall Friday, giving them seven more than the next closest school (Fairfield). After losing in the final in 2011 and in the semifinals a year ago, Staples (18-1) arrived motivated to reclaim its perch from defending champion Ridgefield. The Wreckers showed that early, controlling the opening game at the net. The Wreckers recorded 37 kills in the match, 11 of which were notched by middle hitter Todd Goldstein. Staples outside hitter Jonathan Denowitz recorded six kills and 12 digs and was named the Most Valuable Player. For Ridgefield (18-2), Tyler Chittenden had eight kills and seven digs, while Karl Liapunov recorded five kills, seven digs and three aces. Staples, which handed Ridgefield its lone loss during the regular season (3-0 on May 13), pulled off the sweep despite a shaky start to the third game.

Greens Farms Academy lost at Convent of the Sacred Heart 12-6 in the Fairchester Athletic Association semifinals on May 20. The field included the No. 1 and No. 2 singles and doubles teams from each of the eight league schools. The Dragons' doubles team of senior Olivia Kjorlien and sophomore Avery Wolfe won the FAA doubles title for a second straight season.

Last spring, Danny Guise teamed with Stephen Pastore to win the annual golf tournament for Greenwich High, shooting a 4-under-par 65. Though Mother Nature made it a marathon of a day with three lightning delays, Guise and Pastore outlasted the competition, carding a 5-under-par 64 to capture the two-man best ball tournament at Longshore Golf Course. Pastore and Guise were 1-over through three holes, but sank birdie putts on the third, fourth and fifth holes. After making a string of par putts, the turning point of the duo's round came on the 12th hole. The Wake Forest University-bound Guise holed an eagle putt from 50 feet, putting them at 5-under and in a first-place tie with Wilton. Playing well in this tournament means a lot to our team and our town because it's our tournament at our home course. Tournament officials considered the option of calling it a nine-hole tournament since play was suspended three times due to lightning.

Staples falls to Greenwich in FCIAC boys tennis final For the third straight season Thursday, perennial powers Greenwich and Staples traded serves, rallies and the hopes of further cementing their program's legacy in FCIAC boys tennis. Shaw Speer and Louis McKenzie's thrilling three-set victory at No. 1 doubles clinched Greenwich's 4-0 win over Staples Thursday at Shippan Racquet Club in Stamford, giving the Cardinals their third straight FCIAC title and 11th in the last 12 years. An early run at singles left Greenwich confident and, in turn, placed the pressure squarely on Staples down 3-0. The Cardinals were relieved to have put the match away on their first opportunity. Chris Salisbury picked up the Cardinals' first win of the match, cruising past Jason Chaskin 6-1, 6-1 at No. 5 singles. The Wreckers, whose last FCIAC title came in 2001 (shared with Fairfield), lost 4-0 to the Cardinals in the 2011 conference final and 4-1 last season. Haskell lauded her singles unit, particularly the players at the top three spots, for the advantage they give Greenwich. Greenwich 4, Staples 0 (at Shippan Racquet Club, Stamford) Singles --

Relentlessly chasing down returns from sideline to sideline as the temperature soared into the 80s Tuesday, Hirschberg followed most of his points with a fist pump, while occasionally uttering words of encouragement to himself. Thursday's contest against rival Greenwich will mark Staples' fourth straight appearance in the conference final, the first three of which ended in defeat. After reaching the LL state quarterfinals in singles last year as the No. 3 seed, Hirschberg has battled a back injury this year. Hirschberg's first sign of trouble arrived two months ago when he felt tightness in both his back and hamstring after running. A stress fracture was finally ruled out two weeks ago, Hirschberg said, during a visit to the New York Hospital for Special Surgery. Hirschberg was given a more concrete diagnosis that essentially said his back joints near his spine were getting worn down because of the way he was arching his back while serving. [...] of what style serve Hirschberg uses, Hrisovulos believes that the senior is skilled enough to beat opponents in different ways. Hirschberg believes he's getting stronger physically, pointing to wins in two of his last three singles matches in the regular season. Even when the injury's grounded Hirschberg's ability to play, he's demonstrated his courage and leadership, Hrisovulos said.

