Thursday, January 25, 2007 Older Editions

AHS ROUNDUP: Basketball, boys swim & dive, indoor track results

By Rick Harrison

GIRLS BASKETBALL

The Andover High girls varsity basketball team fought back valiantly from a 13-point second-half deficit, and was locked in a 61-61 tie with 53 seconds left before succumbing to co-archrival Central Catholic, 65-61, in an important Merrimack Valley Conference Division 1 game earlier this week in Lawrence.

The loss, the Lady Warriors' first in league play, dropped the locals from sole ownership of first place in the division and left them in a three-way tie with Lowell and Central (all 7-1 MVC).

AHS also dropped pesky Billerica recently, 60-43, and currently stands at 8-3 overall.

Andover plays Lowell for the third time on Super Bowl Sunday, and hosts Central Catholic in the MVC finale Feb. 14 at the Dunn.

Central and Lowell also have another game with one another (Lowell won the first) - so the next three weeks should be very interesting for the tri-powers.

n n n

"I like our attitude right now," said AHS head coach Jim Tildsley. "We're really getting after it.

"I think the (Christmas) tournament loss to Pinkerton (50-48 consolation game) was a wake-up call. We were sluggish in that one and paid for it.

"We came back with a great effort against Lowell (68-57 win). They're a very talented team and a little deeper than us.

"One thing we have going is we can run opposing teams into the ground," said Tildsley. "Every one of our starting five is capabale of going all 32 minutes at an up-tempo pace. Our kids are in great shape."

Schedule

Andover is at Methuen tomorrow night (Friday) and hosts Haverhill next Tuesday at the Dunn Gym (both 7:30 p.m. varsity tipoffs).

The big rematch with Lowell is Super Bowl Sunday afternoon (Feb. 4), with a 1:30 p.m. start at the Riddick Field House's Abraham Gym in Lowell.

n n n

Looking down the line, the inaugural Warrior Classic is Feb. 18-19 at the Dunn.

Andover will play Archbishop Williams in one semifinal, while Rhode Island teams LaSalle Academy and Ponagansett meet in the other semifinal.

"LaSalle has been killing opponents all season," said Tildsley. "It would be a great championship game if we played them."

Scoring leaders

Laura Renfro has 167 points (15.2 ave.) and Meghan Thomann 159 as an imposing 1-2 scoring punch for the locals.

Maggie Cosgrove boasts 103 points and Lauren Hughes 88.

Andover 60

Billerica 43

The Lady Warriors rolled out to an 18-point (34-16) halftime lead, and then traded baskets with the visiting Indians (7-6, 4-5 MVC) after the break.

"We came out strong," said coach Tildsley. "We were excited to play (after a week off and just one game in 13 days). A big key to the success of our running game is rebounding. We were very strong off the boards tonight with 18 offensive rebounds and more than 40 overall.

"The defensive rebounds make the fast break go and led to a lot of good shots in the first half.

"We had 18 turnovers," said Tildsley. "But 12 were on the fast break, which is OK because it means we were pushing the ball up the floor."

Meghan Thomann led the attack with 19 points and she added five rebounds, three assists.

Laura Renfro was close behind with 17 points, including a trio of threes, and she contributed three assists, two steals.

"There is a big improvement in Laura's game this year," noted Tildsley. "She's really playing well all-around - and her scoring has made a huge difference."

Lauren Hughes finished with eight points, 11 rebounds (seven offensive) and three assists, while catalyst Maggie Cosgrove had seven points, nine assists, six steals and one bloody knee.

"Maggie is the one that makes us go," said Tildsley. "She's the point-guard, the quarterback and the one who gets the ball to Thomann and Renfro in good position.

"She's so unselfish. She could score double figures every night but sacrifices some opportunities to set up her teammates. We are really, really going to miss Maggie next year. That will be our biggest priority. To find a replacement at point guard."

