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(09/18/12 9:41pm)
It was a rough night for the College football team, as their issues with preventing the big play continued. They gave up three touchdown passes of 40 yards or more in a 41-17 loss to The College of Brockport on Saturday to start NJAC play.
The Golden Eagles were led by a masterful performance from quarterback Joe Scibilia, who torched the Lions’ defense for 366 yards and five touchdowns.
The game started off tight for the two teams. After the Lions let up a touchdown pass, junior linebacker Johne Ringo recovered a fumble and senior running back Justin Doniloski punched in a first-quarter touchdown from two yards out to tie it at 7-7. Doniloski finished the game with 81 yards.
“The line has been blocking real well and we have been getting downfield blocking from our wide receivers, which is key for our running game,” Doniloski said. “The main thing we need to do is to keep playing team football.”
In the beginning of the second quarter, the Lions’ deficiency with the big play reared its ugly head. A 57-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Joseph Innes put Brockport up 14-7. After senior kicker Derrick Hughes hit a 42-yard field goal with time in the half winding down, it seemed like the Lions would escape with only a 14-10 deficit. That would not be the case. A 69-yard home run pass to wide receiver Jake Spalik was a backbreaker and put the halftime score at 21-10.
“It’s hard to say how we’re going to limit the big play,” Doniloski said. “On defense, we need to get 11 players to the ball. On offense, we need 11 guys doing their responsibilities on every play and then we will start having big plays as well. Our problem has been from penalties and turnovers, which we will be working to improve on in the upcoming week.”
When the second half began, more problems arose. On the first play from scrimmage, the Golden Eagles showed they could hurt the Lions on the ground as well when running back Tyrone Nichols scampered for a 55-yard touchdown run.
The College continued to fight back as freshman running back Victor Scalici ran in a score from three yards out for his first career touchdown. However, after two more six-pointers for Brockport, the Lions were finished.
The offense struggled, looking much different from its 45-point outburst last week over Farleigh Dickinson University-Florham. Senior quarterback Dan Dugan was held to just 130 yards against the Brockport defense.
It’s hard to know what to make of the Lions’ defense. On one hand, they had some great individual performances. Junior linebacker Nick Bricker had 14 tackles, senior linebacker Greg Burns had 10 and junior linebacker Sean Clark had eight tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. On the other hand, the College’s defense as a whole has given up too many big plays. In three games so far, they’ve given up nine scoring plays of 40 yards or more.
The Lions enjoy a bye week before they travel to Western Connecticut State University in two weeks. They’ll use it to fix some of the problems they’ve had on both sides of the ball and figure out how to stop the big play. This team has the potential to be very good, but just needs to improve in a few areas.
“It’s our responsibility to take advantage of this bye week by getting healthy and cleaning up the scheme on offense and defense so everyone knows their jobs,” Doniloski said. “Everything is very much open in the NJAC right now, so we just have to learn from our mistakes from this loss and focus on Western Connecticut right now.”
(09/11/12 9:34pm)
Lightning struck the College’s offense, evident in their igniting the scoreboard for 45 points and taking away their first victory of the season over Farleigh Dickinson University-Florham on a stormy night this past Friday.
Senior quarterback Dan Dugan led the Lions. After an eye opening performance in the home opener last week, Dugan came back and delivered another gaudy stat line. He not only passed for 308 yards and two scores, but within that, he broke the College’s single-game completion record with 34 successful throws.
“Dan is improving every day,” head coach Eric Hamilton said. “As he gains confidence, so does the offense. The staff has complete faith in what he can do and with this being his opportunity, improving every week will be key.”
The game started out eerily similar to last week, as the Lions were running on all cylinders in their opening drive. Senior running back Justin Doniloski culminated that with a one-yard touchdown run. He finished the game with 140 total yards on 33 touches.
“We didn’t start off this week well on either side of the ball, but as the game went on, we picked up momentum,” Hamilton said. “Our running game got a shot in the arm with Doniloski’s toughness.”
The Devils tied the game up with a goal- line run of their own, but the Lions countered right away with another solid drive that saw Dugan run the ball in from three yards out.
The second quarter was one to forget for the College. Their issues with the big play resurfaced as they gave up touchdown passes from 70 and 63 yards out. The Lions were able to add a 36-yard field goal from senior kicker Derrick Hughes as time expired in the half, narrowing their deficit 21-17.
“Big plays are our Achilles’ heel,” Hamilton said. “Defensive stops are becoming hard to come by, bending but not breaking. This week we hope to limit the big plays against us and hopefully make a couple ourselves.”
Despite the somewhat rough half, it appeared the Lions took a lot out of last week’s game, as they came out roaring in the second half and never looked back. They went off scoring three touchdowns in a row. The first came not too long into the half on a three-yard run by senior running back Nick Tyson. The other two were thrown by Dugan, a 37-yarder to junior wide receiver Fred Sprengel and a 17-yarder to senior wide receiver Matt Rosati. This put the College up 38-21.
The defense stiffened up and shut down the Devils in the second half, which certainly helped out the offense. Senior defensive back James Siracusa forced and recovered a fumble, showing why the College’s defense is based on turnovers. Senior linebacker Greg Burns led the squad with 11 tackles and he’s now 16 tackles away from breaking the school’s record of 284 tackles set by Carl Jones, a recent hall of fame inductee. Senior linebacker Michael Lambert and junior linebacker Nick Bricker chipped in with eight tackles apiece and senior defensive lineman Thomas Hoppe recorded an interception.
FDU-Florham scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter in an attempt to make the game interesting, but Tyson came right back with a nine-yard rushing touchdown, setting the final score at 45-28.
This was a great win for the Lions, as they exorcised demons from last week, showed that they’re a force to be reckoned with on both sides of the ball and, most importantly, played consistently. The College’s ability to play at a high level for the majority of the game limited mistakes and fueled the win.
The Lions will open up NJAC play at the College of Brockport on Saturday afternoon. They expect this win to springboard them to more success in the conference.
“Brockport has two big wins and are on a roll,” Hamilton said. “We always play well up there on the grass field so hopefully this win will give us some momentum. We will have to play a smart game because we can’t give them any help.”
(09/05/12 7:13am)
In what was an exciting game from start to finish, the Lions’ came up just short against the Ursinus College Bears, getting edged on a late touchdown by the score of 24-20.
Ursinus junior quarterback Chris Curran connected on a wild 45-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Ryan Lynady with just under three minutes to play to give the Bears the lead. The Lions’ final drive looked promising at first, but came up short and Ursinus clinched the win.
“I think we just have to be more consistent,” senior linebacker Michael Lambert said. “It’s the big plays that are going to hurt us. I don’t think there are many teams that can consistently go down the field on us.”
The game couldn’t have started off any better for the Lions, who had a near perfect opening drive. Senior quarterback Dan Dugan was five-for-five, hit senior tight end Pat Chirchirillo on two big pass gains and handed it off to senior running back Justin Doniloski for a one-yard touchdown run, giving the Lions a 7-0 lead.
“We wanted to come out strong and show that we’re a good offense, so capitalizing with a touchdown helped with that,” Dugan said.
