Ellwood City Fall Sports Q&A

This is part one of a two part series featuring area seniors in fall 2021 sports.

The start of fall sports is upon us, so we took the opportunity catch up with the athletes of those teams to see what they are doing to prepare for the upcoming rivalries and to offer some perspective on the season ahead and their plans for the future.

Milo Sesti-Golf

Grade: 12

How many years have you been playing? I have been playing golf for five years.

How has the team prepared for its upcoming season, how has COVID impacted training/practices? The team has been getting together a couple times a week and we’ve had a couple matches so far. COVID hasn’t been much of an issue yet this season. We’re hoping to finish with no interruptions.

What do you feel is your biggest strength in your sport? My mental game is my biggest strength in golf.

Best part about playing your sport? The best part about golf is it’s different than many other sports. It’s more of an individual sport but also a team sport.

What is the biggest obstacle the team may face this year? The biggest obstacle we may face is staying consistent throughout the season.

Most anticipated game on schedule? The most anticipated game is against Neshannock at Castle Hills golf course because coach Barry has never won a golf match there in his nineteen years of coaching.

Other than your chosen sport, what is a hobby? Basketball is my favorite hobby besides golf.

Name something not too many people know about you? Most people don’t know that I enjoy fishing on my dad’s boat.

What is one skill you have learned from your sport that you will utilize in your future and how? I learned to be very independent, and I use my golf skills at work and plan to use them in my future.

What are your future plans after graduation? Will you continue to play sports after high school? My future plans are to hopefully play golf in college and major in golf management.

Angelina Ricciuti-Volleyball

Grade: 12

How many years have you been playing? This is my 6th year playing volleyball.

How has the team prepared for its upcoming season, how has COVID impacted training/practices? We’ve been conditioning and practicing since May and throughout COVID our team has stayed very healthy, so it hasn’t impacted us very much.

What do you feel is your biggest strength in your sport? I feel like my biggest strength is blocking and always having high energy on the court.

Best part about playing your sport? The best part about playing volleyball is the relationships I’ve made with my teammates. They’ve become a second family to me over the past 6 years.

What is the biggest obstacle the team may face this year? The biggest obstacle our team might face this year is living up to what we did last year.

Most anticipated game on schedule? The most anticipated game on our schedule is definitely Shenango. They were our biggest competition last year and they definitely will be again this year.

Other than your chosen sport, what is a hobby? My favorite hobby other than playing volleyball is shopping.

Name something not too many people know about you? I don’t like any type of dipping sauces.

What is one skill you have learned from your sport that you will utilize in your future and how? A skill I have learned from my sport is to never give up no matter how hard things might be. This skill will help me in a lot of situations throughout life.

What are your future plans after graduation? Will you continue to play sports after high school? My plans after graduation are to go to college. I would love to continue playing volleyball after high school but as of right now I’m still unsure if I’m going to.

Angie Nardone-Volleyball

Grade: 12

How many years have you been playing? 6 years

How has the team prepared for its upcoming season, how has COVID impacted training/practices? We worked hard throughout the summer trying to create chemistry with the new girls coming up.  Covid has mostly impacted our games, due to the limit of people allowed in the gym, we couldn’t have a full capacity of spectators.

What do you feel is your biggest strength in your sport? I feel like my biggest strength is my leadership and helping the younger girls to be the best they can be for future years when we’re gone.

Best part about playing your sport? I love how fast a volleyball game is and all the great friendships we make every season.

What is the biggest obstacle the team may face this year?  Our biggest obstacle would definitely the amount of inexperience some of the new starters have.  But I feel like we’ve prepared them enough to be confident in themselves on the court.

Most anticipated game on schedule? Shenango or Laurel for sure.

Other than your chosen sport, what is a hobby?  Either just hanging out with my friends or going down to the sand courts to play pick-up games.

Name something not too many people know about you? I have never had a pet.

What is one skill you have learned from your sport that you will utilize in your future and how? Definitely leadership and knowing that you cannot win a game on your own, you need all the girls on the court to play the best we can play.

What are your future plans after graduation? Will you continue to play sports after high school? I am either going to Westminster to play volleyball or going to Duquesne University.