In this game she got the bloody knee, came out briefly for repairs and was quickly back on the court diving for loose balls again.

n n n

Jordy Shoemaker produced four points and seven rebounds, Ilana Cohen three points, five assists and Camille Fantini two points, 14 rebounds, two assists.

"This was Jordy's best all-around game of the season," said Tildsley. "She stepped up her game and gave us the kind of contribution we need from the bench.

"I can't remember the last time someone had 14 rebounds for us," added the coach. "Camille dominated the defensive boards."

AHS did not shoot well from the floor, hitting only 23-of-76 shots (30 percent), but was solid at the free throw line with 11-for-15.

n n n

Junior forward Brittney McGinness led Billerica with 15 points, while Lauren Glavin added eight points, 12 rebounds.

"Billerica is a tough, physical, well-coached team," said Tildsley.

Central Catholic 65

Andover 61

The Lady Warriors' second-half comeback was impressive - but it fell just short as both teams played outstanding basketball throughout.

"I think Central played about as well as it possibly could," said coach Tildsley. "They shot extremely well from the floor and free throw line."

The charity stripe was a pivotal factor, Central converting 24-of -33 foul shots to just 8-of-12 for Andover which held a 23-19 advantage in field goals.

"We just have a lot of trouble every year winning in that gym," said Tildsley. "It's so hard to beat them over there. The better team doesn't always win in that place."

Last winter the Lady Warriors did edge Central, 48-45, in Lawrence on their way to a 20-0 regular season.

But before that CCHS won three straight and four of five on its home court versus Andover.

"Central is big and strong," continued the AHS coach. "In many cases the 1-on-1 matchups don't favor us.

"They came out at the beginning of the game in a 1-3-1 (zone) and bogged us down for awhile. We adjusted in the second half and had a little more success on offense.

"The big thing is our girls didn't quit," said Tildsley. "We were down 13 with 12 minutes left - and instead of packing it in we came all the way back and took a one-point lead late.

"We executed well at the end of the game - got the shots we wanted on almost every possession - but they just didn't fall."

n n n

After several lead changes Central was ahead 30-26 at the half, and increased it to 37-26 after the break by completing a carryover 11-0 run.

The lead was largest at 43-30 with 12 minutes left, but a 15-1 Andover run gave the locals a 45-44 edge with 8:45 to play.

The Raiders regained a five-point cushion with seven minutes to go, but again AHS responded to tie it 51-51 following a three-pointer by Laura Renfro and bucket by Maggie Cosgrove with six minutes left.

A Lauren Hughes' layup helped offset three CCHS free throws, while a Meghan Thomann trey countered a Katie Zenevitch jumper for a 56-56 deadlock.

Renfro nailed a jumper with 53 seconds remaining, tying it for the final time at 61-61.

Andover did not score again, with two shots rimming out, while Central nailed down the triumph on a Zenevitch bucket at 0:35 and a pair of solo free throws.

Central finished with a 26-18 rebounding edge, while the Raiders committed 13 turnovers to only seven by Andover.

"Considering the pace and tough defense on both sides - it was a pretty clean game in terms of handling the ball," said Tildsley.

Andover hit 23-of-59 floor shots (39 percent).

n n n

Renfro and Thomann shared high-scoring honors for Andover with 17 points each.

Thomann passed out five assists and Renfro contributed two steals, while hitting 5-of-9 shots including four three-pointers.

"Laura comes up huge in every game," said Tildsley. "Her shooting this season has been tremendous. We have to find ways to get her more shots."

Hughes added 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and Cosgrove had eight points, five assists, two steals.

Camille Fantini contributed six points, seven boards and Ilana Cohen nailed a trey.

Heralded Central freshman center Katie Zenevitch was game-high scorer with 20 points, including a pair of threes, and she also collected 11 rebounds and blocked three shots.

Kaylyn Grange added 14 points, five assists and Melissa Lucas 11 points.