On the College’s second drive, it was more of the same. Dugan threw consecutive completions to senior wide receiver Matt Rosati and broke free on a 41-yard run. He then concluded the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run, getting the Lions out to a 14-0 lead.
The defense was dominant early, but the Bears finally got on the board after a punt return to the College’s 15-yard line. Just as two incompletions made it seem like another three-and-out was imminent, Curran tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Darius Jones to make the score 14-7.
Getting right back at it was Dugan, who threw two passes for 22 yards to senior wide receiver Glenn Grainger and a 28-yarder to junior wide receiver Fred Sprengel. The Lions were halted at the two-yard line, where senior kicker Derrick Hughes successfully made a 19-yard field goal to extend the lead to 17-7.
Lambert intercepted Curran on the next drive, but the Lions gave it right back when Dugan threw a pick himself.
That turnover proved to be deadly. Curran threw both a 35-yard and 46-yard pass to Jones, the latter of which was a touchdown, resulting in a 17-14 score heading into the half.
In the second half, the Lions’ defense did it’s best to slow down the Bears’ offense, but an eventual 31-yard field goal by freshman kicker Eric Boyer tied the game at 17.
A 40-yard run by Doniloski seemed to jump-start the offense, but they still couldn’t break through the plane, settling for a 28-yard Hughes’ field goal — putting the Lions ahead by three.
The College’s defense continued to make plays when senior defensive back James Siracusa collected the team’s third interception. Junior linebacker Sean Clark also had one.
“We’re a defense that’s built on turnovers, so it’s good to see that in our first game we came out here and had a couple,” Lambert said.
However, the offense wouldn’t get any more points and the big play to Lynady proved to be the game-winner.
“We need to feel how bad this loss is and motivate ourselves to work harder in practice next week,” Dugan said.
It seemed as though the Lions had this one in the bag but were unable to seal the deal. The team played very well at the start and looked to maintain that level of play for the entire game.
“I think we definitely saw some good things, it’s just that we made a few mistakes that let them win the game,” Lambert said. “I think if we can take this, build on it and go into NJAC play, we’ll have a pretty good shot to have a good season.”
The team travels to Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham this Friday night for their next game.
(09/05/12 6:37am)
Momentum is one of the most powerful weapons on the football field. Unlike physical talent, it is an intangible that teams have struggled to slow down, making it nearly impossible to stop.
Or is it?
This past Friday night, the College went up against the Ursinus College Bears. Leading the entire game, the Lions gave up a late touchdown and fell behind 24-20. With less than three minutes to play, they needed to score immediately. The College’s final drive started off promising with multiple completions.
Then, with all the momentum on the Lions’ side, an Ursinus player went down with an injury. After he was helped off the field, the momentum was gone. The College was stopped on their quest for a comeback, and they turned the ball over on downs.
This triggered a memory from a game last year in the NFL. The New York Giants were playing the St. Louis Rams on Monday Night Football. As the Rams were driving in the Giants’ red zone, two players, safety Deon Grant and linebacker Jacquian Williams, flopped and fell to the ground with a supposed injury. The pause in action wound up killing the Rams’ momentum.
However, in this case, it was obvious that the Giants’ players were faking to slow down the Rams’ offense. Commentators, analysts, fans and even blind men could see right through the bad acting jobs of New York’s players.
Seeing this really bothered me. How could football players, some of the toughest athletes in the world, resort to pulling a LeBron James and acting as if they’d been shot over nothing?
There were no repercussions for the Giants or their players because the NFL would be unable to 100 percent prove it was an act unless they had a confession from the players.
Something similar happened in a game later in the season between the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers. Packers linebacker A. J. Hawk gave Falcons’ offensive lineman Joe Hawley a small shove after a play. Hawley flew backwards as if he had been hit by a car, and Hawk was called for a penalty.
Luckily, this wasn’t an issue for the rest of the season, but now with the new season about to start, commissioner Roger Goodell needs to keep an eye out for this. As if the replacement referees weren’t enough cause for concern, issues arrive every season, and this could be one of them.
If this comes up again, Goodell needs to watch tape on the “injury” very carefully, as well as have doctors determine whether the player is actually hurt. Then, he should sit down with a panel and come to a verdict on whether or not the athlete is exaggerating. If they are, come down on them with a swift fine, and players won’t do it again.
The NFL is the most popular league in America so therefore, it should be held to the highest of standards. The act of a player faking an injury to slow down the opponents’ offense is very cowardly, lame and it hurts the integrity of the game.
I’m very excited for the NFL season to start, and I know I’m not alone. I just hope problems like this don’t compromise the sport we all know and love.
(08/29/12 4:07am)
In recent memory, nothing has been more important in sports than getting hot at the right time. Just ask last year’s champions: the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants and Los Angeles Kings. All three were huge underdogs, but ran the table in the postseason and rode momentum to a title.
With the NFL season approaching, I have a feeling this one will be as exciting as ever. There are just so many teams with the ability to catch fire and win a title that truly anything can happen. There are the obvious contenders. The New York Giants, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and Houston Texans wouldn’t really shock anyone if they won the Super Bowl. That being said, here are some dark horse teams that have a real shot to win it all.
The Detroit Lions are looking to make the leap this year. While their defense still needs improvement, the Matthew Stafford-Calvin Johnson connection is the type of home run play that will make sure no one sleeps on them.
Their rivals, the Chicago Bears, have made some upgrades. Adding Brandon Marshall to pair with Jay Cutler, as well as Michael Bush, Chicago will have a top offense to go with its always-solid defense.
Everyone’s waiting to see how Peyton Manning’s neck holds up, but what if he doesn’t miss a beat? The Denver Broncos would then look like a favorite.
Staying in the AFC West, it’s always hard to count out the San Diego Chargers. Despite the fact that they seem to always underachieve, they have a ton of talent, and now a completely healthy Phillip Rivers.
If the Dallas Cowboys can minimize their mistakes, they could be dangerous. Tony Romo runs a high-powered offense and new defensive talent make the Cowboys deadly.
Matt Ryan’s breakout year may final happen since he’s throwing to Roddy White and Julio Jones. If it happens, there’s no reason the Atlanta Falcons can’t match up with the division rivals Saints.
The point is, there’s just so much depth in NFL teams this year. Not all of them are created equal, but they all have at least an outside shot of having a glorious winter. That’s why I suggest you watch football this year every single week. Although you should be doing that already.
(04/24/12 8:30am)
The College’s men’s and women’s track and field teams had solid performances at the Greyhound Invitational at Moravian College this past weekend.
The men were led by a record-breaking performance from junior Steven D’Aiutolo, who broke the school record in the triple jump (held by himself) by leaping 14.35 meters, good for second place in the event. Junior Andy Gallagher also grabbed a second place finish, his being in the 3000-meter steeplechase, with a time of 9:38.37.
The Lions had several other top ten finishes in the running events. Junior Alex Brown receiving ninth place in the 400-meters with a time of 50.12 Senior Christopher Medina ran a 22.22 in the 200-meters, good for sixth place in the event and a qualification for ECAC’s. Senior Rob Jiggetts was right behind him in seventh at 22.43. Finally, junior Mark Sidebottom paced himself to a admirable fourth place in the 5000-meters at 15:38.15.
