Athletics News

GETTYSBURG, Pa. -- Swarthmore took five out of six singles' matches to win its 21st consecutive Centennial Conference match, 6-3 over the hometown Gettysburg Bullets (3-2, 0-1 CC).

The Garnet (5-2 overall, 2-0 CC) recently moved up one position to 25th in all of Division III. Swarthmore remained the sixth ranked squad in the Atlantic South Region, according to the FILA Collegiate Tennis Rankings released on March 17.

Swarthmore struggled with doubles' action winning only the No. 3 match; Jamie Midyette and Oriana Galardi-Este fought hard to win 8-6 over Rachel Steel and Shelly Gottesfield from Gettysburg.

Park led the charge in singles' play, outlasting the Bullets' Sara Marian-Seibert 7-6, (3), 6-3 at the No. 1 position. Park is now ranked 17th in the Atlantic South Region, according to the FILA rankings.

Sara Sargent '07 battled past Ali Moyer at No. 2 singles 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 while classmate Waverly Lutz defeated Steel 6-1, 7-5 at No. 3.

Swarthmore sophomore Erica Lukoski made quick work of Gottesfield 6-1, 6-4 at No. 4 singles, while freshman Marissa Lee rolled past Laura Hellan 6-4, 6-1 at No. 6 singles.

The Garnet put their CC streak on the line this Saturday, April 1 when they host Franklin & Marshall at 12:00 p.m.

BOX SCORE

SWARTHMORE, Pa.- Freshman right-hander Sean Varsolona allowed only two hits and the Swarthmore bats awoke for ten hits as the Garnet rolled past Lincoln 15-0 Friday afternoon at Clothier Fields.

The game was called due to darkness after the Lions (7-7) took their at bats in the top of the seventh.

Swarthmore (5-6) scored five runs in the bottom of the first to chase Lions starter Ruben Sanchez. Garnet junior Sam Faeder reached on a error, senior Scott Young walked, and sophomore Patrick Christmas drew a base on balls to load the bases. Junior rightfielder Ian Adelstein provide the lone hit of the inning, a two-run single. Swarthmore would tack on three more runs, batting around to take a 5-0 lead after one inning.

The Garnet put three more on the board in the second inning, increasing their lead to 8-0. Christmas reached on an error, Adelstein doubled to left, and catcher Andy Bender '08 plated Christmas with a ground out. Freshman Grant Yoshitsu followed with his first collegiate base hit, an RBI single to right driving in Adelstein. Yoshitsu also stole his first base and came around to score on a fielder's choice off the bat of centerfielder Scott Dalane '08.

Swarthmore scored two more runs in the fifth inning as Faeder singled to extend his personal hitting streak to 13 games and scored on Young's triple. Christmas followed with a RBI double to bring home Young.

The Garnet offense rang up the final five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, highlighted by a three-run double off the bat of Faeder.

Several Swarthmore hitters filled the stat line; Faeder was 2-for-4 with three RBIs, three runs and a stolen base; Young was also 2-for-4 with two runs, an RBI, and his team-leading ninth stolen base; Adelstein was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs and two RBI; freshman Conor Casey was 2-for-4 with a run scored; and Christmas got one hit in three at bats, scoring three times and walking twice.

Varsolona (2-1) kept the Lions at bay, spreading two hits over 6.1 innings while striking out a career-high five batters. Freshman Yoi Tibbets retired the final two batters in relief.

The Garnet open up Centennial Conference play in their next game. Swarthmore will host Muhlenberg on Tuesday, March 28 at 3:00 p.m.

SWARTHMORE, Pa.- Freshman right-hander Sean Varsolona allowed only two hits and the Swarthmore bats awoke for ten hits as the Garnet rolled past Lincoln 15-0 Friday afternoon at Clothier Fields.

The game was called due to darkness after the Lions (7-7) took their at bats in the top of the seventh.

Swarthmore (5-6) scored five runs in the bottom of the first to chase Lions starter Ruben Sanchez. Garnet junior Sam Faeder reached on a error, senior Scott Young walked, and sophomore Patrick Christmas drew a base on balls to load the bases. Junior rightfielder Ian Adelstein provide the lone hit of the inning, a two-run single. Swarthmore would tack on three more runs, batting around to take a 5-0 lead after one inning.

