With their home fields still covered with snow and hopes of having conditions be otherwise somewhat distant, Londonderry High School is having several of its spring varsity sports teams head south in search of conditions that will allow them to continue to prepare in earnest for their 2015 campaigns.
LHS girls’ varsity lacrosse coach Bob Slater has returned to his post to solidify a Lady Lancers’ team that went through conflict and a disappointing campaign last spring. He brought his 2015 squad to Orlando, Fla., late last week to play a number of opponents from different parts of the country at Disney World, and their trip lasted through the first several days of this week.
Late this week veteran Londonderry High baseball coach Brent Demas is bringing his 2014 Division I championship hardball crew to Connecticut to do some vital preparations for the forthcoming season over several days.
The Lancers’ varsity boys’ lax team also spent one day playing in Connecticut last weekend as it got itself prepared for the new season.
Slater has returned to the Lady Lancers’ lax fold for the third time to right the program’s ship after a 9-8 regular season during the 2014 campaign, which saw the Londonderry team have assistant coach Meredith Jackes finish up for departed head coach Mike Boyle through the final several matches. Those games included a first-round tournament loss to the tough Exeter High Lady Blue Hawks.
Slater led his Lady Lancer teams to four consecutive Division I title matches, with three consecutive championship victories from 2009-11.
The crew of players who made the recent trip to Florida included Sarah Bell, Dominique Breault, Jenna Conroy, June Cranmer, Jackie Curtin, Mariah Eacrett, Michelle Hennessey, Breda Holland, Sarah Jackes, Michaela Kewley, Noelle Lambert, Sami Lecaroz, Chelsea Lewis, Jill McIntire, Gabrielle Morris, Annika Skov, and Rachel Stevens.
Demas and his defending D-I baseball champs – minus those who graduated – were to leave Thursday, April 2, to play ball in Wallingford, Conn., through Saturday and then make the road trip home.
Zach Tavano (Roger Williams University), Brett Evangelista (U-Mass Amherst), Tommy Corey (Franklin Pierce University), and Rob Del Signore (Southern New Hampshire University) all graduated from the 2014 title team, but the returnees are still numerous and significant.
The team includes Colby Joncas, Geoff Kayo, Mike Ryan, Fred MacKay-Wright, Matt Ross, Cam Fennell, Bailey Hamilton, Tim McEachern, Nick Musto, Noah Tavano, Jimmy Zimolka, Brody Dupuis, Xander LaPlante, Jonny Meskell, Nick Salcito, Jackson Leavitt, Dylan Walsh, Andrew Kilgus, and Brad Baldinelli.
The baseball squad is slated to start its 2015 regular season at home against Pinkerton on Monday, April 13, at 4 p.m. with the LHS lady laxers are scheduled to start up at Hollis-Brookline Friday, April 17, at 4 p.m..