Cassie Graca batted 2-for-3 in each end of the doubleheader and junior Caraline Wood was 3-for-4 with a grand slam in the nightcap as Softball swept Wellesley 4-2 and 10-1 (6 inn.) in NEWMAC Softball action Friday. WPI (26-10, 15-3), fourth in the initial NCAA Division III New England regional rankings, will be the second seed in the tournament and will host opening round games that Wednesday and will face the winner of third-seeded Babson and sixth-seeded Emerson at 4:30pm.
Katy Nippert set a school record and, along with Faye Gauthier, won an event as Women’s Track and Field faced SUNY Oneonta, Middlebury and top-ranked Williams Saturday. Nippert leaped 17-9.75 to better the previous mark of 17-5.25 set by Emily Pearce '12. Gauthier, meanwhile, propelled the hammer 147-6 to lead a bunch of Engineers in the event. Alex Rus set a WPI record and four others, including seniors Aaron Weeks and Jack DeVine, claimed victory for Men's Track & Field. Despite finishing second, Rus shaved .3 seconds off the previous 200-meter dash record with a time of 21.92. Weeks, who improved from 54 to 36 on the NCAA Division III performance list, led the way in the javelin with a distance of 182-11 while DeVine cleared 6-4 to take the high jump.
WPI retained the Baker Cup for the 13th-consecutive year as Men's Rowing defeated Tufts and was second overall in the varsity eight while three other Engineer boats earned gold Sunday on Lake Quinsigamond. The varsity eight (6:02.2) was 1.6 seconds behind URI (6:00.6) and well in front of the Jumbos (6:13.37) and Skidmore (6:49.89). The second varsity eight (6:14.1) was over two seconds better than the Tufts (6:16.26) as URI and the Thoroughbreds were third and fourth.
The Bernard Brown Cup will remain in Worcester for the first time since 2013 as WPI Women's Rowing defeated Tufts Sunday morning on Lake Quinsigamond. The second and fourth varsity eights also bested the Jumbos in a regatta that also featured Clark, Skidmore and William Smith. The Engineers, ranked ninth in the CRCA/USRowing Coaches Top 15, crossed the finish line in 6:44.30 while 11th-ranked Tufts followed with a 6:46.01. No. 12 William Smith also rowed a sub-seven minute 2K to take third.
Spring championship season begins Saturday as Women’s Rowing hosts the NEWMAC Championships beginning at 8:30am on Lake Quinsigamond and Men’s and Women’s Track and Field heads to Springfield for the NEWMAC Championships starting at 10:30am. Baseball closes out its home season with a 3:30pm game versus New England College on Monday while Softball entertains Lesley Wednesday in a 5pm regular season finale. Also on Saturday, Men’s Rowing competes with Boston College for the McCarthy/McGee Challenge Cup with UMass and Coast Guard.
If you can’t wait for Mondays to get your info on WPI Athletics, please check us out online, follow us on Twitter at @WPIAthletics and Instagram, like us on Facebook or subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Thanks and see you at the game - Rusty and Mark
Men’s Student-Athletes of the Week
Track & Field 4x100-Meter Relay
The 4x100-meter relay from the track & field team has been named as the WPI Male Student-Athlete of the Week for the week ending Sunday, April 22nd. The quartet consisting of Oliver Thomas (Goffstown, NH), Antoine Harris (Southington, CT), Alex Rus (Newton, MA) and Nick Fleury (Hopkinton, NH) was second to Middlebury by .01 in a head-to-head race as the foursome collaborated to post a 42.87. Individually, Thomas won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.13, Rus set the school record in the 200m with a second-place 21.92, Harris was third (22.14) in the 200m and Fleury was fourth in the long jump (20-10.5).
Women’s Student-Athletes of the Week
Rowing Varsity Eight
The varsity eight of the rowing team has been tabbed as the WPI Female Student-Athlete of the Week for the week ending Sunday, April 22nd. Marlies de Jong (Huntington Beach, CA), Melissa Bazakas-Chamberlain (Belmont, MA), Jasmine Loukola (Wells, ME), Christine Hovermale (Almeda, CA), Sarah Wutka (North Granby, CT), Kinsey McNamara (Chelmsford, MA), Eva Barinelli (Tewksbury, MA), Diana Celaj (Worcester, MA) and coxswain Madison Healey (Atkinson, NH) was the first WPI crew to capture the Bernard Brown Cup since 2013. The Engineers, ranked ninth in the CRCA/USRowing Coaches Top 15, crossed the finish line in 6:44.30 while 11th-ranked Tufts followed with a 6:46.01 in the cup portion of the headline race. No. 12 William Smith also rowed a sub-seven minute 2K to take third.
