SMC Athletics PR -

                  THIS WEEK IN SAINT MICHAEL’S COLLEGE ATHLETICS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                         FOR MORE INFORMATION
September 26, 2005                                                                     Contact: Daniel O’Reilly
                                                                                                   Phone: (802) 654-2929

COLCHESTER, Vt. – The Saint Michael's College field hockey team (6-4, 6-2 NE-10) had a busy weekend, playing three contests this week over a period of just 96 hours. The Purple Knights, ranked eighth in Tuesday’s STX/NFHCA Division II National Coaches’ Poll, saw their four game winning streak snapped by fourth ranked Bentley on Thursday night, losing 3-2 despite Nikki Pickman’s (Southbury, Conn./Pomperaug) two goal effort. Lindsay Brancaleone (Gloucester, Mass./Manchester Essex Regional) helped the team get back into the win column however, as she netted a hat trick in Saturday’s 5-1 victory over Merrimack. The duo picked up where they left off on Sunday, as Pickman added to her team scoring lead with yet another two goal game, and Brancaleone assisted on one to complete her seven point week in the team’s 5-0 win over American International.

The women’s tennis team (2-1, 1-1 NE-10) won its second straight match on Thursday, cruising past Lyndon State, 9-0. Winning in both singles and doubles for Saint Michael’s were: senior Heidi Murphy (Norfolk, Mass./King Philip Regional), junior Cara Bednar (Marblehead, Mass./Marblehead), and sophomore Danielle Gagnon (Gorham, Maine/Catherine McAuley). Two matches were won as a result of forfeit, as Lyndon State had just five eligible players.

Meanwhile, Kevin Lizzo remains undefeated as the first year men’s tennis coach also saw his team (2-0, 1-0 NE-10) pick up a 9-0 shutout victory over Lyndon State, this one coming on Saturday. John Lescure (Kennebunk, Maine/Kennebunk) had a singles and doubles victory, as did Andy Samara (South Burlington, Vt./South Burlington), Dimitri Repnikov (South Burlington, Vt./South Burlington), Andrew Bolduc (South Burlington, Vt./South Burlington) and David Besserer.
The golf team competed in the Northeast-10 Championship tournament over the weekend, finishing in seventh place out of the 12 conference teams, despite its 10^th^{place preseason ranking. The Purple Knights, who
finished just one stroke behind sixth place Bentley, were led by Jeff
Vickers (Duxbury, Mass./Tabor Academy), who finished the weekend tied
for 15th place overall with a two day stroke total of 157, and team
captain Mike Duffy (Yarmouthport, Mass./ Dennis-Yarmouth Regional),
who placed 19th overall with a score of 159. Mike Ciardullo (Walden,
N.Y./Canterbury School) finished just one stroke behind Duffy with 160
and finished in 26th place, as freshman Jonathan Goguen (Ashby, Mass./
Saint Bernards) had 161, which placed him 32nd.

The men’s soccer team (3-6, 1-4 NE-10) was defeated in both games it
played last week, dropping two very close matches. The team was shutout
1-0 on Tuesday by Saint Anselm, despite Patrick Melvin’s (Belmont,
Vt./Black River) seven saves, and lost 2-1 on Saturday to Le Moyne. In
that game, Melvin recorded 10 more saves, and senior Kimoi Seale
(Brooklyn, N.Y./Prospect Heights) netted his second career goal, and
first this season, off of an assist from Glenn Sherman (Arlington,
Vt./Arlington Memorial). The assist was the junior’s 43rd career
point, which moved him into sole possession of fourth place on the team’s
all time scoring list, which dates back 1960.

The women’s soccer team (2-7, 0-6 NE-10) suffered two 1-0 defeats this
past week, first to Saint Rose on Wednesday, then a heartbreaking double
overtime loss to Bryant on Saturday. Sophomore goaltenders Gillian
Goldman (Stratham, N.H./ Exeter) and Molly Cole (Dover, N.H./
Dover) each allowed just one goal and recorded five and seven saves
respectively.

The volleyball team (0-4, 0-3 NE-10) lost a very competitive four game
match with NE-10 power UMass Lowell on Saturday (30-18, 30-23, 28-30,
30-21). For the Purple Knights, freshman Stephanie Smetana
(Independence, Mo./Truman) led the team in kills with 15 and digs with
16, and fellow first year player Amy Manougian (Rye, N.H./Portsmouth)
led SMC with 38 assists.

Finally, the women’s rugby team won its first conference game of the
season on Saturday, defeating UMass Lowell, 17-15. For Saint Michael’s,
Abbey Breckheimer, Alissa Hussey and Suzie LeRoux each
scored a try, while Megan Sweeney tallied the conversion points.}

This Week’s Schedule:

^9/27	^{Women's Soccer vs. American International*}	4 p.m.
^9/27	^{Volleyball at Saint Anselm*}	7:30 p.m.
^9/28	^{Men's Soccer at American International*}	3:30 p.m.
^9/28	^{Field Hockey vs. Saint Anselm*}	4 p.m.
^10/1	^{Men's Tennis vs. Merrimack*}	12 p.m.
^10/1	^{Field Hockey at UMass Lowell*}	1 p.m.
^10/1	^{Men's Soccer at Merrimack*}	1 p.m.
^10/1	^{Women's Soccer vs. Le Moyne*}	1 p.m.
^10/1	^{Cross Country Vermont State Meet at Middlebury}	M: 1 p.m. W: 2 p.m.
^10/1	^{Volleyball at Stonehill*}	2 p.m.
^10/1	^{Women's Tennis vs. Merrimack*}	2 p.m.
^10/2	^{Women's Tennis vs. Saint Anselm*}	12 p.m.
^10/2	^{Volleyball at Bryant*}	1 p.m.
^10/2-3	^{Golf ECAC Championships at Le Moyne}	TBA

###PURPLEKNIGHTS###

For more information please contact the SMC Sports Information Office at (802) 654-2537
Last Revised: October 25, 2002