This could shape up to be a pretty busy, and vibrant, week for the local sports scene.
First up, tonight, is the boys basketball game between Lynn Tech and Cambridge Rindge & Latin.
The Tigers haven?t always fared well against Cambridge, but coach Marvin Avery wants games like this on his schedule as he feels it toughens his team up for the state tournament. The Falcons play in Division 1, and it?s a long-held belief among area coaches that playing up helps their teams come tournament time.
Moving onto Tuesday, there are two games on the horizon. First is the Winthrop-Swampscott girls basketball game, at Swampscott High beginning at 7. Unless the two teams meet in the tournament, this could be the last time these two Northeastern Conference rivals meet with the cast of characters that have made their games so memorable. Players such as Courtney Finn, Tara Nimkar and Allie Beaulieu, who have been such a big part of the rivalry, are all seniors.
Also Tuesday is the St. John?s Prep-Malden Catholic hockey game at Valley Forum in Malden (6). Malden Catholic, which features several North Shore players and is coached by Saugus? Chris Serino, lost its first game Saturday to Catholic Memorial. The Prep has struggled on offense, but has a solid defense. And besides, the two schools are huge rivals no matter what sport they play.
It may be a cross-conference game, but Wednesday?s Revere-Winthrop hockey tilt (at Revere, 6:30) will be a huge one. Both teams have dominated their respective divisions of the Northeastern Conference this season, and ? as with The Prep and Malden Catholic ? the rivalry between the two teams is fierce.
Friday brings us three biggies. First, the St. Mary?s-Bishop Fenwick basketball rivalry his heating up. The boys game, which will be at St. Mary?s (6:30) will give Lynners a chance to see one of the truly great high school basketball players in the area this season: Fenwick?s Mike Clifford, who is a double-double machine thus far. On the St. Mary?s side, fans can get to see Spartan all-star Tyler Grillo match wits with Clifford.
The Spartan girls come into this week with a seven-game winning streak, and ? even better for them ? ninth grader Tori Faeta is leading the charge.
Also on Friday, Classical travels to Salem for a crucial game against the Witches. The Rams have only lost one Northeastern Conference game thus far ? and that was way back on Jan. 2 against English. Classical is still hoping it can grab a share of the conference title ? which it can accomplish later this month if it returns the favor and beats English at home.
Finally, Saturday brings us the annual Lynn City SwimMeet at Tech. The meet, which begins at 5 p.m., pits all three Lynn public schools against each other.