In Review
LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN: Lauren Bailey ’15 (above) won all seven events she entered in the Liberty League championships. She was named Swimmer of the Year while Danielle Neu ’17 was named Diver of the Year and Jen Enos ’17 was Rookie of the Year. (Photo: Athletics and Recreation)The Rochester women easily swam away with the Liberty League title this winter to earn the Yellowjackets’ fifth straight conference championship while the men just missed repeating as league champions.
The women scored 1,960.5 points, more than 800 points clear of second-place Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, who ended with 1,163 points. The men finished with 1,586.5 to RPI’s 1,702.
Lauren Bailey ’15 won all seven events she entered during the two days of competition at Union College, setting six school and seven conference records. She took individual titles in the 100- and 200-yard butterfly, the 200-yard freestyle, and the 200-yard medley, and she was part of the top 200-yard and 400-yard medley relay team with Karen Meess ’14, Alex Veech ’17, and Vicky Luan ’16, and part of the top 200-yard freestyle relay team with Khami Simpson ’17, Emily Simon ’17, and Luan.
The junior from Ossining, N.Y., was named the league’s Swimmer of the Year, one of several individual honors awarded to Yellowjackets. She was joined by Danielle Neu ’17, who was named Diver of the Year for her first-place finish in the 1-meter competition and second-place finish on the 3-meter board. Jen Enos ’17 was named Rookie of the Year after winning two events, the 500-yard and 1,650-yard freestyle, both in University and league record times.
For the men, freshman Kasey Kwong ’17 was named Rookie of the Year for his performance in winning four events and placing second in two others. He won the 200-yard medley and the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke and swam on the winning 200-yard medley relay team with James Frauen ’15, Pat Davis ’15, and Brett Maus ’15.
The swimming teams return to competition on January 18 with a dual meet against Ithaca College at the Speegle-Wilbraham Aquatic Center.
In other highlights from the late fall:
Men’s basketball: The Yellowjackets were heading into the new year at 5–5 for the season. The team was led by Nate Vernon ’14, Tyler Sankes ’15, and Sam Borst-Smith ’17, who have each averaged in double figures for scoring early in the season. The men won the annual Holiday Inn Tournament in November, and finished third in the Chuck Ressler Tournament and fourth in the Wendy’s Classic. They begin UAA conference play in January.
Women’s basketball: The women were 4–4 with one game left in 2013. Led by Ally Zywicki ’15, who was averaging 15.4 points a game early in the season, and Loren Wagner ’14, who was averaging 13.3 points a game, the Yellowjackets begin UAA conference play in January.
Squash: In a battle of two top eight programs, the No. 5 Yellowjackets defeated No. 7 Princeton in December at the Lyman Squash Courts. The win moved Rochester to 6–1 for the season. Freshmen Aria Fazelimanesh ’17, Ryosei Kobayashi ’17, and Mario Yanez ’17 won key matches to clinch the victory, with sophomore All-Americans Neil Cordell ’16 and Faraz Khan ’16 as well as senior Karm Kumar ’14 also winning their matches. At the Liberty League championships in late November, the Yellowjackets’ six-year title streak came to an end when host St. Lawrence University knocked off Rochester in the final match of the tournament. The Yellowjackets return to the courts on January 18 to host No. 3 Yale University.
Volleyball: Junior Xiaoyi Li ’15 was named UAA honorable mention, her first all–UAA honor this season after being one of the top players on a young Yellowjacket squad that ended the year with a 9–27 record. The setter from Derwood, Md., led the Yellowjackets with 944 assists this season while also providing a career high of 71 kills.
Men’s and women’s soccer: Jessica Smith ’14 was named first team all–East Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Five men earned similar honors: Alex Swanger ’15 and Keith Grafmeyer ’16 were named to the first team; Andrew Sheridan ’15 and Max Fan ’14 were named to the second team; and goalkeeper Mike Moranz ’14 was named to the third team.
Dennis O’Donnell is director of athletic communication for the Department of Athletics and Recreation.
