Fencing Teams Ready for NCAA Tournament
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Harvard Varsity Club NEWS & VIEWS of Harvard Sports Volume 51 Issue No. 6 www.varsityclub.harvard.edu March 18, 2009 Fencing Teams Ready for NCAA Tournament by Tim Williamson ber, the women’s team remained on a tear, winning its first six Assistant Director of Athletic Communications matches and 14 of 15 to open the season. After reaching No. 5 in the national rankings, Harvard entered the Ivy League Champi- Head coach Peter Brand onships as one of the favorites. knew he had a solid corps of fenc- The Crimson took down all four opponents at the first half ers on his squads this season. The of the Ivy meet, held at Columbia Feb. 8, as the team handily de- women’s team had two Olympi- feated Cornell and Yale and edged No. 7 Princeton, 14-13, and No. ans—silver medalist and former 4 Columbia, 15-12. Against the Tigers, the Crimson epee squad NCAA champion Emily Cross earned a 7-2 decision, led by a 3-0 performance by Mills. The ‘09 and freshman Noam Mills— Tigers managed a 6-3 win in the sabre, despite freshman Caroline while the men’s team boasted its Vloka taking all three of her matches, and a close, 5-4, victory in own NCAA champion in Benji the foil. Vloka also won all three bouts against the Lions, as the Ungar ‘09. Yet, the addition of a Crimson completed the first half of the Ivy meet 4-0. talented group of underclassmen, Two weeks later, the team, now ranked fourth in the country, including four freshmen that looked to clinch its third Ivy title in five seasons when it traveled qualified for NCAAs, helped put to Brown for the second part of the conference championships. Harvard over the top. The Crimson began the day with a convincing, 20-7, victory over “There is no doubt that this the Bears, as Cross and freshman Shelby MacLeod went 3-0 in the had the most tangible impact on foil and Mills and senior Lisa Vastola managed 3-0 records in the the women’s squad,” Brand said. epee. In the final match, Penn claimed identical 5-4 wins in the “In all three events, we had a sabre and foil, but the Crimson’s 7-2 victory in the epee clinched world-class fencer who had a pro- its perfect Ivy season, as Harvard won, 15-12. found impact. I believe this, more Mills completed the championships with the best record of than any other factor, contributed any fencer in the tournament, as she went 17-1. She was joined Emily Cross ‘09 competing at to our women ending up on top on the All-Ivy first team by Cross and Vloka, with seniorMaria the 2009 Ivy League of a very competitive Ivy League Larsson garnering second-team accolades, as the group helped Championships. Cross and fencing arena.” the Crimson put an exclamation point on a 20-1 season. her teammates are headed After both Crimson teams “Winning the Ivy League was a great accomplishment and to the NCAA tournament. dspics.com captured the Beanpot in Decem- Continued on page 6 Winter Sports Recaps Women’s Swimming & Diving (6-1, 6-1 Ivy) Women’s Hockey (19-10-3, 16-4-2 ECAC, 8-2 Ivy) • Harvard’s depth proved instrumental as the team captured its • Harvard won its last 10 regular season ECAC games on the way ninth Ivy League crown as well as the ECAC Championship. to capturing its sixth ECAC and eighth Ivy League regular-season • Junior Alexandra Clarke and sophomore Kate Mills will com- titles. The Crimson swept Cornell by a combinedContinued 7-0 score on in pagethe 6 pete at the 2009 NCAA Championships, with Clarke set to swim ECAC quarterfinal before falling in the semis to Rensselaer. The in the 500 and 1,650 free and Mills scheduled to compete in the Engineers edged Harvard, 3-2, in overtime despite a 50-17 shots 200 and 500 free and 200 fly. advantage and two goals by senior Sarah Wilson. • Harvard won six events and set 10 school records at the Ivy • Senior Sarah Vaillancourt was named one of three finalists Championships. Crimson records were set by freshman Meghan for the Patty Kazmaier Trophy, given annually to the top player Leddy (200 back, 1:57.41), Clarke (1,650 free, 16:10.92; 1,000 free, in women’s college hockey. Vaillancourt was selected as the Ivy 9:43.09; 500 free, 4:42.84), Mills (200 fly, 1:56.23; 200 free, 1:46.39), League and ECAC Hockey Player of the Year for the second year. junior Sophie Morgan (100 fly, 55:04), sophomore Katy Hinkle • Vaillancourt was tabbed to the All-ECAC Hockey first team, (100 back, 55.23), sophomores