Claremont, CA (September 10, 2012) — The 2012-13 athletic year is already in full swing with all seven fall sports opening their campaigns in the last nine days, and the SCIAC season approaching this week for three of them.
The Sagehen Volleyball team got the year started for the athletic department by hosting the Pacific Coast Classic at Voelkel Gymnasium on August 31 and September 1. The Sagehens opened up the fall with three straight wins, defeating Northland 3-0, Illinois Wesleyan 3-1 and Alverno 3-0, before finally falling to No. 14 Colorado College 3-1 (after taking the first game from its nationally ranked opponents). After splitting four matches at the Posada Royale Invitational at Cal Lutheran this past weekend, the Sagehens are now 5-3 heading into SCIAC play, opening up on the road on Friday at La Verne and Saturday at Caltech. Ellen Yamasaki ’15 (87 kills), the reigning SCIAC Rookie of the Year, has been one of the top performers for the Sagehens this season, while Lindsey Burkart-Lima ’16 has been a regular contributor to start her freshman year.
Men’s Water Polo opened the year on Saturday, Sept. 1 with a daunting challenge as its first two games of the season, on the same day, came against the top two teams in the country. The Sagehens began play at the UCLA Invitational taking on the host Bruins, ranked No. 2 in the nation, and then met No. 1 USC. The Sagehens’ schedule has remained daunting, as the Sagehens saw their record fall to 0-6 after dropping four matches at the Inland Empire Classic this past weekend. All six losses this year have come to teams ranked in the top 20 in the country (four of which are in the top 10). Jason Cox ’13 scored two goals in a loss to No. 6 UC Irvine, while Stephen Vint ’15 had two in a narrow loss to No. 12 UC Davis. Trevor Roszkos ’16 added his first collegiate goal against UC Irvine, while Austin Strong ’15 had five saves against UC Davis in the second half. The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Sagehens as they travel to Stanford this weekend to play in the NorCal Tournament. The team opens play with a rematch against No. 1 USC on Saturday, and then will face either No. 8 Pepperdine or No. 9 Long Beach State in the second round.
Men’s Soccer got its season started on Sunday, Sept. 2, and fell 2-1 to Whitman before bouncing back for an impressive 4-1 win on Wednesday over Cal State San Marcos, a team that the Sagehens had never previously beaten. Transfer Drew Lind ’14 scored goals in his first two games with the Sagehens, while Lawrence McDonald ’15 also had a goal in the win. The Sagehens have three conference games this week, beginning with a trip to Cal Lutheran on Monday evening, followed by home games on Wednesday against CMS (4 p.m.) and on Saturday against Chapman (11 a.m.).
Women’s Soccer also split its first two games, opening the year on Monday, Sept. 3 with a 4-1 win over Marian (Wis.) before falling to Biola 1-0 on Saturday. Sam Thompson ’15 scored on a 30-yard blast under the crossbar in the Marian win, while Ying Fry ’16 has started both games at forward to behin her collegiate career. The Sagehens begin their SCIAC play this week on the road, traveling to CMS on Wednesday and Chapman on Saturday.
Football kicked off its 2012 season with an impressive start against Menlo, a scholarship program from NAIA, but the Menlo rushing attack proved to be too much in the second half as the Oaks pulled away for a 41-13 win. The Sagehen defense stopped Menlo on the opening drive, and the offense then drove 80 yards in 16 plays to take a 6-0 lead. The score remained 6-6 at the half, as the defense did not allow Menlo on the board until a 47-yard bomb under heavy pressure found its mark late in the second quarter. Several Pitzer freshmen had an immediate impact with Sean Mulcahy ’16 starting on the offensive line, Matthew Tesimale ’16 recording a quarterback sack, and Luc Dark-Fluery ’16 adding a tackle in the defensive line rotation. Austin Kay ’16 is also second on the depth chart at quarterback behind senior Luke Ferguson PO ’13.
Men’s and Women’s Cross Country both opened their seasons with some light runs to tune up for the months ahead. Men’s Cross Country ran at the Mark Covert Classic on Sept. 1 and the UC Irvine Invitational on Sept. 8, with Alex Johnson ’13 finishing in the top five both times. Johnson was an NCAA qualifier a year ago and is poised to have a big senior year. On the women’s side, Roxanne Cook ’13 and Camille Matonis ’15 were both among the team’s top five as the Sagehens captured the UC Irvine “B” race.
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This Week’s Schedule (Home Events In Bold)
Monday, Sept. 10
Men’s Soccer at Cal Lutheran, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 12
Men’s Soccer (H) vs. CMS, 4 p.m.
Women’s Soccer at CMS, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 14
Volleyball at La Verne, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 15
Men’s Water Polo vs. No. 1 USC (at Stanford), 8 a.m.
M+W Cross Country at UC Riverside, 8 a.m.
Men’s Soccer (H) vs. Chapman, 11 a.m.
Volleyball at Caltech, 11 a.m.
Football at Lewis & Clark, 12 p.m.
Men’s Water Polo vs. Pepperdine or LBSU (at Stanford), 2 p.m.
Women’s Soccer at Chapman, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 16
Men’s Water Polo at NorCal Tournament (Opponent/Time, TBA)
