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(12/03/14 10:15pm)
2013-2014 record: 9-9-3 (women), 11-8 (men)
Women's captains: Charlotte Dewey ’15 & Anne Wymard ’15
Men's captains: Robert Galluccio ’15 & Reed Palmer ’15
This season begins a new chapter for the members of the Middlebury squash program. On Aug. 3 former coach John Illig suddenly passed away.
“We lost an amazing coach and friend this summer and are doing everything in our power to carry forward his legacy,” captain Robert Galluccio ’15 said. “We’re looking to achieve big things this season, just as he would have wanted us to.”
Captain Annie Wymard ’15 says that even though Illig has passed, his presence and memory will be felt by this year’s team.
“John’s influence pervades every aspect of our mentality,” Wymard said. “At every practice, every time we step onto those courts, we play with values John constantly instilled in us: the importance of sportsmanship and playing for the love of the game.”
Mike Morgan, current head coach of Middlebury’s women’s tennis team, is the Interim Head Coach for the squash team this season. Morgan formerly served at Colby as an assistant with the women’s tennis and women’s squash team. During his first year at Middlebury in 2006-2007, he served as the women’s squash coach, leading the team to 12 victories and a ranking of 15th nationally.
Morgan is quick to praise to his two assistants, newly hired Middlebury graduate Brian Cady ’11 and Alessondra Parra, who also serves with Morgan as his assistant with the women’s tennis team, for the expertise they have brought to the players since practice began on Nov. 1.
Morgan credits his players for buying into the instruction of the current coaching staff.
“It takes courage to buy in,” Morgan said, “But it’s a testament to the character of every player on the team and its collective vision of the season as a chance to do something special together.”
Both teams look to carry Illig’s legacy forward with strong campaigns and are off to a strong three-and-one start coming out of Thanksgiving break and heading into the DIII Invitational.
As a captain, Galluccio has high expectations.
“Speaking for the men’s team, we have a very promising season ahead and the results from the first weekend only reassured us of that,” he said. “We aim to finish the season ranked somewhere in the top 16 nationally.”
(11/19/14 9:58pm)
The Panther squash teams kicked off their 2014-2015 seasons in Connecticut last weekend as both the men’s and women’s teams began play in the Rosenbaum Squash Center at the Wesleyan Invitational tournament.
The women’s team began by stomping out Smith College with nine matches to zero.
The Pioneers played without Jacqueline Zhou, a senior who plays in their top slot, because she sustained an injury while playing Head Coach Tim Bacon at practice during the week. Instead of Zhou, Smith’s Jana Chan played in the top slot for the Pioneers. Saskia Pownall-Gray ’16 had no problem with Chan, as she began her season victorious in three matches, 11-4, 11-0 and 11-3.
Charlotte Dewey ’15 defeated her Pioneer opponent at number two, as did Anne Wymard ’15 at number three and first-year Liddy Renner ’18 in the fourth slot. In the bottom half of the lineup, Katie Dewey ’15, Lily Bogle ’18, Caroline Jahrling ’18, Maddie Hoar ’17 and Audrey Ellen ’17 all won their matches for Middlebury.
In the afternoon match, the Panthers took on host school Wesleyan, posting another commanding victory in which the only slot in which Cardinals won was the top slot. The only other slots in which the Cardinals won games were the third and ninth, with the Panther player dominating her Cardinal opponent in every other position.
After dominating Connecticut College 9-0 in the morning match, the Middlebury men squared off with Wesleyan in the afternoon to rack up a win of 6-3.
In the number-one position, Andrew Jung ’16 fell to his opponent from Wesleyan in straight sets. Andrew Cadienhead ’17 took the win at number two, as did Wyatt French ’17 and Harrison Croll ’16 at three and four. Though Will Hanley ’15.5 fell at number five, William Kurth ’18, David Cromwell ’16 and Robert Galluccio ’15 won their matches to give Middlebury the team victory.
On Sunday, the Panthers headed to Trinity to take on the vaunted Bantams. Neither the men’s nor the women’s side won its match.
