Athletics News

OFFICIAL RELEASE

Swarthmore, PA - Swarthmore College junior Sonya Reynolds (Victoria, Canada - Quartz Hill [Ca.] ) and freshman Jennie Park (Rockford, IL - Guilford) earned All-Centennial Conference Women's Tennis honors in singles' play, as voted on by the league's head coaches.  Reynolds and junior Marissa Matthews (McLean, VA - Langley) also earned All-Centennial honors in doubles.

Reynolds, an All-American selection in 2005, established a record of 15-7 at No. 1 singles in 2005-06, including a record of 3-1 in Centennial regular season dual matches.  Reynolds, an economics major, is currently ranked fifth in the Atlantic South region.

Reynolds paired with Matthews to record an overall record of 18-2 at No. 1 doubles in 2005-06, including a 6-0 mark in Centennial regular season dual matches.  The duo currently ranks fifth in the Atlantic South region in doubles.

It is the second All-Centennial singles' honor for Reynolds and her fifth overall; she earned doubles' honors in 2004 and 2005.  It is the second All-Centennial honor for Matthews, her first coming in 2005 for doubles play.

Park, currently ranked 19th in the region, posted an overall record of 16-10 in 2005-06.  Playing primarily at No. 2, Park had a record of 6-1 in Centennial play.  Park is the third Swarthmore freshman to be named All-Centennial in singles, following Jennifer Pao in 1998 and Anjani Reddy in 2001.

Swarthmore, ranked 18th in Division III, won its second consecutive Centennial Conference championship this past week, finishing 2005-06 with an overall record of 16-2 and 10-0 in the regular season conference play.  The Garnet also earned a berth in the 2006 NCAA Division III Tennis Championship tournament, beginning May 6-7.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Swarthmore College earned the distinct honor of having both its men's and women's tennis teams selected to play in the 2006 NCAA Division III Tennis Championships this coming weekend. 

The Garnet men's team (6-10 overall, 6-4 in Division III ), ranked 20th in the nation and  fourth in the Atlantic South region, earned its 30th NCAA bid in the last 31 years.  In the first round, Swarthmore will play Washington College (Md.), ranked 14th in the country and third in the region, on Saturday, May 6 on the campus of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va.  Swarthmore ousted Washington in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tennis Championship by a score of 4-3, yet the Shoremen (19-3) defeated the visiting Garnet 4-3 on April 14, 2006.  The other side of the bracket matches top-seed Mary Washington (20-3) against Johns Hopkins (11-8);  Swarthmore fell to Mary Washington, ranked seventh in the nation, 6-1 on April 2 and defeated Johns Hopkins 5-2 on March 17.

The Swarthmore women (16-2 overall, 10-0 Centennial) are currently ranked 18th in Division III and fifth in the Atlantic South region, and enter the NCAA Tournament coming off their second consecutive Centennial Conference championship.   Swarthmore is the second seed in the Atlantic South region and will face third-seed Carnegie Mellon in the first round on Saturday, May 6 in Lexington, Va.  Should the Garnet advance past the Tartans, they will face the winner of the match between host Washington & Lee and Mary Washington.  In 2005, Swarthmore fell to eventual national runner-up Washington & Lee 9-0 in the first round.

Swarthmore men's tennis has reached the semi-finals of the NCAA Tournament on ten occasions and won four national championships (1977, '81, '85, '90).

Women's Atlantic South Bracket

Men's Atlantic South Region Bracket

OFFICIAL NCAA WOMEN'S RELEASE

GAME ONE BOX

GAME TWO BOX

WESTMINSTER, Md. - Junior Kelly Siano ripped a two-out two-run single to fuel a four-run sixth inning as Swarthmore defeated McDaniel 5-3 in the second game of a Centennial doubleheader on Sunday afternoon.  The victory earns Swarthmore (22-15, 9-7 CC) its first Centennial playoff berth in the program's history.

