Women’s Volleyball
VC got past Hunter College in four, 22-25 25-22 25-13 and 25-18, in action from Kenyon Hall on Thursday. The Brewers hit .289 on offense, with five players registering at least seven kills. Freshman Jane McLeod stood out with 18 kills and five digs on defensive. Sophomore Devan Gallagher also had 16 kills and five digs
On Saturday, the Brewers continued their stretch of success, taking care of John Jay College and Rutgers-Camden at home, both in straights. Vassar has won 14 of out of its last 15 games and within that stretch has gone 7-1 against Liberty League teams. The Brewers are relying on their offense: they averaged a .311 hitting percentage against John Jay and .330 against Rutgers-Camden, as opposed to .164 and .080 respectively for their competition.
The Brewers will next take the court against Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ, Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Women’s Soccer
The women moved to 4-5-1 overall and 3-0 in Liberty League play after beating Clarkson on Sept. 30 3-1 and St. Lawrence 4-0 at home on Saturday
In the first contest, Vassar finished victorious thanks to goals from sophomores Rebecca Andrews and Audrey Pillsbury and freshman Gabrielle Deitch.
The second game against the Saints was not only a strong win for the Brewers but also celebrated the tenure of seniors Kelsey Hamm, Emily Krebs, Jordyn Matthews, Rory Chipman, Stephanie Tapolsky, Rachel Marklyn and Phoebe Reuben.
The seniors showed their skills early into the game as Krebs blasted a ball inside the box to connect with Chipman to put Vassar up 1-0. Soon after Andrews scored another goal 25 yards out to increase the Brewer lead.
In the second half, defender Hamm scored off of a left-sided corner kick to increase the Brewer lead to 3-0 against the Saints. The final goal came from Matthews off of a pass from Deitch in the 74th minute.
Vassar will continue Liberty League play against Mount Saint Mary College at home on Wednesday, followed by a game against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Saturday Oct 8.
Men’s Soccer
The Brewers rallied from a one-goal deficit to walk away 2-1 versus Clarkson on Friday.
Vassar outshot Clarkson 7-4 in the first half, but the Golden Knights went into halftime leading 1-0 thanks to a goal with just three minutes gone in the game.
In the 62nd minute freshman Mattie Mrlik headed a shot, which was saved but muffed by the keeper, allowing junior forward Jose Novas to poke in the equalizer. 20 minutes later, junior Tanner Sands found sophomore Tyler Gilmore off a long free kick, who headed in his third goal this season for the win. VC then played No. 11 St. Lawrence University on Saturday.
The Saints managed a goal in the 14th minute, which proved the difference in the matchup, as SLU was just able to scrape by the VC squad. Junior keeper Matt Marcelino made four saves in the loss.
Vassar returns to Poughkeepsie against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Saturday, Oct. 8. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
Men’s Tennis
The men’s tennis team traveled to Hobart College over the weekend to compete in the ITA Northeast Regional tournament. The Brewers entered four singles players and two doubles teams. Seniors Nick Litsky, the No. 2 seed overall, Juan Felipe Laso, sophomore Jamie Anderson and freshman Allen Sokolov were the singles competitors, while the doubles pairings included Litsky with freshman Dom Demeterfi and Sokolov with fellow freshman Jeremy Auh.
Anderson and Sokolov both lost in the first round of singles competition, while Litsky and Laso pushed through without much difficulty against opponents from University of Rochester and Ithaca College respectively. Laso would go down grinding in the next round, 4-6 4-6, to seeded first-year Ithaca player Minos Stavrakas. Litsky got by Travis Leaf of Skidmore by the same scoreline. In doubles, both teams came up short in the opening round, with Auh and Sokolov losing 2-8 to NYU, while Litsky and Demeterfi fell to Hobart.
Litsky moved into the quarterfinals after battling past Misaru Fujimaki from Rochester 6-0 2-6 6-3. Litsky then lost 4-6 2-6 to Setter from NYU.
The Brewers are done for the fall and will return to the court in the spring season.
Women’s Tennis
Women’s tennis, putting out a lineup heavily depleted by illness and injury, cruised through two Liberty League dual matches on Saturday, beating Bard College 9-0 in the morning at Walker Field House then Union College 8-1 in Schenectady.
Against Bard Vassar swept doubles, as senior Shayna Becker and freshman Tara Edwards won 8-1 at No. 1, senior Connie Yoo and sophomore Morgane Flournoy picked up another 8-1 at No. 2, as junior Lauren Difazio and freshman Ashley Fair earned an 8-3 win at No. 3.
In singles, Becker, playing at No. 1 in place of junior Kate Christensen, Yoo and Flournoy all eased through their matches, winning 6-0 6-0 in each. Flournoy’s win at No. 4 singles clinched the match for VC.
Against Union, VC again swept dubs. Yoo and Flournoy knocked off their opponents at No. 2 8-4, DiFazio and Fair put an 8-5 win in the books at No. 3, while Edwards and Becker secured the sweep, coming through with another 8-5 win at the first doubles position.
In singles, DiFazio got her fourth combined win for the day 6-0 6-3 over Alex Greenberg, as did Flournoy, 6-2 6-3 at the No. 4 singles spot. Yoo came out on top 6-4 6-0 at third singles, while junior Dasha Ivenitsky earned a win at fifth singles with a 6-4 6-1, putting the Brewers up 7-0. At first singles, Edwards coming back for a 2-6 6-2 14-12 victory. Becker finished just short, losing a tight match 4-6 5-7 at No. 2 singles.
