Co-champions a year ago, Medina High School begins defense of that Niagara-Orleans League title by visiting rival Albion at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
N-O competition gets under way at 7 p.m. Friday with Akron at Newfane, Roy-Hart at Barker and Wilson at CSAT.
Medina shared the N-O championship with Akron last year as the Mustangs and Tigers split a pair of meetings to finish deadlocked at 13-1.
The Mustangs will prep for the league opener by facing East Aurora in the Cataract Classic at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Niagara Falls High School.
Senior Levi Pace (6-7), a three-time first team N-O All-League honoree, leads the way for Medina. He averaged 17.8 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.9 blocks a year ago.
The Mustangs also return varsity experience in the senior quartet of Adam Hellwig (6-6), Demetrius Thompson, Anthony Session and Travis Bloom. Junior Willie Jakes has also seen starting action in the Mustangs two non-league games to date.
Senior Russell Craft (6-4), a second team All-League selection last year, heads a veteran starting quartet for Albion which also includes Justin Swanger, Matt Monacelli and Brad Rush, all seniors.
The Purple Eagles, who went 7-7 in N-O action a year ago, also return seniors Kenny Boyer, Hank Dragon and Jacob Liddle.
“The Albion game concerns me,” Medina coach Tom Forrestel said. “They’ve got a good group back and will be a real good challenge for us. The league looks to be tough again as Wilson and Akron both return key players and Newfane is always tough.”
Akron, which did lose three-time first team All-League honoree JC Tretter to graduation, is led by the senior brother duo of Trevor Short, a first team All-League selection and Alex Short a second team pick.
Senior Ethan Baker, a three-time first Team-All-League honoree, and junior Brennan Moxham, a second team All-League honoree, lead the way for Wilson which finished in the runner-up spot at 10-4. Baker averaged 17.5 points and Moxham 13.2.
The Lakemen also return experience in seniors Collin Okoniewski and John Vincent.
“The team has lofty goals this year and is looking forward to the challenge of trying to reach them,” said coach Brett Sippel.
Newfane, which lost its starting quintet to graduation led by second team All-league honoree Adam Bailey, nonetheless returns a solid group of five junior veterans. That quintet, which saw considerable action a year ago, for coach Scott Fuller includes Dan Hambruch, Steve Kneeland, Rohn Piece, Nate Sherman and Drew McCullough.
Roy-Hart, which lost starters Corey Callaghan and Rich Francisconi to graduation, also returns a good veteran group including seniors Jeff Swick, Tim Mullen and Ryan Scrinzi along with juniors Mike Porter, Tim Parks and Brendan Conley.
Barker, whose key graduation losses include first team All-League honoree Ray Paul and Greg Brown, is led by the veteran quintet of seniors Cody Blackley, Ryan Lamb and Ethan Dewart along with juniors Xavier Mann and Robert Adams.
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ChERYLE WERTMAN/CONTRIBUTOR
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December 10, 2009
Mustangs to begin N-O title defense at rival Purple Eagles
Medina, Akron shared crown last year
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Medina netters nip Albion to open season
Opening the Niagara-Orleans League tennis season in exciting fashion Medina edged past rival Albion 3-2.5 Tuesday.
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Mustangs shut out by Lakemen
Limited to three scattered hits, Medina dropped a narrow 2-0 decision to Wilson Tuesday in a Niagara-Orleans League game at Vets Park.In other N-O action, Albion downed Akron16-1 and Roy-Hart blanked Barker 8-0.
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Lady Rams trim Mustangs 10-2
Roy-Hart and Albion both posted victories Monday to improve to 3-0 in Niagara-Orleans League softball competition.Roy-Hart trimmed visiting Medina (1-2) 4-2 and Albion bested host CSAT (0-3) 10-2.
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Mustangs top Hawks to gain weekend split
A big early inning five run scoring burst sparked Medina to a 17-3 non-league victory over host Holley Saturday earning the Mustangs a split on the weekend.On Friday, unable to hold a big lead late, Medina saw Oakfield-Alabama rally to claim a wild 8-7 nine inning victory in a non-league game Friday at Vets Park.
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Veteran Purple Eagles netsquad looks to challenge
Over the past two years youthful Albion tennis squads have gained experienced while enduring a tough learning curve that resulted in back-to-back 0-12 Niagara-Orleans League seasons.However, that now experienced, senior laden Purple Eagles squad led by six returning regulars is looking to move back into N-O title contention this spring.
- Purple Eagles trackmen face rebuilding challenge
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Youthful Mustangs prepare for N-O opener
The accent is on youth this spring as Medina gets set for the Niagara-Orleans League girls track home opener against Barker on April 19.Medina, which went 3-3 in N-O competition last spring, has 20 underclassmen on the 28 member squad including eight seventh graders.
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Purple Eagles 9 blanks Lions
Seniors Matt Quider and Travis Downs combined to pitch a two hitter leading Albion past Lockport 3-0 Wednesday in a non-league game.Quider allowed one hit with five strikeouts over the first four innings and Downs gave up one hit with four strikeouts over the last three frames.
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Purple Eagles prep for title defense
Anchored by a quintet of high All-League meet place finishers, Albion is prepping to begin defense of its Niagara-Orleans girls track title at Akron on April 19.Sophomore Abby Squicciarini, who won both the 100 and 200 meter sprints at the All-League meet last spring, heads that key group.
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Rams look to rebound
Both teams will be looking to rebound from sub .500 seasons when the Roy-Hart boys and girls track squads open the Niagara-Orleans League season at Wilson on April 19.The Roy-Hart boys went 2-4 and the girls 1-5 last spring.
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