There was success on both sides in the Silver Lake High tennis program, and the two varsity teams should have plenty to look forward to next season.

Both the Lakers boys’ and girls’ teams enjoyed their share of success despite not having the biggest rosters in the school. The boys went 10-9 on the season while the girls went 11-7.

In the final seven days of their regular season, the boys squad surged and picked up three wins, improving to 9-8 on the season in order to make it to the playoffs. Had they lost any of those contest, that would not have been the case.

Earning the No. 16 seed in the MIAA Division I South playoff bracket, they ousted Bridgewater-Raynham 5-0 in the preliminary round game.

Coming in they were favored to win the game not only because of the higher seeding (16 as opposed to 17), but because the Lakers also topped them 5-0 on May 29.

However, the team dropped a 5-0 decision to Brookline in the first round of the tournament.

The girls had an easier time getting into the playoffs, clinching a spot in them before the final week of their season. They ran into a tough King Philip team in the first round of the tournament and fell 4-1, ending their season.

Of their starting seven, the girls lost three seniors to graduation this season: singles player Sarah Gonick and doubles players Jenna Hurlburt and Morgan Suchecki.

Meanwhile, sophomore singles players Eleanor Meehan and Ava Mirisola as well as doubles players Grace Eddy, a junior and Alyssa Truckenmiller, a sophomore, could all be returning next season.

The boys lost four seniors to graduation: singles players Dylan Capaccioli, Owen Roche and Dario Mendez plus doubles player Kyle Lawless. Junior doubles player Sean Kehoe, sophomores Matthew O’Donnell (doubles) and Jake Lawless (singles) as well as freshmen Aidan Roche (singles), Dustin Ebone (singles) and Andrew Doyle (doubles) could all be back next year.

With the majority of the team coming back on both sides, more success is certainly plausible.

Each and every season, a number of Silver Lake High varsity athletes shine in their respective sports. For the boys’ lacrosse team this spring, it was no different.

The team has made it to the playoffs in three straight seasons and this time around, they finished the year at 15-5 after falling in overtime to Natick in the first round of the MIAA Division 1 South boys’ tournament. Even so, the team had a number of standout performers who received all-league honors. That said, here is a look at the boys’ lacrosse athletes who received honors within the Patriot League.

Sean Daly — This season marked the third and final time Daly received the honor of being named a Patriot League All-Star. A go-to scorer for the team over the past four seasons, Daly netted well over 200 goals during his Lakers career. Daly was the only senior to get the nod this spring. He is committed to play lacrosse in college for the Division II Franklin Pierce Ravens.

Mikey Masterpolo — This marks the second time the junior goalkeeper has earned recognition as a Patriot League All-Star; this time around, he and the Lakers stout defense surrendered just 6.85 goals per game.

Matt Dole — A repeat Patriot League All-Star, the junior faceoff man and midfielder helped the team gain possession and was a contributor on the attack.

Drew Nugent — A first time Patriot League All-Star, the attackman played a crucial role in the team averaging 13.4 goals per game this past season.

Senior captains Dave Marani, a defenseman, and Brendan Dean, who played on the attack, both received recognition as well; Marani was the team’s scholar athlete while Dean received the sportsmanship award.

With three Patriot League All-Stars set to return next season, surely the Lakers are in a position where they can enjoy success yet again in 2020.

The Silver Lake High softball team’s first round playoff game did not go the way that they had hoped.

The No. 7 seeded Lakers hosted Marshfield, the 10 seed, on Friday afternoon to start off the MIAA Division 1 South playoffs. Marshfield brought their best bats with them and topped Silver Lake 9-3, ending the Lakers’ season.

The Lakers finish the season at 15-6 overall.

Marshfield set the tone in the top of the first inning, tacking on four runs–which made the difference in the game. Each of their first four batters reached base and eventually, Marshfield knocked in all of them.

The Lakers trimmed their deficit to 4-1 in the bottom of the first inning; Izzy Ruprecht shined in the game, collecting three hits and reaching base three times. Ari Sylvester knocked her in on a sacrifice fly the first time Ruprecht reached base.

Ruprecht also scored a run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Lilly Gustafson hit an RBI single to make it a 9-3 game. However, the Lakers were unable to make a comeback when down six runs.

Bri Belfort pitched for the Lakers and took the loss, but was sharp for much of the game. She had a stretch towards the end of the contest in which she retired eight straight batters. She also escaped a bases loaded jam in the sixth inning without surrendering any additional runs.

An experienced team, the Lakers will lose seven players to graduation now that their season is over.

These include: Izzy Ruprecht, Amanda Harris, Jessica Stas, Hayden Wechter, Hannah Mitchell, Stephanie Bennett and Eleanor Swanson.

