Fall 2010 Newsletter
The Fall in Review
Sports are unique. They can bring out the best in people, and they can bring out the worst. They teach you how to deal with adversity, how to deal with success, and how to deal with a season’s worth of highs and lows. They teach you how to look out for one another, how to support one another, and ultimately help to prepare you for life. I think our athletes saw it all this season; there was adversity, there was success, and there was disappointment. Through it all there was the camaraderie of being part of a team, and even more than that, of being part of Hopkinton Athletics. We saw more instances than ever this season of teams and players looking out for one another, of supporting each other in defeat and exhorting each other to achieve new heights. We had some who overachieved and some who didn’t go quite as far as they would have liked. Still, I hope that the lessons we all learned this fall will help us in the future. Thank you to everyone who helped make this fall a success.
-Dan Meserve
Athletic Director
JV Boys Soccer
Captains: Matt Gleason, Matt McCormack, Nathan Sweny
In August we had 14 freshmen, the largest group ever, try out for soccer. The second day of practice the team ran a mile and only five players finished without walking. By October, they were going on long runs and over half of the team broke the 13-minute two-mile marker set for the varsity. The rest of the team cut minutes off their original times and closed in on the 13-minute goal.
We finished the season with a 9-4-1 record, and our 40 goals scored were by twelve different players. We had three juniors, our captains, to shore up our defense. They gave us speed and experience and led us to five shutouts and only 19 goals allowed. Early in the season, we were overwhelming our opponents scoring early and often. Midway through we had to come from behind to secure wins. The team showed its determination and they wouldn’t give up when they were down. Late in the season, when we played the biggest and the best schools in Div. III, it was obvious the team could handle the challenge. Although it didn’t look well on our record, we still played our best soccer of the year. The boys took that next step toward varsity and came a long way from those days in August
- Coach Steve Babson
JV Girls Soccer
Captains: Maria Booth, Abby Lui, Caroline Sweny
The Junior Varsity Girls Soccer team had a great season ending with a 9-3-1 record, a record that included six shutouts in our nine wins. Even more amazing was the fact that three of those wins were achieved with a team that only had ten or eleven players, and five eighth graders were on our roster.
We had six players who scored this season led by Elizabeth Hancock with an amazing 15 goals. Maria Booth added five, and Meg Hemmerlein, Paige Scammon, Meghan Kissinger, Nikki Cullinan, and Aimee Echelberger also scored. Defensively, our six shutouts would not have been possible without the efforts of Sarah Ewing, Sloane White, Abby Lui, Caroline Sweeny, Emma Bairstow, Jess Lewy, Grace Givens and Brianna Russell.
Thanks to all of the players. It was nothing less than a Great Season with an awesome TEAM.
- Coach Robin O’Dougherty
JV Field Hockey
Captains: Mary Jo O'neil and Maddie Donahue
The Hopkinton JV field hockey team ended their season
with a 2-4-5 record . The team worked together which showed on and off the field. The team also shared their love for field hockey by participating in buddy field hockey. The team's captains were Mary Jo O'Neil and Maddie Donahue. Both girls demonstrated their leadership skills during practices and games. Thank you to the entire team for such a fantastic first season for me as a coach.
- Coach Carolyn Foley
Varsity Golf
Captains: Tyler Guilmette and Curtis Fraser
The Hawks’ golf squad entered the season eager to compete but with modest expectations following the graduation of its top two players from last year’s 14-8 finish. To make matters more challenging, the team was saddled with the 2nd toughest schedule among the 27 teams in Division III, as 14 of its 22 matches were against teams that qualified for the state championship. Despite that obstacle, the Hawks posted a 9-13 record in what was considered a “rebuilding” season. The team competed with only two seniors (Tyler Guilmette and Jake Lessels) on its 11-person roster. Season highlights included victories against tournament qualifiers Newport and Belmont and a near upset of rival Kearsarge, as we lost by just 6 strokes.
