Category: Sports

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Women’s lacrosse drops to 2-10

By Andrew Arnao

Writer

Despite a strong second half, the women’s lacrosse team fell to Lafayette 13-11 on Saturday, leaving the Bison with a 2-10 record for the season.

Julia Braun ’11 scored four goals, while Ali Carey ’14 and Madison Hurwitz ’13 scored three goals apiece. Adrienne Wendling ’13 scored also scored a goal, while Katelyn Miller ’14 led the team with three assists. Goalie Alyssa DeLorenz ’11 also had her first assist of the season.

“We lost the game because we dug ourselves a hole that we just didn’t have enough time to get out of,” DeLorenz said. “We outscored Lafayette 11-5 during the final 45 minutes of the game.”

Lafayette quickly jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first 15 minutes of the game, but the Orange and the Blue stormed back with four goals to make it 9-4 at halftime. The Bison carried their momentum into the second half by outscoring Lafayette 7-4, but ultimately fell short as the clock ran out.

Though the Bison out-shot Lafayette 31-29, the Leopards pulled ahead by winning the draw control battle 15-8.

DeLorenz had nine saves for the Bison, giving her a total of 148 on the season.

The Bison play against Holy Cross at home on Saturday at 1 pm.

“To be successful against Holy Cross, we will have to come out stronger in the opening minutes of the game and play our game for a full 60 minutes,” DeLorenz said.

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Men’s lacrosse secures playoff berth

By Greg Stevenson

Senior Writer

For the fifth consecutive season, the men’s lacrosse team will continue to play into the postseason. The Bison earned a berth in the Patriot League Tournament after beating the Holy Cross Crusaders 10-3 at home last Saturday. The victory gave the Orange and Blue their ninth win of the season, tied for most in the nation as of Wednesday, and kept their perfect 3-0 conference record intact.

“It always feels good to win at home, and beating a league opponent makes it that much sweeter,” Jordan Nies ’11 said. “Holy Cross has struggled this season, so it was important that we held a strong lead against them in order to post a decisive win.”

Led by goalie Kyle Feeney ’13 and an experienced line of defense, the Bison turned in another spectacular defensive performance, holding the Crusaders to just one goal until the five-minute mark in the final quarter. The Bison have allowed just seven goals per game in 2011, good enough for seventh in the nation and top in the Patriot League.

On the offensive end, the Bison dominated the Crusaders throughout the first half. Despite a slow start, the Orange and Blue opened the scoring with three minutes left in the opening quarter with a goal from Nies.

In the second quarter, the Orange and Blue outscored the Crusaders 6-1 to put a close game out of reach. Chase Bailey ’13 tallied the first two goals of the quarter for the Bison, both coming when the Orange and Blue were playing with a man advantage after a Holy Cross penalty. Peter Burke ’14 added to the Bison lead midway through the period with his first goal of the contest.

Mike Danylyshyn ’11 registered two of his three goals at the end of the second quarter, and Charlie Streep ’12 scored with eight seconds remaining to end an impressive first half with the Orange and Blue up 7-1.

Trailing by six at halftime, Holy Cross had no answer for a stingy Bison defense in the second half. The Crusaders went scoreless for over 25 minutes to open the half, allowing the Orange and Blue to push the lead to 10-1. Holy Cross would score twice in the final minutes, but it would not be enough to catch the Bison, as the Crusaders fell 10-3.

Offensively, the Orange and Blue used an all-around dominating performance to defeat the Crusaders. Eight different Bison recorded either a goal or an assist against Holy Cross, and three, Danylyshyn, Burke and Bailey, scored at least twice in the game.

The Orange and Blue remain tied at first with Colgate in the Patriot League with three league games left, including a head-to-head match-up with the Raiders in the final game of the season.

The win assures that the Bison will have a spot in the Patriot League Tournament in a few weeks. Even though the Orange and Blue have made the playoffs, bigger and better things are on the minds of the Bison.

“It feels good to be back in the tournament, but our goal is to win out and host the Patriot League tournament,” Feeney said.

Up next for the Orange and Blue is another crucial Patriot League match-up, this time against the Black Knights of Army, this Saturday in West Point, N.Y.

“We are also not satisfied as of right now,”  Ryan Klipstein ’11 said. “We enter this weekend playing our biggest game of the year against Army and it will begin a three-game in-league away series that we must do well in. We intend on pushing harder than ever to run the table on these upcoming games and host the tourney.”

