Sports

Of the First Rank

by Charlie McGuire, sports information director

January 2, 2010

Ian Mitchell ’10 became the first player in conference history to rush for more than 2,000 yards and throw for more than 5,000 yards.

For the first time in college history, the Red Devils had five teams ranked in national polls this fall. Football, men’s and women’s cross country and men’s and women’s soccer all made the rankings in October.

The football team, which was ranked 25 nationally, used a highly volatile offense to finish the season 8-2 overall and 6-2 in the Centennial Conference (CC). Ian Mitchell ’10 ended a remarkable career, setting five conference records, including career rushing yards by a quarterback (2,383) and single-season touchdowns by a quarterback (15).

Also rushing for more than 1,000 yards were fullback Tim Wells ’10 and tailbacks Tim Smith ’11 and Gregory Lord ’11. Patrick O’Connor ’10 began the season as the school-record holder for career receiving yards, then added a record for career receptions (167), raising his yards mark to 2,548 and single-game receptions to 14.

Michael Maxwell ’10 ranked in the top 20 nationally with six interceptions through 10 games, while Pat McNeal ’11, Kevin Wood ’11 and Pete Hamill ’11 were among the leaders in tackles.

The cross country men won their second-straight CC championship after snapping Haverford College’s reign. They were ranked eighth nationally and set a conference record by scoring 16 points. Two-time champion Greg Leak ’10 led the pack and earned his second-straight Runner of the Year honor, while Nick Karwoski ’10, Andy Gregor ’10, Michael Tarkoff ’11 and Brian Krusell ’11 joined Leak on the All-CC first team. The men also won their 13th-consecutive Little Three Championship and third-straight Dickinson Invitational title.

Women’s cross country placed second at the CC championships and was ranked 18th nationally. Catherine Campbell ’12 ran to first-team All-CC honors, finishing sixth. Kimberly Powell ’11, Mary Hamilton ’10, Sarah Romano ’10 and Julie Platt ’12 earned second-team honors, finishing in the top 14 of the race. The women captured an unprecedented 16th-straight Little Three Championship and reclaimed the title at the Dickinson Invitational. The Red Devil men and women placed second and fourth, respectively, in the NCAA Mideast Regional in November.

Field hockey vied unsuccessfully for a playoff bid, finishing the season 7-10 overall and 5-5 in the CC. Head coach Alison Risser won her 100th game, against Haverford. Alyssa Sands ’10 finished second in career assists with 19 and ranked fourth in career points (73) and seventh in goals scored (27). Katelynn Bias ’10 ranked fifth all time with 16 assists. Lizzie Boorse ’11 led the team with nine goals and five assists and is 10th in career points (64) and eighth in career goals (26). Goaltender Amanda West ’10 started in all 67 of her games and was fourth all time with 490 saves.

Women’s soccer, ranked 21st nationally, tied a school record with six consecutive shutouts at the
season’s start, outscoring opponents 28-0. They finished the season 15-4-1 overall and 7-3 in the CC, tying the school record for fewest goals allowed in the regular season (9). Courtney Anderson ’10 ranked third in career assists (22) as the team entered the playoffs. Kailyn Hartmann ’10 set the school record in career goals-against average with a remarkable 0.83 in 6,153 minutes played. Hannah Richardson ’13 led the CC with 15 goals and 32 points.

Men’s soccer started the season 6-0 before falling to first-ranked Messiah College. The Red Devils regrouped to defeat third-ranked Swarthmore three days later in overtime. Their record was 14-4-2 overall and 6-2-1 in the conference, earning them fourth seed in the playoffs. Thomas Parkinson ’11 and Nicolas Tierno ’13 had hat tricks and scored 10 goals during the regular season. Cody Hickok ’13 started in the net, posting a school-record 0.79 goals-against average. Mid season, they were ranked 10th in the D3soccer.com national poll.

The volleyball team finished 7-16 overall, 4-6 in the conference. Elly Gosheva ’10 concluded a stellar career, setting the school record with 1,147 kills, becoming the first player to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs and ranking sixth in digs (1,013). Amanda Hayes ’10 set the school mark for career digs (1,634). Kristen Lee ’10 ranked seventh in career kills (681) and service aces (148) and approached the top 10 for digs (766). Allison Molchany ’10 tallied 217 blocks to rank third all time. Chelsea Winkert ’10 moved into the starting setter role and recorded 581 assists to rank eighth all time.