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(11/16/12 3:44pm)
Squash
After posting a successful 16-9 season last winter, the Middlebury men’s squash team looks to come back firing on all cylinders under the leadership of senior captains Spencer Hurst ’13 and Jay Dolan ’13. With the loss of number one player Valentin Quan ’12 and number seven Addi DiSesa ’12, the Panthers will rely on a large class of returning, seasoned players, along with the help of some younger players who will need to step up to fill the rest of the team’s spots.
The men will be led by the captains Hurst and Dolan as well as Parker Hurst ’14, who received second team All-NESCAC honors last year.
“The team is looking pretty good and ready for this upcoming season,” said co-captain Hurst. “We are well rounded, and only lost two players from last year.”
Coming off a 16-8 season, the Middlebury Women’s squash team looks to rely on a number of returning, seasoned players, and a number of new highly skilled freshman in order to fill the spots missing from last year’s graduating seniors, including number 1 player Eleina Laird ’12.
Abigail Jenkins ’14, who is currently abroad, will be returning this season, and will most likely be playing in the number one spot next year. Charlotte Dewey ’15 received second team All-NESCAC honors after finishing the season 16-3 in the #3 spot.
Under the leadership of captains Lindsay Becker ’13, and Molly Hubbard ’13, the Panthers will look towards other sophomore standouts such as Katie Dewey ’15 and Carter Makin ’15, along with several promising first-years.
Swimming and Diving
The women’s and men’s swimming and diving teams will look to improve on last year’s solid finishes as they hit the pool for the 2012-2013 season.
On the women’s side, the Panthers return seven NCAA qualifiers from last year’s fourth-place NESCAC squad. The NCAA-finalist 200-meter medley relay team of Andie Tibbets ’14, Jamie Hillas ’15, Maddy Berkman ’15 and Ann Carpenter ’15 is back from last year. Hillas was a national finalist in the 100-meter breaststroke a year ago. Middlebury also returns three legs of an honorable mention All-American 800-meter freestyle relay of Nora Daly ’13, Jen Friedlander ’13 and Courtney Haron ’15.
“On the women’s side, we definitely had a solid season last year,” said head coach Bob Rueppel. “We have very high goals for the women’s team. That’s a big reason I came here. I think the sky’s the limit.”
The men’s team will need to replace their top scorer from last year as they hope to improve on a seventh-place NESCAC finish. Diver Skylar Dallmeyer-Drennen ’14 is the team’s top returning scorer as the Panthers also return a pair of freestyle relay squads that scored in the conference a year ago. The men will also benefit from the return of Ian Mackay ’14, who won a pair of events at NESCACs in 2011 before sitting out last year with an injury.
“For the men we have very high goals,” said Rueppel. “I think we’re going to surprise some people this year.”
Middlebury’s swimmers open their season at Tufts and Connecticut College on Saturday, Nov. 17. The long season runs through NCAAs in late March.
“The first meet is to see where we are,” said Rueppel. “We started ten days ago in great shape, so I’m ecstatic over that starting point. It creates a great competitive atmosphere. We’ve bumped it up a little bit this year, and they’ve been great.”
Track and Field
The Middlebury men’s and women’s track and field teams open the winter season Jan. 13 in Hanover, N.H. at the Dartmouth Invitational.
The teams will participate in a series of meets around New England culminating in the the ECAC Championship beginning March 1 at New York Armory. A handful of Panthers should qualify for the National Championship at North Central College in Naperville, Ill. the following weekend in March.
A number of National Championship competitors return to the team this year, including high-jump All-American Grace Doering ’13, Lauren Pincus ’14 in the javelin and cross country star Addie Tousely ’13 in the 5,000.
On the men’s side Jack Davies ’13, last year’s top seed in the steeplechase, and Patrick Hebble ’13 in the 1,500, both come off a strong cross country season to run for the Panthers this winter.
Last year’s indoor track team set high expectations for the 2013 squad, breaking program and national records in a number of different areas including the men’s and women’s Distance Medlay Relay, the 400-meter dash and the 200-meter dash.
While many talented runners return to the team, the Panthers will have to replace Margo Kramer ’12 and Michael Schmidt ’13 two of the most successful runners in program history.
Skiing
The Alpine and Nordic Ski Teams are expected to bring a lot of excitement to campus this winter, not only because they will be hosting the NCAA Championships from March 3-9 at the Snow Bowl, but also because they are coming into this season with a champion mindset.
The men’s Alpine Ski Team is spearheaded by all three members from last year’s Slalom National Champion Team, namely Hig Roberts ’14, Andrew McNealus ’13, and captain Bryan Shpall ’13. The team also will feature Dave Donaldson ’14, who could not compete last year as a transfer due to NCAA rules.
“Those four, and juniors Nick Bailey ’14 and Liam Mulhern ’14, will be contributors to the Middlebury team at Carnivals,” said assistant coach Abby Copland.
On the women’s side, the young, but experienced, Panthers are expected to make a splash in the league that features the best skiers in the country. Copland is confident that the roster, composed of largely underclassmen and led by sole senior and captain Christine Schozer ’13, will be able to bring their hard-earned experience from last season to the table. The Panthers will head west to the slopes over Thanksgiving to test out their crucial pre-snow conditioning work.
The Nordic skiers are eager to make this year the best they have had under seven-year head coach Andrew Gardner.
“The team is looking really strong,” said captain Hilary Rich ’13. “We have a lot of strong returning skiers (including 2 NCAA participants), as well as three new first-year men and five first-year women who are looking promising for this coming season.”
After extensive dry-land training this fall, both alpine teams will set out to West Yellowstone in Montana for Thanksgiving Break for some time on the snow and a chance to compete in their debut skate-sprint individual race.
Both the Alpine and Nordic Ski Teams will begin action during J-term, with the Alpine leading the way in the Vermont Carnival, January 11th and 12th.
