Thursday, February 15, 2007 Older Editions

AHS ROUNDUP: A week on the road to success

By Rick Harrison

Success followed Andover High varsity sports teams almost everywhere they traveled during the past week.

o The AHS girls indoor track team won the title - and the boys were a strong third - in the 2007 Merrimack Valley Conference Championship Meet at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center in Roxbury.

o The Golden Warrior boys swim & dive team also won the MVC Championship Meet, adding that title to their dual-meet crown with an impressive victory at the White Natatorium in Haverhill.

o The girls alpine ski team earned a piece of the North Shore League championship again, making it five straight NSL dual-meet titles won or shared.

o Boys hockey captured the Merrimack Valley/Dual County League Division 2 championship following a pair of shutout victories.

o Girls gymnastics finished a strong second to reigning state champ Chelmsford in the MVC Championship Meet, and the Lady Warriors also earned the No. 6 seed in a 12-team field at the upcoming North Sectional Meet.

o At presstime, the girls basketball team was poised to grab a share of the MVC Division 1 title, but - weather permitting - needed a win over Central Catholic last night (Wednesday) to get the job done.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

The Lady Warriors kept their title hopes alive with a 67-53 triumph over Billerica, and then stretched their win streak through three games with a 60-42 non-league romp against host Somerville.

That sweep boosted the overall record to 13-4 and the league mark to 11-2.

Head coach Jim Tildsley's Andover crew entered last night's showdown with Central sporting a perfect 6-0 record at home this season, and a 29-game regular-season win streak at the Dunn Gym since a 59-56 overtime loss to Peabody on Dec. 23, 2003.

Warrior Classic

The inaugural four-team Warrior Classic, also featuring Archbishop Williams of Braintree and Rhode Island schools Ponagansett High and LaSalle Academy of Providence, takes place this Sunday and Monday at the Dunn. AHS faces Williams in the semifinal round on Sunday.

Scoring leaders

Meghan Thomann led the team in scoring through 17 games with 253 points (14.9 ave.), followed by Laura Renfro with 237, Maggie Cosgrove 176 and Lauren Hughes 134.

Thomann now has 799 career points and Cosgrove 789.

Tourney pairings

The MIAA Division 1 North Tournament pairings and seedings are scheduled to be drawn up and released next Friday, Feb. 23.

Andover 62

Somerville 40

Laura Renfro led three AHS players into double figures with a game-high 16 points, as the locals moved out to a 37-21 halftime lead and used a 23-6 second-half run to open the advantage to 60-27.

"They were slow getting back on defense and we used that to get the ball out of bounds and upcourt quickly for a lot of easy layups," said coach Tildsley.

"We ran the break well with Maggie (Cosgrove) getting most of her (10) assists by pushing the ball.

"We were also able to pass the ball inside to Lauren (Hughes), who scored all 10 of her points in the second half," said Tildsley.

"The scoring was really balanced and hopefully we'll get that same kind of spread against Central."

Cosgrove, in addition to her 10 assists, finished with 11 points while Hughes had 10 points, nine rebounds.

Meghan Thomann tossed in nine points, Camille Fantini and Ilana Cohen pumped through six each, Sarah LoMedico added a basket and Jordy Shoemaker netted two free throws.

The loss dropped perennial power Somerville to 10-7 overall.

Andover 67

Billerica 43

The Lady Warriors jumped out to a quick early lead, boosted it to 38-20 by the half and then traded hoops with host BMHS (8-9) at the James Gym.

"Once again we ran the ball very well," said coach Tildsley. "Not many teams can beat us when we're pushing the ball like we did tonight."

Meghan Thomann had a monster game with 27 points, while Lauren Hughes added nine and Capt. Maggie Cosgrove seven for the visitors.

Sarah LoMedico contributed six points, Laura Renfro four, Ilana Cohen four free throws, Jordy Shoemaker and Camille Fantini three points each, Kelly Driscoll and Catherine LoMedico two foul shots apiece, Kasey O'Dea one charity.

