Sports
Westport Sports Roundup: Feb. 9
Your daily interactive digest for all Westport scores and standings and a place to add information and images for all youth sports
Editor's Note: Send any write-ups on youth or recreational games in your town to michaeld+sports@patch.com
Greenwich's Abby Markowitz and Staples' Henry Wynne, who helped their teams win FCIAC indoor track titles last week, have been named the latest MSG Varsity’s FCIAC Players of the Week.
Markowitz, a senior, won the 1,000-meter, 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter runs as the Cardinals captured their first indoor girls championship since 1990.
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Wynne won the 1,000-meters and 1,600-meters while finishing second in the 3,200-meters. He helped Staples win its first boys indoor title since 2006, ending Danbury's five-year reign.
Winners of the FCIAC Player of the Week Award are chosen by a committee consisting of four FCIAC athletic directors, along with sports writers from MSG Varsity and area newspapers.
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Westport PAL Basketball’s “All About Kids” Round-Up (2/7)
By: Contributing PAL parents
Westport PAL 5G
Westport PAL 5G split its games last weekend, remaining strongly positioned in third place in the Fairfield County Basketball League’s Girls 5 A division.
On Saturday, F5G continued its penchant for well-played close games by traveling to and defeating Newtown 5G, 25-22.
On Super Bowl Sunday, 5G hosted division powerhouse Newtown 5G. The Westport girls played with admirable tenacity, but Newtown 5G ultimately prevailed.
5G has three games this week, including traveling for a mid-week game on Wednesday against Newtown 5G. On Saturday, 5G travels to Wilton and on Sunday hosts Trumbull 5G.
Westport PAL 5B
Westport PAL 5B endured a difficult weekend, playing three games in 24 hours, including back-to-back away games on Super Bowl Sunday.
The weekend started well with a strong victory at home against Southbury, 38-28, but the momentum was broken on Sunday as 5B traveled to meet the Greenwich Flame 5B, followed hours later by a trip to Ridgefield-St. Mary’s. The 5B players kept up their energy and intensity before losing both games by a combined 10 points.
Despite the Sunday setbacks, 5B remains in the thick of the FCBL’s Boys 5 A division race. 5B gets a respite this weekend with a single game at home on Saturday against Madison Black 5G.
Westport PAL 6G
Westport PAL 6G sits in second place in the FCBL’s Girls 6 A division, a single game behind the division leaders.
6G completed an undefeated weekend, defeating Brookfield on Friday evening and building momentum further with victories at home against Wilton on Saturday and then again at Wilton on Sunday. Each game was tight, including two one-point victories.
Westport PAL 6G plays a home-and-home with Ridgefield 6G this weekend, hosting on Saturday then traveling to Ridgefield on Sunday.
Westport PAL 6B
Westport PAL 6B played four games before the Super Bowl kicked off last weekend.
6B faced tough competition all weekend, beginning with a rare Thursday evening game at Kings Kids Bridgeport and losing the first of a few weekend heartbreakers, 25-24.
The 6B road warriors shook off the tough Thursday evening loss and
traveled on Friday evening to meet A division powerhouse, the Greenwich Flame 6B. 6B got off to a terrific start but ultimately were defeated by the Flame.
With another quick turnaround and another nail-biting game, 6B traveled to Ridgefield-St. Mary’s on Saturday and played a back-and-forth thriller, falling in the final moments 38-37. Undeterred, 6B rallied to end the weekend on a high note with a victory at home against New Fairfield on Sunday, 40-38.
Westport PAL 6B hosts Carver Center-Norwalk 6B on Saturday before traveling to Fairfield for a round robin mini-tournament featuring the Fairfield Huskies.
Westport PAL 7G (by: Betty Brower)
Guided by Westport police officers Ashley DelVecchio and Erin Shaw, Westport PAL 7G had a strong weekend, winning two of its three games to remain bunched among a group of teams in the FCBL’s Girls 7 B division.
Last Thursday, 7G traveled to Shelton and handily defeated Shelton 7G, 37-20. The team hosted Monroe 7G on Friday, winning its second straight game, 57-24.
On Sunday, in a pre-Super Bowl match-up, the team traveled to Fairfield to play rivals Fairfield PAL Storm 7G. Both teams played an exciting game, with each team taking and then losing the lead. Unable to settle the game in regulation, the teams played a three-minute overtime with Westport falling, 48-47.
