Claremont, Calif. (March 19, 2012)– Pitzer athletes had a key role in several dramatic wins this week for the Sagehens. The team with the most excitement was Women’s Lacrosse, which won four games in five days by a combined six goals. Goalie Casey Leek ’14 helped preserve a 14-13 win over North Central (Ill.) on Friday with a point blank save of a free position shot with 45 seconds left, while Jana London ’14 led the offense with four goals. London also scored the key tying goal in the final game of the week with less than two minutes left, as the Sagehens rallied from a 10-8 deficit late for an 11-10 win over Pacific (Ore.). Rachel Kessler ’14, Zoe Brown ’15 and Dana Christensen ‘15 also continued their tireless work on the team’s defense, as the trio played all 240 minutes in the four-game span. The team will have some much-needed rest this week before its next game at home on March 28 vs. MIT.
Chris Wiechert ’14 continued his impressive spring for the Men’s Tennis team, as he avenged his only Division III loss of the year, defeating Michael Razumovsky of ninth-ranked Kenyon 7-6 in the third set (after winning the tiebreaker 7-4). Wiechert, who plays at No. 2 singles for the Sagehens, has now won 10 matches in a row since falling to Razumovsky at the ITA Indoor Nationals on Feb. 24, with eight of those 10 wins coming against nationally ranked opponents. Max Sabel ’13 also had a key role in a 6-3 win over Carnegie Mellon, winning tiebreakers in both singles and doubles, including saving a match point in doubles with a perfect lob and then winning the match with a backhand winner off a service return.
Softball kept its recent penchant for dramatic victories alive with yet another comeback win against Puget Sound on Thursday. The first game of the doubleheader was relatively easy, as the Sagehens won 9-4 behind a 3-for-4 performance from Ashley Morello ’15 and a two-run homer from Bri Marcantoni ’12. The nightcap was a little tougher, as the game went to extra innings tied, and the international tiebreaker rule was put into play (with a runner placed on second to start each inning). The Loggers scored twice in the top of the eighth to put the Sagehens up against the wall, but once again, the team responded as Marcantoni drove the first pitch over the wall to tie the score at 3-3 and the Sagehens went on to win 4-3. The team has now won eight games in a row, with five coming in its last at-bat (four walk-off wins at home and an eight-inning win at Whittier). The Sagehens will try to keep it going this week with a home game against Virginia Wesleyan on Thursday at4 p.m. and a home doubleheader with Cal Lutheran on Saturday at 12 p.m.
Baseball also had its share of excitement with Puget Sound on Sunday, as the two teams traded walk-off wins. The Sagehens won the nightcap 9-8 as with the score tied 8-8, E.J. Lopez ’15 beat out an infield single and came home on a sac fly from Erik Munzer ’13. Lopez was 3-for-4 with two RBI in the game, while Munzer was 2-for-4 with three runs scored. Sam Fox ’15 was also 3-for-5 in the doubleheader. Ben Cohen ’12 also had a key double to set up the comeback when the Sagehens were trailing 8-6, and was 2-for-3 with two runs scored in a 9-6 win over Rutgers-Newark. Baseball will be home this week to face Chapman on Friday at 3 p.m.
Men’s and Women’s Track and Field completed their annual “Battle For The Banner” with Occidental and came away with a tie, as the women won by three points and the Occidental men won by three points. The Sagehens will keep the banner (the symbol of the dual victory) for the first six months of the coming year and then return it to Occidental until next year’s dual. On the women’s side, Leslie Canter ’12 moved into second in Sagehen history in the steeplechase (12:00.48), just four seconds off the school record, while Roxanne Cook ’14 ran a strong race in the 800 with a 2:25.30. On the men’s side, Greg Hook ’14 helped the sprint medley team run a 3:33.08, the second-fastest time in program history.
Women’s Water Polo had a tough week against strong competition, including fourth-ranked Arizona State, but Alyssa Woodward ’15 continued her strong rookie season with 13 goals, giving her a team-high 46 on the season. Second on the Sagehens is senior captain Annie Oxborough-Yankus ’12 with 29. The Women’s Water Polo team will be home this week for matches against Connecticut College on Thursday at 5 p.m., followed by Long Beach State at 12 p.m. and Chapman at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
