3 fall teams to see NCAA tournament action
Skidmore's field hockey, volleyball and women's soccer teams all received bids to their respective NCAA Tournaments on Monday.
For the second straight year, the Thoroughbred field hockey team will host one of four NCAA Division III Field Hockey regionals, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 12-13, at Thoroughbred Field. Skidmore (18-1) is seeded fourth in the 24-team event and will play the winner of Wednesday's first-round match-up of Gwynedd-Mercy (16-4) and Amherst (13-3). The Skidmore contests starts at 10 a.m. Saturday. The other half of the Skidmore Regional features the winner of Franklin & Marshall (16-3) vs. Cortland (12-6); they play Middlebury (14-3) at 1 p.m. Skidmore will be playing in its fifth straight and 11th overall NCAA tournament after securing its fourth consecutive Liberty League title by defeating William Smith, 2-1 this past Saturday. The Thoroughbreds advanced to the 2010 NCAA Final Four. Tickets will cost $3 for students and $5 for general admission.
Volleyball earned its seventh trip to the NCAA tournament after finishing the season with a 27-8 record. The Thoroughbreds will play Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 11-13, at Clarkson and will face Rivier (22-13) in the first round. Other teams featured in the region are Nazareth (26-12), Southern Vermont (30-2), SUNY Cortland (39-1), Colby-Sawyer (20-14), Middlebury, and regional host Clarkson (28-8). Skidmore ended its regular season on a 12-match winning streak and won its first Liberty League title since 2000 this past weekend after beating St. Lawrence and Clarkson.
Women's soccer received an at-large bid after posting a 13-6 record during the regular season. The Thoroughbreds will face MIT in the first round of the Messiah bracket. The winner of that game will face the winner of the Messiah-Elms bracket. Skidmore received its first bid since earning back-to-back berths in 2008 and 2009. Times of the games will be announced.
Ice hockey opened the 2011-12 season with a 1-1 weekend. On Friday, the Thoroughbreds lost 5-4 to Southern Maine before coming back on Saturday to defeat University of New England, 3-2. On Friday, senior Alex Essaris (Dollard-Des-Ormaux, Quebec) had a goal and an assist while junior Zack Menard (Burlington, Mass.), sophomore Aaron Beck (Maribel, Wisc.) and freshman Erik Nilsson (Stockholm, Sweden) all added goals. In the win over UNE, sophomore Tony Giacin (St. Louis, Mo.) scored the game winner and freshman David Limoges (Saint-Hippolyte, Quebec) had a pair of goals. Skidmore returns to action Friday night at Saint Anselm.
Men's and women's swimming and diving hosted Liberty League rival Vassar on Saturday. Both Skidmore teams suffered hard-fought losses with the women falling 166-131 and the men dropping a 167-128 decision. For the men, senior Doug Pilawa (Chardon, Ohio) won both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives with NCAA qualifying scores and broke his own school record on the 1-meter board. On the women's side, sophomore Katherine Kelloway (Marblehead, Mass.) won three individual events, placing first in the 100 back, 200 back and 200 IM, while freshman Catherine King (Wellesley, Mass.) won the 50 free and 100 free. Both teams host St. Rose at 1 p.m. Saturday. ~ By Cody Berschwinger
