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Division III Championships
DIII Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Team Results 1st: Wis.-River Falls and Ill. Wesleyan, 35 3rd: Wartburg, 34 Close finishes aren’t all that rare at the Division III Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships – seven meets have been decided by six or fewer points – but a tie for first is a new wrinkle. Illinois Wesleyan, looking for a sweep of this year’s indoor and outdoor team titles, recorded a sixth-place finish in the final relay May 24 to manage a tie for the crown with Wisconsin-River Falls. Rachel Anderson again led the way for Illinois Wesleyan, winning the 200- and 400-meter dashes, but the Titans trailed Wisconsin-River Falls by three points entering the 1,600-meter relay. Anderson, already having claimed the fifth and sixth individual titles of her career, wasn’t able to grab another come-from-behind relay win like she did in rallying the Titans to the indoor crown in March, but she still found enough speed to salvage the tie with the Falcons. It’s the first outdoor team title for both teams, and the 35 points each team scored is the lowest winning score in championships history.
Semifinals Frank. & Marsh. 14, TCNJ 12 Hamilton 11, Salisbury 10 Championship Hamilton 13, Frank. & Marsh. 6 Hamilton won the Division III women’s lacrosse title May 18 – the school’s first national crown in any sport – on the strength of two freshmen who scored more than half of the team’s goals. The Continentals beat Franklin & Marshall, 13-6, at Roanoke’s Donald J. Kerr Stadium. Hamilton knocked off top-ranked Salisbury in the semifinals before Sarah Bray, named the tournament’s most valuable player, unleashed her career-high five goals against Franklin & Marshall. Bray, who didn’t play the first 10 minutes of the game, also tallied an assist during the contest. Fellow freshman Anne Graveley added three goals of her own, all in the second half. The Continentals started off strong, with junior Kaillie Briscoe scoring before four minutes had elapsed in the game. When Briscoe received a penalty and was removed from the game, Bray replaced her and scored within two minutes. Hamilton, whose only loss was a one-goal defeat at the hands of Franklin & Marshall March 19, later put together a 6-0 run (including four from Bray) to end the first half with an 8-2 lead. Franklin & Marshall crept to within four goals in the second half, but could not pull closer.
Semifinals Salisbury 11, Gettysburg 10 (2 ot) Cortland St. 16, Ithaca 5 Championship Salisbury 19, Cortland St. 13 It was business as usual May 25 for top-ranked Salisbury, as the Sea Gulls completed another perfect season with the Division III Men’s Lacrosse Championship, defeating Cortland State, 19-13, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Salisbury (22-0) added a sixth undefeated season and an eighth national title – and second consecutive championship – to its trophy case. The win was more remarkable because senior goalkeeper Nick Fiorentino made only his third collegiate start in the championship game. He turned in a career performance with 14 saves. Senior Bruce Richardson and junior Kylor Berkman each scored five times for Salisbury, and sophomore Mike Von Kamecke added three goals to account for 13 of the Sea Gulls’ tallies. With the win, Salisbury is 45-18 in 26 appearances in the Division III tournament, besting Hobart’s previous record of 42 wins. The Sea Gulls are 124-2 since the beginning of the 2003 season and are now 4-5 all-time against the Red Dragons.
Team standings 1st: Methodist, 307-309-299-304 - 1,219 2nd: DePauw, 315-320-310-313 - 1,258 3rd: Southwestern (Tex.), 309-320-313-321- - 1,263 Individual standings 1st: Susan Martin, Methodist, 74-72-75-73 - 294 2nd: Katie Dick, Methodist, 79-76-71-71 - 297 and Katie Tewell, Franklin, 78-78-70-71 - 297 Methodist won its 11th consecutive national championship, finishing 39 strokes ahead of second-place DePauw at the Division III Women’s Golf Championships at Centennial Oaks Golf Club in Waverly, Iowa, May 15. Last year, the Monarchs finished an all-divisions record 88 strokes ahead of DePauw, but the story was much different this time around, as Methodist was challenged during the first two days of competition. After the opening round, Methodist found itself in the lead by just two strokes over Southwestern (Texas) and only 13 ahead after the second day of competition. The team’s depth took over on the final two days, however, and the Monarchs were able to pull away for another comfortable win. The Monarchs were paced by sophomore Susan Martin, who became the third Methodist golfer in three years to win medalist honors. Martin won the title with a 6-over par 294, three strokes ahead of teammate Katie Dick and Franklin’s Katie Tewell.
