RhS sports Roundup
RHS softball team wins 3 straight, improves to 11-4
When RHS softball coach Joe Ciccarello surveyed his team’s opponents for the coming week last week, the veteran mentor said he would be happy with at least one win and delighted with two.
However, when all was said and done, the Lady Patriots had vanquished all three of their Northeastern Conference opponents, raising their record to a lofty 11-4 and clinching a berth in the post-season state tourney, a Journey to the Tourney that has becoming an annual rite of the RHS softball program.
In last Monday’s contest with Medford, the Lady Patriots found themselves trailing 4-2 entering the bottom of the sixth inning. However, Revere rallied for three runs, powered by a two-RBI double by Alexis Iacoviello, to slip past the Lady Mustangs, 5-4.
Junior pitcher Olivia McManus, who tossed all seven innings, was a co-recipient of the game ball from Ciccarello in acknowledgement of her stellar effort in the pitcher’s circle.
“Olivia was on her game,†said Ciccarello of the right-hander. “She was throwing the ball hard and her change-up and drop kept the Medford hitters off-balance.â€
RHS senior captain  Victoria Correia shared game ball honors with McManus, both for her outstanding defensive play at third base and her timely hitting.
Two days later the Lady Patriots made the long trek to Beverly for a 7 p.m. encounter with a Lady Panther squad that had clawed Revere for an 18-2 shellacking last season.
“They have most of last year’s team back, so we knew we would be in for a tough battle,†said Ciccarello.
Lady Patriot lead-off hitter par excellence, sophomore Eve Leskovitz, bunted for a single to lead-off the game and soon made her way around the base paths thanks to a combination of Beverly throwing errors and a fielder’s choice.
Revere extended its advantage to 3-0 in the third on an RBI base hit by Correia, a sacrifice fly for a ribbie by McManus, and what Ciccarello termed “an awesome bunt†by freshman Adreana Keefe that brought across a run.
That set the stage for some histrionics in the bottom of the seventh. The Beverly bats finally began to make some noise against McManus, scoring a run and placing runners at first and second with two out with Beverly’s best hitter at the plate, representing the winning run.
The Lady Panther scorched a line drive that appeared headed for right field, but RHS first baseman Alina Giuliano snared the rocket for the final out.
The Lady Patriots were back on the field the next day against Winthrop, a team that has struggled this season. After facing a pair of hard-throwing pitchers against Medford and Beverly, the change-of-pace from the Winthrop pitcher had the Lady Patriots swinging far out in front of the ball.
“Our timing was off,†noted Ciccarello, “and we never got untracked.â€
Still, RBI base hits by Correia and McManus early in the contest provided enough of a cushion that allowed Revere to hang on for an eventual 5-3 victory. Melana Polan laid down a fine bunt that brought home the speedy Lindsay Anderson, Revere’s pinch-runner extraordinaire, whom Ciccarello described as “the fastest girl I’ve ever coached.â€
With a tourney berth in hand, Ciccarello and his crew were off for full week until tomorrow (Thursday), when they will make the ride up Route 1 to Danvers to meet  the always-tough Lady Falcons.
The Danvers tilt marks the start of a rugged stretch of five games in seven days to wrap up the regular season. The Lady Patriots will host Cambridge Friday evening that will be highlighted by Senior Night festivities and then will entertain Newton North Sunday evening.
They will meet Chelmsford on Tuesday and journey to Swampscott next Wednesday.
Girls tennis team
wins two Contests
The Revere High girls tennis team won a pair of contests this week, defeating Beverly and Win throw by identical scores of 3-2.
In the Beverly triumph, the Lady Patriots’ scores were as follows
1st singles Farah Selman lost 7-5, 4-6, 1-6
2nd singles Trang Nguyen lost 2-6, 5-7
3rd singles Christina Restrepo won 6-2, 6-3
1st doubles Luisa Gil & Nora Le won 6-4, 1-6, 7-5
2nd doubles Taylor Le & Lina Nguyen won 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
“Both of our doubles teams won their matches with great comebacks,†said RHS head coach Carla Maniscalco.
In the 3-2 win over Winthrop this past Monday, the scores were as follows:
1st Singles Farah Selman lost 2-6, 0-6
2nd Singles Trang Nguyen lost 6-3, 3-6, 1-6
3rd Singles Christina Restrepo won 6-2, 7-5
1st Doubles Luisa Gil and Nora Le won 6-2, 6-2
2nd Doubles Taylor Le and Lina Nguyen won 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
“Taylor and Lina won with a clutch comeback after being down 1-4 in the first set,†noted Maniscalco.
The Lady Patriots were set to meet Danvers yesterday (Tuesday).
