Ending on a high note

Vikes’ tennis team completes great sason with a win

By: Rich Fisher
   The second best tennis season in Cranbury School history ended on a high note when the Vikings took a 5-2 victory over Kreps in their final match of the season.
   Cranbury finished the season at 8-4 and the nucleus of seniors left coach Lynn Totten with some fond memories.
   "I’ll be looking forward to seeing some of these guys playing in high school," Totten said. "A few of them do have the potential to contribute to the high school team."
   If that means public school, it’s high praise indeed considering Princeton is one of the top programs in the state.
   The Vikings will graduate a big chunk of its starting lineup. Eighth-graders on the roster included singles standouts Rohit Gawande and Miheer Mhatre, along with classmates Greg Bredariol, Christabelle Chen, Rahool Padhye, Sandeep Tummala, Arjun Vikuntam, Ram Yamarthy and Kyle Barron.
   Against Kreps, Vikuntam won at first singles while Tummala won at third.
   "Some of the eighth graders who usually play doubles, wanted to play singles, and they did a good job," Totten said.
   In doubles play, Bredariol-Padhye, Andrew Paterson-Shabeg Singh and Barron-Chen all copped victories. Gawande and Mhatre gave doubles a try and came up short in a good match.
   "Rohit and Miheer wanted to play doubles against the top two singles from Kreps, because they had already played them in singles and thought it would be a fun match," Totten said. "They lost in a tie-breaker in very well-executed match.
   "Miheer is a good doubles partner to have because he’s a steady player who can keep the ball in play and get everything back, and set it up for his partner to hit the big winning shot. I can see him playing doubles in high school."
BASEBALL
   In what has turned into a tough season for the Viking hardballers, Tyler Distasio provided a break in the clouds by pitching Cranbury to a 15-9 win over MacFarland and snap a lengthy losing streak.
   "Tyler gave us a nice shot in the arm," coach Frank Silva said. "We needed a win and he went five tough innings."
   Offensively, Joe Deramo went 4-for-4 with four RBI. Other contributors included Distasio (single, double, two RBI), Johnny Mitko (single, double, three RBI), John Ryan (single, two RBI), Ryan Gordy (two hits, RBI), Chris Fiorentini (two hits), David Kirkner (single, RBI) and David Petrucelli (single, RBI).
   That was followed by a 7-3 loss to Millstone in which the Vikings collected just three hits. Ryan, Deramo and Distasio each had a hit and an RBI. On Tuesday, Cranbury dropped a 9-6 decision to New Egypt as Petrucelli had the lone Viking hit.
SOFTBALL
The Vikings fell under .500 for the first time this season, as three straight losses put them at 4-6. But coach Leigh Zink was happy with her team’s efforts.
   "We played good, competitive games," Zink said.
   In an 8-4 loss to Pond Road, the Vikings had leads of 1-0, 2-1 and 4-2, but Pond Road hit a three-run homer in the fifth to dash Cranbury’s hopes.
   Laura Mawn continued her strong hitting with two hits and two runs scored, while Lisa Faraci had a single and a run scored, Amy Jacobi went 3-for-3, Dylan Zink had a hit and run scored and Ellie van der Veken had a hit.
   "I knew Laura Mawn was a good player, but she’s really come around the last couple of games," Zink said. "We put her at shortstop when we moved Lisa Faraci to first, and she’s done a nice job."
   That was followed by a 7-0 loss to MacFarland, in which Faraci and Jacobi had the team’s lone hits.
   "We faced a good pitcher and a good defensive team," Zink said. "We made some errors and they went up 3-0 and we couldn’t get back in it."
   On Monday, Cranbury suffered its second straight shutout in a 2-0 loss to Millstone.
   "My girls probably played the best defensive game I’ve seen them play," Zink said. "We got our bat on the ball but they fielded it. Amy Jacobi caught a great game in that one, and Ellie van der Veken, Katie Lindberg and Lisa Faraci all made some nice defensive plays."
   In the three games, Dylan Zink struck out 32 batters and allowed just two walks, which is nothing short of remarkable for a young pitcher.
   "Her control has gotten a lot better and she’s matured out there," Leigh Zink said. "Things that used to rattle her before, don’t seem to bother her now."
   Cranbury tried to salvage a .500 season with its final two games of the season against New Egypt on Tuesday and Allentown on Wednesday.
TRACK & FIELD
   In their final tune-up prior to Wednesday’s scheduled Greater Middlesex Conference Championships, the Viking boys won by five points over West Windsor while the girls came up two points short.
   "The girls were down by 20 until the field events came along, and we swept them," coach Jay Gilligan said. "We went 1-2-3 in the shot and discus, and that brought us close, but we couldn’t win the relay. And our best miler (Susanne Hanson) got knocked over at the start of the mile and couldn’t get back in it, or we might of won that."
   Kaitlyn Battista, Vivian Sun, Erin Hawes and Stephanie Grubb sparked the weight team, while Chelsea Wittman, Erin Holswade and Abby Miller also took part in the fun.
   "Vivian Sun is finally peaking at the end of the season," Gilligan said. "She’s improved a lot." Gilligan cited several other girls for their progress this year.
   "Abby Miller has been improving tremendously in the discus," he said. "Maggie Bleach got a personal best in the high jump, Anna Shea is doing an outstanding job in the middle and long distance and Liz O’Grady has been tough in distance. Zara Stasi is doing her job in middle distance in sprints, Kelly White has improved in the 800 and Chelsea Wittman has gotten better in the shot and the disc.
   "Olivia Johnston continues to do well at middle distance. Another kid who’s really improved in her jumping is Brittany Scheer, and Katie Carreno, a sixth-grader, is showing a lot of promise in so many areas. And Dana Sahli continues to be a powerhouse in all events and is our number one jumper."
   For the boys, Matt Chester finally accomplished his relentless pursuit of the school mile record, as his time of 5:18 against WW broke Devin White’s two-year mark of 5:21.
   "I told him he had to get it down to 5:10 so it will never be touched," Gilligan said with a laugh. "But he did a great job."
   Gilligan also noted that several of his boys continue to show progress.
   "Bob Venanzi is tremendously improved in the discus and shot," the coach said. "Jake Irving looks increasingly better in the discus. Zeke Abuhoff got his personal best in the high jump. Marcus French is consistent in all the sprints and Corey Marsh has been outstanding in distance events."