The Garnet put three more on the board in the second inning, increasing their lead to 8-0. Christmas reached on an error, Adelstein doubled to left, and catcher Andy Bender '08 plated Christmas with a ground out. Freshman Grant Yoshitsu followed with his first collegiate base hit, an RBI single to right driving in Adelstein. Yoshitsu also stole his first base and came around to score on a fielder's choice off the bat of centerfielder Scott Dalane '08.

Swarthmore scored two more runs in the fifth inning as Faeder singled to extend his personal hitting streak to 13 games and scored on Young's triple. Christmas followed with a RBI double to bring home Young.

The Garnet offense rang up the final five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, highlighted by a three-run double off the bat of Faeder.

Several Swarthmore hitters filled the stat line; Faeder was 2-for-4 with three RBIs, three runs and a stolen base; Young was also 2-for-4 with two runs, an RBI, and his team-leading ninth stolen base; Adelstein was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs and two RBI; freshman Conor Casey was 2-for-4 with a run scored; and Christmas got one hit in three at bats, scoring three times and walking twice.

Varsolona (2-1) kept the Lions at bay, spreading two hits over 6.1 innings while striking out a career-high five batters. Freshman Yoi Tibbets retired the final two batters in relief.

The Garnet open up Centennial Conference play in their next game. Swarthmore will host Muhlenberg on Tuesday, March 28 at 3:00 p.m.

CARLISLE, Pa. - The Swarthmore golf team rolled to a second place finish at the Dickinson Spring Invitational on Thursday afternoon. Junior Eric Zwick led the team with a five-over par 75, finishing in a tie for second at Mayapple Golf Links.

Zwick finished one shot off the leader, Michael Shapiro of Dickinson, as the Garnet shot a team total of 328. Zwick fired an even-par 35 on the front and then tallied a 40 on the back nine.

Homestanding Dickinson was the champion with a score of 300.

David Lau '09 and Darren Johnson '08 posted matching 84s for the Garnet, followed by Michael Johns with an 85.

Swarthmore's next match will be on Monday, March 27th when they host Cabrini, Eastern, and Arcadia at Rolling Green CC at 12:30 p.m.

Dickinson -- 300
Swarthmore -- 328
Villa Julie -- 339
Dickinson "B" -- 343
Penn State-Berks -- 350

BOX SCORE

3/23: Garnet Feel the Niamh for Speed

SWARTHMORE, Pa.— Swarthmore midfielder Niamh Shortt '06 scored four goals, including the game-winner with 4:51 remaining, to send the Garnet to an 11-10 win over Eastern on Thursday afternoon. Swarthmore remains undefeated (7-0) and has won eight straight games, dating back to 2005.

Eagles midfielder Kate Hoy tallied a game-high five goals as Eastern (2-1) suffered its first set-back of 2006.

Garnet midfielder Heidi Fieselmann '06 got the scoring started with her 11th goal of the season 5:15 into the game.

Displaying an effective fast break, the Eagles scored the next three goals (two by Hoy) to give Eastern the early 3-1 lead 6:31 into the contest. Swarthmore countered with a Kelsey Hatzell '09 score off a pass from Megan Sanborn '08 at 9:42 and Shortt's first goal at 10:58 to even the score at 3-3.

Hoy used her speed to transition the ball from one end to the other, making her way to the goal mouth for a clear shot that found the back of the net for a 4-3 lead at 11:11. The Eagles took a two-goal lead two minutes later when junior Christine Hickman finished off a feed from junior Nicole Dorflinger.

Garnet freshman Anna de Regt came off the bench with ten minutes left in the half and rung up her seventh goal of the season at 23:44. Sanborn, the Centennial Conference Player of the Week, tied the game, 5-5, at the 25:45 mark after taking a feed from Fieselmann. The score read 5-5 into the intermission.

The Eagles took the lead at the start of the second half when Hoy turned on the jets again and put in her third goal at 33:34. Eastern moved out to a 7-5 advantage two minutes later when senior Diana Diffenderfer scored an unassisted goal at 35:06.

The Garnet quickly tied the game at 7-apiece; Fieselmann found Shortt cutting to the goal at 36:07 and junior Lindsay Roth put in her tenth score of the season at 36:27.

The Swarthmore offense began to roll, scoring the next three goals to assume a 10-7 lead; Roth scored her second goal off the day of an assist from classmate Katie Crawford at 36:27, Sanborn hit Shortt slipping in from of the net at 40:42, and de Regt fired in her second score of the day at 44:23.

