Category: Women

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Sports Tennis Women

Women’s tennis earns pair of conference wins

Women’s Tennis v. Lehigh (Fri 3 p.m. HOME), @ Army (Sat 3 p.m.), @ Lafayette (Sun 10:30 a.m.) v. Robert Morris (Wednesday 3 p.m. HOME)

By Lindsay Regruto
Senior Writer

The women’s tennis team picked up two wins out of three straight Patriot League matches this week against Lafayette, Army and Lehigh as well as a 6-1 win against Robert Morris.

The Bison started off the day on Wednesday, April 18 with two wins against Robert Morris in doubles. Courtney Casey ’12 and Lydia Colvin ’15 picked up an 8-2 at the No. 2 spot while Dumitrita Iepuras ’12 and Elizabeth Morgan ’14 followed with a large 8-3 win in the No. 3 spot.

Iepuras went on to battle it out at No. 1 singles winning her match 10-6 in the third set. Daria Tuzhikova ’13 and Casey won in straight sets at the No. 2 and 3 positions, respectively. Lauren Boone ’15 bounced back from a second set loss to take the third set 10-4 winning at the No. 5 position. Morgan followed with a straight set win at the No. 6 spot to give the Orange and Blue a 6-1 win over Robert Morris.

Bouncing back from a tough loss against Army, the Orange and Blue had its largest win of the season defeating Lafayette 7-0 on April 15. Tuzhikova and Elena Vidrascu ’14 won 8-2 at the No.1 doubles spot while Casey and Colvin picked up an 8-4 win at the No.2 spot to pick up the doubles point for the Bison.

“It was good to see everyone play solid and pick up an important win,” head coach Rebecca Helt said. “Right now we’re just focused on getting and keeping everyone healthy for the weekend so we can end our season on a strong note.”

With a 1-0 lead, the Bison went on to sweep all six singles positions. Vidrascu, Colvin, Tuzhikova, Casey and Christie Schneider ’15 won in straight sets while Iepuras came back from a first set loss for the win over the Leopards.

Army proved to be a tougher opponent for the Bison who fell to the Black Knights 7-0 on April 14. Tuzhikova and Vidrascu pulled out a close 8-6 win at No.1 doubles. Army defeated the Bison in the other two doubles positions to take the doubles point. The Black Knights went on to defeat the Bison in all six singles positions despite close matches at No.1 singles by Iepuras and No. 4 singles by Tuzhikova.

The Orange and Blue earned their first Patriot League win of the season defeating Lehigh 5-2 on April 13. The Bison swept all three doubles positions in close matches to earn the doubles point. Starting off the day on a stong note, the Bison went on to earn wins in four out of the six singles positions. 

The Orange and Blue will take on Lehigh on April 20 at 10 a.m.

 

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Sports Track & Field Women

Women’s track continues dominance

By Katherine Harris
Writer

The women’s track and field team set many school top-10 records last weekend in the Bison Outdoor Classic, the team’s first home meet of the outdoor season. The meet was not team-scored, but it allowed individuals an opportunity to demonstrate their skills as they prepare for the upcoming league championship.

“The meet this weekend was great for the team because it was highly competitive and really pushed everyone to improve times and distances. It is also always nice to be on your own track because we practice there every day and feel most comfortable and relaxed there,” Sasha Hornock ’13 said.

The Bison started off the weekend strong at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium on the track. In the 1,500 meters, teammates Hana Casalnova ’14 and Caroline Tolli ’13 finished neck and neck, grabbing 12th and 13th with times of 4:31.14 and 4:31.18 respectively. Casalnova’s time put her fourth in the school record books and Tolli’s put her fifth. Emily Liggett ’12 also stepped up in the 5,000 meters with her time of 17:05.91, giving her fifth in the race and putting her third in school history.

The Orange and Blue also had success on the field on day one, with top-10 finishes in multiple events. In the discus, Abby Monaghan ’13 and Rebecca Misko ’12 placed fifth and seventh with throws of 145’ 0’’ and 142’ 1’’ respectively. Tayler Siegrist ’13 also took third in the javelin with her best throw of the season, reaching 141’ 8’’.

On the second day of competition, the pole vault started the day off strong for the Bison, with Emily Ando ’14 taking fifth with a vault of 11’ 7.75’’, while Yanelis Mestre ’15 and Autumn Schnellenberger ’14 tied for seventh at the mark of 11’ 1.75’’. All three teammates rank in the top six in school history and either tied or beat their career bests at the meet. In the triple jump, Alexandra Romanelli ’13 also broke into the top-10 with her mark of 38’ 0.25’’, earning her seventh in the meet.