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Men’s tennis wins one, loses one in league

By Eric Weiss

Senior Writer

The men’s tennis team defeated Colgate 4-3 on the road on Saturday before losing to Army 6-1 on Monday. Solid doubles performances, as well as an outstanding match played by first-year standout Kyle Rosen ’14, drove the Bison to their victory over the weekend.

“Every spot in our lineup has a chance of winning their match,” Josh Katten ’13 said. “When you’re playing tight matches, it’s reassuring to look at the court next to you and see your teammate fighting hard for every point.”

Starting white-hot, all three doubles pairings defeated their Colgate opponents. Anton Kovic ’11 and Evan Zimmer ’13 achieved the most impressive victory by defeating their competition 8-1 in the first doubles position.

Things became more interesting as the Bison were unable to convert victories from either of their top two singles players. Zimmer, continuing his great play from his doubles match, and Katten, another doubles winner for the team, both won their respective singles matches.

Finally, Rosen bested his Colgate opponent in a grueling straight sets match to clinch the victory for the Orange and Blue.

“Playing close matches at the beginning of the year have helped us tremendously. Now, when we’re locked in a dogfight against Patriot League opponents, we can look back at matches from earlier and be confident about our chances,” Kelly Morque ’13 said.

Against Army, Zimmer was the only Bison to pull off a victory as he made quick work of his opponent at third singles.

The Orange and Blue were able to play some close matches against Army as Kovic and Rosen both took their opponents to tiebreakers but were unable to come out victorious.

The Bison will face Lafayette this coming weekend in Lewisburg. This will be the penultimate match before they make a run in the Patriot League Tournament.

“I think that if we can focus on the little things before the upcoming tournament, it will make a big difference,” Mark Malloy ’11 said. “Higher first serve percentages will apply more pressure on our opponents, and getting our returns low and crosscourt will help us control the point.”

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Lucido ’11 sets all-time wins record

By Cooper Sutton

Sports Editor

Lauren Lucido ’11, with a dominating 6-0 , 6-1 No. 1 singles win against Colgate last Saturday, broke the all-time Bison record for career wins with a record of 162-69. The team won its road match 6-1.

It seems that nerves did not play into Lucido’s record-shattering performance. Her crushing win over her Colgate opponent saw her not only win easily, but efficiently. Lucido was the first player to finish her match in both the singles and doubles rounds.

Lucido handily won her No. 1 doubles match with her partner Dumitrita Iepuras ’12, 8-3. With another doubles victory from Dara Dwojewski ’11 and Elena Vidriscu ’14, 8-2, the Bison took the overall doubles point.

In singles, the Orange and Blue only faced one loss in the number six position. The match was not easy, with three of the other five matches going to three sets. Only Lucido and No. 5 Dwojewski won easily. Dwojewski beat her Colgate opponent 6-0, 6-0.

The Bison had two comeback performances at the second and third spots. Iepuras, after losing a tough first set 6-2, bounced back to take the next two sets with relative ease, 6-2 6-4.

No. 3 player Lauren Rottkamp ’11 lost her first set in a tie-breaker, but she bounced back to win the next two sets 6-3, 6-4.

Lucido, with her monumental win, stole the show, tying then surpassing Veronica Brown ’06 for perhaps the most prestigious honor in the Bison women’s tennis program. At this point in her career, she remains in second place on both the all-time singles and doubles victories lists. She needs three wins in both categories to tie first.

She will look to continue to inch closer to those records tomorrow as her team plays at home against Patriot League rival Army.

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Women’s water polo falls to 10-10

By Scott Padula

Writer

The women’s water polo team’s record sits at 10-10 after the Bison won one and dropped two last weekend in Princeton, N.J. The Orange and Blue lost their first two games to ranked opponents in Michigan and Princeton but bounced back and defeated St. Francis in an offensive showcase.

The Bison faced St. Francis in their final game of the weekend Sunday morning, winning 16-12. The teams remained close in the first three quarters, but the Orange and Blue offense exploded in the fourth, netting six goals. The 16 total goals marked a season high for the Orange and Blue as Kandis Canonica ’11 led all scorers with four goals and three assists. Hallie Kennan ’12, Haley Prickett ’11 and three other Bison also registered multiple points in the high-scoring affair. Led by Kennan on the defensive end, the Orange and Blue recorded a season high in steals, racking up 17 total.

In Saturday’s nightcap, the Orange and Blue lost 12-5 against the host Princeton Tigers. For the first time all season, the Bison faced two ranked opponents in one day. The Bison kept it close in the first half, but the No. 18 Tigers pulled away in the second half, outscoring the Bison 5-1 en route to victory. Kennan and Prickett each notched two goals in the game. Becca Shopiro ’12 and Valdes rounded out the Bison who managed to register a point. In her first action of the weekend, Rena Heim ’14 stopped five shots.