However, Ben Krant ’17 and Ellen both salvaged bright spots for the Panther men and women, claiming victories for the Panthers in the ninth slots. Ellen won in a clean sweep of her opponent Brice Rothenberg, 11-6 in the first game, and remained dominant with 11-1 triumphs in both the second and the third games.
Meanwhile, Krant won in four sets, and after being tied one to one going into the third, dominated with 11-2 and 11-4 victories.
The squash teams will be back in action this Sunday afternoon, Nov. 23, against Tufts in the Middlebury Squash Center.
(11/13/14 12:39am)
Friday night the Middlebury volleyball team (12-12, 6-4) played its final game of the season, falling to the Bowdoin Polar Bears (21-7, 6-4) three sets to one in a NESCAC tournament quarterfinal match at Tufts.
The first match was knotted up at 15 a piece before Bowdoin closed the Panthers out on a ten to three run, sparked by a pair of Christy Jewett service aces. Erika Sklaver slammed home the final two points of the initial game to give Bowdoin a 25 to 18 victory.
Middlebury started the second set on a high note with a six-point streak, highlighted by kills from Emily Kolodka ’18 and Melanie English ’17 and four Bowdoin attack errors.
Bowdoin crawled back into the match, overtaking the Panthers 17 to 16, before Middlebury went on its second six to nothing run, led by three kills from Alice Roberts ’18, propelling the Panthers to a 25 to 18 win which tied the affair at one match each.
Bowdoin began the ultimately close third set with early momentum, gaining a seven to one edge on the Panthers, led by a Michelle Albright service ace and a pair of Christy Jewett Kills.
The run lasted until a Roberts kill started the Panthers’ engines. The Panthers tied the match at 19 when Becca Raffel ’18 hammered home a kill. But the Polar Bears were unfazed, capturing six of the last nine points, led by a service ace and kill by Hailey Wahl, and another kill by Jewett.
The fourth and final match provided a gut-wrenching end to the Panthers’ season.
Bowdoin went up 14 to seven and looked to have the game and the match all but in the bag. But a Bowdoin service error and two Lizzy Reed ’15 service aces as well as two Olivia Kolodka ’15 kills put the Panthers right back into the thick of the game with a deficit of only one point.
After a Hailey Wahl kill put Bowdoin up 21 to 17, the Panthers mustered one final push to try and stretch the meeting to a fifth match.
A Hannah Blackburn ’17 kill and a bevy of Bowdoin service and attack errors found the Panthers on top of the Polar Bears 23 to 22 heading into the final stretch. Bowdoin’s coach, Karen Corey, elected to take a timeout to settle her young team.
The Panthers needed only two more points to set up a dramatic rubber match, but the Polar Bear defense and two more Christy Jewett kills iced the quarterfinal match.
“It’s always tough to lose that last match, but all good things come to an end eventually. We played well, but not great, and when you get to the championships, you usually have to play your best if you want to win,” Head Coach Sarah Raunecker said.
First years Roberts and Raffel led the Panthers with 11 kills apiece. English finished with nine kills, a .368 hitting percentage and a strong defensive showing with three block solos and two block assists. Blackburn had 33 assists and Charlotte Devine ’17 had a match high three service aces. Olivia Kolodka had a team high 16 digs as fellow senior Reed collected 15.
Bowdoin’s Jewett led all players with 22 kills and Sklaver also posted a double-digit total of 13 kills. The Polar Bears’ Quincy Leech contributed 27 assists, and Katie Doherty had a match high of digs.
On Monday, Nov. 10, the selections for the NCAA volleyball tournament were announced. Tufts and Bowdoin were selected as at-large bids from the NESCAC, and will join conference champion Williams in the tournament.
The loss was the final game in a Panther uniform for seniors Reed, Olivia Kolodka and Piper Underbrink ’15.
The three seniors graduate having been members of the 2012 NESCAC Tournament championship team that collected a victory in the NCAA tournament and advanced to the second round.
“They had very successful careers here, and have helped strengthen our program, and we thank them for leaving that legacy,” Raunecker said.
