Teams step up as championship season nears

With the Liberty League championship season right around the corner, several Skidmore College spring sports teams continued their push towards a conference title. Women’s lacrosse extended its winning streak to six to clinch its first playoff bid since 2011, while golf had another terrific outing, placing first at the Dr. Tim Brown Invitational. Softball staged a dramatic comeback against Rochester to keep its playoff chances alive and baseball recorded two league wins. Men’s lacrosse went 1-1 on the week, topping Trinity (Conn.), and men’s and women’s crew took on University at Albany and Vassar in a doubleheader before competing at the Worcester Invitational.

Women’s lacrosse clinched its first postseason berth since 2011 with 10-8 wins over RIT and Rochester. The team carried an 8-3 lead into the half against the Tigers, but RIT came storming back with four consecutive goals to open the second half. Spencer Morgan ’15 completed her hat trick to give the Thoroughbreds a two-goal cushion after RIT cut the deficit to 9-8, Brittney Dioneda ’15 sealed the win with her second goal of the game. Tyler Phillips ’17 produced her fifth four-goal game of the season to lead the offense. The team got out to another quick start against the Yellowjackets, jumping out to a 6-1 lead. After Rochester pulled even with a 5-0 Marisa Caponi ’18 and Dioneda scored back-to-back goals to make it 8-6. The Yellowjackets came back within one, but Emma Harris ’16 restored the two-goal cushion with her second goal of the game. Rochester continued to press, cutting the Skidmore lead to 9-8 with 2:51 to play, but Caroline Bowne ’15 scored from a free position to put the game away. Dioneda had a season-high four points, potting her first hat trick and adding an assist, while Harris’s two goals extended her goal streak to 10 games. Skidmore finishes the regular season next weekend with a pair of road games, taking on William Smith and Union. The team can secure the top seed in the Liberty League tournament with two wins.

Golf posted a second-round 298 to win the Dr. Tim Brown Invitational tournament played at the par-71 Ballston Spa Country Club. The team finished with a 36-hole total of 591, seven better than second-place New York University. Mitchell Campbell ’17 fired a second-round 71 to tie teammate Zach Grossman ’15 for third. Campbell had five birdies on the day, while Grossman had three. Mackenzie Nelson ’17 (74-74—148) tied for seventh, Teddy Badenhausen ’17 (72-79—151) tied for 12th and Tim Manwaring ’16 (74-79—153) tied for 16th. The team competes in the Liberty League championships April 25-26 at the Mendon Golf Club in Rochester, N.Y.

Men’s tennis remained unbeaten in Liberty League play by defeating Hobart and St. Lawrence. Against the Statesmen, Kai Yuen Leung ’17 notched a three-set win at number-one singles (6-0, 3-6, 7-6 (2-0)) and paired with Nick Tong ’16 for an 8-6 decision at number-one doubles. Tong added a 6-0, 3-6, 6-1 win at number-six singles and Steven Koulouris ’18 was a three-set winner in a marathon at number-three singles, 3-6, 6-3, 10-8. The team completed its regular-season conference schedule with a 7-2 victory over the Saints. Yuen Leung cruised to another win at number-one singles, 6-3, 6-3, and Koulouris battled to another three-set win after moving up to number-two singles, 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 10-8. The 24th-ranked Thoroughbreds, who extended their league winning streak to 11 matches, are off until the Liberty League championships May 2-3 in Ithaca, N.Y.

Women’s tennis improved to 7-0 in Liberty League competition, rolling to an 8-1 victory over RPI. The team opened the day by winning all three doubles matches and extended its lead to 6-0 with straight-set wins in the top three flights of singles. Zoe Valella ’15 notched a 6-1, 6-2 win at number-one singles and teamed with Yumi Karlshoej ’15 for an 8-6 win at number-one doubles. The 16th-ranked Thoroughbreds won 29-straight Liberty League matches, with their last loss coming in the 2009-10 season. The team hosts Trinity (Conn.) at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 25.

Casey Attonito ’18 delivered a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh to cap a seven-run seventh inning in softball’s dramatic 10-9 come-from-behind win over Rochester. The Yellowjackets scored five runs in the top of the seventh to take an 8-3 lead, but the Thoroughbreds roared back in the bottom half of the inning. Dani DeGregory ’16 and Lauren Fortunato ’17 both had RBI singles and Lauren Gorstein ’17 drove in two runs with a double. Gorstein later scored as Cassie Fishkin ’16 reached on an error. After Rochester picked up its second out of the inning with a strikeout, Attonito stepped in and belted a 2-1 pitch over the fence in right, lifting the team to a 10-9 win. The loss was Rochester’s first in league play and snapped its 10-game win streak. Attonito and Roman-Johnston both went 2-for-4 at the plate, while Fishkin picked up the win on the mound, allowing five runs (four earned) over three innings.

