Army West Point Athletics
This Week In Army Athletics
October 03, 2013 | General
Oct. 3, 2013
Dear Friends,
It has certainly been a trying start to the week as we try to navigate these unique and challenging circumstances caused by the government shutdown. Please know that we are doing everything we can to gain more clarity on the situation and get our teams back on the fields of friendly strife as soon as possible. We will be sure to post any and all changes to our competition schedule at goARMYsports.com and our various social media outlets.
That being said, it is still important to celebrate our teams’ success this past week. We earned some key victories, including a win over Navy in the first competition of the 2013-14 season.
The golf team traveled to Annapolis for its annual Star Match against the Mids. Brian Watts’s squad came away with a 7.5-3.5 victory in the Ryder Cup –style event. The team went unbeaten in Saturday’s four-ball matches, taking three victories and halving one contest. Army won four of the seven individual matches on Sunday to claim their second straight star, a first for the program since 2004-05. Yearling Marcus Plunkett shared Army Athletic Association Athlete of the Week honors for his role in the win. Marcus teamed with Harrison Florence for a 3 and 1 win on Saturday before taking a 3 and 2 victory in his individual matchup.
Football’s Terry Baggett was the other recipient of this week’s AAA Athlete of the Week honor. Terry rushed for a career-high 143 yards and two touchdowns to lead the team to a 35-16 win over Louisiana Tech at the Cotton Bowl. The team rushed for a season-high 414 yards and five touchdowns, while the defense limited LA Tech to just 57 yards on the ground and sacked the quarterback four times.
The sprint football team also earned a big win, defeating Franklin Pierce, 41-12. The win was the team’s 10th straight dating back to last season’s undefeated showing. Quarterback James Wartski threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns as the team racked up 453 yards of offense.
The men’s soccer team continued its hot start, opening Patriot League play with a 2-0 win at Bucknell, a team ranked one spot ahead of Army in the NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Region poll. It was the team’s seventh shutout in eight games, all by cow goalkeeper Winston Boldt. Yearling Cameron Niccum and plebe Christian Ollen each scored their first two career goals.
We also had some special guests last week. The Pittsburgh Penguins came to West Point for three days as they wrapped up their training camps. In addition to holding practices and greeting fans, the team took advantage of the Academy’s insight into team and leadership building by participating in exercises such as a combat simulation in Washington Hall.
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/boosters/army-a-club.html, call (845)938-2322, or email armyaclub@usma.edu.
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 teams had the week off. The next scheduled race is the Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pa., on Saturday, Oct. 5
Football (2-3)
- Army picked up its second win of the season, taking out Louisiana Tech, 35-16, at Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas. It was the Black Knights’ first trip to the storied facility since 1967, a win over SMU.
- The Army offense posted season highs with 35 points and 414 rushing yards.
- Terry Baggett posted his second straight 100-yard effort with a career-best 143 yards and two touchdowns. Baggett took over Army’s rushing lead with 401 yards for the season. He is averaging 8.2 yards per carry in his five games.
- Trenton Turrentine also posted career highs with 12 carries for 81yards.
- Army attempted only three passes, completing one for 16 yards.
- Colin Linkul, who has been utilized mainly on special teams this season, recorded back-to-back sacks during a key third-quarter drive that forced the Bulldogs to punt. On the ensuing possession, Army’s offense was able to take more than seven minutes off the clock and score the game’s final touchdown.
- Yearling Shaquille Tolbert recorded his first career interception, snagging a LA Tech pass at the goal line on the game’s final play.
- Tolbert and Julian Holloway each recorded a career-high nine tackles.
- The team is scheduled to play at Boston College on Oct. 5. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m., and the game is scheduled to be streamed live by ESPN3.
Golf
- Army opened the 2013-14 Army-Navy series with a 7.5-3.5 victory in Annapolis. It is the first time the Black Knights have won back-to-back Star Matches since the 2004 and 2005 seasons.
- The Black Knights went unbeaten in Saturday’s four-ball matches, claiming a 3.5-0.5 lead after the first day’s play.
- In Sunday’s individual matches, four of the seven Black Knights that competed claimed victories.
- Eric Peng, Peter Kim, Marcus Plunkett and Robby Hill all earned points on Sunday. Plunkett’s 3 and 2 victory clinched the Star.
- Plunkett has earned all four possible points in his two Army-Navy matches. He is 2-0 in four-ball and 2-0 in individual match ups.
- The Black Knights are scheduled to host the Stars & Stripes Invitational beginning Sunday at the West Point Golf Course. Following the 36-hole first day, the final round is scheduled for Monday.
