May 20 2013

Nichols’ Widdison & Dyakiv Earn Academic Honors

By NoontimeSports.com 

Courtesy of the Nichols College sports information department, here’s this afternoon’s release about Emily Widdison and Anna Dyakiv that were each named to the 2012-13 Capital One District 1 NCAA Division III First Team:

DUDLEY, Mass. – Nichols College senior field hockey student-athlete Emily Widdison (Greenfield, Mass.) and junior women’s tennis student-athlete Anna Dyakiv (Amsterdam, N.Y.) have each been named to the 2012-13 Capital One Academic District 1 NCAA Division III First Team.

A member of the 2012 Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division III All-America Third Team, Widdison led the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) in goals (24) and points (57) this past season, both of which are Nichols single-season records. In the process, she became the program’s all-time leader in goals (51) and points (134). Widdison – who was also named CCC co-Player of the Year as well as Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year – recorded nine games with at least three points and scored two-or-more goals in seven games – including three against Fitchburg State on Sept. 13.

Widdison graduated last week with a degree in accounting & finance. Last fall, she was named to the NFHCA Division III National Academic Squad for the fourth-consecutive season.

“I am thrilled to hear that Emily Widdison has earned a spot on the Academic All-District First Team,” said field hockey head coach Kristan Mallet. “Along with being a talent on the field, she was impressive in the classroom throughout her four years at Nichols College. I am proud of the person she has become and know that she will continue to strive for success. She has left Nichols College with broken records, has raised the bar for all athletes, and her legacy will remain.”

Dyakiv, meanwhile, was named CCC Player of the Year for the third time in 2012 while adding a third All-CCC First Team singles nod and an All-CCC Second Team doubles selection to her resume. Despite being sidelined with an injury for part of the year, Dyakiv went 4-0 in singles and 5-0 in doubles to help the Bison remain undefeated in conference play for the third-straight year. In the final week of the regular season, Dyakiv posted a 3-0 ledger in both singles and doubles play and teamed with senior Jillian McQuiggan (Weymouth, Mass.) to clinch a key match at Endicott. In three years, Dyakiv has amassed a 21-0 singles and a 22-0 doubles record in CCC regular season competition.

A double-major in sport management and international business, Dyakiv is an ITA Scholar Athlete who was avolunteer at UEFA EURO 2012 and has also worked as a translator for officials from Belarus at Fed Cup. She is also a member of Chi Alpha Sigma, Zeta Alpha Phi, and Delta Mu Delta.

May 20 2013

Mass. College Sports: Highlights And Notes From The Weekend

By Matt Noonan 

There were a variety of local teams competing this past weekend in baseball, softball and lacrosse NCAA tournaments, and below are a few highlights and notes.

* Endicott College’s run toward the NCAA Division III World Series ended with a 9-0 setback to Southern Maine on Sunday. The Gulls set a program record with 35 wins this season, as well as won their first Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) title since 2006.

* Endicott won three of their first New England Regional games against Saint Joseph’s (ME), Wheaton College and Southern Maine.

* Colin Sitarz and Tyler Hitchcock (Abington, MA) each represented Endicott on the All-Tournament team.

* Amherst College saw its season conclude, too, as the Lord Jeffs, who set a program record for wins, fell to Cortland in the New York Regional.

* Tufts University’s softball team will play for the Division III championship this afternoon against the winner of Cortland-Salisbury. The Jumbos haven’t lost a game in the championship bracket as they’ve defeated Texas-Tyler, Montclair State and Cortland. Tufts have only surrendered one run in all three contests, too.

* Finally, Westford’s David Lawson netted a game-best five goals, including the game-winner for Duke against Notre Dame in NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse tournament. Lawson now has 32 goals and 15 assists for the Blue Devils this season.

May 20 2013

Mass. College Hockey: BU’s Durocher Signs Contract Extension

By NoontimeSports.com 

Courtesy of the Boston University sports information department, here’s this afternoon’s release about women’s ice hockey head coach Brian Durocher, who signed a contract extension:

BOSTON - After guiding the Boston University women’s ice hockey team to its second trip to the national title game in the last three seasons, head coach Brian Durocher has signed a contract extension to remain at BU through the 2018-19 season, Assistant Vice President and Director of Athletics Mike Lynch announced Monday.

