This Week In Army Athletics

April 9, 2014

Dear Friends,

It was a great week to be a Black Knight! We had two teams earn hard-fought wins over Navy and extended winning streaks in several other sports.

WOMEN’S TRACK WINS THRILLER VERSUS MIDS
The women’s track & field team pulled out a 103.5-99.5 win against the Mids on Saturday at Shea Stadium. The meet came down to the final event, and Samantha Reid’s anchor leg in the 4x400-meter relay sealed the team’s first victory against Navy since 2008. The women won 10 events, including two by Jennifer Comfort (800-meter run, 1,500-meter run). Samantha was named the Army Athletic Association Co-Athlete of the Week after winning the 100-meter dash, finishing second in the 200-meter dash and her performance in the relay.

WOMEN’S TENNIS STAYS PERFECT IN ARMY-NAVY RIVALRY
The women’s tennis team earned a 4-3 victory in Annapolis for their fifth straight Star Match victory. Paul Peck’s team remained undefeated against Navy, improving to 5-0 all-time. Elle Taylor clinched the  match with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-1) win at fifth singles. Elle was named the AAA Co-Athlete of the Week for her performance. The team also defeated Loyola to run its winning streak to four matches and reach the 20-win mark for the seventh straight season.

BASEBALL GOES UNBEATEN
The baseball team won all five of its games last week, defeating Fairleigh Dickinson in a non-conference mid-week game before sweeping its four-game weekend set from Patriot League rival Lafayette.  Nick Dignacco and Kris Lindner were named the Patriot League Pitcher of the Week and Rookie of the Week, respectively. Dignacco threw a seven-inning complete-game in the team’s 2-1 series-opening win. He allowed just one unearned run and one hit while striking out a career-high nine batters. Lindner hit .438 (7-for-16) with a home run, six runs scored and four RBI.

SOFTBALL ON A ROLL
The softball team has reeled off five straight wins, sweeping Colgate in a three-game series and taking a double-header from St. Peter’s.  The team also claimed two Patriot League weekly awards. Caroline Smith was named the Pitcher of the Week, while Alee Rashenskas earned the Rookie of the Week honor. Caroline allowed only one unearned run while earning all three victories against the Raiders. She threw a two-hit shutout in the opener and limited Colgate to a .162 average during the series.  Alee hit .500 (5-for-10) for the series, driving in two runs and scoring three more.

NINE GYMNASTS QUALIFY FOR NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
The gymnastics team will send its largest contingent since 2012 to the NCAA Championships hosted by Michigan. Nine Black Knights will compete as individuals on April 10 in the qualifying round. Six of the nine are underclassmen, however firstie Kip Webber is making his fourth straight appearance. Joining Webber, who will compete in the floor exercise and vault, are cows Connor Venrick (pommel horse) and Jeremy Cahill (vault and high bar), yearlings Jesse Glenn (all-around) and Chris Short (parallel bars), and plebes Sam Kusnitz (floor exercise, vault and high bar), Jacob Davies (parallel bars), Joe Pritts (floor exercise) and Leo Genders (high bar). Cahill is making his second NCAA appearance after qualifying on the high bar in 2012.

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 (20-9, 5-2 Patriot League)

The Black Knights won all five games last week, defeating Fairleigh Dickinson, 7-3, and sweeping a four-game series from Patriot League rival Lafayette.
Pitcher Nick Dignacco and second baseman Kris Lindner led the charge, earning the Patriot League Pitcher and Rookie of the Week awards, respectively.
Dignacco opened the Lafayette series by earning the win in Army's 2-1 victory. Dignacco threw all seven innings, allowing just one unearned run and one hit. He struck out a career-high nine batters without issuing a walk. He faced just three batters over the minimum and did not allow a Leopard past second base.
For the season, Dignacco is third in the Patriot League with a 1.64 ERA. He has not allowed an earned run during 14 innings of work during conference play.
Lindner hit .438 (7-for-16) with a home run, four runs batted in and six runs scored in the Black Knights' 5-0 week. In Army's non-conference win over Fairleigh Dickinson, Lindner was 1-for-3 with two RBI. In the four-game sweep of the Leopards, the Morehead City, N.C., native was 6-for-13 with at least one hit in each game. He hit a solo home run to open the scoring in Army's 2-1 win to open the series and went 4-for-8 in Sunday's doubleheader sweep. In the field, he did not commit an error during the five games.
After a mid-week road game at Fordham, the Black Knights return home to face Bucknell. Saturday’s doubleheader begins at noon with Sunday’s action set for a 1 p.m. start.

