Athletics > Weekly Lyon > 2003--04 > March 29, 2004
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Baseball (6-7-1, 2-0) Extends Winning Streak, Opens NEWMAC Play with Sweep at Clark
The Wheaton College baseball team returned north to post four straight victories, as the Lyons extended their winning streak to five games following a 2-7-1 record in Clearwater, Florida. Wheaton defeated regionally-ranked teams Bridgewater State College, 7-4 and UMass-Dartmouth, 5-2 on Thursday and Friday, respectively and then opened its New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) season with 10-4 and 5-4 decisions at Clark University on Saturday.
At Bridgewater State, junior Kevin Doherty (Tewksbury, MA/Tewksbury) snapped a 2-2 tie in the top of the seventh with a grand slam. Doherty, who had just entered the game as a defensive replacement in the bottom of the sixth inning, belted a 3-2 offering over the left field fence to stake the Lyons to a 6-2 lead. Freshman Brandon Leonard (Brockton, MA/Brockton) led off the seventh with a walk and moved to second on a hit-and-run single from junior Keith Cooper (Swampscott, MA/The Pingree School). After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third, junior Rob Cipolla (South Windsor, CT/Kingswood-Oxford) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. One out later, Doherty cleared the bases with his first home run of the season. Wheaton opened the scoring with a run in the top of the third inning on an RBI single from Cooper. Bridgewater came right back to take the lead with two runs in the bottom of the frame on a two-run double. Wheaton tied the score at two in the top of the fourth on an RBI double by sophomore Andy Koocher (Portland, ME/Portland) to set the stage for Doherty's heroics. Senior Trevor Alexander (Wilton, ME/Mt. Blue) picked up his first pitching win of the season, scattering nine hits over 7.2 innings with eight strikeouts. Senior Matt Parlato (Bethlehem, CT/Nonnewaug) pitched the final inning and a third, striking out two for his first save of the year.
At UMass-Dartmouth, Wheaton posted a pair of runs in the top of the eighth to knot things up at 2-2 and then tallied three more in the ninth to collect the victory. In the eighth, the Lyons tied the game on back-to-back RBI singles from Cooper and senior Tim Ziakas (Roxbury, NJ/Roxbury). Wheaton then added three critical runs in the ninth, taking advantage of two Corsair wild pitches and a passed ball. After scoring on a wild pitch and passed ball, the Lyons brought across their fifth run on a Jeff Ambrosini (New Ipswich, NH/Mascenic) sacrifice fly. Parlato recorded his second save in the bottom of the frame, limiting UMass-Dartmouth to one hit before retiring the side. Junior Jon Jackson (Ipswich, MA/Hamilton-Wenham) earned his first win of the season, scattering five hits with six strikeouts and two walks. Ziakas went 2-for-3 with an RBI and junior Joe DeMartino (Barnstable, MA/Barnstable) and sophomore Mark Baumer (Durham, ME/Greely) each were 2-for-4.
At Clark, game one saw Wheaton fall behind 4-1 after four innings, but for the second consecutive contest the Lyons produced most of their offensive damage in the late frames. Wheaton took advantage of four hits and two Cougar errors en route to a five-run sixth inning, spearheaded by a Ziakas triple that gave the visitors a 5-4 lead that was not relinquished. Wheaton added four insurance runs in the top half of the seventh, as Cooper highlighted the inning with a two-run triple. Freshman pitcher Chris McDonough (Weymouth, MA/Weymouth), who entered the game in the bottom of the fourth, was credited with the first win of his young career. McDonough faced four batters in 1.1 innings of work, while junior Mike Banda (Blairstown, NJ/Pope John XXIII) earned the save on two scoreless innings. The Cougars responded in game two with three runs in the first inning on a two-run triple, but Wheaton once again showed its resiliency at the tail end of the game. Freshman Pat Moore (Brookline, MA/Brookline) brought the Lyons to within one run after scoring on a throwing error and Ziakas scored the tying run off of a Cipolla double. Wheaton capped its successful rally in dramatic fashion in the sixth, as Baumer launched his first career home run. Junior pitcher Matt Ponte (Fairhaven, MA/Fairhaven) shut down the Cougar offense to complete the win, fanning four of his final six batters.
Men's Lacrosse (3-2) Splits Games with Roger Williams and Nationally-Ranked Bowdoin
The Wheaton College men's lacrosse team posted a 1-1 record this week against non-conference opponents Roger Williams University and Bowdoin College. The Lyons defeated Roger Williams, 12-10 Tuesday afternoon in Bristol, Rhode Island and later opened their home season with a hard-fought 13-10 loss to 16th-ranked Bowdoin Saturday afternoon at Mirrione Stadium. Wheaton entered the week ranked 15th in the latest New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (NEILA) poll.
