Belmont High Girls’ Tennis Jumps To 5-2 Start; Set To Face Three Unbeaten Squads This Week

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Belmont High’s first year Isha Appadewedula

While Belmont High Head Girls’ Tennis Coach Eileen White said she and her team were eager for spring’s arrival as they were getting ready to make another run in the MIAA tournament.

What White – in her 21st year leading the Marauders – and the team had also hoped for was for some early spring-like weather to prep for the season.

“It doesn’t help when it’s in the 40s and windy for the first month,” said White, who led Belmont to an 11-8 record in 2025 and a first-round home match in the Division 1 tourney.

“I think that’s been a little bit of a transition from training indoors to be like, ‘Oh my, there’s wind, there’s sun, there’s noise’ and things like that. I think everybody, even the girls who have played in the past season and you’ve played inside all winter, it’s an adjustment.”

Despite playing through a frigid early spring weather and enduring twisted ankles that threw the projected lineups over the side, Belmont has compiled a 5-2 record, winning its first three matches by identical 4-1 margins while dropping what White “annoyingly tight” 2-3 encounter to Arlington in blustery, cold conditions.

And just warmer temperatures have arrived, so Belmont will playing three undefeated teams in Westford (4-0), Lexington (5-0), and Winchester (5-0). [Belmont were swept by non-league opponent Westford Ghosts, 5-0, on Monday.]

Heading one of the most cosmopolitan teams at Belmont High – the players speak 13 languages and come from a diverse array of cultures and countries – White has every expectation the team will be playing extra matches after the end of the regular season.

“We’re competing as always. We expect to be hopefully in the state tournament and we expect to be challenging for the Middlesex League,” she said. And that confidence starts with the

“I’m confident our singles, we’ve got great singles,” she said.

The three singles that took the court against Wakefield were two first years and a senior who established themselves as starters. First-year Isha Appadewedula has taken hold of first singles.

“Isha has been amazing, winning all her matches so far this year,” said White. Whether Appadewedula stays at one or moves to two depending on how she does in the Challenge Matches, “she’s a great addition no matter what,” said White.

Senior Giselle Fond did not play her usual second singles place after rolling her ankle in a early season practice. She finally returned to the court in first doubles with the only returning varsity doubles player, senior Avery Cal. “This might be a nice way for Fond to ease in playing a little doubles. Don’t have to run around so much in doubles,” said White.

Malina Lorentan is Belmont’s second first year to crack into the varsity squad.

“I gave her a chance [on singles] and she’s jumped all over it,” White said of the native of Switzerland, After losing a tight one against the SpyPonders, Lorentan impressived White with her ability to step up against Wakefield.

While having established a solid three in singles, White said she’s “still struggling a little bit to find the right combination” to send out for doubles. “We were spoiled in the past few seasons. We had really good doubles players. Last year we just got so many points from them,” said White.

“We lost three out of the four players of our starting doubles so that’s where we’re trying to recalibrate a little bit,” said White.

Senior Cal, who had the same partner for the previous two seasons, has been in the process of feeling out a new partner “so that’s been like the experiment.” Against Wakefield, White teamed her up with fellow senior Fond while Grace Harrington and Eve Whitmer were in at second doubles.

While it will be challenging to repeat as a top 16 team in the power rankings, White said “we’re excited just to get a few good practices in and a few games here and there to get a solid squad out there in each match.”

Belmont Town Election: Dash Sprints Past Incumbent Crowley In Moderator Race

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Adam Dash at Town Hall on Tuesday

In the course of his campaign for Town Moderator, Adam Dash knocked nonstop on the doors of 3,000 homes in blizzards, rain, and cold resulting in frosebitten fingers. He also slipped on the ice slicing off the tip of a non-frostbitten finger, was bitten on the knee by a dog, and once a wild turkey attacked him.

And on Election Day, Tuesday, April 7, Dash was drenched in the early spring snow shower and resulting rain forcing him to twice change his outfits. That was likely the reason the normally dapper Dash showed up Tuesday night at Belmont Town Hall to hear the election results in rather casual attire – an oversized scarf with a bold graphic design, ‘dad’ slim jeans, and a black unstructured jacket – topped by a knit cap replacing his trademark fedora.

