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(09/26/19 10:01am)
The first-ranked Panthers downed the Hamilton College Continentals by a score of 5-1 at Kohn Field on Saturday, Sept. 21. The victory moves Middlebury to a 6-0 record and marks their 25th straight victory at home.
Offense and defense played solidly from beginning to end. The Panthers scored one goal for each of the first three quarters, and were on the verge of bringing Hamilton to a shutout until four minutes into the fourth quarter. After Hamilton tallied their only goal, Middlebury responded with two more.
Overall, the Panthers’ offense proved to be relentless throughout the game, having outshot Hamilton 15-2. Star midfielder Erin Nicholas ‘21 racked two goals and captain Marissa Baker ‘20 gained one assist.
(09/19/19 10:03am)
Cross country
By JORDAN HOWELL
The Middlebury cross country team competed in the Bates Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 14. The women finished in third place, while the men captured fourth place.
“The men's and women's cross country teams are excited now that the season is underway!” Talia Ruxin ’20 said. “It was awesome to lace up with the first-years this weekend, and we are feeling lots of positive energy.”
On the women’s side, Ruxin was able to capture seventh place with a time of 18:44.5, while Cassie Kearney ’22 came in 10th place with a time of 19:07.8. For the men, Quinlan McGaugh ’22 came in 10th place with a time of 26:34.4, while a time of 26:44.0 propelled Jack Litowitz ’20 to a 13th place finish.
“The Bates Invitational was a fun race and a great opportunity to run against some strong NESCAC competition early in the season,” McCaugh said.
Regarding the upcoming Aldrich Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 21, Litowitz was optimistic.
“A combination of the experience fresh off of a meet this past weekend, spiking up and running on our home course should allow the team to improve this week over last, and carry the positive momentum forward onto the bigger meets where it counts," he said.
Football
By LAUREN BOYD
The Panther football team kicked off their season with a 17–13 win against the Williams Ephs on Saturday, Sept. 14, scoring the game-winning touchdown with less than a minute on the clock.
The start of the second quarter opened up the scoring game. Carter Massengill ’20 put the first points of the game on the board, scoring a field goal from 25 yards out.
Later in the second quarter, the Panthers scored an 18–yard touchdown, gaining a 10–0 lead. The rest of the second quarter, however, was commanded by the Williams offense. Between the second and third quarters, the Ephs scored 13 unanswered points.
With just one minute and 30 seconds left in the game, the Panthers marched down the field behind Jernigan. A series of short passes and 10-yard gains led the Panthers to the 2-yard line, where Jernigan punched in the game-winning touchdown. Massengill tapped in the extra point, making the final score 17–13.
Men’s golf
By JACK KAGAN
The men’s golf team finished at the podium for this past weekend’s Duke Nelson Invitational. The Invitational took place at Middlebury’s Ralph Myhre Golf Course and featured 23 teams from around the region. After a strong start atop the standings at the end of day one, the Panthers finished the tournament in third place, just one stroke behind Williams.
Jordan Bessalel ’21 and co-captain Jeffrey Giguere ’20 shined on day one, coming in at sixth and third place respectively. Giguere finished out day two in first place by one stroke ahead of Williams’ Will Kannegieser. Giguere earned a combined score of 142. Neither Bessalel nor Giguere’s heroics were quite enough to lift the Panthers into second place as a team. New York University finished first.
After a strong showing, the Panthers will have little time to rest before heading down to their rivals’ turf in Williamstown for the Williams Fall Invitational.
Women’s golf
By MICHAEL SEGEL
The Panthers outdid last year’s performance at the St. Lawrence Invitational, this year coming in second place out of nine teams. On Sept. 7–8, five players from the women’s golf team came together to accomplish this feat. Their impressive performance can largely be attributed to the work of Blake Yaccino ’20, who finished third overall out of 47 participants. Classmate Chloe Levins ’20 wasn’t far behind, finishing in a tie for seventh overall.
Coming off the strong showing at the St. Lawrence Invitational, the women then competed in the Ann S. Batchelder Invitational on Sept. 14–15. They came in third overall behind Williams College and Wellesley College. Katie Murphy ’23 finished tied for second overall out of 42 golfers, shooting a two-over par 146 (74–72). Yaccino finished tied for fifth at 154 (76–78), while Levins finished tied for 18th with a 164 (84–80). Elizabeth Kenter ’23 finished tied for 27th, shooting a 169 (85–84), and Kayla Li ’23 finished in 29th with a 170 (85–85). The Panthers will be swinging back in action next week at the Mount Holyoke Invitational.
