“We are simply a team that loves tennis for the fun it is and how it brought us all together” (Lauren Rahr, Old Lyme Girls’ Tennis Coach)
Alexis Fenton (left)and Livie Bass won the Shoreline Doubles Championship. All photos by A. Fenton.
CLINTON — At the start of the second day of the 2023 Shoreline Individual Tennis Tournament, there was an Old Lyme player in every semi-final match.
By the end of the day, Alexis Fenton and Livie Bass of Old Lyme were crowned Shoreline Doubles champions and Callie Bass, also of Old Lyme, was the 3/4 Singles Champion.
The team celebrates its Shoreline Championship victory with Varsity Coach Lauren Rahr at right and Junior Varsity Coach David Rahr at left.
Piper Remillard of Coginchaug defeated Sam Tan of Old Lyme 6-2, 6-0 to win the 1/2 Singles final — Tan was seeded #2.
Finalists – Aggie and Beatrice hunt 2 doubles vs #1 doubles , Livie bass alexis Fenton, Callie bass 3 winner, Sam tan #1 runner up , Katherine Zhang 4 vs #3 Callie , #2 elaina Morosky
There were two all-Old Lyme finals;– top-seed Callie Bass defeated Katherine Zhang in the 3/4 Singles final 6-3, 6-3, and #1 seeds Alexis Fenton and Livie Bass defeated #4 seeds Aggie Hunt and Beatrice Hunt 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
From left to right, Elaina Morosky, Sam Tan , Beatrice Hunt , Katherine Zhang and Aggie Hunt
Other Old Lyme students, who qualified for the tournament, were Elaina Morosky, Katherine Zhang, Izzy Reynolds and Natalie Buckley. Elaina Morosky lost in the semi-finals to Piper Remillard 2-6, 2-6.
Asked how she felt about her team’s performance in this tournament, coach Lauren Rahr responded by email to LymeLine, saying, “As always, I am so proud of the girls. Each one of them stepped out on the court and gave it their all, focusing on one point at a time. They adjusted well to their opponents and played smart tennis.”
Coach Lauren Rahr (kneeling) displays her pride in her victorious team.
She continued, “Throughout the season, a lot of them had this goal of meeting in the finals of the tournament and we took steps each match and practice to get them prepared for the level of competition they would have to face during the tournament in order to achieve that goal. They rose to that challenge and embraced it every step of the way.”
In one of the all-Old Lyme finals, top-seed Callie Bass (right) defeated Katherine Zhang in the 3/4 Singles final.
Rahr concluded, “Walking around yesterday and watching each semifinal match filled with our team gave me goosebumps. We are simply a team that loves tennis for the fun it is and how it brought us all together.”
Peter (dad, left) and Michelle) (mom, right) Bass gathered with their children to celebrate the childrens’ Shoreline tennis successes. Livie won the 1/2 doubles with Alexis Fenton and her twin Callie took home the 3/4 singles honors. Meanwhile their brother Micah was a finalist in the boys 1 /2 doubles.
After the tournament, the following Old Lyme players were named to the All-Shoreline Conference first team: Callie Bass, Livie Bass, Aggie Hunt, Beatrice Hunt, Alexis Fenton, Elaina Morosky, Sam Tan and Katherine Zhang.
Izzy Reynolds and Natalie Buckley were awarded Honorable Mention.
On Saturday, Lyme-Old Lyme High School Senior Dylan Sheehan broke the school shot put record , which had stood for a remarkable 49 years. All photos by A. Daquila.
OLD LYME —UPDATED 5/16 with previous record holder’s first name — many thanks to John Ressler of Old Lyme for notifying us of it and letting us know that he was there 49 years ago when the previous record was set! On May 6, Lyme-Old Lyme High School (LOLHS) Senior Dylan Sheehan smashed a 49-year-old shot put school record at the ‘Shot Put Saturday’ Invitational in Middletown
According to LOLHS history teacher Aron Daquila, who manages the track and field program at the school, “The prior record was set in 1974 by P. [Paul] Marshall with a very impressive distance of 51 ft. 4 ins.”
Dylan Sheehan in action during ‘Shotput Saturday’ at the Middletown Invitational contest.
Sheehan threw 54 ft. 3 ins. on his third attempt, thereby breaking the previous record convincingly. Asked by LymeLine today how he felt about breaking a record that had been on the books for 49 years, Sheehan responded by email, “It felt great to break the school record, and it was really special as I’ve been in a slump since indoor ended.”
He added, “I didn’t expect this personal record at all, but after trying a big technical change at the meet, the results came through,” noting humbly, “While setting a new record was very nice, records are meant to be broken, and my records will surely fall when someone works harder than I did.”
This photo shows Dylan Sheehan seconds after throwing what became his record-breaking shot put.
