sportsbriefs

Author: Zamir Ahmed and Peter Baumann

Ultimate Frisbee team has two weeks of success

The Middlebury men's Ultimate Frisbee team has enjoyed a highly successful spring season, capturing one tournament title and reaching the finals of another over the past two weeks.

The squad traveled down to Georgia for spring break, taking part in the College Southerns and High Tide tournaments. After going 6-2 at College Southerns on March 22-23, the team moved on to High Tide on March 25-27, winning all eight games on the way to taking the tournament title. After back-to-back wins to open the event, the team reeled off four straight 13-8 victories before clobbering Union 13-2 in the semifinals. The final against St. Olaf was a back-and-forth battle for the first half before Middebury pulled away for good, winning 13-7.

Coming off its victory over spring break, the team hit the road once again, heading to New Haven, Conn. last weekend for the Yale Cup, which featured the 20 best teams in the Northeast. After going 1-3 in pool play on April 5, Middlebury went on a tear through the bracket. The squad defeated Vermont and Wesleyan in the first two rounds before edging Harvard 10-9 in the semifinals, avenging an earlier loss in the tournament. In the finals, the team lost a close one to Williams, 13-11, to finish in second place.


Softball sweeps Skidmore, then is swept by R.P.I.

After splitting its four games since its return from Ft. Myers, Fla., the softball team now boasts a 7-7 record as it heads into the meat of its NESCAC schedule.

Last Wednesday, the Panthers traveled to Skidmore for a doubleheader against the Thoroughbreds. Middlebury jumped out to an early lead in the opener, scoring four runs in the first two innings on its way to a 5-3 victory. With co-captain Katelyn Cannella '08 sidelined with a shoulder injury, Megan Margel '11 and Leslie Crawford '11 picked up the slack offensively. Margel finished the day 3-for-4 with an RBI and one run scored and Crawford added two runs of her own. Co-captain Brittany Burke '08 was superb in the circle, scattering eight hits over seven innings while striking out three.

The Middlebury lineup came out even stronger in game two, scoring 11 runs on 15 hits. Margel had another stellar game offensively, picking up six RBIs while going 5-for-6 at the plate. Geena Constantin '11 continued Middlebury's pitching prowess, giving up only one earned run in her seven innings on the way to an easy 11-3 victory.

This Tuesday, the Panthers took the field looking to continue their winning ways against RPI. Unfortunately, the Panthers found the hosts to be much less accommodating than the Thoroughbreds from a week earlier. The Cardinals bounced out to an early 5-0 lead in the opener behind an early home run from Jen Bach, and then weathered a late Panther rally to earn a 5-3 victory. Middlebury received another strong outing from Burke, who gave up five runs on six hits, while also going 2-for-3 at the plate.

In the second game, Middlebury pitcher Ali McAnaney '11 gave up only three runs over six innings, but it was not enough as the Panthers were only able to scrape across one of their own against the 15-3 Cardinals. The loss dropped Middlebury to .500 on the year.

The Panthers return to action this weekend, hosting a series against Wesleyan. The team will play a single game Friday at 5 p.m. before taking the field Saturday for a twinbill. The first game of that double-header is scheduled to begin at noon.