Weekly Sports Roundup (3/18-3/24)

As spring break came to an end for Yale College students, several Yale sports teams competed in conference matches and culminating tournaments. And last week was certainly action-packed for the No. 1 coed sailing team. The Bulldogs won the Owen, Mosbacher, and Knapp Trophies hosted by the US Naval Academy, earning the team Ivy Honors, and also placed third at the Central Series Two, hosted by Boston University, and eighth at the Boston Dinghy Cup, cohosted by Harvard and MIT. The team will compete in the Southern New England Team Race next weekend.

In other sports news this week (information from Yale Sports Publicity):

Women's Swimming and Diving

The season came to an exciting end for the Bulldogs at the NCAA Division I Championships this year. Yale sent two athletes to compete at the event and both performed very well. Eva Fabian ’16 set a new personal record with her 4:46.43 time in the 500-yard freestyle on the first day of competition, and then came in 23rd in the 1,650-yard freestyle on the third day, posting a 16:13.94 time — just seconds behind her personal best at the Ivy League Championships this year. Alexandra Forrester ’13, meanwhile, ended her Yale career by winning the B final of the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:54.49.

Women's Fencing

Two Yale fencers competed among 142 other athletes at the NCAA National Championship in San Antonio, Texas last week, bringing the Bulldogs to 10th place at the meet. Madeline Oliver ’13 made the most of her final season with a 10th-place finish in saber competition, while Lauren Miller ’15 earned the 13th-place spot in foil competition. Princeton claimed the championship.

Men's Fencing

Peter Cohen ’14 and Hugh O'Cinneide ’15 competed to the best of their abilities for the Bulldogs at the NCAA National Championship last week: Yale came in 11th. O'Cinneide finished 11th in saber competition and Cohen claimed 17th place in epee competition. Penn State, Princeton, Notre Dame, Harvard and Ohio State took the top-five spots. 

Women's Gymnastics

As one of the culminating points of a season of improvement, the Bulldogs team earned fifth place at this year's ECAC gymnastics competition, up two spots from their 7th-place finish in 2012. The team finished with a score of 192.100 points, and Penn claimed the championship with 193.725 points. Brittney Sooksengdao ’16 won Yale's first individual title since 2010, finishing first on the balance beam with 9.850 points — a career-high score.

Men's Tennis

The No. 51 Bulldogs (13–3, 0–0 Ivy) continued their impressive season last week. The team beat Binghamton 5–2 on Saturday, earning their seventh straight home victory, and went on to sweep St. Bonaventure on Sunday. One more match remains before the Bulldogs open conference play when they host Princeton on April 6.

Women's Track and Field

At its opening meet of the outdoor season, several members of the women's track and field team put up some fierce competition. Anna Demaree ’15, Jennifer Donnelly ’13 and Elizabeth McDonald ’16 scored ECAC qualifying times in the 10,000 run at the Tribe Invitational this weekend, despite having no practice in competing in the event thus far this season. Among several athletes who had stellar performances at the meet, captain Allison Rue ’13 topped her best in the 800-meter run from the indoor season with her time of 2:15.48.

Men's Track and Field

The men's team performed just as well at the Tribe Invitational, which was hosted by William and Mary. Tommy Winger ’13 beat his personal best in the indoor season when he placed sixth with a distance of 13.23 m (43'05.00) in the triple jump. Mike Levine ’13 and James Shirvell ’14 qualified for the IC4As for their performances this weekend, and Shirvell made a new best with his 3:50.22 time in the 1500-meter run.

Women's Sailing

The No. 2 Bulldogs beat eight other teams at the Duplin Team Race Regatta at Tufts University this weekend, earning first place for Yale. Despite competing on Mystic Lake, which is known for its tricky wind conditions, the women's sailing team finished with the best overall record at 12–2 after two days of races.

Men's Ice Hockey

After two impressive wins at the ECAC Quarterfinals last week, the No. 10/11 Bulldogs lost the semifinal to No. 18 Union with a score of 5–0 on Friday and then fell 3–2 to No. 1/2 Quinnipiac on Saturday in the third-place game. But a win by Notre Dame on Saturday kept the Bulldogs high enough in the standings to earn a spot at the NCAA Tournament — the fourth time in five years the Bulldogs advance to NCAA competition.

Women's Golf

The Bulldogs finished sixth at this year's C&F Bank Invitational in Williamsburg, Va. Hosted by William and Mary, the tournament was fraught with inclement weather, and heavy rain delayed competition on the first day and cut a round from the tournament, making it a 36-hole event. But rain did nothing to halt the Bulldogs: the women's golf team ended competition with a 618 total, far ahead of Columbia and Penn, who finished 12th and 15th, respectively. Boston College won the championship with a 598 total.

Men's Golf

After a loss to No. 10 Georgia last week, the Bulldogs bounced back and defeated Bradley in a 4.5-2.5 verdict at Streamsong Resort's Red Course in Polk County, Fla. last week. Sam Bernstein ’14, William Davenport ’15, Thomas Greenhalgh ’15 and Joe Willis ’16 beat their opponents, and Cooper Stainbrook ’15 halved. Next stop for the Bulldogs: the Yale Spring Opener at the Yale Golf Course on April 6.

Softball

After heavy snowfall caused two matches against Providence to be canceled early last week, the Bulldogs faced low temperatures on Thursday and fell 10–2 to Providence. The team was finally able to crush its eight-match losing streak when they defeated Rhode Island 5–3 the next day, but Rhode Island came back from the loss and beat the Bulldogs 13–6 in the next game. The softball carries its 3–13 record into two games against Fairfield on Wednesday and then opens Ivy League play with games against Cornell on Saturday.

Men's Lacrosse

The second conference game of the season ended in more disappointment for the No. 18/18 Bulldogs (3–3, 0–2 Ivy). Princeton, ranked No. 10/11, defeated Yale 10–9 on Friday. Still, the Bulldogs outshot 38–37 and had 31 ground balls, compared to Princeton's 32. The team takes on Penn on Saturday. 

Women's Lacrosse

For the women's lacrosse team, Ivy League play is proving difficult this semester: the team saw its third conference loss on Saturday when it fell to Harvard 10–5. The Bulldogs (4–4, 0–3 Ivy) host California on Friday at Reese Stadium.

Baseball

It looks like a 10-game losing streak for the Bulldogs. The team fell 14–3 and 10–0 to No. 11 Virginia on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the disappointment continued with four matches against Holy Cross: the Bulldogs lost 5–4, 7–6, 7–4 and 2–0 during the weekend. The baseball team opens Ivy League play with a Princeton doubleheader on Saturday, but non-conference play suggests a tough road ahead for the team: so far, the Bulldogs secured just one victory amid 13 losses.