Baseball (11-22 overall, 3-14 NEWMAC)
Schedule and Results| Roster |Stats| News
4/17 - Baseball Toppled by Wheaton in Tuesday NEWMAC Road Contest
4/18 - Ninth Inning Two Out Rally Not Enough as Baseball Defeated by Johnson & Wales
4/20 - Springfield Edges Baseball in NEWMAC West Series Opener
4/21 - Herlands' Big Offensive Day Not Enough for Baseball in Doubleheader Versus Springfield
Softball (26-10 overall, 15-3 NEWMAC)
Schedule and Results| Roster | Stats |News
4/18 - Softball Splits Pair of One-Run Contests With UMass Dartmouth
4/20 - Graca and Wood Key NEWMAC Softball Sweep of Wellesley
4/21 - Softball Drops NEWMAC Doubleheader to MIT; Will be Second Seed in NEWMAC Tourney
Men’s Track and Field
Schedule and Results| Roster | News
4/17 - Men’s Track & Field’s 4x400m Lauded as NEWMAC Relay Team of the Week
4/21 - Rus, Weeks & DeVine Highlight Men’s Track & Field at Williams Quad Invitational
Women’s Track and Field
Schedule and Results| Roster | News
4/17 - Women’s Track & Field’s 4x100m Named NEWMAC Relay Team of the Week
4/21 - Nippert Set Record as Women’s Track & Field Competes at Williams Quad Invitational
Men’s Rowing
Schedule and Results|Roster|News
4/21 - Men's Varsity Eight Second; Varsity Four and Third Varsity Eight Victorious for Men's Rowing
4/22 - Men’s Rowing Retains Baker Cup for 13th Consecutive Year
Women’s Rowing
Schedule and Results|Roster|News
4/21 - Women's Rowing Sees Second Varsity Eight Win & Varsity Eight Second in Heats/Trials Racing
4/22 - Women’s Rowing Captures Bernard Brown Cup for First Time Since 2013
Last Week's Results
Tuesday, April 17
Wheaton 8, Baseball 1
Wednesday, April 18
Johnson & Wales 12, Baseball 6
Softball 3, UMass Dartmouth 2
Softball 7, UMass Dartmouth 6
Friday, April 20
Springfield 7, Baseball 6
Softball 4, Wellesley 2
Softball 10, Wellesley 1 (6 Innings)
Saturday, April 21
Springfield 9, Baseball 4
Springfield 9, Baseball 8
MIT 6, Softball 3
MIT 11, Softball 2 (5 Innings)
Men’s Track and Field - No Team Scoring at Williams with Middlebury and SUNY Oneonta
Women’s Track and Field - No Team Scoring at Williams with Middlebury and SUNY Oneonta
Men’s Rowing - 2nd place vs. Colby, Ithaca, Trinity, UNH and Conn College
Women’s Rowing - 2nd place vs. Clark, Colby, Ithaca, Trinity, UNH, William Smith, Conn College
Sunday, April 22
Men’s Rowing – 1st place vs. Tufts (Baker Cup), 2nd vs URI Skidmore and Rhode Island
Women’s Rowing – 1st place vs. Tufts (Bernie Brown Cup), Clark, Skidmore, William Smith
Next Week's Games
Monday, April 23
New England College at Baseball 3:30
Wednesday, April 25
Gordon at Softball (DH) 4:00
Thursday, April 26
Baseball at Becker (From April 25th) 4:00
Saturday, April 28
Women’s Rowing hosts NEWMAC Championships 8:30am
Track and Field at NEWMAC Championships (at Springfield) 10:30am
Men’s Rowing vs. BC (McCarthy/McGee Challenge Cup), UMass and Coast Guard
For more information visit wpi.prestosports.com