© University of Rochester 1996-2012
The Yellowjackets must replace All-American and Academic All-American outfielder Jessica Sorrentino ’08, who guided the Yellowjackets to the Liberty League title and the regional finals of the NCAA tournament. But the squad returns league Pitcher of the Year Beth Ameno ’09, who posted a mark of 25–10 on the mound and nabbed second-team all-region accolades in 2008. Other returnees include two all-league second teamers—Erin Clark ’11 at second base and Brittany Hylen ’11 on the mound. At the helm again will be head coach Michelle Burrell, who has guided the Yellowjackets to unprecedented success and has an 84–38 record in her first three seasons.
Skipper Joe Reina, who along with assistant coaches Andrew Coble, Dan Pfohl, and Joe Lanning, earned Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year honors after guiding Rochester to a record of 28–13 in 2008. Rochester will be led by infielder J. J. Vanderstyne ’09 who was Liberty League Player of the Year, as well as first-team all-Liberty Leaguers third baseman Blayne Fuke ’10, catcher Ryan Sullivan ’09, and designated hitter Nate Stein ’10. First baseman Dan Brien ’09 returns after batting .361 with 52 hits, 11 doubles, three triples, and five homers, while outfielder Matt Francis ’11 posted a .376 average. Blair Veenema ’09 heads the mound staff.
Ryan Williams ’11 won the UAA individual championship last spring, leading the Yellowjackets to a fourth-place team finish. The Yellowjackets’ fall 2008 campaign also included a slew of strong performances at several invitationals, including third at the Guy Kuhn tourney, fourth at the St. Lawrence Invite, and sixth at both the McDaniel College and Hamilton College events. Williams is joined by lettermen Jon Pecor ’09 and Kevin Gay ’11 plus two freshmen who had strong fall seasons—Michael Buenaventura ’12 and David Wien ’12.
The 2009 team has a new head coach, Matt Nielsen ’08S (MBA), who took the reins last fall after serving as an assistant for five years. Rochester garnered 10 wins during spring 2008, then saw additional success in the fall campaign. The doubles duo of Ryan Kovaleski ’11 and Brian Bowman ’10 earned a bracket title at the St. Lawrence Invitational, as did singles player Brian Schmeer ’12 and doubles pair Daniel Barbash ’11 and Matt Volkov ’12. The Yellowjackets capped the fall season with a 9-0 blanking of crosstown rival St. John Fisher.
Rochester will be paced by Lia Weiner ’11, who enjoyed major success in the fall. Weiner won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Northeast Regional crown to earn a trip to the ITA national championship tournament. In addition, Alex Goodman ’12 advanced to the semifinals of the New York State championships. The team hopes to improve on its spring 2008 effort as well; last year the Yellowjackets placed seventh at the UAA team championships.
While the Yellowjackets achieved great success off the field in 2008—they posted the second-highest cumulative grade-point average in the nation—they showed improvement on the field as well. They posted an overall record of 5–9 and a Liberty League mark of 3–5, putting them sixth in the league. While Rochester must replace graduated defender Mimi Hong ’08—who started every game of her Yellowjacket career and received first-team all-Liberty League honors in 2008—the Yellowjackets return all-league honorable-mention honorees in midfielders Marlena Fisher ’09 and Lindsay Dakin ’09.
In 2008, the Rochester outdoor team picked up Division III All-Academic team honors from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association after posting a cumulative GPA of 3.19, 20th-highest in the nation. In athletic action, the team took seventh at the New York State outdoor championships and 27th at the ECAC meet. Leading the way last year was Brian Lang ’11, who finished 10th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the USATF Junior Nationals and second at the New York State Collegiate Track Conference championships. Gone this year are All-American hammer thrower Mike Burgstrom ’08 and state 10,000 meters champion Patrick Hughes ’08, who both graduated last spring.
Although Rochester loses much-honored pole vaulter Anjuli Cherukuri ’08 to graduation, Jamie Landry ’09 returns to the squad after winning the heptathlon at both the state championships and the ECAC title meet in 2008 and earning a trip to the NCAA Division III championships. Also earning a trip to nationals was triple-jumper Melissa Skevington ’10, who broke the school record in the event. Rebecca Glass ’11 took ninth in the 10,000-meter racewalk at the USATF Junior Nationals, while Jacqueline Cinella ’11 won the 400-meter intermediate hurdles and was named New York State Rookie of the Meet at the state championships.
© University of Rochester 1996-2012