Category: Women

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Men Sports Tennis

Men’s tennis falls to Navy

By Cooper Mead

Contributing Writer

The men’s tennis team took on Navy at home this past Saturday in a highly contested match but fell to the Midshipmen 4-3. The close loss marked the third time in a row that the Bison have lost to Navy by just one point.

“It was a tough loss because as a team we know we are capable of beating any team, including Navy,” Josh Katten ’13 said. “However, the upside is that we know what we need to do differently in order to beat them in the conference tournament.”

The team had a strong showing in doubles as partners Katten and Evan Zimmer ’13, who were playing together for the first time, defeated Chris Kenney and Marcus Rebersak. Partners Kelly Morque ’13 and Scott Bernstein ’14 then won the doubles point for the Bison, defeating Nicholas Gutsche and Blake Daniel 8-4. With the doubles victory, the Bison were able to clinch the doubles point for just the second time since 1953.

Despite their promising doubles victory, the Bison struggled in singles, losing four of six. Katten won his singles match against Blake Daniel (6-2, 7-5), giving him his fourth consecutive singles victory. Katten has also won seven of his last eight contests and, at 17-7, has won more singles matches than any other member of the team this year. Gregory Maxson ’12 also won his singles match at the No. 6 spot against Chris Kenney (6-2, 6-1).

The Bison did hold a slim 3-2 team lead, but Gregg Cohenca ’12 was defeated by Rebersak at the No. 1 spot (6-3, 6-4), and Kyle Rosen ’14 was defeated by Gutsche (6-4, 6-3) in tough matches, allowing the Midshipmen to pull ahead to and win the match 4-3.

“We got off to a great start winning the doubles point but Navy was just tough,” Aidan Lynch ’14 said. “We’re looking forward to seeing them again down the line. We’ll be ready.”

The Bison will take on Georgetown on Friday and will complete their previously postponed match against Mount St. Mary’s on Saturday.

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Rowing Sports Women

Rowing opens season in N.J.

By Chris McCree

Sports Editor

The women’s rowing team opened up its spring season with a sixth and third place finish in two varsity races at the Murphy Cup this past Saturday. After placing first in its qualifying heat, the varsity “A” boat was 5:02.61 slower during the finals, finishing behind Navy, GW, Buffalo, Saint Joseph’s and Massachusetts.

“Our first race of the season was definitely a tough one. A lot of good teams compete at Murphy Cup each year, and this year was no exception,” Gabby Ors ’13 said. “Based on our training plan, I think our team did exceptionally well, putting not one, but two of our top eights in the grand and petite finals of the First Varsity Eight event.”

Along with the two varsity eight boats, the Orange and Blue had two novice boats medal at the event. The novice four boat edged out Colgate for first in its race, while the novice eight earned the silver behind Drexel.

“It was very exciting and we got to bring and race the whole team, which is always an experience seeing as we have over 60 girls rowing this year,” Sarah Riessen ’14 said. “I believe we performed very well and got some great racing experience under our belts for the coming season. Every boat was focused on their own race and was able to be very competitive in their heats and finals.”

Taking part in their first event since the end of October, the team will use this event as a launching point for the rest of the season as they look to earn their seventh consecutive Patriot League title.

“I’d say there are a lot of improvements to be made within individual boats, and we are still utilizing the first few weeks of the season to develop the lineups for the top two eights. However, I think the team as a whole is definitely ready and focused on making this season one of our best yet,” Ors said.

 

 

 

 

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Softball Sports Women

Softball extends winless streak to six

By Thomas Walter

Writer

The women’s softball team extended its losing streak to six game this week, dropping four games to Cornell, Delaware State, and Drexel and lowering its record to 5-14 on the season. After losing a pair of contests at the Delaware State Tournament this weekend, the Orange and Blue lost both games of its doubleheader against Drexel 7-2 on Wednesday.  

