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Orange Spotlight: April 13, 2009
4/13/2009 10:19:41 AM | Men's Rowing, Women's Rowing, Softball, Tennis, Track and Field
Easter weekend was gracious to Orange athletics as every team that competed enjoyed a level of success in one form or another. The fifth-ranked men's and eighth-ranked women's lacrosse teams took care of their opponents in a doubleheader at the Carrier Dome on Saturday. Junior attackmen Chris Daniello and sophomore Stephen Keogh keyed the SU offense with three goals apiece in the nixing of Rutgers, 10-3. The women's game against Notre Dame kept everyone on the edge of their seats as the Orange had a 12-3 lead at the half, but saw its buffer evaporate when the Fighting Irish came within one, 14-13, with 00:53 second remaining. Sophomore goalkeeper Liz Hogan's point-blank save with 00:32 seconds remaining preserved the win against ND.
At the UNC Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C., the track & field team sported seven top-three finishes, including three first-place performances from sprinters Michael LeBlanc, Flings Owusu-Agyapong and javelin thrower Lorraine Hill.
The softball squad rebounded from a marathon 12 inning loss, 2-1, by taking out Georgetown, 5-2, in the second installment of a doubleheader at the SU Softball Stadium on Saturday.
On the water, the women's rowing team won the Orange Cup for only the sixth time in the 30-year history of the cup and the first time since 2005 at the Ten Eyck Boathouse located at Onondaga Lake Outlet in Longbranch Park. The men's squad moved up four places to number nine in the latest USRowing Men's Varsity Eight Collegiate Coaches' Poll; the largest leap of any other team in the poll.
Fresh off wrapping up its most successful regular season in program history, the women's tennis team had the weekend off in preparation for the BIG EAST Tournament in Tampa, Fla. from 16-19.
Track & Field
After a successful weekend at the Princeton Sam Howell Invitational, the Orange stormed back with a strong showing at the UNC Invitational. Syracuse recorded seven top three showings, including three first-place victories from sophomore Flings Owusu-Agyapong (100-meter dash), senior Michael LeBlanc (100-meter dash) and junior Lorraine Hill (javelin).
Both LeBlanc and Owusu-Agyapong were tabbed as the No. 1 seed in each of their respective 100-meter dash competitions and both sprinters lived up to the hype with first-place triumphs. Owusu-Agyapong's clip of 11.66 not only won the race, but secured a spot in the NCAA Regional in late May. LeBlanc's mark of 10.60 was tops in his field, yielding a spot in the IC4A in four weeks.
Hill, who now owns two first-place performances this season, beat out 14 others with a heave of 43.05m, qualifying her for the ECAC Championship.
Senior Bernard Bush had a big day for the Orange, chipping in two second-place showings in Chapel Hill. Bush eclipsed the NCAA-Regional standard with a second-place spring of 7.40m in the long jump and met BIG EAST criteria with a mark of 14.42m in the triple jump.
Senior Lauren McClenney and junior Uhunoma Osazuwa represented Syracuse's remaining top three performances. McClenney tallied a third-place time of 56.29 in the 400-meter dash while Osazuwa notched a berth to the ECAC Championship with her third-place vault of 1.70m in the long jump.
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Last Week
April 11 – UNC Invitational (No Team Score)
This Week
April 17-18 – Princeton Larry Ellis Invitational
April 17-18 – Cortland Classic
2008-09 Outdoor Track & Field Schedule
Women's Tennis
The tennis team did not participate in any matches this week as the Orange gears up for the BIG EAST Tournament later this week, which starts on Thursday, April 16 in Tampa, Fla.
Head coach Luke Jensen and his team has won their last seven conference matches, including the last five on the road. SU's 15-5 mark, 9-2 in the BIG EAST, is the best regular season record in program history since dual play took precedence in the league. In 2005-06, Syracuse assembled a 14-4 regular season record, finishing up 16-8 overall. In 1978-79, Syracuse went an undefeated 10-0.
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Last Week
No Matches Played
Next Week
April 16-19 – BIG EAST Tournament (Time / Day – TBD)
2009 Women's Tennis Schedule
Softball
The softball squad (19-13, 8-4) immersed itself in a pair of BIG EAST doubleheaders last week, splitting both series.