“I was very pleased with my performance this weekend since the season got off to a rough start for me. The weather also held up and turned out to be a great day to pole vault,” Ando said.

Success for the Orange and Blue also continued on the track, with Casalnova once again leading the way with her performance, this time in the 800 meters. Her time of 2:10.95 placed her eighth in the meet and moved her into third in the school record books. Hornock ran a career best 12.31 seconds in the 100 meters, taking fifth on the day.

The Bison will finish up their regular season this weekend with another home meet, hosting the Bucknell Team Challenge at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium on Saturday. The meet will be Senior Day, and the 1981-82 cross country and track and field teams will also be recognized for their 30-year reunion.

“This weekend’s Team Challenge will be a great opportunity for this team to jell and develop an identity heading into the league championships in two weeks,” head coach Kevin Donner said. “We are not quite there yet; however in a couple weeks we will be ready. We have a nice group of seniors competing in their last ever home meet so everyone will be very excited.”

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Rowing Sports Women

Rowing impresses in N.J.

By Chris McCree
Sports Editor

Led by a gold-medal performance by the second varsity eight boat, the women’s rowing team came away with three top-two finishes by its varsity boats at the Knecht Cup on Sunday in Cherry Hill, N.J. The Bison’s two freshmen boats also came away with a pair of top-two finishes during the final day of action.

“I think our team performed really well this weekend against some tough competition,” Emily Gladstone ’13 said. “The 1V8 and 2V8’s grand finals were very close races and it gives us some great experience against solid competition going into our Patriot League Championship in 2 weeks.”

Facing intense competition from the Duke and Boston College boats, the Bison second varsity eight boat earned its first gold at the Knecht Cup in program history. Finishing in a time of 6:45.82, the Orange and Blue finished ahead of the Blue Devils and Golden Eagles by .97 seconds and 2.16 seconds respectively.

The top varsity eight boat fell in a close race to Duke by just over a second.  In the race, the Bison and Blue Devils boats completely blew away the rest of the field with the third-place boat from Buffalo finishing almost eight seconds off the pace.

In the lightweight race, the Orange and Blue added another silver to their collection, finishing behind Wisconsin by less than three seconds. Highlighting the day for the lightweight crew was the Bison’s nine-second victory over third-place Princeton, a team that the Orange and Blue had never beaten during the regular season until last week.

Capping off the day for the Bison were two strong performances by their freshmen eight and freshmen four boats. The freshmen eight managed to take the gold over Lehigh by nearly more than seven seconds, while the freshmen four finished second to Pittsburgh.

This weekend the Orange and Blue will not race, but will turn their attention to an important weekend at the end of April. On April 28, the Bison head to the Mid-Atlantic Rowing Championship in Lewisberry, Pa. before heading back to Cherry Hill for Patriot League Championships on April 29.

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Golf Sports Women

Women’s golf ends year in S.C.

By Andrew Lichtenauer

Senior Writer

The women’s golf team wrapped up its season Wednesday at the Big South Championship in Ninety Six, S.C. The team finished seventh of 10 teams at the end of the 54-hole tournament, while Campbell claimed the Big South title. Leading the Bison was Bridget Wilcox ’14, who finished tied for 13th individually with a solid three-round total of 234. Lauren Bernard ’14 (238), Kasha Scott ’14 (239), Minjoo Lee ’12 (244) and Brittany Rendell ’12 (248) followed Wilcox.

Wilcox had a resilient second round on Tuesday when she bounced back from a tough triple-bogey on the front-nine to finish the rest of her round in only two-over-par.

“I really hit the ball well this week and when I missed a green my short game was very solid,” Wilcox said. “I was also very mentally strong this week; when things weren’t going well I was still able to grind it out and limit the amount of bogeys I had. You need to be mentally tough to compete at the Big South.”

The Big South Championship marked the final competition for seniors Lee and Rendell. The two have both excelled as Bison golfers throughout their careers. 

“I loved making friends with other players from other schools. And I loved my teammates. They’re some of my closest friends and I feel lucky to have gotten to know them and be friends. It was a bittersweet feeling walking off the 18th green today,” Lee said.

Over the course of their spring season, the Bison competed in four different tournaments with their best finish coming at the Bison Challenge at Paiute Golf Resort in Las Vegas in March. Competing in a series of very competitive tournaments, the Bison managed to produce three top-10 finishes and saw consistent improvement from their starting five.

Looking ahead to next season, the Bison will certainly miss the departing seniors, but will return their trio of talented sophomores in Scott, Wilcox, and Bernard. With another year of experience, this group will look to build on their impressive seasons and carry the team to the next level next fall.