The College also had freshman Erik Moutenot compete in the Larry Ellis Invitational held at Princeton University. He completed the 800-meters at a time of 1:56.31.
“I heard back from a couple of teammates minutes after the meet on how everyone did on Saturday,” Moutenot said. “It was great to hear the good news, a lot of people hit season bests that day. Can’t wait to get back and compete with the full team again next weekend.”
For the women, the 5000-meters was their strongest event. Freshman Jillian Manzo, senior Danielle Aran and freshman Tara Nealon finished sixth, eighth and ninth in the event at times of 19:06.00, 19:24.27 and 19:32.46 respectively.
Two duos in three different events were also key to the Lions’ success. In the hurdles, sophomore Katie Knight took fifth in the 100-hurdles at 15.49, while sophomore Emily Kulcyk was sixth in the 400-hurdles, speeding to a 1:04.12 mark. In the 3000-meter steeplechase, junior Erine O’Connor and freshman Alyssa Silver managed to finish in the two fastest times for Division III runners. O’Connor took ninth at 12:14.31 and Silver was 12th at 12:44.49.
“It was my first time ever running the steeple chase and it felt pretty good,” Silver said. “I really enjoyed running it though and I look forward to running it more in the future and improving my time.”
Also, in the 1500-meters, sophomore Julie Jablonski was eighth overall with a mark of 4:51.99.
In the field, junior Mary Chismar placed fifth in the shot put with a heave of 12.14 meters. The throw qualified her for ECAC’s.
“The team did pretty well and fought hard despite the heat,” Silver said. “There was a lot of competition but we definitely proved to be a competitive team.”
The women also had some runners in the Larry Ellis Invitational that resulted in ECAC qualifiers. In the 5000 meters, sophomore Megan Flynn and junior Cathy Goncalves both qualified with times of 17:36.89 and 17:39.58 respectively. In the 1500-meter event, seniors Alyssa Bannon and Katie Nestor raced to qualifying times of 4:38.24 and 4:41.79 respectively.
The Lions managed to compete well as a team, even though their athletes were scattered in the two separate meets.
The College will host the Lion Invitational this coming Friday and Saturday.
(04/17/12 4:58am)
On a beautiful day last weekend, the College hosted the New Jersey Invitational and came away with some stellar performances against a field of 16 teams.
In what was one of the most exciting races of the year, the men’s 4x100 relay team took first in a dramatic comeback.
The team consisted of senior Christopher Medina, sophomore Scott Lisa, senior Robert Jiggetts and junior Kyle Magliaro. Jiggetts made up some serious ground in the third leg, and Magliaro completed the turnaround by sprinting to first as the anchor. They finished with a time of 42.08.
“I was watching the throwers when I heard a roar from the crowd and saw the end of the comeback,” said freshman Tyler Frezza. “It was really exciting to watch, and something like that uplifts the entire team’s morale.”
There were several other impressive performances, starting with sophomore Dominic Tasco who came in second overall in the 800-meters with an ECAC qualifying time of 1:52.25. In the 400-meter hurdles, two freshmen finished in the top four. Erik Moutenot and Louis Fisher finished in times of 55.55 and 50.73 respectively. Finally, junior Alex Brown barely missed qualifying for ECAC’s as he captured fourth place in the 400-meters with a time of 50.41.
The field events were once again led by huge jumps from junior Steven D’Aiutolo. He won the triple jump and was the top Division III jumper in the long jump with marks of 46’ 3.25” and 21’ 9”, respectively. In the pole vault, junior Julio Alorro and senior Colin Gold each cleared a height of 14’ 5.25” to take the top two spots in the event. Fisher was not far off in sixth place, clearing 12’ 5.5”.
The throwing events also brought top honors for the Lions, specifically in shot put and disc. Frezza and freshman Abayomi Arowolo finished second and seventh in the shot put with throws of 41’ 9.25” and 38’ 7”. Arowolo was also fourth in the discus with a toss of 129’ 3”.
“I had been in a slump for the past couple of weeks, and it was great to finally start throwing well again,” Frezza explained. “There’s definitely room for improvement, but nonetheless, I’m happy.”
The women also had a great day at home. Their most dominant event was the 3000-meters that saw three Lions finish before any other runner. Sophomore Megan Flynn, junior Rachel Morris and freshman Jillian Manzo took the top three spots with times of 10:25.42, 10:41.79 and 10:43.08 respectively.
The 400-meters was also a strong event for the College that saw senior Alyssa Bannon get a personal best this season with a time of 4:44.38. Freshman Liz Johnson came in sixth at 4:49.76 and sophomore Anginelle Alabanza was ninth at 4:54.68.
Rounding out the running events were two outstanding hurdle races. Sophomore Emily Kulcyk won the 400-meter with an ECAC qualifying time of 1:04.15, while sophomore Katie Knight was fourth in the 100-meter with a run of 15.60.
Junior Mary Chismar highlighted the field events. She won the shot put with a throw of 40’ 6”, came in fifth in the discus with a toss of 97’ 1” and grabbed second in the hammer throw at 125’ 4”. In the javelin, graduate student Brianna Brennan won the whole thing with a throw of 128” 5’, which was 11 feet more than any other throw. Sophomore Emily Skalko won the high jump at 5’ 1”. The Lions dominated the pole vault with four of their athletes finishing in the top five: Skalko, sophomore Jackie Chester, freshman Jamie Demarco, freshman Brigit Milorey.
The College seemed to enjoy competing at home for once, a rarity in their track and field season.
“I like traveling to other schools to throw, but there’s nothing like competing at home,” Frezza said. “TCNJ has a great track facility. All the events are really close to each other, which makes it easy to watch and cheer on the rest of the team when you’re not competing.”
The Lions head to Princeton University this weekend to take on all comers in the Larry Ellis Invitational.
(04/11/12 8:17pm)
The College tested itself this weekend against several Division I and Division III teams at the Sam Howell Invitational at Princeton University.
Sprinting to the top Division III time at the meet, senior Christopher Medina came in at a blazing 11.18 seconds in the 100-meter dash. Junior teammate Kyle Magliaro was not far behind at 11.36.
Junior Steven D’Aiutolo continued to stampede through the competition as he finished at 50.29 in the 400-meters and was sixth in the long jump with a distance of 21’ 2.5”.
There were also a few ECAC qualifiers, starting with senior Shaun McGeever. McGeever, who got a mark of 3:58.43 in the 1500-meters. Junior Andy Gallagher qualified in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:44.66.
In the field, both senior Colin Gold and junior Julio Alorro were able to clear 14’ 3.25” in the pole vault, while sophomore Scott Lisa was eighth in the high jump with a jump of 6’ 2.25”.
For the women, there were ECAC qualifiers and top 10 finishes. Junior Cathy Goncalves and sophomore Julie Jablonski both qualified in the 5000-meter event with times of 17:45.15 and 18:19.49 respectively. Goncalves placed third out of Division III runners.
