Golf doesn't budge, finishes ninth

Golf doesn’t budge, finishes ninth

By Brian Farrell, QBSN Staff Writer

The days change, but the overall standings never did for the Bobcats this weekend at Dayton Beach. Quinnipiac finished the NEC Championship tournament in ninth place.

“These ladies have worked harder than I ever expected and deserve a great deal of credit the way they carry themselves and represent Quinnipiac,” head coach John O’Connor said. “I couldn't be prouder of them. Every day it seems as if they know they are setting the standard for hard work for all future women's golfers at Quinnipiac.” 

The same storyline also continued through all three days with temperatures in the mid to high 80s and with Kayla Ketcheson leading the Bobcats.

Today, Ketcheson had her best round of the weekend shooting an 80 (40-40, +8). After shooting an 82 on Friday and Saturday, Ketcheson was able to string together a bit more consistency today. Ketcheson’s round three was the first round all weekend where she did not double bogey at least one hole.

Hannah Russell once again finished second on the team, shooting an 87 (42-45, +15). Russell was the only Bobcat today with a birdie.

Nicole Ferretti continued her improvements again today shooting a weekend best 90 (46-44, +18). Today’s round is a two stroke improvement from day two and a five stroke improvement from day one.

After struggling yesterday, Jen Forlenza also shot a 90 (46-44, +18). After shooting a 99 yesterday, Forlenza improved nine strokes, including six pars.

Amanda Nagel never could hit her stride today and ended the day with a 92 (44-48, +20).

Nagel and Ferretti are the only two seniors that competed for Quinnipiac in the tournament. With just three seniors and an exciting recruiting class ready for next season, the future looks promising for more improvements.

Second day leaves Bobcats in ninth

Second day leaves Bobcats in ninth

By Brian Farrell, QBSN Staff Writer

Through round two of the Northeast Conference Championships, Quinnipiac sits at ninth place.

The heat is still quite fierce in Daytona Beach with temperatures still in the mid-80s.

“Carrying your golf bag for four days of high pressure golf in mid to high eighty-degree weather while trying to focus on every shot is no easy task,” head coach John O’Connor said.

The Bobcats entered today’s action in ninth place and 17 strokes back of Robert Morris.

Kayla Ketcheson led the way again for the Bobcats shooting an 81 (40-41, +9). Her 81 is a one stroke improvement from day one.

Freshman Hannah Russell shot another 85 today (43-42, +13). Russell had eight pars on the day, including a string of four in six holes.

Amanda Nagel stayed consistent matching her day one score of 89 (46-43, +12). Nagel was able to pick up four pars on the afternoon.

Nicole Ferretti improved three strokes between day one and day two after shooting a 92 today (44-48, +12). Ferretti struggled on her first three holes of the day, but was able to avoid any more double bogeys after her fifth hole.

Jennifer Forlenza struggled on the second day shooting a 99 (48-51, +27) after shooting an 88 on day one.

The Bobcats’ final tee off is set for 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Golf finishes ninth after first day of championships

Golf finishes ninth after first day of championships

By Brian Farrell, QBSN Staff Writer

Through round one of the Northeast Conference Championships, the Bobcats sit at ninth place 17 strokes back of Robert Morris and Central Connecticut, knotted up for seventh place.

After yesterday’s practice round, coach John O’Connor said that the team was as ready as they have ever been.

“[Kayla Ketcheson]’s practice round included four birdies, and it seemed effortless,” O’Connor wrote in an email Thursday night.

Ketcheson shot a team-high 82 (42-40, +10). Her strongest portion of the round came on the back nine when she shot four straight pars. Ketcheson also led the team with two birdies, both coming on the front nine.

Hannah Russell made her return today after missing the last two tournaments and finished three strokes back of Ketcheson with an 85 (43-42, +13). Russell is the only freshman competing in the NEC Championships for Quinnipiac. Russell’s lack of experience showed when she bogeyed or double bogeyed each of the last four holes. Nonetheless, something should be said for a freshman that can finish just three stokes back of the team leader.

Nagel made what O’Connor described as a “slight swing change” that has given her better yardage. Nagel, one of just two Quinnipiac golfers returning to the NEC Championships, shot an 89 (43-46, +17) today.

