Athletics News

BOX SCORE

SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Swarthmore freshman Jimmy Gill picked up his team-leading 18th RBI of the season as visiting Haverford defeated the Garnet 5-1 on a chilly Wednesday afternoon at Clothier Fields.  The Fords improve to 15-9 overall and 6-5 in the Centennial while Swarthmore dips to 3-20 overall and 1-12 in the Conference.

The Fords, wearing the bright road reds, took a 2-0 lead in the third when senior Ben Field lined a one-out triple down the right-field line to bring home sophomore Jamie Hollowell and freshman Jeff Rickert.  Fords senior Ben Einbinder ripped the first pitch he saw into left to plate Field for 3-0 Haverford advantage and the visitors picked up a fourth run when Einbinder scored on freshman Rob Crabtree's pop fly behind first base.

Swarthmore responded in the bottom of the inning with a run of its own.  Gill jumped on a first pitch fastball, lining a double over the leftfielder's head to drive in Scott Dalane '08, who had reached on a leadoff walk.  Gill has driven in a run in six of the last seven games and owns a .345 (10 for 29) batting average with runners in scoring position.

Five Haverford pitchers combined to strike out 10 Swarthmore hitters while allowing only three hits.  Senior Danny Poster (2-2) picked up the win after pitching three scoreless innings in relief with three strikeouts.

Sean Varsalona (1-6) took the loss for the Garnet, allowing only two earned runs in seven innings pitched.

Swarthmore completes the home-and-home affair with Haverford on Friday, April 20 in Haverford, Pa. at 3:30 p.m.  The Garnet return home on Saturday April 21 for a doubleheader with Gettysburg, slated to start at 12:30 p.m.

GAME ONE BOX

GAME TWO BOX

CHESTERTOWN, Md.--  Swarthmore senior Kelly Siano drilled a three-run homer and freshman Kathryn Riley tossed another shut out as the Garnet downed Washington (Md.) 8-0 in the second game of a Centennial Conference softball doubleheader Tuesday afternoon.  The Shorewomen tripped up the Garnet in game one, winning 5-4.

Swarthmore (16-8 overall, 6-2 CC) slips into a tie for second place in the Centennial standings with rival Haverford.  The Centennial playoff race is will be much clearer by the weekend—Swarthmore finally tangles with the Bears on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. in Collegeville, Pa. (the much-anticipated Swarthmore/Ursinus match-up has been postponed twice during this wet April) while Haverford/Ursinus will take place on Friday (the original match-up was also postponed due to poor field conditions Tuesday).

Down in Chestertown, the Garnet jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first game when sophomore leadoff hitter Christine Sendelsky reached base on a hit by pitch, advanced to second on sophomore Lauren Walker's sacrifice bunt and scored when Riley singled to right-center.

Washington took control of the game in the bottom of the sixth, plating three runs on four hits to go ahead 5-1.

Swarthmore did not go down without a fight, scoring three times with two outs in their final at-bat to get within one.  Senior Ashley Brandt smacked a two-out double and scored while Sendelsky also picked up a two-out hit and scored a run.

Garnet starter Alexandra Zelaski '09 (5-3) took the loss for Swarthmore, allowing eight hits in 5.0 innings while striking out two batters.

The Garnet bared their offensive muscle power in the second game, starting with a four-run fourth inning.  Siano highlighted the frame with a three-run homer to left field—it is the second round-tripper of the season for the senior first baseman.

Swarthmore added two more runs in the fifth to take a 6-0 lead.  Walker led off with her second hit of the game, a single to left, and came around to score on a double off the bat of Riley.  After Katherine Gold '08 drew a walk, Brandt advanced both runners with a sacrifice bunt.  Freshman Michele Perch brought in Riley with an RBI single while Gold was cut down at the plate trying to score, thus ending the inning.

