Spring sports preview

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Women's Lacrosse

Historically, the Middlebury women's lacrosse team has been strong, with 17 consecutive NCAA Final Four appearances, a seven-year NESCAC title streak and a 16-2 finish in 2007 - losing only to Salisbury State.

This year the pressure is on the first-years as the Panthers graduated three of their top four scorers, including Kim Walker '07, who led the squad in scoring, ground balls, caused turnovers and draw controls.

The team, however, is not worried about the losses.

"We lose key players every single year, so it's something we are used to," said co-captain Katherine Entwistle '08. "It's just kind of a natural occurrence."

The offensive side of the field is loaded with experienced players, specifically the attacking unit featuring Entwistle, Mimi Schatz '08 and Amanda Smith '08. Smith, who led the team in combined points last season earned All-American honors. Co-captain Reid Berrien '08 also adds important leadership to the midfield.

The defense is less experienced, however, and is led by Taryn Petrelli '09 and Caroline Kirkendoll '09. Blair Bowie '09 returns in goal for her third year as the starter and anchor for the defense. Beyond them, the Panthers are crafting an entirely new defensive unit this year and are confident in its potential.

Four first-years - Sally Ryan, Hilary Walker, Chase Delano and Taylor Brown - all have the capability to step up and are adjusting to the system quickly.

Currently the team is battling the tail-end of sickness and injury, but is looking forward to its season opener against Bates on Saturday, March 8.

The team has big dreams for this year.

"Our rookies have really stepped up," said Smith, "and our returners are seasoned and absolutely dying for a national championship."
-Dickie Redmond, Staff Writer

Number of first-years: Four
Game to watch: April 5 vs. Amherst at 1:00 p.m.


Golf

After a successful fall season that left the men's golf team in second place in the NESCAC, the Panthers are looking to swing their way to the top this spring. Led by captain Harrison Bane '08.5, the Panthers have a lot of players hoping to post Tiger-esque scores. Bane and Brian Cady '11 - who finished seventh in a field of 212 golfers at the NEIGA Championship to close out the season - each earned All-NESCAC honors this fall.

Add proven veterans Jeff Patterson '08.5, George Baumann '08 and Mike McCormick '09 to the mix, and the Panthers think they have the players to make some serious noise this spring.

Obviously limited in what they can do to get ready for the season with snow still on the Ralph Myhre Golf Course, the Panthers are looking forward to spring break when they will travel down to Pinehurst, N.C.

The women's golf team is also optimistic about its spring season. The Panthers have a very young team that serves to benefit from experience gained in the fall. Captain Karen Levin '08 was the team's only player with college golf experience this fall and she will look to continue to build on her own personal success while trying to lead a group of four first-years - Elizabeth Hirsch, Jessica Bluestein, Courtney Mazzei and Ashley Sandy - and one junior, Julie Ellenberger, who was abroad in the fall, to the top of the NESCAC.

"We're still getting to know each other and haven't yet reached our potential as a group," said Levin, an assistant captain on the women's hockey team.?"We are going on a spring break trip to South Carolina and plan to get ready for the spring that way."
-Matt Ferrer, Staff Writer?

Tournament to watch: NESCAC
Championship at Trinity, April 26-27

Baseball

Two years removed from its first NESCAC championship in school history, Middlebury's baseball team is poised to ride a wealth of experience gained during the spring of 2006 as it tries to supplant Williams and reclaim the title. The Panthers are headlined by a dominant trio of starters that posted a collective 2.43 ERA last season, while their offense will attempt to recover from the loss of last year's NESCAC Player of the Year, shortstop Noah Walker '07.

Although Walker led the team in most major offensive categories last season, including a .434 batting average, catcher and co-captain Nick Lefeber '08 believes the team will be able to take his loss in stride.

"He was the only contributing senior from last year to graduate," said Lefeber, "and everyone else is just going to have a better season."

On the other hand, however, only two schools allowed fewer runs than Middlebury, which returns all the key pieces of its pitching staff, anchored by Jack Britton '08, Robert Palladino '09 and co-captain Justin Wright '08.

