HINGHAM – They started late and they’re ending late, and along the way, the spring sports teams from Notre Dame Academy – Hingham have squeezed everything out of this season that they could including two appearances in the South finals (tennis, lacrosse), a trip to the All-State Track and Field championships, a South sectional championship for the golf team, as well as a softball team that made it to the third round of the state tournament.
They say it’s the ride you’ll always remember, not the eventual destination, and there’s no doubt it’s been quite a ride for NDA this spring.
Spring’s already moved over for summer, but the NDA girls tennis team isn’t ready to stop playing quite yet. They won the Division 2 South title Saturday and play for the state championship Monday at 4 p.m. when they travel to take on undefeated Winchester High (16-0).
A 9-0 regular season got the Cougars the second seed in the Division 2 South girls tennis bracket. Norton and Norwell were quickly dispatched, both in straight sets, in the opening two rounds of the tournament. That’s when the real fun began.
First, they defeated Duxbury in the section semifinals Thursday, 3-2. That set up Saturday’s match with top-seeded and undefeated Foxborough. They would not be undefeated for long as NDA took another 3-2 win to capture the Sectional title and keep the season going for at least one more match.
Senior Alex Prudente picked up the only singles win by NDA against Duxbury, taking her match 6-1, 6-0. Also winning were the doubles teams of Bella LaGressa/Amelia Maw and Sarah Link/Megan Ravanesi.
Prudente led the way again with a win at first singles against Foxborough, which is not surprising noting the legacy Prudente will leave at NDA when she is finally through. She’s been first singles since seventh grade and has lot just one high school match since her freshman season. Prudente only lost three games so far this season. Also winning for NDA were the same doubles teams in the win over Duxbury.
GIRLS LACROSSE
NDA’s girls lacrosse team also made it to the South finals, but they were defeated by home standing Westwood High Sunday, 13-8.
Goals by Kylie Wilson and Jane Hilsabeck gave NDA a quick 2-0 lead, but Westwood was just stunned for a moment. They quickly reversed course and led 5-2 after a quarter and then 8-4 at the half. Westwood Head Coach Margot Spatola, a native of Hingham, said lacrosse is a game of runs and the Wolverines just needed a moment to have theirs.
“They got the two quick goals but that wasn’t going to rattle us so early in the game. We just had to settle down and start playing our game. One we did, things started going our way and we got back into the game,” Spatola said. “We were making some small mistakes early in the game and things turned around once we fixed those holes.”
Having a player like senior attack Ashley Mackin on your side can fix whatever might be ailing a team. She scored five times in the win, leading a balanced Westwood High offensive attack that kept NDA trapped in its offensive zone for long stretches of the game.
While it wasn’t exactly the ending they were looking for, this was an incredible season for the Cougars. Despite missing last season because of the pandemic and returning just four seniors, this season was a total success for NDA. The second seed in the Div. 2 South bracket was 16-2 on the season and defeated Hingham, Barnstable, and Scituate to get to the championship contest.
“This season was remarkable and I couldn’t be prouder when I think of what the four seniors (Kylie Wilson, Fiona Williams, Margaret Masuret, and Berit Cedarlund) have done for this program,” NDA Head Coach Meredith Frank said. “They set the tone for us this season. It’s June 27th and they couldn’t be more checked-in. They couldn’t have cared more and represented this program better.”
“We’ve got two eighth-graders and three freshmen on the roster this season and almost everyone is coming back. We’ll learn from this loss and grow. I’m super excited to see what’s ahead of them.”
One of those freshmen, Aubrey McMahon, starting and then finishing the scoring and adding two more goals for four in all. Kylie Wilson scored twice while Bella Taylor and Jane Hilsabeck each added on goal in the loss
SOFTBALL
NDA entered the Division 2 South playoffs as the fourth seed with a record of 12-2. They beat East Bridgewater in the opening round, 7-5, and then lost to Foxborough in the quarterfinals, 5-0.
TRACK AND FIELD
The Cougars were in action this weekend as part of the All-State Track and Field Championships at Norwell High School.
Plymouth’s Paige Joyce was 12th in the mile with a time of 5:09.94.
Joyce also teamed with her twin sister, Lauren, Olivia Mucci , and Emma Kates in the 4×800-meter relay. They came in 20th with their time of 10:16.82.
GOLF
The Cougars are also having a great year on the golf links. They’ve qualified for the state championship match after winning the South Sectionals last Monday at the Ridder Farm Golf Club in East Bridgewater. The state championship is Tuesday, June 29 at the Black Swan Country Club in Georgetown.
Jacqueline Cingel led the way with an 80, finishing second on the overall list to Hingham’s Piper Jordan. Jillian Johnson and Elle de Andrade both shot an 85 for NDA, while Anna LaCicero had a 92. As a team, they shot a combined score of 342. Duxbury was second and Hingham High placed third in the team competition.
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