Siano drove in another run in the top of the seventh, plating Brandt who had smoked a one-out double down the left field line.  Perch followed with her third hit of the game, a double, driving in Siano to make it 8-0 Garnet.

Riley (8-0), named the Centennial Conference Pitcher of the Week on Monday, cruised to her third shutout of the season by striking out five in 7.0 innings of work. 

Swarthmore continues its extended road schedule later this week, heading north to Collegeville, Pa. on Thursday and then hit Lancaster, Pa. this Saturday, April 21 for another Centennial twinbill hosted by Franklin & Marshall at 1:00 p.m.

LANCASTER, Pa.  --  Swarthmore pitcher Kathryn Riley (Dagsboro, DE / Indian River) has been named Centennial Conference Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 9-15. 

Riley, a freshman right-hander, won both starts while posting a 0.50 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 14.0 innings this past week.  Riley pitched her second shut-out of the season in a 4-0 Swarthmore win over Muhlenberg on April 10, striking out nine batters with no walks.  She allowed only one earned run on four hits while striking out four in a 9-6 win at Gettysburg on April 14.

Riley (7-0) has been the most dominating pitcher in the Centennial this season, leading the Conference in ERA (0.54) and opposing batting average (.154) while ranking third in wins.

Riley is the second Garnet softball pitcher, and third player, to be recognized by the Centennial in 2007; right-hander Alexandra Zelaski '10 was named Pitcher of the Week on March 26 and shortstop Katherine Gold '09 was named Conference Hitter of the Week on March 19

Swarthmore is 15-7 overall and 3-1 in the Centennial in 2007, and is currently riding a five-game win streak.

MATCH RESULTS

SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- It was a successful weekend for the 26th-ranked Garnet (3-9), as they swept the visiting Gulls of Salisbury University (14-6) by the count of 9-0 at the Michael Mullan Tennis Center on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

After all three Swarthmore pairs cruised through doubles' action; senior Jon Reiss and junior Jonathan Lo won their second match in a row, defeating Brendan Kincaid and Scott Burtzlaff 8-6.  Brian Nallit '10 and Kevin Shaughnessy '09 rolled at No. 2, beating Sasha Felikson and Evan Thomas 8-2 while Willy Nolan '10 and Mark Greenburg '09 took care of business at No. 3, claiming an 8-4 win.

At No.1 singles, Reiss trumped Kincaid by the score of 6-0, 6-3. Reiss ended the third game impeccably with three back-to-back aces. Both Reiss and Kincaid effectively used the width of the court in the second set, but Reiss was able to best the Gull regardless.

Lo went on to out-duel Burtzlaff 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (10-4) at No. 2 singles. Burtzlaff forced Lo to a third set but since the overall match was already decided, they played a tie-breaker. Nolan won his fifth staright match, easily beating Felikson 6-1, 6-1 at No. 4.

At No. 3, Nalitt sealed the overall win by beating Evan Thomas 6-2, 6-2. Nalitt smart play was epitomized when he sailed through the air, and smashed an overhead volley.

Swarthmore's Kevin Shaughnessy '09 beat Sean Larson 6-3, 6-1 at No. 5 singles and J.J. England '09 defeated Jason Williams 6-1, 6-1 to round out the afternoon.

The Garnet travel next to Division I Lafayette battling the Leopards at 3:30 on Wednesday, April 19th.

GAME ONE BOX

GAME TWO BOX

GETTYSBURG, Pa. -- Senior Ashley Brandt and freshman Michele Perch had four hits as the Swarthmore softball team extended its win streak to five games by sweeping Gettysburg in a Centennial Conference doubleheader Saturday afternoon.

The Garnet (15-7 overall, 5-1 CC) used a domination pitching performance from Alexandra Zelaski '09 to win game one 3-1 and then withstood a late Gettysburg rally in the second game to win 9-6.

Zelaski (5-2) allowed one run on five hits in seven innings to lower her season ERA to 2.83.  Her only blemish was a lead-off home run to Bullets leftfielder Heather Sagaities.  The Garnet offense picked Zelaski up with a run in the second as Perch singled and scored on passed ball. 