At Roger Williams, Wheaton was firing on all cylinders to begin the contest, scoring three quick goals in the first three minutes of action, including a pair off the stick of senior attack Evan Carbotti (Newport, RI/Portsmouth Abbey). Roger Williams scored its initial goal with 6:28 to play in the first quarter to make the score 3-1. After each team exchanged a goal apiece the rest of the way, the visiting Lyons carried a 4-2 advantage into the second quarter. The hosts then outscored Wheaton, 2-1 in the second stanza to trim their deficit to a single goal at the half. In the second half, Roger Williams triggered three unanswered goals to take a 7-5 advantage with 9:51 showing on the clock. The Lyons however responded in a big way, exploding for four goals in just over a two-minute span to hold a 9-7 lead with 3:37 to play in the third. Carbotti tallied a pair of goals during that stretch, while sophomore Ellis Reavey (Longmeadow, MA/Longmeadow) added a goal and one assist. Carbotti paced Wheaton with a game-best five goals, while freshman Trey Helms (Cockeysville, MD/St. Paul's School) contributed two goals and two assists. Reavey finished the contest with two goals and one assist. Goalkeeper Bryant Denny (Fair Haven, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven) improved to 3-0 with 12 saves.
Against Bowdoin, the Lyons battled back from an early 5-0 deficit and trailed the Polar Bears, 6-5 in the opening minute of the third quarter, but the visitors pushed their lead out to three goals en route to the three-goal victory. Wheaton and Bowdoin battled through nearly six minutes of scoreless play to open today's contest. The Polar Bears then triggered three goals over the next two minutes and later extended their lead to 5-0 in the second period. Wheaton's offense came alive midway through the frame, scoring four of the game's next five goals to trim their deficit to 6-4 at the half. Carbotti gave the Lyons a lift with two goals in the period. In the opening minute of the second half, Wheaton's Chris Milligan (Madison, CT/Daniel Hand) beat the Polar Bear goalie to narrow the gap to a single goal with 14:16 to play, but that's as close as the Lyons would get the rest of the way, as Bowdoin answered with a 4-1 mini-run to push its lead to 10-6 with six minutes on the clock. Carbotti finished the game with three goals and an assist, while Helms added three assists. Denny stopped 10 Bowdoin shots.
Women's Lacrosse (4-1, 1-0) Posts 2-1 Week, Suffers Loss to Defending National Champs
The Wheaton College women's lacrosse team posted a 2-1 record this week following its 2-0 mark during spring week in Bermuda, as the Lyons began Tuesday's play at defending national champion Amherst College. Wheaton suffered its first loss of the season with a 20-10 setback to the Jeffs in Amherst, but responded later in the week with a 20-8 victory against Gordon College Thursday at Keefe Field and a 24-1 triumph at Smith College in Saturday's NEWMAC opener in Northampton.
At Amherst, the Jeffs took control early, building a 3-0 lead in the first four minutes. Wheaton answered, as junior Vanessa Pisano (Vineyard, Haven, MA/Martha's Vineyard) netted an unassisted goal at the 6:27 mark, but Amherst came right back to push the score back out to a three-goal margin. The Lyons rallied with three straight goals, the third a free-position score from senior Peri West (Weston, MA/Weston), to even the score at 4-4. The Jeffs then exploded for eight straight goals, including four free-position tallies, to take a 12-4 advantage into the half. Wheaton tried to mount a comeback, netting a pair of goals in the opening minutes of the second session, but got no closer than seven as Amherst held its lead throughout. Pisano had four goals and an assist for the visitors and senior Lauren Maynes (Woodstock, VT/Woodstock Union) netted a trio of goals in the loss. Junior netminder A.J. Vasiliou (Middletown, CT/Mercy) had 12 saves in goal.
Versus Gordon, Wheaton exploded for 15 goals in the opening half and never looked back, as the Lyons avenged last year's loss to the Fighting Scots. Pisano helped lift Wheaton to a 6-0 advantage midway through the half with three goals and an assist. Following a goal from Gordon, the Lyons' scoring parade continued with five additional goals to extend the count to 11-1. Wheaton held a commanding 15-3 advantage at the intermission, led by Pisano's five goals and one assist. Sophomore attack Julia Coit (South Portland, ME/South Portland) also had a huge opening half with five goals and two assists. The hosts ballooned their advantage to 19-4 with 11 minutes to play in the second half, before Gordon reeled off four straight goals. Pisano and Coit combined for 11 of Wheaton's goals, while Maynes and first-year attack Anna Lombard (Cape Elizabeth, ME/Cape Elizabeth) posted three and two goals, respectively. Maynes and Lombard also added a pair of assists in the win. Vasiliou recorded six saves against four goals in the first 44 minutes of play.