Fitzpatrick scores in 3 events in NEC Meet
Revere High senior captain Hannah Fitzpatrick scored points in three events for the Lady Patriots in Sunday’s Northeastern Conference Meet.
Hannah brought home a seventh place medal in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:29.85 and earned an eighth place ribbon in the triple jump with a final landing of 32’-4â€, which also was a personal record (PR).
Hannah then anchored the Revere 4 x 800 quartet with teammates Olivia Novoselsky, Erika Cheever, and Soleil Young to bring home a fifth place finish in a clocking of 11:38.7.
“It was a great day for our team,†said RHS head coach Antonio LaBruna. “This is our biggest meet of the season and the meet that I am constantly stressing performing well in and referring to throughout the season.
“The girls got the message and really had some great performances today. We are such a young team, so most of these girls got their first taste of championship competition, so while we took our lumps on the scoreboard, this will bode well for us in seasons to come,†LaBruna added.
As for Fitzpatrick’s performance, the coach noted, “Hannah got the hat-trick, scoring in all three of her events while jumping a PR in triple jump by over a foot. She is one of the hardest-working athletes I’ve ever coached. She’s certainly talented, but her hard work, knowledge of the sport, and competitiveness compliment her talent. She will be running cross country, indoor, and outdoor track next year at Emmanuel College and it is an understatement by me saying that they are lucky to have her.â€
Last week in a dual meet with Beverly, the Lady Patriot 4 x 400 relay foursome of Fitzpatrick, Stephanie Vu, Emily Gomes, and Joselin Bonilla took first place in a  time of 4:57.3.
Fitzpatrick grabbed second place in two events, the triple jump (30’-10â€) and the 800 (2:30.1). Maria Torres scored three points in the javelin with her second-plae throw of 87’-11â€.
“Maria Torres has been a pleasant surprise for us this year, filling a huge hole we had in the javelin,†said LaBruna. “She has improved throughout the season and now has put herself in the conversation to qualify for D1 States which is 91’-3â€.â€
Two days later, the Lady Patriots dropped a 99-37 decision to Malden. “This was an up and down meet for us,†LaBruna said. “Our sprint times were slower than usual, but our distance runners had big days.â€
Point-scorers for Revere included…
1st place:
Hannah Fitzpatrick – Mile – 5:47.1 (Outdoor PR)
Hannah Fitzpatrick – Triple Jump – 31’-1†(PR)
Maria Torres – Javelin – 74’0â€
2nd place:
Luana Barbosa – Long Jump – 13’-3.5â€
Jessica Vo – Triple Jump – 28’-1â€
Chloe Giordano – High Hurdles – 18.8
Jessica Vo – 100M – 14.4 (PR)
3rd place:
Soleil Yuong – Two mile – 14:56
Olivia Novoselsky – 800M – 2:46.8
Emily DeMauro – 200M – 30.0
Emily DeMauro – 100M – 14.8
Hilina Tafesse – Shot-put – 25’-5.5â€
Chloe Giordano – Triple Jump – 27’-11â€
“Jessica Vo was our lone sprinter to run a PR, which was good for second in the 100,†said LaBruna. “She finished last season strong, but got off to a slow start this spring in both her sprinting events and the triple jump. It was nice to see her back to where she should be with two second-place finishes.â€
The Lady Patriots were set to conclude their season yesterday (Tuesday) against Marblehead, which is a makeup meet from earlier this season.
RHS boys tennis
wraps up season
The Revere High boys tennis team concluded its 2018 campaign with a pair of matches against Beverly and Winthrop.
Although the Patriots came out on the short end of both contests, leaving them with a 4-9 record on the season, RHS head coach Mike Flynn said he was pleased with his team’s performance this season.
“We started out as a very young and inexperienced team,†said Flynn. “But the team worked incredibly hard and gave it their all with every match. It was a fun year and everybody improved their game.â€
David Phan stepped up to the number one singles slot from second doubles last season and faced the best player from every opponent. “David battled hard in every match,†said Flynn. “If he puts in a good summer of playing and practice, he will be one of the top players in the conference next year.â€
Riaz Butt-Garcia and Siderong Men held down the other singles spots and won their share of matches.
The tandems of Eric Meza & Alejandro Muleta and Wellan Sok & Ergi Ismahili typically filled the doubles positions, but other Patriots often stepped up, including Michael Marchese & Vincent Nguyen, who played in their first varsity match against Beverly.
Flynn and his crew were set to wrap up their season with a pizza party yesterday (Tuesday).
But notches 100th
point in boys lax win
Eric Bua scored his 100th point in an 11-7 win for the Revere High boys lacrosse team over Malden on Thursday.
“This is Eric’s second consecutive season with 100 points,†noted RHS head coach Austin Powers.