The team’s top four scoring averages were posted by returning players, led by sophomore Ben Olimpio (47.1) and junior Curtis Fraser (48.7). Freshman Sam Winslow (49.4) had a strong first season and sophomore Colin O’Keeffe (50.7) improved significantly from 2009. Additionally, for the first time in memory, the Hawks had 2 players compete in the girls’ state tournament. Sophomore Taylor Cloutier (55) and Junior Betty Wallingford (56) finished 7th and 8th in all of New Hampshire.
- Coach Jeff Cahill
Varsity Boys Soccer
Captains: Billy French, Carter Rouleau, Brian Scala, Brooks Wood
The boys' soccer team continued their recent run of successful seasons as they repeated their record from last year's championship campaign and improved upon last year's goal scoring average. In addition, this season saw the emergence of many young players who will surely carry the tradition of excellence forward for future seasons. Highlights of the season included four games in which the Hawks came back from goal-down deficits during the 2nd half of play and the excitement of scoring over one-third of our goals in the last 30 minutes of play.
- Coach Scott Zipke
Varsity Field Hockey
Captains: Ali Campbell, Kara McCluskey
The varsity field hockey team was very young this season. Returning only four starters from last year’s team, there were many holes to fill. Freshmen Brittany Marshall and Storm Sideleau along with Sophomores Emily Bogart and Caroline Levy became starters. Playing competitively all season the Hawks were in every game. They finished the season 6-8, making the State Tournament as the eleventh seed. With the leadership of Captains Kara McCluskey and Ali Campbell, this team showed how much they had improved. They upset the sixth place team and moved into the quarterfinals. Here they were eliminated but not before learning many valuable lessons for the future. This team surprised many with their determination to be the best team possible. 2010 was a building year, a learning year and a successful year. Congratulations and thanks for a wonderful season.
-Coach Patty Connolly
Varsity Girls Soccer
Captains: Gabby Forrester, Rachel Grady, Sarah Metcalf
It was not long into the season when four starters suffered injuries that would have them sidelined for some of the toughest games of the season. Between the injuries and low numbers trying out, players from the JV were thrown into varsity games, ready or not. There they joined with freshman keeper Kelly Scammon and sweeper Sabrey Montore to create a nearly impenetrable defense. Offensively, Gabrielle Forrester (21 goals, 4 assists) seemed to come up with the key goals down the stretch, while freshman Courtney Benson (8 goals, 7 assists) and Tasha Bowie (5 goals) also provided some offensive firepower. In the midfield, Sarah Metcalf held the team together. A clutch 3-2 win over Kearsarge near the end of the season say the Hawks enter the playoffs as the 6th seed. In the midst of an 8-game winning streak, the team defeated Mascenic, Belmont, and the 2009 Champion Fall Mountain to move to the Final Four. There, however, the Hawks fell to rival Bow 2-1. Still, the team came together throughout a strong and successful season, repeating past years of excellence.
-Coach Lauri Izzi
Varsity Cross Country
Captains: Sam Helrich, Libby Wetterer
What began on a hot summer day in mid August is now ending in snow flurries in November as the bare tree branches blow in the wind. Our boys managed their best finish in the last three years as runner-up state champions to Bow, while the girls dominated their division for the fourth year in a row.
As unbelievable as it may seem in a state with such national caliber distance powerhouses as Central, Hanover, Coe-Brown, Pinkerton and Londonderry, we are the only school to have sent both teams eight consecutive times to the all-state meet in the history of Cross Country in the state of New Hampshire.
Our girls stand on the brink of national recognition: it has been twenty-six years since a DIII girls team has finished in the top six at the Meet of Champions and represented New Hampshire at the New England Championships, at the time of this writing it is clear that we have an even better chance this year than when we were one solitary point short of going in 2007. As in Track and Field, we will likely be the ONLY small school at Thetford Academy this weekend if we can pull it off!
At the same time this tiny (let’s face it: we ARE tiny) school has fielded outstanding teams in men and women’s Soccer, women’s Field Hockey and Golf. We have been the nationally recognized as a silver and bronze medal school for our AP program (one year the only school in the state to be so recognized). We have received a Presidential blue ribbon award for not leaving our slower learners and learning disabled students behind in our push for excellence. We have accomplished this; all three hundred and thirty eight of us. Congratulations to all of these true scholar-athletes and the community for a great season.