(11/05/14 6:54pm)
This past weekend, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, volleyball seniors Lizzy Reed ’15, Olivia Kolodka ’15 and Piper Underbrink ’15 played their final regular season home games in Pepin Gym. In the process, the Panthers solidified their fourth seed for the NESCAC tournament that begins Friday night, Nov. 7.
Friday night the Panthers beat the visiting Connecticut College Camels (14-10, 5-5) convincingly in just three sets: 25-18, 25-20 and 25-13. It was a night that celebrated the three members of the team who will in May, kicked off by the singing of the national anthem, courtesy of Underbrink’s mother.
Underbrink and Alice Roberts ’18 had a team high with nine kills each. Melanie English ’17 hit .778 with seven kills on nine attempts and no errors, and defensively had two block solos and three block assists. Becca Raffel ’18 continued her strong first-year campaign tallying seven kills. Reed and Hannah Blackburn ’17 dished out two service aces apiece to go with Blackburn’s 35 assists.
After a late Middlebury comeback fell short in the first set, the Panthers and the crowd began set two energized, jumping on the Jumbos four to one. Olivia Kolodka and English denied a number of Tufts kills early, before making subs to try and stave off a Tufts run.
Jumbo outside hitters Maddie Kuppe and Hayley Hooper led a Tufts run that put the Jumbos on top 12-8. Hooper, a senior and Tufts kills leader, seemed to capitalize on every kill opportunity she had in the set, while the Tufts front line formed an iron curtain, denying Middlebury scorers until Roberts converted a kill for a 16-9 deficit.
Middlebury would fight back after a timeout, as Olivia Kolodka denied a kill shot from Tufts senior Isabel Kuhel. But it wouldn’t be enough for the Panthers, with Tufts looking unstoppable taking the second set 25-13.
A pair of Raffel kills and Jumbo errors saw Middlebury take a narrow lead. Middlebury’s Blackburn delivered a service ace that was followed by a net violation on Tufts. A kill from English coming out of a Jumbos’ timeout appeared to give Middlebury the momentum. The Panthers were pushed to victory by several key kills and blocks by the front line, forcing Tufts to play a fourth set.
Although the Panthers lost the fourth and deciding set, the team battled down the stretch and gave the favored Jumbos all they could handle. The Jumbos’ hulking and more experienced front line may have been victorious, but first-years Roberts and Raffel, along with Underbrink, all contributed with both sensational kills and momentous blocks.
Playing her final regular season game for the Panthers, Reed said the seniors tried to play it like a normal game.
“We have a very special team and it’s an honor to play with such a great group of people and such devoted coaches,” Reed said. “It’s going to be exciting for us to go to NESCACs and see what we can do.”
Next up for the Panthers is the NESCAC Tournament. The fourth-seeded Panthers will play fifth seeded Bowdoin (20-7, 6-4) Friday night, Nov. 7 at 8pm in Medford, MA at Tufts’ Cousens Gym.
(10/30/14 4:22am)
The Middlebury volleyball team spent the weekend in Massachusetts tuning up for postseason play at the Hall of Fame tournament. The NESCAC tournament is set to begin on Friday, Nov. 7 and the Panthers wrap up their regular season with matchups on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 against conference foes Connecticut College and Tufts.
In action at Amherst and Smith in the Hall of Fame tournament, the Panthers beat Brandeis and MIT in four and five sets respectively, and lost a tough battle against Springfield in five sets for the trips’ final matchup on Saturday afternoon.
Friday night’s bout with Brandeis saw Middlebury get off to a hot start. In the first set, the Panthers and Judges were knotted up at 11 before a service error by Brandeis led to six straight Middlebury points and a 14 to three run to take the set.
The second set went the way of the Judges, who jumped on top of the Panthers 10-3. Down 19-12, Middlebury head coach Sarah Raunecker subbed in Charlotte Devine ’17 and Alice Roberts ’18, who promptly helped Middlebury’s cause with a kill. However, it would not be enough, as the Judges would take the set without much resistance.