Top-ranked Greenwich crushes Staples rugby in state semis The Greenwich High rugby team returned home determined to put its defeat in the final round of nationals behind it. Joe Kelly scored three tries and Alex McMurray added two as the Cardinals throttled visiting Staples 76-14 to advance to the Connecticut Division I state final. The Cardinals (10-3) recently visited Indiana for the national tournament, defeating a pair of nationally ranked teams from the Hoosier State to reach the Tier II final. Greenwich took 15 minutes to find its groove Monday despite scoring 1:46 into the contest thanks to Scott Atkinson.

Top-seeded Wreckers overwhelm Greenwich in FCIAC semifinals In a year full of dominant performances, the Staples High boys volleyball team orchestrated perhaps its most complete effort yet on Wednesday. Demonstrating control over all aspects of their game, the top-seeded Wreckers crushed No. 4 Greenwich 3-0 (25-11, 25-16, 25-17) in the FCIAC semifinals at Fairfield Ludlowe. The Wreckers, who came into the match with 16 straight wins, used runs of 9-0 in the first game and 6-0 in both the second and third games to overwhelm the Cardinals. Staples (17-1) will make its 12th appearance in the FCIAC final in 13 years when it faces defending champion Ridgefield (18-1) on Friday at Ludlowe at 7 p.m. The second-seeded Tigers, who were swept by the Wreckers on May 13, advanced with a 3-1 defeat of No. 3 Fairfield co-op. Upset in the semifinals by Darien in 2012 following a perfect regular season, the Wreckers are relieved to be returning to the conference final. Middle hitter Lucas Grevers, who notched six kills, three digs and two blocks, believes it was one of Staples' top two performances this season. For the Cardinals, who lost to Staples 3-1 and 3-0 during the regular season, Patrick Hanrahan had a team-high 14 assists. Mirza, a sophomore at Claremont McKenna College in California, was a member of the Wreckers' volleyball program for four years.