Team standings 1st: St. John’s (Minn.), 314-291-296-291 – 1,192 2nd: Redlands, 304-300-293-298 – 1,195 3rd: St. John Fisher, 302-294-297-306 – 1,199 Individual standings 1st: Scott Harris, St. John Fisher, 68-71-71-75 – 285 2nd: Chris Green, Ill. Wesleyan, 74-70-73-73 – 290 3rd: Nathaniel James, Wash. & Lee, 73-74-72-73 – 292; and Will Scarborough, Wesley, 72-71-77-72 – 292 Trailing St. John Fisher by eight strokes entering the final round, St. John’s (Minnesota) came charging back with a final-round 291 to win the Division III Men’s Golf Championships at Chateau Elan Resort in Braselton, Georgia, May 15. The Johnnies won their second consecutive national championship after shooting an opening-round 314, which put them outside the top 10 after the first day of competition. St. John’s was 23 strokes better in the second round to get back in the mix. In the final round, Redlands shot a 298 to jump ahead of St. John Fisher, which fell to third overall in the final standings. Methodist and Skidmore finished fourth and fifth, respectively, while Oglethorpe, Wesley, Huntington, La Verne and Mary Hardin-Baylor rounded out the top 10 team finishers. While the team result was the same this year, the race for the individual championship featured a new cast of characters. St. John Fisher senior Scott Harris claimed the first national title in school history, shooting a four-round 285 to finish five strokes ahead of second-place finisher Chris Green of Illinois Wesleyan.
Championship Wis.-Eau Claire 4, Wis.-Whitewater 3 (9 inn.) Wisconsin-Eau Claire senior Jill Janke hit a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the ninth to give the Blugolds a 4-3 win over Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Association rival Wisconsin-Whitewater May 19 in the final game of the Division III Softball Championship in Salem, Virginia. The fourth-seeded Blugolds, who recorded a 36-11 campaign, made their way to the championship game by knocking out top-ranked Louisiana College earlier in the day, 2-1. Janke’s homer was her sixth of the season and Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s first of the tournament, even though the Blugolds had hit 37 before. The Blugolds rallied from a 3-1 deficit with two outs and nobody on in their half of the seventh. Three straight singles, the last by Tamara Zeman, plated a run to make it 3-2, and an error on a fielder’s choice allowed the tying run to score moments later. Eau Claire’s Jenny Ross picked up the win, upping her mark to 27-2 and extending the Blugolds’ longest winning streak of the season to eight. In the Blugolds’ four games during the championship series, Ross allowed only 20 hits and five runs in 29 innings.
Championship Trinity (Conn.) 5, Johns Hopkins 4 Matt Sullivan and Guy Gogliettino drew two-out, full-count, bases-loaded walks in the bottom of the ninth to lift Trinity (Connecticut) to a 5-4 victory over Johns Hopkins May 27 in Grand Chute, Wisconsin. The wild celebration by Trinity after the winning run crossed the plate far outweighed the disappointment of a loss to the Blue Jays earlier in the day that spoiled the quest for an unbeaten season. Even though Trinity finished the year 45-1, the Bantams’ .978 winning percentage is an NCAA all-divisions record for baseball. With runners at second and third and two out, Johns Hopkins intentionally walked the hot-hitting Chandler Barnard. That brought up Sullivan, who worked a 3-2 count before taking a close inside pitch. Players from both teams emerged from the dugout in anticipation, but the umpire called it a ball. Gogliettino followed with the winning free pass after fouling off six consecutive 2-2 pitches. The Bantams carried Gogliettino on their shoulders afterward.
Team Semifinals Williams 5, Pomona-Pitzer 2 Wash. & Lee 5, Denison 1 TEAM THIRD-PLACE MATCH Denison 5, Pomona-Pitzer 2 Team championship match Williams 5, Wash. & Lee 4 Singles championship match Siobhan Finicane, Pomona-Pitzer, def. Cary Gibson, Williams, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 Doubles championship match Brittany Berckes-Alicia Menezes, Amherst, def. Kristin Cobb-Marta Drane, Denison, 6-4, 6-3 Williams bested Washington and Lee, 5-4, to earn the 2008 Division III Women’s Tennis championship May 15 at Gustavus Adolphus. It was the Ephs’ third championship overall and the first since claiming back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002. Washington and Lee entered the championship match with a 28-0 mark and was ranked No. 1 in the nation. The defending champion Generals’ last loss came March 31, 2007, against the Ephs in a 5-4 decision. Brittany Berckes and Alicia Menezes of Amherst became the fourth straight doubles team to capture back-to-back titles since 2001 when they downed Denison’s Kristin Cobb and Marta Drane, 6-4, 6-3. Top-seeded Siobhan Finicane of Pomona-Pitzer became the first women’s tennis player from the school since 1994 to win a singles title when she defeated Williams’ Cary Gibson, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. Gibson also made history by becoming the first Williams’ women’s tennis player to appear in a singles championship match.
