VOLLEYBALL HILLITES

MONDAY, APRIL 14

Westfield 2, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 0

The Blue Devils controlled the pace of the game in Westfield as they defeated the Raiders 15-8, 15-7. The Blue Devils registered 13 service aces with senior Lauren McGovern tallying six herself.

Junior Megan Devitt contributed three kills to the Blue Devils’ total of 11 and junior Heather Simpson had seven assists.

Westfield improved to 4-1 while Scotch Plains-Fanwood dropped to 2-3.

FRIDAY, APRIL 18

Westfield 2, Cranford 0

The Blue Devils improved their record to 6-1 by sweeping the Cougars in Westfield.

Suzanne Vinegra pounded four kills and served four aces for the Blue Devils while Lauren McGovern accumulated 12 total service points after both games. McGovern also had four aces and three kills.

MONDAY, APRIL 14

Blue Devil Laxmen Fall to Ridgewood and Pingry

Third-ranked Ridgewood jumped out in front 6-1 in the first quarter and stayed ahead to hand the Blue Devils their fourth loss on April 14. Mike Springer and Brad Bennett had four goals apiece for Ridgewood.

Midfielder Drew Stotler flicked in three goals and attacker Brian Kassakian tossed in two more for the Blue Devils. Attacker Kevin Mansfield and midfielder Bryan Graye scored the other goals. Steve Abeles had 11 saves for Westfield High School.

In his summary of the game, Westfield Head Coach Jerry Benaquista responded, "I think we played well against Ridgewood, except that we came out slower than we usually do and they got six goals to our one scored by Drew Stotler in the first quarter. Ridgewood is one of the best teams in the state and we played very well against them the rest of the game. It was just that first quarter that killed us." Benaquista continued, "We don’t have as much depth as the other big lacrosse teams in the state have and that hurts us. We are playing the best teams in New Jersey and most of the teams we play have two or three middie lines which they can alternate throughout the game. For the most part, we are running the same middle line throughout the whole game."

On April 16, with the game tied 7-7, Andy Santoriello and Dan Phillips scored in the fourth period to seal the victory for Pingry.

Junior Mike Baly scored three goals and had one assist for the Blue Devils. Graye flicked in two goals and junior Bryan Gates added one goal. Stotler contributed one goal and three assists while Mansfield had two assists.

"Again, I thought we played really well against Pingry. We were leading in the beginning of the game. Mike Baly and Drew Stotler scored the first two goals, but Pingry came back. By half time they were leading 5-4," mentioned Benaquista.

"At the beginning of the fourth quarter Pingry scored the first goal with six minutes left. We had to scramble to catch up. Had Westfield scored the first goal in the last quarter, we wouldn’t have had to play so aggressively. We would have been able to slow up the ball and take more time to get the tie or win."

THE HAT TRICK…Senior lacrosse Co-Captain Drew Stotler, No. 25, gets the ball past a Ridgewood defender to score his third goal against third-ranked Ridgewood. The effort was not quite enough as the Blue Devils were defeated by Ridgewood, 12-7 on April 14.

High School Baseball Hilites

SATURDAY, APRIL 19

Westfield 16, Livingston 11

The Blue Devil bats were booming in Livingston as catcher Bill Hedden and second baseman Rob Meyer blasted home runs to outdo Livingston High School, 16-11.

Hedden also added a triple, two singles and drove in three runs for the Blue Devils. Meyer’s three-run homer was part of a six run seventh inning by the Blue Devils.

Senior Marcus Mattielli drilled a double while Rasheed Hawks added two sinbles and drove in two runs fore the Blue Devils.

Duane Lacey got the win as Westfield High School improved to 5-2-1 while Livingston High School slipped to 5-4-1.

Matro is Selected to Attend State Awards Program

By DAVID B. CORBIN

Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times

Westfield High School student Dan Matro has been selected to represent the school at the Fourth Annual Scholar-Athlete Awards Program to be held at the Pines Manor in Edison on Sunday, April 27 at 12:30 p.m. The Awards Program is sponsored by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).