In Delaware, the Bison’s two opponents combined for 17 runs over the four games, including nine extra-base hits and three home runs. Against Cornell, the Bison held the lead for most of the game, but two late home runs gave the Big Red a slim 9-8 victory. Leading by four in the bottom of the seventh, the Orange and Blue quickly surrendered a two-run home run to Erin Belles, cutting the lead in half. Then, minutes later, Erica Gaeta smashed a three-run homer with two outs, clinching the win for Cornell.

“We have played Cornell a lot in the past and they have always been a very competitive and well coached team and the fact that we did very well against then definitely helped our confidence going into this weekend,” Courtney Conover ’14 said.

Despite the loss, the Orange and Blue did see Bridget Gates ’13 go two-for-three with three RBIs, while Kristen Zahn ’15 and Meredith Dickson ’12 also recorded multi-hit games.

Later in the day, the Bison suffered their second loss to Delaware State 8-3. Unlike the Cornell game, the Orange and Blue trailed the entire game and could never seem to string together enough hits to put runs on the board. Overall, the Bison stranded 10 runners on base.

Against Drexel, the Bison continued to struggle offensively, producing just four runs off of six hits. Highlighting the day for the Bison was Nikki Silva ’15 who recorded her first career home run, breaking up a no-hit bid in the fifth inning. Mallory Lyons ’14 and Colie Escobar ’15 were the only other Bison players to record RBIs on the day.

“The most important thing in offense that we took away from this last weekend was to be patient and hit our pitches. The most important thing in defense is communication and to make every play count,” Mary Horton ’13 said.

Despite the slow start to their season, the Orange and Blue have a chance to turn things around as they head into Patriot League play this weekend. The Bison will host Colgate for a four-game series starting on Saturday at 1 p.m.

“The most important thing the team took away from this weekend to next weekend is to not let our guard down, especially in the late innings, and to take command of the games we know we can win and just have a lot of presence, control, and swag on the field,” Gates said.

 

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Featured Lacrosse Sports Women

Women’s lacrosse falls to American

By Ajan Caneda

Writer

Following an overtime victory against Liberty, the women’s lacrosse team was unable to pull off another comeback, falling to American 22-9 at home on March 24. The Eagles prevented the Orange and Blue from winning consecutive games for the first time this season.

The Bison’s leading scorer, Arriana Sajjad ’15, had another offensive showcase with five goals, while Molly Ford ’14 finished the game with four assists. Emily Kookogey ’15 and Katelyn Miller ’14 scored two goals each.

Both teams traded goals in the opening minutes of the first period, as the game stayed close. A 7-0 run by the Eagles allowed them to surge to an 11-4 lead at the half. American forced 13 turnovers in the first half, 18 for the game and stayed aggressive on the offensive end as they outshot the Orange and Blue 20-12 in the first period.

“Draw controls were a huge aspect of the game. In the second half, they pulled a six-goal streak on us, and it was all from winning the draw,” Sajjad said. “They knew exactly where the ball was going, where to place themselves on the circle and how to execute their break properly. This eventually caused our defense to break down, giving them the lead.”

After an American goal in the opening minutes of the second period, Sajjad posted two goals within two minutes that trimmed the lead to six with 23:20 remaining in the game. The Eagles responded with two goals of their own, but Miller answered with her second goal of the game. The offense of American was too much for the Orange and Blue to overcome, as the Eagles finished the game on an 8-2 run that capped the victory.

American outscored the Bison 18-15 in draw controls and had a 12 shot advantage against the Orange and Blue. Goalie Caroline O’Neill ’15 finished the game with seven saves.

“American worked around the crease really well, and were able to score goals off of tough angles,” O’Neill said. “I think our team has definitely improved greatly and even though the score didn’t show it, the game was really competitive. I think the main difference was the fact that American capitalized on our mistakes, while we did not.”

The Orange and Blue will be seeking their first conference win this Saturday, March 31 against Lafayette in Easton, Pa.