Jennifer Forlenza, the other returning Bobcat, finished one stroke ahead of Nagel with an 88 (44-44, +15). Forlenza’s consistent score came thanks to a pair of pars on the fifth and sixth holes of the afternoon.

Nicole Ferretti ended the day with a 95 (44-51, +23). Ferretti ran into some trouble at the end of the front nine, but did pick up a par on the sixth hole of the afternoon.

“We are constantly talking about our course management,” O’Connor said.  “Nicole is like a sponge just anxious to get better and better, and I’m confident she will put together at least on if not more very special rounds this weekend.”

Tomorrow’s tee time is also set for 9 a.m.

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Golf team ready for NEC Championships

Golf team ready for NEC Championships

By Brian Farrell, QBSN Staff Writer

The weather in Hamden is frightful, but the weather in Daytona Beach is absolutely delightful.

John O’Connor’s squad is used to playing in sub-par conditions, no pun intended, so playing in such beautiful weather will actually be a change of pace for the Quinnipiac women’s golf team when it travels to Florida this weekend for the Northeast Conference Championships.

While the last two tournaments have not gone exactly the way the Bobcats would have liked, the team is making changes for the biggest tournament of the season.

courtesy: quinnipiacbobcats.com

“We had a lot of putts,” O’Connor said referencing the team’s play at the Roar-EE Invitational and Hartford Invitational. “What we want to do is cut down on our three putts. Three putts are something we still encounter and it’s something that we should never see, but we still do.”

“It’s tough at this time of the year to practice putting because the greens change week to week,” O’Connor said. “The grass is starting to grow better, the greens are faster, [and] you are up against a difference situation every week.”

Ever changing conditions will certainly be a challenge this week at the LPGA International at Daytona Beach with temperatures projected to be more than 30 degrees higher than in Hamden.

“They’re walking 72 holes in four days in 80 plus degree intense heat,” O’Connor said. “Eighty-four might not seem all that hot, but it’s sun on you all the time. You’ve got to be concerned with staying hydrated.”

Yet despite the weather projections, O’Connor is pleased with how the team has improved since its last tournament back on April 17.

“I would think we should play pretty well down there,” O’Connor said.  “Our short game has improved and for the most part our putting has improved.”

As always the team will look to junior Kayla Ketcheson to lead. Ketcheson recently changed drivers after O’Connor noticed some issues with the flight of her ball earlier this season.

 “She was using a driver where the loft was too high,” O’Connor said. “When we were at Brown … with the wind being so severe [and] the flight of her ball being too high cost her some distance. We now have her with a driver with a 10 ½ degree loft whereas her last driver was about a 14 degree loft.”

Joining Ketcheson this weekend will be Amanda Nagel, Nicole Ferretti, Jen Forlenza, and most notably, freshman Hannah Russell.

Russell is the Bobcats’ No. 2 golfer and will make her return this weekend after missing the last two invitationals due to an injury.

Nagel and Forlenza will provide the veteran leadership as they are the only two golfers for Quinnipiac that participated in last year’s NEC Championship.

 “We want record low rounds for everybody,” O’Connor said calmly. “This is what we’ve worked for all year long and I expect all the scores to be better than they have been.”

Being the hands on coach that O’Connor is, analysis of each day will be critical to overall tournament success.

“We will track greens in regulations, fairways hit, and number of putts and those are the three things that we will key in on this weekend.”

The tournament will begin at 9 a.m. on Friday, and you can follow Live Stats at www.quinnipiacbobcats.com 

Athlete of the Week: Heather Schwartzburg

Athlete of the Week: Heather Schwartzburg

By Angelique Fiske, QBSN Publishing Editor

Heather Schwartzburg’s (Mission Viejo, Calif.) presence on the mound for Quinnipiac (26-15, 10-6 NEC) this season has been synonymous with untouchable pitching.  The senior ace pitched two complete games against Robert Morris for 14 innings on April 21 and added a win coming in as a relief pitcher later in the week against Hartford. 

courtesy: quinnipiacbobcats.com

In the doubleheader against the Colonials, Schwartzburg pitched two gems but only picked up a win in the second game.  One unearned run and a lack of run support in the first game of the day made the difference as the Bobcats dropped the game, 1-0.  Despite taking only her fifth loss of the season, Schwartzburg tied up six hitters and gave up just four hits. 