Women's Basketball
Middlebury will look to improve on a 2011-12 season that saw them unable to secure a win in NESCAC play, and finish with a record of 7-17 overall. After leading her team to 11 NESCAC or ECAC tournaments in her first 14 seasons, head coach Noreen Pecsok looks to return to her winning tradition. One of the key aspects Middlebury will look to improve from last year is its defense. Last season the Panthers were outscored by their opponents by 192 total points, which averaged to 63.5 points per game for opponents to Middlebury’s 55.5.
“We are looking to improve our consistency this year and our overall team play,” Pecsok said. “I think there will be a measurable improvement in our defensive intensity.”
Despite losing three players from last season including key rebounders, the Panthers return with a strong starting lineup including last year’s leading scorer, tri-captin Tracy Borsinger ’13, who finished with a field goal average of .398, accounting for 238 of the team’s overall tally of 1331 points.
In addition to challenging her players everyday in practice to keep improving, Pecsok is also looking for her team to build a good reputation on and off the court.
“Our goal this year is to be competitive every time we step on the floor,” she said. “To be team oriented in everything that we do and to represent Middlebury, the athletic department and ourselves in the best way possible.”
The Panthers start their season this Saturday Nov. 17 against the University of Massachusetts-Boston in the Tip-Off Classic at Simmons College.
Men's Basketball
The fourth-ranked Middlebury men’s basketball team tips off its season this weekend at Lebanon Valley College. The Panthers, who finished the 2011-12 season 26-4, return 14 members of last year’s team including four of five starters. The team’s biggest challenge, however, will be replacing 2012 Regional Player of the Year, Ryan Sharry ’12, who led the team in points, rebounds and blocks last season.
“It will take a full team effort to fill [Sharry’s] role,” co-captain Peter Lynch ’13 said. “Some people are going to have to take more shots and hopefully convert at the rate he was able to, some people are going to have to get a rebound or two more a game and some people are going to have to bring the same passion to the game.”
The Panthers will rely on the combined play of Lynch and juniors James Jensen ’14 and Jack Roberts ’14 to fill out a deep, but largely unproven front court. Chris Churchill ’15 and first-year big man Matt Daley ’16 will provide the team with size and depth off the bench as well.
While the Panthers’ front court will look very different from seasons past, the Middlebury backcourt — the deepest and most talented group in the NESCAC — returns all three starters from last year, including two-year captain Nolan Thompson ’13 and gives the team an opportunity to play a faster brand of basketball this season.
“The biggest difference from last year is we are really focusing on getting out and pushing the ball and putting pressure on our opponents,” said Lynch. “If we can run and score a couple more layups each game it will give us a whole different dynamic for defenses to focus on.”
Friday, Nov. 16 and Saturday Nov. 17 the Panthers will face their first test in the four-team tournament that features the College of Staten Island, a Sweet 16 team a year ago.
“This weekend will be a tremendous opportunity for our program to begin our 2012-13 campaign,” said assistant coach Alex Popp. “All four [teams] in the tournament are capable of playing in March this season.”
Women's Hockey
The women’s ice hockey team opens the season on Friday, Nov. 16 and Saturday, Nov. 17 with a two-game series against Colby. The following weekend the Panthers host Amherst, Elmira and Plattsburgh in the Panther/Cardinal Classic.
The team returns a number of talented players from the 2011-12 team that won the NESCAC championship before falling in the NCAA quarterfinals to finish with a 21-4-3 record.
“We have worked hard this fall and are really looking forward to starting games this weekend,” said tri-captain Heather Marrison ’13. “Not only do we have a lot of impact returners, we also have a strong freshman class that will help us out greatly this season.”
Lauren Greer ’13, a second-team All-American last year, led the team in scoring with 29 points, and in penalty minutes with 21. Her 71 career points lead a crowded field of returning scorers., which includes sophomore standout Hannah Bielawski ’15 who finished second on the team in points last season and Sarah Ugalde ’14, the Panthers’ top goal-scorer with 14 goals during the 2011-12 campaign. While Greer, Bielawski and Ugalde headline the Panthers’ attack, virtually all of the Panthers offense from last season – the top eight scorers, and 14 of the top 16 – return to the ice this year.
Middlebury also returns its top netminder, Annabelle Jones ’15, who handled the bulk of the time between the posts last season, finishing with a .930 save percentage and a 1.44 goals-against average in 22 games.
Men's Hockey
While it finished with a record of 14-10-3, last year’s Middlebury men’s hockey team proved to be anything but predictable. In the throes of a woeful stretch in January that saw them allow 24 goals in six games (including one 7-0 and a pair of 5-0 losses,) the Panthers then rebounded to win seven of their final nine games and came within one goal of the NESCAC championship.
Head coach Bill Beaney commented on his team’s resiliency.
“I thought that we were in stormy waters at the beginning of last year,” said Beaney. “We were playing the best hockey of any team in the NESCAC down the stretch. We outplayed Amherst in the title game and I thought we deserved to win.”
From a personnel standpoint, the Panthers will need to fill the offensive void left by the graduation of the top-three scorers from a year ago: Charlie Strauss ’12 (24 points), Charles Nerbak ’12 (20 points) and Martin Drolet ’12 (19 points.)
However, captain Chris Steele ’13 is confident in his team’s ability to compete.
“Although we lost some firepower up front, we are confident that we will get a lot more contribution from the returnees,” said Steele. “There is also a great opportunity for some of the first-years to contribute offensively to make up for loss of a some key seniors from last years team.”
Beaney also suggested that several first-years could see significant ice time as the Panthers travel to Colby and Bowdoin this weekend, Nov. 16 and 17.
“I am thrilled with the first-year’s contribution,” said Beaney. “The upperclassmen also have reached out and let the younger guys get acclimated to Middlebury and to college hockey.” The coach, set to begin his 26th year behind the bench, also pointed to Tom Freyre ’14 and captain Trevor Pollock ’13 as important pieces going forward.