“I’m excited that Coach Durocher has agreed to lead our women’s ice hockey program for many more years to come,” Lynch said. “We knew we hired a terrific coach when he took over the program at its inception nine years ago, but he has exceeded every expectation and continues to elevate the program to new heights each year. It’s incredible how far this team has come in just eight seasons as a varsity program, and that is thanks to Brian’s exceptional leadership.”

Durocher has been at the helm of the women’s ice hockey program since its inaugural season in 2005-06. In eight seasons, Durocher has guided the Terriers to three Hockey East championships, four straight NCAA tournament appearances and two trips to the NCAA title game. He holds a record of 159-93-37 and has won 20 games in each of the last three seasons, including a program-record 28 victories this past season.

“I’d just like to thank Boston University, director of athletics Mike Lynch, his staff, Drew Marrochello and Nancy Lyons for the tremendous support they’ve given to our program and the opportunity for me to remain at a place I love and have a great appreciation for,” Durocher said.

Under Durocher, BU has become the premier program in Hockey East and is consistently among the top five teams in the nation. The Terriers, Hockey East regular-season champions for the second time in 2013, are the only team in Hockey East history to have played for a national championship, doing so in two of the last three seasons. BU has also finished in the top five of both national polls in each of the last three years.

The 2012-13 season was the best in program history, with Durocher guiding the team to a 28-6-3 record. The six losses were a program low and the team’s winning percentage was its highest ever (.797). Durocher garnered national attention, as he was named a finalist for the AHCA Division I Women’s Ice Hockey Coach of the Year award. BU bested six of the other nine teams in the final USCHO.com poll, winning eight games against top-10 opponents. The Terriers boasted four Hockey East All-Stars and two New England Division I All-Stars along with six different 15-goal scorers.

BU will return 18 letter winners from last season’s squad, including four skaters who scored at least 20 points in 2012-13. Starting goaltender Kerrin Sperry, the reigning Hockey East Tournament MVP, will be back between the pipes for her senior season after setting a new program record for career wins with 64. Louise Warren was named captain and classmate Kaleigh Fratkin will be an assistant captain while First-Team All-Star Shannon Doyle and All-Rookie honoree Sarah Lefort will each return.

May 17 2013

Mass. College Sports: Friday Scoreboard

By NoontimeSports.com 

Here are the results from today’s NCAA baseball and softball games.

New England Baseball Regional: 

* No. 4 Western New England 5, No. 6 St. Joseph’s (ME) 3

* No. 2 Wheaton College 3, No. 8 Daniel Webster 1

* No. 3 Endicott College 5, No. 1 Southern Maine 2

* No. 4 Western New England 8, No. 2 Wheaton College

Ithaca Regional: 

* No. 1 Ithaca College 3, No. 6 Amherst College 2

NCAA Division III Softball Championship: 

* Tufts University 6, Texas-Tyler 0

May 17 2013

Mass. College Baseball: Wheaton Defeats Daniel Webster, Remains In New England Regional

By NoontimeSports.com 

The Wheaton College baseball team kept their season alive with a victory against Daniel Webster this afternoon in the NCAA Division III New England Regional. Wheaton will attempt to extend its season to tomorrow when they return to the diamond later this evening against Western New England, who defeated St. Joseph’s (ME) earlier this morning.

Courtesy of the Wheaton athletic department, here’s the release from their win against the Eagles:

HARWICH, Mass. – Second-seeded Wheaton College, ranked no.15 overall in the latest D3baseball.comnational poll, eliminated eighth-seeded Daniel Webster from the NCAA Division III New England Regional double elimination tournament with a 3-1 triumph on Friday afternoon at Whitehouse Field in the first-ever meeting between both squads.

The Lyons (32-11) will play Western New England University in an elimination game later tonight at 8 p.m. The Eagles season comes to a close at 29-12 overall.

Junior right-hander Nick Filloramo (Rochester, Mass./Old Rochester Regional) improved to 6-3 overall on seven innings pitched, four hits, one run (earned), zero walks and five strikeouts on 89 pitches (68 strikes). Sophomore Mike Bisceglia (New Boston, N.H./Goffstown) hurled a scoreless eighth yielding just one hit and junior closer Ryan Grant (Easton, Mass./Avon Old Farms School) locked down his 12th save of the season on two strikeouts in the ninth. Grant surpassed Mike Spavento ’02 for the all-time career lead in saves as both relief pitchers were tied at 35 entering this afternoon’s contest.

