Athletics > Weekly Lyon > 2006--07 > April 23, 2007
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Baseball (23-9, 9-3) Wins Ninth Straight NEWMAC Regular Season Title in 2-2 Week
The Wheaton College baseball team, ranked first in New England and seventh nationally by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), remained the only team in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference's (NEWMAC) nine-year history to win a regular season title during a 2-2 week. The Lyons fell at Babson College, 4-2 on Thursday before clinching crown number nine on Friday with a 15-0 triumph at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). In a non-conference doubleheader on Saturday at Brandeis University, Wheaton lost the opener, 6-5 before winning the second game, 5-1.
For the seventh time, the NEWMAC Tournament will be played in Norton, as top-seeded Wheaton begins the hunt for its eighth tournament crown, looking to clinch the automatic qualifier to its seventh NCAA Tournament. The Lyons face an opponent yet to be determined at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.
Against Babson, the Lyons yielded three unearned runs during a NEWMAC loss. Senior Joe White (Bedford, NH/Manchester West) gave up one earned run in six innings of work, while junior Keith Pescosolido (Newton, MA/Newton North) and sophomores Adam Gingras (Woonsocket, RI/Woonsocket) and Josh Simmons (Cranston, RI/Cranston West) combined to allow no earned runs and fan three during three frames of relief work. Senior Jeff Martin (Marblehead, MA/Marblehead) went 3-for-4, sophomore Nick Pecora (Highland Park, NJ/Immaculata) had two hits and two RBI, while junior Scott Guillerault (South Portland, ME/South Portland) added a pair of hits.
Junior southpaw Chris McDonough (Weymouth, MA/Weymouth) tossed a two-hit shutout, while Pecora equaled a year-old school record with six hits against WPI. Pecora also doubled and drove in four runs, while senior Adam Laplante (Harwich, MA/Harwich) was 4-for-6 with two runs and two RBI, as well as a two bagger. Sophomore Robert Foote (Walpole, MA/Walpole) added four RBI, three hits and two runs, while senior Brandon Leonard (Brockton, MA/Brockton) scored four times.
In Wheaton's game one loss to Brandeis, Foote launched his first collegiate home run, while junior Jake Yagjian (Brewster, MA/Nauset Regional) had two hits, including a double, and two RBI. Sophomore Karl Olson (Bethel, ME/Gould Academy) added two hits. During the second contest, junior Josh Moore (Manchester, NH/Manchester Memorial) yielded no earned runs on two hits in 6.1 innings with eight strikeouts, and Simmons notched his fifth save. Foote blasted a two-run home run, while senior Travis Anthoine (Portland, ME/Portland) added a 3-for-4 effort. Pecora had two hits.
A number of Lyons continue to climb the program's career charts. Guillerault is second in home runs (21), third in RBI (125), ninth in doubles (35) and tied for ninth in runs (105), while Leonard is tied for second in stolen bases (59), is fifth in runs (137), sixth in hits (186) and tied for ninth in RBI (94). Moore is fourth in wins (17), while McDonough is fifth in strikeouts (162), sitting just 17 shy of the school standard, and tied for fifth in victories (15).
Men's Lacrosse (3-8, 3-2) Falls to Pilgrim Heavyweight Springfield in Lone Game of Week
The Wheaton College men's lacrosse team dropped its lone contest of the week to Pilgrim League counterpart Springfield College, 14-5 on Saturday in Mirrione Stadium. With three conference games remaining in the hunt for the tournament's four spots, the Lyons sit in fourth place.
Against Springfield, the Lyons trailed 5-2 right before halftime, but the Pride scored the next five goals. Senior Trey Helms (Cockeysville, MD/Saint Paul's School) recorded two goals and an assist, while junior Richie Rasamny (Redding, CT/Joel Barlow) had a goal and two helpers. Senior Markus Ricci (Wayland, MA/Wayland) and freshman Tim Horan (Cheshire, CT/Cheshire) also scored, while freshmen Schuyler Horn (New Hartford, CT/Kingswood-Oxford School) and Alex Lewis (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) combined to make four saves.
Women's Lacrosse (4-11, 3-3) Snaps Five-Game Skid, Draws Tournament's Third Seed
The Wheaton College women's lacrosse team went 1-2 last week but broke a five-game losing streak in its regular season finale, picking up an 18-9 win over NEWMAC foe Smith College on Saturday that helped the Lyons draw the third seed in the league tournament. Wheaton fell at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 15-9 on Tuesday before dropping a 20-2 decision against nationally-ranked Amherst College on Wednesday. The Lyons will host Smith on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. during the first round of the NEWMAC Tournament, in which Wheaton is 9-1 at home in the past seven years.
At MIT, the Lyons' late comeback attempt came up short. Sophomore Madeline Williams (Annapolis, MD/Key School) tallied career highs of four goals and five points, classmate Caitlin Grant (Walpole, MA/Walpole) notched two goals and an assist, while junior Meredith Hurd (Bath, ME/Hyde School) scored twice. Senior Kristin Konig (Montecito, CA/Cate School) made 11 saves.