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Softball Sports Women

Softball shut out by rival Lehigh

By Thomas Walter
Writer

The softball team dropped four straight to Patriot League rival Lehigh last weekend in Bethlehem, Pa. Despite heading into the weekend with newfound confidence following a win agains La Salle last week, the Orange and Blue could not manufacture any offensive production, falling in all four games by scores of 9-0, 8-0, 8-0, and 9-0.

After being outscored 34-0 the Bison are well aware that their bats need to come alive if they hope to take down Army this coming weekend.

“We need all of the parts of our game to come together,” Meredith Dickson ’12 said. “We need to wake up our bats and have consistent pitching outings. We need to rely on the confidence we have in ourselves.”

Certainly, the team’s future success will lie on whether or not it can begin to put runners on base and produce the timely hits necessary to put key runs on the board. During this past weekend’s series, the Bison failed to record more than four hits in any single game, putting all the pressure on the pitching staff to be perfect, but the Bison pitchers were not up to the task. 

“We really struggled with our hitting and pitching this weekend, so going into this weekend we really need to focus maximizing hits on offense and minimizing them when pitching,” Courtney Conover ’14 said.

In order to put an end to this losing streak, the Orange and Blue will need to pull it all together against a very strong Army team that is 22-15 overall and 5-3 in conference. Despite their winless Patriot League record, the Bison remain confident and know that they are a strong team.

“In order to stay confident during this losing streak we have to remind ourselves that we can compete with any team in the patriot league,” Conover said.

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Lacrosse Sports Women

Women’s lax extends losing streak

By Ajan Caneda

Staff Writer

The struggles continued for the women’s lacrosse team as the Orange and Blue suffered another hard-fought loss at St. Bonaventure by a final score of 15-13 on Tuesday. The Orange and Blue had a powered offense with Arriana Sajjad ’15 and Madison Hurwitz ’13 each scoring three goals, but the Bonnies were able to prevent another Bison comeback.

Molly Ford ’14 dished an assist to Hurwitz that gave the Bison the first goal of the game. The Bonnies went on to capitalize on free position shots, scoring three goals that jumpstarted a 9-1 run. The Orange and Blue battled back as Claire Switala ’15 and Emily Kookogey ’15 nailed back-to-back goals that narrowed the deficit. Hurwitz closed out the half with a goal off an assist from Ford. St. Bonaventure led 10-5 at halftime.

The momentum carried into the second half as the Bison forced 12 turnovers while holding a 19-12 edge in shot attempts. Katelyn Miller ’14 scored a goal that trimmed St. Bonaventure’s lead to two with 6:49 left in the game, allowing the Orange and Blue a chance for one more run. It would be to no avail as the Bonnies would score at the 3:00 mark and hold the Bison to one goal in the closing minutes of the game.

Last Saturday, the Bison had trouble containing the sound offense of Holy Cross, as the Crusaders pulled off a convincing 20-5 victory in Worcester, Mass. Lindsey Ferro ’14 scored two goals and had one assist in the loss.

The Crusaders showcased their potent offense, starting the game on a 10-0 run. They held the Bison scoreless until the 3:47 mark of the first half, when Miller nailed a goal off the free position. Ferro and Kookogey ended the half with back-to-back goals that cut the lead to 11-3.

Despite a tough outing, goalie Kristina Patrk ’13 learned a lot in her first career start.

“I learned that being a goalie really does require mental toughness beyond that of a field player,” Patrk said. “As a goalie you definitely feed off of the energy and success of your offense and the fact that we weren’t scoring after a great defensive performance definitely had its adverse effects.”

The Crusaders scored two goals to kick off the second half. Midfielder Sophie Kleinert ’14 answered with a goal of her own, off an assist from Ferro, but the offense of Holy Cross would be too much, as the Crusaders would score nine goals in the second half to put the game out of reach.

“It was a tough game, especially since we did not perform to our potential as a team,” Patrk said. “Holy Cross had a couple of great players who were very patient and able to drive effectively one-on-one against our defense.”

The Orange and Blue will look to close out their four-game road trip with a win as they travel to Vestal, N.Y. to take on Binghamton tomorrow.

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Sports Water Polo Women

Water polo takes down GW

By Scott Padula
Staff Writer

The women’s water polo team wrapped up its regular season last weekend, earning a split against No. 13 Michigan and George Washington at Maryland’s Eppley Recreation Center. The Bison started the weekend by losing to Michigan 12-7, but bounced back in their second game, defeating the Colonials for the third time of the season by a score of 14-12. The Bison are now 13-19 on the year.