Daniel Webster senior Syed Ali (Dracut, Mass./Dracut) was dealt the loss over seven innings, eight hits, three runs (all earned), three walks and two punchouts.

Wheaton opened up the scoring with two outs in the top of the third as senior Dan Gusovsky (Andover, Mass./Andover) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to take a 1-0 advantage. Gusovsky knocked in his team-leading 23rd two-out RBI of the season.

Senior Eric Jensen (Gorham, N.H./Gorham) reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second base and advanced to third on an infield single to third base from classmate Sean Ryan (Norton, Mass./Norton). After Ryan swiped second, sophomore Apolinar De la Cruz (Providence, R.I./Classical) worked a seven pitch walk to set up the scoring. Ali held the Lyons offense in check with a ground out to first to end the threat.

Freshman Matt Lavanchy (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) gave the Lyons a 2-0 lead in the fourth with a sacrifice bunt RBI in between the pitcher’s mound and home to plate senior Paul O’Neill (Framingham, Mass./Framingham)from third. O’Neill led off the frame with a single to center field and used his speed to advance from first to third on a base hit to center by senior Justin Connor (Arlington, Mass./Arlington).

In the sixth, Lavanchy hooked a run-producing double on the chalk of the right field line to push Wheaton ahead 3-0. Sophomore Justin Peluso (North Andover, Mass./Saint John’s Prep) scored from first base as Lavanchy’s hit bounced into the Lyons open bullpen down the line in foul territory. Peluso got the offense started in the inning with a leadoff single up the middle.

Daniel Webster answered in the bottom half on a sacrifice fly to right field off the bat of senior Elliot Kilgore (Milford, N.H./Milford), his 17th RBI of the season. Classmate Darrik Marstaller (Spofford, N.H./Keene) notched a single to right-center, stole his team-leading 17th base of the season and advanced to third on a ground out for the Eagles lone run.

Filloramo used a ground out to end the inning and three more in the seventh to erase a two-out double down the left field line from freshman Devin DeCarteret (Pelham, N.H./Pelham) to close out his outing. Bisceglia allowed a one-out single in the eighth, stranding a runner at second base with three ground outs. Grant retired the side in order in the ninth on a strikeout swinging, a 1-3 ground out and a strikeout looking for his 36th career save. Grant is also the all-time leader in games finished (69) in program history and third all-time in appearances (72) as a junior.

Lavanchy collected Wheaton’s only multi-hit game going 2-for-4 with two RBI. Lavanchy now has 18 multi-hit games this season. Jensen extended his hitting to nine games while De la Cruz pushed his to eight and Gusovsky moved his to seven as all three hitters had just one hit in the contest.

May 17 2013

Mass. College Sports: Friday’s Schedule

By NoontimeSports.com

A couple local squads will be competing in various NCAA tournaments this morning, afternoon and evening, and below are the times.

NCAA Division III New England Baseball Regional:

* No. 4 Western New England vs. No. 6 St. Joseph’s (ME), 9:30 a.m. — Elimination Game

* No. 2 Wheaton College vs. No. 8 Daniel Webster, 1 p.m. — Elimination Game

* No. 1 Southern Maine vs. No. 3 Endicott College, 4:30 p.m.

* St. Joe’s/WNE vs. Daniel Webster/Wheaton, 8 p.m. — Elimination Game

NCAA Division III Ithaca Regional:

* No. 1 Ithaca College vs. No. 6 Amherst College, 4:30 p.m.

NCAA Division III Softball Championship Tournament:

* Tufts University vs. Texas-Tyler @ Eau Claire, WI, 5 p.m.

May 16 2013

Mass. College Baseball: Endicott Tops Wheaton, 3-2 (10 Innings)

By NoontimeSports.com 

The second day of the NCAA Division III New England Regional concluded with an exciting late-inning contest as No. 3 Endicott College defeated No. 2 Wheaton College, 3-2, in 10 innings.