In the end, Dash’s Odysseus-like journey through Belmont’s eight precincts ultimately resulted in electoral success as the former two-term member of the Select Board won the only contested town-wide race on the ballot, defeating one-term incumbent Michael Crowley, 2,090 to 1,770, for the moderator’s post.

Official results are located here.

In a hard fought contest, Dash took home 53.9 percent of the 3,989 voters who cast a ballot while Crowley received 45.8 percent, a closer delta than many anticipated.

“Running against an incumbent is always a big deal. I didn’t take that lightly,” said Dash in a crowded second floor of Town Hall where Belmont Media Center set up a live broadcast location. Looking back at the campaign, Dash said his election advantage was “people understand who I am. I’m not somebody who’s unknown. People have been complimentary to me during my run” of his long previous service in town, specifically serving six successful years on the Select Board.

“Voters saw that I will bring a great deal of experience from the executive side to the administrative side of town government,” he said. “That meant a great deal for many residents.”

“It makes me happy to work with the people again. I really like going out and meeting people one-on-one and just talking to people day after day, hour after hour, up the stairs, down the stairs. But I do enjoy it. I like hearing from people. And sometimes people would say, ‘Oh, have you ever thought about this?’ And I pulled my phone and type it in? No, I hadn’t, but I will now, and so I got a whole long list of ideas from people that I’m gonna have to start sifting through tomorrow and deciding what to do with them.”

Also attending the results reading at Town Hall was Carol Berberian, who became a Belmont Select Board Member when the polls officially closed at 8 p.m. as she ran unopposed to replace Elizabeth Dionne on the board.

“I am very excited about tonight. It’s been an interesting journey being in an uncontested race. I was very fortunate to have a lot of support from many different people in the community early on and that has really inspired me to connect with other people.”

Berberian said her connections as a life-long resident and her experience with the town’s zoning bylaws – as a member of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals – will be useful in crafting regulations that will “make it easier to open businesses in town and continue to have our existing businesses to thrive, while welcoming new development that preserved the character of the community and bring some much needed additional revenue.”

Both Amy Zuccarello and Jung Yueh were re-elected unopposed to the School Committee.

Town Meeting Election Results

Only three of Belmont’s eight precincts had contested races, with more than 12 candidates. The most interesting outcome came from Precinct 2 where five new members were elected on Tuesday. These include former Belmont Police Chief Richard McLaughlin, long-time Belmont High hockey coach Dante ‘Muzzy’ Muzzioli, Linda Nickens, Laurie Schenkel and Alice Kaanta. And only one vote prevented half the precinct being flipped as incumbent Peter Magni’s 254 votes just beat out Amy Trotsky’s 253 for the final seat. Incumbent David Zipkin finished 14th.

Running opposite to 2, Precinct 6 re-elected the 12 incumbents with a pair of non-incumbent candidates missing out, including the former Planning Board chair and ZBA member Jeffrey Birenbaum.

Precinct 8 candidate Meenal Bagla, known for her involvement in PTA leadership positions, impressed by placing second with 354 votes, only topped by Angus Abercrombie (409 votes) in Precinct 8.

Topping the vote tally throughout town was Dash (Precinct 1) with 419 votes followed by Precinct 6 Elizabeth Gibson (415 votes) and Abercrombie.

On the other end of the ballot counting spectrum, both Scott Brinker and Deepak Garg needed just 10 write-in votes to secure three-year terms on Town Meeting representing Precinct 7.

Former Warrant Committee Chair Lubien Hired As Belmont’s New CFO

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Geoff Lubien

Geoff Lubien, the former chair of the Warrant Committee, has been hired to be Belmont’s new Chief Financial Officer, according to Town Administrator Patrice Garvin.

The announcement, made at the start of the Monday, April 6 Select Board meeting, comes after the town spent seven months filling the post held by Jennifer Hewitt, the town’s financial director and assistant town administrator, who left in September. 

The CFO office is a new position in the town’s administrative office. 

“While we poached him from the private sector, [Lubien] has been … instrumental in the past 10 years of municipal finance in the town, while his private sector experience truly made him the outstanding candidate,” said Garvin.

Lubien will start Monday, April 27, just before the start of the annual Belmont Town Meeting. 

Garvin said the process started with 30 applicants, which was then pared down to six.

“We had a lot of good, strong applicants, which is very nice, considering there were some years that we saw the applicant pool decrease a little bit,” said Garvin.