In set three, Olivia Kolodka ’15 set the tone with a kill to give the Panthers the first point from which they never looked back, taking the set 25-17. The fourth and final set saw the Panthers off to a decisive 20-2 lead. During that span, the Panthers went on two big runs: one of seven straight points and one of 11 straight points. They won the set 25-13 to finish off Brandeis.
In Saturday’s early match, the Panthers built off of the momentum gained Friday night, as they edged the 24-4 MIT Engineers, who received votes in the ACVA Division III national poll earlier this week.
The Panthers grabbed the opening set by a 25-21 count. MIT took a 2-1 set lead after a pair of 25-16 and 25-22 victories.
The Panthers showed strong resolve as they took the last two sets from the Engineers, 25-17 and 15-13 respectively.
Becca Raffel ’18 led the Middlebury attack with 15 kills, while fellow first-year Roberts had 14. Olivia Kolodka had nine kills, Gabi Rosenfeld ’17 added six and Hannah Blackburn ’17 contributed 43 assists.
The late matchup with Springfield saw the Panthers fall in five sets despite winning the first two sets 27-25 and 25-17. The Pride stole a victory away in the final three sets by margins of 25-17, 25-19 and 15-8.
Raffel’s efforts were rewarded by her selection as Middlebury’s representative to the all-tournament team. In three matches, the first-year racked up 37 kills, maintained a .234 hitting percentage, posted 13 digs on the defensive side as well as a block and three block assists.
Through 21 games, the Panthers sport 11 wins to 10 losses overall and a record of 5-3 in NESCAC play. The final two matches against Connecticut College (12-9, 4-4) and Tufts (17-7, 7-1) present challenges to the Panthers on multiple fronts.
In terms of seeding for the conference tournament, wins (and some help) can put the Panthers into a tie for first place with a combination of multiple other teams. Losses can see the Panthers’ seed slip from their current position as the five seed down to the seventh seed.
(10/22/14 8:51pm)
Middlebury volleyball spent homecoming weekend in Connecticut, picking up two conference victories on the road at Trinity and Wesleyan on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 17 and 18.
On Friday night the Panthers overcame the Bantams’ quick start in Oosting Gymnasium and cruised to their fourth win in conference play.
The two teams were neck-to-neck in the first set until Trinity went on a four-to-nothing run to take a 17-16 lead. Middlebury closed out the set on a nine-to-one run to take the first set 25-18.
The Panthers carried the momentum over, gaining an early advantage in the second set. A run of aces and well-placed kills gave Middlebury a 19-10 lead, as they held on and secured the set, 25-14.
In the third set, the Panthers traded points with Trinity, until a run of four straight points saw Middlebury grab a 17-13 lead, propelling the Panthers to a 25-19 victory.
Becca Raffel ’18 and Olivia Kolodka ’15 posted the team high for kills with eight each and were followed by Alice Roberts ‘18 who registered seven. Emily Kolodka ’18 played a key role in the victory as she registered a match-high 15 digs for the Panthers along with four service aces. Hannah Blackburn ’17 recorded a double-double with her match high 28 assists to go with 14 digs.
Trinity was led offensively by Kate Giddens with a match-best 11 kills, while Hunter Drews chipped in with six. Amanda Horan added four kills, while Randi Whitham dished out 13 assists. Defensively, Kristen Cooprider led the Bantams with 10 digs. The Bantams fell to 11-7 (3-5) with the loss.
“We feel good about what we’re doing right now, and will continue to strive to improve a little bit every day,” Head Coach Sarah Raunecker said.
Middlebury would look to carry Friday night’s momentum into Wesleyan’s Silloway Gym on Saturday afternoon in Middletown, but quickly found itself down a set when the Cardinals jumped on the Panthers early.
After a Charlotte Devine ’17 kill in the first set, Wesleyan collected 10 of the next 13 points and led by a score of 18-9. Kills by Olivia Kolodka and the first-year duo of Roberts and Raffel looked to stop the bleeding for the Panthers, but it wouldn’t be enough to stop Wesleyan from taking the first set 25-16.