Leading the top 10 finishes was senior Katie Nestor, who was sixth in the 1500-meters with a time of 4:46.73. Sophomore Emily Kulcyk was the top Division III runner to cross the line in the 400-meters with a time of 1:40.90. Senior Alyssa Bannon and sophomore Anginelle Alabanza finished seventh and 10th respectively in the 3000-meters with times of 10:27.90 and 10:33.63.
“We are lucky to attend meets with such great competition because it gives us something to go after, and it also allows us to prove what a great program we have,” said sophomore Emily Skalko. “Having such good competition pushes us to break our own personal bests.”
The Lions had some impressive performances in the field as well. Skalko was seventh in the high jump at 4’ 11.5” Sophomore Erica Roberts took ninth in the long jump with a leap of 33’ 6.5”. Senior Brianna Brennan hurled the javelin a remarkable 126’ 11”. That throw was third in the meet and among the top 25 of all throws by Division III throwers this season. Junior Julianne Grandal was ninth with a mark of 113’ 8”. Finally, sophomore Jackie Chester rounded out the meet with an eighth place in the pole vault, clearing 10’ 11.75”.
“It is very important to obtain contributions from every area because it shows how well rounded our team is,” Skalko explained. “It is impossible to win a team championship without contributions from every area because every point counts. It gives us even more of a reason to go above and beyond to support each other.”
The Lions return to action Saturday when they host the New Jersey Invitational at the College.
(04/03/12 12:50pm)
Despite some inclement weather, the College’s track and field teams recorded strong performances in their start to the outdoor season.
The men were led by junior Steven D’Aiutolo, who picked up right where he left off from his monster indoor season. D’Aiutolo won the triple jump with a jump of 46’ 8.25”, a program record. He was also fifth in the 400-meter event with a time of 50.48 seconds.
“The main thing that I focused on is my goal of competing at nationals,” D’Aiutolo said. “I narrowly missed qualifying for indoor nationals and knowing that I can always improve, I tried to keep that momentum going into outdoor season.”
Sophomore Dominic Tasco, who had just been named 2011 NJAC Rookie of the Year, placed fourth in the 800-meter race with a time of 1:55.87. Freshman Erik Moutenot was not far behind him, finishing in seventh at 1:57.10.
The 10,000 meters was the best team effort for the Lions. Three runners finished in the top 12. Junior Mark Sidebottom was sixth with a 32:35.39 mark, junior Alex Matteson was ninth with a time of 32:56.26 and sophomore Dylan Lynch was 12th at 34:26.54.
The pole vault was yet another even where the Lions proved themselves against the competition, getting two finishes in the top five. Senior Colin Gold cleared a height of 14’ 9”, while junior Julio Alorro hopped over a mark of 14’ 3.25”.
Other notable performances included senior Shaun McGeever having an impressive finish in the 5,000 meters with an ECAC qualifying time of 15:14.58. Junior Kyle Magliaro was eight in the 200-meters at 23.04. Finally, the College’s 4X400 relay team consisted of senior Christopher Medina, D’Aituolo, Tasco, and Moutenot and grabbed second place in the event at a time of 3:23.52.
“Our performances shows that we are a well rounded team in distance, sprints, and the field,” D’Aiutolo said. “Having that depth and getting scoring from so many different areas will help the team successfully defend the NJAC conference championship.”
For the women, sophomore Erica Roberts was the shining star. Roberts was third in the triple jump, and first among Division III jumpers, with a distance of 35’ 11.25”. Roberts was also fifth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.15. Not far behind her was freshman teammate Michelle Cascio, who came in ninth with 13.26.
Freshman Jillian Manzo had a stellar outdoor track debut, already qualifying for ECAC’s and coming in second in the 5,000 meters in a time of 18:37.04. Senior Danielle Aran took eighth place in the event at 18:56.90.
Several other runners finished in the top ten in their respective events. Sophomore Emily Kulyck was sixth in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:06.83. Senior Katie Nestor nabbed fourth in the 800-meters at 2:17.07. Junior Cathy Goncalves was the fourth Division III runner to cross the line in the 1500-meter run with a time of 4:47.95. The team of Cascio, Kulcyk, freshman Katie Johnston and junior Brielle Doremus managed to capture a second place finish and an ECAC qualifying time in the 4X400 relay with a time of 4:04.84.
In the field, graduate student Brianna Brennan was fifth in the javelin with a throw of 119’ 6”, while her teammate, junior Julianne Grandal, rounded out the top 10, hurling the javelin 111’ 2”. Senior Mary Chismar was a beast in both the shot put and the hammer throw. She was fourth in the shot with a throw of 37’ 4” and sixth in the hammer with a toss of 121’ 9”. Senior Amanda To grabbed seventh in the hammer at 121’ 4”.
“This meet was a good opener to the outdoor season for myself and the team as a whole,” D’Aiutolo said. “As training progresses and the weather improves, I’m confident that I can set bigger marks as the season continues.”
(03/27/12 8:50pm)
The College made its mark at the NCAA Division III championships, both individually and as a team, with the women getting seventh place and the men getting 12th place nationally.
Junior Danica Roskos became the first-ever Lion to win back-to-back national titles, as she won the 1-meter dive with a score of 450.60. She also grabbed a third place finish in the 3-meter dive event.
“I am extremely excited about winning the national championship on one meter,” Raskos said. “However, I could not have done as well without my coach or my teammates — they all push me to work harder and believe in myself. (Sophomore) Sabrina Lucchesi is a great teammate who helped keep me focused and positive throughout the week.”
The women had several top performances on their way to a strong finish. Senior Laura Pierce was truly a leader and sparked the Lions in the early going. She reached a total of 22 All-American Honors, giving her the most in Lions’ history. Pierce was fourth overall in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-butterfly with times of 23.31 and 55.20, respectively, and ninth overall in the 100-free with a time of 51.02.
Pierce also placed in the top 15 on four relay teams. Her 200-medley relay team included sophomore Hailey Growney, junior Kayleigh Shangle and freshman Brennah Ross and finished at 1:46.63. Her 400-medley relay team was the same as the 200-medley relay team and finished with a time of 3.52.76. Finally, Pierce and her team of Shangle, Ross, and senior Melissa Hessler were 11th in the 400-freestyle relay and seventh in another relay event.
“Laura is a great leader,” Roskos said. “She inspires the team through her actions and encourages the team to all do their best. All of the girls on the team are extremely supportive of one another, so we are all able to remain positive throughout the long grueling week.”
“Being in Indianapolis this year was especially exciting because of the surprise comebacks in relays that we weren’t expected to place so high,” Shangle said. “The team really fed off of these successes.”
Shangle also placed 11th in the 100-yard breaststroke event with a time of 1:04.17 and 14th in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:21.56. She was also given honorable mention All American honors.
“It was exhilarating swimming some best times, having amazing relays, and feeding off the energy of such an exciting meet,” Shangle said. “Our ‘mini team’ of girls — just seven — did a lot more than expected.”
The team also brought a more laid-back approach to the meet, which helped them finish as highly as they did.
“The team approached this meet differently than in the past, focusing on the race, not our times,” Shangle said. “Both the swimmers and divers went into this ready to race, and treasured the experience.”