On Wednesday at St. John's, senior Nicole Miller put in a strong performance on both sides of the ball. She finished the day 3-for-7 with three runs, two RBI and her fifth-career home run and totaled 21 putouts in the two games. Both senior Amy Kelley and freshman Stephanie Watts were 2-for-4 in game two, while sophomore Rachel Helman and senior Jamie Kelling were 2-for-3 and 1-for-3, respectively.
St. John's claimed game one, 4-3, but SU brawled back for a domination 7-1 win on the backend. In the victory, the Orange outhit the Red Storm, 10-4. Freshman Jenna Caira pitched a complete game for head coach Leigh Ross, fanning seven batters with no walks.
On Saturday against Georgetown at the SU Softball Stadium, Syracuse came close to playing a tripleheader as game one extended to 12 innings; the second longest game in program history. Despite tight defense all around, the Hoyas overcame SU in the top of the 12th, 2-1. The Orange rebounded in game two with a 5-2 win for the split.
Senior Lindsay Wasek and Watts both finished Saturday by going 4-for-8. Watts added three runs, while Wasek had one. Kelling was 2-for-4 in game two with two RBI and sophomore Hallie Gibbs went 1-for-3 with three RBI.
Caira and junior Brittany Gardner each pitched a complete game. Both set career highs in strikeouts with Caira throwing 16 in the first game while Gardner sat down 11 in the backend.
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Last Week
April 8 – at St. John's – L, 4-3 / W, 7-1
April 11 – vs. Georgetown – L, 2-1 (12 innings) / W, 5-2
Next Week
April 13 – vs. Canisius (DH) (3:30 p.m.)
April 15 – vs. Cornell (DH) (3:30 p.m.)
April 18 – at Providence (Noon)
April 19 – vs. Louisville (DH) (2:00 p.m.)
2009 Softball Schedule
Women's Rowing
The women's rowing team won the Orange Cup on Saturday for only the sixth time in the 30-year history of the cup and the first time since 2005 at the Ten Eyck Boathouse located at Onondaga Lake Outlet in Longbranch Park. The varsity eight captured the Orange Cup with its three-second victory against Northeastern and Pennsylvania. SU finished the 2,000-meter course in 7:03.8. Northeastern was second at 7:06.3 and Pennsylvania was third at 7:08.1.
Syracuse also took first in three other races. The Orange won the novice eight race, finishing in 7:38.2. Pennsylvania and Northeastern followed at 7:56.2 and 8:13.1, respectively.
The second varsity four placed first with a time of 8:40.8. Pennsylvania was second at 9:03.5.
The Orange won the novice four, finishing the last race of the day in 8:37.2. Pennsylvania A was second with a time of 8:50.2 and Pennsylvania was third with a time of 9:04.4.
Syracuse placed second in the second varsity eight with a time of 7:22.6 while the varsity four finished third with a time of 8:33.9.
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Last Week
April 11 – Orange Cup vs. Pennsylvania / Northeastern - [V8 – First (7:03.8); 2V8 – Second (7:22.6); V4 – Third (8:33.9); N8 – First (7:38.2); 2V4 – First (8:40.8); N4 – First (8:37.2)]
This Week
April 18 – O'Leary Cup vs Harvard / Dartmouth
2009 Rowing Schedule
Men's Crew
The men's crew team moved up four places to number nine in the latest USRowing Men's Varsity Eight Collegiate Coaches' Poll. The Orange was ranked 13th in last week's preseason poll, but vaulted into the top 10 with its strong showing at the San Diego Crew Classic. The Orange won the Men's Collegiate Varsity International Petite on April 5 and finished fourth in its heat on April 3.
SU's jump was the largest of any crew in the poll. Syracuse has been ranked in the top 13 during the last three seasons, peaking at No. 8 on May 9, 2007. SU's spot in this week's poll is its highest since it was also ninth on May 23, 2007
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Last Week
No Race Scheduled
This Week
April 18 – Goes Trophy vs Navy / Cornell
2009 Crew Schedule
