Sports Highlights

Softball Wins League Titles

Rochester’s softball team had its most successful season in the program’s 10 years as the Yellowjackets won the Liberty League title with a perfect 8–0 league record, tied for the UAA title, and advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament for the first time in team history.

The squad finished with a program-best 28–7 record and won a school- record 17 games in a row.

Nine players earned All-Liberty League status, including four first-teamers: pitchers Beth Ameno ’09 and Carly Hoffend ’08, second baseman Samantha Carr ’07, and outfielder Jessica Sorrentino ’08.

And first-year head coach Michelle Burrell and assistant coach Margaret Yerdon were named the Liberty League and UAA Coaching Staff of the Year.

In other spring highlights:

Golf: Defending national champion Stephen Goodridge ’08 won six individual titles in nine outings on his way to the national championship, but he was unable to repeat his 2006 NCAA title, missing the cut after two rounds. He was named first team All-American. Also posting an excellent year for Rochester was Jon Pecor ’09, who received Liberty League and UAA Player of the Week honors after placing second at the Nike Invitational.

Baseball: The Yellowjackets finished at 21–17 and qualified for the Liberty League tournament. Shortstop Ed Kahovec ’08 and reliever John Fishback ’08 earned first-team All-Liberty League status, while starting pitcher Blair Veenema ’09 was tabbed for the second team. Head coach Joe Reina and assistants Andrew Coble and Joe Lanning ’00 received Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year honors after guiding the Yellowjackets to a 13–5 league mark.

Women’s Lacrosse: The Yellowjackets posted a 5–9 overall record and a 3–5 mark in the Liberty League, finishing in fifth place in the league. Midfielder Abby Woodward ’09 earned first-team All-Liberty League honors after leading the team with 24 goals. Defenseman Laura Giusto ’07 was named to the second team.

Tennis: The women’s team finished seventh at the UAA championships, while the men concluded their season at the UAA championships. The women were led by Alexa Perry ’08, who played at both No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles in the spring. The men were paced by Michael Burger ’07 and Brian Bowman ’10, who often played at No. 1 and No. 2 singles and also teamed up at No. 1 doubles.

Women’s Track: Jamie Landry ’09 won the heptathlon title at both the New York State championships and the ECAC championships, where the team finished in 16th place. At ECACs, Melissa Skevington ’10 came in third in the triple jump and eighth in the long jump, while the sprint medley unit of Nancy Tremblay ’09, Whitney Silkworth ’07, Stacie Woods ’08, and Kellie Hasselwander ’08 broke the school record at the Brockport Invitational.

Men’s Track: The Yellowjackets placed seventh at the state championships behind the performance of Sean Adams ’10, who won the 400-meter hurdles, placed second in the 110-meter hurdles, and ran a leg of the winning 4-by-400 relay. That relay quartet was rounded out by Marquis Turner ’09, Jake Pylman ’07, and Brian MacIlvain ’07. At the ECAC championships, Mike Burgstrom ’08 won the hammer throw and narrowly missed qualifying for the NCAAs in the event.

—Ryan Whirty