Women’s Rugby
The Vassar women had a double header on Saturday, April 4, first playing against SUNY New Paltz in the morning and then SUNY Oneonta in the afternoon. The Brewers fielded a team mixed between rookies and experienced players. Despite their lack of experience, all the freshmen players contributed to a resounding victory over New Paltz of 68-0. After a break to watch the Vassar men play, the women took to the field once more against Oneonta, fielding a slightly different 15, but retaining a good mix of experienced and new players. The first half left the Brewers down 17-5, and after another try within the first five minutes of the second half, it looked for sure as though the day was going to be a mixed bag. But no, the women rallied and after an exceptional 35 minutes of play, the women ended the game victorious, 32-24. The women will travel to Stony Brook University next Saturday, April 11, to compete in the Tri-State Conference 7s tournament.
Men’s Rugby
The Vassar men played SUNY New Paltz at the Farm on Saturday, April 4. It was a blustery day that made kicking and throwing difficult. Despite Vassar’s dominance at the scrum and almost complete possession of the ball, the Brewers found themselves tied at the half, 5-5. However, an early try from senior winger Jesse Myhill in the second half set the tone for the rest of the game and with freshman George Sheppard scoring his first “A” side try the win was ensured. The men finished the contest with a respectable lead of 29-5. The men will host the Tri State Conference 7s tournament next Sunday, April 12.
Men’s Lacrosse
The Vassar men also had two Liberty League games last week. On Wednesday, April 1, the Brewers travelled to Bard College to what was to become a very successful day for the men’s lacrosse team. Although the teams traded goals early in the first half, it was the Brewers who were to take the lead, ending the first half at 7-5. Bard would come no closer than that in the remaining half. Vassar’s own junior Noah Parson had a stellar performance, scoring five goals in the match up, making a huge contribution to the Vassar victory of 17-8. On Saturday, April 8, the Brewers hosted St. Lawrence University in what turned into a bit of rout for the Brewers. Although things were looking up after the first quarter, with the Brewers leading 3-2, the second quarter saw the Saints score eight goals, while the Brewer could only manage two. The second half started poorly for the Brewers who conceded six unanswered goals, and although the Brewers were able to find the net four more times, it was not enough, and the Saints came marching in at 20-9. The Brewers will play Drew University on Tuesday, April 7, and have a Liberty League match up against Rochester Institute of Technology away on Saturday, April 11.
Men’s Track
On Friday, April 3, senior Andrew Terenzi and freshman Michael Scarlett travelled to the Sam Howell Invitational at Princeton University. Terenzi ran well posting a 1:57.06 in the 800m edging out division 1 runners from Harvard, Yale, Cornell and Iona. Scarlett also had a good run out, posting a 15:29.40 in the 5000m. The team travelled to the Ramapo Invitational at Ramapo College. The 4×100 m relay opened the day for the Brewers, posting an impressive 43.69. Freshmen Philip Brown and Noah Trueblood ran in the 1500 m. Brown came 11th out of 72, while Trueblood was just five places and seconds behind him at 16th. The 4×800 m team did well on the day, posting a time of 8:15.98 and coming second in their heat. Freshman Joel Johnson ran the 100 m in 11.35 and placed 15th out of 63. The team will run again on Saturday, April 11 at the Silfen Invitational.
Men’s Baseball
After weeks of postponements, the men’s baseball team was finally able to play their first games of the season. The men lost to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in both double-header matches on Friday, April 3, 2-8 in the first and 0-18 in the second. RPI had 30 hits on the afternoon. Freshman Eric Strickland and junior Cory Wuenschell had the lone RBIs on the day for Vassar. Strickland knocked in senior left fielder Kyle Casey with a single in the third inning. Wuenschell smacked a double down the right field line in the fourth, scoring junior Brooks English. The men returned to play the Engineers Sunday, April 5, winning the first game 4-3, but took their eye off the ball on the second and conceded the game 1-8. The day’s first game ended with a thrilling walk-off victory for Vassar. The Brewers fell behind 3-1 in the fourth, but fought back in the seventh with an RBI from Strickland. Strickland then scored himself on a wild pitch later in the inning to tie things up. Freshman shortstop Matt Hernandez stepped up to the plate in the eighth and drove a single up the middle to score junior Dakota Sagnelli and win the game. The men will be back on Wednesday, April 8 to play Skidmore College at Skidmore.
Men’s Volleyball
The men’s volleyball team had a very successful week, first playing Bard College, beating the visitors in straight sets on Wednesday, April 1. The Brewers then hosted The Sage Colleges and York College on Saturday, April 4. The Brewers beat both visiting teams in straight sets. The Sage Colleges fell, 25-12, 25-22, 25-18. While York College fared even worse, losing 25-17, 25-5, 25-9. The Brewers will be back in action at Nazareth College on April 10 for the UVC Championships.