Despite dropping the first set, the Panthers were able to win the next three and capture the match. The second set saw Middlebury in another tough battle as the match went down to the wire with the Panthers leading 19-18. However, a Roberts kill shifted the momentum in Middlebury’s favor. Kills from Melanie English ’17, Olivia Kolodka and a pair of Blackburn service aces sealed 25-18 set victory for the Panthers, knotting the match at one game apiece.
The third set staunchly belonged to Middlebury. The set was highlighted early by three Lizzy Reed ’15 service aces, and was closed by a Devine ace and kills from Raffel, Roberts and Olivia Kolodka.
“It doesn’t necessarily show in our stats, but I think we’ve been a pretty strong serving team this year so far, and we’d like to continue with that these last couple of weeks before NESCACs,” Raunecker said.
The fourth and final set got saw the Panthers off to a rocky start, as three straight attack errors turned their three to nothing lead into a four to three deficit. Once again, it was a close set until the end, when Middlebury managed six straight points, bookended by kills from Emily Kolodka and Raffel, to clinch the set 25-15, and the match three games to one. The loss dropped Wesleyan to 10-9 (2-7).
Olivia Kolodka collected 12 kills, Reed had 18 digs, and Hannah Blackburn dished out an impresive 44 assists to go with her four service aces.
The Panthers, 10-9 (5-3), have six games remaining in the last two weeks of the regular season.
The Panthers’ regular season wraps up with a pair of NESCAC matches against Connecticut College and conference leader Tufts. These matchups provide Middlebury with a chance to improve its seed heading into the conference tournament.
Currently sitting in fifth, the best position the team can find itself is the two seed, but this will require a lot of help; at worst the Panthers will earn the seventh seed.
“Our team has really started to gel and come together as we hoped it would, which has been really fun to see,” Raunecker said. “I think this is due to the strong leadership of our captains, and the maturation of our large freshman class.”
(10/08/14 10:29pm)
This past weekend the Middlebury volleyball team took a Massachusetts road trip to battle NESCAC foes Amherst and Williams on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 3 and 4, falling 3-1 in both matches.
On Friday night, the Panthers went into Amherst’s LeFrak Gymnasium to take on the formidable Lord Jeffs, owners of a 9-2 record overall including a 2-1 mark within the conference.
In the first set, the Panthers got off to a slow start, falling behind 7-0 before Hannah Blackburn ’17 assisted Olivia Kolodka ’15 for a kill that began a 25-9 Middlebury run. Another kill from Olivia Kolodka capped off the run for the Panthers with a win in the first set.
Amherst rallied in the next three sets, however, winning 25-20, 25-16 and 25-22, each of which was toughly contested.
A late Panther rally fell short at the end of the second set, and although they were able to pull within four points of the Jeffs, Amherst’s Asha Walker sealed it with a kill.
In game three the Panthers started hot, mustering a 5-1 lead before the hosts went on a fierce 18-7 run to put the set out of reach. The Panthers jumped out to a 4-1 lead in what would be the final set, and led by as many as six points at 16-10 before the momentum changed after a Panther service error.
Amherst also benefited from a key substitution in the set, putting junior Samantha Newby and sophomore Kate Bres in the game.
On the night, Olivia Kolodka led Panther attack with 13 kills and also had nine assists and 16 digs. Fellow senior Piper Underbrink ’15 contributed 11 kills, while Becca Raffel ’18 logged 10. Blackburn led all players with 41 assists to go along with her 15 digs, and Lizzy Reed ’15 had a team-high 20 digs.
The Panthers then made the 60-mile trek to Williamstown to take on the defending NESCAC champion Ephs of Williams, who entered the matchup in Chandler Gym with an impressive 12-1 record and with an eight-game winning streak.
Williams took the first set 25-17, but the second set belonged to the Panthers, who needed an extra point to close it out 26-24.
The third and fourth sets would go to the Ephs. A service ace by Williams junior setter Ryan Farley began a 15-1 run to open the third set.
The Panthers managed only a few side-outs before Williams broke twenty points, getting the score 20-6 en route to taking the third set by a score of 25-10. The fourth set would feature much of the same, with the Ephs charging ahead 4-0 on the heels of Raea Rasmussen’s outside kill and a serving streak provided by Amanda Schott. The Ephs won the last set handily, 25-12.