The Association will introduce the addition of continuing education scholarships to the Scholar-Athlete Program. A scholarship drawing will be held for all representing student-athletes who are present.

Among the many scholarship awards will be six $1,000 scholarships to be distributed one to each group; Public 1, 2, 3, 4, Parochial A and Parochial B which will be presented by the Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey.

One $300 scholarship will be presented by All-State, two $250 scholarships to be awarded to one boy and one girl will be presented by College Tours and one $1,000 scholarship will be presented by Bollinger Fowler, Inc.

Matro has been selected for his excellent achievements both academically and athletically.

As a four-year varsity starter at first singles on the boys tennis team, Matro has been selected First Team All Area three times to date. Matro was named First Team All Union County, Second Team All-State and Third Team All-State by position, all in his junior year.

In addition to his extremely high academic status, Matro achieved recognition in his sophomore year on the French Honor Society. As a junior, he received the Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award and was a member of the National Honor Society.

So far, in his senior year, Matro has been a National Merit Scholarship Finalist and was an Edward J. Blaustein Garden State Distinguished Scholar Award recipient.

Throughout his high school career, Matro has been a member of the Key Club, the Young Democrats Club and the French Club of which he is currently serving as its’ Vice President.

Matro is one of many scholar-athletes who will be honored by the Association at the Awards Dinner. For more than 75 years, the primary focus of the NJSIAA has been on the successful blend of academics and athletics.

BY DAVID B. CORBIN FOR THE LEADER/TIMES

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE NOMINEE…Senior Dan Matro has been selected by Westfield High School to attend the Fourth Annual Scholar-Athlete Awards Dinner to be held at the Pines Manor in Edison on Sunday, April 27 at 12:30 p.m. Matro was chosen because of his excellence in athletics and academics.

Westfield Girls Track, pre-season/Elizabeth

Devil Girls Outdo Elizabeth

With Balanced Track Attack

By DAVID B. CORBIN

Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times

A lot of promise was shown by the Westfield High School girls track team on April 8 as they hit the Elizabeth High School girls with a well-balanced attack of fine performances in the sprinting and field events as well as in the distance events in which the Blue Devils traditionally excel.

Sophomore Nikki Hester pounced into recognition by leaping 16’6" to claim first place in the long jump. With that effort, Hester placed her name in a tie for second place on the Westfield High School All Time list with her sister Tiffany who performed her feat in 1994. Hester also gave the Blue Devil girls a boost by finishing second in the 100-meter run with a time of 13.3.

A pair of juniors took first and second place in the 100-meter hurdles when Karen Specter crossed the line in :17.9 and Becky Hamilton followed in :19. Specter also placed second in the 400-meter hurdles.

Another junior, Mary Korfmacher, finished third in the 200-meter run, turning in a time of :28.8.

The Westfield girls swept the first three places in the javelin event with senior Kelly Burns tossing the javelin 99’ to record the fourth best distance on the Westfield High School list. Sophomore Allison Checchio took second at 76’3" and Alicia Picou placed third at 70’10". Burns also placed second in the shot put with a heave of 30’5".

Senior Suzy Kozub came in first in the 400-meter run registering a time of 1:01 followed by junior teammate Katie Egan who finished in 1:03. Kozub and Egan combined with junior Sage Stefiuk and Anna.Dujnic to grab first in the 4x400-meter, setting the time at 4:17.8.

Westfield also took the first three places in the 800-meter run with Stefiuk finishing first in 2:29 with junior Laura Brucia just nosing out sophomore Lindsay Totams with both timed at 2:33.

Sophomore Megan Shutts claimed first in both the 1,600 and 3,200-meter run with times of 5:54 and 12:55, respectively. Senior Liz Shannon placed second in the 1,600-meter and Totams took second in the 3,200-meter.

Head Coach Nancy Carpenter and Assistant Coaches Jennifer Buccino and Thomas Hornish feel that the talent pool is deep and for the first time in many years there is a good balance in both running and field events.

"The team is very upbeat about the season and the team captains are proven athletes whose achievements and leadership qualities are on keeping with the program’s tradition of competitive excellence," stated Hornish.