Golf

The Army golf team completed its second tournament in a five-day span with a fifth-place finish at the Met Intercollegiate hosted by Yale. The first round of the 36-hole event was contested at the Century Country Club, while the afternoon round took place at Old Oaks Country Club.
Army was led by plebe Justin Pagila who tied for 10th place with a 76-78--154. Georgia's Lee McCoy took medalist honors with a 7-under par 135. His first-round 64 and second-round 71 were the two lowest scores of the day.
Harrison Florence tied for 22nd place, carding an 84-75--159, while Marcus Plunkett tied for 29th with an 82-79--161. Peter Kim (T34th, 83-79-162) and Eric Peng (T37th, 82-82--164) rounded out Army's fivesome.
Army is idle until April 20-21 when it travels to State College, Pa., for the Rutherford Intercollegiate. That event is the Black Knights' final tune up for the Patriot League Championship which will be held at the West Point Golf Course April 26-27.

Gymnastics (4-4)

Nine members of Army's gymnastic team had their tickets punched for the NCAA Qualifying Meet being hosted by the University of Michigan (April 10) at the Crisler Center. Six of the Black Knights' qualifiers are underclassmen with senior Kip Webber the veteran among the group as he is making his fourth appearance.
Army's contingent is its largest since nine met the standard in 2012. Among the upperclassmen joining Webber (floor exercise and vault) are cows Connor Venrick (pommel horse) and Jeremy Cahill (vault and high bar). Leading the way for the underclassmen are yearlings Jesse Glenn (all-around) and Chris Short (parallel bars) along with plebes Sam Kusnitz (floor exercise, vault and high bar), Jacob Davies (parallel bars), Joe Pritts (floor exercise) and Leo Genders (high bar). Cahill qualified for the NCAAs in 2012 on high bar.

Lacrosse (7-3, 5-1 Patriot League)

The Black Knights won their third straight game, defeating Boston University, 8-7, last Saturday. The win clinched Army’ spot in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament.
Army led 8-4, but had to withstand a late BU rally.
John Glesener scored a team-high two goals. He also added two assists for a game-high four points.
Jimbo D’Aprile registered a career-high five ground balls and caused four turnovers.
Sam Somers made nine saves in goal.
Army welcomes service-academy rival Navy to Michie Stadium next Saturday, April 12. The teams clash for the 93rd time at 2 p.m. in a game that will air live on CBS Sports Network. Dave Ryan (play-by-play) and Evan Washburn (color analyst) have the call.
Fans can listen to the Knight Vision broadcast of next Saturday’s game via www.goARMYsports.com or follow along with GameTracker (live statistics). Links for both platforms can be found on the lacrosse schedule page of www.goARMYsports.com. The game can also be heard live on the radio via 1340 WALL-AM, 1390 WEOK-AM (Hudson Valley) and 92.5 WBLR-FM (Watertown, N.Y.). Periodic scoring updates will be posted to @Army_Lacrosse on Twitter.

