The Norwich Racquet Club and Quechee Club last weekend hosted its 14th Green Mountain Open platform tennis tournament.
Also known as paddle tennis or simply paddle, platform tennis is played on smaller courts than traditional tennis and with composite fiberglass rackets speckled with grit to help absorb impact of balls made of compound rubber.
The Green Mountain Open is sanctioned by the American Paddle Tennis Association.
In Friday’s women’s doubles final, Victoria Cran and Sandra Duryea, of Hamilton, Mass., beat Brookline, Mass., pair Tamara Knobloch and Natalie Sanders, 6-2, 6-2.
Saturday featured an all-Philadelphia-resident men’s final, Andrew Hocker and Justin Poletti edging Ed Hughes and Mike McGrath, 6-4, 6-2.
In Sunday’s mixed doubles final, Westerly, R.I. pair Leslie Haskins and Nick Raho knocked off hometown favorites Laurie Rosen, of Hanover, and Tunbridge’s Todd Tyson, 6-7, 6-0, 6-0.
Beginning as a partnership between the Norwich Raquet Club and Woodstock Sports Center, the tournament was interrupted in 2011 due to the effects of Tropical Storm Irene. It resumed a year later after new courts were built at Quechee Club.
This year’s tournament attracted eight women’s teams, 16 men’s teams and 12 mixed doubles teams.
The Norwich Racquet Club is holding an open house at its courts on Route 5 near the Wilder town line on Sun., Nov. 20 from 3:30-6 p.m. For more information, contact Sugar Genereaux at sugar.genereaux@gmail.com.
Buffalo, n.y.
Higgins, 67, competed in the women’s 114-pould class. Her efforts included a 57-pound lift in the snatch, a hoist of 81.5 pounds in the clean and jerk and a total of 138.5 pounds. All three tallies broke meet records.
Higgins’s best lifter award included competitors in six weight classes. She is a member of the Lebanon-based Thor’s Stone Athletic Club.
Woodstock U13 Goes 2-0
Skylar Haley scored a total of four goals and an assist as the Woodstock Youth Hockey Association’s U13 girls team earned a pair of convincing wins over the weekend.
Haley notched her first career hat trick during Saturday’s 7-2 win over Chittenden-South Burlington at Union Arena, while Faye Stevens had two goals and Lily Gubbins and Emily Dean scored one apiece. Gubbins, Maggie Mello and Sophia Yates added single assists.
Woodstock kept the momentum going Sunday with a 8-1 win against the Twin Valley Flyers U12 team. Dean and Yates tallied two goals each while Gubbins and Stevens both had a goal and an assist. Sadie Gravelle and Lila Beckwith added assists for Woodstock.
Woodstock’s U10 unit won at Manchester, Vt.-based Northshire on Saturday before a pair of losses at home on Sunday.
Kassidy Haley scored the winner with just 45 seconds left at Manchester’s Riley Rink on Saturday. Gracie LaPerle scored twice during the game and Reid Allegretti contributed several points.
On Sunday the team hosted a pair of games at Union Arena.
Goaltender Dominic Palazzo made 53 saves during an 8-0 loss to Harwood in the game one. In game two, a 3-2 loss to the Upper Valley Storm, LaPerle, Allegretti and Tyler Spaulding helped mount a comeback that fell just short. Hannah Gubbins played a strong game defensively in front of Gerry Garrow in net.
Woodstock’s U12 team had a similar performance, winning its first game of the weekend before dropping its next pair.
It played twice on Saturday, first hosting Rutland Y12U in a game in which the home team posted three quick goals in the second period of an eventual win. Chase Conway netted a hat trick and Trey Jones and Griffin Piconi netted unassisted goals during the game, while Henry Trimpi and Will Coates tallied assists.
Woodstock Y12U team was right back at it Saturday evening, suffering a 10-0 loss against the Hanover Wild Peewee Green team at Campion Rink. Woodstock didn’t have much time to dwell on the setback with a home game against the Burlington Area Hockey Association on Sunday. Piconi scored twice for the hosts, both assisted by Graeme McKeon, to put Woodstock in front during an eventual 7-5 loss.
McKeon finished with a goal and two assists, Will Coates and Trimpi added goals and Michael LaCroix and Trey Jones had assists for Woodstock.
Woodstock’s U14 Red team outshot Chittenden-South Burlington 35-24 on Saturday, but lost thanks to a barrage of shots hitting the post, including three by Charles Greene.