The Green Terror (21-19, 8-8 CC) won the first game 5-0 behind a complete game six-hitter from starting pitcher Nichol Moeller and a second-inning home run from catcher Emily Trainor.  The Green Terror also receive a playoff berth with the split vs. Swarthmore, earning the fourth seed to extend their playoff appearance streak to 13 years.

Freshman Swarthmore right-hander Emily Walz (5-6) took the loss is game one, allowing four earned runs on six hits while striking out three.  Garnet senior catcher Christina Procacci led the offense with two hits in three at bats.

The Green Terror win in game one was their 25th consecutive victory over Swarthmore.  The Garnet remained winless in Centennial play versus McDaniel (and before that Western Maryland), with the last Swarthmore win against the Green Terror coming in 1983. 

Needless to say, Swarthmore's backs were against the wall in the second game.  The writing was right there for all to see: 23 years gone since a win against the Green Terror, the team was picked eighth out of nine in the conference pre-season poll, and now stood one defeat away from the end of the season.

But if we have learned anything from the 2006 Garnet softball team, it is to never say 'never'.  Never led the conference in hitting - done.  Never got 10 wins from a starting pitcher - done.  Never hit three home runs in a game - done.  And never been in the Centennial playoffs....keep reading.

Swarthmore junior starter Marianna Klingaman locked up with McDaniel's Mary Abrams in a pitchers' duel that kept the game scoreless through the first five frames.  Abrams, a two-time All-Centennial selection at second base, allowed only three Swarthmore base runners through five and retired Garnet sophomore Dahlia Perez on a pop out and freshman Kristin Caspar on strikes to start the sixth.  Abrams then plunked Procacci, listed in the top 15 in Division III with 0.24 hit by pitch per game ratio and Centennial leader with a .513 on-base percentage at week's onset , to continue the inning.  Freshman Lauren Walker followed with an infield hit and senior Danielle Miller hit a single through the left side to load the bases.  Swarthmore freshman sensation Christine Sendelsky drew a walk to break the scoreless tie and sophomore Katie Gold drove in Walker with a single up the middle.  Siano kept the two-out rally going, driving home two runs with a base hit to left field, giving Swarthmore a 4-0 lead.

The Green Terror got back in the game with a pair of home runs off Klingaman in the bottom of the sixth.  Jess Smith led of the inning with her first home run of the season and one out later Whitney Williams smacked a two-run dinger, her fourth of the year, to cut the Garnet lead to 4-3.

Swarthmore head coach Renee Clarke sensed a change was needed and went to the bullpen, bringing in freshman right-hander Alexandra Zelaski to put out the fire.  Zelaski took care of business, getting the final two outs to preserve Swarthmore's lead going into the final inning. 

The Garnet bats shortened in the top of the seventh, adding an insurance run with some small-ball.  Perez singled to center to lead off the inning and then Caspar pushed over pinch runner Stephanie Rogan '06 with a sacrifice bunt.  Rogan advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Procacci's RBI single to give Swarthmore a 5-3 lead.

Zelaski took the hill in the bottom of the inning and got McDaniel's Karyn Curley to pop up to second for the first out.  Diana Rosemier reached on an error before Zelaski fanned Jessica Smith for the second out.  The Green Terror put another runner on when Abrams singled to center field, giving McDaniel two on, two out and the Centennial's leading power hitter, Trainor (seven HRs, 30 RBIs, .673 slugging %) at the plate.  Zelaski,  toed the rubber with the season on the line and made perhaps the biggest pitch in recent Garnet softball history, striking out Trainer to end the game, putting Swarthmore into the playoffs.

Klingaman (7-4) earned the win, pitching 5.1 innings allowing three runs on six hits and Zelaski picked up her first collegiate save by allowing only one hit in 1.2 innings of relief with a pair of strike outs.  The seven wins for Klingaman is a career-high.

Miller led Swarthmore with three hits and a run scored while Siano added a base hit and two RBIs.  Procacci added a hit, scored once, and drove in her 21st run (a career-high) of the season while Gold reached the 30-RBI mark, tying Trainor for second-best in the Centennial. 