Julia Brower, Ashley Constantino, Virginia Gehrig, Amelia Hunt, Grace McGinley, Claire Meehan, Charlotte Rossi, Rachel Seideman and Olivia Troy played hard all weekend as they put into action the plays learned from DelVecchio and
Shaw.
Three tough opponents are on the schedule for Westport PAL 7G this weekend. 7G will host New Canaan 7G on Friday, before traveling to Weston 7G on Saturday on Norwalk 7G on Sunday.
Westport PAL 7B (By: Maryann and Paul Muller)
The Westport PAL 7B team celebrated Super Bowl Sunday with perhaps its most exciting victory of the season. The team traveled to take on Ridgefield St Mary's and eked out a thrilling 56-53 come-from-behind win in overtime. Wwstport Pal rallied from down 10 points with less than five minutes to go in regulation.
Mack Muller, Ben Casparius and Sean Pritchett each scored in double figures while also providing stout defense in the low post and wing areas. Justin Seideman played an all-around floor game, contributing several baskets, assists and steals.
Kenny Brill, Ryan Fitton, Brendan Massoud and Fritz Schemel all added points during the frantic late fourth-quarter comeback stretch. Cayne Mandell and Matty Fair played key defensive roles, also helping to steady the squad
with smart passes, assists and rebounds.
Following the weekend, 7B remains near the top of the FCBL’s Boys 7 A division at 12-6 (6-2 in division).
With three games this weekend, Westport PAL 7B faces its toughest stretch of the season. 7B will host talented New Canaan Black 7B on Friday. Then on Sunday, the team has a doubleheader, traveling first to meet Danbury PAL Blue 7B, followed by an early-evening game against Carver-Center Norwalk 7B.
Westport PAL 8G
Westport PAL 8G continued its rugged schedule in the FCBL’s Girls 8 B division, losing to Stamford 8G at home on Friday evening before traveling to Shelton on Super Bowl Sunday.
8G will host Fairfield PAL 8G this Friday evening before traveling to meet Wilton 8G on Saturday.
Westport PAL 8B (By: Mike Angerthal, Orly Angerthal and Amanda Thaw)
The Westport PAL 8B basketball team played two strong games this weekend, moving above .500 on the season at 9-8 and in the thick of a tightly bunched FCBL Boys 8 A division. The team has elevated its game of late, winning four of its last five games.
In the two wins last weekend, the team’s offensive balance and defensive intensity were on display from Ryan Angerthal, Daniel Brill, Dylan Dreyfuss, John Fincher, Adam Friedman, Riley Petta, Noah Staffa, Ben Thaw, Jared Vishno, Jackson Ward and Jack Zapfel.
On Friday night, 8B beat a chippy Boys A Division opponent from Ridgefield, 52-43. The victory avenged a tough loss to Ridgefield earlier in the season.
Down by 10 points early in the game and trailing 23-18 at the half, Westport came out firing in the third quarter, delivering six of its seven 3-pointers made in the game during the crucial third quarter and taking a lead the team never relinquished.
In the third quarter, Ben Thaw made two 3-pointers and Dylan Dreyfuss, Ryan Angerthal, Jack Zapfel and Riley Petta each added one. Defense also contributed to the comeback with John Fincher blocking two shots, Jackson Ward collecting five rebounds and Daniel Brill neutralizing the big Ridgefield team with three steals.
Jared Vishno played a strong all around game, delivering seven points and playing scrappy defense. Ryan Angerthal and Ben Thaw led the scoring with Angerthal hitting seven clutch free throws to ice the game late in the fourth quarter.
On Sunday afternoon, 8B defeated another Boys A Division opponent, beating Newtown 64-52 at Newtown High School. Westport took control of the game in the second quarter, building a 10-point lead at the half and maintaining that pace n the second half.
The game included crisp passing, solid defense and great rebounding. Jack Zapfel, Ben Thaw and Jared Vishno scored in double figures for the Westporters.
Thaw continued his deadly accuracy from 3-point range, going 3-for-3 from
long-distance, while Adam Friedman added a 3-pointer to complement the long-range barrage. Vishno completed a double-double with 11 rebounds.
Jackson Ward, Ryan Angerthal and Riley Petta each scored six points for Westport while Noah Staffa contributed a big bucket late in the first half. Daniel Brill and John Fincher controlled the glass and played aggressive defense.
