GIRLS LACROSSE
Ipswich 18, Old Colony 0: The second seeded Tigers easily rolled in their Division 4 playoff opener behind four goals and an assist from Allie Wile, three goals from Ella McCarthy, and two tallies and two assists from Lyla Greenleaf. Keira McPartlin added two goals and one assist; Taryn Desmond had a goal and two helpers; Lily Cummins had one of each; and Lucy Winthrop, Jade Wilcox, Maddie Hanson, Kylynne Courville, Maddie Hanson and Jayne Krause also had strong performances for Ipswich (now 15-2).
Masconomet 14, Somerville 2: The Chieftains were ahead 8-0 at halftime and cruised from there in a D2 playoff contest. Up next is a trip to Reading for the Round of 32.
GIRLS TENNIS
Hamilton-Wenham 5, Rising Tide Charter 0: The Generals (14-2) started the defense of their D4 state title with a sweep thanks to Naomi Provost (6-1, 6-1), Emily McIntosh (6-0, 6-0), Charlotte Ireland (6-0, 6-0) and the teams of Evelyn Esdaile and Olivia Romans (6-1, 6-0) and Tessa Hunt and Sofie Greene (6-0, 6-0). It was the 16th straight playoff win for H-W, which hosts the Round of 16 Monday at Pingree.
Ipswich 5, Hopedale 0: It didn’t take long for Ipswich to get the three wins it needed in this Division 4 first round match as third singles player Emily Hannibal (6-1, 6-0), first doubles partners Lila Borgman and Sophie Johannknecht (6-0, 6-1), and the second doubles team of Alex Marino and Frannie Hertz (6-0, 6-2) all won their matches in rapid succession. Completing the sweep for the seventh seeded Tigers (now 13-4) were Claire Buletza at first singles (4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-5)) and Abbie Allen at third singles (6-4, 6-4).
Marblehead 3, Masconomet 2: In a clash of Northeastern Conference powerhouses, the 18th seeded Magicians (14-4) pulled out the victory at Bass River Tennis Club in Beverly thanks to the second doubles team of Carolie Bruett and Josie Reers, who prevailed in a 6-1, 2-6, 7-5 final.
“Caroline Bruett in particular had an outstanding day on the courts,” said Marblehead head coach Tracy Ackerman. “She was consistent when needed, but also put balls away at the net to end points for us. Her confidence helped her partner to remain calm and clinch the match.”
Abbie Goodwin was a winner at third singles for Marblehead, 6-3, 6-3, while the first doubles team of Lani Gilmore and Reese Friedman grabbed a 6-0, 7-6 (7-1) decision.
Masconomet (12-3), the No. 15 seed, earned wins at first and second singles from Teagan Skulley (6-1, 6-2) and Ria Kundaliya (6-0, 6-1), respectively.
Swampscott 5, Nauset 0: Sisters Ava and Alexia O’Donnell won a 10-5 third set tiebreaker to make it a Division 3 opening round sweep for the No. 16 Big Blue (15-4). Also winning were Nikki Carr (6-1, 6-0), Ana Eccles (6-2, 6-3), Lilly Carr (6-2, 6-3) and Sasha Fafel and Janielle de la Cruz at second doubles, 6-4, 6-3.
Bishop Fenwick 3, Norwell 2: The 21st seeded Crusaders (now 11-5) advanced to the second round of the Division 3 state tournament after pulling off a road upset. Second singles player Kit Wichroski (6-0, 6-2) and third singles player Callie Reed (6-1, 6-2) both secured wins for Fenwick, as did the first doubles team of Caroline O’Hare and Maggie Wichroski, who battled for a 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5) triumph.
BOYS TENNIS
Mansfield 3, Masconomet 2: The Chieftains battled on the road and nearly pulled off the upset, dropping a pair of three-setters to finish their season 11-5. Kai Hird defeated Mansfield’s previously unbeaten and league MVP top singles player, rallying from down 5-2 in the second set to ultimately take a 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory. Parker Kurtz also claimed third singles for Masconomet in this Division 2 first round playoff match, 6-3, 6-1.
Old Rochester 4, Bishop Fenwick 1: The 17th seeded Crusaders (13-5) were knocked out of the Division 3 playoffs after a first round defeat.
Medway 4, Swampscott 1: Seeded 23rd in the Division 3 draw, the Big Blue saw their season end at 8-9 after falling on the road in a first round matchup.
UNIFIED TRACK
Salem’s Balkus wins state title in shot put: Sara Balkus of Salem threw the shot put a career best 17 feet 4 inches to win the Unified Sports Track and Field title at the State Championships in Natick. It was the fourth straight year that Salem — which brought 17 athletes to the championships — won an individual title at the event. Balkus also took second place in the Division 1-2 100 meter dash in a career best time of 28.65 seconds.
Salem’s Jonathan Cote placed second in the D1-2 shot put (14 feet 1 inch), and the Witches’ 4x100M team of Jayden Lopez, Gianmarcos Jimenez, Anson Froeschl, and Erik Shehaj also set a new program record while finishing in third place in Division 1 in a time of 57.09 seconds. Adelis Rodriguez tied her career best in the D1-1 javelin (10 feet 3 inches) as well, while Ryan Burnett also threw a career high in the shot put (28 feet 6 inches) to take eight place in the D1-7 category. In addition, Yaviel Gonzalez had another strong showing in a competitive D1-7 100 meter race by placing ninth (16.59 seconds) while Nate Duell set a new PR in the D1-5 100 meters (19.64 seconds).
SOFTBALL
Milton 4, Masconomet 2: The first of freshman Logan Schapp’s three hits on the day gave the No. 33 seed Chieftains an early lead in the D2 preliminary round, but 32nd ranked Milton tied it in the second and plated three in the third to go ahead for good. Schapp had both RBI for the Chieftains (11-9) while captain Charlotte Leiss had two hits and scored and Sabrina Cafarelli and Ally Kelter also hit safely. Sydnee Vocino worked around 10 hits to keep her team in it and Masco got the tying run to the plate in the seventh but was thwarted.
BOYS LACROSSE
Reading 17, Marblehead 2: The Magicians saw their season end at 10-8 after a first round road defeat to the sixth seeded Rockets in a Division 2 clash.