Team Semifinals Washington-St. Louis 5, Claremont-M-S 1 Emory 5, Middlebury 1 Team THIRD-PLACE match Claremont-M-S 5, Middlebury 4 Team championship match Washington-St. Louis 5, Emory 3 Singles championship match Michael Greenberg, Kenyon, def. Filip Marinkovic, Middlebury, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 Doubles championship match Gui Schils-Larry Wang, Claremont-M-S, def. Andy Bryan-Charlie Paukert, Gust. Adolphus, 6-3, 6-4 Washington U. in St. Louis roared to a 5-3 victory over Emory to capture the 2008 Division III Men’s Tennis team championship at Bates’ Wallach Tennis Center May 15. It was the Bears’ first men’s tennis national championship and the third NCAA title claimed by the school in 2007-08. Washington U. in St. Louis also won championships in women’s volleyball and men’s basketball during the academic year. In the singles championship, Kenyon’s Michael Greenberg claimed the title in come-from-behind fashion over Middlebury’s Filip Marinkovic. Greenberg, Kenyon’s first Division III individual men’s tennis national champion and the first individual titlist in any sport at the school except swimming and diving, dropped the first set to Marinkovic before storming back for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory. Gui Schils and Larry Wang of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps defeated Gustavus Adolphus’ tandem of Andy Bryan and Charlie Paukert, 6-3, 6-4 to capture the doubles crown. Schils and Wang earned the program’s fifth doubles title after advancing to the quarterfinals last year and making an appearance in the semifinals in 2006.
DIII Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Team Results 1st: McMurry, 35 2nd: Cortland St., 33 3rd: Whitworth, 31 Hanneus Ollison told one of his coaches that if his teammates kept it close before handing him the baton in the last event of the Division III Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships, he wouldn’t let them down. Good to his word, Ollison gave his team the margin it needed in the 1,600-meter relay May 24 at Wisconsin-Oshkosh to clinch McMurry’s first championship in any sport. McMurry finished third in the event – one spot better than necessary to pull past Cortland State, which was unable to advance from the event’s preliminary heats. McMurry beat the Red Dragons head to head in one of those preliminaries to set up the comeback victory. Ollison was the key to McMurry’s victory, completing an indoor-outdoor sweep this year in the 400-meter dash, anchoring the victorious 400-meter relay and finishing second in the long jump. The junior contributed directly to 34 of McMurry’s 35 points. “He’s the kind of athlete that does everything you tell him to,” said head coach Barbara Crousen, who is the first woman to coach a men’s team to an NCAA track and field title. “Watching him grow and gain that confidence over the three years has been awesome. I’m glad to have him another year.”
Team Results 1st: Williams, 25 2nd: Trinity (Conn.), 21 3rd: Puget Sound, 15 Williams captured its third straight Division III Women’s Rowing Championships team title May 31 at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center on Lake Natoma in Gold River, California. The title is the Ephs’ fourth overall. Williams, which edged Trinity (Connecticut), 25-21, is one of only three schools to win the Division III title since the championships were established in 2002. Colby and Ithaca are the other winners. Puget Sound and Ithaca both finished with 15 points, with Puget Sound earning third place based on a higher finish in the Eights grand final. Williams head coach Justin Moore said the first championship was special for obvious reasons, but the latest one involved significant sacrifice for his six seniors. “It’s our graduation week at the college, and we have six seniors here who have made the choice to forgo their Senior Week, to basically miss all the activities other than walking with their class,” said Moore. “For them to come out here and give us a chance to win like they did was absolutely phenomenal, and I think that makes this incredibly special, because there was so much sacrifice that went into it.” With competitors matching each other stride for stride, it's no wonder that there was a tie at the top of the final standings in Division III women's track and field. Allen Fredrickson/NCAA Photos
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