The free throw line played a significant part in the victory, both teams finishing with 21 field goals including a trio of threes each while Andover outscored the Indians 22-8 at the stripe.

Lauren Glavin once again paced Billerica with a team-high 12 points, 11 rebounds.

BOYS BASKETBALL

The brutal schedule finally caught up with the Andover High boys varsity basketball team.

Coach Dave Fazio's crew - which has exceeded most expectations this season against a very formidable list of opponents - dropped a pair of recent starts to non-league Boston College High (82-44) and MVC 1 rival Lawrence (50-45).

The double dip left the locals at 12-7 overall and 8-5 in Division 1 of the Merrimack Valley Conference.

AHS was in the conference title chase right to the bitter end, but finished two games behind co-champs Central Catholic, Lowell and Lawrence (all 10-3 MVC).

Central clinched its piece of the pie with a recent 74-55 win over Haverhill, while Lowell also beat Haverhill, 79-59, but squandered a chance at the outright title with a 61-54 loss to Lawrence.

This has still been a terrific winter for a team that began the season with just one returning starter and three seniors.

And it's not over. The upcoming inaugural Warrior Classic and MIAA Division 1 North Tournament are two more events to do some damage.

Warrior Classic

Still ahead is the Division 1 North Tournament - as well as the inaugural Warrior Classic - and anything can happen with this relentless crew which seven times has held an opponent to 46 or fewer points.

The four-team Classic opens this Saturday with Andover battling Malden High and Brookline facing Boston Latin in the semifinals.

The championship and consolation games are scheduled for next Monday.

Scoring leaders

Ian Dempsey leads the pack through 19 games with 332 points (17.5 ave.), followed by Tristian Shannon at 215, Derrick Beasley 106, Chris Abreu 87 and Greg Cook 86.

Tourney pairings

The MIAA Division 1 North Tournament pairings and seedings are scheduled to be drawn up and released next Friday, Feb. 23.

BC High 82

Andover 44

Can you say "buzzsaw?"

For the first time in 18 games the Golden Warriors were not in contention, falling behind by 19 at the half (41-22) and never digging out of the ever-deepening hole.

The 82 points were 14 more than the locals had allowed in any previous start, and the 44 was the lowest output of the season and marked the fourth time in five games AHS had scored 51 or fewer.

Ian Dempsey tossed in 14 points and Tristian Shannon added 11.

Greg Cook contributed five points while Chris Abreu, Jason Perry and Peter White had four each.

Zach Burdeau completed the attack with a bucket, as Andover managed only 16 field goals (including seven treys) and five free throws.

Lawrence 50

Andover 45

Give credit to the Lancers.

They walked into the Dunn Gym Tuesday night needing a win to stay alive for a title tie, and battled back from a seven-point halftime deficit (25-18) to hand the Golden Warriors their third home-court loss (6-3) of the season (others to Lowell and Central).

It was a typical rough-and-tumble Andover-Lawrence confrontation, which also gave the Lancers a 2-1 edge in their three 2006-'07 meetings.

Ian Dempsey powered the locals with a game-high 20 points.

Peter White had nine, Chris Abreu six, Derrick Beasley and Greg Cook five each.

Tristian Shannon exited early because of foul problems and that was a major setback.

Lawrence won it at the free throw line, converting 18-of-24 to 10-of-16 for AHS which again played strong defense.

Lowell 57

Andover 46

White-hot Lowell won its eighth straight game Tuesday night at its home Riddick Field House Abraham Gym, including two victories over Andover (66-61 on Jan. 12) and single wins versus Central Catholic and Lawrence, as it took sole possession of first place in MVC 1.

Andover, 1 1/2 games back at presstime, matched its lowest point total of the season (46 in win over O'Bryant).

Despite trailing by 14 at the half (33-19), and by as many as 15 points twice, the never-say-die Golden Warriors made a furious late-game charge that trimmed the deficit to one point before Lowell regrouped and pulled away a final time in the closing 70 seconds.

