Women’s Tennis
As they traveled to California, the Brewers improved their record to 9-2, collecting four wins and one loss in The Golden State.
The team’s spring break trip started with the season’s hardest match-up against the No. 4 Bowdoin Polar Bears. Senior captain Connie Yoo captured the sole win on the day as the Brewers fell to the Polar Bears 1-8.
The squad then turned things around to defeat No. 38 Hardin-Simmons University (7-2), Whittier College (9-0), Chapman University (8-1) and Principia College (5-0). After defeating the nationally-ranked Hardin-Simmons Cowgirls, the Brewers claimed a spot in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Top 40 at the No. 40 spot.
Due to strong performances, sophomore Morgane Flournoy and junior Kate Christensen were named Liberty League Doubles Team of the Week, while senior captain Shayna Becker tabbed Liberty League Honor Roll.
Next up, VC will face Liberty League foe St. Lawrence University at home on Saturday, Apr. 1.
Men’s Tennis
The Brewers split their spring break trip to sunny California with a 3-3 record.
In the first day of competition, Mar. 13, the men’s tennis team took on two nationally-ranked teams, No. 31 Trinity College and No. 10 Case Western Reserve University. Against the Trinity Bantams, it was a riveting battle which was ultimately decided by the victor of the No. 6 singles. As he has done before, senior Alexander Luckmann clinched the win with scores of 6-4, 7-2 to hand the upset to Trinity.
After such a tough battle, Vassar was unable to maintain the momentum and was defeated 0-9 by Case Western on Monday, Mar. 13.
VC faced another loss two days later as the team fell 3-6 to Whittier College. Nevertheless, the Brewers later rebounded to earn two straight wins against the College of Wooster (7-2) and Chapman University (5-4). Lastly, the Brewers wrapped up their trip on Saturday, Mar. 18 after falling to the CalTech Beavers in a close 4-5 battle.
After demonstrating their prowess in The Golden State, senior Nick Litsky and sophomore Nick Zuczek were named the Liberty League Doubles Team of the Week. Litsky also earned Singles Performer of the Week.
The squad will return to play on Saturday, Apr. 1 against New York University at home.
Women’s Rugby
After dominating competition in the United States, the Vassar women’s rugby team flew overseas to Barcelona, Spain for some international opponents. The squad took home two wins and one loss to advance its record to 14-3.
The Brewers first topped Unio Esportiva Santboiana (29-12), Spain’s oldest and most famous rugby club. With tries from seniors Nathalie Freeman, Mariah Ghant and Lauren Workman and juniors Michelle Urrutia and Abigail Alexander, the team earned 25 points. Vassar’s remaining points came from conversions by senior Mary Margaret McElduff and sophomore Makena Emery.
VC then faced Instituto Nacional de Educacion Fisica in the hardest challenge of the season. The Brewers were unfortunately held scoreless by the Barcelona team, which homes three members of the Spanish’s women’s national team: Maria Lasada, Angela de Pan and Maria Casado, in addition to Alicia Stone who is a member of the German national sevens team. The final score was 0-41 in favor of the Instituto Nacional de Educación Física.
The women returned to their typical domination as they defeated Manresa 58-15. Vassar earned the victory with the help of sophomore Rachel Elson and Freeman who both scored three tries, and Workman, McElduff and sophomores Miranda Scarlata and Kate Sworden who also added one try apiece. McElduff also contributed three conversions on the day as Emery also contributed a conversion.
After the team’s impressive international excursion, the women will return to the Vassar Farm to take on the University of Connecticut on Apr. 1.
Men’s Rugby
The men’s rugby team hopped on the plane with the women’s team to also enjoy a Spanish outing. Vassar unfortunately fell to both of its opponents: Universidad Politécnica de Catalunya (15-48) and Manresa (25-45).
The Brewers first competed on Friday, Mar. 17 against Universidad Politécnica de Catalunya. Although VC could not claim the win, the team had highlighting moments. Sophomore Robert Eder scored two tries in the team’s Barcelona opener as sophomore Dale Lord also contributed a try.
Vassar was able to gain more momentum the next time out and decreased its margin to 20. Against Manresa, Lord reached the scoreboards yet again with another try, joined by tries from junior George Sheppard, senior Seamus Taylor and sophomores Stephen Kpundeh and Louis Brown.
After a game postponement, the Brewers will return to action against Poughkeepsie rival Marist College on Saturday, Apr. 1 at 10 a.m.
Men’s Lacrosse
VC continued its impressive season opening as the team split its spring break run 2-2.
Landing down in The Sunshine State, the Brewers faced some difficulty against NESCAC opponent Wesleyan University and ultimately fell 4-11. Nevertheless, the squad put up a valiant effort.
Against the Wesleyan Cardinals, the Brewers were led by sophomore Pat Gibbons who tabbed a goal and an assist. Right behind Gibbons, freshman Mike Mullen and seniors Brandon DeStasio and Chris Billups each added a goal as senior Liam Moriarty contributed an assist.
Next up, VC dominated Salve Regina University 12-3 on Friday, Mar. 17 in Tampa, FL. Moriarty, who has been racking up Liberty League Honor Roll titles this season, headed the efforts against Salve Regina as he posted one goal and an impressive five assists.
