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TMHS Field Hockey, Golf Teams Grab Easy Wins [video]

Lawrence falls victim twice; volleyball team loses to Andover.

After a frustrating and physical 5-0 loss to Andover on Monday, a light spot on the schedule was just what the doctor ordered for the banged-up

With senior captain Sheri Liggiero wearing a protective boot on her right foot and senior goaltender Rachel Pendleton suffering from a pulled muscle, the under-staffed Redmen breezed to an 8-0 victory over winless Lawrence Wednesday afternoon at Strong Field.

Senior midfielder Sara Hogan and sophomore forward Hayley Golini scored two goals each as Tewksbury built a 6-0 halftime lead and coasted to its second victory in three outings so far this fall.

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Golini, up from the junior varsity, led another strong  performance from Tewksbury's sophomore contingent. Sophomore forward Kelsie Bradley scored her second goal of the season while sophomore Bridget Casey notched her first career varsity goal. Sophomore Lindsey Monti, also up from the jayvees, scored her first varsity goal and sophomore forward Hayley Sutherland collected two assists.

"We've got a really strong sophomore class," said Tewksbury coach Pat Ryser. "Ashley Kelly and Cassidy Russell are really playing well, Hayley Sutherland played a lot of varsity last year, Bridget Casey, Kelsie Bradley, Taylor Lirakis...There's five or six of them who have stepped up and filled the positions left open by our seniors who graduated."

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Senior speedster Natalie Bourne added a single goal as Tewksbury outshot Lawrence by a lopsided 36-4 margin.

"They're in a rebuilding year," said Ryser. "But it was good for us to play them now and get our confidence back after Andover really beat us up on Monday."

Tewksbury's starting goalie, Riley Ryan, also got banged up on Monday, hurting her shoulder in a collision with an Andover player. In spite of that, Ryan recorded the team's first shut out on Wednesday.

The Redmen play at Dracut on Friday before hosting Chelmsford on Tuesday. Riser expects Liggiero (sprained ankle) to be back in the line-up by then, but isn't sure about Pendleton.

"Fortunately, we've got two good goalies," Ryser said. "We'll need to be healthy by Tuesday, though, because Chelmsford is about the only team in this league that could give Andover a run."

GOLF TEAM IMPROVES TO 3-0

Considering the fact that they graduated five senior starters last year, golf coaches Ron Drouin and Jim Sullivan have to be happy with their team's 3-0 start in 2011.

The Redmen followed up a dramatic, come-from-behind win over Methuen on Monday with an easy 13-2 win over Lawrence on at Garrison Golf Center on Wednesday. TMHS needs to win only seven matches this fall to qualify for the state tournament for the third time in three years, and the Redmen are almost halfway there two weeks into the season.

"Any win is a good win," said Sullivan. "And the best thing about this one is that we were able to get some new players involved and have them gain some valuable varsity experience."

played in the first foursome on Wednesday and gave Tewksbury an early 3-2 lead when Petti won his match, four and three, and the pair combined to take the best ball point.

Sophomore Jeff Giasullo and freshman Ryan Meade locked up the win by sweeping all five points in the second foursome. Giasullo improved his individual record to 3-0 on the season with an easy, five and four win, while freshman Ryan Meade improved to 1-0-1 with a four and three victory.

Meade and Giasullo took the best ball point to give Tewksbury a commanding 8-2 lead.

Sophomore Zach Strahan and junior Dan Petrie, each playing in their first varsity match of the season, closed out the Tewksbury victory with another sweep in the third foursome. Strahan and Petrie each won five and four and took the best ball point as well.

It was Tewksbury's first road win of the year.

"It was good for us to get on the bus and get a win away from (home course) Trull Brook," Sullivan said. "It was the first time the guys have played at another course."

Tewksbury is now 3-0 overall, 2-0 in the Merrimack Valley Conference. The Redmen will tee it up against rival Dracut in a pivotal MVC Division 2 match-up at Hickory Hill Golf Course on Monday.

 VOLLEYBALLERS CAN'T MATCH UP WITH ANDOVER

It was no secret to that his team would have its hands full against defending Merrimack Valley Conference champion Andover High on Wednesday.

"Andover is one of the top three teams in the state," Ray said. "I fully expect them to make it to the state championship match."

With a line-up featuring half a dozen players standing 5-10 or taller, the visiting Golden Warriors took a straight-set, 3-0 victory over host Tewksbury.

Andover didn't escape without a bit of a scare, however, as the Redmen battled the Warriors point-for-point in the first set before falling, 25-21.

"We played unbelievably well in the first set," Ray said. "We were fired up and ready to go at them. We didn't make many mistakes."

The second set was a different story, however, as the Golden Warriors dominated, 25-7.

"We made some bad mistakes in the second set and we didn't hit aggressively," Ray said. "You can't do that against a team like this. They're destined to be state champions. They went to the semi-finals last year and they didn't graduate any of their starters."

Andover took an early lead in the third set and held off several Tewksbury rallies to close out the match with a 25-16 win.

Senior middle hitter Allie Lupppi had another strong match for the Redmen with eight kills, while senior Alina Rosmarinofski had seven kills and junior Kelli Sugrue had six. Senior Jenn Ianacci had five blocks.

Tewksbury falls to 2-2 overall, 0-2 in the MVC, but Ray is not discouraged.

"With a loss like this against a team like this you can't be disappointed, because our kids all played so well," Ray said. "I can't ask for anything more out of them. They are giving as much as they can right now."

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