Army West Point Athletics
This Week In Army Athletics
October 11, 2012 | General
Oct. 11, 2012
Dear Friends,
It was a memorable afternoon at Michie Stadium on Saturday as the football team pulled out one of the most exciting wins in recent history, defeating Boston College 34-31. First, we would like to thank everyone who came out on Saturday. The crowd of 39,492 was the largest since 2004, and the atmosphere around the game was electric from the opening kickoff to the final play.
Firstie quarterback Trent Steelman ran for 141-yard and three-touchdowns, including the game-winning 29-yard run with just 45 seconds left. Trent took home a whole host of awards this week, starting with the Army Athletic Association Athlete of the Week honor. He was also named the Football Bowl Subdivision Independent Offensive Player of the Week, the ECAC Offensive Player of the Week, and was one eight Manning Award All-Stars. You can cast your vote for Trent on the Allstate Sugar Bowl's Facebook page and help him win the Manning Award Player of the Week honor. Voting ends Thursday at noon ET.
The team will go for its second straight win on Saturday when it hosts Kent State in the annual homecoming contest. Be sure to get your tickets now either online, at the Army Athletics Ticket Office located near Gate 3 of Michie Stadium or by phone at 1-877-TIX-ARMY.
The volleyball team remained in sole possession of second place in the Patriot League with an impressive 3-0 win over Holy Cross. The team is now 4-1 in conference play, just one game behind first-place Colgate. Ariana Mankus earned her second Patriot League Player of the Week award in the last three weeks. Ariana led the team with 13 kills, 10 digs and a .667 hitting percentage against the Crusaders. You'll notice some new entries in the sport recaps listed below.
The swimming & diving teams went a combined 5-0 in their first competitions of the season. The men's team earned wins over Boston College and Rowan, while the women's team swept Boston College, Rowan and Vermont. Plebe Nate Beale made an immediate impact, earning wins in three events. She was named the Patriot League Female Swimmer of the Week after victories in the 200-yard medley relay, the 100 back and the 200 back. It is the first time since 2002-03 that the women have opened with three straight victories.
The sprint football team also earned a big win last weekend against Cornell to stay undefeated overall and in the CSFL. The 4-0 start is the program's best since the 2009 season.
The upcoming week features more chances for academy victories and the 2012-13 debut of another program. The cross country teams travel to Annapolis to face Navy in the annual Star Meet. So far this fall, we are 4-0-1 versus Navy and Air Force.
The hockey team drops the puck for the first time on Friday at the Ice Breaker Tournament in Kansas City. Coach Brian Riley's team will play Nebraska-Omaha at 10 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast by NBC Sports Network. Maine and Notre Dame play the first game with the winners matching up at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, also on NBC Sports Network. The third-place game is set for 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Thank you again for all of your support of Army Athletics. To find out more about the Army A Club and how you can enhance the cadet-athlete experience, click the following link: http://www.goarmysports.com/aclub, call (845)938-2322, or email armyaclub@usma.edu.
Information on all the fall teams is below.
We appreciate all of your contributions to our success. Be well.
Go Army!
Boo
For all current information regarding Army Athletics and its 25 varsity programs, please visit www.goARMYsports.com.
Cross Country
• The Black Knights are preparing for their lone dual meet of the season - the Army-Navy Star Meet. This season's annual academy showdown will take place in Annapolis, Md., on Oct. 13. The Black Knight men will look to halt the Midshipmen Star Meet winning streak at three, while the Army women are aiming for their third victory in the last four showdowns.
Football (1-4)
• Army earned its first win of the season with a 34-31 come-from-behind victory over Boston College. Firstie QB Trent Steelman scored the game-winning touchdown with 45 seconds left. Army had a chance to take the lead on the previous possession, but was stopped on the 1-yard line. The defense forced BC to punt and the offense needed just three plays to find the end zone on a 29-yard run by Steelman
• Army ran for a season-high 516 yards. It is the ninth-highest rushing total in school history. It was the team's highest output against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent since going for 546 yards against Rutgers on Oct. 12, 1996. It was the 12th 500-yard game in school history.