Not only did Sheehan finish second overall in the shot put contest, but he also came away with a first place finish in the discus.
We also connected with Sheehan’s coach Nick Bradley, and asked him how it felt to have worked with the athlete, who broke such a long-standing record.
Bradley replied by email, “It was incredible to witness Dylan break this record. Dylan is as hard a worker as they come. He is consistently going above and beyond what is asked of him at practice, so as a coach, there is nothing better than seeing the hard work and dedication of one of your athletes pay off.”
Bradley elaborated, saying, “It has been great coaching Dylan for the last two seasons. Not only does he work hard to achieve his goals but he is always helping his teammates to achieve theirs as well. As a coach you couldn’t ask for more out of an athlete. He will be missed next season.”
Is Sheehan going to rest on his laurels now? Definitely not, according to Bradley, who commented, “Dylan’s next goals are to challenge for state titles in shot put, discus and hammer. And in doing so, he is also looking break the schools discus record [of 165 ft.] set by Jared Stanland in 2014, before he (Dylan) heads off to Bates in the fall.
Editor’s Note: Congratulations and good luck, Dylan, from all of us at LymeLine.com!And many thanks to John Ressler for giving us the first name of the previous record-holder, Paul Marshall, who was member of the LOLHS Class of 1974. Ressler noted he remembers well the day Marshall achieved the record.
Old Lyme Freshman Katherine Zhang clinched victory for the Wildcats when she won the final game of the day 6-4, 6-3. Her 4th singles game broke the 3-3 tie in the ‘Cats favor. Zhang is shown here receiving a well-deserved hug from 1st singles player Sam Tan (in blanket). All photos by Andrea Fenton.
OLD LYME / STONINGTON — The unbeaten Old Lyme girls team faced its toughest opponents to date on Tuesday. With a string of 58 consecutive wins behind them while also defending the Class S state championship for the second year in succession, the girls came out onto the courts at Stonington High School to meet the also unbeaten and defending Class M champions.
It was also Senior Send-Off Day and this extraordinary team is going to lose seven graduating seniors this year. They are pictured above, from left to right, Alexis Fenton , Livie Bass, Sam Tan, Whitney Barbour, Callie Bass, Izzy Reynolds and not pictured Elsie Arafeh- Hudson. At front is coach Lauren Rahr, who is clearly showing her pride in the team.
This was going to be no walk in the park … or on the court …
Aggie and Beatrice Hunt celebrate their 6-1, 6-2 victory with coach Lauren Rahr.
At the end of the intense contest, Old Lyme were the victors by the slimmest of margins achieving a 4-3 win.
The Old Lyme victories came from Elaina Morosky in 2nd singles (6-2, 6-0), Alexis Fenton and Livie Bass in 1st doubles (6-3, 6-1), and Aggie Hunt and Beatrice Hunt in 2nd doubles (6-1, 6-2). At this point, the teams were drawn 3-3 and then Katherine Zhang played Emily Fulling in a highly competitive 4th singles game to break the tie when she pulled off a nail-biting 6-4, 6-3 win.
Elaina Morosky (left) won her 2nd singles game and is duly high-fived by 1st doubles player Alexis Fenton (in blue.)
The full results were as follows:
1st Singles: Sam Tan Vs Grace Duggan 0-6, 1-6 2nd Singles: Elaina Morosky vs Marcella Hamm 6-2, 6-0 3rd Singles: Callie Bass vs Maddie Gonzalez 0-6, 3-6 4th Singles: Katherine Zhang vs Emily Fulling 6-4, 6-3
Coach Lauren Rahr (front right) sits with her team as they watch 3rd doubles Izzy Reynolds and Natalie Buckley play their game.
OLD LYME —UPDATED 5/3 with Superintendent’s comment: On Tuesday, May 1, voters overwhelmingly passed the Lyme-Old Lyme (LOL) Schools’ $35,844,345 proposed budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year by a more than 2.5 to 1 margin.
The combined final vote total from both Lyme and Old Lyme was 373 in support of the budget and 108 against.
Asked his reaction to the result, LOL Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser responded by text, saying, “We appreciate the ongoing support of our communities which helps to ensure our students receive a top notch education.”
The totals by town were as follows:
Old Lyme:
Yes: 276 No: 97
Lyme:
Yes: 97 No: 11
The proposed budget represents a 2.91% increase over the budget for the current year.
The Solstice Stone is sited at the New transit hub on Shore Rd. in Old Lyme.
“Gorgeous Bedrock” Donated and Delivered by Jason Jacaruso, “a Very Generous and Civic-minded Gesture,” ‘Solstice Stone’ envisioned as “Being Used as a Teaching Device” (Jim Lampos, Old Lyme’s Community Connectivity Grant Committee member)
OLD LYME — What is it? Why is it there? Where is it pointing?
