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New Canaan girls lacrosse team opens postseason with FCIAC quarterfinal win over Staples

Jon Chik — Thu, 16 May 2013 23:26:55 UT

New Canaan girls lacrosse team opens postseason with FCIAC quarterfinal win over Staples With the win, the Rams advanced to Monday's semifinals and will take on the winner of Friday's quarterfinal matchup between No. 3 Greenwich and No. 6 Ridgefield. Staples' (8-8-1, 4-7 FCIAC) Nicole Najarian opened the scoring with a hard charge to the New Canaan net, and her bounce shot gave her team its first and only lead at 1-0. Olivia Hompe tied the game with a top shelf shot, Bea Eppler put the Rams in front for good, Miller scored consecutive goals 59 seconds apart to make it 4-1 and Hompe scored her second for the 5-1 lead. From there, the Wreckers and Rams traded goals for the rest of the first half. Staples got one back on a Jenna McNicholas marker, New Canaan's Isabel Taben scored, Najarian scored her second goal for Staples and Lily Citrin notched the final goal of the first half to give the Rams a 7-3 lead heading into the break. New Canaan controlled most of the action in the first half but likely put the game away with three quick goals to start the second half, as Miller, Hompe and Brianna McEwan found the back of the net for the 10-3 lead just 2:48 into the second half.

The Running Doctor: Common athletic injuries

Dr. Robert F. Weiss — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:28:14 UT

A large majority of all athletes go through the overuse syndrome of injury during their career. The most common areas are the front and inside muscles of the leg, tendon (tendonitis) or bone covering the lower leg (periostis), where the muscle attaches to the bone. An inflammation of the large tendon in the back of the lower leg. Most common location of pain is under the head of the second metatarsal bone behind the second toe area and under the first metatarsal head (sesamoid or accessory bone area) just behind the bottom surface of the big toe. Hammertoes, contracted or claw-like toes, usually occur as a result of imbalances of bone structures or muscles making the toe stick up higher than normal.

FCIAC softball playoff preview

Dave Ruden — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:12:58 UT

On April 3, the opening day of the season, St. Joseph was considered the favorite to win the FCIAC softball title. On April 29, Stamford shot out to a 12-4 lead in the middle of the 3rd inning at Fairfield Ludlowe. Sure enough, the Falcons scored five times in the bottom of the inning, though Stamford held on for a 13-10 win. Coach Jeff Babineau can keep opponents -- and his two starters -- guessing until game time whether Tori Ceballos or Nicole Williams will get the nod on the mound. Considering the pick should be a lower seed, the Rams, out of the No. 6 spot, have a veteran team and solid pitchers in Ali Reilly and Cydney Ventura, who is part of a senior-laden roster that includes Jordan Ventura, Courtney Rogers and Marlee Ready. If you believe the most valuable player is the one whose absence would most adversely impact her team, the hard-throwing Osherow is a leading candidate. Since a 5-1 loss to St. Joseph that left the Blue Wave 2-3, the sophomore has allowed just six runs in 12 games, the lone loss 2-1 to Stamford.

New Canaan girls tennis team advances to FCIAC semifinals with win over Wilton

Rich DePreta — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:34:55 UT

New Canaan girls tennis team advances to FCIAC semifinals with win over Wilton In a year where balance is the key word in the world of FCIAC girls tennis, New Canaan High School took an important first step on its playoff journey Thursday by grinding out a 5-2 victory over Wilton in the conference quarterfinals. [...] the Rams' depth was proved very important as Wilton won at both No. 1 and No. 2 singles. Veterans Kristin Laub and Sara Greene captured No. 1 doubles by winning the first and third sets, 6-1. Amanda Merjian and Sarah Lovejoy won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1 for the Rams. [...] it was Emily Brand's three-set triumph (6-0, 4-6, 6-1) over Allie Schaefer that propelled New Canaan into Monday's semifinals. Wilton is an interesting mix of four seniors, two freshman singles players and two sophomores. Wilton head coach Mike Gillespie feels Thursday's experience will pay dividends for the Warriors at state tournament time.

New Canaan's Baranski hopes national title serves as inspiration

Thu, 16 May 2013 02:30:58 UT

Emma Baranski hopes her recent milestone achievement at the swimoutlet.com U.S. National Championships serves as an inspiration for future synchronized swimmers. Baranski started her athletic career with figure skating and dance at the age of 5 before seeing a poster for her hometown club, the Hamden Heronettes, and going to tryouts. Baranski says dancing and choreography remain as passions as well, and she attended the Educational Center of the Arts in New Haven for dance.