Sports Highlights

By Don Lyons - March 27, 2008

Ocean to run

Ocean Eversley, 50, of Oak Bluffs, will run in the U.S. Athletic Track & Field Masters Indoor Track Meet this weekend at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston competing against women 50 to 54 years old. She is entered in the 60- and 200-meter sprints.

Ms. Eversley is no stranger to the sweaty realm of indoor track and field. She was captain of her high school track team at New City, N.Y., from 1972 to 76. At Boston University, 1976-78, she organized B.U.'s first women's track and field team which placed second to Harvard for the New England championship in its second year, 1977.

MVRHS Tennis matches loom

This will be Ned Fennessy's 18th year as coach of the MVRHS boys tennis team.

Recruited by Jay Schofield and then A.D. Donald Herman, Ned recalls walking into his very first team meeting and finding just three boys, one of whom said, "Don't worry coach. Two other guys are coming."

That year Ned ended up with 11 players on his team.

This year 16 boys have signed up for tennis, ten of whom are likely candidates for the seven slots to be filled - three singles players, four doubles players.

Three of the players are seniors; Daniel Han, Evan Schwab, and Seth Seeman and two of those are team captains. One player is a home-schooled freshman, Reid Yennie. Five are juniors, including the two most likely to fill the top singles spots, Andrew McHugh and Dylan Hutchinson.

Five are sophomores and three freshmen.

"We have a tough schedule." Coach Fennessy told The Times, "including last year's state champions, Falmouth, and the always tough Barnstable as well as Sandwich and D/Y."

The season opener is Monday, here, versus Sandwich, followed by another home match with Bishop Connolly, next Thursday.

"We'll win some and we'll lose some," the coach said. "It's a game and it should be fun."

The girls team

Eight girls showed up to meet with Coach Grace Bochicchio prior to their first match at Sandwich on Monday. Four of the eight are returnees from last year. Of the four girls new to the team, two are seniors and two freshmen. Next Thursday the Island girls are home to Bishop Connolly.

As The Times went to press, the girls were still playing challenge matches to decide the pecking order. Probable players at first, second, and third singles are Haley Koorse, Paula Corts, and Rachel Fauteux, not necessarily in that order. The first doubles team is apt to be Teanna Montoya and Phuong-Ian Ho. The second doubles duo will be some combination of Heather Dube, Ashley Cimeno, and Camila Fernandez.

"The girls win just by playing the game," Coach Bochicchio told The Times. "Tennis is a sport for life," she added, and the girls will enjoy looking back and remembering their high school playing years.

The girls have brand-new handsome uniforms, thanks to Andrew and June Flake, who donated Red Sox tickets to be sold or auctioned by the girls.

A new 5K

Road race runners take note. The Safe Haven Committee, which organizes camps on Island for kids living with HIV and AIDS, will sponsor a 5K race called the Hot Cocoa 5K Run & Walk on Sunday, April 20, the first full day of Spring Camp, to be followed by hot cocoa and a cookout with the campers. Runners (and walkers) will follow the high school's cross-country course through the state forest.

Registration is $25 or a donation form with at least a $50 contribution. See safehavenproject.org.

Whenever Spring breaks through

This week Spring sports begin play with a vengeance.

Today, Thursday, the boys varsity lacrosse team is at Salem. Saturday the varsity and junior varsity are at Archbishop Williams in Braintree. The varsity girls lacrosse team opens its season at New Bedford, Friday, April 4. The varsity and junior varsity entertain Sandwich the next day, beginning at 11 am.

The boys tennis team is home to Sandwich Monday and Bishop Connolly Thursday. The girls tennis team is at Sandwich Monday and home to Bishop Connolly Thursday.

The softball teams, varsity and jayvee, open seasons at Sandwich, Monday, and venture to Nantucket Wednesday. The baseball teams also open with Sandwich and Nantucket, same as softball but at home. The sailing team's first test is Harwich, in the Lagoon on Tuesday. The track and field teams are home to Southeastern Thursday, April 3.