Men’s tennis
By JACK KAGAN
The men’s tennis team fell just short of divisional titles in four of four singles brackets this past weekend at the Middlebury Invitational on the Proctor Tennis Courts.
Though the squad is currently beginning a rebuilding process after losing its top two players to graduation, a bright future might not be so far away. The top singles flight saw unseeded Stan Morris ’22 blaze through to the finals, taking out the No. 3 and No. 2 seeds in the process.
Robby Ward ’23 also made a run to the finals in the B singles draw, knocking off No. 1 seed Brandeis sophomore Jeff Chen. David Vilys ’22 and Zach Hilty ’22 also made it to the finals in their respective C and D singles draws, and will look to use the momentum to propel themselves into a consistent starting role come spring time.
Surprisingly, the two doubles draws were devoid of Middlebury teams past the quarterfinals, likely owing to sets of entirely new doubles pairings.
The tournament featured teams such as Tufts University and Brandeis College, with whom the Panthers will have to contend if they want to stay at the top of DIII tennis.
Men’s soccer
By ERIK ARVIDSSON
After starting the NESCAC season with a scoreless double overtime tie, the Panthers traveled last weekend to Brunswick, Maine to take on the Bowdoin Polar Bears. For the second week in a row, the Panthers struggled connecting with the back of the net. The team finished with six shots on goal compared to Bowdoin’s 15 and neither were able to score. The game ended at 0–0.
The man of the match was goalkeeper Ryan Grady ’23. Grady made six saves to complete his second shutout of the year. The Panthers remain positive despite not scoring in two consecutive games.
“We have been doing all the right things,” Jack Spiridellis ’21 said. “We just need to put the ball into the back of the net, then we will win games.”
Up next, the Panthers played their home opener against Mt. St. Mary of New York on Sept. 17 (which occured after this issue was sent to print). The Panthers will round out the week with a home double-header this weekend against Hamilton on Saturday and Castleton on Sunday, Sept. 22.
Women’s tennis
By DAN MIGUEL ESPINOSA
The Middlebury women’s tennis team journeyed down Route 7 this past weekend for the Lindsay Morehouse Invitational at Williams College. The invitational followed a round-robin format in which the Panthers competed against three other teams in a full weekend of doubles and singles. No individual team was awarded champion.
On Friday, Sept. 13, three of four doubles pairs picked up victories against Skidmore. The following day, Middlebury swept RPI in three doubles matches, but only took two of three doubles matches against Williams. For singles, Middlebury swept RPI in all five contests.
Middlebury faced Skidmore again on Sunday for singles and won four of six matches. Against Williams, the Panthers won all three singles matches and won their only doubles contest.
The women will use this weekend to prepare for the ITA Regional Championships that kick off at home on Sept. 27.
Women’s soccer
By JENNY LANGERMAN
Women’s soccer had another successful week, winning both of this week’s games to put them at five total wins and zero losses.
The Panthers first faced SUNY Plattsburgh on the road. Despite solid play from their opponents, Middlebury was ultimately able to shut them out two-zip with goals from captain Jinx Charman ’20 and Leah Salzman ’21, and the help of strong defensive play.
Middlebury then hit the road once again to play the Bowdoin Polar Bears, having to put up a tougher fight in their second game of the week. The Bears got an early lead, scoring within the first eight minutes of play. The Panthers matched them with a goal from Salzman, but were unable to pull ahead until the very end. With just a minute and a half of game time left, captain Ellie Greenberg ’20 was able to hook one into the side of the net, securing the win.
The Panthers now have a week to regroup and prepare before their next match against conference-opponent, Hamilton College, on their home turf this Saturday, Sept. 21.
Volleyball
By HEATHER BOEHM
Middlebury Women’s Volleyball fell to an undefeated Clarkson on an unlucky Friday, Sept. 13, and split their weekend contests with a win over Potsdam and a loss to St. Lawrence on Saturday, Sept. 14.
In their first battle of the weekend against Clarkson, the Panthers came out expecting a war. Although they put some numbers on the board, they ultimately fell in straight sets to the 23rd-ranked team in the country. Gigi Alper ’20 led the Panther defense, picking up 13 digs for the night. Jane Nelson ’22 built on her teammates’ efforts and led the offense with six kills.
After a hard loss, Middlebury got back to work. The women triumphed over Potsdam with a decisive 3–0 victory. This time around it was Maggie Wise ’22, who took control of the Panther offense tallying 11 kills.