Two scores by the Eagles, one by Hickman and one by Dorflinger, cut the Garnet lead to 10-9 at 51:13. Shortt gave Swarthmore a two-goal cushion four minutes later, putting in her fourth score off an assist from Hatzell at 55:09.

Swarthmore knew no lead is safe with Hoy on the field, maintaining possession as long as they could. Hoy managed to get the ball and outrun the Garnet defenders on her way to a fifth score at 58:06, bringing the Eagles within one.

Swarthmore won the ensuing draw and worked to play keep away with the ball. A fumbled catch led to Hoy scooping up a ground ball at midfield and the race was on. Two Garnet defenders stopped Hoy's run as she got 18 meters from the goal. Hoy dropped a pass over the Swarthmore defenders to a wide-open Erin Fries about six meters from the goal mouth.

Swarthmore goalie Susannah Blair '08 instinctively stepped out to meet Fries and tipped her shot attempt over the crossbar. Sanborn and defender Cara Tigue '06 ran more time of the clock before a scramble for a loose ball resulted in a Swarthmore foul just right of the cage. Eastern tried to quickly one-time the ball in but the exchange was not clean and the horn sounded, sending the Garnet to victory.

The Garnet held a 36-24 shot advantage over the Eagles and scooped up more ground balls (29-17) as well.

Niamh (pronounced NEEV), a captain, finished the game having scored a career-high 18 goals in just seven games this season.

Blair made seven stops in between the pipes for the Garnet, while her counterpart Alesha Bennett was very impressive, making 18 saves for Eastern.

Swarthmore opens Centennial Conference play this Saturday, March 25, traveling to McDaniel for a 1:00 p.m. game. The Green Terror are the last team to hand the Garnet a loss, 18-6, on April 23, 2005.

3/21: Sanborn Named CC Player of the Week

Swarthmore, PA— Swarthmore College midfielder Megan Sanborn ( Lewiston, NY - Nichols School) has been named the Centennial Conference Women's Lacrosse Player of the Week for the week of March 19.

Sanborn, a sophomore, was named Most Valuable Player of the 15 th annual Seven Sisters Lacrosse Championship after scoring a goal and causing five turnovers in 11-8 Garnet championship game win over Wellesley (Ma.) on March 19.

In three games over two days, Sanborn had five goals, won nine draws, and caused seven turnovers.  In a 14-0 first-round victory over Elms (Ma.) on March 18, Sanborn tallied a goal, three draw controls and a caused turnover. Sanborn then posted her first career hat trick, with six draw controls, in the 13-5 semifinal win over Haverford later that afternoon.

Sanborn has started all six games for Swarthmore, leading the team with 18 draw controls and 12 caused turnovers.

The last Garnet women's lacrosse player to receive POW honors was current Bryn Mawr head coach Katie Tarr '02, who received the distinction on April 8, 2002.

It is the second Seven Sisters Lacrosse Championship in four title game appearances for Swarthmore. The Garnet have gotten off to their best start (6-0) since 1994.

Game 1 Box

Game 2 Box

3/21: Sendelsky, Garnet Quiet Ramblers

ROSEMONT, Pa. -- Freshman infielder Christine Sendelsky was a perfect 5-for-5 with four runs scored, senior catcher Christina Procacci broke a Centennial Conference record, and pitchers Alexandra Zelaski '09 and Emily Walz '08 twirled matching one-hitters as Swarthmore swept a doubleheader at Rosemont on Tuesday afternoon. The Garnet (6-5) won game one 10-1 and then captured the second game 3-0.

Zelaski dominated the Ramblers (0-6), a team that just missed the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC) playoffs in 2005, allowing a stray leadoff double to Rosemont junior Alicia Clayton in the fourth inning. Zelaski then fanned five of the next seven batters, increasing her total on the day to a career-high 11.

The Garnet got on the board in the top of the second as Sendelsky started the inning with her team-leading sixth double of the season. After a fly-out by Katie Gold '08 and a walk by Kelly Siano '07, freshman Lauren Walker drove home Sendelsky with a base hit.

Swarthmore increased the lead to 3-0 in the fourth as Sendelsky led off the inning with a single to left and scored on Siano's single up the middle.

The floodgates opened up in the top of the fifth, as Swarthmore plated seven runs on eight hits to open up 10-1 lead. Zelaski shut the door in the bottom of the inning, striking out the side to earn second win of the season.

