This Week In Saint Michael's College Athletics - 3/14/11-3/20/11

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Contact: Seth Cole - Phone: 802.654.2537

COLCHESTER, Vt. - Spring Break has begun, and a handful of Saint Michael's teams are in warmer climates for a week of competition. The women's tennis team continues its winning ways, while the softball team won in its first day of action. Meanwhile, the men's lacrosse's team's season-opener was postponed five days, the baseball team suffered a narrow loss in its first game of 2011, and the women's lacrosse team is also in search of win #1.

The women's tennis team (7-0, 6-0 Northeast-10 Conference) opened up the Florida portion of its schedule - and maintained its perfect record - with an 8-1 win versus Tiffin (Ohio) University on Sunday in Orlando. Four Purple Knights won two matches apiece, with three players - senior Marran Ranks (Stratham, N.H./Exeter) and sophomores Emily Magee (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) and Jean-Marie McGrath (Niwot, Colo./Alexander Dawson School) - improving to 7-0 in both singles and doubles play this season. At 7-0, Saint Michael's is off to its best start in the program's 30-year history. The Purple Knights play three matches in Orlando this week, including a key conference match against Adelphi University on Tuesday.

The softball team (1-1) opened its 2011 season with a split on Sunday at the National Training Center Spring Games in Clermont, Fla. Saint Michael's bounced back from a 4-1 loss to Molloy College by defeating the New York Institute of Technology, 11-4. Versus NYIT, senior Kate Condon (Holliston, Mass./Holliston) had a career-high two home runs - one of which was a grand slam - and six RBIs. Freshman Greer Lemnah (Lyndon Center, Vt./Lyndon Institute) went 4-8 in the first two games of her collegiate career, while classmates Bethany Falls (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex) and Brittany Regis (Monroe, N.H./Saint Johnsbury Academy) also recorded their first collegiate hits. Sophomore Stephanie Frank (Essex, Vt./Essex) earned the decision in both games, allowing just two earned runs in a combined nine innings. Saint Michael's plays eight more games in Florida this week.

The baseball team (0-1) opened its 2011 season at the Palm Beach (Fla.) Challenge with a 2-1 loss to the University of Massachusetts Lowell on Sunday despite flawless defense and an impressive outing on the mound by junior captain Austin Ziskie (Chevy Chase, Md./Bethesda Chevy Chase). Ziskie allowed two runs on seven hits with a walk and two strikeouts in eight innings of work. Sophomore Collin Fishman (Bethesda, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel) paced the offense with two singles and a double, and sophomore Jacob Begnoche (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex (Univ. of Vermont)) picked up his first collegiate hit. The Purple Knights are scheduled to play 10 more games in Florida this week.

The women's lacrosse team (0-3, 0-1 Northeast-10 Conference) dropped a pair of games to league foes last week, although Sunday's 17-8 loss to Franklin Pierce University in Laurinburg, N.C. was a non-conference contest. Freshman Crystal King (South Burlington, Vt./South Burlington) scored the first three goals of her collegiate career last week, while classmate Alexa Coleman (Boxford, Mass./Masconomet Regional) also scored the first goal of her career against Franklin Pierce. Junior Eliza Scoba (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) tallied a team-high three goals versus the Ravens, while classmate Sandy Palumbo (Guilford, Conn./Guilford) stopped a combined 33 shots last week. Saint Michael's remains in the Carolinas this week, playing at Converse College and Saint Andrews Presbyterian College in the first-ever meeting between these two schools.

The men's lacrosse team's season-opener versus Plattsburgh State University scheduled for Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. was postponed, as the recent snowstorm made Duffy Field at Doc Jacobs Complex unplayable. The game will now be played at Plattsburgh on March 23 at 7 p.m. Saint Michael's - which rose one spot to third in last week's New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (NEILA) Coaches' Poll - now opens its 2011 season today (Monday) versus Seton Hill University at 3 p.m. in Purchase, N.Y., the first of three games for the Purple Knights in greater New York City this week.

Ten Saint Michael's College field hockey student-athletes were named to the 2010 Gladiator by SGI/National Field Hockey Coaches' Association (NFHCA) Division II National Academic Squad, it was announced on Wednesday, while the team as a whole was recently named to the Division II National Academic Team. Senior Natalie Elvidge (Newton, N.J./Newton) was one of the 10 Purple Knights recognized, and one of just 21 players who have been named to the Division II National Academic Squad each of the last four years. The other nine Purple Knights named to the team on Wednesday are: senior Kaleigh Ferrari (Millbrook, N.Y./The Millbrook School); juniors Jenny Boudrow (Dedham, Mass./Dedham), Megan Hill (Guilford, Conn./Guilford), Jackie Stacey (West Windsor, Vt./Woodstock Union/Endicott), and Katie Stickney (Fair Haven, Vt./Fair Haven Union/Albany); sophomore Laken Ferreira (Holliston, Mass./Holliston); and freshmen Courtney Bedell (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry), Kelly Celata (Dedham, Mass./Dedham), and Lauren McHatten (Winthrop, Maine/Winthrop). Only six other Division II programs nationally had more than 10 student-athletes named to the National Academic Squad.

This Week's Schedule

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