Wheaton dropped its sixth contest against a nationally-ranked team this year by falling on neutral turf at Babson College to Amherst, which was eighth in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll. Junior Alexa Jurczak (Davidsonville, MD/Miss Porter's School) and sophomore Bridget Thornton (Southington, CT/Cheshire Academy) scored, and Konig had 11 stops.
The Lyons trailed visiting Smith, 5-2 before tallying the next 13 goals, including the first 12 of the second half. Grant and Thornton each finished with career highs of four goals, while Grant tacked on a pair of assists. Hurd also scored four goals and had an assist, while sophomore Abbie Sherwin (Rye, NH/Portsmouth) tallied three times. Jurczak made 11 saves in her first college game as a goalkeeper.
Softball (24-14, 11-5) Clinches Second Seed in NEWMAC Tournament During 4-2 Week
The Wheaton College softball team went 4-2 last week and clinched the second seed in the upcoming NEWMAC Tournament. As the regular season runner up, the Lyons finished no worse than tied for third for the 17th straight spring. Wheaton split its final conference twinbill on Friday at Wellesley College, losing the opener by a 2-1 count in eight innings before winning, 6-4, and the Lyons swept visiting Endicott College in a pair of five-inning contests on Saturday. Wheaton, which is ranked sixth in the region by the NCAA, downed the seventh-ranked Gulls, 8-0 and 10-2. The Lyons then split with visiting regional foe Tufts University on Sunday, taking the opener, 4-2 before losing, 5-2.
Wheaton, which has hit 37 home runs this season and sits one shy of the 10-year-old program record, drew a first-round bye for the NEWMAC Tournament and will play its first postseason game on Wednesday at home at 5:00 p.m. The Lyons will take on the winner of the 3:00 p.m. contest between Wellesley and Babson College, as the two will square off on Clark Field. The remainder of the tournament occurs on Saturday and Sunday at Springfield College.
At Wellesley, the Lyons took a 1-0 lead in the opener thanks to sophomore Brady Benton's (Concord, NH/Concord) two-out RBI triple in the fourth, but the Blue scored one unearned run in the fifth and another in the eighth. Junior Jodi Moynagh (Worcester, MA/Holy Name Central Catholic) did not allow an earned run while yielding four hits in 7.1 innings, striking out six and walking one. In the second game, sophomore Stacey Kelleher (Brockton, MA/Brockton) provided a tie-breaking, two-run double with two down in the sixth. Kelleher finished with two hits, while junior Audrey Poulton (Charlestown, RI/Chariho Regional) went 4-for-4. Senior Jessica DePolito (Taunton, MA/Coyle and Cassidy) belted a home run and had two hits, while freshman Andrea Bagley (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro) picked up the win after giving up two earned runs and striking out four.
Benton and DePolito each went deep in the first game against Endicott, and Moynagh twirled a two-hit shutout. Benton was 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI, freshman Merry MacDonald (Braintree, MA/Braintree) had two hits and three RBI, while junior Erika Marini (Pawtucket, RI/Saint Raphael Academy) added two hits and scored twice. In the second contest, the first seven batters of the first inning reached and scored, as DePolito, Marini and senior Nicole Lachance (Rochester, NH/Spaulding) each homered in the opening frame. Kelleher went 3-for-3 with two runs, DePolito was 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI, Lachance and Poulton each had two hits, and Marini drove in three runs. Bagley picked up the win.
Against Endicott, DePolito and Lachance celebrated Senior Day by each hitting for three legs of the cycle in one half of the twinbill. Marini and Poulton notched RBIs in the fourth inning to draw the Lyons even in the opener, while Lachance provided a two-run dinger the following inning to give the hosts the lead for good. Moynagh yielded one earned run on three hits with five strikeouts. Lachance finished 3-for-3 with a triple and home run. In the second game, DePolito was 3-for-3 with a double and home run, while Benton added two hits.
With 13 home runs, DePolito leads the NEWMAC and is tied for third in a single season in program history. Lachance has 10 home runs, as she and DePolito are the second teammates ever at Wheaton to reach double digits in the same season, and the first since 1999. DePolito is now third in program history in career home runs (23), seventh in RBI (106) and ninth in doubles (31), while Lachance is tied for sixth in longballs (15). In the circle, Moynagh is third in strikeouts (319) and fourth in wins (35), while Poulton is fourth in strikeouts (165) and eighth in wins (21).
Men's Tennis (10-4, 4-1) Drops Two of Three Against Regional Foes, Draws Second Seed
The regionally-ranked Wheaton College men's tennis team went 1-2 during its final week of regular season play but sewed up the second seed in the upcoming NEWMAC Tournament. The Lyons, who are 12th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) Northeast region poll, fell to fifth-ranked Tufts University, 5-3 on Tuesday before bouncing back with a 9-0 decision against Salve Regina University on Thursday. On Saturday, Wheaton fell by a 6-3 count to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which is ninth in the region and won its ninth NEWMAC regular season title. The Lyons received a bye through the NEWMAC Tournament's first round and will play either Springfield College or the United States Coast Guard Academy in a semifinal on Saturday at MIT at 10:30 a.m.
