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Purple Knights News

April 7, 2008

This Week In Saint Michael's College Athletics

COLCHESTER, Vt. -- As temperatures warmed for the spring sports season, the tennis teams were heating up with sweeps of Franklin Pierce and Pace. The women's lacrosse team began the week with their fourth straight win and ended with a loss, while senior Brynne Curran (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth) accomplished a feat of historic proportion for the second straight week. The men's lacrosse team finished off a three-game stint against the top three teams in the conference, coming up empty by week's end. With a slew of postponements due to weather, the baseball team finally got outside, but was rudely awoken by fifth-ranked Franklin Pierce in a double-header on Sunday.

Tennis (Men: 7-5, 6-1 NE-10; Women: 8-4, 5-1 NE-10)

The men's tennis team snapped its five-game losing skid on Wednesday with a 5-1 victory at Franklin Pierce University. Junior John Lescure (Kennebunk, Maine/Berwick Academy) earned wins at No. 1 singles and No. 2 doubles to lead Saint Michael's. Prior to capping off the week with a decisive 8-1 win over Pace at home, the Purple Knights earned the ninth position in the NCAA Division II Regional Rankings on Wednesday. Lescure again led the Purple Knights with a No. 1 singles win and No. 2 doubles win.

The women's tennis team also completed a sweep of Franklin Pierce and Pace on the week to win three of their last fourth outings. In an 8-0 sweep over Franklin Pierce, sophomore Lindsay Horne (Scituate, Mass./Scituate) secured a No. 1 singles win and No. 1 doubles win as the Purple Knights rolled. Senior Michelle Wood (Chatham, N.Y./Chatham) won all four matches she was a part of during the week, allowing just one point in the No. 3 singles position, while capturing No. 1 and No. 2 doubles victories.

Women's Lacrosse (5-2, 3-1 NE-10)

Cruising to their fourth straight win to start the week, the women's lacrosse team knocked off Franklin Pierce, 23-6, with help from Curran's game-high seven goals. Curran tallied seven goals for the second consecutive game and added an assist for a game-high eight points. Junior Kim Berlo (Scituate, Mass./Scituate) recorded seven points on four goals and three assists for the Purple Knights, while junior Amanda Pelley (Mashpee, Mass./Falmouth) found the net three times.

Later in the week, the Purple Knights would snap their four game win streak while hosting Bryant, the second-ranked team in the Northeast-10. In the 15-9 loss, Saint Michael's could not overcome an early 5-0 deficit despite three first half goals from senior captain Amanda Soule (Hartland, Vt./Woodstock Union), cutting the lead to 9-7 at the break. Curran also chipped in three goals on the afternoon to reach a career mark of 158 points, surpassing the previous record set by Amanda Lohin '03 (156). In just the last three games, she has set the new standard at Saint Michael's College for career goals (129) and points scored in women's lacrosse 25-year program history.

Men's Lacrosse (3-5, 2-3 NE-10)

Looking for their first ever win over the reigning back-to-back Division II National Champion Le Moyne College, Saint Michael's dropped their 16th straight in the series history, 14-2, to the visiting Dolphins. Falling behind 5-0 in the first half and surrendering five goals in the third period, Saint Michael's first goal from junior Peter Pikulski (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire) midway through the third proved tardy for the comeback effort. Sophomore Charlie Niznansky (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield-Ludlowe) tallied the Purple Knights second goal late in the fourth for his third straight contest in the scoring column. In a game Saint Michael's was out-shot 46-17, senior goalkeeper Jeff Hannon (Wilbraham, Mass./Wilbraham) stopped 10 on the turf at Duffy Field.

Finishing up a three-game stretch against the top three teams in the Northeast-10, the men's lacrosse team's misfortune continued against the Penmen of Southern New Hampshire on Saturday in Manchester. Dropping their third straight by a score of 17-8, the Purple Knights could not restrain the nation's leading scorer, Mike Ball, despite out-shooting the Penmen 46-39. Niznansky made it four straight games with a goal by scoring a pair and helping on one more to classmate Nate Noble (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) to cut the lead to 9-6 in the third quarter.

Baseball (2-12)

With a seven-day layoff, the baseball team looked to rally from their nine-game road slump at the reigning Northeast-10 regular season and tournament victor, Franklin Pierce, on Sunday. Pitted against the fifth-ranked Ravens, the Purple Knights dropped game one, 12-3, and game two, 20-2. In game one, senior John Kunkel (Loudonville, N.Y./Christian Brothers Acad.) belted a two-run home run in the sixth as part of a two-hit day for the third baseman.

This Week's Schedule:

Mon. Apr. 7 Baseball vs. Lyndon (DH)* 3:00 p.m.

Mon. Apr. 7 Softball vs. Merrimack (DH)* 3:30 p.m.

Tue. Apr. 8 Women's Tennis @. Assumption* 3:00 p.m.

Tue. Apr. 8 Softball vs. UMass Lowell (DH)* 3:30 p.m.

Tue. Apr. 8 Baseball vs. Vermont Tech 4:00 p.m.

Tue. Apr. 8 Women's Tennis @ Assumption* 3:00 p.m.

Tue. Apr. 8 Women's Lacrosse @ Southern N.H.* 4:00 p.m.

Wed. Apr. 9 Baseball @ Norwich (DH) 3:00 p.m.

Wed. Apr. 9 Men's Lacrosse @ Assumption* 6:00 p.m.

Thu. Apr. 10 Baseball vs. Middlebury 3:00 p.m.

Thu. Apr. 10 Softball @ Southern Connecticut (DH)* 3:00 p.m.

Sat. Apr. 12 Baseball @ Southern Vermont (DH) 12:00 p.m.

Sat. Apr. 12 Women's Lacrosse vs. Merrimack* 12:30 p.m.

Sat. Apr. 12 Softball @ Assumption (DH)* 1:00 p.m.

Sat. Apr. 12 Women's Tennis @ AIC* 1:00 p.m.

Sat. Apr. 12 Men's Lacrosse vs. Bentley* 3:00 p.m.

Sun. Apr. 13 Softball @ Pace (DH)* 12:00 p.m.

Sun. Apr. 13 Baseball @ Castleton (DH) 1:00 p.m.

Sun. Apr. 13 Men's Tennis vs. AIC* 1:00 p.m.

###PURPLEKNIGHTS###