Weekly sports roundup: season ends for men's basketball

The men's basketball team had its most successful postseason run in more than 50 years, making it to the finals of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. The Bulldogs (19–14, 9–5 Ivy) defeated the Virginia Military Institute with a score of 75–62 in the semifinal last Tuesday, but they lost 65–57 to Murray State in the final round on Thursday. Top scorer Justin Sears ’16 injured his wrist in the semifinal game and was unable to play in the finals, but the Bulldogs still managed to put up a fight.

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

The women's track and field team competed in two separate meets this weekend—on opposite sides of the country. At the Stanford Invitational, Kira Garry ’15 broke her own Yale record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:21.01, placing her eighth in her heat. Emily Stark ’15 finished 23rd in the 10,000-meter run, taking 4th place in Yale's record books with her time of 34:51.61. At the Sam Howell Invitational at Princeton, several athletes came close to their personal-best performances.

Competing at the same two meets, the men's track and field team competed also had some impressive results. At the Stanford Invitational, Kevin Dooney ’16 ran the second-fastest 10,000-meter race in Yale history with his personal-best time of 29:10.13, which put him in 35th at the meet. Meanwhile, at the Sam Howell Invitational, Brendan Sullivan ’16 placed second in the pole vault with his mark of 15'9" (4.80 m), falling under four inches shy of the first-place finisher.

It was a relatively calm week for the No. 1 women's sailing team, which only competed at one meet, but the results were impressive. The Bulldogs competed in 14 races and took home the Emily Wick Trophy on the Thames River in New London, Connecticut. Yale had a 42-point lead over second place.

After finishing second at the New England Team Race Championship this weekend, the coed sailing team earned itself a spot in the ICSA Team Racing National Championship in June. The Bulldogs also took eighth place at the Mystic Lake Team Race Invitational.

The No. 9 women's crew retained the Cayuga Cup when it swept No. 19 Cornell on the Housatonic this weekend. All five of Yale's crews defeated their opponents from Ithaca. This weekend, the Bulldogs host Dartmouth and Boston University.

A strong season continues for the lightweight crew. The Bulldogs won multiple races by a wide margin against Georgetown. This weekend will be an intense one for Yale, which takes on Penn and Columbia in the Dodge Cup on Saturday, and then faces Cornell on Sunday.

Conference play continues for the No. 14 men's lacrosse team. The Bulldogs (6–3) beat Dartmouth 16–10, bringing their Ivy record to 2–2 after ten different Elis scored goals. The team is currently tied for third place with Penn in the Ivy standings. Yale also beat Providence 8–5 earlier in the week.

Princeton defeated the women's lacrosse team with a score of 15–8 this weekend, despite a hat trick from midfielder Erin Magnuson ’15. Attacker Nicole Daniggelis ’16 added eight draw controls, breaking her own Yale record for draw controls in a season—her previous record was 76, and she now has 82 with four games remaining. 

It was a tough start to Ivy play for the No. 52 women's tennis team, three-time Ivy champs. The Bulldogs (9–8, 1–1 Ivy) lost 4–3 to Princeton on Friday, but rebounded with a 4–3 victory over Penn. This week, the Bulldogs will face off against Cornell and No. 36 Columbia, which tied for the Ivy title last year and is currently the highest-ranked Ivy League team.

Opening conference play was similarly difficult for the men's tennis team. The Bulldogs (12–5) also lost to No. 60 Princeton, with a score of 6–1, but bounced back and defeated Penn 4–2. Over the next two weeks, the Bulldogs take a break from the road and host Cornell, Columbia, and Dartmouth. 

It was a busy week for the women's golf team, which competed in two separate tournaments last week. At the Hoya Invitational in Beallsville, Maryland, the Bulldogs came in third place among 16 teams. Competing in the inaugural Pirate Invitational this weekend, the team came in second, besting Princeton, Penn, Dartmouth, and Brown but falling behind Columbia. All in all, it was a solid week for the team as it prepares for Ivy Championships, which begin on April 25.

The men's golf team, meanwhile, had a strong showing in the Met Intercollegiate in Purchase, New York. The Bulldogs came in second at 613 overall, falling behind Georgia, which finished at 580 overall. Next up: the Princeton Invitational.

Snapping a five-game losing streak, the baseball team has opened Ivy play and is gaining momentum. The Bulldogs (12–13, 5–3 Ivy) beat Columbia 3–0 and 4–1, defeated Cornell 1–0 and lost 6–4, and beat Princeton 2–1 and 4–2. The only Ivy team that the Bulldogs lost a series to was Penn, which won 6–1 and 11–9 last Monday. While taking a break from conference competition, the Bulldogs also fell to UConn 14–1.

Last week was just as eventful for the softball team, but the results were far less promising. The Bulldogs (4–22, 1–7 Ivy) hadn't won a match since March 15, and last week added seven more losses to a 15-game streak: the team fell to Penn, defending Ivy championships, with scores of 3–0 and 3–0, then lost to UMass 3–1 and 6–1, then fell to Cornell 3–0 and 5–3. In Saturday, the Bulldogs lost 5–2 to Princeton before coming out on top in the second game, which they won with a score of 2–1.