Against Tufts, the Lyons took a doubles point before the visiting Jumbos clinched the match, which was played to decision, in singles play. Seniors Brian Danishevsky (Hamden, CT/Hamden Hall Country Day School) and Raymour Radhakrishnan (Amherst, NH/Bridgton Academy) won at the second doubles position, and classmates Brad Dressler (Cranston, RI/Cranston West) and Payum Payman (Pleasant Valley, NY/Arlington) narrowly lost an 8-6 decision in the top spot to the seventh-ranked tandem in the region. Dressler and Payman each won in straight sets during singles, but the Jumbos pulled out a three-set win that earned them the team victory.
Wheaton swept through visiting Salve Regina as five Lyons won in straight sets during singles action, including Payman over the 17th-ranked player in the region, 6-0, 6-3. Danishevsky, Dressler, senior Will Stoddard (Huntington, VT/Mount Mansfield Union) and freshman Kyle Hudgins (Uxbridge, MA/Uxbridge) also won, while Radhakrishnan gutted out a three-set victory. In doubles, Dressler and Payman won in the top spot, Danishevsky and Radhakrishnan were triumphant at two, while Stoddard and freshman James Little (Mount Desert, ME/Mount Desert Island) took the three match.
The Lyons squared off with MIT, which has won all nine NEWMAC regular season crowns and all eight tournament titles, but came up short in handing the Engineers their first loss ever against a league foe. Payman provided a highlight with a three-set singles victory against a player ranked 12th in the country and third in the region. Dressler and Hudgins also won in three sets, as Dressler is now 14-0 this spring. For their careers, Payman has 116 wins between singles and doubles, Danishevsky is nearing the century mark with 96 triumphs, and Dressler has 88 wins.
Payman Receives Fourth Conference Honor of the Spring
Payman earned NEWMAC Singles Player-of-the-Week honors for the week ending on Sunday, April 15, drawing the accolade for the second time this spring after helping his partner draw doubles honors twice. Payman posted straight-set wins in each of his number-one singles matches, initially knocking off his opponent from Babson College by a 6-2, 6-0 count during Wheaton's sweep on April 11. He also picked up a 6-0, 6-2 triumph in the Lyons' 7-2 victory over Springfield College on April 14.
Men's and Women's Track and Field Prepare for NEWMACs at MIT's Coed Invitational
The Wheaton College men's and women's outdoor track and field teams took part in their final meet before next Saturday's NEWMAC Championships at the United States Coast Guard Academy by taking part in the non-scoring Coed Invitational on Saturday at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Senior All-American Jennifer Harlow (East Bridgewater, MA/East Bridgewater) and sophomore Chizoba Ezeigwe (Brockton, MA/Thayer Academy) each won events.
Harlow won a high jump competition for the third straight weekend with a height of 5' 7 1/4", which met automatic qualification for the NCAA Championship, as she bested the runner up by seven inches. Ezeigwe met provisional qualification for the national meet during a 200-meter dash victory in 24.66, which was just 0.11 seconds off an automatic time. Harlow was also second in each the 100M hurdles and long jump, finishing 1 1/2" behind the long jump winner. Sophomore Celeste Karpow (Wilton, CT/Wilton) was second in the 400M hurdles, while classmates Lily Calderwood (Harvard, MA/Bromfield School) and Morgan Jamiel (Warwick, RI/Toll Gate) finished third in the 400M dash and 100M hurdles, respectively. Freshman Renee Thompson (Hartford, CT/Weaver) tied for third in the 200M. On the men's side, freshman Howard Powell (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) turned in a runner-up showing in the 110M hurdles, as his time of 15.14 was just 0.03 seconds shy of the winner.
Harlow Collects Fifth ECAC Honor of Year, Second of Spring Season
Harlow was named Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Field Athlete of the Week for the week ending on Sunday, April 15, marking the fifth time Harlow earned an ECAC honor this academic year, as well as the second this spring. Harlow won the high and long jump events on April 14 at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell's Davis Invitational, as her high jump of 5' 8" was tops in the nation this outdoor season, set a meet record by two inches, beat the runner up by five inches and automatically qualified her for the NCAA Championship. Harlow's long jump win came thanks to a distance of 17' 1 1/4" in her first competition in the event - indoors or outdoors - since last April's NEWMAC Championship. Harlow also won the 100-meter hurdles in 15.05, which was 0.02 seconds faster than the runner up, and helped the 4x100M relay team to victory in 49.33.
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Men's Tennis: Men's tennis players Beekman and Hudgins named ITA Scholar-Athletes (more)
Women's Soccer: Hough's tally sends Wheaton past Emmanuel, Leddy notches third shutout (more)