Softball (17-17, 5-4 Patriot League)

Army has won its last five games, including a three-game sweep of league rival Colgate, to reach the .500 mark for the season. The Black Knights swept a doubleheader from St. Peter’s on Tuesday night.
Plebe Caroline Smith and Alee Rashenskas were recognized with Patriot League weekly awards on Monday.
Smith was tabbed the Pitcher of the Week, while Rashenskas earned Rookie of the Week honors for the fourth time this season. Yearling Alyssa Strobehn earned honorable mention.
Smith, who becomes the second Army player this season to earn conference pitcher of the week honors, was touched for just one run (unearned) going the distance recording wins in all three games that included a pair of shutouts.
The right-hander threw a nifty two-hitter in a 9-0 (6) shutout in the series opener and yielded just four hits in a 5-0 blanking in the final game of the series. Sandwiched in between was a 5-1 victory en route to holding Colgate to a .162 batting average.
The native of Chino Hills, Calif., also helped her own cause batting .417 with two RBI (to include a home run) in the series. Smith ripped a solo home run in the sixth inning of the opener of a doubleheader and singled home the first run in the nightcap.
Smith shows a 1.35 ERA and 5-3 mark in conference games along with batting .364 (122-for-33) with four runs batted in and three runs scored.
Rashenskas reached base in all three games against Colgate batting .500 (5-for-10) with a pair of runs batted in and three runs scored en route to picking up her second straight weekly rookie honor. Two of her five hits went for extra bases compiling a slugging percentage of .800 along with showing a .583 on-base percentage.
The freshman from St. Anne, Ill., ripped her first career triple in the series opener, then drove in a run in the second and third game, the last an RBI double.
Strobehn batted .400 (four-for-10) in the series with a home run and five RBI. She knocked in three runs and scored herself in Army's 9-0 series opening win, and closed out the series driving in a pair of runs and scored a run in a 5-0 decision.
Army steps out of league play this weekend when it travels to Hudson Valley rival Marist for  Saturday doubleheader.

Men’s Tennis (15-4, 5-0 Patriot League)

Army ran its winning streak to seven matches with a 6-1 win at Lehigh on Saturday and a 7-0 blanking of Loyola on Sunday. The Black Knights are have lost just two points during their winning streak.
Harrison McCormick, Grant Riechmann, Asika Isoh and Alex Van Velzer all scored two victories against the Mountain Hawks. McCormick and Riechmann teamed up at first doubles, while Isoh and Van Velzer were victorious at No. 2 doubles.
Isoh, Reichmann, McCormick and Van Velzer earned singles points at No. 1, No. 3, No. 5 and No. 6, respectively.
McCormick and Riechmann pulled off the same feat against Loyola on Sunday. Joining the duo with a pair of wins were Austin McCasin, Kyle Barnes, Caison Best and Ben Davies.
McCasin and Barnes earned wins at No. 2 doubles and No. 4 and No. 5 singles, respectively.
Best and Davies were winners at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles, respectively.
The Black Knights return to the court on Saturday, April 12 when they head to Navy for the annual "Star" Match. The service academy rivals will meet at 1 p.m.

Women’s Tennis (20-2, 6-0 Patriot League)

The Black Knights remained undefeated in Patriot League play with a 4-3 win at arch-rival Navy and a 7-0 victory at Loyola.
Saturday’s win marked the program’s fifth straight Star Match victory.
Elle Taylor clinched the match with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-1) win at No. 5 singles.
Taylor also teamed with her sister, Della, to earn a win at No. 1 doubles.
Carolyn Pitman also won twice versus the Mids. She teamed with Jamila Paul to clinch the doubles point and scored a win at No. 2 singles.
Army reached the 20-win mark for the seventh straight season with its win over the Greyhounds.
Paul, Pitman, Elle Taylor and Nancy Porter all earned two victories.
Army is back in action on Saturday, April 12 when it faces Bucknell in its regular-season home finale. The Patriot League match is scheduled for 11 a.m.