“In situations where we are down like in this game, you just have to keep reiterating positivity and heart, which is what we tried to do,” Sajjad said. “It was a tough loss, but we are preparing to come out strong for Lafayette on Saturday.”

 

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Basketball Sports Women

Women’s basketball loses in first round of tournament

Ajan Caneda

Staff Writer

A second-half shooting surge led Lehigh to a 63-47 win over the women’s basketball team on March 1, eliminating the Bison from the Patriot League Tournament. Shelby Romine ’14 was the leading scorer with 16 points.

Neither team gained a comfortable lead in the first 10 minutes of the game, as stingy defense by the Bison kept the game close. Lindsay Horbatuck ’13 started with two steals that led to four early points, while Christina Chukwuedo ’12 had a steal followed by a Romine three-pointer that gave the Orange and Blue an early lead. Despite the strong defense, the Bison couldn’t get going offensively as they went scoreless for the final 7:13 of the half. This shooting drought allowed Lehigh to build a 26-18 lead going into the second half.

“I think the toughest obstacle we faced in this game was having to match-up with a veteran team with four seniors that included two of the top post players in the league,” interim head coach Bill Broderick said. “We were able to catch them off guard in the previous game and really surprise them with some different things that they had not seen from us yet. Also, we were able to stay out of foul trouble in that game which really hurt us last Thursday when we had our two leading scorers on the bench for most of the first half.”

The Mountain Hawks scored the first basket of the second half to take the first double-digit lead of the game. The Bison fought back behind a 8-0 run that cut the lead to 12 with 11:32 left, but a Lehigh three-pointer stopped the momentum. The Mountain Hawks outscored the Orange and Blue 42-22 in points and shot 56.7 percent in the second half. 

Forwards Felicia Mgbada ’13 and Rachel Voss ’13 were the next leading scorers, combining for 15 points, while Horbatuck had six points and seven rebounds.

“We knew after beating them on their home court, just two weeks ago, that they were going to be ready this time and have some extra motivation,” Broderick said. “They made a change at the point guard position, which I think really made a difference and helped them to handle our defensive pressure better.”

The Orange and Blue finished the regular season with a 5-25 record overall, going 3-11 in conference play with wins over Lehigh, Colgate and Lafayette.

 

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Sports Water Polo Women

Water polo drops two at Harvard

Lindsay Regruto

Senior Writer

The women’s water polo team opened the Harvard Invitational with a 14-5 win against George Washington on March 3 but could not sustain its five-game winning streak falling to Harvard 13-8 and Iona 13-11 later on.

In their contest against Iona, the Bison started off close with the Orange and Blue in the lead, 4-3, at the end of the first period. The Gaels had pulled ahead by one goal by the end of the third period. Julianne Valdes ’14 posted three goals while teammates Becca Shopiro ’12, Tara Murao ’13, and Taylor Barnett ’15 found the net twice.

Hallie Kennan ’12 had a career-high five assists and scored six points, the most by any player this year. Despite a powerful offense, the Bison couldn’t close the gap in the end. Rena Heim ’14 concluded the weekend with a total of seven saves moving her into fifth place on the program’s career saves list with a total of 238 saves.

“It was a close game throughout,” Valdes said. “Although it ended in a tough loss, we know what we need to work on as a team as well as individually in order to win games like that.”

Harvard proved to be a tough opponent and the Bison closed the day with a 13-8 loss. The Orange and Blue got off to a slow start with the Crimson pulling ahead 8-4 by halftime. The Bison outscored Harvard 3-2 in the third period but couldn’t catch up. Amanda Skonezney ’12, Barnett, Kennan, Morgan and Valdes each posted two or more goals for the Bison.

“I don’t think we lost to Harvard because we lacked the skill, we just lacked the confidence,” Kennan said. “We lost to them earlier in the season and I think that made us a little fearful when we crossed them again. What we need to remember is that we are a much different team than we were even just a month ago. Our strategies and skills have improved a lot from our practices and we have everything we need to beat a team like them.”