Abrams (4-11) took the loss for McDaniel, tossing seven innings, allowing five runs on nine hits while striking out three. 

Swarthmore earn the third seed in the 2006 Centennial Conference Playoffs and will play No. 2-seed Ursinus at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 6 at top seed Haverford College.  Click here for the 2006 Centennial Conference Softball Championship site with all the latest playoff information. 

SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Top-seed Swarthmore rolled to a record-tying fifth Centennial Conference Women's Tennis Team Championship with an 8-1 victory over second-seed Washington (Md.) at Faulkner Courts on Sunday afternoon. 

The Garnet (16-2) extended their win streak to 13 in a row, including a stretch of 30 consecutive Centennial victories.

Swarthmore (currently ranked 18th in the country) previously won team championships in 1995, 2001, 2003 and 2005, when the title was awarded to the team with the best regular season record.  The Garnet move into a tie for the most tennis championships with Franklin & Marshall College, winners in 1994, '97, '98, '99, and 2000.

The Garnet took the two out of three in doubles action to assume the early lead.  Swarthmore's top doubles' tandem, juniors Sonya Reynolds and Marissa Matthews, controlled play in the No. 1 flight, defeating Washington's Allison Daciek and Beth Foster 8-4.  The Shorewomen (15-6) evened the match with narrow 9-8 win at No. 2; Blake Lesser and Lydia Bull won 7-4 in a tiebreaker over Swarthmore's Erica Lukoski and Jennie Park.  Swarthmore fought back to win at No. 3s by a score of 9-8, 7-4 in the tiebreak, as juniors Waverly Lutz and Sara Sargent defeated Washington's Kristen Hossick and Kate Barston.

Swarthmore clinched the championship with consecutive victories in singles play at No. 1, No. 2, and No.6.  Reynolds, ranked fifth in the Atlantic South region and an All-American in 2005, defeated Daciek, ranked 24th in the region, 6-3, 6-1 in the top flight. Lutz dispatched Ryoko Sawada at No. 6 by a score of 6-0, 6-0 and Park, ranked 19th in the region,  clinched the championship with a cross-court forehand winner on her way to a 6-0, 6-4 win over Foster at No. 2.

The Garnet captured the remaining singles' matches: Matthews defeated Bull at the No. 3 flight 6-1, 6-3; senior Emily Townsend got past Lasser 4-6, 6-0, 7-6 (2) at No. 5, and Sargent was awarded the win 6-4, 6-6 at No. 4 when Hossick retired with leg cramps.

The women now wait to learn their fate for the upcoming NCAA Division III National Championships, scheduled to be revealed early next week.  In 2005, Swarthmore fell to the national runner-up Washington & Lee in the first round 9-0.

No. 1 seed Swarthmore 8,  No. 2 seed Washington 1

DOUBLES
No. 1 - Reynolds/Matthews (SC) d. Daciek/Foster (WC) 8-4
No. 2 - Leeser/Bull (WC) d. Park/Erica Lukoski (SC) 9-8 (4)
No. 3 - Sargent/Lutz (SC) d. Hossick/Barston (WC) 9-8 (4)

SINGLES
No. 1 - Sonya Reynolds (SC) d. Allison Daciek (WC) 6-3, 6-1
No. 2 - Jennie Park (SC) d. Beth Foster (WC) 6-0, 6-4
No. 3 - Marissa Matthews (SC) d. Lydia Bull (WC) 6-1, 6-3
No. 4 - Sara Sargent (SC) d. Kristen Hossick (WC) 6-4, 6-6 ret.
No. 5 - Emily Townsend (SC) d. Blake Lasser (WC) 4-6, 6-0, 7-6 (2)
No. 6 - Waverly Lutz (SC) d. Ryoko Sawada (WC) 6-0, 6-0

CHAMPIONSHIP WEB SITE

PEACH BOTTOM, Pa. - Junior Eric Zwick and senior Michael Cullinan finished in a tie for fifth place as the Swarthmore golf team was fourth at the 2006 Centennial Conference Championships held at par-72 Pilgrim's Oak Golf Course in central Pennsylvania this past weekend.  The Garnet carded a team total of 988 (329-335-324) to earn the best CC finish in school history.