• Steelman ran for three touchdowns to break the Academy record for career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. Steelman's 36 career rushing scores is third all-time in Army history behind only Glenn Davis (43) and Mike Mayweather (37).
• Raymond Maples (184), Steelman and fullback Larry Dixon (128) each ran for 100 yards. It marked the first time Army had at least three 100-yard rushers in two games (Northern Illinois) since 1984. It was Army's fourth game with at least two 100-yard rushers, the most since 1948.
• Maples 34 rushing attempts and his 184 yards were career highs. Maples registered his fourth 100-yard game of the season. It was the ninth of his career, which places him in fifth-place tie on Army's career ledger (Charlie Jarvis).
• Steelman became the third player in Army history to be responsible for 50 touchdowns during their career. Steelman has 326 rushing scores and 14 passing touchdowns. Glenn Davis holds the record with 71, while Leamon Hall has 51. Steelman moved into sixth place on the Army career points scored list. His 218 points is the most ever by an Army quarterback.
• Dixon reached the 100-yard mark for the third time in the last four games.
• Patrick Laird made a career-high three receptions.
• Army sacked Chase Rettig five times, the most by the Black Knights defense since Oct. 1, 2011 versus Tulane (5). The Black Knights entered the game with six sacks in the first four games.
• Nate Combs registered two sacks, his fourth multi-sack game in his last six outings. Combs has eight sacks in his last six games, including a team-high 6.0 this season.
• Daniel Grochowski's 46-yard field goal to end the half was the longest of his brief career and the longest by Army since Alex Carlton hit a 49-yarder versus Kent State on Nov. 13, 2010. Grochowski was 2-for-3 on field goal tries, his first multi-kick game of his young career.
• Army wraps up its three-game homestand this Saturday, hosting Kent State at 12 p.m.
Golf
• Army will return to action Oct. 10 at the three-day Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate in Jonesborough, Tenn.
Sprint Football (4-0, 3-0 CSFL)
• Army sprint football defeated conference rival Cornell, 38-14, in its home opener Friday night in front of packed stands at Shea Stadium. The undefeated Black Knights faced their most competitive opponent to date in the Big Red (3-1, 2-1 CSFL), and responded by totaling nearly 500 yards of offense.
• Army's defense held Cornell scoreless until late in the third quarter. Cow Patrick Franco had a standout game for the Black Knights, totaling an Army season-high 12 tackles to go along with 2.5 sacks. The Black Knights tallied nine sacks for their highest total of the season, while the Army offensive line kept the pressure off firstie quarterback Javier Sustaita all night.
• Sustaita passed for 314 yards and five touchdowns, as classmate Cody Nyp raked in three of those scores and 154 yards. Nyp's big plays were the story for the Black Knights on Friday night, with touchdowns of 46, 29 and 62 yards, respectively.
• Firstie running back Marquis Morris had a career-highlighting game, rushing for 131 yards, 93 of which came in the first half. Morris did so on 21 carries, matching his season-high, for a 6.2 yards per rush average.
• Army's 4-0 mark to start the season is its first since 2009 and just third time since 2000.
• The Black Knights will return to the road next Friday night when they travel to league foe Penn. Kickoff in Philadelphia, Pa., is set for 7 p.m. at Franklin Field.
Rifle (0-1, 0-1 GARC)
• Army fell to three-time Great America Rifle Conference defending champion West Virginia in the season opener last Sunday at Tronsrue Marksmanship Center.
• The Mountaineers, picked third in the preseason Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association poll, swept both the smallbore and air rifle disciplines to defeat the No. 5 Black Knights, 4709-4631.
• Firstie Chris Malachosky set a career mark in air rifle with a 588, breaking his former score of 583 set last year. Junior Michael Matthews fired Army's highest mark in smallbore (588), which is just one off his career high.
• The Black Knights will look to rebound on Monday, Oct.15, when they host GARC rival Memphis.
Men's Soccer (2-7-1, 0-2-1 Patriot League)
• Army dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to Patriot League rival American on Saturday night.
