This Week in SMC Athletics

The Purple Knights put the finishing touches on another chapter of Saint Michael’s College athletics last week, as nationally-ranked men’s lacrosse was narrowly eliminated from the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament by Adelphi in the Semifinals.

The men’s lacrosse team fell to Adelphi University in a nail biting 8-7 decision on Friday after advancing to the NE-10 Semifinals for the first time since 2008. The Purple Knights tied the program record with 10 wins and reached the double digit win mark for the first time under head coach Paul Schimoler. After posting a 9-3 mark in their final 12 games, the Purple Knights had a chance to host the NE-10 Championship had they knocked off the Panthers, as lower-seeded Merrimack upset top-seeded Le Moyne and would have made Saint Michael’s the highest seed remaining. Junior Andrew Buccellato (Glen Rock, N.J./Don Bosco Prep) scored six goals in the postseason, sophomore Pete Donnally (Madison, N.J./Morristown-Beard) totaled five goals and an assist, freshman Marty Vanzo (Westford, Vt./Essex (Univ. of Vermont)) recorded two goals and four assists and freshman Max Zuccarini (Medfield, Mass./Medfield (Quinnipiac)) had three goals in the semifinals, including two game-tying goals to keep the Purple Knights in contention. First-year goalies Chris Demairo (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage) and Theo Ferguson (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) split each game in the crease, and both made three saves while allowing four goals in each contest.

Baseball senior Pete Estes (Bennington, Vt./Mount Anthony Union) was named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Capital One Academic All-District Second Team, and is one of just two NCAA Division II student-athletes recognized in the District I College Division. Estes earned a 3.84 grade point average as a journalism and mass communication major, and posted a .286 batting average, scored 12 runs and stole seven bases as the team’s everyday second baseman.

Softball freshman Greer Lemnah (Lyndon Center, Vt./Lyndon Institute) received NE-10 All-Conference Third Team accolades as a utility-non-pitcher for her versatile play at six different positions this season. Lemnah started all 38 games for the Purple Knights between left field, center field, designated player, second base, third base and catcher. The first-year leadoff hitter led the team in at-bats, was second on the team in hits and walks, and strung together a team-best five-game hitting streak in mid April.

Women’s ice hockey placed eight players on the 2010-11 Eastern College Athletic Conference Women’s East All-Academic Team: seniors Meghan Colitti (Dover, N.H./Berwick Academy),Kaleigh Ferrari (Millbrook, N.Y./The Millbrook School) and Emily Ham (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury Regional), juniors Emily Elliot (Casper, Wyo./Colorado Selects),Kiera Nelligan (Melrose, Mass./Arlington Catholic) and Casey Yelton (Arnold, Md./Washington Pride), and sophomores Melissa Hallisey (Dedham, Mass./Dedham) and Erin Stevens (Watertown, Conn./Connecticut Polar Bears). All-Academic honorees must have completed at least one academic year, have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 and played in at least half of the team’s games.

The Saint Michael’s College Athletic Department held the 64^th annual Block ‘M’ Awards banquet on Thursday and handed out numerous awards to honor a handful of Purple Knights. Eleven major awards were given to student-athletes, and the Purple Knights Coach of the Year Award was presented to James Franklin of men’s soccer. The George “Doc” Jacobs Award was given to Estes and women’s lacrosse senior Meghan McLaughlin (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth); the Diane C. Foster ’77 Award was handed to Joan Colloton (Albany, N.Y./Academy of the Holy Names) of women’s lacrosse, Alex Higgins (Pheonix, Ariz./Kent School) of men’s ice hockey and Sarah Regan (Norton, Mass./Norton) of women’s cross country; the Victor V. LeMieux ’35 Award was presented to Christine Amoresano (Hasbrouck Heights, N.J./Immaculate Heart) of women’s swimming, Nate Birr (Burnsville, Minn./Saint Thomas Academy) of men’s basketball and Kate Condon (Holliston, Mass./Holliston) of softball; and women’s tennis senior Deahna Giguere (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee) was dubbed the 2011 NCAA Woman of the Year nominee for the College. For the complete recap of award winners and videos of the reception, click here

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