Steele and fellow captain Mathieu Castonguay ’13 will anchor a back line in front of goaltenders Dan Fullam ’15, Nick BonDurant ’14 and Liam Moorfield-Yee ’16.
DAMON HATHEWAY, LOK SZE LEUNG, ALEX MORRIS, FRITZ PARKER, OWEN TEACH, and GABE WEISSMANN contributed to this report.
(11/15/12 12:31am)
The Middlebury College Rugby Club (MCRC) beat Southern Connecticut State University 40-5 at a neutral site on the campus of American International College in Springfield, Mass. on Saturday, Nov. 10. With the win the Blue clinched the East Coast Rugby Conference (ECRC) and a berth in the National Championship tournament this spring.
The team finished the fall campaign, their second season since moving up to the Division I-AA ECRC, with a 6-1 record.
In the final match of a decorated four-year career, All-American and Blue captain Brian Sirkia ’12.5 led the side in scoring with two tries and five conversions.
“There was no way he was going to let the MCRC lose this game,” said coach John Phillips. “ He led by example, leading from the front, setting the tone of how we play.”
“We try to think of ourselves as a machine that takes care of business every Saturday,” said Sirkia. “[We show] no emotion, no overconfidence or laziness, just fuel during the week and act professionally on Saturday morning. That approach has worked for us so far.”
The mechanistic win capped the career of a player coach John Phillips has described as unique.
“He will be missed, for his leadership skills on and off the field. He was truly one of the great captains of the MCRC,” Phillips said.
The side has reached the national tournament in six of the last seven years, but this year’s bid is the first since the step up to Division I.
“I think that going into the game against Boston College two weeks ago we were too caught up with thinking about how we needed to win and how that was the big chance to win the league,” said Ben Stasiuk ’13.5. “We had been thinking about that game for weeks, unlike any other game where I feel before we seemed to only prepare for that week’s game and then move forward to the next week’s. I think this put too much hype on the game and our heads were too occupied with what was on the line and we did not adjust to our mistakes well and committed tons of penalties.”
Saturday’s match began with another slew of penalties, and when Laird Silsby ’15 was sent off for the match with a yellow card, the Blue faced the remainder of the match short one man.
“We just stayed completely level headed and made the adjustments we had to make on our own game. I am really proud of the adaptability and control shown by everyone on the team,” Stasiuk said.
Once the side settled down the result followed with relative ease. Playing with poise in the backfield, Stasiuk, Sirkia and Dylan Whitaker ’13 controlled possession and distributed the ball to the side’s fleet outside runners.
The champion of the ECRC earns an automatic bid to the national tournament in the spring. The side will reconvene after the holidays to resume training and initiate a crop of new players added in the interim.
“Rugby practice will start up again mid to late March and we will have a few scrimmages against various teams to prep for the tournament. Dartmouth won the Ivy League so we are really hoping to get another crack at them,” said Stasiuk. “We are also getting some great players coming back from abroad and guys who play football in the fall.”
The captain will be difficult to replace, but Sirkia leaves the club in better shape than he found it in.
“Every member of the club, not the just the 23 first-side players, are working incredibly hard and contributing,” said Sirkia. “The cohesion of the whole club is stronger than it’s ever been since I’ve been here, which makes a difference every day.”
(11/08/12 12:43am)
The Middlebury women’s soccer team was informed that it had received a bid to the NCAA tournament on Monday.
The Panthers will host an NCAA regional bracket at Dragone Field this weekend. Play begins on Saturday, Nov. 10 when the Panthers (12-2-1) play Castleton State (15-4-1) at 11 a.m.
Later in the day, Misericordia University (17-2-1) will take on Lesley University (16-2-1) at 1:30 p.m. The winner of each matchup will meet in the Regional Final on Sunday, Nov. 11 at 1:30 p.m.
For the team the announcemnet was both a relief and full of emotion. A number of the women’s team were gathered together when the announcement was made.
“There was a lot of joy — there were some tears from a couple of seniors,” said senior captain Colby Gibbs ’13. “A wave of relief came over everyone [when we found out].”
After losing to Wesleyan in the quarterfinal of the NESCAC tournament at home last Saturday, Oct. 27, the future of the Panthers’ season was uncertain. Things became increasingly bleak when Amherst fell in the NESCAC Championship game on penalty kicks, making an at-large bid for Middlebury even less likely.
With Sunday’s announcement looming, the team continued to practice over the last week in the hope of receiving the bid. Now that the season has been restored, the team has the promise of at least one more game and a week to prepare for its upcoming Vermont rival.
“I think [being on our last legs] has helped us,” Gibbs said. “Now it’s back to just focusing on one game at a time.”
Their NCAA birth marks a successful fall season for Middlebury women’s athletics. The team became one of three women’s teams to advance to the NCAA tournament this fall. The volleyball team will head to Clarkson for regional play beginning Friday with a match against Southern Vermont, while the field hockey team will host a regional bracket this weekend at Kohn Field.
(11/08/12 12:42am)
Boston College (BC) edged the Middlebury College Rugby Club (MCRC) 13-11 at Burlington Tree Farm on Saturday, Nov. 3. The loss drops the Blue to 5-1 on the season. They trail BC at the top of the East Coast Rugby Conference (ECRC) standings by two points, though BC’s season is over, and the Blue have one match remaining.
“We didn’t play up to our usual standard,” said coach John Phillips, “and BC played very well, so it is what it is.”
MCRC had scored 48, 91 and 49 points in their last three matches respectively, and no fewer than 23 points in a single match all season. In their previous five matches they had averaged almost 49 points per game. The unusually low output on Saturday cost the Blue the match and their undefeated season.
“We are a team that traditionally puts a lot of points on the board. In the game we dominated both possession and field position” said eight-man Laird Silsby ’15. “We spent a good amount of the game in the BC half, and we were just unable to capitalize on opportunities.”
BC silenced the high-scoring MCRC attack by holding their pack across the width of the field and bringing down Blue runners at first contact. As a result, Middlebury’s dynamic outside runners found little room to manouver at the margins of the field.