After surrendering a solo shot in the fourth inning, the Bobcat bats came out ready for the latter half of the day, putting three runs up on the board.  The two run lead was more than enough for Schwartzburg to work with as she led the Bobcats to a 3-1 victory.  Schwartzburg struck out another six Colonials and allowed only two hits on the way to her 15^th win of the season. 

Just days later on April 25, with one out in the sixth inning, Schwartzburg relieved Katie Alfiere (Beacon Falls, Conn.) and finished out the game. In her short time on the mound, Schwartzburg gave up one run and one hit, but struck out five including the three she caught looking to retire the side and end the game. 

With her performances in the week that was, the Bobcat pitcher boasted her personal record to 16-5.  She leads the team substantially in almost every statistical category, giving up a season total of 90 hits and 34 earned runs while striking out 168 batters in 152.2 innings of work.  Christy Cabrera (West Sacramento, Calif.) is second on the team with 36 strikeouts in 65.1 innings. 

The Bobcats, nearing the finish of the regular season, will rely on Schwartzburg’s precision on the mound to slide them past the competition of postseason play.  

No. 1 seed slips away from women's lacrosse

No. 1 seed slips away from women’s lacrosse

By: Taylor Massey QBSN Staff Writer

           

As the rain moved in, the Quinnipiac women’s lacrosse team was washed out by the Bryant Bulldogs. In their final game of the regular season the Bobcats lost to the Bulldogs by a mere two points, falling 8-6.

The Bulldogs burst onto the field scoring five unanswered goals in the first nine minutes of the game. The Bobcats defense appeared weak allowing several Bulldog players to break through to the goal. Senior goaltender Noelle Martello (Westbury, N.Y.) started the game, but was switched with Samantha Tilts (Port Washington, N.Y.) after the fifth goal.

courtesy: quinnipiacbobcats.com

Kyra Ochwat (Farmingdale, N.Y.) finally got the Bobcats in the game with the first goal. The freshman has proved to be a key player for the Bobcats. Ochwat is second on the team in goals with 31 goal points. Devon Gibney (Hopkinton, Mass.) recorded an assist on the goal.

After another Bryant goal, Quinnipiac kicked it into gear with a three goal streak started off by the team of Marissa Caroleo (North Babylon, N.Y.) and Sarah Allen (Glastonbury, Conn.). They cut Bryant’s 6-1 lead in half with back-to-back goals by Caroleo and the assists going to Allen. Caroleo is three points away from breaking the all-time points record while Allen is three assists away from the all-time assist record.

Lauren Sheridan led the Bulldogs to a win, earning a hat trick in the first half of the game. Katherine Keckeisen also contributed two goals to their eight-goal total. All but one of Bryant’s goals was made unassisted.

The scoring slowed down in the second half with each goalie making vital saves. Tilts made seven saves in her time in the net, only allowing one goal in the second half. Even with defense stepping up later in the game, it wasn’t enough to take over the Bulldogs.

Post-season begins next weekend, and the Bobcats will need to work on few aspects of their game. Quinnipiac will need to come out on the field with a lot more intensity in order to succeed in the playoffs.

“If we can’t play 60 minutes, we’ve got no business winning a game,” said head coach Danie Caro. “That’s something we’ve got to work on for next weekend.”

Quinnipiac drops to 7-2 in the NEC and 8-7 overall while Bryant improves to 5-4 in conference and 6-10 overall. As the No. 2-seed in the NEC, the Bobcats will head to Fairfield, Conn. next weekend to take on the No. 3-seed Monmouth.

Softball splits doubleheader with Robert Morris

Softball splits doubleheader with Robert Morris

By Giovanni Mio, QBSN Staff Writer

The Quinnipiac softball team split a doubleheader with the Robert Morris Colonials, losing the first game 1-0 and winning the second 3-1 Saturday at the QU softball field.