• Firstie forward Trent Brown and sophomore midfielder Parker Dixon scored goals for the Black Knights.
• Yearling goalkeeper Winston Boldt tied his career high with eight saves in the contest.
• Army returns to the pitch on Tuesday versus Adelphi. The Black Knights' next Patriot League match will be played on Saturday, when they host Colgate at 7:30 pm.
Women's Soccer (5-9, 0-3 Patriot League)
• Army went 0-2-0 in Patriot League action last week in closing out a three-game road slate.
• Joey Molacek tied her career high with two goals in Army's 3-2 loss at Colgate.
• Army fell to Bucknell on Sunday, 2-0.
• Molacek took over as Army's scoring leader with six goals and two assists for 14 points.
• Army makes its home league debut this Sunday hosting Lehigh.
Men's Swimming & Diving (2-0, 0-0 Patriot League)
• The Black Knights opened their season by sweeping Boston College and Rowan last Friday night.
• Army won seven of the first 11 events in the pool before swimming exhibition over the final three races. Plebe Chris Szekely posted a pair of individual victories in the middle-distance freestyle events to pace the Black Knights in the pool, and firstie Chris Nguyen swept both diving events to lead the Army men off the boards.
• Yearling distance specialist Casey Woudenberg performed well in this evening's season opener as well, winning the 1000-yard freestyle (9:49.82) and placing second in the 500 free (4:42.81).
• Yearling Will Viana, who was named Patriot League Rookie of the Year last season, won the 200-yard backstroke (1:54.75) and registered a second-place showing in the 200 free (1:43.56). Viana also outdistanced the field in the 200-yard individual medley (1:57.53), though the Black Knights were swimming exhibition.
• Plebe Zach Blankenbeker rounded out Army's list of individual winners on the night, taking gold in the 200-yard butterfly with a clocking of 1:53.42.
• Army returns to action on Friday, Oct. 19, at Massachusetts.
Women's Swimming & Diving (3-0, 0-0 Patriot League)
• Army opened its season by sweeping Boston College, Rowan and Vermont last Friday night.
• Plebe Nat Beale had a hand in three victories in the pool, and classmate Molly Mucciarone won a pair of individual events to help lead the Army women to their season-opening sweep.
• Beale began the night by teaming with plebe Jess Fabrizio, yearling Kristina Muller and cow Grace Hamilton to win the 200-yard medley relay in a clocking of 1:49.87. She went on to capture individual victories in the 100 back (59.23) and 200 back (2:05.71). Her time in the 100 back ranks 10th all-time at Army, while her clocking in the 200 back lists fourth on the Black Knights' career list. The Black Knights swam exhibition over the final two events, but Beale outdistanced the field in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:10.12.
• Mucciarone, meanwhile, displayed her versatility by taking gold in the 50 free (23.91) and 100 fly (58.34). Her time in the 50 free ranks fifth all-time, while her clocking in the 100 fly lists eighth on the Academy's all-time chart. The first-year swimmer also added a second-place finish in the 100 free (53.63).
• Yearling Kristen Barta and plebe Shannon Rogers led the Army women in the middle-distance events. Barta won the 500 free (5:09.63) and placed runner-up in the 200 free (1:56.35), while Rogers won the 200 fly (2:10.74), finished second in the 500 free (5:10.86) and took third in the 200 free (1:57.48).
• Cow Danielle Ullman paced the Black Knights in the diving events, winning the one-meter event (212.45) and finishing third off the three-meter board (216.10).
• Army returns to action on Friday, Oct. 19, at Massachusetts.
Men's Tennis
• Army men's tennis played a total of 48 matches this weekend as the Black Knights split between the Yale Shootout in New Haven, Conn., and the Dartmouth Shootout in Hanover, N.H.
• At Dartmouth, Army faced opponents from four different schools in a typical flighted-bracket style tournament, while the Yale matches were played against the host Bulldogs and fellow visitor St. Bonaventure in a non-structured format. Plebe David Proctor and firstie Rashad Shelton both collected main-draw wins at Dartmouth, while cow Henry Jang-Milsten earned the Black Knights' lone victory against an opponent from Yale.