Although the Panthers were hungry for more, the women fell just short of a victory over St. Lawrence. Middlebury rolled through the first two sets before St. Lawrence stole the next two right back. Middlebury was then defeated by the Saints in the fifth set 15–12.
The Panthers will journey to Maine over the weekend, where they will compete against Colby on Friday, Sept. 20 and Bates on Saturday, Sept. 21.
Field hockey
By DAN MIGUEL ESPINOSA
Field hockey fared successfully on their Sept. 14–15 road trip, defeating ninth-ranked Bowdoin College and 18th-ranked Babson College, 1–0 and 2–0, respectively. The Panthers had difficulty stirring up scoring opportunities during the first half against the Bowdoin Polar Bears. But they gained momentum in the third quarter, outshooting the Polar Bears 3–0. Finally, the Panthers scored 30 seconds into the fourth quarter. The 1–0 score remained until the end of the game.
Against Babson, Middlebury struck early twice in the first quarter. The Panthers struggled scoring for the remainder of the game, but still made some spectacular stops.
Correction: A previous version of the cross country recap included outdated information and dates.
(09/19/19 10:00am)
Middlebury isn’t known for sending athletes to major professional sports leagues like the NFL, NBA, or MLB. Such is the case for all Division III athletic programs. However, if anyone were to wager on a potential big-league Panther, one should consider placing their bets on baseball standout Colby Morris ’19.
The right-handed pitcher just completed a season with the Milwaukee Milkmen of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball (AA). The Milkmen didn’t make the AA playoffs, but Morris’ legacy with Middlebury baseball remains outstanding.
His name is scattered throughout the program’s pitching records. Morris owns the most career wins in Middlebury history (18), is first in career innings pitched (256), career starts (39) and is second in career strikeouts (174). The right-hander earned the NESCAC Pitcher of the Year Award in 2018, as well as First-Team All Conference honors. His last season saw Morris win Second-Team honors.
These stats and accolades should be unsurprising; Morris had served as the team’s workhorse and go-to pitcher throughout his four-year tenure. His 2016 freshman campaign saw him pitch the most innings amongst all his teammates. The amount of responsibility shouldered by Morris early on in his collegiate career spoke to his coaches’ confidence in his ability to deliver.
His edge comes from his composure on the mound and a competitive pitching style. “I love pressure,” Morris said.
Morris’ most reliable pitch is the change-up. As he matured and grew stronger in college, his fastball gained more velocity, improving from 83–85 miles per hour as a first-year, to reaching 93 miles per hour after graduating.
Morris’ talent was noticed around the country. Hailing from the San Francisco area, Morris played in the local Golden State Collegiate Baseball League in the summer of 2016. The hiring of current Middlebury baseball coach Mike Leonard before the 2017 season allowed him to connect with other summer league coaches.
For Morris, Leonard is much more than a baseball resource.
“Coach Leonard and I are very close. He reminds me in a lot of ways of one of my older brothers,” Morris said. “We talk all the time, and I might even get on his nerves sometimes from all the questions I have but he has been extremely helpful to talk to this summer.”
The connections provided by Leonard surely paid off. The summer after his sophomore year, Morris signed a contract with the Seacoast Mavericks of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) based in Portsmouth, N.H. The FCBL requires that 15 out of 30 players on each team have connections to New England, and the San Francisco-based Morris, having attended college in Vermont, was able to participate.
Playing in summer leagues is a different animal when compared to the NESCAC.
“NESCAC has a lot of skilled and smart players who scrap together at bat, don’t hit for power and play small ball,” Morris said. “In pro ball, the hitters try to do more damage at the plate and care more about their own numbers since their jobs are on the line. They’re also far more talented in general and are more capable of hitting the ball out of the park.”
Morris also acknowledged that playing baseball wasn’t how Middlebury athletes typically spent their summers. Such an experience proved valuable for Morris.
“Summer ball allowed me to play without the commitment of school and I got to play against better talent, improving before getting back to Vermont each year,” he said.
The summer after Morris’ junior year was more hectic. Coming off a career season in which he won NESCAC Pitcher of the Year, Morris signed a temporary, 30-day contract with the Green Bay Bullfrogs of the Northwoods League in Wisconsin. The pitcher then spent time in Seattle to train extensively after the contract expired.
But in the midst of training, Morris was contacted by the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL), which was rare for DIII players such as himself. The Cape Cod League is amongst the most competitive summer collegiate leagues in the United States, since it showcases many MLB prospects. Some CCBL alumni include Hall of Famers Craig Biggio, Frank Thomas, Jeff Bagwell and Boston Red Sox legend Carlton Fisk.