The Brewers will continue play in the spring.
Men’s Cross Country
Men’s cross country came in fourth Saturday at the Saratoga Cross Country Invitational, hosted by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Saratoga Spring State Park, racking up 104 points, just off Hamilton College with 99. SUNY Dehli finished second with 93, while the hosting Engineers RPI had five runners of the top nine finishers to take first place.
Junior Michael Scarlett finished first for the Brewers, coming in 16th overall with a time of 26:18.3. Sophomore Luke Arsenault, in his second time out this season, ended close behind in 18th overall and second for Vassar with a 26:21.3. Adin Becker ran the best time for any first-year in the race, coming under the wire in 26:26.6, good for 19th overall and third for VC. Junior Philip Brown finished 20th with a time of 26:31.1, while junior Jesse Schatz was the last scoring runner for the Brewers, finishing 40th with a time of 27:07.1.
Vassar will return to the course Oct. 15, for the Rowan Interregional Invitational at 11 a.m. in Glassboro, NJ.
Women’s Cross Country
The women’s cross country squad also made the trip to Saratoga Springs National Park for the Saratoga Cross Country Invitational. Coming off a two-week layoff, the Brewers finished fourth out of 13 total teams, behind SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Plattsburgh and hosting RPI.
Senior Lucy Balcezak finished as the top runner for Vassar again, taking 17th overall place with a time of 18:44.4. Four seconds behind her was sophomore Christiana Prater-Lee, who registered a time of 18:48.0 for the course, earning her 19th overall and putting her second amongst Vassar entrants. Senior Laura MacDonald was the third Brewer finisher with an 18:53.5, good for 22nd place. Freshman Meghan Cook ended fourth for VC, registering a time of 19:15.1 and coming in 35th place overall. Sophomore Cameron Daddis was the last runner to score points for Vassar turning in a solid time of 19:25.9 and coming in 41st.
The Brewers will compete in the Seven Sisters Championships on Sunday, Oct. 16 at 10:30 a.m. in Wellesley, MA.
Men’s Rugby
The Brewers just scraped by the Privateers of Maritime in a closely contested game played at home at the Vassar Farm. Vassar went into halftime with a 15-5 cushion, thanks in large part to effective running from senior captain Seamus Taylor and junior Joe Simon, who scored three tries in the first 40 minutes of play.
The second half was a physical struggle for VC as the Privateers mounted a comeback attempt, shrinking Vassar’s lead to just three with 10 minutes left to play. However, Vassar pushed the ball upfield and junior flyhalf Nick Olkovsky made a long run at the end of which he scored a try, putting the Brewers up 20-12. Maritime with the clock ticking down, pushed in a try, which they converted, making the scoreline 19-20, where it would stand until time expired.
Vassar takes the field once more at home against Oneonta at the Vassar Farm on Oct. 9 at 12 p.m.
Women’s Rugby
The Brewers hosted their crosstown rivals, Marist College, in a Poughkeepsie derby on Saturday at the Vassar Farm. Junior Sarah Mawhinney opened scoring for Vassar, which was converted by senior Mary Margaret McElduff, her first of four on the day. Senior center Laila Blumenthal-Rothchild went over the try line second for the Brewers, bringing the score to 12-0. VC went into halftime leading 19-5, quick off the heels of a score by sophomore fullback Rachel Elson.
During the second 40, Vassar scored three additional tries despite forced substitutions due to injury. McElduff scored an individual try to kick off the second half of play while seniors Lauren Workman and Mariah Ghant were both able to get over the line, as VC wore Marist down to the tune of 38-5.
Vassar’s B-side also breezed through the Red Foxes, shutting them out 31-0. Freshmen Eve Coulibaly and Dylan Joyner scored a try each, as did junior wing Rachel Jones. Sophomore Jennie To also added a try, while fellow sophomore Makena Emery ran in a try of her own and converted three other scores.
The Brewers will be back out at the Farm on Saturday to take on Stony Brook University.
Women’s Golf
The Brewers finished the weekend 12th overall at the Williams College Fall Invitational, played at the Taconic Golf Club.
The Vassar contingent carded a 694 over two rounds of play on the par-71 course. Just 10 shots separated Vassar from a top-six finish.
Freshman Andrea Han continued strong play for the Brewers, finishing the tournament with a score of 166, placing her in a tie for 28th place. Her fellow freshman Qiwen Tan, shot a 175 over both days, carding a 79 on Sunday, the best score for any Vassar golfer. Senior Emily Prince shot a 178 combined for the weekend while junior Annie Hsu finished one stroke behind Prince, shooting a 179. Sophomore Evon Shay had a two-day score of 183.
The Brewers will return to the links next weekend at the Middlebury College Invitational in Middlebury, VT for two rounds of play on the Ralph Myhre Golf Course.
Field Hockey
The Brewers came up just short against No. 12 William Smith College, 3-2, in Liberty League action on Saturday afternoon. The loss to the Herons broke Vassar’s seven-game winning streak. The three goals were the first scores conceded since the Brewers’ only other loss this season against Kean University.
Before the half junior Storm Sideleau managed to get a shot with just nine seconds left to put Vassar on the board 1-2. William Smith countered quickly after the break and again pushed their margin to two goals. With just over two minutes to play, sophomore Alyssa More, with an assist from classmate Megan Caveny, pulled VC to within one, but time ran out on the Brewer comeback attempt.
The Brewers have a week off before hosting the University of Rochester at Weinberg Field for VC’s annual Play 4 The Cure contest.