The men kicked off the first day by coming up just short in the 200-medley relay. The team of freshman Aleksander Burzynski, sophomore Michael Oliva, junior Adam Schneider and senior Ryan Clark raced to a finish of 1:31.85, missing the finals by three-hundredths of a second. The team proceeded to bounce back to win the consolation finals.
The 200-freestyle relay brought more success for the Lions. Coming in at an impressive sixth overall nationally, the team of Schneider, sophomore Stephen Gibson, sophomore Philip Halwey and Clark blazed to the finish of 1:21.63.
The 800-free relay was also strong for the College, as they placed 14th. Sophomore Stephen Tarnowski, Clark, senior Jesse Taylor and junior Brian Giacopelli completed the race in 6:48.42.
The men ended the final day of competition with a ninth place finish in the 400-freestyle relay at a time of 3:03.33. The team consisted of Clark, Taylor, Schneider and Gibson.
Senior T. J. Burns was strong in the 1-meter diving event. Burns was 12th overall with a score of 424.65.
Tarnowski made it into the top 20 in both the 200 and 400 individual medleys at the times of 1:52.84 and 4:05.75 respectively. Schneider also finished 15th in the 50-free by swimming at a time of 20.74 in the consolation finals.
The swimmers are proud of their accomplishments this season.
“We are all really excited about this season, it is great that we had a top ten finish two years in a row,” Roskos said. “It was a great way to end the season, everyone worked hard and had fun.”
Alex Wolfe contributed to this report.
(03/12/12 10:21pm)
The College’s track teams wrapped up an impressive season over the past two weeks, participating in the ECACs and the NCAA Division III championships.
The men had a very impressive fifth place finish out of 62 teams at the ECACs as they scored 30.25 points, while the women finished in 20th place out of 57 teams with 14 points.
Men’s senior Christopher Medina continued his dominant season by finishing fifth in the 60-meter dash, running an even seven seconds. Sophomore Scott Lisa placed fifth in the high jump by clearing the height of 1.92 meters. Sophomore Dominic Tasco was fifth in the 800-meters with a time of 1:54.62, while freshman Erik Moutenot grabbed ninth place in the event at 1:55.17.
The women had some top 10 finishes, especially in the relays. The team of freshmen Liz Johnson, Michelle Cascio, Katelyn Ary and senior Katie Nestor were fourth in the Distance Medley Relay with a time of 11:57.16. The Lions also took fourth in the 4x400 meter relay. The team of Ary, Cascio, freshman Katie Johnston, and sophomore Emily Kulcyk raced to a 3:38.26 finish.
“The DMR, which was three freshmen and one senior, was a great example of our team unity, since we had to work together and trust each other, despite our differences in experience,” explained Johnson. “It just shows how age does not matter in the track world — what matters more is running your best for your team and feeling the support of your teammates.”
Two women came in the top 10 in the 5,000 meters. Junior Cathy Goncalves took fifth at 17:45.37 and sophomore Megan Flynn captured ninth place at 17:45.37. Nestor was also 10th in the mile with a time of 5:08.27.
Medina was the only Lion to advance to the NCAA Division III championships, but he made the most of his opportunity. He finished ninth overall in the 60-meters with a time of 6.99 seconds. Unfortunately, the top eight qualified for the finals. Medina missed the cut by 0.07 seconds.
The meet was a nice end to the season for the Lions, who accomplished many goals, both personal and team.
“I was expecting and hoping that we would rank well with the other teams in the region,” Johnson said. “We are a strong Division III program and we set ourselves up throughout the season to come to the meet to compete.”
The College begins the outdoor track and field season on March 30, when they travel to Widener University to compete in the Danny Curran Invitational.
“I am excited for our team to have another chance at the conference title in the spring and for us to again compete well at regionals, hopefully qualifying for nationals this time,”Johnson said.
(02/22/12 5:57am)
It was a special day for the College’s men’s and women’s track and field teams as they both blew away the rest of the field and won the Division III Challenge at New York University this past Saturday.
The men finished with 84.5 points — nearly 20 points ahead of second place Oneonta State — while the women had 81.5 points — almost 30 points more than the University of Rochester, who finished in second place.
For the men, their strength was behind the relays. They won the 4x200 with the team of senior Robert Jiggetts, sophomore Scott Lisa, junior Kyle Magliaro and sophomore Michael Spekhardt running at the time of 1:30.29. They also received top honors in the Distance Medley Relay as the team of senior Shaun McGeever, sophomore Kevin Mulcahey, sophomore Dominic Tasco and senior Andy Herschman raced to a time of 10:05.66.
“I think relays are a great way for the team to come together and turn what some people may see as an individual sport into a true team effort,” Magliaro said. “This meet especially with the relays being the first events — they set the momentum for other events.”
Senior Christopher Medina won the 60-meter dash with a personal best of 6.89 seconds, continuing his amazing season. The time tied a school record.
In the field, the Lions were able to win both the high jump and the triple jump. Junior Steven D’Aiutolo, who is having a very impressive season, continued his winning ways by leaping 14.20 meters in the triple jump, while Lisa nabbed the high jump crown with a jump of 1.98 meters.
Other top performers included Spekhardt getting second in the 400-meters with a time of 50.15 seconds, sophomore James Seyffart placing second in the 1,000 meters at 2:34.40, junior Julio Alorro sailing 4.55 meters in the pole vault for second place and freshman Erik Moutenot running a 1:55.88 in the 800-meters, good for third place.
“My mindset was attempting to tell myself to stay calm and relaxed,” Seyffart said. “But all I was thinking about was trying to get a few points for the team and trying to hit the ECAC qualifying standard.”
The women’s most dominating event was the 800-meters, in which they took first, second and third. Freshman Katelyn Ary won the event with a time of 2:19.02, sophomore Emily Kulcyk was second at 2:20.02 and freshman Liz Johnson was third at 2:20.85.
The top finishes didn’t stop there; sophomore Erica Roberts and freshman Katheryn Karovic were one-two in the triple jump at 10.95 and 10.82 meters respectively. Freshman Katie Johnston and senior Nicole Brown were second and third in 400-meters with times of 59.27 and 1:01.62 respectively. The Lions were also able to win the 4x200 relay as the team of Roberts, Brown, freshman Michelle Cascio and Johnston finished the race at 1:47.48. Jackie Chester was third in the pole vault at 3.20 meters.
“Winning the relay is great because it really shows the depth of our team,” said Cascio. “Any team can have one individual runner win an event, but to have four girls come together and perform their best to get the win is really special.”
After facing bigger schools all season, the College went into a Division III only meet and was by far the best in show.
“I think that taking on so many Division I schools earlier in the season makes us more than ready to compete against other Division III teams,” Cascio said.
“This meet gave us a good chance to tune up and see similar competition that will be at NJACs and ECACs,” Magliaro said. “We are in a great spot and are all excited for the upcoming championship meets.”
The Lions will have the NJAC championship meet this Friday in New York.
(02/14/12 9:52pm)
A battle in Boston between a plethora of teams saw the College’s track and field athletes get multiple impressive finishes this past weekend.
