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The Orchard Park & East Aurora Sun /Saturday, February 14, 2015
Lady Quakers eye 3rd seed after topping West By Aaron Garland SPORTS REPORTER
Thanks to Mother Nature, the Orchard Park girls basketball team’s final week of regularseason games has been hectic. The severe weather that’s hit the area this winter caused postponements everywhere in Western New York. And in the case of the Lady Quakers, they made up a lot of the missed time over a five-day stretch, playing four games in that span. “That’s what happens when you have all those snow-outs,” OP coach Josh Dannecker said of a high volume of contests being squeezed into a narrow time frame. Orchard Park started that period with a 54-25 league win on Feb. 9 at West Seneca West. In a makeshift home-and-home
series, the two squads had a rematch Wednesday (Feb. 11), with the host Lady Quakers coming out on top again, 60-32. The season sweep of West got OP (10-6, 7-4 ECIC I) within a victory of clinching the third seed in the Section VI Class AA postseason, which begins Feb. 26. Orchard Park played its league finale Thursday (Feb. 12) at Clarence (7-8, 5-4 ECIC I). Results of the game were not available at press time. Either an OP triumph in that one or a Clarence loss in one of its other two remaining ECIC I contests locks the Lady Quakers into the third seed. That’s right where Dannecker would like to be. But no matter what, OP is guaranteed at least fourth, which is an advantageous position to be in. “I think we’re playing pretty well,” he said. “We’ve been putting some games, putting some wins together and getting ourselves in position. We should get a pretty good seed and that will help us avoid the Williamsville Norths and the Jamestowns until probably the semifinals.”
Orchard Park’s Grace Ruh (10) waits for a pass from a teammate. Before the playoffs, OP has a non-league tune-up for its final action at 7:30 p.m. on Friday (Feb. 13) at East Aurora. Wednesday’s contest against West was senior night for five Lady Quakers. Hind Alamari, Sarah Kubik, Emily Speyer, Shaye Swiatek and Abbie Probst competed in their final regular-season home games. And they left the court
on a high note. Kubik recorded 14 points and 12 rebounds in the win, while Swiatek scored a game-high 15 points. Probst (nine points, three rebounds), Speyer (four points, four rebounds) and Alamari (two points, five rebounds) also provided quality minutes, as the seniors comprised the starting lineup. All 10 of Orchard Park’s play-
ers registered a point, including Jaimee Glendenning, who came off the bench and scored five points and grabbed nine boards. The top-to-bottom contributions have Dannecker encouraged with the postseason around the corner. They’ve been a big part of the Lady Quakers’ recent winning streak, which was extended to five against West.
“If we play well, we can continue (playing everyone),” Dannecker said. “The opportunity to get a lot of girls in the last couple games has helped going into playoffs. I think (Wednesday) everybody was on the stats sheet. It gives people confidence and gets us ready for the playoffs.” Meanwhile, the Lady Indians (4-15, 0-12 ECIC I) wrapped up their regular season with the loss to OP on Wednesday. They’ll enter the Class AA tournament as the seventh and final seed. Lindsay Green led West with 10 points and eight rebounds in the 60-32 defeat. Felicia Urbanczyk recorded eight points for the Lady Indians, while Lauren Fibich had five points to accompany her seven rebounds. Adriana Lis added seven rebounds. Lienna Ortiz chipped in five points and four rebounds off West Seneca West’s bench. “We had a little bit of a better effort in the second half,” Lady Indians coach Lori Potter said. “We came out a little flat in the first half. We boxed out a little better in the second half but we still have a lot of work to do.”