Even so, pitching should be a strong suit yet again next season with the team’s ace, Bri Belfort, set to return; Ari Sylvester will also be back next season at third base.

Four members of the Silver Lake High outdoor track and field teams had an opportunity to shine this past weekend out in western Massachusetts.

The Lakers sent four athletes to the MIAA All-State meet out at Westfield State–and they enjoyed some positive results in the process.

Alex Loyd was the lone representative from the boys’ team. The senior, who is a first year member of the spring track team, came in ninth place in the triple jump (43 feet and 7.75 inches). His season is still not over as he already qualified for the New Balance Outdoor National Championship which will take place in two weeks.

On the girls side, senior Ali McDonough wrapped up her highly productive Lakers career. She took 17th place in the 100 meter hurdles (15.84 seconds).

It might have been the last event of her high school career, but she will continue running at Bridgewater State (NCAA Division III) next season. McDonough holds the Silver Lake High record for girls in the 100 meter hurdles (15.51 seconds); it was that strong performance at Div. II states which allowed her to advance to All-States as a wildcard.

The girls team also had a pair of freshman competing at All-States, indicating the future is bright for the team. Riley Paskow came in ninth place in the 400 meter dash (59.55 seconds). Meanwhile, Summer Bejarano ran the two mile and finished 21st overall (12:31.15).

It is worth noting Paskow had the top performance of any freshman in the 400 meter dash, edging out the next best freshman by 0.78 seconds. Meanwhile, Bejarano was one of just two freshmen to compete in the two-mile event. That said, both have an opportunity to continue shining and improving over the next few years for the Lakers.

Both sides played well and made it a competitive game.

However, the Silver Lake High softball team could not string anything together offensively against a tough Bridgewater-Raynham opponent down at UMass Dartmouth on Saturday, May 18.

The Lakers competed against Bridgewater-Raynham in the third annual Rivalry Saturday. For the majority of the game, there was no score but ultimately, the Lakers came out with a 2-0 loss and fell to 12-3 on the season.

On the mound, Bri Belfort excelled for the Lakers. She pitched a complete game and although she took the loss, she carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning before Bridgewater-Raynham was able to get anything going offensively. In a complete game effort, she struck out seven batters and allowed just four hits in total.

Izzy Ruprecht hit well for the Lakers, collecting three hits against Bridgewater-Raynham. All of her hits were singles including one in the top of the first inning that gave the team a scoring opportunity. Hannah Mitchell followed up Ruprecht’s first base hit with another single, moving her over to third base. However, the Lakers were unable to capitalize; Bridgewater-Raynham retired back-to-back hitters to end the inning. This started a dominant stretch of pitching for B-R; the Lakers would not have another runner reach base until the fifth inning.

According to MaxPreps, the loss to B-R snapped a nine game winning streak for the team. This streak included a pair of games where the Lakers scored 20 runs or more: against Hingham on May 15 and against Scituate on May 8. The Lakers beat Hingham 20-10 and Scituate 29-1; the latter win was their highest run-scoring total of the season.

The Lakers next game is this Friday, May 24 against New Bedford at home; the game will start at 3:30 p.m., according to MaxPreps.

The bats got it done for the Silver Lake High baseball team.

Facing Plymouth North, a baseball powerhouse, the Lakers offense made the difference in their first round game of the Brad Martin Memorial Baseball Tournament on Tuesday, Apr. 16. The Lakers won the game 11-5 to improve to 2-3 on the season.

Silver Lake’s bats really started to come to life in the fourth inning, a three- run inning which gave them a 5-1 lead. They nearly batted around the lineup. Mike Quigley knocked in a run on a single while Matt Cauchon got an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

The Lakers scored their first two runs of the game in the first inning when Alex Heffernan, the No. 3 hitter, smacked a two RBI double to put his team up by a pair.

Later in the game, the Lakers offense roared in the seventh and final inning, tacking on six runs. One RBI in this rally came on a triple from Nolan Hughes, the team’s starting pitcher in the contest. Matt Bettle also had a triple in this dominant stretch of Lakers hitting.

On the mound, Hughes pitched on four days rest for the Lakers–and he was sharp. He got pulled in the sixth inning with the team up 5-2 and picked up the win.

Plymouth North rallied in the bottom of the seventh inning. However, they could only muster three runs before recording three outs to end the ballgame.

Two days after their Plymouth North victory, the Lakers also beat New Bedford 7-6 in a nine inning contest to improve to 3-3 on the year. Hughes had a two RBI triple in the win, Heffernan gave the team a strong start on the mound and Quigley earned the win in relief.

The Lakers next bout is this Saturday, Apr. 27 on the road against St. John Paul II (11:00 a.m. start time).