At Smith, ten different Lyon players figured in the scoring, including a career day from Lombard. She finished the game with six goals and four assists, leading Wheaton to a commanding 11-0 advantage at the half. Lombard had three tallies and two assists in the first half, while Maynes added a pair of goals with two assists. For the game, Maynes was Wheaton's second leading point scorer with three goals and three assists. West and Pisano each contributed four goals, while sophomore Caitlin Tierney (Wellesley, MA/The Rivers School) added a trio of scores with one helper. First-year Alison Morse (Freeport, ME/North Yarmouth Academy) rounded out the multiple-goal scorers with two tallies. Smith got on the scoreboard with 14:50 remaining in the contest, but by that point Wheaton had already held a 17-0 lead. Vasiliou managed to post six saves in limited action.
Pisano Selected ECAC & NEWMAC Player of the Week
Pisano was selected Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Co-Player of the Week and NEWMAC Player of the Week for the week ending on Sunday, March 21. She helped propel Wheaton to a 2-0 start with a pair of non-conference victories over Connecticut College and Endicott College in Bermuda. Pisano tallied game-high totals of six goals and five ground balls to go along with six draw controls in a 12-8 victory over Connecticut College. She then lifted the Lyons to a convincing 23-7 triumph over Endicott with eight goals, five draw controls, four caused turnovers and three ground balls.
Softball (11-5, 2-0) Runs Unbeaten Streak to Five Games, Opens NEWMAC at 2-0
The Wheaton College softball team ran its unbeaten streak to five games this week, as the nationally-ranked Lyons posted a 5-0 record following their 6-5 showing during spring week in LaGrange, Georgia and Fort Myers, Florida. Wheaton swept Bridgewater State College, 13-0 through six innings and 5-0 in game two on Thursday in Bridgewater and then blanked Salve Regina University, 8-0 through five innings in Wheaton's home opener on Friday. On Saturday, the Blue and White opened their NEWMAC schedule with 9-0 and 3-1 finals over Mount Holyoke College at Clark Field.
At Bridgewater in game one, freshman Keely Nowosacki (Shrewsbury, MA/Shrewsbury) went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI. Senior Brianna Shawah (Pompton Plains, NJ/Pequannock Township) was 2-4 with a double and an RBI and junior Meghan Malloy (Cumberland, RI/Cumberland) went 2-3 with a double and an RBI. All the offense in the first game allowed senior pitcher Jackie Demling (Norwood, MA/Norwood) to cruise to her fifth win, as she tossed a complete-game three-hit shutout with six strikeouts. The second game saw less offensive production by the Lyons, but an equally stellar pitching performance, this time from sophomore Brittany Ames (Conway, NH/Kennett). Ames allowed three hits in the complete-game effort, recording five strikeouts along the way, while also going 1-for-3 from the plate and scoring two runs. Shawah and fellow senior Amanda Dow-Allen (Greenfield, MA/Stoneleigh-Burnham) had two RBI's apiece in the second game.
Against Salve Regina, Wheaton plated five runs on four hits in the bottom of the second frame. Freshman Jessica Depolito (Taunton, MA/Coyle & Cassidy) started the inning by drawing a walk. Depolito moved all the way to third on a throwing error and eventually scored on a single from senior Lori Hill (Chestnut Hill, MA/Newton North). Four other Wheaton runners scored the rest of the frame, as the Lyons batted around the order. The hosts picked up another two runs in the fourth, starting with a base hit from Dow-Allen. Senior Carmella Ranieri (Framingham, MA/Framingham) then posted a one-run double to center for a comfortable 6-0 advantage. Ranieri later scored on a sacrifice fly from Shawah to round out the scoring in the fourth. Ranieri and Nowosacki each finished with two runs scored on the day. Demling earned the win, pitching three scoreless innings with five strikeouts and three hits allowed. Sophomore Amy Rowbottom (Norridgewock, ME/Skowhegan Area) came on in relief and struck out three Seahawk batters.
Versus Mount Holyoke, the Lyons continued their offensive onslaught in the first game. After scoring a pair of runs in the opening frame, Wheaton plated seven different base runners in the second to put the game out of reach. Ranieri, Meghan Malloy and Depolito each drove in two runs in the inning. Demling improved to 7-3 on the mound, tossing three hitless innings with three strikeouts. Rowbottom threw the final two innings, striking out one batter with one hit. Game two began in similar fashion as the first contest, as the hosts quickly put a pair of runs on the board in the bottom half of the opening inning. Ranieri began the game with a double and eventually scored on a passed ball. Depolito then plated junior Jessica Foster (Sidney, ME/Messalonskee) with a sacrifice fly to give Wheaton a 2-0 lead. Mount Holyoke responded in the second by loading the bags with one out, as the visitors cut the Lyon advantage in half with a sac fly to center. The Blue and White added an insurance run in the fifth inning, when Dow-Allen singled, stole second and later scored on a fielding error. Ames picked up her fourth win of the season, scattering six hits through six innings of work. Rowbottom earned her first save of the year after retiring the side in the seventh.