McDaniel registered a 54-hole total of 952 to outdistance runner-up Franklin & Marshall (972) by 20 shots.  Gettysburg (978) was third, followed by Swarthmore (988), Muhlenberg (990), Dickiinson (999), Ursinus (1,005) and Haverford (1,033).  It is the second straight title for McDaniel and equals the four Centennial championships won by Gettysburg for most in the 13-year history of the Conference.

McDaniel senior Steve Perrone captured individual medalist honors, shooting a five-over-par 77 for a three-day total of 227.

Zwick shot a team-best 79 on day one, including an eagle on the par-5 sixth and two birdies to finish day one tied for sixth place.  He slipped to seventh on day two with an 83 with a birdie and eight pars, and then dropped in three more birdies on the final day to card an 80 for a final score of 242.  

Cullinan recorded two birdies and eight pars on day one for an 80, posted an 85 on day two, and then roared up the leader board with an even par 36 (including four birdies) on the back nine of day three to card a 77 for total score of 242.  The 36 tied two other golfers for the best back nine the tournament.

Zwick and Cullinan were named First Team All-Centennial for their performances, becoming the third and fourth Swarthmore golfers to earn the honor.  The two took care of business on the par 3s, finishing tied for second with an average score of 3.33 on the shorties and tied for fifth with a total of six birdies over three days. As a team, the Garnet led the tournament with an average score of 3.62 on the par 3s.

All five Swarthmore golfers finished in the top 30;  freshman David Lau (84-84-86) tied for 26th with a 254, junior Zach Moody (90-84-81) tied for 28th with a 255, and junior Ed Goldstein (86-84-86) was 30th with a 256.

Haverford College (9-6, 4-4 CC) used five goals in the fourth period to down Swarthmore on Saturday afternoon 11-7 in a rainy Haverford, Pa.

The Garnet tied the game at 6-6 as tri-captain Tim Chryssikos '05 scored his 26th goal of the season, and the final score of his Swarthmore career, with 13:31 to go in the game.

The Fords ran away with the contest after that, scoring five unanswered goals to beat the Garnet for the first time since 2001.

Frank Mazzucco made 10 saves in the season finale for Swarthmore (6-8, 2-6 CC) The Garnet got goals from Chryssikos, Paul Chung '05, Adam Miller '08, Matt Perez '06, Gavin Nurick '07, tri-captain Tom Coughlin '05, and Chris Harman '08.

Swarthmore   2   1   2   2   7
Haverford      3    3   0   5  11

Goals:HC (11) Max Tcheyan 4, Dean Granoff 3, Joe Mauri 2, Matt Thorne-Fitzgerald, Charles Griffith.
SC: (7) Tom Coughlin, Gavin Nurick, Tim Chryssikos, Paul Chung, Adam Miller, Matt Perez, Chris Harman.
Assists: HC (7)Mauri 3 , Mike Distler 2, Neil Gordon, Steve Seslor.
SC (5) Donlea 2, Chryssikos, Coughlin, Nurick.

Goaltenders:
HC - Jake Medlinger 60 min., 10 saves, 7 GA
SC- Frank Mazzucco 60 min, 10 saves, 11 GA
Shots: HC 33, SC 36.
Penalties: HC 3 for 2:00; SC 2 for 1:00
Man Advantage: HC 0 of 2, SC 1 of 2

COMPLETE RESULTS

EWING, N.J. - Freshman Caitlin Mullarkey and senior Paul Thibodeau each ran tenth in their respective 800 meter races as Swarthmore competed at the 2006 Lions Invite held at the College of New Jersey on Saturday afternoon.

