Bishops Blog Winter Season - January 6th 2017

Bishops Sports Blog – January 6, 2017

Boys Basketball

The boys’ basketball team has had a difficult start to their season, going winless in their first four games. Behind newly-hired head coach, Jim Dolan, the Bishops have showed fight, grit, and a competitive nature, despite struggling to add a W to their record. They look to bounce back against Arlington Catholic tonight at home, which is the home opener (6:30 pm start.. come support the boys!). Senior captain Brian Keating has this to say about the season.. "We lost a lot of our scoring from last season so it has been a difficult start offensively for us. However, we have been working hard and guys have been stepping their game up. The offense will come, and despite some early season frustrations, we are confident that improvements will be made.”

Girls Basketball

The Lady Bishops have found a continued success to start their season. It can be very difficult to match such a successful season (Girls’ BBall made it all the way to the Garden last season), but the team has started off hot going 4-2, with their two losses coming against two VERY good programs, Bishop Feehan & Newton South. So what has been the reason behind their early season success? It could very well be the 57.8 points-per-game that the Lady Bishops have put up. It could also very well be the fact that the girls’ have only given up an average of 39 points per game defensively. The team will look to get to win #5 on the road tonight against Arlington Catholic (6:30 pm start).

Swimming

Over the Holiday break, the swim team won their first meet against Arlington Catholic on the road. They also competed in an invitation at Middleboro with Catholic Memorial and Dedham High School, which was some great competition for the boys & girls. The team has their first home meet tonight at Randolph High School, going against league competitor, Matignon. The meet is set to start at 6:30 p.m. Good luck to the boys & girls!

Winter Track & Field

What a start for the Track & Field program here at Archbishop Williams. In the first three meets, the Bishops have maintained an impressive undefeated record at 2-0-1, with their only tie coming against Austin Prep (very first meet of the season). Since that first meet, the Bishops have defeated St. Mary’s (103 to 43) and Cathedral/Lowell Catholic (95 to 46). In the last meet, there were six first place finishes by both the boys’ and the girls’, which goes to show how hard this team has worked in the first month of the season. More impressively, 20 different athletes in the program have already achieved personal best records. Feel free to go onto GoBishops and check out the list of “personal bests”. Coach Van Dorpe has worked very hard with this team, both on-the-track and off-the-track, and the 20 “personal bests” are a great testament to that hard work and effort put in by the head coach. The team travels to Bishop Fenwick next week (Tuesday, January 10) in what is going to be their toughest test to date.

Girls Hockey

“We will continue to improve our season as long as our effort is there. We’re a good team with a lot of heart.” Junior Hannah Bell, hit the nail on the head with this quote, and that effort and heart has shown as the Lady Bishops hockey team has won 2 straight games, improving their record to 4-3 on the season. Despite being very young, the girls’ have battled against some pretty good competition so far this season. They have been shutout in two of the seven games so far this season… the other five games? 27 goals! That’s an average of almost 4 goals a game, which is fantastic considering they haven’t scored in 2 out of 7 games. Goalie Allison Delmonte has been on a little streak of her own… 2 straight shutouts in net. The Lady Bishops host Arlington Catholic tomorrow (Saturday the 7^th) at home (12:45 pm at Zapustas Arena).

Boys Hockey

The boys’ hockey program has had a roller coaster ride type of season so far. In the first five games, the team has notched a record of 2-2-1, with their only tie coming at home against Lowell Catholic. The two losses have come against Massachusetts powerhouses, Pope Francis and St. Marys, but the team has looked outstanding in both of their wins against Chelmsford and Westford Academy. If there is one thing that describes this boys’ team, it is feisty. More than half the games so far this season, the Bishops have gotten themselves into a hole to start the game. However, this “feisty” attitude, has allowed them to battle in games and mount comebacks that is exciting to watch. The fan support has been fantastic and we are looking forward to seeing what this team can continue to build as the season continues to shift into gear. The next game for the boys’ is tomorrow night, on the road, against Bishop Fenwick (6:00 p.m. start).

Cheerleading

The cheer team looks great this year after going to States last season, and we are looking forward to seeing them perform at our home boys’ basketball games! They don't have a competition until February so they have time to get ready and improve through practices. Coach Durkin has been working very hard with this group and achievements have already been accomplished in practice. Congratulations to senior, Marcella Natale, and seventh grader, Emily Martignetti, for completing their first back hand spring.