Wartman notches 400th win

From the cake that was rolled out after the meet, it was obvious that yesterday was not just another win for Andover.

The Golden Warriors' 5-0 sweep over Haverhill marked the 400th career victory for head coach Mike Wartman.

"It was very flattering," said the coach of 23 years. "We had a nice celebration. Some players from past teams, parents, my wife and school employees were all there and we had a cake."

Among those in attendance were co-athletic director and former tennis coach Brian McNally and former captain and Andover girls coach David Hughes.

"It was nice to reflect on the people that have been on the team and the quality people I have worked with," said Wartman.

In the meet, Eric Heath, B.J. Merinder and Phil Johnson swept the singles matches for the Golden Warriors (8-0).

Central Catholic rode a winning string at singles to a 4-1 triumph over Lowell. T Alaimo at second singles and Tom Flannery at No. 3 turned tough encounters into commanding victories for the Raiders (5-3).

North Andover blanked Amesbury 5-0. Peter O'Neill was a powerhouse in second singles, scoring a point between his legs on his way to winning 6-0, 6-0.

North Reading downed Newburyport 4-1 to move to 9-1. Chris Coroniti bounced back to win third singles in three sets after losing to Newburyport earlier in the season.

P.J. Farnham notched a three-run triple to lead Andover to a 12-2 victory over Chelmsford. Mike Morander had a career-high three hits and two RBIs while Sam Clark was 2 for 4 with three RBIs and Mike Taylor had two hits and two RBIs for the winners.

North Reading blew past Manchester 13-3 after an 11-run third inning. Kevin Singer threw 52/3 innings of one-hit ball in his first varsity start for the Hornets, and Kevin O'Leary, who was batting .630 before the game began, was 2 for 3 with two doubles, both of them in the third inning.

Bobby Shirling was 3 for 4 with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored to propel Haverhill past Billerica 6-1. Sean Hayden improved to 4-0 with a complete-game effort.

Senior left fielder Kyle Pettoruto of Andover rapped a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift St. John's over Xaverian 4-3. Danny Haugh of Andover (triple) and Chris Carmain of Methuen (single) had RBIs in the sixth inning. Haugh got the win in relief while Mike Yastrzemski of Andover also pitched well in relief.

Michael Johnson's 17-strikeout effort ended up in a frustrating no-decision as Brooks finished on the short end of a 1-0, 10-inning decision to Roxbury Latin (8-2).

A deep sacrifice fly to center field with runners on the corners and one out left Brooks (4-6) just shy of its upset goal, leaving reliever Brad Forgetta of Haverhill the tough-luck loser.

Georgetown's Johnson worked eight innings of three-hit shutout ball and increased his season strikeout total to 40 in just three starts.

Right fielder Jason Buco from Methuen threw out a runner at third base, and junior Alex Clapp led the offense with a pair of line singles.

Whittier, behind the four-hit pitching of Dillon Ryan and A.J. DeRoche, knocked off Northeast 5-2. Ryan struck out nine in 4 2/3 innings for the win and DeRoche, who was 3 for 4 at the plate and scored twice, got the save.

North Andover rallied for a pivotal 4-1 win over Amesbury, handing the host Indians their first Cape Ann League loss of the year. Krissy Whitley was 3 for 4 and scored twice for the Knights (6-2, 3-1 in CAL), Candace Waldie was 2 for 3 with an RBI and Kristin O'Connor added RBIs.

Greater Lawrence snapped a four-game losing streak with an 11-10 win in nine innings over Northeast. Geraldine Jimenez scored the winning run on a passed ball to make a winner of Kaleigh Gilbert, who helped her own cause with an RBI double.

Andover's bats were red-hot in a 10-5 win over Lawrence. Jeanette Doucette (2 for 3) belted a three-run homer in a six-run fifth inning, Alex Strock (2 for 4) drove in two runs, Meg McCarthy (2 for 4) scored a pair of runs and sophomore Katie Kucharski (3 for 4) had her best day of the season. For Lawrence, Shirley Veras drilled a double and triple for two RBIs and Kelly Sicard was 2 for 3.

North Reading notched a 5-1 win over Manchester Essex. Freshman Kristen Morrison drove in two runs for the Hornets (10-2) and Mikaela Carney stood out defensively at catcher, throwing out two runners and blocking the plate to tag out a runner at home. Winning pitcher Caroline Gattuso allowed just three hits and struck out 10.

Methuen ran into red-hot Tewksbury pitcher Marissa Fiorentino and dropped a 4-1 decision. Fiorentino threw a three-hitter, striking out 13, and was 3 for 3 with three RBIs. Jessi McCarthy had two hits and an RBI for the Rangers (8-3).

Billerica slipped across two runs in the top of the eighth in a 5-3 victory over Central Catholic. Chelsey Guselli was 2 for 4 with an RBI, Tina Eringis smacked a solo home run, Erin Swarbrick was 2 for 2 with an RBI and Lindsay Martin stood out defensively for the Raiders (8-4).

