Back in the final

Greenwich reaches state final for 12th straight season

Another season, another appearance in the state final for the Greenwich High School boys rugby team.

Following a strong showing at the High School Boys National Championships in Utah, the Cardinals moved on to the championship match of the Connecticut State Tournament with a 47-19 triumph against visiting Staples on Friday.

The Senior Night win for the Cardinals was a rematch of the 2018 final, which was won by Greenwich. The Cardinals, who have won 11 consecutive state titles, play Aspetuck Valley Rugby Club in the championship game on Sunday at Ridgefield High School at 5 p.m.

“We know Aspetuck Valley well,” GHS coach Joe Kelly said. “We’ve played this season and several times before and they went to nationals as well. We watched them and cheered them on at nationals and they cheered us on at nationals. They match up against us very well and hopefully, it will be a great match.”

When Greenwich and Aspetuck met on May 4, Aspetuck held a 21-12 halftime lead, before the Cardinals dominated in the second half and proceeded to post a 36-21 victory.

In Friday’s state tournament semifinals against Staples, the Cardinals and Wreckers entered halftime in a 14-14 deadlock. The

definitely helps in matches like this,” said Fox, a senior. “Last year, we had a lot of three-set matches, which helped us pull through in matches like this.”

Ahead 5-1, Fox and Cahill broke in a game that went to two deuce points to close out the match.

“Just like last time when we played Greenwich, it was a battle right down to the last match,” Wilton coach Rod D’Jaly Thoby said. “We knew it was going to be this type of match again, since Greenwich is a great team. What a great match it was.”

Trailing 3-2, the Warriors tied the match when the No. 3 doubles team of seniors Kate Seelert and Mackenzie McCormick came back to beat Greenwich’s Catherine Daye/Rachel Karetsky, 2-6, 7-5, 6-2.

“Our No. 3 team are our Warriors, they have been battling back in a lot of their matches all year,” Thoby said.

The first singles match featured two of the better players in the state in Wilton junior Izzy Koziol and GHS senior Martine Fierro. In a match featuring impressive

groundstrokes and strong serving, Koziol beat Fierro, 6-2, 6-1.

“It was tough, because the sun was in and out because of the clouds and the wind was tough,” said Koziol, who has produced an outstanding season at No. 1 singles for the Warriors. “Martine hits so hard, so I was shanking my forehand, but I tried to go for pace and just be a backboard and it started to work.”

Koziol enjoys being tested like she was Saturday.

“It’s always fun when it’s a competitive match like that,” Koziol said.

The Cardinals received singles victories from senior Christina Gianesello at No. 3 and junior Kendall Schrohe at the fourth spot. Gianesello was a 7-5, 6-1 winner against Warriors junior Alexandra Iotzova, while Schrohe topped freshman Rhea Raghavan.

“The first set was about consistency for both of us,” Gianesello said. “Winning the first set gave me confidence going forward in the second set. I knew I had to stay in it mentally and play my game. Our team has come so far this season, we just haven’t had much luck in some matches.”

Said Schrohe: “I knew I

beat her the last time we played them, but I still felt a lot of pressure going into this match. It was 3-all in the first set, then I pushed forward and the second set it was 4-all and I also pushed through. It was a great match.”

Sophomore Emma Caldwell gave the Warriors a key win at second singles, beating GHS sophomore Nathalie Williams.

“It’s a very exciting win for me,” Caldwell said. “The last time I played her I lost pretty bad, I just didn’t execute. Today, I had a lot of self belief and I remained steady throughout the match.”

At first doubles Greenwich seniors Amy Bickham/Yui Inagawa avenged a regular season loss to Amber Li/Arden Lee, defeating them, 6-3, 6-4.

Wilton defeated their next opponent Darien, in the FCIAC semifinals.

“We have a lot of potential,” Koziol said. “We did well in the FCIACs, we beat Darien for the first time in a long time. We’re close with Staples, they came out on top, but we want revenge in states and hopefully we can see them again.”