SPORTS Highlights

Women’s Track, Both Basketball Teams Pace Yellowjackets

Led by pentathlon specialist Jamie Landry ’09, the women’s indoor track & field team won this spring’s New York State championship, the Yellowjackets’ second team title since 1986.

Landry won the state pentathlon title and was second in the event at the Eastern College Athletic Conference championships.

Also scoring big this spring were the men’s and women’s basketball teams, which each advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Division III national tournament.

Here’s a look at how Rochester’s varsity teams fared early this year:

Women’s Basketball: Finishing the season at 22–6 overall, the Yellowjackets spent much of the campaign ranked in the top 10 in both the D3hoops.com and USA Today polls. After advancing to the final 16 of the NCAA tournament for the fifth time in six years, Rochester fell to Messiah in a heartbreaker. Forward Julie Marriott ’09 was named to the All-University Athletic Association’s first team and earned All-America honors as an honorable mention from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, which also named her to the first team for the All-East Region.

Men’s Basketball: The Yellowjackets climbed to the No. 1 spot in the D3hoops.com poll after they started the season at 14–0. Rochester finished at 22–6 overall after they fell to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAAs. Center Jon Onyiriuka ’08 became the fifth Rochester men’s player since 1988–89 to earn All-America honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Onyiriuka was named to the third team.

Women’s Indoor Track & Field: The Yellowjackets began the season ranked No. 6 nationally in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division III poll. In addition to Landry’s success, pole vaulter Anjuli Cherukuri ’08 placed second at the state championships and tied for third at ECACs, breaking the school record three times along the way.

Men’s Indoor Track & Field: Thrower Mike Burgstrom ’08 capped off his indoor collegiate career by earning Atlantic Region Male Field Athlete of the Year honors from the coaches association. Burgstrom claimed the state weight throw title, placed second at ECACs, and took fourth at the NCAA championships. He earned All-America honors for the second year in a row.

Women’s Swimming & Diving: The Rochester women were paced in 2007–08 by Kelly Fischer ’08, who placed fourth in the 200-yard breaststroke at the Liberty League championships and eighth in the event at the UAA championships. Rochester was third at the league championships and seventh at the UAA championships, which Rochester hosted at the Webster Aquatic Center.

Men’s Swimming & Diving: The Yellowjackets repeated as Liberty League champions by winning the team title at Union College, accomplishing the feat with a balanced squad that had no individual champions.

Squash: After claiming the Liberty League crown in the fall, Rochester rose as high as No. 7 this winter in the College Squash Association’s national poll, finishing 10th at the CSA championships in February. Jim Bristow ’10 repeated as Player of the Year, Hameed Ahmed ’11 earned Rookie of the Year accolades, and Martin Heath and Chris Fennell received Coaching Staff of the Year recognition.

—Ryan Whirty