Ian Dempsey sparked Andover with 14 points, Tristian Shannon added nine, Chris Abreu seven and Derrick Beasley five.

Peter White pocketed four points, Greg Cook three and solo baskets were contributed by Sam Hutchins and Zach Burdeau.

Jamie Shannon and Fernando Perez paced Lowell (14-5 overall, 9-2 MVC 1) with 22 and 17 points respectively.

Player of the Fortnight

This week's recipient of the Baystate Financial Services Player of the Fortnight Award is Derek Beasley.

Coach Dave Fazio praises Beasley's contributions to the team to date, as well as his great potential. "Beasley has worked very hard and is an excellent team player. He's helped this team in many ways. His defense has been super. But now, deep in the season when we're on the verge of the playoffs, we need him to assert himself, to bring his game to another level. We are very confident that he can do that."

The next Player of the Fortnight Award, this time to a girls team player, will be announced next week.

BOYS SWIM & DIVE

Peter Saunders, Nick D'Innocenzo and Christian Bishop touched first in two events each, as the Andover High boys swim and dive team won all 11 races and completed a sweep of Merrimack Valley Conference honors by capturing the League Team Championship Meet held at the White Natatorium in Haverhill.

AHS, which last won this title meet 15 years ago in 1992 with Rick Battistini as coach, chalked up 493 points to out-distance a five-school field including runner-up and multi-time champ Chelmsford at 429.5.

Completing the field were Haverhill with 229 points, Central Catholic 114.5 and Lowell 105.

"A lot of good things happened for us today," said head coach Mark Taffe after the meet. "Nick (D'Innocenzo) set a new Conference record in the 100 breaststroke, Peter Li won for the first time (100 free) at this meet which was exciting for him, Zach Hamer dropped more than two seconds off his previous best time in the 100 breast, and almost everyone swam their fastest.

"Even though we won every race," continued Taffe, "we had to swim that well because Chelmsford gave us a pretty good run."

Earlier this month the Golden Warriors finished the conference dual-meet schedule at a perfect 4-0, winning their last seven meets to close 8-1 overall.

The Andover boys are now 19-1-1 in their last 21 duals spanning two full seasons and part of a third.

Schedule

The locals would now like to cap the season by emulating what the AHS girl swimmers/divers have done for the past eight years - winning the North Sectional and State Meets.

The North Sectionals are this Saturday at MIT in Cambridge, and the season-ending State Meet has been switched to next Thursday, Feb. 22 at Harvard University's Blodgett Pool (6 p.m.).

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Among the teams AHS should be battling for Sectional and State honors are St. John's Prep of Danvers, Weston, BC High (only dual-meet loss), Acton-Boxboro and Chelmsford.

"St. John's is 'jacked' (loaded) again, Weston has won state titles and is always tough - and B.C. High already showed us its strength in the dual meet," said coach Taffe. "St. John's and Weston are the favorites."

MVC Championship Meet

Big keys in breaking the 15-year title drought at this meet were the aforementioned Saunders, D'Innocenzo and Bishop.

Sophomore reigning state champ D'Innocenzo swam the 100-yard breast in 1:01.64, eclipsing the decade-old mark of 1:02.20 set by former state champ Kevin Riley who ironically was a member of coach Taffe's Central Catholic/Andover co-op team at the time.

D'Innocenzo also won the 200 IM in 1:57.99.

Junior classman Saunders captured the 50 free sprint (23.33) and 100 butterfly (55.32), both personal-best times, while fellow junior standout Bishop beat the field in the 200 free (1:52.94) and 500 free (5:05.26).

All three were also on a pair of victorious relay teams, D'Innocenzo and Bishop swam the 200 free and 400 free, while Saunders swam a leg for the 200 medley and 200 free squads.

Other AHS individual winners were junior Peter Li in the 100 free (51.22) and freshman Paul Hunter the 100 backstroke (58.35).

