After a string of frustrating seasons, the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School girls’ basketball team has jumped out to an impressive 5-2 record early this season, and could easily be 7-0 if not for a pair of tough overtime losses.
Meanwhile the boys’ basketball team continued to roll this week with an easy win over Minuteman Tech, while the boys’ hockey team lost to perennial powerhouse Framingham on Saturday and Bridgewater-Raynham on Wednesday.
The high school boys’ tennis team has jumped out to another strong start, winning four of its first five matches, while the softball team under new coach Donald Herman has also started strong with a 4-2 record.
Walls and tables lining the hallways of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School were filled with artwork Wednesday night, as Island art lovers came out in force to admire the paintings, drawings, and sculpture put out by the talented student body for this year’s Evening of the Arts.
It was a jam-packed day of sports last Saturday on the Vineyard, as both the boys’ basketball and boys’ hockey teams posted big wins over conference rival Bishop Feehan, while the steadily-improving girls’ hockey team skated to a 2-2 tie against Marshfield.
Boys’ Basketball
Approximately 400 people jammed the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School gymnasium on a bitterly cold afternoon to watch the boys’ take on Bishop Feehan. And they certainly got their money’s worth.
As the high school spring sports season enters the homestretch, the girls’ lacrosse team remains undefeated in their conference and appears to be a lock for the state tournament, while the fates of several others still hang in the balance. The track and field team is flying high again — literally and figuratively — with one athlete setting a new school record in the high jump this week.
Vineyard football fans can dust off their cowbells and Harpoon the Whalers signs, because the Island Cup game is back.
After a brief one-year hiatus, the fabled football game between the Vineyard and Nantucket will return this year, scheduled to be played on the Vineyard the Saturday before Thanksgiving. School and athletic officials from both Islands have been busy in recent weeks hammering out an agreement to bring back the game, which was canceled last season for the first time in nearly 50 years.
The boys’ basketball team continued to roll this week, improving its record to 10-1 — the team’s best start ever under head coach Mike Joyce.
The team now stands atop the Eastern Athletic Conference with a record of 3-0, and already has clinched a berth in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament, with roughly half a season yet to play.
The girls’ hockey team continues to improve and the boys’ hockey team staged a turnaround to the delight of team coach Matt Mincone.
Sandy Mincone, athletic director for the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, announced this week she will step down at the end of the current school year.
Ms. Mincone, who was appointed athletic director in August for a one-year period, is leaving the position to move off-Island. She said her decision came after much thought and consideration.
“I will miss the job and the people I have had the pleasure to work with,” she said. “I wish I could pick the school up and take it with me, but of course I can’t.”
The Vineyard boys’ basketball team lost 75-62 to conference rival Bishop Feehan on Tuesday, ending an 11-game winning streak.
Earlier this month, the Vineyarders hit a three-point shot to beat Bishop Feehan in the closing seconds. But this week it was the Shamrocks turn for dramatics; they overcame a 10-point deficit in the first quarter and forced the Vineyard into 24 turnovers.
With its strong history of winning records and qualifying for the state tournament nearly every year, the boys’ tennis team is a perenniel standout.
And this year the team under longtime coach Ned Fennessey is having perhaps its strongest season ever, winning the league title in their first year in the Eastern Athletic Conference with a remarkable record of 12-2 overall and a perfect 7-0 in their league.