Assisted by the town’s Human Resources Director Kelli King, and with the help of current members of the Warrant Committee, the Board of Trustees for the Library, and a former member of the Select Board, the finalists were interviewed, and three finalists were chosen from whom Lubien was selected.

Lubien comes to the job from his position as a marketing analyst with Bedford-based iRobot. His experience in town government includes serving on the Warrant Committee, the Financial Task Force, and his current post on the Senior Tax Relief Working Group. 

Select Board members were overwhelmingly positive about Lubien’s hiring.

“[Lubien] is the kind of the person who knows Belmont and municipal government really well, [while] also having the background in analytic experience. I’m thrilled,” said Select Board Chair Matt Taylor.

“Geoff’s awesome. I’ve worked with him for 10 years. Nobody knows the talent, finances, and budget better than [Lubien]” said member Elizabeth Dionne.

Speaking to the Belmontonian while working the polls at the Belmont Public Library on Tuesday, April 7, Lubien said taking his talents to the municipal government “is something I’ve been thinking about for a while.”

“I actually talked with Jennifer Hewitt about getting into the municipal government side about a year ago, and started to do some research. And then this opportunity came up.” He reached out to Garvin who encouraged him to apply.

“I’m looking forward to bringing my background with statistics and econometrics to the position. I really like the idea of a job that actually contributes to the greater good and uses everything I’ve learned on the job and works with the town,” he said.

While well versed in the town’s finances, “there’s a learning curve as there are details that I was never privy to because the town folks were working on that. There’s going to be a lot of learning, and I recognize that, and it’s exciting too,” said Lubien.

Lubien already knows there’s one big change with the new job. “Like many people, I’ve worked from home for a while, so I’ll be in the office every day of the week, which is good because I’m ready to get out of the house.”

And it also means a trip to the shops. “I don’t have any work clothes that fit anymore,” Lubien said.

Belmont Town Election Tuesday, April 7: A Return To The Library

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Go out and vote Tuesday

Belmont’s annual Town Election is Tuesday, April 7!

Registered voters may cast their ballots in person only on Election Day; polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the following polling locations: 

A list of the candidates for town-wide office and Town Meeting can be found in the Belmont League of Women Voters guide.

And on Tuesday, Precinct 1 voters will have both a new and old polling place as the town “returns” to the recently opened Belmont Public Library at 336 Concord Ave. After the old library building was taken down in March 2024, voting took place at Beth El Temple Center.

The precinct locations are:

  • Precinct One: Belmont Public Library, 336 Concord Ave.
  • Precinct Two: Belmont Town Hall, Select Board Room, 455 Concord Ave.
  • Precinct Three: Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.
  • Precinct Four: Daniel Butler School Gym, 90 White St.
  • Precinct Five: Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.
  • Precinct Six: Belmont Fire Headquarters,  299 Trapelo Rd.
  • Precinct Seven: Burbank School Gym, 266 School St.
  • Precinct Eight: Winn Brook School Gym, 97 Waterhouse Rd., enter from Cross Street.

If you are wondering if you are a registered voter and your voting precinct, go to the Town Clerk’s web page or phone the Town Clerk’s office at 617-993-2600.

Election results for town wide and Town Meeting races will be announced at Belmont Town Hall after the polls close and on the Town Clerk’s website early Wednesday morning.

Belmont High Southpaw Pair No-Hits Everett In ‘Home’ Opener, First No-No In 26 Seasons

By Leave a Comment

Photo: A happy Belmont High baseball team celebrates with pitchers Craig Deane and Kyle Ksander who combined for the Marauders first no-hitter since 2000.

As far back as November, Belmont High School’s long time baseball manager Jim Brown was talking highly – in his iconic dead pan manner – of the pitching staff he would be sending out to the mound in the spring.

“They’ve been prepping really well in the off-season. Yeah, four who I think are going to impress,” said “Brownie.”

It only took the first game of the campaign to prove Brown’s forecast right as a pair of those arms went out and put up a marker for the rest of the season as senior southpaws Craig Deane and Kyle Ksander combined to no hit Everett, 6-0, in the season opener on Friday, April 3.

Pitching under the lights, Ksander – a 6 foot, 175 lb. returning varsity lefty whose fast ball tops out at 85 mph – struck out eight in four innings while the multi-positional Deane K’d seven in his three innings of action to share Belmont’s first no-hitter in 26 years.