Li was also a very close second to Saunders in the 50 free (personal-best 23.45), and Hunter a close runner-up to Li in the 100 free (51.65).

Joining Saunders and anchorman Li on the top 200 medley relay were senior Capt. Dave Espindle and junior Zach Hamer (1:47.25).

Li and Saunders teamed with Bishop and D'Innocenzo on the winning 200 free foursome (1:34.58), while Hunter and sophomore Mike Bakies rounded out the first-place 400 free relay with Bishop and anchorman D'Innocenzo (3:28.99).

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Points were awarded for the top 12 placers in each event.

Bakies added a second in the 200 free (personal-best 1:53.44) and third in the 500 free (5:17.86), while Hamer also contributed an individual second (100 breast, personal-best 1:04.72) and third (200 IM, 2:14.80).

Senior Capt. Kevin O'Donnell was third in the 100 back (1:02.67) and fifth in the 50 free (personal-best 24.29).

Joining O'Donnell on the third-place 200 medley relay were Hunter, junior Tim Russell and sophomore Yubo Liu (1:53.69), while on the third-place 200 free he was followed by sophomore Devon Mullen, junior Luke Delisio and Bakies (1:39.14).

The 400 free 'B' relay of Mullen, Espindle, Delisio and Liu was fifth (3:43.31).

Mullen picked up a fourth in the 200 free (2:00.70) and sixth in the 100 free (54.79), while Espindle was fourth in the 200 IM (2:15.22) and sixth in the 100 fly (1:02.32).

Liu took a sixth (100 back, 1:05.23) and eighth (100 fly, 1:03.22), and Delisio added an eighth (50 free, personal-best 25.05) and ninth (100 free, 56.27).

Also scoring in two events were Russell, seventh in the 500 free (5:48.45) and 10th in the 100 breast (1:16.74), freshman Adam Millerick ninth in the 500 free (5:51.07) and 10th in the 200 free (personal-best 2:06.35), sophomore Steve Moore 12th in both the 50 free (25.81) and 100 free (56.83), and junior Andrew Genetti 11th in the 200 IM (2:36.44) and 12th in the 100 fly (1:15.16).

Other AHS placers were junior Tom Demers (11th, 6:03.15) and freshman Pete Belanger (12th, 6:25.16) in the 500 free, along with junior Adam Kleger who took 12th in the 100 back (1:20.81).

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In the one-meter diving, freshman Brad Samuels finished fifth with 169.30 points and sophomore Peter Wakeling was ninth with 147.90 points.

INDOOR TRACK

Christina Muccio, Rachel Fox and Colleen Shannon were individual race winners - while Muccio, Shannon and Jess Forster each scored in two events and the Andover High girls indoor track team also had two firsts and a third in the relays - on the way to first place in the Merrimack Valley Conference Championship Meet held this year at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center in Roxbury.

Meanwhile, victories by long jumper Santi Costello and freshman sprinter Chris McConnell sparked the AHS boys to third place.

Andover girls

AHS, 5-2 during the dual-meet season and runner-up to Central Catholic in the MVC 1 standings, earned a measure of revenge by relegating the Raiders to second place in this meet.

Andover finished with 86.5 points to top the nine-school field. Central had 78.5 and the only other serious challenger was Tewksbury with 71.

The champs placed first in five of the 13 events - and much of the scoring was done by underclassmen who will return next year.

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Junior gymnastics transfer Christina Muccio completed the league season undefeated in the 50-yard and 55-meter dashes, winning the sprint at the latter distance in 7.42.

She also placed sixth in the long jump, rarely-contested-indoors, with a leap of 15'1 1/4."

Senior Rachel Fox continued her middle-distance domination with another triumph in the 600 meters, her 1:37.62 outkicking runner-up and lone threat Trica Brice of Chelmsford by just over one second (1:38.89). It was one of the rare occasions Fox was pushed hard this season - and she responded like a champion.