The Bison kicked off the weekend against No. 7 Michigan, losing 15-6. After a mere one-goal deficit by the end of the first quarter, the Orange and Blue seemed poised to pull off an upset. The Wolverines responded in the next two quarters, scoring eight goals while allowing the Bison to find the back of the net only twice. Canonica, Stephanie Ovalle ’14 and Julianne Valdes ’14 scored a team-high two goals each. Canonica added a pair of assists and five ejections drawn.

The Bison had a strong showing in goal from Brittany Connell ’12 who, in 32 minutes of play, had eight saves.

This weekend they will play four games at Kinney Natatorium against Indiana, Harvard, Maryland and George Washington. The Orange and Blue will have live video broadcast on Bison Vision against the Terrapins and Colonials.

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Women’s track opens season with four golds

By Joyce Novacek

Writer

Laura Rycek ’11 led the way with a gold in the javelin as the women’s track and field team finished third out of the 40 teams at the William and Mary Colonial Relays. The Bison posted a team score of 59 points.

“As for the team as a whole, we have always been a strong outdoor team, and I look forward to seeing how well everyone does this year,” Rycek said. “Our team has an energy that I love. Everyone supports each other, and that is so important.”

In the throws, the Orange and Blue had much success in the javelin, with three throwers earning points for the team. Rycek took the gold with a throw of 142 feet and 10 inches, Kat Folger ’12 took fourth, and Tayler Siegrist ’13 finished eighth. Rebecca Misko ’12 took sixth in the discus and Kathryn Wahls ’13 earned sixth in the hammer throw.

Multiple Bison distance runners also earned points for the team, with three Bison placing in the 10,000-meters. Alaina Chodoff ’11, Melissa Smith ’12 and Eileen Foley ’11 earned third through fifth place, in that order. In the 3,000-meter run, Sarah Moniz ’11 and Alysha Hooper ’12 finished third and fifth, respectively.

Three Bison pole vaulters, Emily Ando ’14, Autumn Schellenberger ’14 and Rebecca Frey ’11 each cleared 10 feet 8 inches to tie for ninth at the meet.

This third-place finish is the highest place the Bison have earned at the Colonial Relays since they began regularly competing at the meet in Williamsburg, Va. three years ago. Their previous best finish was in 2009, when they finished fifth overall. The only teams to finish ahead of the Bison this year were first-place Villanova who scored 116.2 points and second-place Duquesne who scored 62 points.

The Bison are back in action April 15-16, when the men and women’s teams will host the Bison Outdoor Classic at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium for their first home outdoor meet of the season.

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Men’s track continues hot start to season

By Colin Fields

Writer

After a strong showing last weekend at the Towson Invitational, the men’s track team did not miss a beat at the Colonial Relays in Williamsburg, Va. The Orange and Blue beat 36 other teams to take first place overall at Zable Stadium, the first ever victory at the Colonial Relays for the Bison. Robert Arent ’12 took an individual victory, and Tom Barr ’12 led a stellar group of throwers with a victory of his own.

The Bison won handily with more than a 50-point margin over second-place Temple. Villanova, Virginia Tech and Rutgers rounded out the top five but finished 70 points behind the Orange and Blue. Bison athletes put up points in 15 of the 26 events, showing off the team’s consistency and depth.

Arent earned a victory for the Bison after having the fastest time in both the preliminaries and finals of the 110-meter hurdles. Arent’s time of 14.58 seconds in the finals came just shy of a personal record, but it was good enough for gold on Saturday. Arent helped the Bison to more than 20 of the team’s 130 points over the course of the weekend.

Andrew Powell ’12, who was the heptathalon champion at the Patriot League Indoor Championships, contributed with a second-place finish in the high jump by clearing six feet and six inches.

Joseph improved his hammer throw from a week earlier with a personal best throw of 188-5, giving him second place. His toss was six feet over his previous personal record.

Teammates Barr, Webster and Heitzman all added points in throwing events for the Orange and Blue. Barr finished fourth in the hammer throw and fifth in the discus, Webster finished fourth in the discus, and Heitzman finished second in the javelin for the second consecutive year.

Last week at the Towson Invitational, the Bison throwers won three different events. Ted Heitzman ’12, Leonard Joseph ’13 and Luke Webster ’13 won the javelin, hammer throw and discus, respectively. Barr finished second in three events.

“I came to school significantly improved from when I left last spring, both strength- and technique-wise. Since then it’s just been adjustments from my coach helping me slowly increase distance,” Joseph said.