Sendelsky was a perfect 3-for-3 with a season-high three runs scored. Siano, Procacci, and freshman Kristin Caspar each added a pair of hits in the first game.

Procacci drew her 78th career walk in the top of the third inning, breaking a seven-year old Centennial Conference record held by Ali Hattola from Muhlenberg. Procacci's eagle eye allowed her to set the CC record for base on balls in one season (35) in 2005 and the senior catcher is now listed 19th in Division III history with 79 total walks (she drew a one in her first at bat of game two).

The second game belonged to Walz, a tall sophomore from Ohio. With a 1-0 lead in the second, Walz got herself into a jam, walking consecutive batters. Rosemont's Jess Muff sacrificed the runners over, giving the Ramblers two runners in scoring position with two outs. Walz bore down on the next hitter, striking out Danielle Dinger to end the rally.

The Garnet added another run in the third as senior Danielle Miller roped a two-out triple and scored on Sendelsky's base hit. The third Swarthmore run came in the fourth; Siano singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch, stole third, and scored on a single by LaVan.

Walz (2-2) threw five innings of one-hit softball for her first career shut-out (game was shortened due to darkness). The sophomore struck out seven batters while walking three.

Sendeslky was 2-for-2 (she has registered a base hit in six straight at bats) with a run and an RBI while LaVan added two hits and an RBI.

The Garnet host a pair of doubleheaders this weekend; a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, March 25 vs. Penn State-Berks and a Sunday, March 26 matchup with Arcadia at 1:00 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD, Pa. -- Freshman David Lau shot an even-par 72 to lead Swarthmore to its first victory of the season at Rolling Green Country Club on Monday afternoon.

As a team, Swarthmore totaled a score of 313, outdistancing Neumann (322), Holy Family (327),Gwynedd-Mercy (410), and University of Sciences (411).

Lau, a late replacement for the ill Michael Bernasek '09, posted the low score of the day, finishing three strokes ahead of Shane Howey from Neumann and four strokes ahead of Holy Family's Don Materson (76) and Matt Deckert (76).

Michael Cullinan '06 and Zach Moody '07 posted matching 80s for Swarthmore, while juniors Eric Zwick '07 (81) and Ed Goldstein (85) rounded out the Garnet scoring.

GAME BOX SCORE

SWARTHMORE, Pa.- Freshman midfielder Ben Young scored his first career hat trick and sophomore Ivano Ventresca added a pair of scores as the Garnet used a big third quarter to defeat the visiting Elizabethtown Blue Jays on a frigid Wednesday night, 10-6.

After a quiet start to the game, Swarthmore junior midfielder Gavin Nurick found an opening on the perimeter and slung the ball past goalkeeper Chris Schuch to give the Garnet a 1-0 lead 4:20 in the game. Fellow midfielder Ventresca '08 added his third goal of the season shortly after to extend the lead to two. Local product Frankie Puzzangara, a 2003 graduate of nearby Strath Haven High School, scored the Blue Jays first goal; it was 2-1 at the end of the quarter.

The second period was all Garnet. Young kicked off the festivities with his first career goal after receiving an Alex Hahn '08 flick right in front of the net with 11:23 left in the half. Five minutes later, Swarthmore leading scorer Jay Charles '07 took a Nurick feed and bounced a shot over Schuch's shoulder and into the net for his eighth tally of the season. Just 27 seconds later, freshman Will Predun scored his second career goal to extend the lead to 5-1.

Before the halftime buzzer, Ventresca added his second goal, freshman Stelios Wilson converted a rebound, and senior Matt Perez scored his sixth goal of the year with just 17 seconds to play to give the Garnet a 8-2 halftime edge. Swarthmore was able to control play in large part because of the faceoff efforts of Charles and Adam Miller '08, who won six of eight faceoffs in the period and, along with Adam Winegar '09, controlled 14 of 19 on the game.

Young converted two more goals in the third period to put the game out of reach. Elizabethtown scored the game's final goals of the game, including three in the final two minutes, to make the final score respectable. Garnet goaltender Frank Mazzucco '08 had a strong fourth period, making four saves to finish with nine on the evening.

Charles finished with a team-high five ground balls; Predun and freshman Todd Friedman added four each.

Swarthmore will hit the road for its next four games, starting with Saturday's conference opener at #3 Gettysburg, and will return to Clothier Field on Wednesday, April 12, facing Drew University at 7:00 p.m.