The team staged another comeback in game two but came up just short. The Yellowjackets piled on five runs in the fifth to take a 6-0 lead, but the Thoroughbreds would not go away quietly, scoring seven runs in the bottom half of the inning. Attonito got the team on the board with a two-run double and Sam Skott ’15 cut the deficit to 6-3 with an RBI double. Mackenzie Whiting ’16 knocked in two runs with a double of her own and Roman-Johnston scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 6-6. Rochester managed to pull back in front in the top of the seventh with an RBI sacrifice fly. The one-run lead was all starting pitcher Eleni Wechsler needed, as she retired the Thoroughbreds in order to seal the 7-6 win.

The team split with RIT in its first series of the week, winning the first game 7-0 before falling 4-2 in game one. Fortunato crushed a grand slam well beyond the centerfield fence to break the game open in game one. Amanda Carilli ’18 went the distance on the mound, pitching a complete-game shutout. She allowed five hits and had five strikeouts. In game two, the Thoroughbreds trimmed the Tigers’ lead to 4-2 in the sixth as Abby Shea ’15 scored on a DeGregory triple, but that’s as close as they would get. DeGregory finished 4-for-4 at the plate with two doubles and a triple. The team welcomes Plattsburgh for a doubleheader at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 21.

Matt Barra ’15 powered baseball to a split with Vassar in its first series of the week, going 2-for-4 with a season-high four RBI in an 8-6 win. Andrew Bannon ’15 registered his first save of the season, allowing just one hit over the final 2 2/3 innings. In the first game, the team scored four runs in the third to take a 4-1 lead, but the Brewers answered back with three runs in the fourth and fifth inning. The Thoroughbreds chipped away at the lead late, but Vassar managed to hang to record an 8-6 win. Barra and Jeb Clarke ’16 both finished 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Mike LaVita ’16 contributed three RBI. The team went 1-3 in its four-game series with RIT over the weekend. After dropping the first two games, Josh Brown’s ’16 third-inning gran slam keyed a 7-4 win in game three. Bannon posted a hard-earned win, stranding 10 Tigers runners in five innings. Shankar Mani ’18 claimed his first collegiate save, tossing two scoreless innings. The team travels to Williams Tuesday, April 21, for a single game.

Men’s lacrosse took down Trinity (Conn.), 9-5, before falling to No. 1 RIT. Ryan Warnock ’18 had a big day against the Bantams, collecting a career-high eight ground balls and tying for a career-high with 13 faceoff wins. He posted his first multi-point game with a goal and an assist. Brendan Halloran ’18 had four points on two goals and two assists and Kevin Mulvey ’16 netted a pair of goals. After Trinity cut the Skidmore lead to 3-2, the Thoroughbreds came firing back with six unanswered goals to blow the game open. In goal, Chris Baughan ’18 stopped 15 shots, including seventh in the fourth quarter, and collected five ground balls. Against the Tigers, the team hung tough in the opening quarter, but top-ranked RIT fired off nine consecutive goals in the second quarter to pull away for good. Josh Trachtenberg ’15 potted two goals, while Cody Legeza ’18 chipped in with a goal and two helpers. Mulvey extended his scoring streak to six and added an assist. The team closes out its season at No. 11 Union at 12 p.m. Saturday, April 25.

Crew competed in a doubleheader with SUNY Albany and Vassar before participating at the Worcester Invitational. The women’s varsity eight of Lilly Philbrick ’17, Gina Gonzalez-Roundey ’17, Melissa Flack ’17, Sarah Landgraf ’17, Ryan Springer-Miller ’17, Kelly Cantwell ’18, Maddie Weibe ’18, Cassandra Eddy ’17 and Sukie Emerson ’16 finished first with in a time of 6:45.3. The women’s second varsity eight of Olivia Kinnear ’15, Julia Iannucci ’17, Sydney Randall ’17, Tracey Wingate ’18, Jamie Scherzer ’17, Natalie Stuart ’18, Michaela Ritz ’17,Maddie Hoffman ’18 and Sophia Reddi ’17 also added a first-place finish.

The men’s team, led by the varsity eight of Henry Weis ’17, Will Armero ’17, Robert Vail ’15, Julian Egan-Shuttler ’16, Zach Stiller ’17, Kove Janeski ’18, Brian Wollocko ’18, Berke Tinaz ’16 and William O’Donnell ’15, handled its competition with ease, defeating the Brewers and the Great Danes in a time of 5:45.0. At the Worcester Invitational, the men’s varsity four lineup was narrowly edged out in a second-place finish.  The Thoroughbreds host the Liberty League championships Friday, April 24, on Fish Creek. ~ By Dan St.-Jacques