“I was able to start the season on a positive note simply through focusing this off-season on what my throws were missing. I trained hard with these areas in mind, and I was able to get the season started on the right foot,” Heitzman said.

The Bison look to continue their success at the Bison Outdoor Classic on April 15 and 16.

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Bison Athlete of the Week: Kyle Feeney ’13

By Cooper Sutton

Sports Editor

Kyle Feeney ’13

Biography

Position: Goalie

Class: Sophomore

Hometown: Old Greenwich, Conn.

Major: Civil Engineering

 

Stats

Minutes: 120

Goals against: 15

Saves: 22

Result: 2 wins


Kyle Feeney ’13 played all 120 minutes and made 22 saves in the men’s lacrosse team’s huge wins this past week against two ranked opponents. Against Penn State Tuesday, he recorded a season-high 14 saves to secure a win over the No. 20 team in the nation.

Feeney essentially iced the game for the Bison against Penn State, making two consecutive difficult saves with his team ahead by one at the end of the game. Those saves capped off a seven-save second half.

Against Albany, Feeney also shut the door, recording five saves in the fourth quarter in a close 11-9 win.

Overall, with his solid play all-around and his fantastic play down the stretch, Feeney was instrumental in his team’s two victories.

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Goalie DeLorenz ’11 leading nation in saves

By Cooper Sutton

Sports Editor

 

Alyssa DeLorenz ’11 has started every game for the Bison women’s lacrosse team in goal this year, only missing seven and a half minutes of game time in the team’s 11 games. As a result of her hard work and persistence in goal, she currently leads the NCAA in saves with 139. Overall, she is sixth all-time in Bison history in saves.

Though her number of saves is very high, so too is her goals against average, standing at 15.17 goals per game. She does not refute that some bad comes with the good.

“I’ve seen a lot of shots, so I’m going to have to make a lot more saves,” she said. “I have to play differently when I’m facing more shots than I would when I face less. If I make a mistake here or there it’s a lot less noticeable. Then it also gives me chances to make saves that I shouldn’t make to make up for the other ones I let in.”

DeLorenz has been resilient in more ways than one in goal so far in her career. Beyond staying persistent after letting in shots, she also continues to play to the best of her abilities despite her team’s losing record.

“I just love lacrosse in general,” she said. “Being from Texas, there aren’t really that many opportunities to play at the collegiate level, so I’ve just been enjoying playing here.”

The high quantity of shots that DeLorenz sees stems in large part to the youth of her team, comprised of 70 percent first-years. As a senior on this team, she has, aside from taking a huge quantity of shots, had to serve as a leader for the young team. She is a co-captain for the team and someone that the young members of the team look up to.

“[DeLorenz] plays with intensity and makes everyone want to work harder,” midfielder Sophie Klienert ’14 said.

She leads by example: when she was struggling earlier this year, she actively sought to make herself better. She spent time working with a former all-American from Duke, who, DeLorenz said, significantly improved her play.

“Right before the Penn State game, she showed me some pointers and some things to work on that I had never thought of before. I’ve been really focusing on those and they have helped me improve significantly. I’m still not quite to where they’d like me to be, but I think I’m getting there,” she said.

Continuing to improve, even as a senior, DeLorenz exemplifies persistence and hard work on a team that is continuing to improve itself. It seems that she may be one of the building blocks that the young team builds on as it attempts to move forward in the future.

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Women’s crew sends three boats to finals

By Thomas Walter

Contributing Writer

The women’s rowing team opened up its spring season this past weekend in Philadelphia at the Murphy Cup. The Bison faced tough competition including Delaware, Saint Joseph’s and Rutgers, managing to send three Bison boats to the finals.

The varsity eight boat won its heat with a time of 6:48. With an experienced team leading the boat, the Varsity A ended up finishing fifth in the final. In a tight race, the Bison only finished behind first-place Rutgers by 10 seconds. The strong finish by the upperclassmen set the tone for the rest of the day.

“The team overall did really well considering we were unable to practice on the Susquehanna due to flooding and lightning for a few days last week,” Ally Rivard ’14 said.

The junior varsity team also competed very well, finishing first in its heat with an impressive time of 6:49. In the finals of their meet, Saint Joseph’s edged out the Bison women for first place by a slim two seconds.

The novice team, a group of four rowers and a coxswain, also won its heat with a time of 7:52. Once again another team barely edged out the Orange and Blue for first, as Duquesne won by four seconds.

The Bison return to action this weekend in New Rochelle, N.Y. at the Orchard Beach Lagoon against Columbia.