Sports
For the first time in more than five decades, there will be no basketball in Niantic Park this summer due to major renovations planned for the popular Oak Bluffs hangout. Construction is slated to begin mid-April.
Three Vineyard teams qualified for the postseason, which began Wednesday as girls’ basketball and girls’ hockey played their first-round games. The basketball advanced in the tournament after picking up a decisive win, while hockey lost 3-1 to end their season.
A 16-foot sail is last thing you might expect to see on an Island pond in the depths of a frozen February. Across the Vineyard, boats have been hauled, waiting for spring. Ice has taken over. But when the ponds freeze, a different kind of boat comes out of garages and sheds.
The Vineyard girls’ hockey team defeated Bourne last week to secure their spot in the state tournament. Senior captains Aubrey Ashmun, Sydney Davies, Erin Hegarty and Olivia Ogden, a tight-knit team that has played on the varsity squad since they were freshmen, led the way.
A harsh winter and the promise of more severe weather led to the cancellation of the Martha’s Vineyard 20-Miler Road Race scheduled for Saturday. Race organizers and emergency personnel cited concerns about runner and volunteer safety on the icy, narrow course.
