Monday, May 2, 2011

This Week in SMC Athletics

Nationally-ranked men’s lacrosse led the charge into the postseason with two wins last week as the Purple Knights edge closer toward the end of another year of Saint Michael’s College athletics.

Men’s lacrosse entered the week ranked tenth in the nation and capped its 2011 regular season campaign with a four-game winning streak, posting wins over Bentley and Assumption to secure an 8-2 record in Northeast-10 Conference play and the third seed in the NE-10 Tournament. Sophomore Pete Donnally (Madison, N.J./Morristown-Beard) scored five goals during the week to climb to fourth in the conference with 30 goals on the season, and freshman goalie Chris Demairo (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage) was tough to beat in net, making 15 saves and allowing just five goals in 90 minutes of play. Senior captains Ryan Clunan (Woodstock, Vt.) and Seth Metayer (Milton, Vt.) played their final regular season home game as Purple Knights are were honored before Saturday’s contest. Saint Michael’s will host Assumption again in Tuesday’s Quarterfinal game at 4 p.m.

Women’s lacrosse went 0-2 in its final week of play, and finished with a 2-14 record in the first season under head coach Ashley Hughes. Junior Eliza Scoba (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) had three goals and an assist during the week, and eclipsed the 100-point mark for her career during Friday’s loss to Southern N.H. She led the team with 48 points, 30 goals and 18 assists this season. Senior captain Joan Colloton (Albany, N.Y./Academy of the Holy Names) finished her career with a bang, recording three goals and an assist in Saturday’s finale against American International. Colloton was joined by classmates Sarah Gilroy (Hopkinton, N.H./Hopkinton), Meghan Herrick (Norfolk, Mass./King Philip Regional), Meghan McLaughlin (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth), fellow captain Elizabeth Siekman (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire) and Liz Siracusa (Wolfeboro, N.H./Brewster Academy), who were honored during Senior Day ceremonies on Saturday.

Women’s tennis narrowly missed making its fourth consecutive NCAA Division II tournament last week. The Purple Knights finished eighth in the East region and were not selected in Tuesday’s pairings, but senior Marybeth Ash (Westborough, Mass./Westborough) was named to the NE-10 All-Championship Team for winning all four of her postseason matches.

Softball posted a 1-7 mark in its final week of competition, picking up a 3-2 win over Southern New Hampshire on Thursday on its way to a 6-32 overall record and a 4-24 mark in NE-10 play. Three of the team’s four league wins were against squads who finished in the top half of the league (So. Connecticut, UMass Lowell and SNHU). Seniors Meghan Colitti (Dover, N.H./Berwick Academy), Kate Condon (Holliston, Mass./Holliston) and Kelly Rose Losi (Milton, Mass./Milton) played their final collegiate games on Sunday, and combined for 261 base hits over their four seasons. Colitti and Losi each finished in the top-10 in hits in program history.

Baseball endured a 0-6 week heading into the last days of the season. Saint Michael’s dropped doubleheaders at Stonehill and Middlebury before falling twice to Assumption in Sunday’s final home date and Senior Day contests. Seniors Pete Estes (Bennington, Vt./Mount Anthony Union), Mike McDonough (East Hampton, Conn./East Hampton (Stetson)) and Ben Yodzio (Hingham, Mass./Hingham) played one last time at Doc Jacobs Field and were honored during pregame ceremonies. Freshman Alec Tice (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) continued his hot streak at the plate and batted .471 last week (8-for-17), and at one point stroked hits in seven consecutive at-bats to raise his batting average to a team-best .323. Junior Tim McDonnell (Durham, N.H./Oyster River) went 5-for-9 in Sunday’s twinbill with two doubles, and sophomore Jacob Begnoche (Essex Jct.,Vt./Essex (Univ. of Vermont)) also ripped a pair of two-baggers. Sophomores Collin Fishman (Bethesda, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel) and Andrew Kelley (Lincoln, N.H./Lin-Wood) each threw well and took hard-luck 1-0 losses during the week. Fishman tossed 7.1 innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts at Stonehill, and Kelley allowed one run on six hits with seven strikeouts in a complete-game loss at Middlebury. The Purple Knights close out the season with a doubleheader at Norwich on Wednesday.

Women’s soccer announced its recruiting class of 2015 on Tuesday. Head coach Marcel Choquette will add the following student-athletes to the Purple Knights family in the fall: forwards Olivia Biron (Saint Albans, Vt./Bellows Free Academy-Saint Albans), Hailey McKean (East Bridgewater, Mass./East Bridgewater) andNatalie Page (Groton, Vt./Blue Mountain Union School); midfielder Carley Pestana (Bedford, N.H./Bedford); defenders Amanda Shanahan (Hull, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) and Lisa Simiola (Lyme, Conn./Lyme-Old Lyme); and goalkeeper Aubrey Ouellet (Bedford, N.H./Bedford). “The coaching staff is really excited about this recruiting class,” said Choquette, the winningest coach in program history who enters his 13th season as head coach of the Purple Knights in 2011. “They add great depth and athleticism to our 19 returning upperclassmen.”

This month’s NE-10 Student-Athlete Spotlight features seven Purple Knights who took on the challenge of playing a varsity sport while student-teaching in a local classroom to prepare for a career in education. The article can be found here.

This Week’s Schedule:

Tues. May 3 Men’s Lacrosse vs. Assumption#, 4 p.m.

Wed. May 4 Baseball at Norwich (DH), 3 p.m.

#Northeast-10 Conference Quarterfinals

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