Unbeaten sophomore Colleen Shannon won the 1000 meters by a healthy four-second margin (3:03.76), and she also contributed a third in the long jump (16' 1/2").

Junior Jess Foster was second in the high jump after clearing 4'11," while junior Jenn Ravikumar tied for sixth with at 4'9."

Forster also chalked up a third in the 55-meter hurdles (9.24).

Junior Casey Harrison nailed down fourth in the mile (5:27.53).

Sophomore Melissa Knapp was also fourth in the 300 meters (43.94) as Andover's lone entry in the race.

Junior Bizzy DiTroia was sixth in the 55-meter dash (9.76).

The champs also piled up 26 points by dominating the relays, winning both the 4x200 sprint (1:48.01) and 4x400 (4:0882) while taking third in the 4x800 (10:00.05).

The 4x200 team consisted of Knapp, Muccio, DiTroia and Forster.

The 4x400 included Vanessa Singleton, Kayley Pettoruto, Natalie Sousa and Fox.

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Freshman Molly Van Doren barely missed scoring with a 7th in the two-mile (12:20.54), while senior Sam Ory finished 15th (13:05.24).

Sophomore Laura Cody took 8th in the 600 meters (1:46.42) and sophomore Maura Fitzgerald was 25th (1:55.69).

Sophomore Emily Delacoste placed 12th in the 1000 meters (3:23.00).

In the shot put, junior Rachel Liccardi was 14th (25'8) and junior Halley Hauller 15th (25'4").

Junior Vanessa Dipasquale placed 24th in the mile (6:08.68).

Senior Caroline Hodge was 12th in the 55-meter hurdles preliminaries (9.73), while junior Laura Wareham placed 14th in the 55-meter dash prelims (8.04).

Andover boys

After losing a lot of close decisions during the dual-meet season, the Golden Warriors came through with a solid third-place performance in a 10-school field.

AHS finished with 49.40 points, well behind 1-2 schools Haverhill (84) and Central Catholic (70) but ahead of several teams that beat Andover in duals.

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The locals cleaned up big-time in the long jump with a 1-2 finish for 18 points, junior Santi Costello first after a 19'11 1/2" leap and senior Norbert Guery close behind with a top jump of 19'7 1/2."

Freshman flash Chris McConnell continued unbeaten in the dash, covering the 55 meters in 6.72 to nip runner-up and senior classman Peter Early of Haverhill (6.73) by the narrowest of photo-finish margins.

Tireless senior two-miler Peter Shaw was second in 9:49.03.

Senior high jumper Andrew Wheelwright finished in a five-way tie for fourth after clearing the bar at 5'6."

Costello was also sixth in the 55-meter dash (6.88).

The locals scored in all three relays, placing third in the 4x400 (3:38.21), fourth in the 4x800 (8:42.41) and sixth in the 4x200 sprint (1:37.59).

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Senior Frank Perrone finished 7th in the 1000 meters (2:43.69), missing out on points by about one second.

Senior Mike Murray came in 8th in the 300-meter dash (38.83), a half-second shy of scoring.

Not far behind in the same sprint were sophomore Brendan Crawford (11th, 39.26) and junior Sean McDermott (13th, 39.69).

Sophomore Rob Martin placed 9th in the 600 meters (1:30.07), less than two seconds out of point range.

Freshman Nick Shoemaker took 13th in the two-mile (10:58.37).

Senior shot putters J.B. Israel (40'10 1/4") and Sean Donlan (40'7") placed 14th and 15th respectively.

Sophomore miler Tom McQuillian settled for 14th (5:02.71), while freshman Scott Waller ran the same race in 5:14.40.

Freshman Jake Ponti was 16th in the 55-meter hurdles (9.18).

Senior Peter Roman (16th, 2:53.04) and junior Mike Primes (18th, 2:56.02) also ran the 1000.

Sophomore Connor O'Neil (19th, 1:36.11) ran the 600.

Junior John Bigelow competed in the high jump.

