Army West Point Athletics
This Week In Army Athletics
April 23, 2014 | General
April 23, 2014
Dear Friends,
It’s championship season here at West Point with three of our teams gearing up for the Patriot League postseason and other teams fighting for conference seeding.
LACROSSE HEADS TO BALTIMORE AS NO. 2 SEED
The Black Knights ended the Patriot League regular season with an 8-7 win at Colgate. Army will be the No. 2 seed and earned a bye into the Patriot League semifinals Friday at No. 1 Loyola. The Black Knights will play No. 3 Lehigh. Face-off is set for 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. and will also be shown live on CBSSN.
ALBERICI NAMED COACH OF THE YEAR
The Patriot League announced its major awards on Monday, and Joe Alberici was honored as the 2014 William Lawson Coach of the Year. It is the second time in his career that he claimed the Patriot League’s coaching award. Attackman John Glesener and faceoff specialist Alex Daly were named first-team All-Patriot League. Goalkeeper Sam Somers and close defenseman Pat Hart were second-team selections.
MEN’S TENNIS SET FOR CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
The Black Knights scored a win at Boston University in the regular-season finale to finish the Patriot League schedule at 7-0. Army is the No. 1 seed in this weekend’s conference tournament which will be played at West Point. The Black Knights will play Friday against the winner of Thursday’s match between No. 8 Lafayette and No. 9 Holy Cross. Head coach Jim Poling has guided the team to the Patriot League championship match in 10 of his previous 11 seasons.
WEST POINT GOLF COURSE WELCOMES PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
The golf team will play host to the Patriot League Championship beginning Saturday morning. The first 36 holes will be contested Saturday with the final 18 holes taking place Sunday. Brian Watts’s squad is the favorite entering the event, garnering seven of 16 first-place votes and finishing one point ahead of Loyola in the pre-tournament poll of coaches and sports information directors.
ARMY-NAVY RIVALRY MOVES TO THE DIAMOND
The baseball team won all five games last week, including a four-game sweep of Holy Cross. Brock Davidson threw a three-hit shutout in the finale to earn the Patriot League Pitcher of the Week award, while Alex Robinett tossed a seven-hit blanking on Saturday to join Davidson as the Army Athletic Association Co-Athletes of the Week. Alex Jensen was 6-for-13 with a home run and four runs batted in against the Crusaders to capture the league’s Player of the Week certificate. The four wins put the Black Knights just one game behind first-place Bucknell in the loss column. The team concludes its Patriot League schedule with a four-game weekend series at Navy. The team can secure the No. 2 seed in the upcoming conference tournament with two wins over the Mids.
WILSON & MINTAO EARN ALL-MET HONORS
Yearlings Kyle Wilson and Kelsey Minato earned another in a long list of postseason awards when the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association announced that Kelsey was named to the All-Met Division I First Team and Kyle was a second-team selection. Kelsey was the Patriot League Player of the Year after setting Army season records in points (725), free throws (207) and three-pointers (82). Kyle averaged a league-best 18.4 points per game overall and 18.2 points per game in conference play. The men’s program has now placed a player on an All-Met team in each of the last three seasons, a program first since a five-year run from 1983-87. Kelsey is just the fifth women’s player to earn multiple All-Met accolades.
SPRING FOOTBALL CONCLUDES WITH GOLD VICTORY
The Gold team scored a 20-14 win over the Black squad in the annual Black & Gold Game played at Michie Stadium Saturday. The winning team consisted of the first-team defense and second-team offense, while the other side was the first-team offense and second-team defense. Matt Kaufmann led the Gold squad with 206 passing yards and a touchdown. Matt Giachinta ran for 68 yards and a score. Larry Dixon led the Black team with 52 rushing yards and a pair of scores.
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.
Baseball (27-12, 11-4 Patriot League)
- Army went 5-0 on the week, scoring a 4-2 win at Hartford on Wednesday and sweeping a four-game Patriot League series at Holy Cross over the weekend.
- The Black Knights did not use a relief pitcher against the Crusaders. Alex Robinett and Brock Davidson threw nine-inning, complete-game shutouts, while Nick Dignacco and Gunnar Carroll earned complete-game wins in the seven-inning contests.
- Davidson allowed just three hits, retiring the side in order in six innings to earn the Patriot League Pitcher of the Week honor.
- Robinett scattered seven hits in his shutout. He joined Davidson as Army Athletic Association Co-Athlete of the Week.
- Alex Jensen hit .375 for the week, including a 6-for-13 showing against Holy Cross to earn the Patriot League Player of the Week award. He hit his team-leading third home run and drove in four versus the Crusaders.
- Army enters next weekend’s series at Navy just one game back in the loss column behind first-place Bucknell. Army’s magic number to ensure the No. 2 seed over the Mids and Lehigh is two versus each team.
- The Black Knights step out of conference play on Wednesday in the ninth annual WRWD Hudson Valley Baseball Classic. Army will face Marist at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, N.Y.
Golf
- Army finished 10th at the Rutherford Intercollegiate hosted by Penn State.
- Plebe Peter Kim was the Black Knights’ highest individual finisher, tying for sixth place.
- Plebe Justin Pagila fired the lowest round of his career and the Black Knights’ lowest round of the season, carding a 66 over the first 18 holes.
