Tolland Winter Sports Previews

Boys Basketball

The Tolland Eagles boys' basketball team lost two starters to graduation from last season but expect to rely on their versatility to compete this season. 

Despite not having a lot of experience, the Eagles are led by returning seniors Bret Smith and Matt Grospitch. Grospitch plays guard and averaged just less than four points per game last season. Smith is a hybrid who plays both center and forward and averaged nearly two rebounds a game last season. 

Junior Taylor Fortin returns at guard for the Eagles and averaged nine points a game last season along with 3.7 assists per game. Fellow junior forward Michael Nisbet also returns bringing with him a 4.7 points per game and 3.5 rebounds per game pace from last season.

This is head coach Mike Lewis’ second season as head coach after going 8-13 a year ago.

Girls Basketball

This is Rocco Sansone’s eighth season as the Tolland High School girls’ basketball coach, and he returns with an experienced team for the 2011-2012 season. 

Senior captain Kristin Schatzlein was a 2011 All State selection and looks to close in on the school record for all time leading scorer this season. Fellow senior captain Jessica Olson will lead the Eagles with her leadership and defensive skills as she has been a team captain the past two seasons. Sansone added that Olson can play many positions on the floor. 

Seniors Allison Gallo and Jenna Lovett are also expected to contribute greatly on defense while Gallo leads the team in steals and Lovett is a dominating force at center.

Juniors Sammie Olson, Ashley Clawson and Jacqui Foreman are all third year varsity players and should expect to see a lot of minutes this season. Sophomore Chelsea Domian will also contribute greatly as another one of Sansone’s versatile players who can play anywhere on the court.

The Eagles hope to be a contender this season while building on their 19-6 record from a year ago. Sansone and the Eagles will also be building on the coach’s impressive coaching record of 133-41.

Boys Hockey

The E.O. Smith-Tolland-Windham ice hockey team will be on the search for goals this season after averaging 2.5 goals a game last year but only returning half of their goal production. 

Senior Alex LeFevre is the returning leading scorer as he had 20 points last season. The chemistry is flowing on the junior line of James Allanach, Mike Criniti and Mike Lane as they will be returning for their third consecutive year while on the same line together. 

Head coach John Hodgson has seen signs of breakout from them and expects heavy contributions from that line. Junior forward Weston Perras is also expected to get on the score sheet this season.

On defense, Hodgson is expecting his seniors Drew Whitlock, Connor DeSciscio, and Connor Klopfer to provide experience on the blue line along with Aaron Lassow who saw playing time last year as a freshman.

The goalies are a strong suit for the team as returning sophomore Ben Lassow and fellow sophomore Eric Sahi will be between the pipes in net. Sahi played as a back up last year on East Catholic’s squad. Hodgson said that both goalies have a lot of hockey experience and could form the strongest position on the team.