BOYS BASKETBALL

In one of the program's more impressive victories in recent years, the Andover High boys varsity basketball team showed Eastern Mass. Top 10 power Brockton how the game is played up north with a 57-46 triumph over the highly-regarded Boxers.

Tuesday night - four nights later on the enemy court - the locals didn't show even the hint of a letdown while avenging their 58-51 Christmas Tournament title-game loss to Lawrence High with a pulsating four-point, 61-57, triumph over the Lancers.

The two monumental victories boosted coach Dave Fazio's overachievers to 10-3 overall - making its 18 straight Division 1 North Tournament appearances under their current guru.

AHS has won three straight and four of its last five.

Andover is also 7-2 in MVC 1 while Lawrence (9-5 overall) dropped to 5-3 in the league with other losses to Methuen and red-hot Lowell.

Also still embroiled in the four-team battle for division honors are Central Catholic (7-1) and Lowell (6-2).

Schedule

The Golden Warriors have another Top 20 non-league foe invading the Dunn Gym this Sunday, as J.D. O'Bryant of Boston is in for a 2:30 p.m. varsity tipoff.

Tuesday night the locals trek to Haverhill (7:30 p.m.), and next Friday (Feb. 2) the MVC 1 title might be hanging in the balance when AHS hosts Central Catholic (7:30 p.m.).

Scoring leaders

Ian Dempsey heads the parade with 243 points, including 33 three-pointers, through 13 games for an 18.7 ppg. average.

Tristian Shannon has 158, Derrick Beasley 78, Chris Abreu 60, and Greg Cook 56.

Andover 57

Brockton 46

The Golden Warriors shot extremely well and rode the 21-point performance of junior forward Tristian Shannon to this eye-opening victory at the Dunn Gym.

These non-league rivals traded blows throughout the game, finishing the first half locked in a 25-25 tie and coming down the stretch with Andover clinging to a one-point, 47-46 lead.

The final three minutes of crunch time belonged to the locals, as they outscored the Boxers 10-0 and showed a relentless brand of defense that both frustrated and wore down the visitors.

Backing up Shannon's 21-point performance was a 12-point effort from Ian Dempsey and eight points by junior forward Peter White.

Derrick Beasley and Sam Hutchins contributed six points each, while field goals by Gordon DuBois and Greg Cook completed the scoring.

Junior guard Cook was also instrumental in the victory with a pesky defensive showing against Brockton top gun Kyle Gerry, who worked hard for his game-high 22 points.

The Boxers, who entered with a 7-1 record, were unable to get another player into double figures.

This game marked the sixth time this season the Golden Warriors held a team to 46 points or less - including the third time over a four-game stretch.

n n n

Last year the Boxers scored almost twice as many points in a racehorse 89-79 victory over Andover, while two years ago Brockton also prevailed, 56-39.

Andover last handled Brockton, 86-71, on Jan. 3, 2004 with Chris Vetrano, Jack Barrett, Casey Cosgrove and Bobby Hughes leading the way. The locals finished 19-2 regular season and 21-3 overall that winter.

Andover 61

Lawrence 57

With clutch play down the stretch from Ian Dempsey, Derrick Beasley, Gordon DuBois and Jason Perry, the Golden Warriors nailed down the tourney berth and solidified their bid for the Merrimack Valley Conference Division 1 title with this tug-of-war win.

Dempsey, who nailed a pivotal three-pointer with just over a minute left to erase a one-point deficit, tossed in 16 points to share game-high honors in a hard-hitting contest where every basket was earned.

Beasley and DuBois protected the slim Golden Warriors' lead in the final 62 seconds with several huge free throw conversions, and Perry blocked a shot that would have tied the game with less than 10 seconds remaining.

The free throw line proved crucial to the locals, who hit 18-of-23 attempts to just 5-of-16 for Lawrence which held a 23-19 edge in field goals.

Tristian Shannon contributed 11 points for balanced AHS, Beasley finished with nine, Chris Abreu eight, Greg Cook six, DuBois five, Zach Burdeau four, and Peter White two.

