Weekly sports update - results from Oct. 27th through Nov. 2nd

by Geoff Hassard - Sports Information Director

Football (3-4)

The football team hosted the River Hawks of UMass-Lowell on October 28th, looking to break a two-game losing streak and to get back on track offensively. They did just that. Behind a career high 226 yards from senior running back Ernie Ansah, the Engineers scored four second half touchdowns to defeat UMass 28-0. In the first half WPI had their chances to jump out to a lead but came away with nothing to show for their efforts. They had a touchdown called back, a field goal that was missed and another field goal attempt stopped on a mishandled snap. The first half ended in a scoreless tie.

In the second half the Engineers continued to grind out yardage on the ground as Ansah kept plowing through the holes opened by the offensive line. They converted their first two possessions of the third quarter into touchdowns, one on a 12-yard run by Ansah and the second on a 13-yard run by quarterback Nate Cote. WPI iced the game in the fourth when Chris Moore blocked a River Hawk field goal attempt which Kevin Ranucci picked up and brought 84 yards for the score. The scoring was capped off by Cote's first touchdown pass of the season to freshman Matt Surette.

Ansah was named Co-Offensive Player of the Week by both the Freedom Football Conference and the ECAC for his performance. Great job Ernie.

Volleyball (15-14 final)

The volleyball team completed their season last week with their first winning season since 1988. Coach Nancy Vaskas was extremely pleased with the effort of her squad all season and is very optimistic for the future with four of her six starters returning next season.

The Engineers ended the regular season with a loss to MIT and wins over UMass-Dartmouth and Framingham State. In the NEW 8 tournament WPI drew Smith College and was defeated 3-0, thus bringing their season to an end.

In the loss to MIT, sophomore Emma Palmacci had an outstanding day with 10 kills. WPI lost the match 3-1 (7-15, 5-15, 15-6, 6-15).

Last Tuesday, October 31st, the Engineers hosted UMass-Dartmouth and Framingham State in a tri-match. They defeated both teams 2-1. The scores of the UMass-Dartmouth match were 15-10, 10-15 and 15-5. The scores of the Framingham State match were 15-17, 15-5 and 15-7.

Last Thursday, WPI ran into a very strong Smith team that is one of the top teams in New England. Even though the scores don't indicate it, coach Vaskas was pleased with the effort of all the players. The game scores were 7-15, 8-15 and 3-15.

Senior co-captain Angela Wonsey was selected as NEW 8 Player of the Week for the week ending 10/29. During the week of 10/22 to 10/28 she led WPI to a 2-1 record. She had a .410 hitting percentage, 18 serving aces, 40 assists and 11 digs. Congratulations to Angela.

Men's Soccer (8-7-1 final)

The men's soccer team had to wait an extra two days to play their final game as their original scheduled game with Clark was postponed due to the weather. They did finish on a positve note by defeating Clark 3-2 in overtime to finish their seventh straight winning season.

The score was tied at halftime 0-0. Six minutes into the second half sophomore Shaun McDonough scored to put WPI up 1-0. It remained that way until Clark evened the score with 18 minutes left in the game. In overtime sophomore Mark Socha put WPI back up by one. In the second overtime sophomore Eric Langlois gave the Engineers a 3-1 lead. Clark added another goal late, but it wasn't enough as WPI held on for the 3-2 win.

Winter Sports Alert!!!

Our winter teams are practicing and getting ready for their upcoming seasons. Look for the Athletic Department schedule cards in your mailboxes or come to Alumni Gym to find out when our teams are playing. We hope that the students will come out to support our teams. Our men's and women's basketball teams played in the ECAC Tournament last year and are looking just as strong this season. The wrestling team will always rock Alumni and the men's and women's swim teams are optimistic for a solid season. So take a study break and come cheer for the home teams. All events are free.

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Maintained by: Troy Thompson