Below is the release courtesy of the Wheaton athletic department:

HARWICH, Mass. – Endicott College graduate student Colin Sitarz (West Hartford, Conn./Hall) laced an RBI single up the middle in the bottom of the tenth inning to lift the Gulls to a 3-2 walk-off victory over second-seeded Wheaton College, ranked no.15 overall in the latest D3baseball.com national poll, on day two of the NCAA Division III New England Regional double elimination tournament on Thursday night at Whitehouse Field.

The Lyons (31-11) will take on eighth-seeded Daniel Webster tomorrow at 1 p.m. in a winner-take-all game at Whitehouse Field. Third-seeded Endicott (34-12) plays first-seeded Southern Maine tomorrow at 4:30 p.m.

Gulls freshman reliever Mike Walkowicz (Amherst, Mass./Amherst) earned the win on one-and-two-thirds innings pitched, one hit and one walk. Endicott starter Mike Nich (Orange, Conn./Amity) picked up the no-decision over three innings of work, six hits and two runs (both earned).

Wheaton freshman Eric Dumas (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) suffered the loss over one inning of work, two hits, one run (earned), one walk and one strikeout. Junior Alec Palioca (Wrentham, Mass./King Philip Regional)was handed the no-decision on seven-and-two-thirds innings pitched, six hits, two runs (one earned), five walks and a career-high 11 strikeouts.

With one out in the bottom of the tenth, sophomore Harry Oringer (Dartmouth, Mass./Coyle Cassidy)notched an infield single to second base to jump start Endicott’s rally. Senior Brett Holmgren (Middleboro, Mass./Coyle Cassidy) worked a walk on five pitches seeing three-straight balls to start the plate appearance. Sitarz followed with the game-winning hit, ripping a single up the middle on a 1-1 pitch.

Walkowicz escaped a bases loaded, two out-jam with a ground out to second base in the top of the tenth inning to allow the Gulls a chance for the walk-off win.

Wheaton took a 1-0 advantage in the third as senior shortstop Eric Jensen (Gorham, N.H./Gorham) knocked in classmate Justin Connor (Arlington, Mass./Arlington) with a single through the right side of the infield. Sophomore Apolinar De la Cruz (Providence, R.I./Classical) made it 2-0 with a sac fly to left field, scoring Jensen.

Connor led off the inning with a double down the right field line and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt from freshman Matt Lavanchy (Walpole, Mass./Walpole). After Jensen singled Connor home, he proceeded to steal second base and advanced to third on a base knock to center field off the bat of senior Sean Ryan (Norton, Mass./Norton). De la Cruz followed and was robbed of an extra-base hit as Sitarz made a diving catch in the left field gap only allowing Wheaton to score one run on the sac fly.

Endicott evened the score at 2-2 in the bottom half of the inning on a fielding error and an RBI single to left field by Holmgren. Palioca escaped any further damage with the Gulls having base runners on first and second with his sixth strikeout at the time.

In the seventh, Wheaton nearly scored the go-ahead run with runners on second and third base, but De la Cruz was gunned down at home on an inning-ending double play (1-3-2).

Palioca stymied the Endicott offense in the next half inning recording his tenth career pickoff to head back into the dugout after freshman Cody Hall (Rutland, Mass./Wachusett Regional) singled with one out earlier in the frame. Palioca’s tenth career pickoff moved him into first place all-time in the category breaking a tie at the top of the list with teammate Frank Holbrook (Middletown, R.I./Portsmouth Abbey School).

Hall robbed the Lyons of another potential go-ahead run in the ninth making a diving catch on a liner from De la Cruz to turn a 6-4 inning-ending double play with runners at first and second.

Sophomore Mike Bisceglia (New Boston, N.H./Goffstown) and Dumas combined for three outs in the bottom half of the ninth to force extra innings. Bisceglia induced one fly out while Dumas registered a fly out to left and a ground out to third.

Wheaton falls to 12-5 overall against Endicott in the all-time series. The Gulls have won two-straight versus the Lyons claiming a 5-3 victory on April 24, 2012 in the last meeting. Wheaton is now 3-2 overall in extra innings in postseason play and 2-2 at Whitehouse Field.

May 16 2013

Mass. College Baseball: MIT, Salem State Eliminated From New England Regional

By Matt Noonan 

MIT’s baseball season concluded this morning in Harwich as the Engineers saw its three-run lead erased by a four-run fifth inning and a five-run seventh by Daniel Webster in the NCAA Division III New England Regional Baseball Tournament.