“There were a few moments in the game when we felt that we’d found some holes in their defense,” said inside-center Dylan Whitaker ’13, “but unfortunately those never quite materialized into tries.”
Allan Stafford ’13 did manage to find a gap at the edge of the Boston College line to reach the corner of the try zone in the first half. But Stafford was the lone Middlebury runner to touch down for a five-point try.
The Blue limited BC to a single try as well. But an excess of penalties near the opponents try zone allowed the visitors to build a narrow margin on conversion points.
After the match MCRC could only credit the strong effort of their toughest conference rival.
“In the end, it turned out to be one of those games where nothing quite clicked like we wanted it to, where a stray breeze or slip in the mud might end up a costly mistake, and BC did a good job of capitalizing on their opportunities,” said Whitaker.
MCRC travels to New Haven, Conn. to play Southern Connecticut State University on Saturday, Nov. 11 in a match that was rescheduled after a cancellation due to inclement weather on Sept. 29.
With a win on Saturday in New Haven the Blue can secure the ECRC league championship.
“The defeat has really refocused our team,” said Silsby. “I think that overall the energy going into practice this week is going to be high because everyone on the team understands how important a victory this Saturday is for the Club.”
In their second season playing at the Division I-AA level, MCRC have asserted their position as one of the strongest clubs in the East Coast Rugby Conference. In the league’s Sevens tournament in early October, the Blue lost in the final to Northeastern University after defeating the other conference rivals handily. Playing seven on seven, they beat Southern Connecticut 35-0.
This weekend, playing with 15 men on each side, the stakes are even higher. The match will be the last of the fall season for MCRC.
“The bottom line is, we need to perform well,” said Phillips. “If we do that we should win the game and win the league.”
With the win the Blue will qualify for the USA Rugby National Tournament in the spring. The ECRC champion gets a bid to the round of 16.
(10/31/12 8:35pm)
The men’s and women’s rugby clubs both won handily over the weekend. The men’s side beat visiting American International College (AIC) 48-19, and will advance toward the season’s final two matches with a 5-0 record. The women defeated Bates on the road, 59-5, in the final regular season match.
The Middlebury College Men’s Rugby Club (MCRC) hosted AIC at Youngman Field in Middlebury Alumni Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 27. Captain and All-American Brian Sirkia ’13 led the scoring again with 18 total points on five conversions, one penalty, and one try.
A revolving side of dangerous runners, who, one after another, broke deep runs to convert possession into points, powered the offense. Seven different players scored the seven tries that gave the Blue a commanding win.
“Our offensive success revolves around support play, and particularly in the last couple of weeks we’ve seen scores from plays where a lot of different people have had their hands on the ball,” said veteran Dylan Whitaker ’13. “Like any good team, we have specific plays we run in set pieces, but our real strategy is to always support each other through the whole play, and having 15 men on the field that everyone can trust is a big part of that.”
The side rotates 23 men through the 15 on-field positions, and the various offensive combinations dominated possession by supporting the ball at every chance. A number of individual efforts punctuated the team-wide effort, including a 30-meter dash to the try zone from first-year Cole Baker ’16.
“Everyone is focused on becoming the first team to succeed in Division I,” said Sirkia. “Everyone knows that we need to play our absolute best every game to accomplish that.”
At 5-0, the Blue sit atop the two-year-old East Coast Rugby Conference (ECRC). After struggling last year in their inaugural season of Division I-AA conference play, the Blue have lately secured a spot among the top teams in the ECRC conference. The win on Saturday cleared a path to this weekend’s crucial matchup against Boston College, the last remaining contender for the top spot in the conference.
“BC has a very good rugby program, and that’s why they are close to the top of our division,” said coach John Phillips. “Similar to us, they like to play an expansive game, so it should be a very exciting game.”
Though the offense continued to flourish on Saturday, the 19 points allowed on the defensive side of the ball were cause for concern. A number of players also emerged from the match battered. Luke Downer ’13 went down with a broken collarbone, a significant loss for the foreseeable future.
If high stakes and brutality are in the nature of the game, the intensity will only increase in the coming matches.
“We need to take each game seriously because one loss could cost us the season,” Sirkia said.
Saturday’s match at home against Boston College will likely decide the conference champion, with the winning team getting a bid to the national tournament in the spring.
MCRC will play Southern Connecticut the following weekend in a match rescheduled from earlier in the fall.
Meanwhile, the Middlebury College Women’s Rugby Club (MCWRC) capped a resurgent regular season with a win at Bates.
Eight separate players found the try zone, including a pair from both flyhalf Julia Gulka ’13 and flanker Sarah Minahan ’14. Captain and scrum half Jess Berry ’13 also converted twice to round out the scoring.
“We went into the game knowing we had to score more than four tries in order to be able to compete against Bowdoin in the championships,” Berry said. “We all knew we deserved a shot to contend to be the number one team in the NESCAC, and on Saturday we proved we deserve that opportunity.”
The women dominated possession from the scrum and wore down the Bates line. The controlling back line play of Berry and company allowed for a series of long, nimble, scoring runs from Melanie Haas ’13, Laura Hoffman ’15 and Julianna Gardner ’13. The attack soon opened a wide margin from which Bates could never recover.
After finishing the regular season second in the league with a 4-2 record, MCWRC earned a berth in the NESCAC championship match this Saturday against first-ranked Bowdoin Saturday, Nov. 3 at 1 p.m. against Bowdoin in Brunswick, Maine. Bowdoin shut out MCWRC 26-0 at Rutland on Oct. 15.
(10/25/12 1:12am)
The Middlebury Men’s Rugby Club (MCRC) emerged victorious in their match Saturday against the University of Albany, 91-7, while the Middlebury Women’s Rugby Club (MCWRC) blanked Williams on the road 39-0. Due to heavy rain over the course of the week prior to the match, the game was moved to Essex Tree Farm in Burlington when the pitch in Middlebury was deemed unplayable. This change of pitch did not disrupt the Panthers, who, after winning their match by a commanding score, to remain undefeated with a record of 4-0.