Brooks scored nine runs in the fourth inning in a 14-2 rout of Milton. Kristin Sullivan (3 for 5) ripped a three-run triple in the fourth and Monica Berube (2 for 3) added an RBI triple. Kate Roddy was 2 for 2, scored twice and also had an RBI.

With hearts still heavy from the sudden passing of teammate Alex Farese, North Andover returned to its home track for the first time to complete the meet with Hamilton-Wenham that was stopped due to the tragedy.

Four events remained and the Scarlet Knights pushed the issue to the final relay, but the unbeaten defending CAL champion Generals were able to prevail, 77-68.

Adam Lurvey (shot put and discus) and Kyle Medolo (100 and 200) were double winners in personal-best times for North Andover (6-2).

"It was pretty emotional considering the circumstances," head coach Steve Nugent said. "I'm so proud of the kids. They've been so resilient and I can't say enough about them. It's brought the team closer together and supporting each other, plus we've gotten a lot of support from the community. No one wants to experience what we've experienced."

Whittier edged Greater Lowell, 70-66. Chris Pendleton was immense for the Wildcats (5-0), winning the triple jump (39-8), 100 (11.01) and the long jump (19-10), then joining with Kobie Jackson, Matt Miles and Paul Buccos for victory in the 4x100 relay (44.9).

Hamilton-Wenham defeated North Andover 731/2-711/2 despite a tremendous double by Kirsten Kasper, who ran a blistering 2:15.5 in the 800 and an 11:10.1 in the 2-mile. Only two other area girls have run faster than the 2:15.5 clocking and the 2-mile time ranks her 11th in area history. Kasper owns the area 800 record of 2:12.56. Kathie Andrusin won the pole vault (8-6), the triple jump (31-63/4) and the 300 hurdles (51.5). Shannon O'Connor won the 200 (27.3). The 4x400 team of Krista Coufos, Julia Cataldo, Katina Pangakis and Lily Connolly finished in a personal-best time of 4:20.0 but the Generals won the event to capture the meet.

Karyn Erickson and Jessica Donovan improved to 6-0 in first doubles with a 6-4, 6-2 win to help Methuen get past Chelmsford 3-2.

Andover remained unbeaten with a 5-0 shutout of Haverhill. Hannah Hoerner survived a tough duel at first singles before prevailing 6-2, 6-4.

North Andover blanked Amesbury 5-0. Lindsey Channen looked sharp at second singles, winning 6-2, 6-0.

Newburyport edged North Reading 3-2. Kara LaFort had the best day for the Hornets, winning second singles 6-0, 6-4.

North Andover breezed past North Reading 11-3. Kyle Dolan had four goals to lead the Knights. For the Hornets, Kyle Sinclair performed admirably, holding one of the leagues top scorers, Steve Collura, to just one goal.

Andover downed Masconomet 10-6. Justin Malins and Joe Lamagna netted three goals each, and Matt Rayner was strong on defense.

Seventeen saves from Stephanie Taylor and a ton of defense earned North Andover an 11-7 win over Pentucket. Nicole Zahoruiko, Kelly O'Connor, Katie Boringa and Amanda Wescott were virtually impenetrable in front of Taylor to keep the Scarlet Knights unbeaten in Cape Ann League play (9-0, 12-1-1 overall).

Central Catholic lost to Billerica 10-4. Meredith Bilodeau had two goals, and Liz Steele made six saves to lead the Raiders.

North Reading dumped Manchester 18-11. Marie Pescatore impressed with three goals and four assists and Christine O'Leary added three goals and two assists.

Andover clinched a berth in the state tournament with six games to play by topping Methuen 25-14, 25-20, 25-17. John Henry Heckendorn had 11 kills, Gary Hinds had 13 and Andrew Osborne had eight for the Warriors (10-4). Setter Mike Emmons excelled distributing the ball, garnering 42 assists. For Methuen (5-9), Corey Michaud and Mark Bruno supplied 10 kills apiece and Mark Dougherty spread out 21 assists.

Lawrence beat Billerica 25-16, 25-11, 25-20 to improve to 9-5. Pacing the Lancers was David Long, who filled in for an absent starter with three kills and five blocks. Jimmy Rojas had 15 kills and Jeffrey Matos added 11 kills and six blocks. Tyler Santacroce stepped in at setter and played well.

St. John's Prep avenged an earlier loss to Haverhill with a 19-25, 25-17, 25-16, 25-17 victory. For St. John's (10-2), Jeff Smallcomb of West Newbury and Luke Frick of North Andover played well.

Surging Chelmsford swept Central Catholic 25-14, 25-20, 25-22. Sebastian Mejia led the Raiders (7-4) with nine kills. Tom Gomes had 18 assists and Mike Manzi stood out on defense.

Photos

North Andover attack Kaitlyn Kleinendorst leaps above Pentucket goalie Hillary Dandurant and defender Alex Kowalowski to score a goal in yesterday's 11-7 victory for the Knights Staff photo