Dils comes off bench, lifts Gnecco claims first in 500 free Blue Devils with eight boards “Swimming” from page 7
“Boys hoops” from page 7
JEFFREY T. BARNES
Cal McTigue, right, scored 14 points against the Flyers. He’s averaging over 7 points per game. Cal McTigue added 14 corded eight points and four points off the EA bench, rebounds for the winners. while Joe Montgomery re- Nick Montgomery, Joe’s
twin, had six points and three rebounds. Connor Allan’s five points early in the third helped the Blue Devils pull away when Maryvale began the second half on a 6-0 run. Cal Dils also entered off the Blue Devils’ bench, sparking the team immediately when he did, Koselny said. Dils finished with eight rebounds. “I thought it was a very complete effort,” Koselny said. “We talked about 32 minutes. We talked how difficult it’s been for us in the past playing in (Maryvale’s) gym. They really took it to heart. They followed a game plan. Defensively, I loved our effort. It was one of the first games in which we had more offensive rebounds than the other team.” East Aurora is off until it hosts Batavia in a nonleague bout at 7:30 p.m. on Monday (Feb. 10). Twitter: @Garland SUN
“That was incredible,” Zagrobelny said. “Personally, I didn’t think I’d be down that low. I was shooting for 1:00.00 at most, really. That was an experience like no other. Everything in that race clicked. During my last lap I had no idea where the time was at, but I knew there had to be some time drop. That was an experience like no other.” The senior gave EA another 20 points with his win in the 200 free (1:49.22). Zagrobelny was also on the Blue Devils’ 200 free relay team that finished third (1:33.20). He competed with Read Bohanan, Ryan Storms and Nicola Gnecco. Zagrobelny’s split was 22.27 seconds, leaving him .08 seconds off the state-cut time in the 50. With being close to state-qualifying marks in the 50 and 200 (1.62 seconds off), Zagrobelny had a last chance to reach them at Section VI Championships on Feb. 12-13 at Maryvale. Results of the meet were not available at press time. He’ll be going to states Feb. 27-28 at Ithaca College for at least one event. Upon winning the 100 breast, Zagrobelny said he was met with warm cheers from his teammates. That, plus the overall success EA had on the day, made
it the highlight of the season for him. “Just the support was amazing,” he said. “You’d think, ‘Oh, I did a really good job, and who else cares.’ But my team just came up to me and said, ‘That was incredible.’ The meet was one I’ll definitely remember for the rest of my life. “On (Saturday), when it mattered, we showed we have the ability to do well and swim our butts off.” The 200 medley relay squad of Zagrobelny, Charlie May, Bohanan and Gnecco took second to Olean the team East Aurora tied in overall points in a time of 1:44.74. Craig Poturalski (1:00.80) and Bohanan (1:01.08) were fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 100 fly. In addition to being on two relays that placed high, Gnecco won the 500 free (5:03.74) and was third in the 200 free with a time of 1:52.23. “He swam great (Saturday),” Musshafen said of Gnecco. “We’ve been working on pacing and split times in practice with him just getting him more focused and swimming a better race; becoming a better 500 swimmer. He also had a phenomenal drop in the 200 free,
too. He swam like a champion.” Matt Link, Kevin Murnock, Poturalski and Owen Schifferli teamed to form the 400 free relay quartet that finished third (3:37.06). Musshafen said the Blue Devils released themselves from standard comfort zones at the class championships, and that was a major factor in their results. Embodying that mentality was Jack Bean, who dropped four seconds in the 200 IM and six in the 100 fly, Musshafen noted. Bean recorded a 2:18.09 (12th place) in the IM and swam a 1:01.66 in the 100 fly to take 11th. That added more points for EA than expected, based on his season-bests prior to the meet. Bean and the rest of the Blue Devils, already division champs, prepared for classes with a second title in mind. They nearly came away with it, too. “It was mostly tapering, and a little bit of race prep in terms of mental things,” Musshafen said. “I tried to speak to each one of them individually to tell them, ‘You need to do X, Y and Z for your race, and get after it. Feel uncomfortable and feel fast.’” Twitter: @Garland SUN