The No. 8 seeded Daniel Webster dropped their first tournament game yesterday to No. 1 Southern Maine, 5-2, but kept their playoff hopes alive with a 10-4 victory against the fifth seeded Engineers.

The Eagles will play the loser of Endicott College-Wheaton College tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Hayden Cornwell began the Engineers three-run first inning by driving in Creed Mangrum, who led off the frame with an infield single. Parker Tew followed with a two-run home run to provide MIT with a 3-0 lead, but Daniel Webster trimmed the deficit in the top of the second off a triple by Tyler Bonin, who sent Elliot Kilgore to the plate.

MIT responded in the bottom of the inning with their fourth and final run as James McKinney sent K.J. Parent to the dish on a single to right field.

Aric Dama, who started for the Engineers, pitched four and one-third innings, but gave up five earned runs. He did finish with two strikeouts, though.

MIT’s season concludes with a 27-13 mark, as well as this year’s ECAC Division III New England Baseball champions.

Excluding MIT, Salem State, another local squad, saw its season conclude with a 7-5 setback to St. Joseph’s (ME) in the second game of the day.

The Vikings lost to Wheaton last night, 5-3, and never led the Monks. Ryan Beliveau recorded two of his team’s five runs, along with one hit, while teammates Kevin Salines, Brett Cahill, Richard Fecteau and Matt Burgess each recorded one RBI.

Salem State’s season ends with a 25-15 overall record, as well as this year’s Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) champions. The Vikings hadn’t won their conference crown since 2006.

May 16 2013

Mass. College Baseball: New England Regional – Day 2 Schedule

By NoontimeSports.com 

The second day of the NCAA Division III New England Baseball Regional, which is being hosted by the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) in Harwich, begins this morning at 9:30 a.m., and below the schedule:

* No. 5 MIT vs. No. 8 Daniel Webster, 9:30 a.m. – Elimination Game

* No. 6 St. Joseph’s (ME) vs. No. 7 Salem State, 1 p.m. – Elimination Game

* No. 1 University of Southern Maine vs. No. 4 Western New England, 4:30 p.m

* No. 2 Wheaton College vs. No. 3 Endicott College, 8 p.m.

May 15 2013

Mass. College Baseball: New England Regionals – Day 1 Roundup

By NoontimeSports.com 

The first day of the 2013 NCAA Division III New England Baseball Regional, which is being hosted by the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), is in the books and below is the local game summaries.

No. 2 Wheaton College 5, No. 7  Salem State 3 - Frank Holbrook picked up his 26th victory in a Lyons uniform, (second all-time in program history for wins), while Ryan Grant registered his 35th save (tied for first all-time) as Wheaton defeated the Vikings.

Wheaton will take on Endicott tomorrow at 8 p.m., while Salem State will play St. Joe’s in an elimination game at 1 p.m.

Wheaton’s Eric Jensen recorded two hits and two RBIs in five plate appearances, while going 1-for-1 with two outs and runners in scoring position. Dan Gusovsky finished with three hits, one RBI and one run.

Salem State’s Kyle McElroy hit the game’s only home run in the top of the second.

No. 3 Endicott College 4, No. 6 St. Joe’s (ME) 3 – Harry Oringer drove in the game-winning run off a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth, which helped the Gulls defeat the Monks.

Oringer finished with two RBIs and one hit, while Martinez scored two of Endicott’s runs.

Kevin Dupras picked up his third win on the bump as he pitched the final three frames and fanned six batters.

No. 4 Western New England 5, No. 5 MIT 2 – Steve Buckley went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in the fourth, which helped the Golden Bears secure the win against the Engineers.

WNE will return to the diamond tomorrow against No. 1 Southern Maine, who defeated Daniel Webster, 5-2, at 4:30 p.m.

Brendan Nugent picked up his eighth win in a Golden Bears uniform by retiring four batters, yielding two runs and scattering eight hits over seven innings of work.

MIT’s Hayden Cornwell recorded one run, one hit and one RBI, while KJ Parent finished with one hit and one RBI.

The Engineers will attempt to keep their postseason hopes alive, as they’ll face No. 8 Daniel Webster tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m.