Sportsbriefs

Author: Dickie Redmond

WOMEN'S GOLF WINS WILLIAMS INVITATIONAL

Middlebury women's golf cruised past the competition this past weekend and took first place in the seven-team Williams Spring Invitational. Strong individual performances from veteran Julie Ellenberger '09 and rookie Flora Weeks '12 paced the team.

Ellenberger ended the event - held at the Taconic Golf Course - with a pair of 77s for a two-day total of 154. Her score was strong enough to capture the individual title.

Weeks followed Ellenberger on day one with a 77, and only scored one shot higher on Sunday to finish the tournament with a 155, earning her the second place spot.

Jessie Bluestein '11, Courtney Mazzei '11 and Elizabeth Hirsch '11 rounded off the Panther scorecard with two-day totals of 169, 171 and 179, respectively. The sophomore Panthers added depth to the Middlebury team, which finished nearly 20 points in front of the second place Mount Holyoke squad. Mount Holyoke golfer Zahra Aliza Hanif finished in third individually and propelled her team to the second place spot.

Middlebury towered over NESCAC peers Amherst and Williams. The Lord Jeffs - who earned a recent first place victory at the Leaman Invitational - placed third, scoring over 20 points behind the Panthers. Williams finished lower, in sixth place with a team total of 682.

Middlebury looks to use their momentum from this past weekend when the team travels to Wellesley to face similar competition.

SOFTBALL CONCLUDES ITS SEASON WITH DOUBLE WINS

Middlebury softball ended its season last week with two shutout victories in a doubleheader against Lyndon State College.

The Panthers traveled north to face off against their fellow Vermont school on Friday, winning their first game 9-0 and finishing the day off with an equally convincing 7-0 victory. The pair of wins propelled the team to a winning 17-15 overall record.

Geena Constantin '11 led the defense in the first game. The sophomore right-hander pitched for a total of five innings, averaging over a strikeout an inning - six in total - as she boosted the Panthers to their 16th win on the season.

Leslie Crawford '11 and Megan Margel '11 took over on offense, as Crawford went three-for-four with two runs and Margel added three RBIs to contribute to the crushing 9-0 win.

In the second game, the Panther pitching staff delivered equally strong performances. First-year Ashley Higgins '12 pitched for most of the game, allowing only three hits and no runs. Ali McAnaney '11 finished the game off with three strikeouts and no hits, sealing the deal in game two.

Amelia Magestrali '09 finished off her Middlebury career strong, as she went three-for-four with a run and an RBI.

Margel, Natalie Komrovsky '09, Nellie Wood '11 and Emily Burbridge '11 each helped on offense with two hits as the Panthers finished the season with one more shutout victory.