In the men's 800, Thibodeau led a quartet of Garnet runners with a time of 1:57.55. - the fastest run by a Garnet male this season and good for top ten all-time. Junior Vernon Chaplin and senior Keefe Keeley also ran strong in the 800, finishing right behind Thibodeau in 12th (1:58.10) and 16th (1:58.97), respectively.

Mullarkey has raced at various distances this spring, all with different degrees of sucess. In her first try at the women's 800 event, the freshman posted a time of 2:23.38 to finish in tenth place out of 49 runners. Senior Emily Wistar also finished among the top 20 in the same event, crossing the line in a time of 2:27.11 for 16th position.

Freshman Dan Hodson ran to sixth in the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a time of 10:23.40, just four second outside the top-ten list. The Garnet men also placed three runners in the top 20 of the 1,500 meter race - Ross Weller '08 (15th - 4:08.50), Jon Shoop '08 (17th - 4:09.60), and Adam Hunt '06 (20th - 4:11.52).

The Garnet are preparing for the upcoming 2006 Centennial Conference Track & Field Championship, set to start on Friday, May 5 and run through Sunday, May 7.

COMPLETE RESULTS

SWARTHMORE, Pa. - #1 seeded Swarthmore defeated #4 seed Johns Hopkins University Saturday afternoon on Faulkner Courts by a score of 8-1.  The victory earns the Garnet, winners of 12 straight matches, a spot in the 2006 Centennial Conference Women's Tennis Championship match on Sunday against second-seed Washington (Md.) College.  The match will start at 12:00 p.m. on Faulkner Courts.

Washington claimed a spot in the championship match with a 8-1 defeat of third-seed Muhlenberg on Saturday afternoon.

Swarthmore will be playing for a second consecutive Centennial Conference championship and third overall.

For the Garnet (15-2), Marissa Matthew's '07 sealed the morning win with a 6-3, 6-1 triumph over Hopkins' Jill Seidman at No. 3 singles.

The Garnet swept doubles play, with No. 1 pair Matthews and Sonya Reynolds '07 showing Blue Jays Brittany Matava and Tanya Gulnik some fine tennis. Both tandems drove balls to the corners of the court, putting their perfected volleys to use. But when it came time to earn the point, the Garnet had one up on the Jays. Matthews and Reynolds took the match 8-4, earning their 17th doubles victory of the season.

Swarthmore's No. 2 doubles team, Erica Lukoski '08 and Jennie Park '09, made short work of Hopkins' Jill Seidman and Debbie Blass, winning 8-2 while at No. 3 Swarthmore's Sara Sargent '07 and Waverly Lutz '07 won 8-3 over Stephanie Carr and Holly Claire.

Matthews, playing at No. 3, fought throughout the first set of her singles match, managing to pull herself out from an early 2-1 deficit, and nearly took the second set without a blemish.  Senior Emily Townsend maintained the upper hand in her match against Hopkins' Mary Gorski, winning 6-4, 7-6 at No. 5.

Playing at No.6 singles, Lutz dropped the first set 4-6 to JHU's Debbie Blass but battled back to take the second and third 6-2, 6-3 for her tenth victory of the season.

BOX SCORE

SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Haverford senior attack Joe Mauri and sophomore midfielder Dean Granoff hooked up four times to lead the visiting Fords to a 10-7 win over Swarthmore in the season finale for the Garnet on Saturday afternoon.  Freshman midfielder Todd Friedman led the Garnet attack with two goals and two assists.

With the season-high crowd of 407 making plenty of noise, the Garnet got off to a fast start.  Sophmore midfielder Ivano Ventresca opened the scoring with an unassisted goal 2:58 in.  The line of Ventresca, Friedman, and Adam Miller '08 was clicking all afternoon long and wound up accounting for five of the seven Garnet goals.