- Coach Rick Welch
Sports are unique. They can bring out the best in people, and they can bring out the worst. They teach you how to deal with adversity, how to deal with success, and how to deal with a season’s worth of highs and lows. They teach you how to look out for one another, how to support one another, and ultimately help to prepare you for life. I think our athletes saw it all this season; there was adversity, there was success, and there was disappointment. Through it all there was the camaraderie of being part of a team, and even more than that, of being part of Hopkinton Athletics. We saw more instances than ever this season of teams and players looking out for one another, of supporting each other in defeat and exhorting each other to achieve new heights. We had some who overachieved and some who didn’t go quite as far as they would have liked. Still, I hope that the lessons we all learned this fall will help us in the future. Thank you to everyone who helped make this fall a success.
-Dan Meserve
Athletic Director
JV Boys Soccer
Captains: Matt Gleason, Matt McCormack, Nathan Sweny
In August we had 14 freshmen, the largest group ever, try out for soccer. The second day of practice the team ran a mile and only five players finished without walking. By October, they were going on long runs and over half of the team broke the 13-minute two-mile marker set for the varsity. The rest of the team cut minutes off their original times and closed in on the 13-minute goal.
We finished the season with a 9-4-1 record, and our 40 goals scored were by twelve different players. We had three juniors, our captains, to shore up our defense. They gave us speed and experience and led us to five shutouts and only 19 goals allowed. Early in the season, we were overwhelming our opponents scoring early and often. Midway through we had to come from behind to secure wins. The team showed its determination and they wouldn’t give up when they were down. Late in the season, when we played the biggest and the best schools in Div. III, it was obvious the team could handle the challenge. Although it didn’t look well on our record, we still played our best soccer of the year. The boys took that next step toward varsity and came a long way from those days in August
- Coach Steve Babson
JV Girls Soccer
Captains: Maria Booth, Abby Lui, Caroline Sweny
The Junior Varsity Girls Soccer team had a great season ending with a 9-3-1 record, a record that included six shutouts in our nine wins. Even more amazing was the fact that three of those wins were achieved with a team that only had ten or eleven players, and five eighth graders were on our roster.
We had six players who scored this season led by Elizabeth Hancock with an amazing 15 goals. Maria Booth added five, and Meg Hemmerlein, Paige Scammon, Meghan Kissinger, Nikki Cullinan, and Aimee Echelberger also scored. Defensively, our six shutouts would not have been possible without the efforts of Sarah Ewing, Sloane White, Abby Lui, Caroline Sweeny, Emma Bairstow, Jess Lewy, Grace Givens and Brianna Russell.
Thanks to all of the players. It was nothing less than a Great Season with an awesome TEAM.
- Coach Robin O’Dougherty
JV Field Hockey
Captains: Mary Jo O'neil and Maddie Donahue
The Hopkinton JV field hockey team ended their season
with a 2-4-5 record . The team worked together which showed on and off the field. The team also shared their love for field hockey by participating in buddy field hockey. The team's captains were Mary Jo O'Neil and Maddie Donahue. Both girls demonstrated their leadership skills during practices and games. Thank you to the entire team for such a fantastic first season for me as a coach.
- Coach Carolyn Foley
Varsity Golf
Captains: Tyler Guilmette and Curtis Fraser
The Hawks’ golf squad entered the season eager to compete but with modest expectations following the graduation of its top two players from last year’s 14-8 finish. To make matters more challenging, the team was saddled with the 2nd toughest schedule among the 27 teams in Division III, as 14 of its 22 matches were against teams that qualified for the state championship. Despite that obstacle, the Hawks posted a 9-13 record in what was considered a “rebuilding” season. The team competed with only two seniors (Tyler Guilmette and Jake Lessels) on its 11-person roster. Season highlights included victories against tournament qualifiers Newport and Belmont and a near upset of rival Kearsarge, as we lost by just 6 strokes.
The team’s top four scoring averages were posted by returning players, led by sophomore Ben Olimpio (47.1) and junior Curtis Fraser (48.7). Freshman Sam Winslow (49.4) had a strong first season and sophomore Colin O’Keeffe (50.7) improved significantly from 2009. Additionally, for the first time in memory, the Hawks had 2 players compete in the girls’ state tournament. Sophomore Taylor Cloutier (55) and Junior Betty Wallingford (56) finished 7th and 8th in all of New Hampshire.