2006 Seven Sisters Lacrosse Championships

3/19: Sanborn, Garnet Capture Seven Sisters Title

Swarthmore led all the way in the 2006 Seven Sisters Championship game and held on for an 11-8 victory.  Junior Katie Crawford scored four goals, and senior Niamh Shortt and junior Athena Samaras scored a hat trick each in the winning effort, and sophomore midfielder Megan Sanborn won Most Valuable Player honors.

This was Swarthmore's third Seven Sisters final appearance and first title of the 2005-06 school year; the Garnet field hockey and basketball teams also made it to the title game. This is the second Seven Sisters title for Garnet lacrosse; their previous title came in 1995. Swarthmore was last 6-0 during the 1994 season, when they opened the year with seven straight wins.

Samaras got the Garnet on the board 2:12 into the game, and scored her second goal just 46 seconds later, taking a Shortt pass while streaking down the field and one-timing the ball into the back of the net.

Garnet goaltender Susannah Blair '08 was hot early as well.  The sophomore stopped an early free-position attempt from Wellesley standout Maxine Brownstein and made two more saves on the same possession before the Garnet were able to clear.

Samaras nearly completed the hat trick in the first 10 minutes after a Lindsay Roth '07 feed found her open in the middle, but the ensuing shot went just wide.  A minute later, Crawford snuck the ball past Blue goaltender Kristin Jaronczyk, forcing a Wellesley timeout.

The break seemed to refocus the visitors, and shortly after, midfielder Amber Evans got the Blue on the board, beating Blair at 10:99.  Several minutes later, Brownstein got another free position opportunity and did not miss again, shooting it high into the net at 16:18.

Swarthmore made a couple of bids to stretch the lead back to two, but Jaronczyk made a pair of saves at point-blank range and stopped a free position attempt by Roth.  Finally, Heidi Fieselmann snuck the ball past Jaronczyk into the lower left corner at 20:13 for a 4-2 Swarthmore lead.

Evans responded for Wellesley just under three minutes later, prompting a Swarthmore timeout.

The Garnet controlled play through most of the remainder of the half, but could not get past the suddenly red-hot Jaronczyk, and the margin remained 4-3 at the break.

Samaras flourished once again at the start of the second half, scoring what is sure to go down as one of the nicest goals of the season.  It started with Sanborn taking the ball from in back of the net to beside the goal mouth.  Sanborn then fed Samaras, who was running down the left side.  Samaras then changed direction, spun fully around in midair, and shot the ball past Jaronczyk in the same motion.

Niamh Shortt scored the next two Garnet goals, the first coming on a free position attempt.  Sandwiched in between was Wellesley star senior Katie Moseley's first goal of the match.

After a lengthy scoring drought, Crawford ran around a pair of defenders to get an open look and deposited the ball into the net for an 8-4 Garnet lead with just over 15 minutes to play.  Blair kept the margin at four with a free position save a few minutes later.  Two Blue goals sandwiched around Shortt's third goal of the half cut the margin to three at 9-6 with 8:23 to play.  About four minutes later, Wellesley senior Abby Baird was fouled from behind on a breakaway attempt; after she converted the ensuing free position attempt, the Blue were just two goals behind.

But Sanborn and the Garnet won the ensuing draw, and just 15 seconds after Baird's goal, Crawford took an Anna de Regt '09 feed and once again found the back of the net.  Under a minute later, Sanborn further squashed the Wellesley comeback with a goal of her own.  Baird took an Evans feed right in front of the net and beat Blair to cut the marign to 11-8 with just over a minute to go, but defender Cara Tigue '06 scooped up the ball after the draw and the Garnet held the ball until time expired.

Sanborn and Roth were named to the All-Tournament Team, which was selected by coaches of the eight competing schools.  Sanborn finished behind only Brownstein in the voting, conducted after the first day of play; it was Roth's second straight all-Seven Sisters selection.  Brownstein, Moseley, and Evans represented the Blue on the all-tourney team.

All-Tournament Team

Megan Sanborn -- Swarthmore (MVP)
Maxine Brownstein -- Wellesley
Ali Fantl -- Vassar
Caitlin Taylor -- Mount Holyoke
Sara Smyth -- Smith
Katie Moseley -- Wellesley
Alex Shookhoff -- Haverford
Zoe Fuller-Young -- Bryn Mawr
Ariel Nelson -- Vassar
Amber Evans -- Wellesley
Lindsay Roth -- Swarthmore
Marika Austin -- Mount Holyoke