Both the boys’ and girls’ lacrosse teams defeated their inter-Island rivals from Nantucket this week, as the girls rolled over the Whalers by a final of 18-5 and the boys won by a comfortable margin of 10-5. In recent years the teams have engaged in epic battles on both sides of the Sound, as both schools have featured strong lacrosse programs.

But the balance of power has tipped decidedly towards the Vineyard this year, as both the boys and girls defeated the Whalers twice during the season, both on Nantucket earlier this year and at home on Saturday. The clean sweep is especially sweet considering the absence of the Island Cup football game this year; the two Islands only played each other in lacrosse this year.

The two teams struggled for wins earlier this season over on Nantucket, as the boys won a 9-8 thriller in overtime and the girls won a fairly competitive game by a final of 12-6. But at home on Saturday, the girls harpooned the Whalers both early and often, building an 11-1 lead at the half, and a 18-2 advantage in the third.

Molly Fischer and freshman Jennie Lindland led the Vineyarders with four goals and one assist each; Kate Cecilio and Alayna Hutchinson each had three goals and two assists, Hayley Pierce had two goals and three assists, Madison Hughes had two goals and one assist.

Coach Betsy Dripps credited her defense for shutting down the Whalers attack. “We were strong with Lonni Phillips coming up with several key interceptions. April Hargy and Maggie Johnson split time in goal, and each were strong, making four saves each,” she said.

On Tuesday the girls ended their regular season with a 13-5 win over Falmouth on senior appreciation day, ending the season with an overall record of 15-3 and a perfect conference record of 11-0. They won the Maritime League for the third year in a row and earned a berth in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament.

Seedings were expected to be announced yesterday afternoon.

Meanwhile the boys’ lacrosse team also qualified for the MIAA tournament, ending the season with a record of 11-7.

On Saturday against the Whalers, the Vineyarders jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on goals by Shane Schofield and Darren Gazaille. Erik Dolliver, Colby Gouldrup and Nick Costello also added goals in the first half to give the Vineyarders a 5-3 lead at the break.

Gazaille scored again to start the half, while Brooke Billingham and Costello tacked on goals to help seal the win.

The seedings for boys’ lacrosse will be announced today.

Boys’ Tennis

The boys’ tennis team continued its strong play this week, and had its finest match of the season last Thursday at Falmouth, one of the team’s toughest opponents this year. The Vineyarders came into the match sporting a 12-3 record, against Falmouth’s record of 13-2.

Three of the five contests in the match went to three sets, and three of those required tiebreakers. In the end the Vineyarders held on to win 3-2, to give both teams identical records of 13-3.

The Vineyarders number-two singles player Kent Leonard, only a freshman, got things started by winning 7-5, 6-4 in two hard-fought sets to give the Vineyarders an early 1-0 lead. At number-three singles, freshman Justin Smith lost to Falmouth’s Sean Dugas in two sets, but not before taking it to a second tiebreaker.

The rest of the matches all went three sets. At number-one doubles team of Win Grimm and Justice Yennie, another freshman, the match was a back-and-forth affair, as the Vineyarders won the first set 6-3, before dropping the second (6-3) and third (6-3), giving Falmouth a 2-1 edge.

At number-one singles, the Vineyarders’ Reid Yennie faced off for the second time this season against Spencer Pinkney. Earlier in the season Yennie defeated Pinkney at the individual MIAA tournament on May 15 in three sets. The match last Thursday also went three sets; the first went to Pinkney, but Yennie fought back to take the second set (6-4) and third (6-4).

The match was tied at 2-2, and it all came down to number-two doubles to decide the outcome.

Falmouth’s pairing of Scott Curry and Ricky Moore made quick work of the Vineyarders’ Grant McCarthy and Kyle Moran in the first set, but the Vineyard duo battled back to win the second. In the third the score was tied 4-4 when Moran held serve for a 5-4 edge, but Curry then lost the first three points on his serve and the Vineyard held three match points.

Falmouth ran the next five points to even the score at 5-5. Both teams held serve and a tiebreaker was played for the second time. The two teams went back and forth, and eventually the match came down to a final play where Moran picked off a floater at the net with a solid backhand to seal the win.

On Monday at home, the Vineyarders again found themselves in a battle against Somerset, as both Reid Yennie and Kyle Moran lost their singles matches. But Justice Smith won at third-singles, as did Grimm and Justice Yennie at number-one doubles and McCarthy and Thomas Tilton-Heylin at number-two doubles to seal the win.

It was the last regular season match, and the Vineyarders ended with a 15-3 record overall and a perfect 8-0 record in the Eastern Athletic Conference. Seedings in the state tournament will be announced on June 2.

Girls’ Tennis

The girls tennis team also qualified for the state tournament, thanks to a big win over Somerset on Tuesday.

Annie Burton lost at number-one singles (6-1, 6-4, 6-2), but Alyssa Adler won at number-two singles (3-6, 6-4, 7-5), and Dylan Brockmeyer won at number-three singles in straight sets (6-1, 6-1). Annabelle Hackney and Julia Cooper won at first-doubles, while Celia and Michaella Gaines won at second-doubles.

With the win the Vineyarders climbed to a record of 9-8, ensuring a .500 record on the season and a trip to the tournament. Seedings will be announced on June 2.