“In five years of coaching the team I have never seen us play so well for 80 minutes,” said coach John Phillips. We had a really good week of practice and it all came together on Saturday.”
The dominating performance attests to teamwork and depth, as over the course of the match MCRC notched 13 tries from 10 different players.
“We have a starting squad of 24 players, so any of these players can come on at any time and fit right in,” said Phillips.
Highlights of the game include a 31 point performance from Middlebury captain Brian Sirkia ’12.5, who finished the match with 1 try, 10 conversions, and 2 penalties, and a 15 point performance from Alex Ruocco ’13, who finished the match with a three-try hat trick.
The Panthers took an early lead and ended the first half up 41-0. The relentless offensive continued in the second half, allowing only one try from the University of Albany and tacking on another 50 points.
This win comes a week after Middlebury was ranked 16th nationally in Division I-AA, and a week after Middlebury shut out the University of Connecticut Huskies by a score of 49-0.
MCRC hosts American International College next Saturday, and host Boston College the following week Nov. 3, their last match of the season.
“I’m not worried about overconfidence,” coach Phillips said. “The boys know what needs to be done the rest of the season.”
The Middlebury Women’s Rugby Team (MCWRC) travelled to Williams to defeat the Ephs 39-0 on Saturday, Oct. 20. MCWRC dominated possession, and converted the advantaged into seven tries and two conversions, to improve their season record to 3-3.
Four first-half tries from Melanie Haas ’13 put MCWRC up 22-0 at the half. Hooker Rae Colombo ’13 and fullback Julianna Gardner ’14 added second-half tries, and Captain Jess Berry ’13 converted twice, to cement the score at 39-0.
Berry was happy with her team’s effort.
“We went into this game knowing it wouldn’t be as difficult as our last two, but I was happy with how strong we started regardless,” said Berry. “Williams has some big players, so we still needed to work really hard on the field in order to get that win.”
Haas’s offensive outburst, coupled with the patience and field control of the Middlebury backs, never allowed Williams into the game.
“Haas was crucial for the win. She’s an incredibly fast player, and having her out on the wing is really deadly,” said Berry. “Plus we had tries come from outside of our typical back-line players. Colombo had an awesome try in the second half, and then actually had a second that the referee deemed illegitimate. Overall we had great play all over the field, and we’re really using these final games of the season to prepare for playoffs in.”
Fly-half Julia Gulka ’13 and inside center Marissa Shaw ’14 controlled play from the backline and stymied any Williams attempts to break through the Middlebury defensive line. Ultimately, steady advancement and overwhelming possession proved the best defense for the MCWRC side.
The women travel to Lewiston, Maine to face Bates on Saturday for their final match of the regular season. The women are assured of one playoff game in early November. Teams advance with each win in the competition for the league title that lasts until the middle of the month.
GABE WEISSMAN contributed to this article.
(10/25/12 12:51am)
The Middlebury women’s tennis team hosted a group of Division I programs at the Panther Team Cup this weekend.
Underclass duo Lok Sze Leung ’15 and Ria Gerger ’16 defeated Marissa Aviles and Maria Bernandez from Providence College 2-0 in the finals.
The tournament worked in an unusual format in which teams competed in iterated pairs. Each match was contested three times: first in two separate singles matches, and finally in a doubles match. A total of three points — one for each contest — was possible in each match.
After Leung and Gerger won their separate singles matches, taking two out of the possible three points to confirm the win, the final doubles match was not played.
Though only Leung and Gerger emerged, a strong group advanced to the quarterfinal round Leah Kepping ’13 and Sarah Macy ’15 fell to the finalists from Providence in the quarterfinal, 3-0.
Dorrie Paradies ’14 and Lauren Amos ’16 lost to a duo from Army 2-1 in the quarterfinals. In another quarterfinal Margot Marchese ’16 and Katie Paradies ’15 lost to the champions, their teammates Leung and Gerger, 3-0.
The tournament, the last of the fall season for the Panther women, featured teams from Providence College, the United States Military Academy, Albany University and Siena College.
“This weekend was refreshing because we were able to compete against different players instead of the usual NESCAC teams we encounter during the season,” said Kepping.
The event simulated in miniature the team-play dual match format that will be in effect in future matches. In the spring the Panthers will play a long season of dual matches against NESCAC teams and other Division III programs from around the country, culminating in a NCAA Championship in May.
(10/10/12 11:48pm)
Saturday Oct. 6, the Middlebury College Rugby Club (MCRC) fell in the finals of the East Coast Rugby Conference (ECRC) Sevens tournament in Amesbury, Mass. in extra time, 12-7 to Northeastern. With the win, Northeastern received a bid to the USA 7s tournament in College Station, Texas in November. The Middlebury College Women’s Rugby Club (MCWRC), meanwhile, traveled to Rutland. Vt. after the team’s home field proved too wet to play on. Once on dry ground, however, the women dropped Tufts 33-0.
In the ECRC tournament, the men, who usually play rugby union rules, had a chance to compete in a different style. Sevens, or seven-a-side rugby, is a fast-paced brand of rugby in which teams of seven compete for two seven-minute halves. The Blue otherwise play an ECRC season of 15-a-side rugby with two 40-minute halves. Both games are played on the same size pitch, yet the differences in player count and duration account for the drastic difference in style of play.
“We handled the adjustment to the sevens game extremely well,” said Coach John Phillips. “We had a very good week of practice working on our attacking ball skills.”
A potent attack propelled the Blue through pool play. MCRC beat Albany 38-5, Southern Connecticut 35-0 and AIC 38-19. In the quarterfinals, they shut out the University of Connecticut 59-0 and in the semifinals they beat defending champions Boston College 29-3.
On a day full of concentrated, hard-running matches, the Blue called on its depth and stamina to outrun the field.
“The whole 15-man squad was outstanding,” said Phillips. “There was no let down when we sent on the subs.”
