By Matilda Kreider
Thanksgiving Day 2015, Photo Credit: East Haven Athletic Department
This Thursday marked the official end of the fall sports season, with the football team taking an exciting 10-7 home victory over East Haven in the 74th annual Thanksgiving Day Beehive Bowl. With this win, the team kept East Haven from qualifying for the state tournament and now leads the series 38-32-4 all-time.
Most other fall sports wrapped up in late October and early November, though the girls swimming and diving team competed in the State Open on November 21st. Here’s a re-cap of how they did:
The girls soccer team just missed qualifying for the state tournament with a record of 5-9-2, but they saw some great turnarounds throughout the season, like beating Mercy 1-0 after losing 6-1 the first time around.
The girls swimming and diving team saw success in part due to the work of a core of swimmers in captains Caitlin Daley, Erika Maercklein, and Paige MacNeil that have been making waves since freshman year. The team took 6th at the SCC Championship meet, 4th at the Class M State meet, and 14th at the State Open meet.
The boys soccer team struggled coming off of last year’s Class L co-championship, as the team graduated most of its starting players. The team finished with a 3-9-4 record and will look to developing in the future.
The field hockey team had a successful season and finished with an 11-5-2 record after making it to the semifinals of the SCC tournament and the first round of the Class M State tournament. The team lost to New Canaan in the first round but got some validation when New Canaan went on to win the tournament. A highlight of the season was a 3-2 victory over rival and 2014 SCC and Class M champion Daniel Hand.
The girls cross country team ran to victory as it often does, taking 6th at the SCC Championship meet and 7th at the Class MM State meet. Runners like Cyrene Nicholas, Anneliese Troidle, and Courtney Cosgrove helped the team secure its 10th consecutive Oronoque Division title and finish the regular season with a 6-3 record.
The boys cross country team lost some key runners in the class of 2014 but managed to continue succeeding with the help of runners like Andrew Byrne, Spencer Marriotti, and Marshall Borrus. The team finished with a 5-4 regular season record and took 12th at the SCC meet and 15th at the Class MM meet.
The football team had a wildly successful campaign compared to its seasons in recent years. After losing 4 tough games to start the season, the team won 5 of its last 6 games and finished with a 5-5 record. Though it did not qualify for the state tournament, Coach Limone’s squad is looking like it will turn things around for Branford football in the future.
The volleyball team kept the wins coming this fall, finishing with a 16-9 record. The team took a share of the Oronoque Division title, made it to the semifinal of the SCC tournament, and won one game in the Class L tournament before losing to #1 seed RHAM, who would become the runners-up of the tournament.
After an exciting season, we now move to the winter sports season. Practice starts tomorrow for girls basketball and games for all teams begin not too long after that! Check @BranfordBuzz on Twitter for updates as those scores start rolling in.