Raffel led the attack with 13 kills and Olivia Kolodka added seven more. Blackburn had 34 assists and 15 digs in the match, while Emily Kolodka ’18 added 16 digs. Reed had a team-high 17 digs in the contest.
The Panthers – who are now 4-7 overall on the season and 1-3 in NESCAC play –play host to Bowdoin at 8pm on Friday, Oct. 10 followed by a matchup with Colby at 2pm on Saturday, Oct. 11 in Pepin Gym.
The Polar Bears and Mules should provide a slight break for the Pantherse.
Sitting at 12-4 on the season and 4-2 within the conference, Bowdoin is coming off a weekend in which they were upset by Trinity. The Polar Bears are in need of a win in order to solidify their place among the NESCAC’s competitive teams in 2014.
Colby, meanwhile, has struggled to a 9-7 record so far this season, including a 1-4 mark in the NESCAC. Both the Panthers and Mules look to be teams who will have to pull together a string of late wins if they are going to qualify for the eight-team NESCAC championship tournament.
(10/06/05 12:00am)
Author: ZAMIR AHMED, SPORTS EDITOR Aldrich to end 31-year reign Nordic ski team head coach Terry Aldrich has announced that he will step down from the position following the upcoming season after holding the job for 31 years. Aldrich will remain on as head coach of the men's and women's cross-country teams and will become an assistant director of athletics beginning on July 1, 2006.Aldrich attended St. Lawrence University and was a three-sport star, competing on the soccer, ski and track teams during his time there. After graduation, he qualified for both the national nordic team and the Olympic biathlon training squad, competing in the 1970 and 1971 World Championships.Aldrich became the Director of Skiing and cross-country head coach at Middlebury College in 1975 after spending three years as coach of the ski team at the University of New Hampshire. He has enjoyed a successful run at Middlebury, as the women's team won back-to-back Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women National Championship in 1979 and 1980 and took home the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association Championship in 2004. Pfaff '09 and Cece '06 honored Middlebury's Ashley Pfaff '09 was named the NESCAC Player of the Week on Monday following a 1-0-1 weekend for the women's soccer team, and Derek Cece '06 was named NESCAC Player of the Week for men's soccer as recognition for his efforts during the Panthers' two wins this past weekend.Pfaff tallied three straight goals on Sunday for the Panthers in their 3-2 win over Bowdoin. The hat trick pushed the forward's season goal total to five, making her the team leader and tying her for fourth in the NESCAC. More importantly, Pfaff's firepower helped the Panthers recover from a disappointing showing in their previous four games, when they went 0-2-2 and scored only once. Pfaff and the Panthers will look to move up in the NESCAC standings this weekend when they travel to Amherst.Cece scored a goal in both the Panthers' games last weekend, a 4-0 win over Colby on Saturday followed by a 3-0 shutout against Bowdoin on Sunday. Cece has also anchored Middlebury's tough defense this year, which has posted six straight shutouts and not allowed a goal since the second half of their season opener. The Panthers' will have the chance to improve to 8-0 for the year on Saturday when they take on rival Amherst. Sodano calls time after 19 years Jerry Sodano has announced that he will step down as the Athletics Department Equipment Manager after almost 20 years with the job. He will be moving to North Carolina with his wife Nancy for new opportunities and the warmer climate.Sodano was hired in 1987 as the equipment manager, distributing and maintaining the equipment and uniforms for all varsity and junior varsity squads. Sodano has worked closely with coaches and players over the years to keep the playing field safe by listening and meeting the needs of the sports teams.Sodano's influence stretched beyond the equipment room, most notably in his design for an air-filled jaw pad for football helmets. Riddell All American Equipment Manufacturing has used the invention in their development of a helmet that reduces the chance of head injuries to a player. Sodano was also worked closely on the design and construction of a new equipment facility that was completed in 1999. He collaborated with the architects throughout the building process to create an efficient and accessible space for athletes.