Billups returned for more as he contributed two goals and an assist, as fellow senior Sam Houston-Read, sophomore James Thomas and Mullen each tallied two goals apiece.
The freshmen class shined as Matt Lowery also added two assists in addition to winning eight out of 11 faceoffs, while fellow classmates Jonah Tuckman and Austin Mello each reached the back of the net with a goal.
Knocking down yet another NESCAC opponent, the Burgundy and Gray then claimed a 10-8 win over Colby College. For the second game in a row, Moriarty earned the most points with two goals and two assists. Mullen, Thomas and Houston-Read followed close behind with three points each. Sophomore Drew Adams, DeStasio and Billups also each tallied a goal on the day.
The Brewers unfortunately wrapped up spring break on a sour note as they fell to Liberty League foe Skidmore College 5-11 to start their conference record at 0-1. Despite the disappointing ending, VC was able to capitalize throughout the game and reach the back of the net. Against the Thoroughbreds, Houston-Read scored two goals and tallied one assist as DeStasio, Gibbons and Billups each contributed one goal. Sophomore Chris Koester also earned an assist.
The men return to conference play on Saturday, Apr. 1 against RPI at home.
Women’s Golf
In sunny Chino Hills, CA, Vassar started its spring season against Whittier College on Mar. 15. While the women fought hard, they were eventually bested by a mere two strokes 348-346.
Freshman Qiwen Tan was the best VC performer of the day as she finished just seven over par with a score of 81. With this score, Tan nabbed second place. Next up for the Brewers was senior Emily Prince who finished in fifth with a score of 88, closely followed by junior Annie Hsu with 89.
After flying home, the women will have some time off before hosting the Vassar College Invitational on Apr. 8 and 9.
Men’s Volleyball
The Vassar men’s volleyball team has continued its monumental season with a weekend sweep of No. 11 Marymount University, No. 15 Juniata College and Arcadia University.
On Friday, Mar. 24, the Brewers defeated Marymount in five sets with scores of 26-24, 25-22, 24- 26, 22-25, 15-9. To earn this win, junior Mat Knigge posted a career-high 20 kills and nine blocks. The rest of the squad added nine more blocks for a total of 18, surpassing Marymount by a whopping 12.
Senior Christian Lizana helped the efforts with seven kills and one ace as freshman Yoni Auerbach added seven kills and four blocks. Freshman Kevin Ros and senior Trey Cimorelli each contributed with a team-high nine digs.
The next day, the Brewers topped both Juniata and Arcadia in three sets with respective scores of 29-27, 25-22, 25-16 and 25-14, 25-19, 25-18.
Against Juniata, Auerbach led the troops with his contribution of a career-high 15 kills and a hitting percentage of 0.75. Meanwhile, Lizana added 10 kills and four digs as Knigge posted 11 kills.
Then against Arcadia, Knigge maintained his momentum to lead the team with 11 kills as he hit 0.529. Junior Brian Manley, who was facing his brother, contributed seven kills. Junior Zechariah Lee tallied 59 assists on the day.
The men will look to improve their already impressive record of 21-6 as they play New Paltz away on Wednesday, Mar. 29.
Women’s Track
The Brewers had a strong showing at the 22nd Annual Monmouth Season Opener on Mar. 25.
In the first and longest event of the day, VC shined in the 10000-meters with the help of sophomore Megan Horn and senior Jemma Howlett. Horn finished in third with a time of 41:07.70 while Howlett followed close behind at 43:52.92 for the fifth spot.
Another strong finish came from senior Lucy Balcezak who completed the 1500-meters in 4:50.60 for ninth place.
Next came two 13th place finishes for Vassar at the hands of sophomore Elise Matera in the 3000-meters and junior Savannah Wiman in the 800m. Then, sophomore Acadia DiNardo clinched 15th place in her first collegiate showing of the 5000m with a time of 18:40.45.
Vassar then smashed records in field events. Sophomore Sophie Sharp finished in 11th in the long jump, while freshmen Jackie Cenan and Sabrina Stacks both surpassed the previous shotput school record. Cennan now holds Vassar’s record after registering a 11.21 meter toss.
Next up, Vassar will compete in the Ramapo Roadrunner Classic on Friday, Mar. 31 and Saturday, Apr. 1 in Mahwah, NJ.
Men’s Track
After spring break in Tuscon, AZ, the Vassar men’s track and field team competed in the 22nd Annual Monmouth Season Opener.
Junior Philip Brown was a standout for the Burgundy and Gray as he took home first place in the 10000-meter, beating a Vassar school record and qualifying for the ECAC Championships with his impressive time of 31:25.09. Fellow junior Jesse Schatz finished shortly after Brown with a personal-best time of 32:41.73 to capture sixth place.
Then in the 1500m, junior Jared Freedman ran a strong 4:00.48 to earn seventh place in the event. Freshman Adin Becker demonstrated his prowess in the 3K as he ran a fast 8:45.43, taking third place and a Vassar school record along the way.
After an impressive showing at the Monmouth Season Opener, VC will next take the track in Mahwah, NJ at the Ramapo Roadrunner Classic on Friday, Mar. 31 and Saturday, Apr. 1.