Morris went on to sign with the Angels, contributing to their bullpen’s depth. Getting appearances in Cape Cod was difficult, because other pitchers had spent more time on the team and so had more opportunities to prove themselves. By season’s end, Morris made only one appearance for the Angels, throwing two innings and allowing one run.
“Cape Cod was one of the best experiences of my life,” Morris said.
To Morris’ disappointment, he didn’t get drafted by an MLB team, and signed a short-term contract with the Trois-Rivières Aigles in Quebec of the Canadian-American League just weeks after graduating.
After that contract expired, Morris signed with the Gary SouthShore Railcats of the AA league in Gary, Indiana. Talent-wise, the AA is similar to the upper levels of MLB minor league systems. Many of Morris’ teammates were on MLB minor league rosters, had played for MLB teams, or were just released by those teams. Unlike MLB farm systems, the AA is an independent league. Thus, teams prioritized winning rather than developing prospects.
Morris was released by the Railcats because his fastball velocity dropped to 88 miles per hour, despite throwing 3.2 scoreless innings in his last outing. The Railcats overused his arm, thanks to the AA’s “win-now” environment.
Once released, Morris walked over to the Railcats’ opponent that day, the Milwaukee Milkmen, and asked to perform a bullpen session. He was signed on the spot.
The Milkmen finished their last month and half of the season with Morris, and managed to return his fastball to 92 miles per hour. Morris was re-signed, and the recent graduate still has his future sights set high.
“I’m hoping and expecting to sign with an MLB team this offseason,” Morris said. “My long term goal is to make it to the major leagues, however, in the short term I just want to get into an MLB system to work my way up the ladder.”
Morris hopes to play winter ball in Australia as his next step.
“For the time being I’m just enjoying the ride and the adventure of living day by day,” Morris said.
(09/12/19 10:04am)
The 2019 Middlebury field hockey team returns to the hunt this September, seeking to replicate their success from last season as defending NCAA Champions. They are currently ranked No. 1 amongst all Division III Field Hockey teams.
Fortunately, the Panthers return most of their productive players from last season. Junior midfielder Erin Nicholas ’21, who earned Nescac Player of the Year in 2018, led last year’s team in goals (17), assists (11) and points (45). Should Nichloas continue her output from last year, the Panthers will have a lethal contributor on both ends of the field. Senior midfielder Marissa Baker ’20 should also make an impact this season after having been named First Team All-Nescac.
Lastly, one of the most important components to the Panthers’ success doesn’t score goals, attempt saves, or dish out passes; Coach Katharine DeLorenzo, the 2018 NESCAC Coach of the Year, looks to implement her expertise in bringing squads to championship form.
DeLorenzo emphasizes forgetting past successes and having a short-term perspective.
“Some of Coach DeLorenzo’s things are focusing on one game at a time, not talking about winning, and not talking about last season,” Nicholas said.
The Panthers’ offensive strategy follows a similar philosophy: the team makes adjustments and doesn’t cling onto what made them successful previously.
“Last year, we’d work the ball on the outside a lot. Now, we’re working to transfer through the midfield a lot more and really utilize our central players,” Nicholas said, when asked about what improvements the team was hoping to make.
Such adjustments appear to be working.
The Panthers began their season on a roll, having already shutout Wesleyan 7–0 on the road on Sept. 7. Their matchup the very next day, however, proved to be trickier. The Panthers produced just two goals against University of New England in the first three quarters. Thankfully, they gained momentum in the last quarter, ultimately emerging victorious, 5–1.
(09/12/19 10:00am)
Women’s tennis is back on the Proctor Courts after a successful fourth-place finish last Spring.
The women will battle in four tournaments this fall. Their season kicks off at Williams College for the Lindsay Morehouse Invitational on Sept. 13.
Turnover from last year was minimal, with only Christina Puccenell ’19 graduating, and three incoming freshmen joining this year’s squad. Juniors Emily Bian and Ann Martin Skelly will not be competing this semester because the two are studying abroad in Australia and Scotland respectively.
Despite their absences, plenty of experience will be guiding the Panthers thanks to the presence of five seniors.
Expect Heather Boehm ’20, the 2019 NESCAC Player of the Year and beloved Campus Sports Editor, to dominate singles and doubles. Katherine Hughes ’20, should also excel in singles and doubles when paired with Skylar Schossberger ’20.
Maddi Stow ’20 will be a force on both the singles and doubles end, and Catherine Blazye ’20 will hopefully be making a return to the court after a difficult year off due to an injury.