In the finals, it took Northeastern extra time to break a long run down the sideline into the try zone that broke the 7-7 tie and gave the Mad Dogs the 12-7 win. In games lasting only 14 minutes, one play can prove decisive. When the 15-man sides met two weeks ago, MCRC beat Northeastern 23-20 in a thrilling contest at home.
“We have started to develop a strong rivalry with [Northeastern],” said Allan Stafford ’13.5.
The MCRC continues its ECRC play this weekend in Storrs, Conn. at UConn and will finish the regular season with three home games in successive weeks against the University of Albany, American International College and Boston College.
The women, meanwhile, improved to 2-1 in conference play with their trouncing of Tufts.
For the first 20 minutes of the match, the MCWRC pressed the attack towards the Tufts line, dominating possession and field position, but were unable to score.
Scrum half and captain Jess Berry ’13 finally dove into the try zone to put the first points on the board midway through the first half.
“I was happy that we were finally able to find a gap in their defensive line,” said Berry. “We worked really hard to wear them down, and it finally paid off and got us in a good position before the first half ended.”
In the second half MCWRC broke through the Tufts pack and never looked back. Tries came from Melanie Haas ’13, Julianna Gardner ’13, Emily Duh ’14 and Ali Hentges ’15. Hentges’s diving score was the first of her career.
On top of her first-half try Berry converted the two-point kick on all four second-half tries for a match-high total of 13 points.
A home match against Bowdoin this Saturday, Oct. 13, followed by trips to Williams and Bates await MCWRC in the coming three weeks.
(10/03/12 9:01pm)
Lok-Sze Leung ’15 defeated Middlebury teammate Ria Gerger ’16 6-0, 6-0 to repeat as ITA New England Regional Champion on Sunday, Sept. 30 at MIT. Leung will advance to the ITA National Championship later in the fall.
In her ITA debut, Gerger won her first three matches in straight sets and defeated a challenger from Williams in the semifinal, before succumbing to her friend and teammate in the championship match.
The singles bracket featured 64 women from 21 schools across the region, including every NESCAC school. The New England region is one of the strongest in the country, and the ITA regional event is the seminal regional tournament of the fall season.
As the weekend wore on and the field of 64 was winnowed down to two, it was Gerger, the 6th seed, and first-seeded Leung who were left on the championship court.
In the biggest match of her young collegiate career, Gerger had the double misfortune of playing the reigning singles champion and of competing against her friend.
“She is an intimidating opponent, and it is always hard to play a teammate,” said Gerger.
For Gerger, reaching the finals in her first fall at Middlebury was an achievement in itself. The hard-serving freshman earned the respect of the field when she defeated the bracket’s second seed and eventual doubles bracket champion Kara Shoemaker of Williams in the quarterfinal, clearing a path to the final. But from the first point of Sunday’s last match, Leung had the edge.
“She came onto the court with the correct mentality,” said Gerger. “I came on the court passive and submissive.”
Leung, who dropped just 17 games over six matches, won the final handily.
“During the match I tried extremely hard to imagine Ria as just another opponent that I play,” Leung said, “and I approached the match point by point regardless of the score, who my opponent is, what year she is in or which school she is from.”
Both players navigated a deep and talented pool of the region’s top players. Leung’s clear-headed approach paid dividends in the final, as it has done for her in the past. Gerger had the opportunity to learn from the best player in the country.
Competing against a teammate can pose unexpected psychological challenges. Again, Leung had the advantage. In last year’s Regional, she defeated Leah Kepping ’13 in the semifinal. This year it was Gerger’s turn to gain valuable experience and to test her teammate.
“It will prepare them for all kinds of other pressure situations as the year progresses,” Morgan said.
Competition among teammates can galvanize or corrode a team in equal measure, depending on the makeup of the competitors. For the women’s tennis team this fall in individual tournament play, on-court battles have only solidified the team’s chemistry.
“I know it was hard for them to play each other,” said Morgan, “but they handled it with a combination of great fight and respect.”
Other Panthers had strong showings in both the doubles and singles brackets. Dorrie Paradies ’14 and another first-year, Margot Marchese ’16, each won matches against the best in the region. Paradies bowed out in the quarterfinal to the eventual doubles champion.
Kepping paired with Gerger to advance to the semifinal of the 32-team doubles competition.
Last year, the Hong Kong native’s rampage to the top of nationals caught the tennis cognoscenti unprepared. After sweeping the ITAs, winning the Regional and then the National Championship, Leung won 2011-2012 ITA Rookie of the Year.
At the ITA National Championship in Mobile, Ala. this October, she will be targeted as the favorite. Leung is prepared to defend her title in the open.
“As a [first-year] last year, I benefited from the element of surprise because not many people knew a lot about my game,” said Leung. “But this year I felt that a lot of players came prepared and really targeted the weak links in my game.”
The team will play two more tournaments this month to round out the fall season, in which the team uses individual tournaments and practices to strengthen the team in preparation for the dual match season in the spring.
“We aren’t looking beyond this coming week of practice,” said Morgan. “The whole team has really bought into just trying to improve one week at a time.”
The Panther men’s tennis team also competed at the USTA/ITA New England Men’s Regional Championships at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass. this past weekend.
Among many strong Panther performances, rookie Palmer Campbell ’16 reached the semifinals in the 64-person singles draw.
In singles play, Campbell defeated seventh seed Matt Micheli of Williams and 9-16th seed Casey Grindon of Bowdoin en route to the final four. Campbell gave his best against Amherst’s Andrew Yaraghi in the semifinal, but fell by a score of 3-6, 3-6. Yaraghi had ousted Panther Alex Johnston ’14 in a lengthy, give-and-take quarterfinal, 6-7(6), 7-6(5), 6-1.
Senior captain Alec Parower ’13 won two matches in straight sets but finally bowed to the top seeded Lord Jeff Mark Kahan, 4-6, 7-6(8), 6-1. Sophomore Courtney Mountifield ’15 won in the opening round as well.
