Athletics > Weekly Lyon > 2002-03 > May 12, 2003
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Weekly Lyon
Hunsinger and Edmunds Earn NEWMAC Pitcher and Player of the Week, Hunsinger Also Garnered ECAC Pitcher-of-the-Week Accolades
Wheaton College baseball seniors Mike Hunsinger (Fall River, MA/Durfee) and Brett Edmunds (Wolfeboro, NH/Kingswood Regional) were named New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Pitcher and Player of the Week for the week ending on Sunday, May 4. This is Hunsinger's second appearance as the Pitcher of the Week, as he was named the first ever Pitcher of the Week for the conference on March 23. Later in the week, Hunsinger was selected as the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Pitcher of the Week.
A senior co-captain for the Lyons, Hunsinger fired a complete-game shutout in the opening game of the NEWMAC Tournament, helping to lead the Lyons to a 5-0 victory over Coast Guard and in the process a fifth consecutive conference tournament title. Hunsinger tossed a five-hitter with four strikeouts against the Bears. Later in the week, he picked up his seventh win of the season versus Western New England. Hunsinger fanned four batters while allowing eights hits and two earned runs in seven innings of work.
In four tournament games, Edmunds went 7-for-14 with six runs scored, three RBI, two stolen bases, a home run and a double. In the title game versus Coast Guard, he belted his first homer of the season to give the Lyons a 2-0 lead that would not be relinquished. For the game, Edmunds went 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs scored and a 1.500 slugging percentage. In nine games played dating back to Monday, April 21, he batted 11-for-28 (.393) with seven RBI, seven runs scored and a slugging percentage of .571.
Women's Lacrosse (11-4, 5-1) Splits Pair of Games at NCAA Tournament, Defeats Bridgewater State, 14-9 Before Falling to Top-Ranked Middlebury, 13-7
The Wheaton College women's lacrosse team, advancing to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time since 1986, defeated Bridgewater State, 14-9 on Wednesday at Keefe Field and in the process sent the Lyons into one of four, four-team regionals at top-ranked Middlebury. Despite playing the number-one ranked team in the country, the Lyons put up a valiant fight before succumbing 13-7 on Saturday at Middlebury's Kohn Field.
On Wednesday, the Lyons used a late second-half scoring run, as they tallied five straight goals in the final 6:46 of play en route to the five-goal victory. BSC opened the game's scoring just three minutes into the contest. Two minutes later, Wheaton junior Lauren Maynes (Woodstock, VT/Woodstock Union) evened the game at one goal apiece. Following ten minutes of scoreless play in a nip-and-tuck first half, the Bears answered with two straight goals to retake a 3-1 edge. Sophomore Caddie Jackson (Deerfield, MA/Deerfield Academy) tallied two straight goals for the hosts to knot the contest at 3-3 with 8:05 remaining in the half. After trading scores, the Bears retook a 5-4 lead. That served as Bridgewater's last lead, as the Lyons put together a string of four consecutive goals for an 8-5 advantage with 37 ticks on the clock. First-year Julia Coit (South Portland, ME/South Portland) scored twice during that spurt.
A slow offensive start to the second half ensued, as only two goals were scored through the first 23 minutes of play. Leading 9-7 with seven minutes remaining, Wheaton put the game out of reach with five consecutive tallies over a five-minute span. Jackson led the Wheaton offense with four goals and two assists, while Maynes and Coit finished with three goals apiece. In net, sophomore goalie A.J. Vasiliou (Middletown, CT/Mercy) came up with key saves and finished the game with eight stops.
At Middlebury, the reigning two-time national champion Panthers extended their winning streak to 49 games with the victory over the Lyons. Middlebury jumped out early, scoring two goals 40 seconds apart in the first minute of the game to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead. Wheaton scored two of the game's next three goals to cut the lead to 3-2 with 21:37 remaining in the first half. The Middlebury lead grew to 6-2 at the intermission. The team's exchanged the first four goals of the second half in 4:48, however the Panthers went on a run over a 2:30 span to expand the lead to 11-4 with 16:53 left to play. The lead increased to 12-4 at the 9:02 minute mark, before Wheaton made one last run with three straight goals in a 2:44 span to cut the lead to 12-7 with 2:47 remaining. Sophomore Vanessa Pisano (Vineyard Haven, MA/Martha's Vineyard) and Maynes led the way with three and goals, respectively, while Vasiliou posted 18 saves in net.