The Orange and Blue offense came out strong on Saturday outscoring George Washington in every period. By halftime, the Bison had taken a 7-2 lead over the Colonials. Valdes and Barnett had three goals each and Kennan and Morgan scored twice.

The Orange and Blue will travel to Bakersfield, Calif. on March 10 for the Roadrunner Invitational. The Bison will face Azusa Pacific, Fresno Pacific, Long Beach State, CSU Bakersfield, Cal State Northridge and UC Santa Barbara.

 

 

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Lacrosse Sports Women

Women’s lax earns first win

Cooper Mead

Contributing Writer

After falling over the weekend to George Washington 15-7, the women’s lacrosse team recorded its first victory of the season on Monday, beating Presbyterian 21-8. With the split, the Orange and Blue took their record to 1-5 on the season.

During the victory, the team’s offensive effort was led by Emily Kookogey ’15 who scored a career-high five goals and two assists, while Katelyn Miller ’14 also played a massive role, contributing four goals, four assists and eight draw controls.

“We put together everything we learned from the past few games and came out strong on Monday,” Miller said. “Our high pressure defense caused a lot of turnovers and our attack had multiple people scoring, so everyone was a threat.”

Other major contributors players included Madison Hurwitz ’13 with four goals and three assists, Sophie Kleinert ’14 with three goals, Arriana Sajjad ’15 with a goal and two assists, and Ryan Wenk ’13 with two goals. Lindsay Ferro ’14 also tallied a goal and four assists, bringing her to seven handouts in the last two games.

After the Presbyterian Blue Hose scored a pair of goals just 2:21 into the game, the Bison tied it up quickly off two goals by Miller and Wenk. From there, the Bison went down 4-2 but finished the half with a 9-1 run and never looked back.

The Bison played extremely well on both sides of the ball all night and great ball movement allowed them to rack up 16 assists on 21 goals. On defense, the Bison held the Blue Hose to 11 total shots and only eight goals, a massive achievement considering Presbyterian had scored 35 goals over its last two games. The defense also held the Blue Hose to 9-for-22 on clears and forced 30 turnovers. Andrea Feldman ’14 and Alex Wallace ’15 each recorded four ground balls apiece, while Adrienne Wendling ’13 also had a great game with four draw controls, two caused turnovers, two ground balls and an assist.

Against George Washington, the team dropped a tough match, but Sajjad and Kookogey had stellar performances, scoring two goals apiece. Kleinert and Wenk also scored goals for the Bison along with Blair McDonald ’15 who scored her first career goal. 

The Bison were down 2-0 early in the game but cut the lead to one before the Colonials went on a 4-0 run. The Bison rallied and went on a 3-1 run but could not withstand George Washington’s offensive onslaught as they distanced themselves even further after the half and eventually emerged with a 15-7 victory. 

One problem that the Bison defense faced was their ability to clear the ball. They ended the day clearing only 12-of-25, while the Colonials were 15-for-17. Despite such difficulties, the Bison defense had reason for hope. Midfielder Miller caused six forced turnovers, tying the school record, and goalie Katherine Fraile ’14 had her first career start, tallying 10 saves.

With their first win under their belt, the Bison look ahead to their first Patriot League matchup of the year this weekend against Navy.

“I think this game made everyone realize our true potential as a team and as individual players,” Feldman said. “We really needed this win going into our first Patriot League game this weekend against Navy. I’m confident that we will do our best and give them a good game.”

Categories
Softball Sports Women

Softball goes winless in West Virginia

Thomas Walter

Writer

The softball team got routed in each of their four games this past weekend in West Virginia, dropping to 2-5 for the season. Losing 9-1, 12-3, 15-0 and 13-0, respectively, the Orange and the Blue struggled to produce runs over the four games, but they still maintain their goal of winning the Patriot League title.

The Bison lack of runs was largely attributed to the lack of hits during the games. One bright spot for the Orange and Blue was Nikki Silva ’15, who recorded her first career RBI during the team’s first game of the trip.