In doubles play, the tandem of senior tri-captain Spencer Lunghino ’13 and Johnston advanced to the last eight, finishing only two games shy of a spot in the semifinals, as they lost to first seed Rob Crampton and Matt Bettles from Bates College 6-8. The Bates pair had already taken out first-year Campbell and Jackson Frons ’16 8-4 earlier in the first round of the 32-team bracket.
Facing fourth seeded duo from the host school, captains Parower and Will Oberrender ’13 were defeated 6-8 in yet another grueling battle.
“With so many potential impact players away it is a great chance for the young players to step up, and they are doing so in fairly dramatic fashion,” said coach Bob Hansen, referring to two of the Panther men from last year’s team who lurked near the top of the lineup last spring and are currently enjoying fall semesters abroad.
Upon their teammates’ return, the men expect to close the gap separating them and the top teams. For now, the crew will practice hard before they head back on the road to face action on Oct. 5 at Dartmouth and Oct. 7 at Bates.
“We know there is much work to be done to be a national championship team, but this weekend was certainly a step in the right direction,” said Campbell. “As long as we don’t become complacent we will certainly be as good as we can be.”
(10/03/12 8:47pm)
The Middlebury College Women’s Rugby Club (MCWRC) shut out visiting Amherst 36-0 on Saturday, Sept. 29. The home match, played on a soggy field under windy skies, was the MCWRC’s first win in three tries this fall.
The side held Amherst scoreless, and improved its record to 1-2.
“Our effectiveness on defense led to many successful counterattacking plays where the organization of the forwards allowed quick and controlled passes out to the backs,” Emily Duh ’14 said.
Duh completed a hat trick with a try in the final seconds of play after captain Jess Berry ’13 intercepted the ball which, in the ensuing confusion, found its way into Duh’s hands. Duh then ran it under the uprights for her third try of the afternoon. Berry converted the kick to cement the score at 36-0.
“Duh’s performance was essential to our win,” said Berry. “Her try in the final seconds of the game demonstrates the intensity the entire team played with throughout all 80 minutes of play, up until the final whistle blew, which is something we’ve strived for all season.”
The potency of the offense was the result of a concerted effort to force the opponent back at heel, and to free runners like Duh on the outside.
“Offensively, we have been working on changing our angles of attack and taking the ball at pace,” said Coach K.O. Onufry.
A shifty runner, the outside center Duh cut through the Amherst pack at will. Her three tries provided MCWRC with 15 points, while six points came off the foot of the scrum half Berry. Inside center Laura Hoffman ’15 broke a series of tackles for her first career try to round out the scoring.
“Our captain led the team in focus and intensity right from the kick-off through to the final whistle,” Onufry said.
MCWRC fell in a season opening scrimmage against St. Michael’s Sept. 15, and then again to Colby, 26-5, in Waterville, Maine on Sept. 22. Despite the loss, the team carried home the momentum from last week’s strong second half against Colby. It was enough to blow away Amherst on home turf.
“In our past two games, we struggled with slow starts, which allowed the opposition to gain large enough leads so that we were left playing catch-up,” said Duh.
After dominating Amherst, MCWRC hopes to secure their position as a force in the NESCAC women’s rugby league in the coming weeks. The women play Tufts this weekend at home, followed by a home match against Bowdoin Oct. 13.
“This win was an important one for us not only in that it was our first of the season,” said Duh, “but also in that each player on the field gave it their all from the get-go.”
The coming matches at home will test MCWRC against the two strongest teams in the NESCAC.
“We are going to have two tough games at home,” said Berry.
The challenge of the next fortnight also poses a great opportunity for MCWRC, as two victories will lift them over the .500 mark on the season, and gives them a chance to compete for the conference title. The top four teams in the NESCAC qualify for the postseason.
The MCWRC side have qualified for the playoffs in each of the last three seasons.
(09/26/12 11:54pm)
The Middlebury College Rugby Club (MCRC) edged Northeastern 23-20 on Saturday, Sept. 22, on the strength of three tries from fullback Allan Stafford ’13.5. Stafford completed his second hat trick in as many games with a run to the corner with five minutes left that gave the Blue the decisive five points.
The victory over the reigning East Coast Rugby Conference (ECRC) champions establishes MCRC as a power in the conference. At the onset of the match, however, as Northeastern took an early lead and the Blue struggled for field position in front of a boisterous home crowd, the victory was far from foretold.
“We felt we started the game not believing in ourselves,” said head coach John Phillips.
The MCRC side fell behind Northeastern 12-0 in the first ten minutes of play. Strong and physical on the line, the visiting Mad Dogs controlled play from the scrum to the margins of the field, breaking tackles and charting long runs into Blue territory.
“Early on we were caught off-guard by how fast and aggressive they were on attack,” said co-captain and All-American flyhalf Brian Sirkia ’12.5.
Gradually, Sirkia and the crew of Middlebury forwards took control of the ruck from the center of the pitch. Then, 16 minutes into the half, Sirkia and Stafford teamed up for the play that turned the course of the match in Middlebury’s favor.
Stafford recovered a precise downfield kick from Sirkia and brought it to the corner of the end zone.
“Our first try gave us enough confidence to settle down and play our style of game,” Sirkia said. “In the end, I think our fitness really paid off and gave us the extra bit to hang on to our lead.”
The sides patiently built attacks and traded points, including a second try from Stafford that put Middlebury ahead 18-17, 17 minutes into the second half.
But Northeastern quickly recaptured the lead on a penalty, and with the clock winding down the score stood at 20-17.
As thoroughly as the Mad Dogs dominated play in the opening minutes, MCRC, playing with equal parts poise and resolve, owned the match’s dramatic closing minutes.
“It’s not like football — you can’t stop the game and huddle up,” Phillips said. “The boys knew what they had to do and they did it well.”