BOYS ICE HOCKEY

The Andover High boys varsity hockey team nailed down the Merrimack Valley/Dual County League Division 2 championship before its upcoming showdown with second-place Tewksbury, earning the title with two more back-to-back shutout performances against Haverhill (3-0) and Methuen (5-0).

Those two victories - which gave the Golden Warriors three straight shutouts, four in five games and five in seven, boosted the locals to 8-1 in the league and 12-4-1 overall.

AHS, which carried a five-game win streak into last night's clash against Chelmsford - after Townsman presstime and weather permitting - opened up a three-point lead over Tewksbury (16-13) with just one division game remaining.

Also helping the champs' cause were consecutive 1-1 Tewksbury ties with Lincoln-Sudbury and Boston Latin, which left the Redmen at 5-1-3 in MV/DCL 2 play.

The Golden Warriors did not know until several hours after the afternoon win over Methuen that they had clinched the title - with the Tewksbury vs. Latin game starting six hours later.

Andover has now won or shared four league titles in boys hockey, and third-year coach Mario Martiniello has stretched his personal won-lost-tied record to 33-19-7.

Zeroing in

The six shutouts this season - and three in a row - are both believed to be team records.

No. 1 goaltender Dan Abreu has also posted four straight shutouts, believed to be an individual AHS mark, and going into last night's games he had gone 187 minutes without allowing a goal.

Since transferring back to AHS from Malden Catholic last year, Abreu has posted 10 solo shutouts and one shared shutout.

Through the first 17 games the locals had outscored the opposition by a healthy 57-26 margin for a stingy 1.53 goals-against average.

AHS has yielded only five goals in the last eight games (0.63 ave.).

Andover has also had eight games this season decided by one goal. The locals are 5-3 in those games.

Schedule

AHS played a crossover game last night (Wednesday), after Townsman presstime, at the Valley Forum against Division 1 Chelmsford which entered with a 6-7-5 overall record and needing a win to stay in consideration for an MIAA Division 1 North Tournament berth.

This weekend the locals trek to Martha's Vineyard for a four-team invitational tournament rounded out by North Reading, Franklin and host MV.

Andover will face Martha's Vineyard in the opening (semifinal) round Saturday night at 7 p.m.

Depending on whether they win or lose, the Golden Warriors will play in either the championship (3 p.m.) or third-place consolation (1 p.m.) game on Sunday.

The final regular season contest, which is no longer for the MV/DCL 2 title but could get Andover a higher tourney seed, is next Wednesday versus visiting Tewksbury at the Valley Forum (3:20 p.m.).

Andover won the first meeting between the teams, 3-0, on Jan. 20.

Tourney pairings

The MIAA Division 2 North Tournament pairings will be drawn up and announced on Saturday, Feb. 24.

Scoring leaders

Tucker Mullin led the way after 17 games with 21 goals, 20 assists for 41 points.

White-hot Colin Brennan moved to second place with 10-14-24 points, and despite his injury John Hyslip is third at 11-12-23. Rounding out the leaders are Dan Godefroi 0-13-13, P.J. Paonessa 5-7-12 and Riki Retelle 1-11-12.

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In four years, although being used sparingly on the varsity as a freshman, Mullin has now scored 41 goals and passed out 48 assists for 89 career points.

He is the first AHS boys hockey player to score 20 goals in a season since 1994-95 when Chris Cullen set school records for goals and total points with 29-22-51.

Cullen, who holds virtually every AHS scoring record for boys hockey, also had 19 goals, 24 assists for 43 points in 1995-96, 27-13-40 in 1993-94 and 22-14-36 in 1992-93.

Cullen's career totals were an impressive 97 goals, 73 assists for 170 points.

Andover 3

Haverhill 0

The Golden Warriors continued their phenomenal defensive play, while bunching all three goals less than 11 minutes apart in the first period.

This triumph avenged a 5-4 loss to the Hillies on Jan. 6.

"This team protects leads well. They know how to play defense when we're ahead," said coach Martiniello. "It's a certain mind-set you need and this group has it.