Junior has eight points on defense Ortiz, Hoover lead “Quakers” from page 7 He missed his travel season, but was in the Quakers’ lineup for the 2013-14 opener after three months of rehab. Although he felt good to go, Maloney said he gained 15 pounds while sidelined, hampering his stamina and performance. But he’s back to his old self now, leading Orchard Park’s blue line as a junior alternate captain. Quakers assistant coach Steve Ferrentino said he probably logs 30 minutes of ice per contest, revealing that his endurance and play is doing just fine. Maloney is the unquestioned No. 1 defender on OP, with his ability to affect a game in either zone. But he’s most concerned with ensuring that the Quakers get the most out of the defensive group as a whole each night. “It’s great because it’s not just me, it’s all seven (defensemen),” said Maloney, who is in his third year. “If one of them has a down game, it’s still on me. People look to me to have a big shift, but I don’t look at it like that. It’s
all six of us out there. But it’s a good role. I take the responsibility. I just try to keep everyone up to speed and get them going.” The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Maloney is proving that last year was a deviation from who he truly is as a player. And that’s a puck-mover who’s responsible defensively while competing in every situation. Maloney said he could have used additional recovery time a winter ago, but that wasn’t in the cards. Losing his travel season was enough. He wasn’t going to miss his high school year. Hockey means too much to him. “I might have come back a little early, but I love playing hockey,” said Maloney, who has three goals and five assists for the 8-4-2 Quakers. “I had to. I couldn’t miss it.” It’s that same passion that’s led to Maloney shining on the OP back end in 2014-15. “He has great drive and great desire. He wants to
win badly,” Ferrentino said. “That’s wearing off on some of the other guys on the team. He takes everything seriously. He’s an emotional leader. “We depend on him a lot. He plays a lot of minutes for us. He’s our man back on defense.” The junior had a minor setback in the form of a shoulder injury that cost him two games in January, but it’s since been established as a trivial bump because he quickly regained his strong play upon returning. A lot of Maloney’s importance to the Quakers is in his passing ability. In addition to being instrumental in shutting down opposing forwards, Ferrentino lauded Maloney as the key to the breakout. OP’s forwards are swift on their skates, possessing topto-bottom speed that is tough to match. Therefore, the defensemen are coached to move the puck up as quickly as possible to create chances in transition.
Maloney is aware of what he has in front of him, and knows when it’s appropriate to keep it simple and give them accurate outlet feeds. Because of that, he’s been a notable factor in the Quakers netting more than three goals per game. “It’s a lot easier for me playing with the forwards we have,” he said. “My dad was my coach when I was younger and he always emphasized that it all starts from a pass. A person cannot beat the puck, so if it’s a good pass, you’re golden you’re going to be in the offensive zone.” After what he considered to be a frustrating sophomore campaign, Maloney isn’t facing any leftover effects from the injury that dragged him down. In fact, his mood is anything but down. “I feel great all the time,” Maloney said. “I’m just loving playing and I am having the best time of my life.” Twitter @Garland SUN
OP swim and dive
The Orchard Park boys swimming and diving team tied for fourth place (197 points) at Section VI Class A Championships Friday and Saturday (Feb. 6-7). Jake Ortiz placed second in diving (488.00) to tie as the Quakers’ highest finisher. The diving event was held Friday at Maryvale while the swim finals were Saturday at the Flickinger Center on ECC’s City Campus. Joining Ortiz with a second-place showing was Liam Hoover, who was runner-up in the 100 fly. He swam the race in 54.36 seconds, just .19 seconds behind the winner, Williamsville East’s Michael Clough, Hoover was also fourth in the 200 free (1:51.78). Also for the Quakers, the
ECIC I champion after going unbeaten in league meets, Drew Deren took fifth in the 500 free with a time of 5:17.32. Sean Duffy’s 1:07.90 was good for eighth in the 100 breast while Alec Hoch was eighth and ninth, respectively, in the 50 free (23.35 seconds) and 100 free (52.29 seconds). Josh Blake, Hoch, Deren and Hoover recorded a sixth-place showing as OP’s 400 free relay team (3:31.99). Orchard Park’s athletes who qualified competed at Section VI Championships Feb. 12-13 at Maryvale. Results of the meet were not available at press time. “It’s just a great bunch of hard-working kids that never gave up,” Quakers diving coach Tom Lengel said. “All these kids are focused and they know what it takes. We’re going to put some kids in places where they’re going to get experience in a big show. It’s going to prove beneficial down the road.”