Throughout the match, the Middlebury offense found room for advancement on the flanks of Northeastern’s big middle pack. With the match on the line, Phillips’ side returned to this touchstone attack when flyhalf Vince Mariano ’14 spun the ball wide to Stafford, who found the corner of the endzone to complete his hat trick and put the Blue ahead for good.
“We knew Stafford was great, but we didn’t realize he was quite that great,” Phillips said. “He has really made a difference for us so far this year.”
Throughout the match, a squad of substitutes, including Mariano and first-years Griffin Jones ’16, Aaron Yappert ’16 and Cole Baker ’16, reinvigorated the Middlebury starting 15. In the end, fitness and fresh legs gave the Blue the advantage over an experienced, skilled but exhausted visiting side.
The champion of the ECRC, a conference that includes Boston College, the University of Albany, the University of Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State University and the University of Massachusetts, will receive an automatic bid to the round of 16 in this year’s USA Rugby tournament in the spring.
Last year, an undefeated Northeastern side took the crown in the inaugural season of ECRC play. This season the conference is up for grabs, and in the team’s second season in Division I-AA, Middlebury feels poised to make a mark on the national stage.
“This win really shakes up the rankings in our conference and puts us in a good position moving forward,” said Stafford.
This weekend the MCRC will travel to Southern Connecticut to face another experienced conference rival.
Last September, the Panthers handily defeated Southern Connecticut by a score of 30-7.
(09/19/12 11:59pm)
The last matches of the Middlebury Invitational men's tennis tournament concluded Sunday, Sept. 16, although the tournament is not technically over. The two finalists in "A" bracket singles play, Rob Crampton and Matt Bettles, both visiting from Bates, will play for the title this weekend back at their home courts.
Still, as the Proctor courts emptied late Sunday afternoon, the Middlebury men's tennis program left galvanized by the weekend's matches, and by a glimpse at the competition that the season holds in store.
"Bates looked extremely strong, as did Skidmore, Tufts, Trinity and Brandeis," said coach Bob Hansen. "The NESCAC keeps getting better, which will only serve to strengthen our program."
Crampton reached the semifinals in the NCAA tournament last year. But in a heavyweight semifinal match against recent Middlebury transfer Alex Johnston '14 on Sunday morning, he nearly met his match much earlier in the season. Johnston lost in a final set tie-break, 10-8.
"Obviously I am disappointed to have lost yesterday," said Johnston, "but the match gives me a lot of confidence knowing that I was two points away from beating one of the best Division III players in the nation without playing my best tennis."
A tall and powerful player with a big serve, Johnston is new to Division III tennis. But he is no stranger to the high level of competition, having played the past two seasons at Foothill College in the California Junior College league.
With the first set locked at three games apiece, Johnston agreed to replay a point he had won after Crampton contested a close line call. Crampton won the point, and won the set.
"Often times in matches without chair umpires and referees, there are a few close calls and it is natural for an opponent to question some of the close ones," Johnston said. "It wasn't out of line – just the nature of the sport."
In matches spread across a series of courts, without official oversight, the players at the invitational policed themselves, and the tenor of the matches varied from court to court. On court one, in the Johnston-Crampton semifinal, both players competed for every available advantage, each in his own way.
"In no way did [line-calling] affect the outcome of the match," said Johnston.
After dropping the first set, the Leeds native rebounded on the strength of his serve and resilience from the baseline, winning the second set 6-4. In the tiebreak, a series of long points eventually fell in favor of Crampton, and the final match was sent back to Bates.
Meanwhile, two Middlebury first-years competed against one another in the finals of "C" bracket. Ari Smolyar '16, defeated Allen Jackson '16, 6-7 [5], 7-5, 10-4, in the all-Panther final, a strange but fitting introduction to tournament play on the Proctor courts.
"We play together everyday, and he's a good friend of mine, so I knew that it would be a friendly match," said Smolyar. "We know each other's strengths and weaknesses so as much as it was a physical battle on the court, it was a mental one as well."
Quietly, another Middlebury first-year also made a statement. Jackson Frons '16 defeated Skidmore's top player, returning All-American Oliver Loutsenko, 7-5, 7-6 [5] in the first round of "A" flight play. Frons lost to the eventual finalist Bettles in the quarterfinals.
The tournament was a proving ground for a host of talented first-years and for the newcomer Johnston. These contributions promise to add considerable depth to a team already buttressed by strong and consistent play from Spencer Lunghino '13, Alec Parower '13 and Courtney Mountifield '14. While easily overlooked in individual events, depth is essential to a team's success in the spring dual match season.
"Some of our most experienced players are abroad," said coach Hansen, "but I am thrilled with where we are and where we are headed."
(09/19/12 11:18pm)
Middlebury men's and women's runners finished in stacks on top of the standings at the Aldrich Invitational this weekend. The race was the first and only to be run on the Panthers' home course.
The top six runners and 11 of the top 12 were from the number one ranked women's team, while the 10th-ranked men's team claimed the top 11 finishers.
Addie Tousley '13 paced the women, finishing the race with a time of 18:13, earning NESCAC Performer of the Week for her strong showing. Tousley finished 23 seconds ahead of tri-captain Katie Rominger '14. Katie Carlson '15 rounded out the top three at 18:52.
On the men's side, co-captain Jack Davies '13, who was awarded last week's NESCAC Performer of the Week after blazing through the Dartmouth Invitational in 25:37, won the men's race by nine seconds, finishing in 25:54. Trailing Davies was fellow co-captain Patrick Hebble '13, who clocked in at 26:05, and who was followed closely by Nate Sans '14.
The Panthers dominated a field that included St. Michael's College, SUNY-Canton, Paul Smith's College, Johnson State and Norwich University.
The double home victory comes a week after both the men and women finished at the bottom of their respective fields at Dartmouth.
"Even though our racing is still rusty, and we haven't started focusing on workouts designed to fine-tune our speed, both teams are capable of performing well right now because we have great bases after strong summers of training," Davies said.
This weekend the men and women travel to Williams for the Purple Valley Classic.