"I think our pitching staff is the best in the NESCAC to be perfectly honest," said Lefeber. Along with last year's centerpieces, underclassmen like Matt Lowes '10 are gaining experience and strength, and relief workhorses Steve Shortle '09 and Christian Hansen '08 also return to a deep staff.

Without Walker, Lefeber will be one of the mainstays of Middlebury's lineup, and he will be joined in that regard by Erich Enns '10, who will move from the outfield to shortstop. The contributions of third baseman John Lanahan '08, who led the team in home runs and RBIs last spring, will also be key, and Lefeber expects big things from outfielder Alex Blair '10.
-Livingston Burgess, Staff Writer

Number of first-years: Four
Game to watch: Doubleheader vs. Amherst, April 19 at 12:00 and 3:00 p.m.

Men's Tennis

Under the leadership of captain Filip Marinkovic '08, the relatively young Middlebury men's tennis team will attempt to use the momentum it amassed from last season to propel the team into the spring campaign.

With last season's championship trophy now in the display case, the Panthers have won four consecutive NESCAC titles. As the days get longer and progressively warmer, all 11 members of the team are warming up to the idea of obtaining a fifth plaque.

The 2006 and 2007 squads each set the school record with 22 wins, and it has now been five years since the team lost its last dual match in the NESCAC.

The past fall season was mostly comprised of individual rather than team tournaments, but the Panthers still shined. The doubles team of Andrew Thomson '10 and Marinkovic captured the ITA Regional title held by Williams College, and then went to Alabama and won the ITA Small College Championships title there, too.

In the spring, the team will play somewhere between 20 and 25 dual matches, starting next weekend against Brandeis, Union, NYU and Bates. After that, the Panthers will take their annual trip to California during spring break.

"This is an extremely young team: five first-years, five sophomores and one senior," said Marinkovic. "We are getting ready psychologically for the new season, because there sure will be some stiff competition."
-Tianze Ma, Staff Writer

Number of first-years: Five
Match to watch: April 12 vs. Bowdoin at 1:30 p.m.

Track and Field

With the ECAC and NCAA championships arriving in two weeks, the indoor track and field season is nearing its end, but will be closely followed by the traditionally more important spring season.

During last Friday's practice, the javelin throwers, oddly enough, were tossing the football. The reason, head coach Martin Beatty explained, was to practice the arm movements inside the Bubble without using the spearheaded javelin.

Last year, the Middlebury outdoor track and field team wrapped up a good season, with the women finishing second and men placing fifth in the New England Division III championship meets. When asked about his expectation for this year, Beatty grinned, and said with a matter-of-fact tone, "the goal is always t
o win."

That said, the road to the championship has no shortage of tough opponents. Williams, with the most NESCAC championship titles, is poised to defend its lead status in the league this year. Tufts has also performed well in the recent years and is a force to contend with.

"To be a winning team, you must be strong across the board," said Beatty, referring to the necessity to compete well in each of the four categories: sprinting, throwing, jumping and distance running.

"We as a team work very hard to make sure that we don't have any holes in the events," said Beatty. Achieving this goal requires comprehensive training programs and, more importantly, good athletes. Both are found on the Middlebury track teams. Not only are there numerous seasoned veterans on board, but the first-year athletes are bringing new energy to the mix as well. Beatty is very impressed by the rookies and commends them as "good athletes, great people."

Captain Ian O'Reilly '08 echoed Beatty, saying that the group shows great work ethic and is extremely talented.

This year is Beatty's 21st year as the head coach of Middlebury track teams. The class of 1984 alum is excited as ever for another fruitful spring.

"It is my honor to coach these great kids who strive to be the best they can be, both academically and athletically," he said.
-David Zhou, Staff Writer

Meet to watch: Middlebury Invitational, April 5

Men's Lacrosse

Last season, the men's lacrosse team turned in the program's first seven-loss season since 1990. It was nothing short of disappointing for a team that won the NCAA championship just five years previously.

In terms of preseason polls, Inside Lacrosse ranked Middlebury 12th overall for the coming spring.

