Thursday Roundup: Back-to-back champ Lady Sea Lions start defense in water with win at Way-co; C-R, B-R boys to meet in Scio Memorial title game

WAYLAND — For the last two seasons in the water, the Wellsville Lady Sea Lions have asserted their overwhelming dominance across the Section V field. As a result, the long-awaited glory that the program had not seen, had finally arrived.

The Lady Sea Lions now enter this season with a chance to do something remarkable — a chance to three-peat. The first stepping stone came on Thursday on the road against the Lady Eagles of Wayland-Cohocton.

And it was an emphatic step towards a successful debut, as Wellsville came out swinging in the opening half of the meet, taking all but one event to add a bounty of points onto the board, setting the tone for the remainder of the evening with a 90-74 victory.

“It was great to be back barefoot on the pool deck again. It was a great first meet to start the season,” said Lady Sea Lions coach Steve Hand. “The returning girls have set some pretty fast times the last few years, and it can be hard to maintain or swim faster times each meet. It’s a process that begins with harder practices, so it was good to see a lot of the team not far off from their mark in previous years.”

The Lady Sea Lions (1-0) totaled eight first place finishes against Wayland-Cohocton, with Tiernee Brandes leading the individual triumphs with two — a 2:14.18 winning time in the 200 freestyle, and later, a 1:10.57 winning time in the 100 backstroke. The team would also collect wins in two of the three relay events along the way, placing first in the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays.

Amongst the other individual wins, saw a tie. In the 50 freestyle right before the end of the front half of the meet, Kaylee Oswald and Wayland-Cohocton’s Claire Donlon were neck-and-neck with one another all the way down the homestretch. Both swimmers would finish at the same exact time with a 28.15 first place time.

“Kaylee had a really, really exciting swim against the Donlon girl in the 50 freestyle. It was really close, they were right with one another and it wound up being a tie in the end,” Hand said. “All the relays looked good for the first meet, and some of the younger girls got a chance to race for times to give us a great place to start. We have a lot of work to do to get back to last year’s end form, but the girls are up for the challenge that it will bring.”

The Lady Sea Lions also saw Ashley Oswald (Diving), Grace Kinnicutt (100 butterfly) and Morgan Mattison (100 freestyle) all add in individual wins of their own to close out the triumphant return to the pool for the defending Section V champions.

Up next for Wellsville will be another road trip next week, as they prepare to dive in against the Hornell Lady Red Raiders on Tuesday beginning at 5 p.m.

Team Scores: Wellsville 90, Wayland-Cohocton 74.
Results

200 Medley – 1. Wellsville (Kinnicutt, Bidzerkowny, Hart, McCormick) 2:10.44, 2. Wellsville, 3. Way-Co.

200 Free – 1. Tiernee Brandes (WLSV) 2:14.18, 2. Morgan Mattison (WLSV), 3. Kendall Allen (W-C).

200 IMR – 1. Kailyn Mark (W-C) 3:04.48, 2. Jasmine Outman (WLSV), 3. Skylar Richardson (W-C).

50 Free – 1. Kaylee Oswald (WLSV)/Claire Donlon (W-C) 28.15, 3. Emily Budinger (WLSV).

Diving – 1. Ashley Oswald (WLSV) 186.90, 2. Claire Donlon (W-C).

100 Fly – 1. Grace Kinnicutt (WLSV) 1:08.19, 2. Courtney Goodwin (W-C), 3. Kennedy Ewing (WLSV).

100 Free – 1. Morgan Mattison (WLSV) 1:00.45, 2. Ella Green (WLSV), 3. Jillian Uhl (W-C).

500 Free – 1. Kendall Allen (W-C) 6:23.87, 2. Allie Bidzerkowny (WLSV), 3. Megan Vanetten (WLSV).

200 Relay – 1. Wellsville (Mattison, Hart, Budinger, Kinnicutt) 1:57.39, 2. Way-Co, 3. Wellsville.

100 Back – 1. Tiernee Brandes (WLSV) 1:10.57, 2. Kaylee Oswald (WLSV), 3. Samantha Brown (W-C).

100 Breaststroke – 1. Natalie Williamson (W-C) 1:45.69.

400 Free – 1. Way-Co (Allen, Feely, Brown, Goodwin) 4:47.59, 2. Way-Co.

BOYS SOCCER

Scio Memorial Tourney: C-R, B-R pick up wins to meet in Saturday’s title game

SCIO — A soccer staple in Allegany County has made its grand return on Thursday, as four local squads all met in Scio for this year’s edition of the Boys Soccer Memorial Tournament.