Questions galore are being raised by people driving or walking along Shore Rd. in the Sound View area of Old Lyme, when they spot the massive piece of granite placed last week at the new transit hub there.
We asked Jim Lampos, who is a member of Old Lyme’s Community Connectivity Grant Committee (CCGC), for some answers to these questions and more, and he kindly shared the whole story of ‘The Solstice Stone.’
He began by explaining that, “In the design process for the new sidewalks and transit hub at Sound View, the CCGC was discussing the possibility of a “place-making” element to define the new pocket park on Shore Road that is part of the transit hub,” adding, “We had been discussing possible artwork or signage.”
Jason Jacaruso (left) watches as the stone is delivered to the transit hub location.
But things took a different turn one day when Lampos was driving past the construction site of a new home being built about a quarter mile away from the transit hub on Shore Rd.
He picked up the story again, saying, “I saw this gorgeous bedrock that was being unearthed and suggested to the committee that if we could get one of those pieces it would be perfect.”
Lampos commented, “Not only is it a beautiful stone, but it tells the complete story of Old Lyme’s unique geological history.”
Standing beside ‘The Solstice Stone’ on Shore Rd. are its former owner Jason Jacaruso and Community Connectivity Grant Committee Chair Mary Jo Nosal
Former Old Lyme Selectwoman and CCGC Chair Mary Jo Nosal contacted the homeowner, Jason Jacaruso to open the conversation about acquiring a piece of the granite and Lampos subsequently met with him on several occasions to develop a plan and work out all the details.
Noting, “We selected a beautiful example [of granite], perfectly proportioned and dramatic,” Lampos said, “Jason offered us the stone for free.”
That generous gesture by Jacaruso solved the problem of finding funds to pay for the stone but immediately opened up another one.
How was the committee going to move the giant rock, which measures 2 ft. deep by 10 ft wide and weighs upwards of 14,000 pounds, to the transit hub? It was simply too big a job for Old Lyme Public Works.
Jim Lampos, who is a longtime member of the Community Connectivity Grant Committee stands proudly beside ‘The Solstice Stone.’
The problem was solved when, in Lampos’s words, “To our amazement and delight, Jason offered to deliver it himself, free of charge.”
Delivery day was Monday, March 6. Jacaruso and his assistant arrived at about 2 p.m., and expertly placed the stone pointing towards the exact place on the horizon where the sun rises at Sound View on the morning of the summer solstice, June 21 — the first day of summer.
The rock’s official name is therefore ‘The Solstice Stone’ but Lampos explained that its nickname is ‘Summer Rock,’ which embodies the spirit of the popular Sound View beach neighborhood.
A 9 Town Transit bus stops at the transit hub. The bus driver shared that he admires the bicycle repair station installed at the transit hub and noted that other towns do not include this feature for bicyclists.
Asked if there were any specific plans for explaining the history of ‘The Solstice Stone,’ Lampos responded, “We envision the stone being used as a teaching device. School children could arrive by bus and be safely discharged at the transit hub, and then shown the dramatic stone, which is layered with 800 million years of geological history.”
He continued, “The story of continental collisions, plate tectonics, and more can be told with just this one piece of bedrock.” Nosal added, “The committee hopes that, in the future, it will be possible to develop educational information on the Sound View Gateway.”
“Starting from ‘The Solstice Stone,’ Lampos noted, “Students can be escorted on a short walk down to the beach, in safety on the new sidewalks, where the lesson can continue. In fact, the sidewalks extend to Mile Creek school, so it is now possible to bring small groups of our own Old Lyme students on a walk to the new landmark.”
View from ‘The Solstice Stone’ looking across Shore Rd. towards Hartford Ave. in Sound View.
Asked her reaction to the new installation, Nosal said, “The arrival of the Solstice Rock is the culmination of the planning and execution of the plan by the CCGC, the Town of Old Lyme, the Connecticut Department of Transportation, the River COG (Council of Governments), and the project engineering and contracting partners.”
She commented, “The Committee is very grateful to Old Lyme resident Jason Jacaruso, his family, and his business colleague for providing and delivering this beautiful granite for placemaking at the Sound View Gateway Transit Hub.”
Lampos agreed, saying, “Donating the stone, along with his time, labor, and use of heavy machinery was a very generous and civic-minded gesture by Jason.”
Asked whether the committee still had work to do, Nosal replied, “The project goal, to provide safer access and connections to Sound View and local businesses for pedestrians and bicyclists, has been successfully met with this significant piece of local geology at the transit hub in time for the Summer Solstice.”
She noted, “The CCGC project will not only conclude this Spring following some reseeding at the transit hub but will also come in under budget.”
Editor’s Note: All photos are by Jim Lampos and Mary Jo Nosal.