Neither team could find the net for the next seven and a half minutes, but then came a flurry of goals.  First, Granoff found an open Mauri for the first time to tie the game with 4:28 to play.  Then, Miller won the ensuing faceoff and got the ball to Friedman, who took the ball right up the gut and beat Haverford netminder KC Peterson to retake the lead at 4:18.  Finally, after another clean faceoff win by Miller, Friedman fed a wide-open Matt Perez '06 near the net, and Perez tickled the twine for the 10th time in the 2006 and the 15th and final time of his Swarthmore career.

The Granoff-Mauri connection scored the next two goals, with the first coming just 46 seconds remaining in the first period and the second with 10:34 left in the second.  Haverford added two more goals—including junior Adam Goldstein's first of the season—to take a 5-3 lead before Garnet midfielder Gavin Nurick '07 closed the margin to one with 28 seconds left in the half.

Perez, the team's lone senior, and his parents were honored in a short ceremony during halftime.

Granoff took a break from passing the ball and scored a goal himself on the power play with 12:28 left in the third quarter, extending the lead back to two.  Haverford entered the game with the top power play in the Centennial (11 for 22) and wound up converting one of two opportunities.

The Garnet extra-man crew came up with a goal of its own six minutes later as Nurick fed junior attack Ryan McKenna to reduce the lead back to one with 6:04 left in the quarter.  Just over a minute later, Miller took a Friedman pass on the perimeter and tomahawked the ball past Peterson to even the score at six.

Mike Distler was the beneficiary of another Granoff assist as the Fords retook the lead with 1:35 to play in the third.

Granoff and Mauri scored just eight seconds apart early in the fourth quarter to extend the Ford edge to 9-6.  Entering the period, Swarthmore had won 11 of 16 faceoffs, but the visitors took three of five draws in the fourth to stymie the Garnet comeback attempt.  Friedman scored with 7:38 remaining, but the Fords controlled play until Granoff fed Mauri one last time with 4:12 to play.  Peterson made five saves in the period to ice the win.

Swarthmore outshot the Fords 39-21 and committed 10 fewer turnovers (17) than the visitors (27) but could not get past Peterson, who made 18 saves.

Miller and junior defender Anthony Orazio scooped up a team-high six ground balls.  Orazio also caused four turnovers.  Garnet goalie Frank Mazzucco '08 made five stops.

The Garnet finish their season at 4-10 overall, 1-7 in the Centennial.

Tigue, Roth Make All-Centennial Team

Swarthmore, PA - Swarthmore College women's lacrosse players Cara Tigue (East Longmeadow, MA / East Longmeadow) and Lindsay Roth (Severna Park, MD - Severn School) were named to the 2006 All-Centennial Conference team on April 27.  Tigue was named to the first team while Roth was selected for the second team in a vote by the  head coaches. 

Tigue, a senior defender, scooped up 41 ground balls and caused 18 turnovers while drawing the opposition's top offensive threat on many occasions.  In 61 games over four years, she collected 162 ground balls for an average of 2.66 per game.

A biology major and three-time selection for the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll, Tigue appears on the All-Centennial list for the third time in her career.  She was named the second team in 2005 and an honorable mention selection in 2004.

Tigue is the 15th Swarthmore woman to be named first team All-Centennial and the fifth to make All-Centennial three times.

Roth, a junior midfielder, finished the season second on the team with 45 ground balls and third in points (38) and goals (31).  Roth, an English literature major and two-time member of the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll, topped the 30-goal mark for a third consecutive season.  On April 27, Roth became the 12th Swarthmore women's lacrosse player to score 100 goals in her career.

This is Roth's second All-Centennial selection; she was named honorable mention in 2005.
 
Swarthmore (14-5 overall, 5-4 Centennial) put together its best season ever in 2006; the Garnet won the Seven Sisters Lacrosse Championship, broke the school record for wins, and earned the first Centennial playoff berth in program history.

Located near Philadelphia, Swarthmore is a highly selective liberal arts college with an enrollment of 1,500.  A member of the Division III Centennial Conference, Swarthmore is consistently ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the country.

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