Men’s Soccer
The Brewers came out of the weekend with the Liberty League title after beating RPI 3-1 and Skidmore College 3-2, both at home.
Against RPI, a first-half hat trick from freshman Mattie Mrlik provided all the scoring the men needed to advance to the Liberty League finals.
In the finals, Skidmore got on the board first, heading in a goal following a throw-in, but the Brewers countered just under a minute later, as sophomore Tyler Gilmore sent home a loose ball in the box off junior Hayden Van Brewer’s throw-in. Skidmore then scored from just inside the box and went into halftime leading 2-1.
In the second half, it took VC 10 minutes to find the equalizer as junior Tanner Sands made good on a PK attempt. With just four seconds remaining and the game deadlocked at 2-2, Vassar drew a foul in the box and on the ensuing penalty kick, junior Alex Gonzales chipped it to the top right, beating the Skidmore keeper and earning VC the Liberty League title.
Vassar will next play Elizabethtown College in the NCAA Tournament Saturday, Nov. 12.
Men’s Swim and Dive
In their second Liberty League meet of the new season, VC men’s swimming and diving came out on top of Skidmore College at home with a score of 170-122.
Freshman Jordan Kalina picked up two key victories for the Brewers, convincingly winning in the 1000 free with a 10:37.52, and nabbing the win in the 500 free with a 5:05.96. In the 500 free, Kalina was followed by junior Ian LaBash and senior Walter Gabriel.
Senior Anthony Walker impressed in the 200 free, winning the event with a time of 1:49.10. In his next event out, Walker won the 200 fly, clocking a 2:02.48. Vassar put Lukas Harries (22.99) and Matthew Imiolek (23.61) first and second respectively in the 50 free, while junior Jonah Strand took the 200 IM.
The Brewers will return to Kresge Pool on Nov. 12 at, when they will face another league opponent, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Women’s Swim and Dive
Women’s swimming and diving also found success over their first Liberty League opponent of the season, taking down Skidmore 159-125.
VC got a first and third place finish in the 200 medley to kick things off, followed by a win by sophomore Sammy Stone in the 1000 free, finishing with a 11:04.90. Stone also finished first in the 100 free, followed by sophomore Meg Harrington and senior Julia Wieczorek.
Senior Julia Cunningham took first in the 200 fly, while freshman Laura Vidano took first place in the 100 fly with a 1:05.45. The Brewers finished with first place finishes in five straight events, with Cunningham taking the 200 IM, sophomore Kael Ragnini winning the 500 yard, Cunningham winning the 200 breast as well, and a decisive win in the 400 relay.
The Brewers are back in Kresge Pool on Nov. 12 against RPI.
Field Hockey
No. 17 Skidmore defeated VC 1-3 in the semifinals of the Liberty League Tournament, giving the Brewers their first home loss of the season.
The team went down 1-0 in the first half and would surrender another goal off a corner not too far into the second half. Freshman Sam Plante then tipped a shot from sophomore Megan Caveny for her first career goal and to the score to 1-2. Skidmore would score again to make it 1-3 and would hold this lead through the remainer of the game. Without a bid into the NCAA tournament, the team will end its season after this loss.
Vassar will graduate its winningest senior class, losing Sophie Arnold, Lauren Shumate, Emma Bracken, Flora Crichton-Stuart and Hayley Beach.
Women’s Soccer
The second-seeded women’s soccer team closed its record-breaking season in the semifinals of the Liberty League Championships, as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute eked out a 1-0 win over the Brewers.
After a scoreless first half, which featured more than a few chances for Vassar, RPI broke through as a 65th minute shot from near the top of the box found the bottom of the crossbar and went in.
Despite getting off a number of shots as time ticked down, the women were unable to find the back of the net. All the while, senior keeper Stephanie Tapolsky made four stops for the Brewers against the visiting Engineers.
Seven seniors played their last game as Brewers on Tuesday, including Rory Chipman, Phoebe Reuben, Kelsey Hamm, Emily Krebs, Rachel Marklyn, Jordyn Matthews and Tapolsky.
Women’s Cross Country
Vassar women’s cross country received second place at the ECAC Championships, hosted at the Hudson Valley Sports Dome.
Senior Alex Gittens garnered All-ECAC honors after posting a time of 25:31.2 to finish in ninth overall. Junior Savannah Wiman earned All-ECAC recognition herself, courtesy of a 14th place finish, coming across the line in 15:46.2.Other results include senior Jemma Howlett’s finish in 19th with a time of 26:12.3 while sophomores Meghan Horn and Emma Kline finished with times of 26:20.9 and 26:33.8, good for 22nd and 24th respectively.
The Brewers will next compete at NCAA Atlantic Regionals next weekend, traveling to Glassboro, NJ and Rowan University.
Men’s Cross Country
Men’s cross country brought five runners to the Hudson Valley Sports Dome Saturday to compete in the ECAC Championships.
Junior Jared Freedman crossed the line first for VC with a time of 28:41.9, putting him 24th overall. Sophomore Sam Kobrin finished next in 26th overall clocking a 28:49.4. Freshman Alex Dennis finished 33rd overall with a time of 29:13.7, while sophomore Jake Kobrin finished three spots back from Dennis with a 29:18.6. Freshman Will Dwyer was the last Brewer to cross the line on Saturday, finishing with a 30:41.0 in 56th overall place.
Vassar will head back to Rowan University for the third time this season next weekend, running in the NCAA Atlantic Region Regional in Glassboro, NJ.