Kicking off the weekend against Michigan, the Orange and Blue surrendered early goals to the Wolverines. The Michigan squad found the back of the net three times in the first quarter, and by the end of the second quarter held a commanding 7-2 lead. Although both the Wolverines and the Orange and Blue scored five goals after the intermission, the Bison were unable to overcome the first-half deficit.

Rena Heim ’14 kept the game close with spectacular goalkeeping for the Orange and Blue, stopping 12 shots. On the offensive end, the Bison were led by Julianne Valdes ’14, Taylor Barnett ’15 and Barbara Peterson ’15, who scored two goals apiece.

In their second game of the weekend, against George Washington, the Orange and Blue maintained control throughout, never trailing at the end of a quarter.

They were able to control the game thanks to phenomenal individual performances. Barnett tallied seven goals in the game, matching a program record and increasing her total to a team-leading 56 on the year. Barnett also set a team high for the season by drawing seven ejections in the game. Her season total of 70 ejections drawn moves her to fifth all-time in program history.

Valdes was also impressive, tying a program record by dishing out six assists. Tara Murao ’13 registered four assists of her own.

“We are all aware of the potential our team has and know that winning Southern Championships is definitely within our reach. As long as we don’t play down to the other teams, I know we’ll be successful. Having these games at home, with all of our family and friends coming out to support us, just motivates us to play harder. We definitely won’t go down without a fight,” Barnett said.

The Orange and Blue will enjoy a home-pool advantage when they host the Southern Championships this weekend. The Bison will begin the tournament by facing George Washington Saturday morning. The winner of that match will face Princeton later in the evening.

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Sports Tennis Women

Women’s tennis struggles

By Lindsay Regruto
Senior Writer

The women’s tennis team dropped three tough matches over the week against George Mason, Colgate and Towson, leaving them 2-15 on the season.

Elizabeth Morgan ’14 and Lauren Boone ’15 pulled out a close win (8-7) on Saturday against their opponents from George Mason in the No. 3 doubles slot. Doubles play overall was intense and hard-fought, but the Bison ended up dropping the doubles point to George Mason after two close losses in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions.

“At Saturday’s match, it was great for me and Lauren to pull out a win in doubles, especially after being down most of the match and coming back to win in a tiebreak,” Morgan said.

Dumitrita Iepuras ’12 came out strong after her loss in doubles play to defeat her opponent. Christie Schneider ’15 picked up the second win for the Bison at the No. 4 singles slot. The victories in singles weren’t enough, and the Orange and Blue fell to the Patriots 5-2 overall.

“Although we weren’t able to win the overall match as a team, it was definitely a step in the right direction,” Morgan said. “Hopefully we will be able to turn our season around for our last couple of matches.”

On Friday, the Bison lost to Patriot League opponent Colgate 4-3. Iepuras and Lydia Colvin ’15 battled it out in No. 2 doubles to grab an 8-5 win. One win wasn’t enough, though, and Colgate took the doubles point.

Schneider picked up her first win of the spring coming back from a 3-6 loss in the first set to win the next two sets 6-3, 7-6.

“My match was extremely close the whole time but I was able to pull out the win because my teammates were on the court next to me cheering,” Schneider said. “I think with our positive attitudes … we will be able to do well as our season ends.”

Elena Vidrascu ’14 defeated her Raiders opponent 6-3, 6-1 at the No. 3 slot. Iepuras picked up a win as well after a three-set match (6-3, 1-6, 6-2) in the No. 1 spot. The wins gave the Orange and Blue three overall team points, but it was not enough to defeat Colgate.

“We had some pretty good matches against Colgate but I think because of the different lineup it was a bit difficult,” Vidrascu said. “Despite difficulties … we have all adapted to the fact that we have to constantly make changes and this helps us not to fall apart.”

On Thursday, the Bison fell 5-2 to the Towson Tigers. Daria Tuzhikova ’13 and Vidrascu beat their opponents in the No. 1 doubles position 8-5. The Orange and Blue couldn’t grab another win, and the doubles point went to Towson. The two other wins for the day were in No. 1 and No. 2 singles. Iepuras earned a large victory over her opponent 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 1 slot. Colvin also had a decisive win at the No. 2 slot 6-3, 6-1.

“Overall, even though we didn’t have our starting line-up due to injured players, we really stepped up as a team and showed our potential for the years to come,” Colvin said.

The Orange and Blue will face off against Patriot League opponent Lehigh today at 3 p.m.

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Sports Track & Field Women

Women’s track takes third

By Katherine Harris
Writer

For the second consecutive year, the women’s track and field team placed third in the Colonial Relays last weekend in Williamsburg, Va. The Orange and Blue placed ahead of 24 other teams, trailing only Villanova and Delaware with 78 total points in the two-day event.