Katherine Pickard, Ali Slack, while junior goaltender Christina Kessler was selected to the Hinkle and Mills (400 free relay, 3:21.36) and Clarke, Pickard, second team and senior Jenny Brine earned third-team honors. Mills and freshman Catherine Zagroba (800 free relay, 7:13.71). Vaillancourt and Kessler were named All-Ivy first team, while • Harvard won seven events at the ECAC Championships: Brine earned second-team honors and Wilson garnered honor- sophomore Anne Taylor (one- and three-meter dives), sopho- able mention. Senior Kirsten Kester was named ECAC Student- more Holly Furman (200, 500 free), freshman Alicia Lightbourne Athlete of the Year. (100 breast) and Furman, junior Natalia Festa, freshman Alicia Lightbourne and Monica Burgos (200 & 400 medley relay). Women’s Indoor Track Men’s Squash (7-6, 3-3 Ivy) • Senior Becky Christensen cleared 1.83 meters in the high jump at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships to • Junior Colin West came up just short in the semifinal of the earn All-America honors for the second time. CSA Individual Championship, as the No. 3 seed lost to No. 2 • Christensen also captured titles in the high jump at the ECAC/ Mauricio Sanchez of Princeton. IC4A and Heptagonal Championships. She earned All-Ivy • West was named to his second-consecutive CSA All-America League first-team honors and led the Crimson women to a sev- team and to his third-consecutive All-Ivy League team after enth-place finish among 51 teams at the ECAC Championships. completing the season with a 14-3 overall record, including 11-2 • Senior Shannon Flahive scored 3,650 points to take first in the at the No. 1 spot during dual matches. pentathlon at Heps, while sophomore Claire Richardson won • No. 5 Harvard defeated No. 4 Cornell, 5-4, in the first round the 3,000 meters. Senior Dara Wilson won the 60-meter hurdles. of the CSA National Team Championship before falling to No. 1 All three earned first-team All-Ivy honors. Trinity and No. 6 Rochester. • Senior Brittan Smith grabbed second in the long jump with a • Sophomore Richard Hill finished 10-3 overall, including 3-0 at leap of 5.73 meters to earn second-team All-Ivy honors. the No. 5 position. • Harvard won the annual H-Y-P meet as Christensen, Richard- • Senior Niko Hrdy also posted a winning record with a 8-7 son, freshman Shannon Conway, Flahive, senior Favia Merritt mark, while senior Verdi DiSesa and junior Franklin Cohen had and Smith captured wins along with the mile and two-mile relay. six and five wins, respectively. Men’s Hockey (9-16-6, 9-7-6 ECAC, 3-4-3 Ivy) Men’s Swimming & Diving (8-1, 6-1 Ivy) • Harvard finished the regular season 4-0-2 after the Beanpot, • No. 20 Harvard finished second to Princeton at the annual including wins over No. 6 Cornell and No. 6 Princeton. H-Y-P meet, then captured second at both the ECAC and Ivy • Juniors Doug Rogers and Alex Biega earned All-Ivy League League Championships. second-team honors. Rogers tied for the team lead with eight • Senior Bill Jones will compete in the 100 and 200 butterfly at goals and had a Crimson-best 21 points, while Biega was second the 2009 NCAA Championships for the second year in a row. in scoring with 20 points on four goals and a team-leading 16 as- • Harvard broke seven meet records at the Ivy League Champi- sists. Senior Nick Coskren also posted eight goals. onships: Meyer (15:01.18 in the 1,650 free; 8:57.28 in 1,000 free), • Freshman Matt Hoyle was named ECAC Rookie of the Week Jones (100 fly, 46.12), senior Eric Lynch (500 free, 4:19.91), 200 Feb. 4. Sophomore Ryan Carroll was tabbed ECAC Goaltender medley relay (1:27.61), 400 medley relay (3:12.30) and 800 free of the Week, and freshman Daniel Moriarty was named ECAC relay (6:24.75). Rookie of the Week Feb. 16. • Junior Alex Meyer grabbed two All-Ivy first-team honors in • Carroll started Harvard’s last nine games, going 4-3-2 with a the 1,000 and 1,650 free, while sophomore Jordan Diekema, 2.31 goals-against average, including a 4-0-2 record and a 1.90 junior Simone Melillo and seniors Jones and David Guernsey goals-against average in conference play. Hoyle completed the were named All-Ivy first team in the 200 medley relay. season 5-12-3 with a 3.25 goals-against average. • The Crimson was honored with the Speedo All-Academic team • Harvard lost consecutive games to Brown in an ECAC Hockey award by the College Swimming Coaches Association. quarterfinal series.