"We've been very sound at the blue line - and the goaltenders are making the key saves that need to be made.

"These kids also play smart. We don't try to do anything fancy - we just go out and win.

"Offensively we get the puck to (Tucker) Mullin, (John) Hyslip and lately (Colin) Brennan and let them do their thing," said Martiniello.

Hyslip opened the scoring with a power play goal at 4:06 of the first period, assists to Mullin and Brennan.

Less than four minutes later (7:38) Brennan converted a Hyslip pass for what turned out to be an insurance goal.

Junior defenseman Mike Taylor wrapped up the offense with his first career goal, P.J. Paonessa on the setup with just 21 seconds left in the period (14:39).

AHS preserved the shutout in the second period with some deft penalty-killing.

"We skated off several disadvantages with some excellent efforts by Paonessa, Brennan, Hyslip, Mullen, (Dan) Godefroi and (Riki) Retelle," said Martiniello.

Senior goalie Dan Abreu made 23 saves for his third straight shutout and fifth of the season.

Andover outshot Haverhill in every period, including 18-6 in the pivotal first, and finished with a 44-23 overall shooting edge.

Andover 5

Methuen 0

After nipping the Rangers 3-2 on Jan. 13, this rematch was a breeze as Dan Abreu remained impenetrable with a 16-save shutout while first-liners Tucker Mullin and Colin Brennan had four points each.

Mullin netted the first two goals, his 20th and 21st of the season, and passed out two assists.

Brennan followed with his first hat trick and the team's fifth this season - in addition to setting up one goal.

Defenseman Dan Godefroi and John Hyslip added two assists each, while Riki Retelle had one setup.

"Our players were really jacked up for this game," said coach Martiniello. "They knew we could clinch at least a share of the title with a win.

"The first line of Mullin, Brennan and Hyslip is obviously flying all over the ice. Their puck movement has been outstanding.

"Defensively we're doing an excellent job of moving the puck out of harm's way around the net - although Danny (Abreu) is making some quality saves in every game.

"He preserved the shutout today during a third-period Methuen power play," said Martiniello. "There was a loose puck out front on a rebound - and no one there for us to clear it away. Danny dove back across the crease and smothered the shot.

"It was an athletic and instinctive move. When a goalie does that it pumps up the whole team."

Mullin opened the scoring at 7:56 of the first period and made it 2-0 less than two minutes later (9:33).

Brennan scored the first of his two power play goals at 13:00, after a nice setup by Hyslip, for a commanding 3-goal first-period lead.

Brennan connected again 45 seconds into the middle period, and completed both his 'trick and the AHS scoring with another power play tally at 8:11.

"We're really moving the puck well along the top of the 'umbrella' on the power play," said Martiniello. "It's creating a lot of good chances."

The final 22 minutes of the game were scoreless.

Andover finished with a wide 42-16 shooting edge, including 32-8 the first two periods, as Methuen goalie Jon Borden made 37 saves in the game.

GIRLS GYMNASTICS

The Andover High girls gymnastics team wrapped up another very successful Merrimack Valley Conference season by placing second in the annual MVC Championship Meet at Dracut Junior High.

The solid showing followed a 7-1 dual-meet mark, including 6-1 in league competition, as first-year coach Kristen Vadala's Lady Warriors finished runner-up to undefeated reigning state champ Chelmsford, which handed AHS its only loss on Jan. 22.

Andover is now 71-4 since Feb. 4, 1999, as well as 133-9 in its last 142 dual meets and 154-17 in the last 171.

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AHS also learned on Monday it has again qualified for the upcoming North Sectional Championship Meet as the No. 6 seed in a 12-school ield.

Schedule

The All-State Team Meet is Friday, March 2 at Shrewsbury High (6 p.m.), with qualifiers determined by top finishes at the Sectionals.

AHS has consistently qualified for the Sectionals and All-State meets over the past 20 years - participating in the former 16 times and the latter seven times while winning the state title in 2000.