Synchronized Swimming Improves Placement at United States Collegiate Championship
The nine-member synchronized swimming team accomplished what they set out to do at this year's United States Collegiate Championship hosted by the University of Michigan, as the Lyons improved their placement from last season by finishing eighth overall with 37 points. The Ohio State University captured its fifth straight title and 24th overall with 98.167 points.
Extending a very impressive string of top-ten team finishes to 16 straight years dating back to 1989, the Lyons finished ninth in 2003. Wheaton had the opportunity to take sixth place overall if the Lyons had finished among the top 12 team routines, but the Blue and White fell just short of scoring five additional points by finishing 13th. Totaling 82.167 points, Wheaton's team routine was comprised of senior co-captains Beth Percy (St. Louis, MO/Parkway West) and Aimee Sears (Norwell, MA/Thayer Academy), juniors Blair Feldman (Tucson, AZ/Green Fields Country Day School) and Jamie Olken (Brighton, NY/Brighton), sophomore Jocelyn Phillips (Belmont, MA/Belmont) and freshman Elizabeth Corman (St. Paul, MN/Hill-Murray).
Percy captured top collegiate honors at the NCAA Division III level, earning the prestigious distinction of being named to the All-Collegiate team all four seasons of her illustrious career. Percy was also named to the Academic All-America team alongside Feldman and senior Liana Cardillo (Bedford, NH/West). Percy placed fifth overall in the solo routine with 89.500 points in addition to finishing 12th in trio with Feldman and Corman with 82.000 points. Accolades didn't end there for the Lyons, as Corman was crowned national champion in the technical elements portion of the meet. Corman wrapped up an impressive freshman season by capturing her fifth straight C figure category title with 65.122 points. Phillips and Olken placed 11th and 13th overall, respectively in C figures, while Sears finished 34th. Percy took 18th in A figures, Feldman 38th in B figures, Cardillo seventh in the D category and freshman Renata Paglio (Portland, ME/Deering) 45th in D figures.
Men's Tennis (7-1) Posts 1-1 Mark, Sweeps Johnson & Wales and Falls to Trinity
The Wheaton College men's tennis team extended its winning streak to seven consecutive matches with Tuesday's 7-0 sweep over Johnson & Wales University in the Lyons' home opener. Following its fall victory over Stonehill College and perfect 5-0 standing over spring week in Hilton Head, South Carolina, Wheaton had run its record to an unblemished 7-0. On Saturday, the Lyons suffered their first loss of the 2003-04 season, falling to regionally-ranked Trinity College, 7-0.
Against Johnson & Wales, Wheaton used 11 different players to collect the victory, led by freshman Payum Payman's (Pleasant Valley, NY/Arlington) performance in the top singles position. Rounding out the straight-set singles winners included sophomore Matt Sheers (Beacon, NY/Beacon) in the second position, freshman Will Stoddard (Huntington, VT/Mt. Mansfield Union) in the third slot, sophomore Nick Potter (Concord, NH/Concord) at fourth singles, senior captain Scott Longmire (Belmont, MA/Belmont) in the fifth slot and first-year Brian Danishevsky (Hamden, CT/Hamden Hall Country Day) in the sixth position. Stoddard later joined senior Adam Wright (West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield) for an 8-4 victory at first doubles, while freshmen Brad Dressler (Cranston, RI/Cranston West) and Marc Rottman (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow) won 8-1 in the second doubles slot. Sophomores Mike Moss (Needham, MA/Needham) and Jeff Selesnick (Concord, NH/Concord) were victorious in the third doubles position by a count of 8-3.
At Trinity, the Lyons relinquished the doubles point to open the contest, losing on all three courts. The top doubles team consisting of Sheers and Payman held leads of 5-0 and 7-4, but were unable to close out the match, as the tandem fell 9-7. Wheaton was also competitive in singles play, but the Lyons couldn't steal a point from the Trinity squad. Longmire had the closest match of the day at number six singles, where he lost 7-6, 7-6. Playing in the second spot, Sheers also put forth a valiant effort before falling 6-4, 7-6. In the top singles match, Payman succumbed 6-4, 6-3, while Stoddard dropped a 6-2, 6-1 decision in the third slot.
Payman Makes Spring Collegiate Debut with NEWMAC Weekly Honor
Payman made his spring collegiate debut a memorable one, as he garnered NEWMAC Player-of-the-Week honors for the week ending on Sunday, March 21. Payman, who transferred to Wheaton from Division-I Binghamton University, led Wheaton to a perfect 5-0 record on its spring trip in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Playing in the top singles and doubles position for the Lyons, Payman posted an unblemished 10-0 mark with victories over Colby-Sawyer College, Stevens Institute of Technology, St. Lawrence University, Nazareth College and regionally-ranked Hobart College.
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