Staples sweeps FCIAC track and field championships Impressive victories by senior Henry Wynne in the 800- and 1,600-meter races helped lead the Wreckers' boys team to its second consecutive conference title, while record-setting victories by freshman Hanna DeBalsi in the 1,600 and 3,200 helped the Wreckers girls edge defending champion Darien by four points for the title. The Staples boys won with 128 points, followed by Danbury with 97 and Ridgefield with 90. The Staples girls won with 100.5 points, followed by Darien with 96.5 and Ridgefield with 91. Wynne won the 800 in an FCIAC record time of 1:52.94 and the 1,600 in 4:20.82. Jack Scott, Tucker Rizzi and Walker Marsh ran the other three legs on that relay, which finished in 3:22.91. [...] for the Staples boys, Rizzi won the javelin with a throw of 163-1. Wynne is looking forward to running Saturday in the Dream Mile, an elite race on Randall's Island in New York City. There are going to be so many great guys there. Darien's Nicholas Lombardo swept the jumping events, winning the high jump (6-2), the long jump (22-3.25) and the triple jump (45-1.75). Danbury's Micaiah Hill won the 100 meters in 11.05 seconds and finished a close second to Brien McMahon's Shnyden Pierre in the 200. Devan Bovell of New Canaan won the 110 hurdles in 15.01, Norwalk's Hopeton Chambers was victorious in the 300 hurdles in 38.89. Westhill's Billy Thibault tied the FCIAC pole vault record by clearing 15-0 to finish first. Danbury won the 4x100, with the quartet of Tyrice O'Conner, Tyler Challenger, Cyrus Brown and Mathew Andrew finishing in 43.49, as well as the 4x800, with the team of C.J. Cunningham, Michael Leone, Corey Mullins and Steven Farkas finishing in 8:14.65. On the girls side, DeBalsi ruled the distance events, winning the 1,600 in an FCIAC record time of 4:54.59 and the 3,200 in another conference record time of 10:25.18. DeBalsi was fairly humble about her own performances as well, although everyone who watched her run was certainly impressed. If that's what my best is, then I'll keep trying. [...] for Staples, Elizabeth Knoll cleared 5-4 to win the high jump. Ridgefield's Ellie Gravitte won the javelin and the shot put and took third in the discus. McMahon's Sarah Boyd swept the hurdles events, winning the 100 in 15.42 and the 300 in 45.92. Darien's Catherine Lacy won the 200 in 25.93 and the long jump (17-9.5). Other first-place finishes included Crystle Hill of Norwalk in the 100 (12.47), Anna Sulger of Darien in the 400 (56.49), Cate Allen of Fairfield Warde in the 800 (2:15.07), Sarah Cicchetti of Greenwich in the discus (100-7), St. Joseph freshman Jada Harris in the triple jump (34-6) and Maddie Schneider of Darien in the pole vault (11-0). FCIAC TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS May 21, Danbury High School BOYS Greenwich 53; 6. Norwalk 50; 7. (tie) McMahon and New Canaan 34; 9. St. Joseph 32; 10. (tie) Westhill and Wilton 28; 12. Fairfield Ludlowe 16; 14. (tie) Fairfield Warde and Stamford 11; 16. Austin Longi, Greenwich, 11.12; 3. Hopeton Chambers, Norwalk, 11.43; 5. Shnyden Pierre, McMahon, 22.56; 2. Tim Johnson, Trumbull, 22.98; 4. Louis Ambrogio, Greenwich, 23.37. Shnyden Pierre, McMahon, 48.67; 2. Nick Pulitano, Greenwich, 49.25; 3. Aidan Fiol, Fairfield Warde, 10:05.54. 110 hurdles: 1. Devan Bovell, New Canaan, 15.01; 2. Staples (Jack Scott, Tucker Rizzi, Walker Marsh, Henry Wynne) 3:22.91; 2. Tucker Rizzi, Staples, 163-1;2. Triple jump: 1. Pole vault: 1. Danbury 53; 6. (tie) Fairfield Ludlowe and Westhill 40; 8. Leah Hotchkiss, Darien 5-2; 3. (tie) Katie Ward, Wilton; Ellen Hebrand, Greenwich; and Catherine Lacy, Darien, 4-9; 6. (tie) Lily Twomey, Fairfield Warde; Blossom Jean Jocques, Fairfield Warde; Emily O'Keefe, Fairfield Ludlowe; and Bridget Van Dorsten, Staples, 4-9. Catherine Lacy, Darien, 17-9.5; 2. (tie) Naomi Lowry, Danbury; and Crystle Hill, Norwalk, 16-2; 4. Triple jump: 1. Pole vault: 1. Colleen Gruendel, Ridgefield, 8-6; 5. (tie) Beth Kelley, New Canaan; and Erica Leppla, Fairfield Warde, 7-9. ($) denotes state record.

When the Staples and Ridgefield boys tennis teams first met this season on April 23, Wreckers coach Kris Hrisovulos tinkered with his lineup to match his opponent's strengths. The two contenders met for a second time Tuesday with a trip to the FCIAC championship on the line and again the Wreckers utilized their depth to get the best of the Tigers. Shifting from his usual doubles spot to No. 5 singles, Staples' Jack Reardon helped continue his team's postseason run. Reardon's 7-6, 7-5 win over Tal Nizan clinched the second-seeded Wreckers' 4-1 win over third-seeded Ridgefield in Tuesday's FCIAC semifinal at home. The win sets up Staples' third straight FCIAC finals appearance against rival Greenwich, Thursday at 4 p.m. at Wilton High School. The top-seeded Cardinals, who defeated the Wreckers in the final the previous two years, advanced Tuesday with a 4-0 win over No. 5 Fairfield Ludlowe. Staples displayed its superior depth against Ridgefield, winning all four singles matches that were completed. Ridgefield altered its usual lineup on Tuesday, including moving its No. 1 singles player, Arnaud Valentin, down to top doubles after he injured his ankle recently. With the Wreckers having clinched the overall win, the No. 1 singles match between Jake Hirschberg and Ridgefield's Bryson Mosley was called after two sets (6-4, 4-6).

Westport News Athletes of the Week The Westport News Athletes of the Week for May 13-19 Had 12 digs and eight kills in a 3-0 win over Ridgefield on May 13, then recorded 12 kills and eight digs in 3-0 defeat of Greenwich on May 15. Staples' No. 1 doubles tandem clinched the Wreckers' 4-1 quarterfinal win over Darien on May 16 with a 7-5, 6-4 victory.