One of the highlights of the day was the impressive performances of the Bison in relays. The 4×200 relay broke a school record set in 2003 with a time of 1:41.40, taking third in the race. The distance medley also took third on the day, with a time of 11:45.88 breaking into second in the school record books.

“I saw a team that is really jelling,” head coach Kevin Donner said. “The Colonial Relays is a war of attrition over two days where many athletes need to compete in multiple events and rounds. It is a great preparation for the grueling two-day Patriot League Championship.”

Many individuals also had strong showings on the track over the two days. On Friday, Jennifer Zymet ’14 led the way with a fifth-place finish in the 400 meters with a time of 56.76 seconds. Teammates Stefanie Spanfeller ’14 and Stephanie Bryan ’14 came in one after the other in the 10,000 meters, grabbing third and fourth place with their times of 38:01.77 and 38:12.11 respectively.

Success on the track continued for the Orange and Blue on Saturday with Taylor Funk ’12 coming in eighth in the 100 meters with a time of 14.94 seconds. Bison teammates Alysha Hooper ’12 and Stephanie Fulmer ’12 also had strong showings in the 3,000 meters with their respective times of 10:12.51 and 10:14.58 earning them fourth and sixth on the day.

“As the season continues we will become more confident in our races. The training is already there so now it is just time to perform. Each week, having another race or two under our belts will allow us to continue to drop our times and further our marks,” Funk said.

The Bison had strong performances both days in the field events as well. On Friday, Kat Folger ’12 grabbed third in the javelin with a throw of 143’ 10’’. Emily Ando ’14 and Autumn Schellenberger ’14 tied for sixth in the pole vault, both clearing 10’ 8’’. Orange and Blue teammates also rounded out the top ten in the hammer throw, with Abby Monaghan ’13, Kathryn Wahls ’13 and Rebecca Misko ’12 taking spots eight through ten with marks of 143’ 4’’, 140’ 2’’ and 135’ 11’’ respectively.

Monaghan led the day for the Bison throwers on Saturday with her personal best 146’ 9’’ grabbing her a first-ever discus victory and moving her into seventh in school history. In the shot put, Sarah Bella ’12 placed third with a throw of 43’ 0.25’’. Laura Lutzker ’14 and Gabrielle Eckles-Shehadi ’15 also both cleared 5’ 1’’ in the high jump, taking the fourth and fifth positions in the field.

“I was very happy with my performance; it was my season opener and I had a good series of throws in competition,” Folger said. “We will continue to work hard and stay focused to prepare to defend our title as Outdoor Patriot League Champions.”

The Bison will compete next this upcoming weekend at their first home meet of the season. The Bison Outdoor Classic will be held at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium this Saturday and Sunday.

 

 

Categories
Rowing Sports Women

Rowing excels at home

Alex Wagner
Assistant Sports Editor

The women’s rowing team picked up its first-ever regular season lightweight eight win over Princeton in the Bison’s only home event of the year last Saturday. The Bison varsity eight also won against Drexel.

The lightweight eight boat for the Orange and Blue is rowed by Caitlin Vogelsang ’12, Hannah Rozowski-Vogt ’12, Helena Craig ’15, Hilary Strong ’12, Anne Kirk ’12, Elizabeth Aigler ’13, Victoria Catharine ’14 and Jennifer Fish ’14, with Alexandra Higbee ’12 as coxswain.

They rowed to a 7:15.98 finish, more than three seconds ahead of Princeton. The victory did not come easily.

“It was a tough race, especially with Princeton closing our lead within the second half,” Vogelsang said. “Mentally and physically pushing through that was the key to ultimately pulling back out ahead.”

The day’s events also marked the first time the Bison have raced an Ivy League school at their home course.

The Bison’s openweight freshman eight raced against Princeton’s freshman lightweight eight and finished in 8:01.55, almost nine seconds ahead of their competitors. After only a short break, the same rowers lost to Drexel’s freshman eight.

In the second race after the break, the Bison’s second and third varsity eights competed against Drexel’s second varsity eight, finishing first and third respectively, with Drexel in second.

The day’s races finished up with the Orange and Blue varsity eight defeating Drexel’s varsity eight by almost 14 seconds.

Head coach Stephen Kish was pleased with his team’s performance.

“It was an exciting day for the team. Drexel University has a great rowing program and our boats did a great job putting together a strong race and defending our home course.  The Princeton lightweights finished second at the national championship last year, so finishing ahead of them definitely felt good and showed us that we can be competitive at the top level,” Kish said.

The next action for the Bison will be this weekend at the Knecht Cup on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J.