Vasiliou Selected ECAC & NEWMAC Women's Lacrosse Player of the Week
Vasiliou was named the NEWMAC Player of the Week for the second time this season, this time for the week ending on Sunday, May 4. She also was selected as the ECAC Goaltender of the Week. Vasiliou helped lift Wheaton its first ever NEWMAC Tournament title, as the top-seeded Lyons defeated Mount Holyoke in the semifinal round and Springfield in the championship game. In two games, Vasiliou posted a 6.50 goals against average with 32 saves and a mere 13 goals allowed along with an impressive save percentage of .711. In the title game with Springfield, she recorded 20 saves and a .741 save percentage en route to a 10-7 victory over the Pride. On the year, Vasiliou is tops in the conference in goals against average, save percentage and winning percentage.
Softball (35-9, 14-2) Reaches NCAA Tournament Regional Championship Game
The Wheaton College softball team finished its season as the host of the NCAA Division III New England Regional Tournament. Reaching the title game of the tournament, the Lyons fell short of eventual champion Western New England, 2-1 on Sunday at Clark Field. Second seed Wheaton started the tourney with a 5-4 win over third-seeded Endicott on Friday, but fell to WNEC, 3-1 on Saturday. Climbing out of the losers bracket, the Blue and White knocked off fifth-seeded Keene Sate 6-2 early Sunday afternoon, setting up a rematch with the fourth-seeded Golden Bears. Wheaton is currently ranked seventh in the country according to the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) poll.
On Friday, Wheaton had to post a come-from-behind victory, as junior Lori Hill (Chestnut Hill, MA/Newton North) triggered a three-run fourth inning with a two-run double to center field to help lift the Lyons to victory. Snapping Endicott's 30-game winning streak, the Lyons didn't waste anytime breaking into the scoring column, as the Blue and White used two RBI singles to take an early 2-0 lead. Junior Carmella Ranieri (Framingham, MA/Framingham) drew a walk, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and later scored on a Brianna Shawah (Pompton Plains, NJ/Pequannock Township) single down the left field line. Advancing to second on the throw, Shawah scored on a Rachael Powers (Quincy, MA/North Quincy) double down the right field line. The Gulls cut the lead in half in the top half of the second and proceeded to take the lead in the fourth inning. In the bottom of the inning, the Lyons tallied three runs and retook a lead that would not be relinquished. In addition to Hill's two-run double, Powers scored Wheaton's first run of the frame on a passed ball. Leading the country in victories, Demling ran her record to 23-4 overall with a pair of strikeouts in seven innings of work.
Against WNEC on Saturday, the Golden Bears delivered a walk-off three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to record the victory in dramatic fashion. WNEC had several scoring opportunities in the contest, including bases loaded situations in the second and third innings. In the fourth and fifth frames, Western New England put two runners on the bags and were still not able to produce any runs. Wheaton used a hit and a Golden Bear error to tally its only run of the contest in the third inning. With one out, junior Amanda Dow-Allen (Greenfield, MA/Stoneleigh-Burnham) reached first on a throwing error and later stole second base. Two batters later, senior Maren Schrader (Canby, OR/Canby) plated Dow-Allen with a single to center. The Lyons only mustered five hits in the game in addition to stranding five base runners. Demling was saddled with the loss, giving up eight hits with four strikeouts and six walks in 6.2 innings.
Versus Keene State, Schrader was 4-for-4 with two stolen bases and an RBI, while Hill and sophomore Kate Malloy (Cumberland, RI/Cumberland) posted back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to eliminate the Owls. The Lyons jumped on the scoreboard first, scoring a single run in the second inning when Kate Malloy brought home sister Sarah Malloy (Cumberland, RI/Cumberland) to make the score 1-0. The Owls bounced back with two runs in the top of the fourth. The lead was short lived however, as Wheaton plated two runs on three hits and two Owl errors to retake the lead in the fourth. One inning later, the Lyons put the game away, as Powers singled to left field. With two outs, Powers stole second and then scored on Hill's first home run of the season. Kate Malloy followed with her first homer of the year to complete the scoring. Making her first collegiate postseason appearance, first-year Amy Rowbottom (Norridgewock, ME/Skowhegan Area) improved to 4-0 on the mound, yielding two runs on three hits along with five strikeouts in five innings of work. Sophomore Jennifer Nelligan (Brockton, MA/Brockton) tossed two scoreless innings of relief to preserve the win.