The season’s “home” opener was played at Watertown High School’s turf field due to the soggy conditions at Brendan Grant Field.

The no-hit shutout is a promising start for Belmont coming off a 9-11 ’25 campaign where it got pushed around against “mehe” opposition to miss the MIAA tourney.

After being on the road against Melrose (Monday) and Reading (Wednesday), Belmont will be at the Grant on Friday, April 10 vs Watertown. First pitch is at 4:15 p.m.

Belmont High Girls’ LAX Wins Opener Over Wayland, 13-11, As Mun Rises From The Pitch With 5 Goals

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Belmont High School senior co-captain Sydney Mun scoring the Marauders’ first goal of the season in the season opener vs. Weston.

It was a Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em girls’ lacrosse season opener for co-captain Belmont High’s Sydney Mun as the senior midfielder found herself sprawled on the turf at least a half dozen times.

But like the best fighters, the senior forward picked herself off the canvas to score, collecting five goals, including the game winner, leading Belmont High Girls’ Lacrosse to a 13-11 victory over a stubborn Weston squad at Harris Field on Tuesday, March 31.

The first time Mun hit the deck came with seconds remaining in the opening quarter – with her stick flying skyward as she landed with a thud – resulting in the team’s first tally of the year off the subsequent penalty zone free position.

Belmont’s head coach, Dan O’Brien is not surprised at the times Mun was spun, knocked, and went down during the game. “It happens a lot,” he said. “She plays so aggressively, and she goes hard. She makes good things happen. And we’re gonna need that all year from her, so it’s good.”

While the evening’s focus was on Mun scoring, it was a moment of situational awareness – call it lacrosse IQ – that O’Brien said was Mun’s most important involvement of the game, coming within three minutes from the final whistle after Weston cut the lead to two.

A Belmont sideline pass got loose and headed out of bounds, which would turn over the ball to the Wildcats, giving the visitors an opportunity to cut the lead to a single score. But tracking back to the ball, Mun put herself in position to snag the ball in her stick and gain possession.

[Mun] made a really great, smart, aggressive play, winning that ground ball, then going backwards with it and killing the clock. That’s the type of heady stuff that I’m talking about,” said O’Brien.

For Mun, just the start of the season was a long time coming for the multi-sport student athlete. 

“I think it’s super exciting to be back on the field, and it was really a team effort. Ball movement was a big contributor to finding open players, and it was just really fun,” said Mun. She said her and the team’s quickness was the advantage that provided the win for the Marauders’.

“During practice, we are always doing conditioning, getting the first step, and starting to accelerate in our speed. I think that was very evident in our game,” said Mun.

Tuesday was game one in one of the more difficult schedules a high school girls’ lacrosse team will play this season. The week of the public schools spring break (April 22) will see the Marauders enter a four-game gauntlet against powerful opponents Billerica, Andover, Top 20 North Andover, and defending Division 2 state champions Notre Dame, Hingham.

And Belmont will be facing these powerhouse programs with a newly formed backline. Led by returning starter senior Fiona Rodrigues-Clark, the three newcomers to defense – sophomore Gabriella Carney and juniors Nina Sheth-Voss and Lily Cook – have, while being a work in progress, grown as a cohesive unit.

“That was a brand new defensive unit we have out there,” said O’Brien. “We’ve got to continue to develop their communication and learn how to play as a unit. Lily [Cook] stepped up [against Weston] and played great individual one-on-one defense, and Gabriella [Carney] made a couple of great plays to force turnovers at the end.”

Belmont’s newly constructed defense showed enough promise supporting senior goalie Brooke Whalen, who came up with 11 saves that allowed the Marauders to stay in front for the entire game. “[Whalen] had the big saves when we needed them. It’s always about stealing one or two goals that made the difference tonight,” said O’Brien.

“She’s our Brooke Wall,” said a teammate after the game.

Along with Mun, O’Brien was encouraged that the Marauders’ attack didn’t rely on a single player. And that single player is usually senior midfield All-Star Niamh Lesnik who had a couple of goals, including a solo run taking the draw and storming down the middle of the field to deposit her first of the season. Senior attack Nora Goulding provided three assists, junior mid Ruth Siegert had two goals, and Maddie Tisdale contributed a goal and an assist.

“So I’m happy with the way we’ve taken coaching,” said O’Brien. “Now we have to see continued improvement.”