- The Black Knights will host the Patriot League Championship this weekend at the West Point Golf Course. The first two rounds will be played Saturday with the final 18 holes taking place Sunday.
- Army enters the event as the favorite to capture the championship. The Black Knights received seven of the 16 first-place votes and finished one point ahead of second-place Loyola.
Lacrosse (9-3, 7-1 Patriot League)
- The Black Knights continued to climb in the national polls, moving to No. 14 in the Warrior Media Poll and No. 15 in the USILA Coaches Poll. Army closed the Patriot League regular season with an 8-7 win at Colgate.
- The Black Knights clinched the No. 2 seed and a bye into Friday’s Patriot League semifinals against No. 3 Lehigh.
- John Glesener scored three goals to lead the Army offense versus the Raiders.
- Cole Johnson was the Black Knights’ other multiple goal scorer, finding the back of the net twice. Connor Cook, Alex Carros and Luke Poulos each scored single tallies.
- Carros, Jimbo D’Aprile, Alex Daly and Will Mazzone were credited with assists.
- Bobby Sincero made eight saves in goal.
- The Patriot League announced its 2014 major awards and all-league teams Monday. Joe Alberici was named the Patriot League William Lawson Coach of the Year honor for the second time in his career.
- Glesener and face-off specialist Alex Daly were first-team All-Patriot League selections.
- Goalkeeper Sam Somers and close defenseman Pat Hart were second-team choices.
Softball (19-22, 7-5 Patriot League)
- Army took 2 of 3 games from Lafayette over the weekend to move into a two-way tie for fourth place in the standings with Bucknell.
- The Black Knights have two weekends of league play remaining visiting Holy Cross (fifth place) this weekend and hosting preseason favorite Lehigh (first place) in the regular-season finale.
- In Army’s 9-0, five-inning victory in the series opener with Lafayette, firstie April Ortenzo went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI, including a solo blast to open the scoring in the first inning.
Men’s Tennis (17-5, 7-0 Patriot League)
- The Black Knights finished their Patriot League slate undefeated with a 5-2 victory at Boston University Saturday afternoon. Army had its eight match winning streak ended on Thursday with a home loss to NJIT.
- Army is the No. 1 seed in this weekend’s Patriot League Tournament which will be played at West Point. The Black Knights will play the winner of Thursday’s match between No. 8 Lafayette and No. 9 Holy Cross.
- Army secured the doubles point versus the Terriers after winning two of the three doubles matches. Asika Isoh and Alex Van Velzer (No. 2), and Austin McCasin and Kyle Barnes (No. 3) won by counts of 8-1 and 8-7, respectively.
- Isoh posted a 6-3, 7-5 victory at the No. 1 singles position, and Sam Lampman came away with a 6-3, 6-4 win in the second slot. Van Velzer nearly swept Boston University's Mario Sandoval at No. 4, winning 6-1, 6-0, while Barnes battled back from a first-set loss to win 3-6, 7-3, 11-9 in the fifth position.
Women’s Tennis (23-4, 7-1 Patriot League)
- The Black Knights, the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, made a run to the Patriot League championship match before bowing to top-seeded Boston University. Army scored 4-0 wins against No. 7 Colgate and No. 3 Navy.
- Army’s loss to the Terriers snapped the program’s nine-year reign as Patriot League champion.
- The Black Knights claimed the doubles point when Della Taylor teamed with Elle Taylor for a victory at No. 1, and Jamila Paul coupled with Carolyn Pitman for a win at No. 2.
- Both pairings went a perfect 3-0 in Patriot League Tournament play.
Track & Field
- Jennifer Comfort hit the tape first in the 1,500-meter run to lead the Army track & field contingent at the Larry Ellis Invitational. Comfort won the race in a time of 4:30.81, and ECAC-qualifying standard that moved her third on all-time performers list.
- Comfort's performance was one 13 that bettered ECAC or IC4A qualifying marks. Six Army athletes bettered those standards for the first time this season.
- Army also had competitors particpate at the Mt. Sac Relays, one of the top meets in the nation, in Walnut, Calif. Lindsay Gabow had a strong showing in the 10,000-meter run, crossing the line in 35:34.85, besting the ECAC qualifying mark and placing her fourth on Army's all-time top 10 performers list. It is the second-fastest time in the Patriot League this season.
- On the men’s side, Kendall Ward moved into the seventh position on Army’s all-time performers list with a 10,000-meter time of 30:12.02 in California.
- Plebe Jose Santana continued his strong rookie season, winning the 400-meter dash in a season-best time of 48.03. Santana has now eclipsed the IC4A standard in the 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter dashes. Patrick Taylor and Matt Green also beat the IC4A mark in the 400 with times of 48.46 and 48.48, respectively. It was Green's first such effort, while Taylor has eclipsed the standard twice this season. Santana and Taylor were part of the 4x100-meter relay team that clocked their fourth IC4A qualifying time of 41.79. Michael Hoffman and Kyle Wolffe ran the second and fourth legs, respectively.
- Clyde Wilson was one of the six cadets to reach qualifying marks for the first time. Wilson clocked a 1:49.63 in the 800-meter run, jumping into eighth place on Army's all-time performers chart. Joining Wilson were Nathan Fisher in the 1,500-meter run (3:50.21) and Robert Barger in the 5,000-meter run (14:29.77).
