In a rematch of last year’s Division 2 state rugby final, third-seeded Weymouth again bested second-seeded Hanover with a 19-17 road win at Harry Gerrish Field to punch their ticket back to the championship.
Christian Laenen scored a pair of tries and Tyler Ahern added a third, all in the first half, with a Will Savage conversion kick standing as the winner for Weymouth after holding a 19-5 lead at the break.
The Wildcats, who feature 10 players from last year’s championship squad, will face top-seeded Algonquin in the final on June 17 at Curry College.
“We’ve got to eliminate the try-area mistakes,” said Weymouth coach Ryan Casey, a 1994 graduate. “The kids tend to speed themselves up down there. We’ve just got to play the game at our pace, in our flow. We’re still learning to trust everyone on the field.”
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The win avenged a 26-24 loss to the Hawks in the regular season, the Wildcats’ only defeat this spring.
Division 2 State
Algonquin 28, Catholic Memorial 26 — Senior Cullen Doherty scored for the top-seeded Titans, clinching a spot in the finals, which will be held June 17 at Curry College.
Boys’ volleyball
Division 1 State
St. John’s (Shrewsbury) 3, St. John’s Prep 1 — In just his second game back from a torn meniscus in his right knee, senior captain Nolan Farrell rose up to finish the final point that clinched the first trip to the semifinals for the fourth-seeded Pioneers (18-4). SJS dropped the first set, but refocused and took the next three.
“We definitely went in a little nervous, being the first time in this situation,” coach Dan Seaver said. “Play one point at a time. We know we can hang with this team. Their strengths are some of our weaknesses and vice versa. It’s a battle each time.”
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In the program’s second trip to the quarterfinals (first was 2002), sophomore Franny McGonagle (25 kills, 3 blocks), senior captain Matt Deeley (22 kills, 4 blocks), senior Manny Rosa-Nieves, and junior captain Eric Barcelos (6 kills) stood tall at the net, with junior Suraj Marla adding 37 assists and senior Ben Saro coming up with 22 digs.
“They came out hot, they played awesome, they really did,” Seaver said. “The biggest thing for us is we didn’t let anything affect us. We kept playing our game. End of the night, we had that little bit more that we needed.”
Softball
Division 2 State
Bedford 10, Holliston 3 — Kaylee Grace earned the win after pitching seven innings and striking out four in the 11th-seeded Buccaneers’ victory over the 27th-seeded Panthers (10-12). Bedford’s Kate Patterson collected two RBIs and Lexie Masters added two hits and two RBIs. The Bucs (16-4) advance to the quarterfinals against third-seeded Tewksbury (17-5).
Silver Lake 6, Grafton 2 — Sophomore Kenna Slyker belted a three-run homer to power the eighth-seeded Lakers (20-2) to a second-round win over No. 9 Gators (16-6). Delaney Moquin struck out nine in a complete-game effort. Silver Lake advances to a quarterfinal matchup at No. 1 Westfield (19-1) on Saturday at noon.
Division 3 State
Bishop Fenwick 2, North Reading 0 — Gigi Aupont racked up nine strikeouts and allowed just five hits and no runs for the ninth-seeded Crusaders (14-7) in a second-round win. Katie O’Brien contributed with a two-hit day and drove in a run. Bishop Fenwick travels to St. Mary’s to take on the top-seeded Spartans (21-1) on Saturday (11 a.m.).
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Division 4 State
Archbishop Williams 4, Wahconah 0 — Freshman phenom Jill Ondrick silenced Wahconah with 15 strikeouts for the fifth-seeded Bishops (19-5) in their second-round win over the 12th-seeded Warriors (10-12). Archbishop Williams travels to Tyngsborough to face the fourth-seeded Tigers (16-4) on Friday (4 p.m.).
Division 5 State
Hopkins 10, Maynard 6 — Junior Cassidi Mushenski, senior Jessica Markowski, and freshman Lilly Ellia knocked in runs in the sixth inning as the seventh-seeded Golden Hawks (18-2) pulled away from the 10th-seeded Tigers (15-7). Hopkins advances to the quarterfinals where it faces second-seeded Mount Greylock (16-6).