Last year the Lady Warriors were seventh in the North Sectionals, and in 2005 they were second in the North and fifth All-State.

North Sectionals

AHS finished with a 139.4000 dual-meet scoring average this winter to take the No. 6 seed for the North Sectionals, scheduled next Friday, Feb. 23 at Beverly High (6 p.m.).

League champions and other specified teams with the highest average scores per dual meet have been invited.

MVC champion Chelmsford is the North top seed with a 146.0400 average.

Also in the 12-school field are No. 2 Masconomet Regional (144.9750), No. 3 Danvers (143.4450), No. 4 Hamilton Wenham (142.2950), No. 5 North Andover (140.2625), No. 7 Acton-Boxboro (139.1250), No. 8 Gloucester (138.4200), No. 9 Reading (137.5750), No. 10 Salem (137.4500), No. 11 Winthrop (137.4000) and No. 12 Newton South (136.9500).

The top seed in the South Sectional is multi-time state champ Barnstable (145.4325).

The top finishers in the North and South Sectionals will converge on Shewsbury High on March 2 for the All-State Meet (6 p.m.).

Other South qualifiers are No. 2 Sharon, No. 3 Bridgewater-Raynham, No. 4 Wachusett Regional of Holden, No. 5 Algonquin Regional of Northboro, No. 6 Shrewsbury High, No. 7 Attleboro, No. 8 Case High of New Bedford, No. 9 Hudson, No. 10 Westboro, No. 11 Canton and No. 12 Pembroke.

State Individual Meet

The State Individual Championship Meet is set for this Sunday, Feb. 18 at Beverly High with two separate competitions in the afternoon (1:30 p.m.) for each of the four individual events (uneven bars, balance beam, vault, floor exercise) and the evening (6 p.m.) for the all-around.

At a meeting of the selection committee at MIAA headquarters in Milford to determine - by scoring averages - which individuals and teams qualify for the meet there were several Andover standouts who made the grade.

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Lady Warriors' newcomer Jenn Quirnbach will compete in the all-around where she is seeded 40th with a 35.125 average score.

Individually, Kristen Coneeny is seeded 12th (9.05 ave.) and Carly Verrette 33rd (8.7) in the vault.

Stephanie Marble is the No. 9 seed on the uneven bars (8.925).

Becky Robichaud is seeded 12th on balance beam (8.9375).

Competing in floor exercise for AHS will be 9th-seed Carly Verrette (9.15), 11th-seed Becky Robichaud (9.125), No. 33 Kristen Coneeny (9.0625) and No. 36 Renee Coiro (9.05).

MVC Championship Meet

AHS chalked up a commendable 138.55 points to grab second in an eight-school field, trailing only Chelmsford which checked in at 141.70.

Rounding out the top teams were Billerica at 136.65 and Dracut 136.05.

The Lady Warriors boasted four top 6 finishers, while multi-talented Jenn Quirnbach took sixth in the all-around competition.

Senior Capt. Carly Verrette tied for third in the vault with a 9.0.

Verrette's effort is extra noteworthy since earlier in her high school career she suffered a serious back/neck injury on a fall from the uneven bars that threatened to take her out of gymnastics forever.

Stephanie Marble tied for third on balance beam with an 8.85 score, while sophomore Kristen Coneeny was fifth in vault at 8.95.

Quirnbach chalked up a 34.95 all-around, highlighted by a 9.15 in floor exercise to tie for fifth and an 8.8 on beam for sixth place.

She finished just a half-point out of third in the AA.

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Chelmsford elite gymnast Ali Carr continued to smash records, winning the all-around with a new Conference and meet mark of 38.30.

Carr was tops in all four events with a record 9.7 in vault, a 9.6 on the uneven bars, 9.6 in floor and 9.4 on beam (despite a fall).

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Two major awards were presented, with Kendra Groswald of Dracut voted the MVC Senior Gymnast of the Year and Paula Chausse of Dracut taking home Coach of the Year honors.