For the men, junior Steven D’Aiutolo continued his dominant season as he jumped 14.04 meters in the triple jump. D’Aiutolo, who recently broke the school record in the event, came in fourth. Sophomore Scott Lisa also excelled in the jumps. His 1.94 meters in the high jump was the best jump by a Division III athlete in that event.
“Last week, when Steve did really well in the triple jump, it motivated me to do well in the high jump and also motivated the other jumpers to compete well,” Lisa said. “From this, the jumpers competing well motivated others on the team to do well.”
The Lions also had several ECAC qualifying marks in the running events. In the 500 meters, junior Alex Brown and freshman Erik Moutenot both finished in the top 20 with times of 1:05.18 and 1:06.04 respectively. Sophomore Dominic Tasco raced to a 1:55.67 time in the 800 meters. Senior Shaun McGeever crossed the finish line at 4:20.85 in the mile. Sophomore Michael Spekhardt sprinted to a 50.15 mark in the 400 meters. Finally, senior Andy Herschman was able to qualify for the ECAC’s in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:53.74, a nice moment for the senior. All of those times were ECAC worthy.
The women were also successful in their quest for ECAC qualifiers. Leaving their mark on the running events, the Lions were led by sophomore Megan Flynn and junior Cathy Goncalves who finished nearly side by side in the 5,000 meters with times of 17:36.12 and 17:36.52 respectively. Both were top 20 in the event.
“Cathy and I do all of our workouts together and we work really well together in races, which is nice because we help each other a lot during races,” Flynn said. “We both ran pretty big personal records so it was pretty exciting to see all of our hard work starting to pay off. “
The freshmen duo of Michelle Cascio and Katelyn Ary had times of 59.15 seconds and 60.07 seconds in the 400 meters. Senior Katie Nestor and sophomore Anginelle Alabanza qualified in the mile with times of 5:06.30 and 5:11.92. Sophomore Emily Kulcyk rounded out the running events had a top 20 finish in the 500 meters at 1:19.04.
Sophomore Erica Roberts also had some ECAC qualifying marks in the jumps. She had a 5.25-meter jump in the long jump and a 10.58-meter leap in the triple jump.
Once again, the Lions proved they can compete with bigger schools, evident by their impressive performances in Boston.
“This just shows how deep and talented our team is and to have so many people qualifying for ECACs early on in the season,” said Flynn. “It shows that we’re only going to improve from this point, and we will be competitive as a team at ECACs.”
The College heads to New York University on Saturday for the D3 challenge.
“I think we should compete pretty well,” said Lisa. “We are used to competing at meets with high levels of competition and doing well so we will just treat this meet like any other and compete the same as we have throughout the season.”
(02/07/12 3:31am)
Despite their best efforts, the College’s men’s and women’s track teams lost to Rider University 100-67 and 92-72, respectively. While the Lions may not have picked up the victory, there were still some positives to take out of the meet as many athletes qualified for the ECAC’s.
“I think that as a team, we just need to come away knowing that we competed well for the first time as a real team and hope that this competitive nature carries us into bigger meets like the NJAC’s and the ECAC’s,” said senior Andy Herschman.
Senior Christopher Medina led the way as he blazed to a personal best 6.49 seconds in the 55-meter dash, an ECAC qualifying time. Medina got second place in the 200-meters at 22.70, another qualifying time.
Several distance runners also received ECAC qualifying marks and second-place finishes. Senior Shaun McGeever was second in the mile at 4:18.97. Sophomore Dominic Tasco was second in the 1,000-meters at 2:30.17. Herschman ran to an 8:47.04 and a second place in the 3,000 meters.
The ECAC qualifying marks were not done there. The field events proved to add to the success. Junior Steven D’Aiutolo won in the triple jump with 14.29 meters. Junior Julio Alorro captured top honors in the pole vault, clearing 4.50 meters. Finally, sophomore Scott Lisa capped off the day by coming in second in the high jump at a height of 1.98 meters.
“It’s great to have a bunch of guys and girls going to ECACs,” Herschman said. “We show up there to really compete and perform at a high level so the more people that we have going, the better our chances of reaching certain goals are.”
The women also had some ECAC qualifiers despite losing the meet. Sophomore Katie Knight had two qualifying times — 8.77 in the 55-meter hurdles and 5:09.59 in the mile. Freshman Katelyn Ary raced to a 1:00.29 in the 400-meters. Freshman Liz Johnson was second in the 1,000-meters with a time of 3:02.31, while fellow freshman Michelle Cascio sprinted to a 26.80 in the 200-meters. All of these times also qualified for the ECAC.
In the field, the Lions dominated the pole vault, taking first and second as sophomores Jackie Chester and Brigit Milorey cleared 3.25 meters (ECAC qualifying time) and 2.80 meters respectively. The result was the same for the high jump as freshman Katheryn Karovic and Knight had a one-two finish, clearing 1.53 and 1.48 meters respectively. Rounding out the Lions’ performances was an enormous victory in long jump as sophomore Erica Roberts cruised to an ECAC qualifying mark of 5.44 meters.
“Saturday was my first meet back from injury, so I was nervous about competing, but my teammate and I came out on top,” Karovic said. “It gave me a lot of confidence going into these next couple meets knowing that I can shake off the nerves and compete to the best of my ability.”
While the loss was disappointing, the plethora of standout performances was encouraging for the College and gave them something to build off of.
The College will head to Massachusetts on Friday as they partake in the two-day Boston University Valentine Invitational.
“Being so close to home is nice because we’re so comfortable at the local tracks, but heading up to Boston gives us an opportunity to be at a great facility and get into a really competitive meet,” explained Herschman. “We’re all going to be looking for national qualifiers, and I think going away makes a meet like that a little more special.”
(01/31/12 5:36am)
Both of the College’s track & field teams excelled this weekend at the Thomson Invitational at the University of Delaware by grabbing top 10 finishes.
The men finished in sixth overall in a field of 22 teams, while the women received fourth place in a field of 24 teams.
For the men, the Lions were all over the place, scoring in the sprinting events. They had runners in four of the eight scoring places in both the 60-meter and the 200 meter sprints.
Senior Christopher Medina led the way in the 60-meters with a time of 7.06 seconds, while senior Robert Jiggetts, sophomore Scott Lisa and junior Kyle Magliaro were not far behind with times of 7.21, 7.27 and 7.27, respectively. Sophomore Michael Spekhardt came in third in the 200-meter at 23.09, while sophomore Kevin Mulcahey, Magliaro and Jiggetts were sixth, seventh and eighth with times of 23.38, 23.49 and 23.49 respectively.
“Going into the meet, we knew we were going to see good competition and had the ability to score with both Division II and Division III schools,” Jiggetts said. “It was awesome to see so much depth in scoring in the sprinting events.”
The College scored other top finishes as well. Lisa won the high jump at a height of 1.89 meters and freshman James O’Connor was third at 1.84 meters. Spekhardt was second in the 400-meter at 52.08. There were also a few third place finishes for the Lions. Freshman Erik Moutenot was third in the 500-meter race at 1:07.65. Junior Andy Gallagher got the bronze in the 3,000-meters with a time of 9:13.89 and junior Mark Sidebottom paced a third place in the 5,000 meter at 15:58.21.
These performances, as well as many others by the team, enabled the College to finish so highly against the competition.