“The sound is nice, but it doesn’t show up on the scoreboard,” said Woodstock coach Dave Willis.
Tommy Bissaillon scored on a feed from Andrew Gubbins and Greene blasted hom a one-timer on a feed from Field Willis in the third for Woodstock Red.
Woodstock played on the road against Barre on Saturday night, earning a 5-0 win.
Tommy Bissaillon had two goals and an assist and Owen Coates had a goal and an assist for Woodstock, while Will Forman scored once and Aidan Yates, Mason Harkins and Gubbins contributed one assist each.
Goaltender Keaton Piconi tallied his first shutout of the season.
Woodstock’s U14 White team won one and lost one during two road games.
On Saturday, Woodstock won 7-4 at Lyndon. Auden Oliver Yeager and Dylan DeSchamp deposited two goals, while Ian Schell had a goal and an assist and Calef Hepler had a goal and an assist each. Tristin Black added an assist.
On Sunday, the team traveled to Essex, where they lost on the heels of two power-play goals by the hosts.
Schell and Oliver Yeager once again scored for Woodstock, while Ethan Mello was once again strong in net.
The Hanover Wild Bantam Green opened Granite State League play with a 3-2 win over Manchester One on Saturday before a 2-2 tie against Lakes Region on Sunday.
Saturday’s game, played at Wendell A. Barwood Arena in White River Junction, featured goals from Andrew Duany, Austin Kapoukrandis and Nathan St. Pierre.
Turcotte and Kapoukrandis tallied two assists each and Duany had one helper for Hanover. Goalie Danny Drebber made 18 saves.
The Wild crossed the Connecticut River on Sunday for a home game against Lakes Region.
Turcotte had a goal and an assist, joining Quincy McBride in setting up Pratt Stetson’s first goal before scoring Hanover’s second on a feed from Casey Graham,
Drebber stopped 20 shots to preserve the draw.
Prior to the start of Granite State League season, Hanover played its season opener on Oct. 29 against Woodstock, winning 6-5 in overtime in a game featuring 20-minute periods.
The Upper Valley Hockey Association is seeking a new Refree in Chief to coordinate youth hockey referee scheduling at Wendell A. Barwood Arena and Campion Rink. Duty dates are Jan. 1-April 1. The stipend for this paid position is provided cooperatively by the Upper Valley Hockey Association and Hanover Youth Hockey Association.
If interested, please send an email to president@uvha.org or info@uvha.org.
White River Junction
Please bring a helmet with face cage; a limited supply of skates will be available.
Participants will receive a goodie bag and be entered to win a registration credit.
Register for the event at tryhockeyforfree.com or by emailing kylie@befit-pt.com.
Winchester, Mass.
The victory left the Fire tied in points at the top of New England Premiership 1 North, but it placed second because of a goal differential tiebreaker.
Jack Maynes backstopped the Fire’s win behind a strong defense led by Jack Ross, Palmer Okai, Jack McGarth and Jack Gardner.
The Fire lost its first game of the season before turning things around in a hurry.
“Losing our first game was a gift that inspired the boys to work harder all season,” LSC Fire coach Tommy Clark said.
“After that we might have won the league by scoring more goals in certain games, but we’d rather give players the opportunity to play a range of positions and make sure both teams feel good about a game, than to score more in games that were already in hand.”
Bedford, n.h.
The Lightning led 2-0 at halftime before erupting offensively down the stretch. Tyler St. Martin and Owen Stannard scored a pair of goals each while Jared Pugh, Benjamin Seiler, Camden Dwyer, Henry Aspinwall and Will Ermarth tallied individual strikes.
Blast goalie Max Ritter recorded his seventh shutout of the season, while the defense — led by Dylan Kotlowitz, Alex Stevens, Tucker Monson, Silas Nowlan, Evan Nichols and Simon Amaro — was steady once again.
The Blast allowed just five goals all season.
Woburn, Mass.
Emmet Mahoney added two goals while Gabriel Jacobs nicked the crossbar for the final goal on a free kick from 30 yards out.
To the Hoop
White River Junction
The sessions are open to anyone in Vermont or New Hampshire intersted in working all levels of high school basketball. There is a charge for class materials and the exam.
For more information, contact Dan Pause at 802-683-9315 or danpause@gmail.com.