Experienced volleyball team off to a solid start

How are things going for the Revere High School volleyball team?

Very nicely.

With eight seniors on the roster and a very solid starting six, the Patriots are off to a 3-2 start in the newly-formed Northeastern Conference/Cape Ann League. The Pats improved to 3-2 with a 3-0 shutout of Wilmington on Monday. Earlier wins came against Salem and Beverly, while the losses were suffered to North Reading and North Andover.

“I really like the new league,” head coach Kim Hudd said. “The competition is very strong. The girls are seeing teams they really have to fight [to defeat].

Revere, which finished second in the Greater Boston League and qualified for the state tournament a year ago, is poised to return to postseason play.

“I think we can definitely be there again,” Hudd said of the tournament.

The team’s starting six is composed of senior tri-captains Priscilla Farnese, Taren Kershaw and Lougain Hamza, seniors Ally Williams and Sara Selevitch and junior Ashley DiFraia.

Seniors Estefania Lopez and Blaine Hailu round out Hudd’s senior class. Sophomores Brittany Lento and Kristina DiFabio split time between the JV and varsity.

Hudd said a good portion of her roster is played in the off-season, either in tournaments, at camps or as part of the Bay State Games. The result is a seasoned team that isn’t lacking for on-court leaders and calm voices when the action gets tight.

Revere was scheduled to play Cambridge on Tuesday, the team that won the Greater Boston League last season.

Girls soccer team blanks Classical and English

The Revere High School girls soccer team is off to a fantastic start. After playing very well in a 1-0 loss to Beverly in the season opener, the Patriots quickly got above the .500 mark, with shutout victories over Lynn Classical and Lynn English.

In dispatching Classical, 5-0, Yvonne Rincon scored three goals, while Marissa Parent and Brittany Brown scored one goal apiece. Parent accounted for both Revere goals in a 2-0 blanking of English.

In net is Melissa Adreani, whose play has been just what head coach Natalie Lyons expected – rock solid.

Lyons also praised the play of Venus Hamza, a crafty playmaker whose skill is creating a lot of scoring chances for Rincon, Parent, and the rest of the forwards.

Defensively, Samantha Harris has been very steady, while sophomore Chelsea Amaya is shining in her first year as a sweeper.

“We’re playing very well as a team,” Lyons said. “The girls look very comfortable playing together.”

And, in the process, they’ve been making their opponents very uncomfortable.

Boys soccer team ties Beverly and English

Like a lot of coaches and athletes, first-year Revere High boys soccer coach Nik Tower always has his eyes and thoughts focused on the immediate future. The next game, the next practice, the next challenge – those are the things Tower wants his players thinking about. And those are the things that make this week extra exciting for Revere High’s ever-improving soccer team.

“I’m excited for this week,” Tower said on Sunday night, as he prepared for games vs. Lynn Classical on Monday (a 5-1 loss), Salem on Wednesday, and Peabody on Friday. “We want to play good teams. We’re going to see where we stand.”

The loss to Classical, which boasts one of the best players in the state in Miguel Castro, dropped Revere’s record to 0-2-2. Last week, however, was a productive week for the Vikings, as they tied Lynn English 1-1, and Beverly, 2-2.

Jensi Guzman and Carlos Aguilar scored vs. English, while Max Ochoa scored Revere’s tally vs. Lynn English in a game that saw both teams score on penalty kicks.

The English game represented Revere’s strongest defensive effort of the season. Behind goalie Alfonzo Rosales and defenders Franco Tartaglia and Jeff Chhay, the Patriots started to show the kind of stingy form that Tower is preaching.

Overall, Tower said, he is pleased but not satisfied with his team’s effort. “The season goes by very fast, and there’s not a lot of time to rest,” he said. “They’re beating themselves up trying to win.

Cross country teams fall to strong Danvers teams

The Revere High School boys cross country team lost its first dual meet of the season 15-43 at Danvers High’s 2.88-mile course.

The Patriots’ top finisher was Robert Driscoll, who crossed the finish line in sixth place overall in 19.56.

Sophomore Brian Collins finished seventh (20.10), a hair ahead of junior Anthony Cantone (eighth place, 20.11).

Freshmen William Truong and Rowlings Toglan also ran their first varsity races and drew praise from head coach Michael Flynn.

* * * *

The Revere High School girls cross country team opened the season with perhaps the toughest test the Northeastern Conference has to offer – the Danvers Falcons, who return most of the runners from their 2008 NEC title team.

And Danvers didn’t disappoint, defeating the Patriots, 15-46, behind a strong team effort in which the Falcons captured the top five finishes.

Revere’s first runner across the finish line was Tayla Hough, who completed the course in 22.43, good for sixth place. Next up was Colby Hough, who finished ninth at 23.35. Jessica Simpson finished 10th in 23.36. Rounding out Revere’s top five were Joanna Greene (12th, 23.50) and Liz Nutile (13th 24.00).

Caitlyn Caramello, Shaye Nelson, Andrea Ornelas and Margaret Cresta all finished inside the top 20.

Rounding out Revere’s roster were Theresa Santiano McHatton, Kassy Digitale, Jessica Loeser, Angelica Cimino and Stephanie Leonard.

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