Swarthmore added two more runs in the sixth to give Zelaski a nice cushion.  Sophomore Christine Sendelsky reached on a fielder's choice and moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt by Monica Cody '10.  Freshman Kathryn Riley walked and junior Katie Gold drove both runs in with a double to left-center.

Brandt, Gold, and designated player Dhalia Perez all collected two base hits for the Garnet.

Riley took the hill for Swarthmore in the second game and the Bullets (11-9 overall, 2-4 CC) took an early lead once again using a single and a triple to go ahead 1-0.

Swarthmore answered immediately with three runs, highlighted by Brandt's leadoff triple.  The Garnet picked up another score in the fifth and three more in the sixth to build a 7-1 lead.  Three singles and two walks in the top of the seventh put the game seeming out of reach with the visitors up 9-1.

Gettyburg made things interesting in their last at bat as Sagaities hit a bases-loaded triple as the Bullets pushed five runs across.  Riley got Meg Gorusch to fly out to end the game, ending the threat.

Riley (7-0) struck out four batters while allowing only four hits to remain undefeated in 2007.

Perch led the Garnet offense with two hits and three runs batted in while Brandt picked up two more hits and scored three times.

The Garnet travel next to Washington College on Tuesday, April 17 for a Centennial doubleheader at 3:00 p.m. 

MATCH RESULTS

SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- The 26th ranked Garnet (2-10) upset 11th-ranked Mary Washington (16-7) Saturday afternoon on Faulkner Courts, grounding the Eagles with a 6-3 score. Jonathan Lo '08, Kevin Shaughnessy '09, and Brian Nalitt '10 went home with hard earned victories in both their doubles and singles matches.

Today's contest was a rematch of the second round of the 2006 NCAA Division III Tennis Championship, in which the Garnet took down the Eagles, 4-2.

Playing at No.1 singles, senior Jon Reiss, ranked tenth in the Atlantic South region, not only had to compete against second-ranked John James, but he had to battle on-going back pain and cramps. Although he put forth a valiant effort, he was unable to take down James in the third set, falling 6-3, 4-6, 4-6. 

At No.2 singles, Lo rallied back from an early deficit to take the first set 7-5. But Mary Washington's Randy Loden used cross court shots to wear Lo down in the second set (3-6), forcing a third set. Lo gathered enough momentum to take the third set with a decisive 6-2 win. He and partner Reiss defeated Loden and Zach Detwiler earlier at the No. 1 doubles spot, 8-5.

Like Lo, Nalitt and Willy Nolan '10 were forced to overcome an early deficit in order to win their matches. Nalitt defeated Jason Dunn 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 at No. 3; and Nolan beat Evan Goff 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 4.

Nalitt and Shaughnessy won at No.2 doubles, 8-5. Shaughnessy, the only player to defeat his opponent in consecutive sets, took care of business at the No.5 singles spot, winning 6-4, 6-3.

Swarthmore will host Salisbury State tomorrow afternoon. The match begins at 2:00 p.m. and, due to severe rain in the forecast, will most likely be played in the Michael Mullan Tennis Center. 

MEET RESULTS

EWING, N.J. -- Swarthmore Cait Mullarkey's running prowess continued Saturday afternoon, as the sophomore won the 3,000-meter steeplechase event at the New Jersey Track Invitational hosted by the College of New Jersey Saturday morning.

Mullarkey has already run at the 400, the 400 intermediate hurdles, the 800 meters (which she won last Saturday), and the 1,500 during the current outdoor track & field season. On Saturday, she took a stab at the steeplechase and not only beat 99 other opponents to the finish line, but set a new school record (11:42.42) in the process. Mullarkey shattered the old mark set by Carrie Ritter '06 (12:26.90) at the Tuppany Twilight hosted by Villanova on May 15, 2006.

