Yellowjackets’ Winter Roundup
St. Patrick’s day, looming midterm examinations, and a fresh start after break — spring is on the way in Rochester. As we begin to see our athletic teams taking the field in the next few weeks, let’s examine how the Yellowjackets fared towards the end of the winter season.
On the hardcourt, the Jackets fell to Nichols College in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. This was their seventh tournament appearance since the 2006-2007 season, and their only first-round exit within that span. Graduate student Ryan Algier was named all-region, second team Academic All-American, and received All-UAA honors. Ross Gang was named all-region, first team all district, and All-UAA. Matt Wiele received an UAA honorable mention.
On the women’s side, the Yellowjackets finished with a 16-9 record, and just fell short of a berth in the NCAA tournament. Senior Callie McCulley received second team all UAA honors and third team all-region honors. Graduate student Katie Titus was named a first-team academic all-American, region 3 player of the year, and first-team all-UAA. Senior Alexis Sestric was also named a second team all-UAA honoree.
Senior Sophie Lever was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. Photo Courtesy: Athletic Communications
The Men’s and Women’s Swim & Dive squads both finished seventh out of eight teams at the UAA championships from February 8th-11th. Highlighted individuals included Max McClung breaking the 13-year old 100-yard butterfly record in 50.20 seconds. Jose Corredor Alvarez, Sean Finnerty, Trevor Hoch, and Matt Kiel were all named academic all-district. Women’s Swim & Dive seniors Sophie Lever and Jaelyn Shaver, junior Ashley Updike, and sophomore Leah Tang were also named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team.
On the Track, the Yellowjackets shined. The Men’s and Women’s team both won their respective Liberty League Indoor Track and Field Championships. The Women’s 4×400 of sophomore Megan Bell, junior Kate Isaac, senior Susan Bansbach, and senior Madeleine O’connell won the NCAA championship and broke the Division III national record in a time of 3:44.84. On the Men’s side, sophomore Cole Goodman finished second place in the Triple Jump, breaking the 50-foot barrier and breaking the Rochester program record, ultimately earning All-American honors. In addition, Scott Sikorski was named the Niagara region Track athlete of the year, albeit failing to qualify for the final round of the NCAA championships.
You can look forward to seeing the Baseball, Softball, Tennis, Track and Field, Lacrosse, Rowing, and Field Hockey teams in action this spring.