- Coach Jeff Cahill
Varsity Boys Soccer
Captains: Billy French, Carter Rouleau, Brian Scala, Brooks Wood
The boys' soccer team continued their recent run of successful seasons as they repeated their record from last year's championship campaign and improved upon last year's goal scoring average. In addition, this season saw the emergence of many young players who will surely carry the tradition of excellence forward for future seasons. Highlights of the season included four games in which the Hawks came back from goal-down deficits during the 2nd half of play and the excitement of scoring over one-third of our goals in the last 30 minutes of play.
- Coach Scott Zipke
Varsity Field Hockey
Captains: Ali Campbell, Kara McCluskey
The varsity field hockey team was very young this season. Returning only four starters from last year’s team, there were many holes to fill. Freshmen Brittany Marshall and Storm Sideleau along with Sophomores Emily Bogart and Caroline Levy became starters. Playing competitively all season the Hawks were in every game. They finished the season 6-8, making the State Tournament as the eleventh seed. With the leadership of Captains Kara McCluskey and Ali Campbell, this team showed how much they had improved. They upset the sixth place team and moved into the quarterfinals. Here they were eliminated but not before learning many valuable lessons for the future. This team surprised many with their determination to be the best team possible. 2010 was a building year, a learning year and a successful year. Congratulations and thanks for a wonderful season.
-Coach Patty Connolly
Varsity Girls Soccer
Captains: Gabby Forrester, Rachel Grady, Sarah Metcalf
It was not long into the season when four starters suffered injuries that would have them sidelined for some of the toughest games of the season. Between the injuries and low numbers trying out, players from the JV were thrown into varsity games, ready or not. There they joined with freshman keeper Kelly Scammon and sweeper Sabrey Montore to create a nearly impenetrable defense. Offensively, Gabrielle Forrester (21 goals, 4 assists) seemed to come up with the key goals down the stretch, while freshman Courtney Benson (8 goals, 7 assists) and Tasha Bowie (5 goals) also provided some offensive firepower. In the midfield, Sarah Metcalf held the team together. A clutch 3-2 win over Kearsarge near the end of the season say the Hawks enter the playoffs as the 6th seed. In the midst of an 8-game winning streak, the team defeated Mascenic, Belmont, and the 2009 Champion Fall Mountain to move to the Final Four. There, however, the Hawks fell to rival Bow 2-1. Still, the team came together throughout a strong and successful season, repeating past years of excellence.
-Coach Lauri Izzi
Varsity Cross Country
Captains: Sam Helrich, Libby Wetterer
What began on a hot summer day in mid August is now ending in snow flurries in November as the bare tree branches blow in the wind. Our boys managed their best finish in the last three years as runner-up state champions to Bow, while the girls dominated their division for the fourth year in a row.
As unbelievable as it may seem in a state with such national caliber distance powerhouses as Central, Hanover, Coe-Brown, Pinkerton and Londonderry, we are the only school to have sent both teams eight consecutive times to the all-state meet in the history of Cross Country in the state of New Hampshire.
Our girls stand on the brink of national recognition: it has been twenty-six years since a DIII girls team has finished in the top six at the Meet of Champions and represented New Hampshire at the New England Championships, at the time of this writing it is clear that we have an even better chance this year than when we were one solitary point short of going in 2007. As in Track and Field, we will likely be the ONLY small school at Thetford Academy this weekend if we can pull it off!
At the same time this tiny (let’s face it: we ARE tiny) school has fielded outstanding teams in men and women’s Soccer, women’s Field Hockey and Golf. We have been the nationally recognized as a silver and bronze medal school for our AP program (one year the only school in the state to be so recognized). We have received a Presidential blue ribbon award for not leaving our slower learners and learning disabled students behind in our push for excellence. We have accomplished this; all three hundred and thirty eight of us. Congratulations to all of these true scholar-athletes and the community for a great season.
- Coach Rick Welch