Garnet sophomore Bess Ritter was the top finisher for Swarthmore in the women's 1,500, taking ninth place with a time of 5:09.18. She was followed in Faith Pampel '09 (5:10.81), Kathy Feeney '09 (5:11.58) while freshman Erin Ronhovde took 13th (5:13.45).

The Swarthmore men also ran strong in the steeplechase; Ross Weller '08 ran a personal-best time of 9:44.25 (fifth-fastest time in school history) to finish third while classmate Jon Shoop was seventh in a time of 10:10.12, just missing the top-ten.

Connor Darby hit the top-ten all-time in the 800 (fifth-best), running seventh overall with a time of 1:57.25 while senior Matt Schiller finished 11th in the 400 meter event (51.45).

Swarthmore Samantha Graffeo led the field performers, finishing fourth in the shot put with a final distance of 10.80 meters (her best toss of the season). Garnet freshman Matt Turner made the finals in the triple jump and despite re-aggravating a hip injury, posted a final distance of 12.55 meters for seventh place.

The Garnet return to the track on April 20-21 at the annual Widener Invitational, hosted by Widener University.

BOX SCORE

ALLENTOWN, Pa. --  The Swarthmore women's lacrosse team kept its Centennial playoff hopes alive Saturday afternoon, rallying from a six-goal second-half deficit to stun hometown Muhlenberg 14-13 in Centennial action Saturday afternoon.

The Mules (8-5 overall, 2-5 CC) assumed a commanding 13-7 lead with 14:18 left in the game after Sara Hiller scored her third goal of the day.  Garnet junior midfielder Megan Sanborn controlled the next draw and sophomore Marissa Schaffer converted a free-position opportunity at 13:38.  Sanborn picked up another draw control but the Mules took possession a minute later.  Swarthmore goalie Susannah Blair saved a shot by Muhlenberg's Ruth Morrongiello at 11:07 and Garnet senior attack Athena Samaras eventually finished off a feed from classmate Katie Crawford at 10:14 to make it 13-9 Mules.

Muhlenberg burned a time-out and won the next draw control, but Garnet sophomore defender Melissa Grigsby controlled a Mules' turnover and brought the ball into the offensive zone finding freshman Abbe Muller for her 16th goal of the season at 8:45.  Swarthmore got within 13-11 when Schaffer finished off her second consecutive hat-trick with her team-leading 36th goal off a pass from senior midfielder Lindsay Roth with six minutes remaining.

Swarthmore senior defender Paige Gentry controlled the draw and fleet-footed midfielder Alex Gilbert-Bono '10 scored 25 seconds later off a feed from Grigsby.  Gilbert-Bono stamped her name all over the game-tying score, claiming the draw control and converting a free-position attempt for her third score of the afternoon with 4:21 left in regulation.

Muhlenberg had a free-position chance with 4:08 left, but Blair turned away Miller to preserve the tie.  The Mules' Danielle Scarrone challenged Blair two minutes later but the Swarthmore net-minder stood tall.  The Garnet picked up the loose ball and got it in the pocket of two-time All-Centennial performer Roth, who put home the game-winner with 2:36 showing on the clock. 

Blair came up with one final save, denying Taylor Armstrong with 1:23 left, finishing with a total of 11 stops on the afternoon.  Her Muhlenberg counterpart, Caroline Shadood, made 14 saves as the Garnet held a slight 35-30 edge in shots.  Swarthmore controlled 18 draws to the Mules' 11 while the hometown gathered more ground balls (26-20).

Roth finished the afternoon with four goals, giving her 19 on the year and 10 in the last three games alone. 

The Garnet (9-6 overall, 2-4 CC) are in sixth place in the Centennial standings (top five make playoffs), one game behind McDaniel for the final spot.

Swarthmore plays on the road for the final time in the 2007 regular season, traveling to Bryn Mawr on Tuesday, April 17 for a 4:30 p.m. game.