Danny Singh netted 16 and Willie Reynoso 13 to pace Lawrence.

BOYS SWIM & DIVE

Freshman Paul Hunter, sophomore Nick D'Innocenzo and junior Christian Bishop were all double individual event winners - and all three also swam on a victorious relay - as the Andover High boys swim and dive team returned to the pool with a solid 98-87 non-league dual-meet victory over host Acton-Boxboro on Tuesday.

Competing for the first time in a week, the Golden Warriors improved to 5-1 overall and stretched their win streak through four meets.

Schedule

AHS, 2-0 in Merrimack Valley Conference action, has its fourth straight away meet tomorrow (Friday) at Haverhill in the final prep for MVC co-leader Chelmsford.

The Lions, who shared the conference dual-meet title with Andover last winter and have won or shared the league 13 of the last 14 years, face the host Golden Warriors next Friday (Feb. 2) at the Greater Lawrence Vo-Tech pool (3:30 p.m.).

If Andover defeats Haverhill the annual showdown with Chelmsford will again determine the regular-season championship.

Andover 98

Acton-Boxboro 87

The Colonials, as usual, provided a strong challenge - although Andover won this one outright on quality performances by placing first in 10 of the 12 events.

"The key races," said AHS coach Mark Taffe, "turned out to be the 100 freestyle and the 100 backstroke."

Paul Hunter was the victor in both, taking the 100 free by a split-second in 51.61 and the 100 back in 59.15.

"I would have been happy with second and fourth in the 100 free - but we took first and third which was a nice surprise," said Taffe. "Paul (Hunter) put together two good performances against strong competition."

Reigning two-event state champ Nick D'Innocenzo remained undefeated with a pair of firsts in the 200 IM (2:00.31) and the 100 breaststroke (1:05.11), while Christian Bishop earned his wins in the 200 free (1:53.07) and 500 free (5:05.63).

Other Andover victors were junior Peter Saunders in the 100 butterfly (57.44) and sophomore one-meter diver Peter Wakeling, who chalked up 198.60 points.

The locals touched first in two relays - the opening and final events - with the 200 medley crew of Hunter, junior Zach Hamer, Saunders and junior anchorman Peter Li clocked at 1:47.79 and the 400 free foursome of Bishop, sophomore Mike Bakies, Saunders and D'Innocenzo in at a swift 3:29.95.

Bakies also finished runner-up to Bishop in the 200 free (1:54.49), and lowered his best time in the 500 free by seven seconds on the way to third place in 5:11.08.

Saunders was second in the 50 free (23.59), just a shade behind Acton-Boxboro winner Steve Poulin (23.42), Hamer took second in the 100 breast (1:08.54) and the 200 free relay of Li, sophomore Yubo Liu, Bishop and D'Innocenzo was runner-up (1:35.93) by a split-second (A-B 1:35.62).

Li had a key third in the 100 free (52.16) and he was fourth in the 50 sprint (24.15).

n n n

The Golden Warriors had several other fourth places, including senior Capt. Dave Espindle in both the 100 fly (1:01.20) and 100 back (1:00.46).

Freshman diver Brad Samuels was also fourth with 141.00 points.

Senior Capt. Kevin O'Donnell grabbed a pair of fifths in the 50 free (24.76) and 100 back (1:02.48), while Liu was fifth in the 200 IM (2:19.14) and sophomore Devon Mullen in the 200 free (2:00.99).

Rounding out the performances in sixth were Liu (100 fly, 1:04.84), Mullen (100 free, 56.73), junior Tom Demers (500 free, 6:04.78) and junior Tim Russell (100 breast, 1:14.78).

INDOOR TRACK

Jess Forster was a double winner in the 50 hurdles and high jump, as the Andover High girls indoor track team rocked Lowell, 57-24, while the AHS boys dropped a 48-38 decision to the host Red Raiders at the Riddick Memorial Field House in Lowell.