Westport PAL 8B looks to keep the momentum going with three upcoming games. On Thursday, the team travels to take on Greenwich 8B, followed by a Saturday tilt with Danbury PAL Blue 8B at home. It finishes the busy weekend on Sunday with a trip to meet Wilton 8B.
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The are set for Friday and Saturday at New Canaan High School.
The event begins with the weigh-ins on Friday at 3 p.m., followed by the round of 16 matches of 4:30 p.m. and the quarterfinal bouts later in the evening.
The competition resumes on Saturday at 10 a.m. with the semifinals and consolation quarterfinals, to be followed by the consolation semifinals at 12 p.m. and the fifth-place and third-place matches at 2 p.m. The championship finals are set to begin at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Awards will be be given to the FCIAC East and West champions along with the most valuable wrestler, the most falls in least aggregate time and a sportsmanship winner. Finally, awards will be presented to the FCIAC tournament runner-up and champion.
In 2011, Danbury won its 24th FCIAC title in 25 years, defeating runner-up Greenwich by 50 points. Fairfield Warde finished third, followed by Trumbull, Stamford and Westhill.
The Hatters reclaimed the championship after Warde ended their 23-year title reign in 2010.
Danbury, which is 20-0 and ranked No. 1 in the state, is again considered the favorite to win the crown. Other contenders include Trumbull, which is ranked ninth in the Norwich Bulletin top 10 state coaches' poll, and Warde, which is 11th.
WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS
Boys hockey
Staples-Weston-Shelton at New Canaan
Boys swimming
Staples at Ridgefield
THURSDAY'S SCHEDULE
No games scheduled
BOYS BASKETBALL
West Division
FCIAC Record
Overall Record
Westhill 9-4 10-5 Greenwich 8-5 10-5 Bridgeport Central 8-6 8-6 Danbury 7-6 9-6 Staples 7-6 8-7 Trumbull 6-7 7-8Central Division
FCIAC Record
Overall Record
Ridgefield 11-2 13-2 Stamford 7-6 8-7 Norwalk 7-7 9-7 Fairfield Ludlowe 5-8 5-10 Harding 2-11 3-12 McMahon 2-11 2-13East Division
FCIAC Record
Overall Record
St. Joseph 13-0 15-0 Trinity Catholic 11-3 12-4 Bassick 10-4 12-4 Fairfield-Warde 7-6 9-6 Wilton 5-8 7-8 Darien 1-12 2-13 New Canaan 0-13 1-14GIRLS BASKETBALL
West Division
FCIAC Record
Overall Record Danbury* 15-0 17-0 Trumbull* 13-2 15-2 Staples 9-6 10-7 Westhill 8-7 9-8 Greenwich 3-12 3-14 Bridgeport Central 1-14 2-15Central Division
Norwalk 10-5 12-5 Stamford 9-6 9-8 Ridgefield 6-9 6-11 Fairfield Ludlowe 6-9 7-10 McMahon 3-12 3-14 Harding 1-13 3-13East Division
St. Joseph* 12-3 12-4 Wilton 11-4 11-5 Trinity Catholic 11-5 12-6 Darien 9-6 10-7 Fairfield Warde 9-6 11-6 New Canaan 7-8 9-8 Bassick 0-16 0-17BOYS HOCKEY
East Division FCIAC Record FCIAC Points Overall Record Ridgefield 7-0 14 12-1-0 Darien 7-0 14 10-3-0 Wilton 5-2 10 6-8-0 St. Joseph 5-3 10 9-5-0 New Canaan 4-2 8 8-5-1 Trinity Catholic 3-3 6 4-10-0 Stamford 0-6 0 2-10-1 West Division FCIAC Record FCIAC Points Overall Record Fairfield 4-2 6 6-7-0 Westhill 4-2 8 4-8-1 Trumbull 4-4 8 10-5-0 Staples 1-6 2 6-7-0 Greenwich 1-6 2 2-12-0 Norwalk/McMahon 0-8 0 2-11-0Girls Hockey (through Friday)
Teams FCIAC Record FCIAC Pts Overall Record New Canaan* 11-0 22 16-0 Greenwich* 9-3 18 10-4-1 Darien 8-2 16 10-4 Ridgefield 6-3 12 9-5-0 Wilton 4-6 8 5-7-1 Fairfield 3-6 6 5-7-0 Staples-Trumbull 1-9 2 3-10-0 Stamford 0-10 0 1-9