Men’s Soccer (6-1-1, 1-0 Patriot League)
- The Black Knights opened Patriot League play with a 2-0 win at Bucknell. Entering the game, Army was ranked No. 8 in the NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Region, while the Bison occupied the No. 7 spot. The win moved the Black Knights up one spot in the poll.
- Yearling back Cameron Niccum and plebe midfielder Christian Ollen each scored their first career goals, while yearling midfielder Justin Kim added an assist.
- Yearling goalkeeper Winston Boldt made five saves to notch his seventh clean sheet of the season, the most by a Black Knight goalie since Jeremy Pamplin had seven in 1996.
- After Saturday’s blanking, Army stands tied for first in the nation in shutouts.
- Tuesday’s game against LIU-Brooklyn was cancelled. The next event on the schedule is Saturday versus Boston University at Clinton Field.
Women’s Soccer (5-5-1, 1-1 Patriot League)
- The Black Knights suffered their first Patriot League loss of the season, a 1-0 defeat to preseason favorite Boston University in their conference home debut. It was the second meeting between the teams, but first in the Patriot League.
- Last Friday, firstie Kimberly An was tabbed the Rockin' Refuel® Performance of the Week by the Patriot League after lifting Army to 2-1 overtime win over Bucknell (Sept. 21) in its league opener.
- Wednesday’s Patriot League game against Colgate was cancelled. The next scheduled contest is at Loyola on Saturday, Oct. 5.
Sprint Football (3-0, 3-0 CSFL)
- Army posted 453 yards of total offense during its 41-12 victory over Franklin Pierce in Collegiate Sprint Football League action on Saturday. It was Army’s 10th straight victory dating back to last season.
- Black Knights’ quarterback James Wartski tossed three touchdowns for the third straight week while completing 13 passes for 252 yards.
- Zachary Woods had five catches for 51 yards and hauled in a career-best three touchdowns.
- Plebe running back Marqus Burrell reached the 100-yard rushing plateau for the first time in his career, finishing with 103 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown.
- Yearling Jesse Shackelford ran for 44 yards and scored his first touchdown of the season, and classmate Warren Kay knocked in two field goals.
- Firstie linebacker Jake Steckler led the defense with nine tackles and also forced fumble and recovered a fumble.
- Firstie John Egan had a pair of interceptions, while Kalaukoa Labonta came away with one.
Men’s Tennis
- Army men’s tennis players missed the cut to advance at the ITA Men’s All-American Championships. All four Black Knights were eliminated in the Prequalifying Draw.
- Yearling Caison Best fell to Chris Helliar of Alabama Birmingham in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, while plebe Sam Lampman’s stay ended in similar fashion to Purdue’s Mark Kovacs, 6-3, 6-1.
- Yearling Harrison McCormick battled hard in his first set against Baylor’s Vincent Schneider, before Schneider clinched the match in the second set for a 7-6(4), 6-2 defeat of the Black Knight.
- Firstie Asika Isoh rounded out the results with a 6-1, 7-5 loss to Leo Gomez-Islinger of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
- The Prequalifying Draw featured 256 singles players battling for 16 spots in the main draw.
- The men’s next scheduled event is the West Point Fall Quad, which is slated for Oct. 5-6.
Women’s Tennis
- Army women’s tennis team hosted its first tournament over the weekend. The three-day West Point Invitational included 13 teams who were divided into four singles brackets and two doubles brackets. The Black Knights picked up multiple wins over the three-day span in both singles and doubles play.
- Yearling Kelly Daniels made it to the championship round Sunday morning. Daniels finished runner-up at Flight D after falling to Stony Brook’s Lisa Seyton (6-1, 6-1).
- The Taylor sisters, Elle and Della, joined Daniels in the runners-up circle making it to the final round in the Flight A doubles main draw. The tandem made it to the final match before falling to Sophie Dzulynsky and Jackie Raynor of Quinnipiac, 8-4.
- In the consolation round of singles Flight D, plebeTaler Brazell was captured the championship title after posting four wins in the bracket throughout the weekend. It is the second straight week that Brazell was crowned a single champion after winning the Flight D drawbacks at last weekend’s invitational at Quinnipiac.
- Army is next scheduled to compete in a pair of tournaments the weekend of Oct. 4-6. The team is scheduled to participate in both the Hampton Roads Invitational hosted by Old Dominion and the Lehigh Invitational.
Volleyball (5-8, 2-1 Patriot League)
- The Army women’s volleyball team traveled to Hamilton, N.Y. last weekend to compete against defending Patriot League Champion, Colgate. The Raiders took the first two sets (25-22, 25-15) before the Black Knights came back to capture the third, 25-18. The Raiders came back to steal the final set of the match, 25-13, by jumping out to an early lead.
- Army is slated to return to action next weekend. The schedule includes matches at Loyola on Friday, Oct. 4, and American on Saturday, Oct. 5.
