Purple Knights News

March 13, 2006                                                                                                  
Contact: Daniel O’Reilly
Phone: (802) 654-2929

COLCHESTER, Vt. – Last week, the Northeast-10 released three Preseason Coaches Polls, ranking the softball and women’s lacrosse team fourth, while the men’s lacrosse team was chosen fifth out of 11 teams.
           
The men’s tennis team (4-1) defeated Colby Sawyer College, 6-3, on Tuesday in the team’s spring season opener, led by sophomore Andy Samara (South Burlington, Vt./South Burlington) and freshmen John Lescure (Kennebunk, Maine/Berwick Academy) and Sean Steigerwald (North Andover, Mass.). Samara picked up a win in No. 1 singles and paired with classmate Torr Terranova (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) to take No. 1 doubles. Lescure took No. 2 singles, and teamed up with fellow first year player Dmitri Repnikov (South Burlington, Vt./South Burlington) to take the doubles. Steigerwald also won both of his events, earning a victory in No. 6 singles, and along with senior Tom Wu (Litchfield, Conn./Litchfield), he closed out his collegiate debut with a doubles win.
           
The women’s tennis team (3-3) also opened its spring schedule last week, dropping a 6-3 match to Macalester College on Sunday, in Hilton Head, S.C. For the Purple Knights, junior Cailie Burns (Chepachet, R.I./Ponaganset) notched a three-set victory in No. 3 singles, and teamed with sophomore Michelle Wood (Chatham, N.Y./Chatham) for an 8-0 win in No. 2 doubles. Sophomore Megan Conway (Lynnfield, Mass./Lynnfield) recorded the other victory for Saint Michael's, winning in No. 6 singles, 6-4, 6-1.
           
The softball team (2-4) opened its season on Saturday with a 4-3 extra inning win over Palm Beach Atlantic University, backed by junior Meggan Roberge (Sheldon Springs, Vt./Missisquoi Valley Union), who struck out nine in an eight-inning, complete game effort. Classmate Meg Currier's (Greenfield, Mass./Stoneleigh-Burnham School) RBI triple proved to be the difference for the Purple Knights. Later that day, the team fell to Dominican College, 5-2, despite sophomore Casey Brooks’ (Colchester, Vt./Colchester) 4-for-4 effort at the plate, including a home run. Freshman Megan O'Connor (Georgetown, Mass./Georgetown) allowed four runs in the first inning, but settled down after that to throw a complete game while recording nine strikeouts. On Sunday, the team suffered a 1-0 loss to the University of North Dakota and was victorious over Wilmington College, 6-3. Versus Wilmington, O'Connor pitched six-plus innings of relief to earn the victory, and aided her cause by going 2-for-3 at the plate with a double and two runs batted in. Senior Elizabeth Pigeon (Saint Albans, Vt./BFA-Saint Albans) went 3-for-4, while Brooks went 2-for-3 with a triple and RBI to lead the team’s nine-hit attack. On Monday, Saint Michael's lost a pair of low-scoring contests falling to the University of Minnesota-Moorhead, 2-0, and Post University, 4-1. In the opener, O’Conner fell to 1-2 on the season with a tough-luck loss. She threw her second complete game in three days while allowing just six hits and recording two strikeouts. The Purple Knights managed just four singles versus Minnesota-Moorhead, with O'Connor, Currier and sophomores Katy Newland (East Burke, Vt./Lyndon Institute) and Maggie Russell (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley) each lacing a base hit. In the nightcap, Roberge also saw her record fall to 1-2 on the season, despite throwing her third straight complete game. Roberge allowed two home runs among her five hits and tallied four strikeouts. At the plate, Brooks went 2-for-4 with a double, while freshman Ashley Harkins (Colchester, Vt./Colchester) went 2-for-3 with a double. O'Connor added a double in three at bats for the Purple Knights.
           
