GIRLS’ TENNIS
Division III finals
No. 1 Bow (16-0) vs. No. 2 Conant (14-1), 4 p.m. at The Derryfield School
Head to head: The Falcons handed Conant its only loss of the season, 5-4, on May 14.
Previous tournament games: Bow beat No. 7 Pelham, 7-2, in the quarterfinals and downed No. 4 Profile, 7-2, in the semifinals. Conant also had a pair of 7-2 wins, against No. 7 Sasnborn in the quarters and against No. 6 Littleton in the semifinals. Profile took care of Kingswood in a shortened match, 5-1.
Notes: The regular-season meeting between these two, “couldn’t have been any closer,” Bow Coach Jonsey Rainville said. The Falcons got singles wins from No. 1 Laura Zbehlik (8-2), No. 2 Nandita Kasireddy (8-4), No. 5 Sarah Zecha (8-6) and No. 6 Julia Currier (8-4). The Orioles then won the first two doubles matches to tie things at 4-4 before Zecha and Kasireddy pulled out an 8-6 win at third doubles against Helen Soney and Esther Varnum. It was the best singles match of the season for Kasireddy, who beat German exchange student Franka Clauss.
“We just have to say that it’s within reach, that it’s doable for us,” Conant Coach Jody Baker said of playing Bow. “We’re going to have to pull out one more singles match than we did last time.”
SOFTBALLDivision I, first roundNo. 11 Concord (7-11) at No. 7 Winnacunnet (13-5), 4 p.m.
Head to head: Winnacunnet beat the Crimson Tide in the season opener, 13-7
Notes: The Warriors have won four of their last five heading into the tournament while the Crimson Tide has lost three of five. Concord will look to Izzy Dunn, Jill Dusseault and Haley Munroe to spark the offense, which has been hot, scoring 8.6 runs per game in their last five. Either Caitlyn Shea or Delia Barry will be the starting pitcher tasked with slowing down a Winnacunnet offense that’s scored 7.9 runs per game this season.
Division II, first roundNo. 10 Merrimack Valley (8-8) at No. 7 Pembroke Academy (11-6), 4 p.m.
Head to head: The Spartans beat Merrimack Valley, 6-1, on May 5.
Notes: Pembroke may have peaked earlier in the season (the Spartans started 7-1), but Coach Ashley Gladu believes her team can get back to that level in the tournament, especially with pitcher Lexi Palmisano in the circle. The Pride also feels pretty good about its pitcher, Sam Hodkinson, and MV may be playing its best ball of the season right now, having won five of its last seven games.
No. 9 Trinity (9-7) at No. 8 Coe-Brown (9-7), 4 p.m.
Head to head: The two teams did not meet during the regular season.
Notes: The defending-champion Bears had to adjust to some faces in new positions this season, but they won five of their last seven games and scored bunches of runs while doing it, averaging 8.6 runs per contest in that stretch. Trinity knows how to put up runs itself. The Pioneers scored 37 runs in the last three games of the regular season to enter the playoffs on a three-game winning streak.
No. 11 John Stark (7-9) at No. 5 Souhegan (12-4), 4 p.m.
Head to head: Souhegan beat the Generals, 13-2, on April 18.
Notes: It was just the second game of the regular season when these two met back in April. After that game Stark Coach Gerry Morin said, “The pitcher we faced today threw a good game and our hitters just have not been exposed to pitching like that this early in the season … (we will) grow from this loss.” Now the Generals get to see just how much they have grown with a rematch.
GIRLS’ LACROSSEDivision II quarterfinalsNo. 5 Winnacunnet (11-5) at No. 4 John Stark (10-4), 4 p.m.
Head to head: The two teams did not meet during the regular season.
Notes: After starting the season 2-3, the Generals found their stride in the last month. They’ve won eight of their last nine games with the only loss an 8-4 decision against top-seeded Portsmouth. Winnacunnet is 2-2 in its last four, but expect this to be a tight game. The Warrios have faced Portsmouth twice this season and both were losses. The first one a 17-5 lopsided affair, but the second was an 8-7 decision in Portsmouth on May 11.
BOYS’ LACROSSEDivision I, first roundNo. 9 Concord (7-9) at No. 8 Dover (7-8), 4 p.m.
Head to head: Dover beat Concord, 8-2, on May 5.
Notes: The Crimson Tide enters the playoffs having lost five of seven, but were competitive in its matchup against No. 4 Souhegan (13-8 loss) and No. 6 Londonderry (8-7). Dover started its season 1-5, but then won six of seven to get above .500 for the first time since its first game. The Green Wave dropped it last two games of the regular season – 10-9 OT loss to Salem, 19-6 loss at Bedford.
Division II, first roundNo. 9 Bow (7-7) at No. 8 St. Thomas (9-7), 4 p.m.
Head to head: St. Thomas won, 8-2, on May 13.
Notes: The Falcons started the season slowly, opening with a 1-4 record, and had to win its last three games to finish at .500. St. Thomas also started slowly, losing three of four, but rebounded with a four-game win streak before trading wins and losses. The Saints managed a wining record by scoring two goals in the last minute of regulation to beat Oyster River, 9-8, on their senior night.
No. 10 John Stark (7-7) at No. 7 Merrimack Valley (8-6), 4 p.m.
Head to head: The teams split a pair of meetings this year, with John Stark winning 10-9 on May 3 and MV winning 18-12 on May 17.
Notes: Stark and MV match up very evenly, splitting the matchups earlier in the year and MV owning a better record by just one game. The Pride has been streaky this year, winning three of its first four, losing four straight but then finishing with five wins in its last six games. John Stark opened with three losses, but went 7-4 for the remainder of the season. The playoff matchup will be at MV, which favors the Pride since each team won on its home field.
No. 12 Pembroke (5-9) at No. 5 Goffstown (11-4), 4 p.m.
Head to head: The teams did not meet in the regular season
Notes: After winning the D-II state championship last season, Goffstown enters the tournament hungrier than ever. The Grizzlies won 11 of 13 to start the season, only losing to No. 6 Windham and No. 2 Hollis-Brookline, but they ended the season with two straight losses (5-4 at No. 11 Kingswood, 14-2 at Exeter). Pembroke started the season 4-1, but went 1-8 the rest of the way. Its only win during that stretch was a 14-13 game over Oyster River, which missed the playoffs.