In the championship game, WNEC once again won in thrilling fashion, posting a walk-off single to right field in the bottom of the seventh inning to capture its first ever regional championship. Defeating Wheaton for the second straight time in as many days in its final at-bat, the Golden Bears scored their first run in the opening inning, taking advantage of a pair of hits coupled with a Wheaton error to take a 1-0 edge. Wheaton found the equalizer in the top of the fourth inning, when Nelligan reached base on a fielding error. Following a sacrifice bunt and a strikeout, Nelligan scored from second on a fielding error in the outfield. Nelligan, who took the pitching loss in 5.2 innings of relief, allowed one earned run on four hits with one walk.
Powers and Demling Tabbed NEWMAC Player and Pitcher of the Week, Powers Also Earns ECAC Player-of-the-Week Honors
Powers and Demling were selected as the NEWMAC Player and Pitcher of the Week for the week ending on Sunday, May 4. This marks the fifth time that Demling has been tabbed the conference pitcher of the week. Later in the week, Powers was selected as the ECAC Player of the Week.
Powers was a key factor in Wheaton's third consecutive NEWMAC Tournament championship. In a 1-0 loss to Springfield in the final round, Powers was 1-for-2 with a walk. In the elimination game, Powers went 1-for-3 with a run scored in the Lyons' 5-0 triumph over the Pride. In five conference tourney games, she batted .429 (6-for-14) with two RBI, two stolen bases, one run, one double, a walk and a .500 slugging percentage.
Demling, recently named NEWMAC Player of the Year, pitched two complete games on the week, propelling Wheaton to the NEWMAC Tournament title. In five conference tourney games, Demling was 4-1 with a sparkling 0.23 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 31 innings of work. In the championship game, Demling yielded only three hits while striking out seven in the complete-game shutout.
Lyons Post Five NCAA Automatic Qualifiers at All-New England Championships, Women Take Fifth Overall while Men Finish 11th
The Wheaton College men's and women's track and field teams posted strong finishes at the All-New England Championships held at the University of New Hampshire on Friday and Saturday. The women finished fifth overall among 33 scoring teams with 58.33 points, while the men tied for 11th place in the 38-team pool with 27 points.
All told, five athletes posted NCAA Division III national meet automatic qualifying marks and two shattered their own school marks. Senior Noreen Kordzeil (Chittenango, NY/Chittenango), juniors Amber James (Woodbury, MN/Woodbury) and Vernick Smith (Camden, NJ/Woodrow Wilson), and sophomores Kirsten Larsen (Hampden, MA/Minnechaug Regional) and Dan Olson (Voorheesville, NY/Albany Academy) all earned automatic qualifiers at the meet.
Kordzeil finished first in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.36, while James captured the 400-meter dash crown in 55.89. Olson was the other top competitor in his event, winning the men's high jump with an automatic qualifying leap of 6' 11". Rounding out the automatic qualifying marks was Larsen's school-record toss of 137' 11" in the javelin, breaking her old mark of 135' 5" from last season, and Smith's time of 55.80 in the 400-meter qualifying heat.
The women were bolstered by several scoring finishes. Sophomore Tessa Donoghue (Springfield, MA/Cathedral) posted a provisional mark with a second place finish in the 400-meter dash (56.95), as did senior Jana Bromell (Spencer, MA/David Prouty) in 57.18. Smith and junior Kim Spence (Barrington, NH/Dover) recorded provisional times of 1:02.59 and 1:03.30, respectively in the 400M hurdles. Senior co-captain Kristen Cullen (Stoneham, MA/Stoneham) finished seventh in the 100-meter hurdles, but not before she scored a provisional time of 14.80 in the preliminary heat.
First-year Aspen James (Woodbury, MN/Woodbury) finished seventh and eighth in the 100 and 200-meter dashes and qualified provisionally in the prelims, while sophomore Kathrine Wallace (Glenmoore, PA/The Hill School) and freshman Noelle Battista (Warwick, RI/Toll Gate) rounded out the provisional qualifiers in the high jump and pole vault. Wallace placed second at 5' 5" in the high, while Battista vaulted 10' 10". Freshman Christina Langevin (Wilbraham, MA/Minnechaug Regional) posted a school record in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 38:56.82.
The men were paced by Olson's top mark in the high jump and junior Tyrone McClain (New Haven, CT/Hillhouse), who finished fifth in the 100 and 200-meter dashes. Also scoring was junior Erik Benson (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug), who placed fourth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.95. The 4x400-meter relay finished fifth in a time of 3:19.68.
This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 1/30/07.
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