Forster came back with two more victories in the same events, as the girls cruised past Haverhill, 53-33, Tuesday afternoon at the Collins Field House.

The boys came out on the short end once again, 55-31, Tuesday against Haverhill.

With those results the AHS girls improved to 4-1 overall in dual meets and the boys fell to 1-5.

The Lady Warriors finished second to reigning champ Central Catholic in the Merrimack Valley Conference Division 1 dual-meet standings.

Central, which handed AHS its only loss (52-34) this winter, clinched its second straight title with a 55-31 victory over Chelmsford that boosted the undefeated Raiders to 5-0 this winter.

Schedule

The annual McIntyre Elite Relays are scheduled this Sunday at the Reggie Lewis Track Center in Roxbury (9:30 a.m.).

Both Andover teams wrap up the regular season dual-meet schedule next Tuesday with crossover meets against Division 2 Tewksbury at the Collins Field House (3:30 p.m.).

Andover girls 57

Lowell 24

The Lady Warriors placed first in seven of the 10 events, and added six seconds while also sweeping the hurdles and high jump.

Jess Forster led both sweeps, winning the 50-yard hurdles race in 7.6 seconds and the high jump with a 5'1" leap.

Other individual race winners were Christina Muccio in the 50 dash (6.4), Melissa Knapp the 300 dash (40.7), Rachel Fox the 600 run (1:36.5), Colleen Shannon the 1000 run (2:55.5) and freshman Molly Van Doren the two-mile (12:44.5).

Completing the sweep of the hurdles were runner-up Canary (8.2) and third-place Caroline Hodge (8.3), while 2-3 in the high jump were Jenn Ravikumar (4'6") and Vanessa Singleton (4'4").

Also placing second were Bizzy DiTroia (50 dash, 6.6), Laura Cody (600 run (1:38.5), Christina Conley (1000 run, 3:00.5) and miler Casey Harrison (5:47.1).

Freshman C.J. Rayner was third in the mile (6:19.9) and Ory third in the deuce (13:36.9).

Lowell 48

Andover boys 38

All four Golden Warrior defeats have been by 12 points or less, and the locals continued to play it close in this setback.

Both teams finished with five first places, with AHS victories going to freshman sprinter Chris McConnell (50 dash, 5.6), miler Frank Perrone (4:51.8), two-miler Pete Shaw (10:20.2), high jumper Andrew Wheelwright (5'9") and the 4x400 relay (3:52.6).

Distance aces Perrone and Shaw left no doubt, the former winning by almost 15 seconds and the latter by more than nine seconds.

Andover had only two second places as Lowell held a decisive 21-6 scoring edge in the runner-up positions.

Mike Murray ran the 600 in 1:20.7 and sophomore miler Tom McQuillion trailed Perrone in the mile (5:06.3).

Nailing down thirds were hurdler Matt McMahon (7.1), sprinters Santi Costello (50 dash, 5.9) and Shawn McDermott (300 dash, 36.0), Rob Martin (600 run, 1:21.6), Peter Roman (1000 run, 2:38.8), miler Andrew Speen (5:13.0) to complete a sweep and two-miler Nick Shoemaker (10:45.9).

Andover/Haverhill

Jess Forster continued her hurdles/high jump domination with two more victories, completing the hurdles in 7.5 and clearing 4'10" in the high jump.

Other winners included sprinter Melissa Knapp (300 dash, 40.5), Rachel Fox (600 run, 1:32.2), Colleen Shannon (1000 run, 2:45.5), shot putter Rachel Licciardelli (28'10 1/4") and the 4x400 relay of Laura Cody, Vanessa Singleton, Natalie Sousa and Kayley Pettoruto (4:37.9).

On the boys side, 20 of the AHS points came on four first-place finishes by sprinter Chris McConnell (50 dash, 5.6), hurdler Randy Labrecque (7.1), Frank Perrone (1000 run, 2:29.4) and two-miler Pete Shaw (10:17.0).