MATCH RESULTS

ALLENTOWN, Pa.  -- The Garnet women's tennis team kept pace in the Centennial Conference, getting two wins apiece from Waverly Lutz '07, Rachel Wallwork '10, and Erica Lukoski '08 on the way to a 6-3 win at Muhlenberg Saturday afternoon.

Swarthmore (7-4 overall, 5-1 CC), currently ranked 14th in all of Division III, sits in third place in the Centennial, trailing #15 Johns Hopkins (7-0) and Franklin & Marshall (7-1).

The Garnet were rolling early against Muhlenberg (, sweeping all three doubles' matches.  Wallwork and Lutz won their fourth straight match (second at No.1 doubles), downing the Mules' Jenn Powell and Pam Kimmelman 8-6 in the top pairing.  Marissa Matthews '07 and Lukoski continued to show strong chemistry, winning at No.2 by a score of 8-3 over Carly Rotfield and Danielle Weiss.  Sara Sargent '07 and Rachel Committo '10, teaming up for the first time this season, completed the sweep with an easy 8-0 win at No.3 over Amanda Clifford and Lesilie Schaffer.

Wallwork won at No. 1 singles for the second time this season.  She battled past Powell 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8) increasing her personal win-streak to three in the process.  Lutz and Lukoski cruised at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, failing to drop a set. 

Swarthmore has a full schedule next week, traveling to Haverford on Wed., April 18 at 4:00 p.m. and then will host #28 College of New Jersey on Friday, April 20 at 3:30 p.m.  The weekend slate includes two Centennial road matches; Saturday, April 21 will be at F&M and Sunday's affair will be at McDaniel.

GAME ONE BOX

GAME TWO BOX

WESTMINSTER, Md. -- Swarthmore freshman Zach Sinemus won his first collegiate game and classmate Matt Corso had three hits, scored three times and drove in two more as the Garnet snapped 13-game losing streak with a 11-5 win at McDaniel in the second game of Centennial doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Preston Field.

The Green Terror (7-17 overall, 3-9 CC) won the first game 4-2 behind a six-hit, six-strikeout performance from starting pitcher Chase Wolf. 

Swarthmore freshman Wiley Archibald led the way, going 2-for-2 with a run and a walk while Garnet lefthander Jimmy Gill (0-1) picked up the loss despite fanning three and walking only one in six innings of work.

The Garnet put up both of their runs in game one during the third inning.   Junior Justin Chen lined a base hit to left-center and moved up on a bunt single by Archibald.  Chen was erased at third on senior Sammy Faeder's bunt attempt and junior Scott Dalane struck out.  Gill came through with a double to center, driving in Archibald and Faeder to put Swarthmore in front, 2-1.  Gill would drive in another run in the second game, increasing his team-leading RBI total to 17.

McDaniel re-took the lead in the bottom of the inning with a pair of runs and then added an insurance run in the fourth, riding Wolf (2-2) to victory.

The second game was all Garnet, as the visitors put up a six-spot in the first inning.  Dalane, junior catcher Andy Bender, and Corso all ripped two-baggers as Swarthmore chased McDaniel starter Ryan Graves after just two-thirds of an inning.

The Garnet (3-19 overall, 1-11 CC) built a 10-2 lead for Sinemus, as Corso singled and scored on Gill's ground out in the third, and two Swarthmore hits with three McDaniel errors led to three more in the fourth.  Sinemus (1-3) cruised through six innings without allowing an earned run while sophomore Dylan Smith tossed the final three frames for his second save of the season.  Bender roped a double and scored when classmate Conor Casey laced a single to left.

Corso finished 3-for-4 while Faeder, sophomore Grant Yoshitsu, Bender and Casey all had multiple-hit games.

The Garnet will host Haverford College on Tuesday, April 17 at 3:30 p.m. and complete the home-and-home on Friday on the Main Line at 3:30 p.m.