The women’s lacrosse team opened the 2006 season with a 17-6 loss at third-ranked C.W. Post on Sunday. Freshman Lauren Rizzotti (Cohasset, Mass./Cohasset) led the way with three goals, while junior Megan Rule (Bow, N.H./Bow) scored twice. Classmate Megan Lagasse (Newburyport, Mass./Governor Dummer Academy) also scored for the Purple Knights, who were outshot 35-15. Sophomore Courtney Wakem (Tiverton, R.I./Tiverton) turned aside eight shots in her first collegiate contest.
           
The men’s lacrosse team (1-1), who was ranked 10th in Monday’s USILA Division II Poll, lost to the University of Vermont, 14-4, on Tuesday, and earned a 14-13 overtime victory versus Saint Vincent College on Sunday. Against the Catamounts, sophomore Mark Agostinelli (Dedham, Mass./Xaverian) scored two goals, while senior co-captain Brandon Kobelt (Rye, N.Y./Fordham Prep) and sophomore Mike Boerma (Birchrunville, Penn./Lawrence Academy) each tallied points. Sunday, Boerma capped the Purple Knights’ comeback with an unassisted overtime goal, while classmate Gregory Lazarus (Evanston, Ill./Evanston) led the squad with four goals and one assist. Agostinelli added three goals and a helper, and Kobelt and freshman Jake Previte (Cohasset, Mass./Cohasset) added two goals apiece, while sophomore Jeff Hannon (Wilbraham, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) turned aside eight shots. With his first goal, Kobelt extended his scoring streak to 17 games, a span that stretches back to the 2004 season finale against Merrimack.

Fourteen Saint Michael's College field hockey players were named to the 2005 National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division II National Academic Squad on Tuesday: Holli Brousseau (Little Compton, R.I./Bishop Stang), Ashley Brown (New Boston, N.H./Goffstown Area), Cassie Dewey (Lebanon, N.J./Mount Saint Mary's Academy), Sara Fournier (Swanton, Vt./Missisquoi Valley Union), Michelle Haley (Jericho, Vt./Mount Mansfield Union), Amber Holcomb (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex), Emily Letendre (New Bedford, Mass./Old Rochester), Tina Nardi Rupert, Vt./Salem Central), Nikki Pickman (Southbury, Conn./Pomperaug), Jordan Smalling (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex), Jennifer Strashnick (South Burlington, Vt./South Burlington), Suzanne Trunbull (Southbury, Conn./Pomperaug), Ashley Webb (Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury), and Emily Zimmerman (Littleton, Mass./Littleton). The team was also one of just 14 institutions that earned the NFHCA Division II National Academic Team Award.                                 

This Week’s Schedule:
3/14      Women’s Lacrosse @ at New Haven at West Palm Beach, Fla., 9 a.m. 
3/14      Men’s Tennis vs. Messiah at Hilton Head, S.C., 12 p.m.               
3/14      Women’s Tennis vs. East Stroudsburg at Hilton Head, S.C., 1 p.m.                
3/15      Women’s Tennis vs. Nebraska Wesleyan at Hilton Head, S.C., 8 a.m.    
3/15      Softball vs. Slippery Rock at Fort Myers, Fla., 9 a.m.                
3/15      Softball vs. Bloomfield at Fort Myers, Fla., 11 a.m.            
3/15      Men’s Tennis vs. Limestone at Hilton Head, S.C., 12 p.m.              
3/15      Men’s Lacrosse @ Adelphi, 3:30 p.m.            
3/15      Women’s Lacrosse @ at Presbyterian at West Palm Beach, Fla., 4:30 p.m.         
3/16      Men’s Tennis vs. Wayne State at Hilton Head, S.C., 8:00 a.m.  
3/16      Softball vs. West Chester at Fort Myers, Fla., 1 p.m.                
3/16      Women’s Tennis vs. Clarion at Hilton Head, S.C., 1 p.m.                 
3/16      Softball vs. Edinboro at Fort Myers, Fla., 4 p.m.              
3/17      Women’s Tennis vs. California (Pa.) at Hilton Head, S.C., 10 a.m.            
3/17      Softball vs. Florida Gulf Coast at Fort Myers, Fla. (doubleheader), 5 p.m.                
3/18      Men’s Lacrosse @ at Saint Anselm, 12 p.m.