• Army will have two weeks to decide which of its top players will compete at the ITA Regional Championships. Hosted by Yale, the Regionals are slated for Oct. 18-21.
Women's Tennis
• The Army women's tennis team closed out a busy weekend during which players competed in the annual Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Invitational in Flushing, N.Y., and the Hampton Roads Invitational in Newport News, Va. Several players enjoyed success in both events, as the team split to partake in both tournaments.
• Competing against some of the toughest players on the east coast, Army produced nine singles wins and a saw all three of its doubles teams advance to the round of 16 at the National Tennis Center Invite.
• A bevy of rookies took the stage at the prestigious National Tennis Center with several enjoying success. Advancing the furthest of any Army player at the event, freshman Haley O'Connor advanced to the Flight I singles quarterfinals.
• Junior Jamila Paul and rookie Gabriella Spindler both recorded a pair of wins in their respective flights before elimination.
• Three Army tandems advanced to the round of 16 of three different doubles draws, but all three were sent home in that round.
• A couple states away, the rest of the Black Knights joined players from 12 other schools in the Hampton Roads Invitational. The event began outdoors at Huntington Park, but moved indoors as the weekend weather progressed. Army totaled eight singles wins and recorded three doubles victories.
• Freshman Kelly Daniel and senior Holly Pappafotis took third place in the Flight B doubles bracket at the Hampton Roads Invite. Seniors Kari Pope and co-captain Larraine Saavedra reached the finals of the Flight C singles draw. The pair opted not to play out the championship match.
• The Black Knights will take the upcoming weekend off from competition. Those qualifying for the ITA Regionals will compete Oct. 19-22 as Army hosts the regional event at West Point, N.Y.
Volleyball (12-6, 4-1 Patriot League)
• Army rolled in a 3-0 win over Holy Cross on Saturday night at Gillis Field House. The victory gave the 4-1 Black Knights sole possession of second place in the Patriot League standings, trailing Colgate by a game (5-0).
• Firstie co-captain Ariana Mankus led all players in kills (13), digs (12) and hitting (.667) in the Black Knights' win en route to Molten Patriot League Player of the Week honors on Monday. The Lisle, Ill., committed just one error on 18 swings and averaged 4.33 kills and 4.00 digs per set. She tallied three block assists and three service aces as well. This marks Mankus' second weekly honor of the season, with both coming in the last three weeks.
• Mankus' standout all-around performance highlighted a total team effort for Army, which saw six different additional players record at least three kills. Cow outside hitter Margaux Jarka and plebe middle blocker Zoe Kreitenberg registered eight and seven kills, respectively. Kreitenberg earned Patriot League Honorable Mention honors on Monday.
• The Black Knights hit for a season-best .407 percentage against Holy Cross. The team's 25-6 second-set win marked the fewest points yielded in a set this season.
• The Holy Cross contest marked the third match of an eight-match homestand.
• Cow middle Megan Forbes started the Holy Cross match, while plebe middle Kaili Crow and cow Christiana Fairfield made their collegiate debuts. Fifteen different Black Knights earned court time against the Crusaders.
• Army has a busy weekend coming up, hosting Lehigh and Lafayette on Friday and Saturday nights, respectively. The Black Knights welcome Lehigh to town for a 7 p.m. match. The team will celebrate Dig Pink, a national initiative to raise breast cancer awareness, against the Mountain Hawks. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the match. Army faces Lafayette on Saturday at 7:30 and will recognize Alumni Weekend at the event.
• Fans are encouraged to follow @Army_Volleyball on Twitter to stay up-do-date on all of the action.
Follow the Black Knights on Twitter
@Army_Football, @Army_Volleyball, @Army_Lacrosse, @WestPoint_Golf, @Army_Baseball, @Army_Wrestling, @Army_WTennis, @WestPointWBB, @ArmyMensTennis, @ArmyTFXC, @ArmySprintFB, @ArmyHockey, @ArmySwimandDive, @WestPointSoccer