Among those four teams, was a midfield battle between Andover/Whitesville and Cuba-Rushford to open up the festivities with their second meeting in three days, with both teams first engaging in a high-scoring affair on a soggy Labor Day evening back on Monday.

This time around, it was a more defensive battle where goals almost came at a premium. But when they were found, it would make a big difference. For the Rebels, they would grab the games first two goals to establish their lead, holding their shutout down to the wire until Andover/Whitesville worked their way onto the board in the end, holding on to secure a 2-1 win.

After a scoreless battle through the majority of the opening half, Cuba-Rushford (2-0) found their way onto the board in the late stages with Braeden Wight taking a feed from Jacob Smith and finding the back of the Andover/Whitesville goal with it to break the ice going into the half.

Just as quick as they ended the half with the lead, they continued the same tempo to begin the next, as Tanner Lewis worked his way onto the board nearly three minutes after the kick at midfield to give the Rebels a 2-0 lead to work with for the remainder of the game.

Andover/Whitesville (0-3) found their way into the back of the net with 2:43 left in the game, as they eliminated Cuba-Rushford’s bid for a shutout with a goal of his own. Combined, both teams recorded 29 total shots in the offensive zone, with Joe Zeh making eight saves for the win.

Landon Ordway put a stop to 12 shots on the other end for Andover/Whitesville.

As for the nightcap between Bolivar-Richburg and Friendship/Scio, the night belonged to Reiss Gaines, who resumed his hot start to the season for the Wolverines with a hat trick on the front lines, scoring two in the first half to set the tone on what was a 4-0 shutout to help claim the final spot in this weekend’s title game.

“The guys played very well as a team, and I am very proud of them,” said Wolverines coach Mike Zilker. “They are starting to understand the team first, me second mindset and it is absolutely fabulous to see. They work hard and they each do their job, and the team gets a victory. It’s a job well done by the fellas.”

Gaines got Bolivar-Richburg (4-0) onto the board in the first 10 minutes of play with his first of three goals, as Landon Barkley helped set up shop with the first of his two assists to Gaines. Later on past the halfway mark, Gaines grabbed his second to extend the Wolverines lead to a pair at the break, connecting with Aydin Sisson, who also had two assists in the game.

The lead was held for much of the early stages until the team in white and red branched their lead out even farther with Gaines’ third and final goal off of Barkley’s second assist at the 23:39 mark. Closing out the scoring was Braden Zilker with 2:16 left to play, as Sisson dished out his last helper to help put a bow on the victory.

Bolivar-Richburg outshot Friendship/Scio (0-2) by a 16-5 count, with David Abdo making all five stops to earn the shutout in between the pipes, while Landon Arnold made 12 saves for the hosts.

On Saturday, the stage is set for the final day of tournament action, as Andover/Whitesville and Friendship/Scio will partake in Consolation round action starting in a 5 p.m. first kick, while Cuba-Rushford and Bolivar-Richburg close out the night with the Championship battle at 7 p.m.

Way-Co Tourney

Campbell-Savona 2, Wellsville 0

COHOCTON — The final tournament hurdle right before their home opener after the weekend would begin at the Cohocton Sports Complex on Thursday for the Wellsville Lions.

To begin, they would square off with the Campbell-Savona Panthers in a battle that saw their opposition hold them in check across all 80 minutes of play while capitalizing on a pair of goals themselves, as they claimed a spot in this weekend’s title game with a 2-0 shutout of the Lions.

Further statistics were not available to report upon publication.