“Sixth overall was definitely an accomplishment,” said Jiggetts. “I’d say we met our team’s goals and objective for sure. We went into the meet ready to represent the best that the College’s track and field has to offer.”
The women had some memorable performances, most notably in the 800-meters. Freshman Katelyn Ary won the event with a time of 1:21.84, while senior Katie Nestor came in second at 2.22.70. Sophomore Anginelle Alabanza was fourth with a time of 2:25.14.
The College also won another event withthe help of Kathy Goncalves, who ran to victory in the 5,000 meters at 8:12.84, an ECAC qualifying time.
Other top running finishes for the Lady Lions included freshman Michelle Cascio finishing third in the 400-meters with 1:02.64, freshman Kaite Johnston getting third in the 500-meters at 1:22.93, sophomore Megan Flynn scoring a second place finish in the 5,000 meters at 8:15.82 and sophomore Julie Jablonski grabbing second in the mile with a time of 5:19.33. Sophomore Erica Roberts was also second in the triple jump with a distance of 10.57 meters, while junior Mary Chismar received third in the shot put with a throw of 10.89 meters.
With strengths in varying areas, the Lions are proving that they have the success and depth to compete with just about anyone.
“Our main objective was to run fast, but scoring was definitely a nice bonus,” explained Jiggetts.
The College is back on the track on Saturday in the TCNJ/Rider Dual meet in Lawrenceville.
(01/24/12 8:02am)
The College’s track and field teams traveled to Haverford College and took their opponents by storm on Friday night, Jan. 20, capturing several top finishes in all different areas. The schools they competed against were Haverford, New York University and Widener University.
The story of the day for the women was top freshman performances, starting with freshman Michelle Cascio, who made her mark on the meet. She won the 200-meters with a blazing time of 27.41 and also finished second in the 60-meter dash at 8.36 seconds. Freshman Liz Johnson matched her with a first and second place as well, pacing a win in the mile at 5:17.21 and taking second in the 800-meters with a time of 2:24. 75.
“The team and I have been training really hard since October so it feels really good seeing the rewards of it play out,” Cascio said. “So far, I guess I’ve been pretty successful, but there is definitely room for improvement and I’m hoping that with even more training this season will continue to be a really good one.”
The bonanza of top freshman finishes did not stop there. Freshman Ketelyn Ary was the winner of that same 800 race, finishing just a step ahead at 2:23.64. Another freshman, Katie Johnston, won the 400-meters with a time of 1:02.53.
“The other freshmen have been doing so well and it’s awesome to watch each other’s successes, because we all understand how nerve-racking it was to make the transition from high school competition to collegiate competition,” Cascio said.
Junior Brielle Doremus and sophomore Katie Knight were top-two in the 60-meter dash at 9.95 and 10.42, respectively. Five out of seven running events were won by the Lions.
Senior Steven D’Aiutolo led the College’s winning ways for the men as he cruised to a victory in the long jump, leaping 6.45 meters. He finished almost a foot farther than the second-place jumper, who was from Widener.
“I did not expect to win by that much, but every time I go out and compete, I attempt to win the event,” D’Aiutolo said. “This was my season opener in the long jump, so it’s a good way to start the season.”
Receiving a personal best and dipping under seven seconds, senior Christopher Medina rocketed to a second-place finish in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.97. He only lost to the College’s assistant coach, Ashhad Agayapong, who ran unattached. Freshman Louis Fisher added to his stellar rookie season by winning the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.12 seconds.
“We’re really close as a team and we all knew that Chris was working real hard to get under seven seconds,” D’Aiutolo said about the race. “Having him start off the meet with a big PR (personal record) like that really does fire up the rest of the team and sets the whole tone for the meet.”
Second-place finishes were also aplenty for the Lions. Senior Andrew Herschman grabbed the No. 2 spot in the mile with a time of 4:22.31. Sophomore Michael Spekhardt got second in the 200-meters with 23.50. In the field events, two freshmen showed their stuff with second place finishes as James O’Connor got 1.77 meters in the high jump and Jamie LeRoy launched the shot put 12.03 meters.
The meet was a dominant showing for the Lions, who had at least a second-place finisher in the majority of the events. It is a promising sign for what’s to come this season.
The College will run again on Saturday when they travel to the University of Delaware to compete in the Thompson Invitational.
(01/16/12 7:04pm)
The College’s men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams both got the new semester off to a good start by placing well in the “Saturday Night at the Armory I” event at the 168th St. Armory in New York, N.Y.
The event had 21 teams attending, including competitive Division I schools like Connecticut, St. John’s, Rutgers and Princeton. In a field with as high of a quality as this, the Lions did a nice job of letting their presence be known.
“The competition was very high at the meet, but this usually only helps our team,” said senior Shaun McGeever. “The (College’s) team is full of many talented athletes, so big competition can lead to some great results. Sure, anyone can feel a bit nervous being the only Division III runner or jumper in the event, but with a little confidence, there’s nothing stopping us from competing on the same level.”
For the men, the College had some top 10 finishes that were headlined by senior Christopher Medina who placed third in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.01 seconds, and 10th in the 200-meter dash, racing to an ECAC qualifying time of 22.53 seconds.
Junior Alex Brown grabbed fifth place in the 500 meters with a time of 1:05.39. McGeever also grabbed 10th in the mile, running a 4:18.40, another ECAC qualifying time. Other top finishers included freshmen Louis Fisher and James O’Connor, who ran an 8.80 and a 9.26 for 11th and 13th place respectively in the 60-meter hurdles.
“I was very pleased with my performance and qualifying time,” McGeever said. “This is the first time that I have qualified for ECAC’s as an individual. It is definitely a relief to have qualified this early in the season, because now I can focus on other events with my teammates like the distance medley relay.”
The women managed to keep up with the big dogs by having some top finishes as well, being the top Division III runners in certain events. In the 1,000 meter, senior Katie Nestor was the first Division III runner to cross the finish line as she came in third overall with a time of 3:00.26. Freshman Liz Johnson was right behind her as the second D-III runner to complete the race, coming in fifth at 3:01.80.
The College scored in other events as well. Freshman Melinda Rothman was eighth in the pole vault by clearing 2.90 meters. Sophomore Anginelle Alabanza pushed to be the top Division III runner in the mile, finishing in ninth place with a time of 5:22.51. In the 500 meters, the top two Division III runners were both Lions as sophomore Emily Kulcyk and freshman Katelyn Ary were 11th and 12th with times of 1:19.95 and 1:21.01, respectively.
Overall, the men finished eighth with 13 points and the women came in 11th with 10.5 points, both impressive when the level of competition is taken into account.
“This is definitely the best track season I have had here at TCNJ, and I am excited to see where it can take me and what I can do,” McGeever said.
The College’s track and field teams will be back in action on Friday when they travel to Haverford College.
(11/29/11 5:15am)
In a meet that came down to the wire for both teams, the College’s men’s and women’s swimming teams picked up huge victories over New York University by securing their wins in the final event.
The men won by a score of 151.5-142.5 while the women squeaked by with a score of 143-138, both incredibly close contests. The win put both teams at 5-0 this season.