“When the games are so one-sided like this weekend, we try and break our goals down into smaller ones,” Courtney Conover ’14 said. “We try to win each at bat rather than each inning or even take it pitch by pitch. We also try to take something away from the other team and limit their threats.”

Going into a tough stretch of games, where the team will be playing 10 games over a stretch of five days, both Conover and Meredith Dickson ’12 echoed that the team will be focusing on hitting.

“We really want to produce offensively and attack the ball,” Dickson said.

“For the spring break games, we are just trying to work together to make the team better as a whole and really focus on our hitting,” Conover said.

Up next for the Bison is Kissimmee, Fla. The team then will participate in the Delaware State Tournament on the weekend of March 24-25.

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Sports Track & Field Women

Women’s track impresses at IC4A Championships

Katherine Harris

Writer

This past weekend, select members of the women’s track and field team finished out the indoor season with a trip to Boston for the IC4A/ECAC Championships, where the women competed against the top athletes on the East Coast.

“It was a very up and down weekend for the women’s team at ECAC’s. Some of our athletes were on and others were off,” head coach Kevin Donner said. “There were some inconsistencies as well as some bad luck.”

While none of the Bison scored in the meet, there were many strong performances. Emily Liggett ’12 had an impressive final meet, shattering her career best in the 3,000 meters by almost eight seconds. Her performance exceeded her seed considerably and moved her into fourth in the school record books with a time of 9:50.93.

Hana Casalnova ’14 also broke the school record in the 1,000 meters. In the trials on Saturday, she recorded a time of 2:52.33. She unfortunately tripped in the final race on Sunday, but she still finished ninth overall and just missed out on contributing to Bison scoring.

Jennifer Zymet ’14 ran the 200 meters in 25.22 puts her as the third fastest in school history.

Many other members of the Bison also just missed qualifying times for the finals, including the 4 x 800 relay team. The distance medley relay team also broke the school record with a time of 11:59.78, barely missing the final qualifying time.

The Orange and Blue will now look to regroup as they begin to prepare for their outdoor season. Their first spring meet will be the Towson Invitational in Towson, Md. on March 31.

“I believe there was a little bit of a mental letdown after being so mentally high after winning the Patriot League title a couple weeks ago. We now need to regroup and get ready for the outdoor season,” Donner said. 

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Golf Sports Women

Women’s golf opens season with strong performance in S.C.

By Andrew Lichtenauer

Senior Writer

The women’s golf team had its best finish ever at the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic in Kiawah Island, S.C. earlier this week. The team came in 13th in a field of 33 teams.

The Orange and Blue made the cut for the final-round main draw after posting a solid 298 in Monday’s second round. The Bison finished with a three-round team total of 929, which put them in the top half of a very strong field. They were only two shots out of 11th place, and the team finished second among the seven Big South teams in the field. 

Playing for the Bison were Minjoo Lee ’12, Brittany Rendell ’12, Kasha Scott ’14, Bridget Wilcox ’14, and Lauren Bernard ’14.

Lee had the best all-around weekend for the Bison with a three-round total of 226. She finished tied for 17th individually after three consistent rounds of 76, 73 and 77.

Scott also had an impressive tournament, bouncing back from a tough opening-round 84. The sophomore played her final 36 holes in only three over par, closing the tournament with impressive rounds of 74 and 73, for a three-round total of 231.

Wilcox was third-best for the Bison, finishing with a 17-over par three-round total of 233.

After the team’s finish at Kiawah, Wilcox expects the Bison will continue their good play.

“The solid play at Kiawah gives us hope for a very strong spring season. As a team, it is our goal to win the Big South Championship,” she said. “ Though this will be a tough task since Campbell just joined our conference, we practice each day and work as hard as we do so that we have a chance to win our Championship.”

The Bison will hit the links next on March 16-17 in the Bison Challenge at Paiute in Las Vegas.