Robert Morris (29-19, 13-5 NEC) scored the only run of the first game off of a throwing error by the Bobcats’ shortstop Alex Alba (Sylmar, Calif.) in the top of the fourth. That was all the Colonials needed as freshman pitcher Nicole Sleith pitched seven innings of three-hit ball.

The Bobcats (24-15, 10-6 NEC), who have avoided being swept in a doubleheader all season, continued that streak by winning the second game. Quinnipiac trailed 1-0 in the fourth once again, after Colonial senior Jaci Timko hit a home run that bounced off the scoreboard. The Bobcats answered by scoring two runs in the bottom of the inning, one that was off a wild pitch.

“I think our team does a very good job of staying in the game,” said head coach Germaine Fairchild.

Schwartzburg pitched both games and gave up no earned runs. She lowers her ERA to 1.54 on the season and has 163 total strikeouts.

“Last week was the first weekend I pitched two games in a day this season,” said Schwartzburg. “I knew I could do it, and coach knows I’ll go until she tells me to stop.”

Quinnipiac faced two left-handed pitchers in Sleith and sophomore Geena Badolato. This was the third time the Bobcats faced a left-handed pitcher all season.

“In the sport of fast pitch softball, if you have a left-handed pitcher, you do have a bit of an advantage,” said Fairchild.

With the two-game set against St. Francis (Pa.) postponed, the next game for the Bobcats is a doubleheader at Hartford on Wednesday.  The first pitch is set for 2:30 p.m.

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Women's lacrosse crushes late-game surge

Women’s lacrosse crushes late-game surge

By: Taylor Massey, QBSN Staff Writer

           

In the first of its final two regular season games, the Quinnipiac women’s lacrosse team took on Northeast Conference foe Central Connecticut. Aiming to end the season strong, the Bobcats proved they came to play. After holding a consistent lead throughout the game, the Bobcats ended the game halting a comeback by the Blue Devils and winning 14-11.

           

The Bobcats immediately took control of the game winning, the opening draw and following it up with a goal by Marissa Caroleo (North Babylon, N.Y.) seconds later. This was only the first of five goals that Caroleo would score to lead the Bobcats to victory.

           

Extending their lead was easy coming off the consecutive draw control wins by Devon Gibney (Hopkinton, Mass.). During the game Gibney managed to break the single-season draw control record with 143 wins, surpassing her own record of 47 that she set last year. The Bobcats were able to capitalize on the many opportunities that Gibney offered them.

           

Quinnipiac’s 14 goals were spread out among seven different Bobcats. Michaela Tinsley (Shrewsbury, Mass.) had a big game, recording a hat trick. In the eyes of head coach Danie Caro, this diverse scoring team is a great advantage.

           

“It makes me really proud,” said Caro of the full team effort. “We have a tough team to scout for our opponents because if you shut any one player down there’s five or six others that can step up and have a big game.”

           

Goals aren’t the only thing that can give a player a big game. Sarah Allen (Glastonbury, Conn.) has been a huge force on assists this season for the Bobcats. She tallied her 100^th earlier this season and is now on her way to breaking the all-time assist record. Against the Blue Devils, she had a game-high of one goal and five assists.

           

The Bobcats’ well-rounded team commanded the first half of the game before allowing the Blue Devils to gain momentum. In the final minutes of the second half, the Blue Devils made three stunning goals to bridge the gap in scoring. Meaghan McCurry led Central with five goals matching Caroleo. Ashley Perkoski also played a key for the Blue Devils with a goal and four assists.

           

However the Bobcats were able to hold onto their lead.  This gives them a strong boost of momentum for their final game of the season against the Bryant Bulldogs. This NEC match-up will help determine whether or not the Bobcats will have the home advantage going into the playoffs.

           

“It’s everything,” said Allen of having the home advantage. “It’s what we’ve been working for all season, and if we stick to our game plan like Danie said then I think we’ll be okay.”

           

Quinnipiac improves to 8-6 overall and 7-1 in conference play while Central Connecticut falls to 7-8 overall and 5-3 in conference. The Quinnipiac Bobcats take on the Bryant Bulldogs this Sunday, April 22 at 12 p.m. In their final NEC match-up of the season the Bobcats will fight for home advantage in the first round of playoffs.