Tuesday, April 19, 2011

This Week in SMC Athletics

With winter weather overstaying its welcome, the Purple Knights battled the elements andtheir opponents last week. Women’s tennis secured a postseason spot, baseball snapped its losing skid and men’s and women’s lacrosse hosted “Think Pink!” events to highlight another busy week of spring athletics.
Women’s tennis closed out the regular season by going 2-1 for the week and finished with a dominant 9-0 shutout of American Int’l on Saturday. Saint Michael’s earned the fourth seed for the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament and will host fifth-ranked Bentley in Monday’s quarterfinals at 2 p.m. on the outdoor courts. The contest will be the final home match for seniors Marybeth Ash (Westborough, Mass./Westborough), Deahna Giguere (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee) and Marran Ranks (Stratham, N.H./Exeter), who combined for 55 wins in the past four years and solidified themselves as the winningest class in program history.

Men’s tennis posted a 2-1 mark in its final week of competition, finishing 3-8 in NE-10 play and narrowly missing the league tournament for the first time since the 2005-06 season. Ryan Magee (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury), the squad’s lone senior, finished his collegiate career with a 3-0 mark in doubles play for the week, highlighted by an 8-0 blanking of Assumption at the No. 2 doubles position on Saturday.

Men’s lacrosse went 1-1 last week, picking up a 7-4 win at Franklin Pierce on Wednesday before suffering a heartbreaking 7-6 double overtime setback at home against Adelphi on Saturday. Sophomore Pete Donnally (Madison, N.J./Morristown-Beard) led the offense with six goals and has scored 13 times in the last four games. Freshman goalie Chris Demairo (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage) was solid in net with 15 saves and just eight goals allowed, and junior captain Kevin Hunt (Johnstown, N.Y./Johnstown) extended his streak to eight games with at least one point. Saint Michael’s hosts Saint Anselm on Tuesday and travels to Pace on Saturday in the second-to-last week of NE-10 regular season competition.

Women’s lacrosse was officially eliminated from playoff contention with two home losses last week. Saint Michael’s lost a tightly-contested 13-12 decision against Saint Anselm on Tuesday before falling 24-2 to top-ranked Adelphi on Saturday. Senior Joan Colloton (Albany, N.Y./Academy of the Holy Names) tallied five goals and three assists during the week, and joins junior Eliza Scoba (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) in scoring a goal in each of the last 10 games for Saint Michael’s. The Purple Knights hit the road to take on Merrimack and New Haven this week for their final away contests of the season.

Softball went 1-6 last week, snagging a 7-5 win at UMass Lowell in game one of Tuesday’s doubleheader before dropping its next five contests. Sophomore Stephanie Frank (Essex, Vt./Essex) picked up the complete-game win against the River Hawks, senior Kelly Rose Losi (Milton, Mass./Milton) clubbed her first home run of the year, and senior Meghan Colitti (Dover, N.H./Berwick Academy) recorded her 100th career hit against Merrimack on Thursday. Saint Michael’s had Sunday’s doubleheader at Saint Rose postponed due to unplayable field conditions, but will return to action for a league doubleheader at Franklin Pierce on Tuesday.

Baseball snapped an eight-game losing streak with an 8-1 win over Lyndon State in game one of Thursday’s doubleheader, but suffered three loses to regionally-ranked teams in a 1-4 week overall. The Purple Knights received courageous pitching performances from junior Austin Ziskie (Chevy Chase, Md./Bethesda Chevy Chase), who allowed three earned runs in six-plus innings at UMass Lowell on Tuesday, and sophomore Collin Fishman (Bethesda, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel), who improved his team-best 2.35 earned run average by allowing one run on four hits in six innings with seven strikeouts in Thursday’s win over the Hornets. FreshmanAlec Tice (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) swung it well at the plate last week, going 7-for-13 with a double, triple and three RBIs, and sophomore Jacob Begnoche (Essex Jct., Vt./Essex (Univ. of Vermont)) went 6-for-14 with a three-hit performance at Williams College on Friday. The Purple Knights have six games on tap this week, beginning with a “Think Pink!” home event against Middlebury on Wednesday.

Men’s ice hockey held its end-of-the-year banquet on Tuesday, handing out several team awards and naming its captains for the 2011-12 season. Named the team's captain for next season is rising junior Josh Geary (Wellesley, Mass./Phillips Andover Academy), while classmates Morgan Bell (Revelstoke, B.C./Saint Alberts Saints (AJHL)) and Dan Evarts (Hinesburg, Vt./Green Mountain Glades (EJHL)) will serve as the squad's assistant captains. All three players tallied 10 points last season, and combined to play in 68 contests.

Mon. Apr. 18
Women’s Tennis vs. Bentley#, 2 p.m.

Tue. Apr. 19
Softball at Franklin Pierce (DH)*, 3:30 p.m.
Men’s Lacrosse vs. Saint Anselm*, 4 p.m.

Wed. Apr. 20
Baseball vs. Middlebury^, 3:30 p.m.
Softball vs. Saint Anselm (DH)*^, 3:30 p.m.
Women’s Lacrosse at Merrimack*, 6 p.m.

Thu. Apr. 21
Baseball at Franklin Pierce (DH), 3 p.m.

Fri. Apr. 22
Softball vs. Southern Connecticut (DH)*, 12 p.m.
Baseball vs. Saint Lawrence, 4 p.m.

Sat. Apr. 23
Baseball vs. Saint Lawrence (DH), 12 p.m.
Softball vs. New Haven (DH)*, 12 p.m.
Men’s Lacrosse at Pace*, 1 p.m.
Women’s Lacrosse at New Haven*, 1 p.m.

*Northeast-10 Conference Game
#NE-10 Quarterfinals
^Think Pink! Event

No comments:

Post a Comment