Track & Field

The men’s and women’s teams matched up with Navy in the annual Star Meet at Shea Stadium. The women scored a 103.5-99.5 victory, while the men lost to the Mids, 124-79.
The 4x400-meter relay team hit the tape first to clinch the women's first outdoor Star Meet win since 2008 and end Army's 11-meet losing streak, including indoor competition, versus Navy. Army entered the final event with a 98.5-96.5 lead, meaning a Navy win would have forced a tie. Despite trailing most of the race, Samantha Reid was able to overtake her competitor during the final leg and seal the Black Knights' victory.  Reid was joined by Katrina Donarski, Madaline Kenyon and Allie Sutherland on the victorious relay squad.
The anchor leg was part of Reid's strong overall performance that included a victory in the 100-meter dash (12.88) and a second-place finish in the 200-meter dash. Her 200-meter clocking of 25.80 was the fastest by an Army competitor this season.
Jennifer Comfort earned two of Army's 10 victories. Comfort won the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:33.89, the fourth-fastest in Army history, and crossed the line first in the 800-meter run in 2:14.69, the seventh-fastest on the Academy record list.
Army got off to a strong start in the field events with a 1-2 finish in the long jump by Crystal Christian and Cori Lemere, respectively. Their leaps of 5.32 meters and 5.30 meters were the two best by Black Knights this season. Amy Slaughter captured the hammer throw with a heave of 52.12 meters to qualify for the ECAC Championship and list fifth on Army's all-time list. Laurel Neposchlan also added her name to the top-10 list, clearing the bar at 3.55 meters (t-5th).
The field event success continued in the javelin. Justine Rennekamp won the event by surpassing the ECAC qualifying mark for the third time this season (41.57). Morgan Rennekamp finished second with a throw of 34.59 meters. Azeezat Olatunde rounded out the top field-event performances with a discus throw of 45.19 meters. The throw was not only a season best, but beat the ECAC standard and ranked sixth on Army's all-time ledger.
The Black Knights continued to perform at a high level as the competition shifted to the track. Donarski's winning time of 1:00.28 was a season-best, while Lindsey Danilack's second-place clocking of 1:08.42 in the 400-meter hurdles.
Lindsay Gabow and Madison Hill finished first and third, respectively, in the 5,000-meter run. Gabow's time of 17:20.13 was the seventh-fastest in Academy history, while Hill's 17:23.88 was ninth on the Army all-time list.
The Army men posted six season bests, surpassed IC4A qualifying marks eight times and added to program all-time top 10 lists four times.
Army had several strong performances in the field events. Pete Miller and Jacob Drozd placed second and third, respectively, in the javelin. Miller’s throw of 64.03 was the best by a Black Knight this season, qualified him for the IC4A Championship and ranked sixth on the Army all-time top 10. Drozd’s 61.55-meter  heave  marked the third time he broke the IC4A standard and went down as the 10th-best throw in school history.
Army also had season-best performances by Christopher Kittle in the long jump (6.77), Jordan Trompke in the hammer throw (50.82), Alex Fletcher in the discus (45.20) and Tony Holland in the high jump (1.94).
Clyde Wilson and Chris Smith claimed Army’s individual victories in the 800-meter run and 400-meter hurdles, respectively. Wilson clocked a 1:52.67, while Smith’s time of 53.58 was the third time this season he beat the IC4A qualifying standard. In addition, Stevyn Spees, Patrick Taylor, Wilson and Smith combined to take the 4x400-meter relay team with a time of 3:21.51.
The Black Knights’ 4x100-meter relay squad also found success, crossing second in a time of 41.58 which beat the IC4A standard and represented a season best.
Rookie Jose Santana continued his strong start with second-place finishes in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dash. His 10.74 in the 100-meters marked the third time he beat the IC4A mark this season and ranked 10th on the Army top 10 list. His 21.59 in the 200 meters topped the IC4A mark and tied for sixth on the Army all-time ledger.
Taylor Andrews and Patrick Taylor also bested IC4A standards in the 110-meter hurdles and 400-meter dash, respectively. Andrews finished second by less than .01 of a second (14.66), reaching the IC4A mark for the fourth time this season. Taylor crossed the line second with a time of 48.48. Nathan Fisher’s 1,500-meter time of 3:56.08 was a season best.
The Black Knights are back at home Saturday when it hosts the Army 5-Way.

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