Men’s Rugby
The Brewers competed in the Tri-State Conference finals over the weekend, taking on SUNY New Paltz. The first half was competitive, as Vassar was able to perform much better than the first game this season. New Paltz opened the scoring, taking advantage of a gap in the Brewer defense. Trevor Kennish made it 5-3 for VC though, after striking a penalty through the uprights.
However, the Hawks countered soon after to make it 12-3 and would score twice more in the first half. Though Vassar was able to score once more, as Dawkin Erceg found his way in, the Brewers were not able to get much of a foothold, ultimately losing 55 to 13 to New Paltz.
VC Rugby will continue play in the spring.
Women’s Rugby
The women’s rugby team came out with intensity, as tries from sophomore Rachel Elson, senior Lauren Workman and her fellow senior Laila Blumenthal-Rothchild helped put the Brewers up over UAlbany 19-0 within the first 20 minutes.
While Blumenthal-Rothchild and Elson scored again, seniors Mariah Ghant and Mary-Margaret McElduff went over the line, as did sophomore Kate Sworden and junior Amanda Saich. Vassar continued to press, and the result was never in doubt as the Brewers came out on top 46 to 10.
With the win, the women claimed their third Tri-State Conference title in four years and booked its place in the round of 32 at Nationals.
Next up, on Saturday Nov. 12, the women will compete against SUNY-Geneseo at the Vassar College Farm.
Men’s Fencing
The men opened their season with a trip to Smith College for The Big One, put on by the New England Intercollegiate Fencing Conference.
The Brewers had a strong showing across the board on Saturday. In epee, junior Jonathan Alperstein kicked off his season by finishing fifth overall, going undefeated in pool play and reaching the quarterfinals in the elimination bracket. Fellow junior Daniel Swerzenski and seniors Ry Farley and Jackson Dammann all finished in the top 15 as well.
In foil, freshman Noe Berger, junior Tom Racek, freshman Jack Holmes and sophomore Michael Skolnick also all finished in the top 15. In sabre, VC put five fencers in the top 25, as freshmen Ethan Levine and Graeme Mills, junior Eli Polston, senior Campbell Woods and junior Eric Lee had strong showings.
Vassar is back in action next weekend with its first home meet of the season, hosting the Vassar Invitational Sunday, Nov. 13.
Women’s Fencing
Women’s fencing also started its season at the Big One over the weekend. Sophomore Rose Hulsey-Vincent and senior Olivia Weiss proved standouts for the Brewers, both going far in the elimination bracket for the epee competition. Weiss earned the top seed, going six for six in pool play, and Hulsey-Vincent went 5-1 to get the No. 2 seed.
Weiss made it to the quarterfinals, where she was upset 15-13, while Hulsey-Vincent upset the 5 seed en route to the semis, where she lost to eventual champion Sucheta Tamragouri 15-10.
Three Brewers got top 25 spots in foil, as sophomore Mirit Rutishauser’s finished in 11th, while senior Elsa Stoff finished 17th and sophomore Sophie Blumenstock picked up 24th. In sabre, freshman Stephanie Gull finished tenth overall
Vassar will now look forward to its first home meet of the season next Sunday, hosting the Vassar Invitational Nov. 13 in Walker Field House.
Men and Women’s Squash
Both squash teams swept their season openers at home in Kenyon Hall on Saturday. Men’s squash bested Siena College and Fordham University by the identical 7-2 scores, while the women swept Fordham 9-0 and took down Mount Holyoke College 7-2.
At the top seed for the Brewers, Vincent Mencotti made short work of Siena’s Faizan Rahim in straights 11-5, 11-5, 11-4 before losing to Fordham’s Peter Yuen 11-9, 11-7, 11-8. At the two spot, freshman Viraj Nadkarni beat Siena’s Jack McQuade 11-4, 11-3, 11-3 and Fordham’s Bruce Czachor 11-8, 11-9, 11-8. Sitting at the third spot, senior Samuel Hammer dropped two tight matches to Siena’s Tyler Tsang 12-10, 11-6, 9-11, 11-4 and to Fordham’s John Lennon 11-5, 11-2, 11-1.
Freshman Ankit Khosla got past Siena’s Jimmy Wimer 11-5, 6-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-6 and won by default against Fordham’s Jimmy Shinnick 11-1, 8-0. At five, senior Richard Bryenton beat Siena’s John Keenan 11-9, 11-5, 7-11, 12-10 before winning in four over Fordham’s George Mead 11-2, 6-11, 11-1, 11-4. Junior Alex Riccio won against Siena’s Russel Santos 11-1, 11-3, 11-5 and Fordham’s Neil Patel 11-1, 10-12, 11-3, 11-7 at the six spot.
In women’s action, junior Hannah Nice swept through in three sets twice, beating Fordham’s Emily Bak 11-0, 11-2, 11-1 and MHC’s Brandy Williamson 11-5, 11-8, 11-5. At two sophomore Jiamin Wu won against Fordham’s Julia Seebode 11-1, 11- 6, 11-4 before losing to MHC’s Ragini Ghose 11- 4, 11-8, 11-2. Meanwhile, Senior Isabelle Bertram topped Fordham’s Lauren McGowan 11-2, 11-3, 11-2 and MHC’s Lessly Portillo in a tough match, 8-11, 9-11, 14-12, 11-4, 13-11.
Up next, the VC women will travel to Hamilton, NY to take on William Smith College and Colgate University on Saturday. The men’s squad will also travel this Saturday to compete against Boston College and Lafayette College.
Jamie Anderson
Guest Reproter
