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Keeping up with the Cats: Spring Tournament Season

By Joe Ginley, 05/22/18, 3:30PM EDT

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The Wildcat Navy will send 4 boats to Nationals this weekend.

As summer comes into view, the spring sports season is accelerating quickly towards its end.

Six Saint Ignatius sports teams remain in postseason contention – all will compete this week. Here's a synopsis of where your Wildcat teams will be this week. 

Crew

The Wildcat Navy won its 10th Midwest Championship a couple weeks ago on the backs of an all-around excellent effort by the team's host of boats.

This weekend, the competition elevates to a national scale. The Saint Ignatius rowing squad will take part in the SRAA National Championship Regatta in Cooper River. The regatta, held in Camden, New Jersey, will feature four Saint Ignatius boats. Head Coach Pat Connor will send the Lightweight 8, Lightweight 4, Junior 8, and Freshman 8 to New Jersey for a shot at national glory on Friday and Saturday. 

For live updates from the Garden State, follow @SIHSRowing on Twitter. 

Lacrosse

The march to Columbus and the quest for the Saint Ignatius lacrosse team's first state championship continues on Tuesday.

Following a 20-4 win over Green on Friday, the Wildcats will host North Canton Hoover tonight in the Regional Semifinal at 7 pm. The winner advances to the Regional Final on Friday, held at a site and a time to be determined.

The Lax Cats enter the contest with a red-hot offense. A long-held program record for goals in a season fell on Friday. With the team's 12th goal of the game vs. the Bulldogs, the Wildcats surpassed the previous program record of 280 goals in a season, set by the talented 1995 squad. The Wildcats have outscored opponents by a whopping margin of 289-130, averaging a score of 14.45-6.5. 

In the last matchup between the Wildcats and Vikings, the men of Ohio City dominated on Wasmer Field. Head Coach Gary Cintron's squad walked away with a 16-4 victory on March 28. The Vikings enter with a 14-5 record, winners of their last four. 

The SIBN will have live, audio-only (per OHSAA rules) coverage of each postseason contest. Jack O'Rourke '20 and Ryce Federle '20 will anchor the coverage tonight. 

Rugby

A rematch with a familiar foe awaits the Rugby Cats on Saturday. 

In the RugbyOhio State Semifinal, the Wildcats will face off with the Archbishop Moeller Crusaders on Saturday at Fortress Obetz at 1 pm. 

The Wildcats and Crusaders just met on May 12 in Cincinnati, with the Rugby Cats emerging with a 36-12 contest. As per usual, the matchup featured physical play and, in this edition, some controversial calls. Since then, the Wildcats have taken some time to recuperate and prepare for the final push. 

The Wildcats will look to use strong forward play to muscle a way to the State Championship vs. St. Edward on June 2 in Columbus. The team's experienced backs will also play a major role in securing the return journey to the title game. 

Tennis

A 4-hour trip to the State Tournament awaits 4 members of the Saint Ignatius varsity tennis squad this weekend.

Two of the Cats have made the trip before, two have not. In a smart move, Head Coach Bobbe Bennett paired a savvy veteran with a talented youngster in doubles play. Senior Brian Zhu will pair with sophomore Arjun Brahmbhatt in Mason, Ohio after a fifth place effort at Districts. Senior Richie Hofstra will combine with freshman Nate Day following an impressive effort at Akron last weekend. 

Both Wildcat duos will have tough roads to the finals at the Linder Family Tennis Center. Zhu and Brahmbhatt will face off against St. Xavier's Max DeCurtins and Charles Temming, the No. 1 placer from the Southwest District. The Bomber duo is the No. 2 seed on the top of the bracket. 

Hofstra and Day will square off with the No. 1 seed in the bottom half of the bracket, Jack Dabek and Reese Yakubov. The duo from Columbus St. Charles is also a senior-freshman combo. The Cardinals' duo earned first place in the Central/East/Southeast bracket. 

Play begins with Division I and II singles at 9 am on Friday, followed by doubles play. The first and second rounds will take place on Friday, with the semifinals and state championship/consolation matches occurring on Saturday. 

Track & Field

Under the direction of Head Coach Chuck Kyle '69, the Track & Field Cats dominated Districts again this past week. The Wildcats will be going for a second straight Regional Championship this week.

This year's Regional will be held at Amherst's Marion Steele High School. Pole vault, discus, and 4x800m relay finals and all other prelims will be on Wednesday. Field events start at 4 pm, track events at 5 pm. Discus and all finals will be held on Friday, field events starting at 4:30, track events beginning at 6 pm. 

Here are your Wildcat representatives at Regionals (in order of event number):

4x800m relay: Nick Saul, Andrew Biehl, Matt Blouch, and Liam McGuire

110m hurdles: John Wetula

100m dash: Phil Zuccaro, Connor Kennedy

1600m run: Nick Saul, Liam McGuire

4x100m relay: Jack Kennedy, Connor Kennedy, Dominic Devengencie, and Phil Zuccaro

800m run: Nick Saul

200m run: Phil Zuccaro, Dominic Devengencie

Discus: Darian Kinnard, Alex Misencik

Shot put: Darian Kinnard, Tommy Eichenberg

Pole vault: Dan Cirino

For the full heat sheet, click here

Volleyball

A dominant regular season has the Wildcats in a great position to return to the Ohio High School Volleyball Association (OHSBVA) State Quarterfinals. The Cats have a favorable bracket to get back to Capital University for the 11th straight season.

The road to a repeat starts with the Medina Bees on Thursday. The Wildcats will face Medina at Walsh Jesuit at 6:30 pm in the Regional Semifinal. Should the Wildcats win, the squad would advance to the Regional Final on Saturday at 12:30 pm at Walsh Jesuit. 

With an 18-4 overall record and an 8-0 record against North Region teams, the Volleyball Cats are in good shape.