For the men, the two sides were tied at 138.5 with just the 400-yard freestyle relay left. The Lions pulled through, grabbing first and third in the event while the Violets got second and fourth in what was a wild finish. The winning team of the race consisted of senior Ryan Clark, sophomore Philip Hawley, junior Adam Schneider and senior Jesse Taylor, who had a time of 3:10.83, just over two seconds faster than NYU’s 3:12.90 time.
“Everyone knew what was at stake, and we had a quick team meeting right before and everybody got fired up and ready to race,” sophomore Stephen Tarnowski said. “Our guys really brought it home and sealed the win for us.”
The Lions got off to a fast start, getting first and second in the first race, the 200-medley relay. Freshman Aleksander Burzynksi, sophomore Michael Oliva, Schneider and Clark were on the winning side of the race with a time of 1:36.79. Hawley, sophomore William Kasper, Tarnowski, and Taylor finished right behind them, posting a solid time of 1:38.09.
Tarnowski had a particularly stellar day, winning three individual events: the 100-breaststroke at 1:01.29, 200-backstroke at 1:57.18 and 200-individual medley at 1:56.61.
“We knew coming in that NYU had really game up this year, so one thing we talked about is swimming with energy,” Tarnowski said. “I was able to bring some energy to my races and swim well.”
Other top performers for the Lions included Taylor in the 200-yard freestyle at 1:45.82, Burzynski in the 100-back with 54.35, Schneider in the 50-free with a time of 21.59, and junior Michael Caputo, who won the 1,000-free at 10:01.14.
The women’s team had an exciting ending as well. They needed to place at least second in the 400-yard freestyle relay, the meet’s final event, to secure the victory. They did just that with the relay team of senior Melissa Hessler, freshman Summer Thomas, sophomore Ashley Conroy and junior Kayleigh Shangle, who finished in 3:42.69 and got the second place that clinched the victory.
“It was a really exciting meet and it was the most challenging team we went against so far in the season,” sophomore Maria Ciaralli said. “Everyone was swimming great times.”
This win marked the 17th consecutive dual meet victory for the Lions that started the last time they beat NYU, back in January.
The College was led heavily by senior Laura Pierce, who won the 200-yard freestyle at 1:56.19, the 100-free at 53.42 and the 100-buterfly at 59.01. She also teamed up with Conroy, Shangle and senior Danielle Morrone to win the 200-medley relay with a time of 1:52.75.
The Lions instrumental in getting points were Shangle, winning the 100 and 200 breaststrokes at 1:08.06 and 2:27.43, respectively, Hessler winning the 500-free at 5:20.41 and Brennah Ross getting the victory in the 200-yard fly with a time of 2:14.47.
The success for both teams showed that the Lions continue to dominate the NJAC.
“The team has been training really hard so the close win against NYU was definitely a great way to start off the season,” said Ciaralli.
The Lions return to action on Dec. 2 when they host the three-day TCNJ Invitational at the College’s Aquatic Center.
(11/15/11 3:20am)
In what was too little, too late, the College’s final push came up short in its season opener against Stevens Institute of Technology by a score of 26-16.
It was a back-and-forth battle between two of the top teams in the state. In the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III preseason poll, the College and Stevens were ranked 14th and 17th, respectively, entering the match.
The College started the match off with a bang as freshman P. J. Schmidt pulled off an impressive 9-4 win at 125 pounds.
Other Lions who shined during the match included junior Dan Herr, who won at 133 pounds by a score of 16-11, and junior John Darling, who picked up a dominating 12-1 win at 157 pounds.
The Lions were down by 11 with three weight classes to go, and looking for a spark. Sophomore Omar Akel kept them alive with an 8-2 win in the 184-pound weight class.
“Going in while we were down, I was thinking, ‘Now would be a great time to score some bonus points,’” Akel said. “Afterwards, I was pretty disappointed that I didn’t make it happen.”
Senior Mike Denver continued the rally, capturing the 197-pound weight class with a 16-4 victory.
But in the final bout, the heavyweight class, Stevens sealed the victory, with freshman Tyler Maher pinning junior Trevor Salvatore as the clock ran out.
The opening loss started the Lions off at 0-1.
“Tuesday night was an opportunity to see where we need to focus and what we need to work on,” said Akel.
The College then traveled to both the East Stroudsburg Open and the annual Ursinus College Fall Brawl on Saturday. Several of the Lions wrestlers had strong showings.
In the Fall Brawl, Schmidt and freshman Joey DiCarlo had impressive performances in the 125-pound class, finishing third and fourth respectively. Juniors Austin Roberts and Dan Brill did the same in the 197-pound class.
The 165-pound class had a clutter of Lions in the top. Sophomore Zack Zotollo was third, sophomore KC Murphy was fourth, and freshman Peter Kinsella achieved fifth as the College dominated that weight class.
Freshman Matt Berry received fourth at 174 pounds and Salvatore finished strong in sixth in the heavyweight class.
At East Stroudsburg, Darling had five wins at 157 and Denver picked up four at 184.
The Lions are nevertheless staying optimistic.
“I think our lineup is still in the works, and we have a lot of experienced guys who weren’t able to compete,” Akel said. “I’m excited for them to get healthy.”
The College is back in action this Thursday as it looks to pick up its first win of the season at home against Hunter College.
(11/07/11 5:08pm)
I’m sure a lot of you are thinking I should talk about the NBA, but unfortunately, I’m not. See, college basketball is finally here. The season started on Monday, but the real action begins on Friday, Nov. 11, when most teams open. It’s time to look at the match-ups and see who will get an early leg up on their rivals in non-conference play.
The Tar Heels of North Carolina make their much-anticipated debut against the Michigan State Spartans — on an aircraft carrier on San Diego Bay. How cool is that? The Spartans should prove some tough competition led by Draymond Green, but I expect North Carolina to run wild in the season opener. The trio of Harrison Barnes, John Henson and Tyler Zeller will be too much to handle.
Another exciting matchup is the battle between UNC’s ACC counterpart Duke and the Belmont Bruins. Belmont is receiving a ton of hype this year. It’s a mid-major that made it to the tournament last year and looks to punch another ticket. The team has a fairly tough schedule out of conference, so this will show everyone what it’s made of. And how about Duke? A lot of people are picking them to be a top team regardless of the loss of Kyrie Irving. This game will tell us a lot about the Blue Devils.
A sleeper game to watch is the matchup between Oregon and Vanderbilt. A lot of people are high on Vanderbilt this year, myself included. John Jenkins is a silky smooth shooter who could definitely be in the running for player of the year. Jeffery Taylor is an all-around threat, both scoring and rebounding. The key is big man Festus Ezeli, who has improved quite a bit and looks to give the Commodores the balance they greatly need, but don’t count out the Ducks. They picked up some steam in the Pac-10 tournament last year by knocking off UCLA. Oregon could be one of those dangerous teams this year that isn’t very good, but could pull off some big upsets.
So who’s ready for some basketball? I know I am. The opening slate of games looks to provide us with a tasty appetizer to start the season. With so many elite teams this year, it’s going to be an incredibly exciting season and looks to produce an unforgettable March.