Wellsville (1-2) will now prepare for battle in Saturday’s Consolation round, where they will face Greece Olympia, who was defeated by host Wayland-Cohocton by a 4-1 count later in the night, beginning at 5 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS

Wellsville 3, Avoca/Prattsburgh 2

PRATTSBURGH — The Lady Lions and Lady Titans put on a phenomenal display of tennis up and down the court Thursday night. With the competitive prowess between both teams being shown, it would see a pair of wins go each way.

But an early doubles forfeit that was awarded to the Lady Lions right at the start of the match was what wound up being the difference maker in the end, as Wellsville recorded their third straight win to open the young season with a 3-2 edging on the road at Avoca/Prattsburgh.

After a second doubles forfeit win was awarded to the team of Kelsey Seely and McKenna Wonderling to begin the match, Wellsville (3-0) saw the first doubles team of Caitlin Bittel and Hanna Miles provided a near shutout performance against Avoca/Prattsburgh’s Colleen Hammond and Ginny Savage to record the sweep of the department, as they rolled to a 6-0, 6-1 finish.

The team’s last came from Sarah Mattison at third singles, who worked her way through a tight battle against Alexis Fitzwater to come away with a narrow 6-3, 6-4 win.

Avoca/Prattsburgh was led by a hard-fought victory from Camryn Moore at first singles over Wellsville’s Meagan Riley, as she overcame a second-set defeat to come away victorious through a third-set tiebreak to take the win. Genevieve Dabby had the other victory at second singles, powering through an opening set tiebreak to record the 7-5, 6-1 win over Samantha Bidzerkowny.

The Lady Lions are back on the court Monday night back home, as they host a 5 p.m. first serve with Canisteo-Greenwood.

Singles

1. Camryn Moore (A/P) def. Meagan Riley (WLSV), 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.

2. Genevieve Dabby (A/P) def. Samantha Bidzerkowny (WLSV), 7-5, 6-1.

3. Sarah Mattison (WLSV) def. Alexis Fitzwater (A/P), 6-3, 6-4.

Doubles

1. Caitlin Bittel/Hanna Miles (WLSV) def. Colleen Hammond/Ginny Savage (A/P), 6-0, 6-1.

2. Kelsey Seely/McKenna Wonderling (WLSV) by for.

Alfred-Almond 3, Fillmore 2

ALMOND — Like the Lady Lions in Prattsburgh, the Lady Eagles of Fillmore were also engaged in a tight battle across the board with the host Alfred-Almond Lady Eagles on Thursday over the road.

Each team would split a victory in the doubles department, but as for the individual competitions, the Lady Eagles would manage to fight their way towards two of the three victories from within the singles department to narrowly capture the overall 3-2 match win to remain unbeaten with their third straight win.

Pitted up against Sophia Symeslatini at first singles, Fillmore’s (1-2) Olivia Chiu fought tooth and nail from start to finish to come away victorious with the first of the team’s two overall wins on the court, garnering a 6-4, 6-4 win.

The other came at first doubles from the team of Molly Mahoney and Amy Majoros, who came up with a similar victory over Alfred-Almond’s Mariam and Sara Eleshaky, earning a 6-3, 6-4 win of their own. Alfred-Almond would go on to take wins at second and third singles, as well as second doubles to capture match victory on the Lady Eagles.

Fillmore is now off until Monday night back home at Houghton College, as they welcome in Addison for a 5 p.m. first serve.

Singles

1. Olivia Chiu (FIL) def. Sophia Symeslatini (A-A), 6-4, 6-4.

2. Anna Yarnal (A-A) def. Kristina Wilcox (FIL), 6-2, 6-2.

3. Beatrice Beaudry (A-A) def. Kali White (FIL), 6-3, 7-6.

Doubles

1. Molly Mahoney/Amy Majoros (FIL) def. Mariam Eleshaky/Sara Eleshaky (A-A), 6-3, 6-4.

2. Eleanor Drozeski/Rose Schreiber (A-A) def. Emma Hopkins/Annika Wiltsey (FIL), 6-3, 6-1.