"The ranking is fair based on last season," said midfielder Chris Teves '10, "but with the kind of talent that we have and the number of returning players, we are better than that number suggests."

This season, the team has adopted the motto "Today" to instill a sense of urgency and remind each player to make the most of the opportunity each time he takes the field or hits the weight room. The team has taken this motto to heart and has set improvement on a daily basis as its primary goal.

"If we are disciplined and put in the work," said Teves about the expectations for this season, "we can go very far, but what we are able to accomplish depends on our attitude and work ethic from practice to practice, game to game."

Though the team turned in a sub-par season last year by its own standards, the Panthers were able to salvage a NESCAC championship and an NCAA bid.

They look to continue their seven-year reign as NESCAC champions and look to make a run at the NCAA championship that has eluded them for five years. The team opens regular-season play at Bates on Saturday, March 8, but does not play at home until March 29 against Colby.
-Jeb Burchenal, Staff Writer

Number of first-years: 11
Game to watch: April 2 vs. Williams at 4:30 p.m.

Women's Tennis

Aside from bleaching their whites and restringing their rackets, the members of the Middlebury women's tennis team have been filling their extra time during the offseason with a bit of conditioning and a lot of recruiting.

While the team has an impressive set of returning talent, most notably in the likes of Claire Smyser '08 and Amy Berkman '08, first-year Whitney Hanson is perched to be a legitimate contender as one of the top players on the team during the spring season.

"She is the smallest player on the team but hits one of the biggest balls," said Berkman. "She also has a lot of energy on court, and is so much fun to watch."

The spring season kicks off with some preliminary matches this upcoming weekend - starting with Brandeis and Babson on Saturday and ending with Skidmore and Bates on Sunday. More than likely, these matches will have to be played indoors. But thanks to the resurfaced Nelson courts, this is no longer a downer.

"We are excited to have everyone back for the spring season and are looking forward to the matches this weekend," said Berkman.

Following this slew of matches, the women will return to the courts on March 23 to begin the bulk of the season's sets with competition against Claremont-McKenna and Azusa Pacific colleges.

Ultimately, the season will culminate in April, with the NESCAC and NCAA championships. Poised as one of the top women's programs in the NESCAC circuit, the chances for upcoming opponents to out-play the Panthers will be bleak.
-Anna Furney, Staff Writer

Number of first-years: One
Match to watch: April 12 vs.Hamilton at 4:00 p.m.

Softball

While most Middlebury spring teams have spent the past few months trying to help first-years adapt to the team, the seven returning members of the Middlebury softball squad have been finding ways to adapt to their eight new first-years.

"We started doing a lot of stuff together early in the fall," said co-captain Katelyn Cannella '08. "It has been interesting to see the way we have brought them into our already-existing team, and also allowed their personalities to shape the new direction of the team for this year."

Bolstered by their strong incoming class and returning several key contributors, the Panthers are looking to build on an impressive 21-12 season that saw them finish third in the difficult NESCAC West division in 2007.

Cannella returns to jumpstart the offense after leading the team in stolen bases and runs scored, while receiving second-team All-NESCAC accolades last year. The center fielder will be joined in the lineup by shortstop Allison Bard '08, who posted a .386 batting average last year, good enough for second on the team. Amelia Magistrali '09, who finished second to Bard in total bases in 2007, rounds out what should be a potent Panther offense.

In the piching circle, Middlebury is led by co-captain Brittany Burke '08, the team's leader in ERA a year ago. She will be backed up by a strong group of first-years, including Ali McAnaney, Geena Constantin and Carlie Crawford.

"Because of the strength of [the first-year] class, we will have more depth this year than we have had in the past," said Cannella. "We have a lot of options."

Boasting a deep and talented lineup and experience in the circle, do not be surprised to see Middlebury break into the top two in the West division and earn a trip to the NESCAC tournament.
-Peter Baumann, Assistant Sports Editor

Number of first-years: Eight
Game to watch: Doubleheader vs. Wesleyan, April 12 at 12:00 and 2:00 p.m.