Men's Athlete of the Week

Men's Crew

The Men's Crew team has been named the male athletes of the week for the week of April 14th through April 20th.  Men's Crew had a great showing this weekend which was highlighted by the varsity eight team of Connor McGrath (Troy, NY), Scott Gary (Lubbock, TX), Neil Lettenberger (Oakland, ME), Henry Moore (Jaffrey, NH), Arthur Gager (Kennebunk, ME), Sebastien Cohn (Orinda, CA), Tobin McGee (Rye, NY), Andrew Sandefer (New Orleans, LA) and coxswain Bethany Bouchard (Nashua, NH).  The team grabbed second place on Saturday and posted a time of 5:58 to defeat Tufts and win the Baker Cup on Sunday.  The second varsity eight also had a successful weekend for the Engineers, crossing the finish line in 6:25.31 to place second on Saturday before taking home the top prize on Sunday.  The novice four rounded out a productive weekend for WPI with a second place finish of their own.  Men's Crew is back on the water on Sunday when they host UMass, Boston College and UConn beginning at 8am.

Women's Athletes of the Week

Amanda Ruksznis - Women's Crew - Senior - Norwich, CT

Katie Siering - Women's Crew - Junior- Sheridan, OR

Amanda Ruksznis and Katie Siering and of the women's crew team have been named the co-female athletes of the week for the week of April 14th through April 20th.  WPI's varsity eight of Katie Siering (Sheridan, OR), Amanda Ruksznis (Sidney, ME), Stephanie Kavrakis (Long Beach, NY), Kyla Bye-Nagel (Hanau, Germany), Chelsea Brown (Utica, NY), Bridget Stevens (Cropseyville, NY), Laura Rockett (Pembroke, MA), Simone Staley (Albany, NY) and Allison Dinitto (Wakefield, MA) combined to finish fifth overall at the NEWMAC Championships on Saturday.  The team covered the 2000 meter course in 7:15.53.  Both Ruksznis and Siering and were tabbed to the 2008 All-Conference Varsity Team for their outstanding efforts while Stevens was named to the All-NEWMAC Novice Team.  The Engineers return on May 3rd when they compete at the New England Championships on Lake Quinsigamond beginning at 8am.

Baseball (16-15-1 Overall, 5-7 NEWMAC)

Scott McNee (Falmouth, MA) belted a two-run home run in the seventh inning and a three-run blast in the eighth to help WPI to a 7-3 victory in the nightcap of a doubleheader sweep over visiting Coast Guard.  Earlier in the day the Engineers took the opener by a score of 16-2.  The Engineers improve to 16-15-1 overall and 5-7 in the NEWMAC, securing a spot in next week's six-team, double elimination NEWMAC Tournament.  Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh of game two, McNee gave WPI its first lead of the game with a two-out shot to center.  Coast Guard answered right back in the top of the eighth inning with an RBI single.  The Crimson and Gray then delivered a four-run bottom of the eighth, highlighted by a leadoff triple from Paul Galligan (Weymouth, MA), a run-producing single from Brandon Stacey (Framingham, MA) and McNee's three-run smash to left field.  The junior, who notched seven RBI in the sweep, now has nine homers and 45 RBI on the season.  Both pitchers were solid in the nightcap.  Brian Duncan (West Suffield, CT) scattered six hits and three runs over eight innings for WPI to improve to 3-4 on the season.  In the opener, WPI sent 13 batters to the plate in the first inning to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 8-1 advantage.  Mike Swanton (Foxboro, MA) delivered the big blow, crushing a three-run homer to right field just three batters in.  Mark Dignum (Albany, NY), Ethan Brown (Leominster, MA) and Cody McGregor (Westfield, MA) all collected a pair of hits and two RBI in the win.  The two singles for Brown helped him reach the 100 career hit milestone.  Junior right hander Conor Fahey (Cumberland, RI) fanned seven over the first five innings to up his record to 8-1 while Alex Hansen (Burlington, CT) and Jason Forte (Carlisle, MA) each turned in a scoreless inning of relief.  McNee tallied three hits, including the 100th of his career, to help lift WPI to a 12-2 victory over visiting Framingham State in non-conference baseball action on Thursday afternoon.  WPI scored runs in the first six innings, including multiple tally outbursts in the first three frames.  McNee led the offensive attack with a pair of doubles to go along with three RBI and three runs scored. Brown contributed with two hits and two runs scored while Swanton also had a pair of hits and a run batted in.  Swanton, Ben Erle (Boylston, MA) and Ryan Rainone (Oakville, MA) all belted doubles for the Engineers.  Mike Ball (Waltham, MA) pitched five solid innings to earn the win on the hill.  The senior allowed just one earned run en route to picking up his first decision of the year.  The Crimson and Gray received four scoreless innings of relief from the trio of Ryan Marques (Gloucester, MA), Nolan Murphy (Shrewsbury, MA) and Hansen with Marques notching five strikeouts in two innings of work.  Baseball began the week with a tough 4-0 loss to nationally-ranked Wheaton on Tuesday.  Engineer senior Ryan Smalanskas (Shrewsbury, MA) suffered the loss after yielding all four runs on seven hits with one strikeout and three walks over 6.1-plus innings.  Three of WPI's four hits were doubles, as Rainone, McNee and Swanton notched one apiece. Watkins, who had the Engineers' lone single, also stole a base.  WPI will open up the NEWMAC Tournament on Wednesday at 3:30pm.  The fifth-seeded Engineers will travel to Norton, MA to face second-seeded Wheaton.

Softball (12-16 Overall, 3-13 NEWMAC)

WPI pitchers Heather Hassett (Oxford, MA) and Lindsay Brown (Westfield, NJ) limited visiting Worcester State to just two runs in a non-conference softball doubleheader as the Engineers swept the Lancers by scores of 5-1 and 3-1 on Wednesday afternoon.  Worcester State scored its lone run of the opener just four batters into the contest with a single to left field.  WPI quickly answered in the bottom on the first when Nicole DeCampo (Stoneham, MA) launched a two-run blast to the opposite field for her fourth round tripper of the season.  The Engineers would add insurance on a Sarah Johnson (Eastham, MA) RBI single in the second and two unearned tallies in the third.  The Crimson and Gray smacked out 12 hits in the opener including two each from Nicole Maglione (Charlton, MA), DeCampo, Jen Richards (Hampstead, NH), Meg Foley (Belchertown, MA) and Johnson.  Maglione, a junior, reached the 100 hit-milestone.  Hassett yielded just two hits while dodging five walks to improve her record to 5-9.  The senior fanned seven in the complete-game effort.  In the nightcap, the Engineers again did their offensive damage early.  DeCampo laced a run-producing single in the first, Sara Migdal (Hagaman, NY) collected an sacrifice fly in the second and Johnson delivered an RBI single in the third as the Crimson and Gray jumped out to a 3-0 advantage.  Brown scattered four hits and struck out four en route to upping her record to 9-7.  On Monday, Fitchburg State plated a single run in the fifth inning to take a 5-4 lead and seal a victory over visiting WPI in non-conference softball action.  WPI jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Briana Dougherty's (Woburn, MA) two-run blast over the centerfield fence. The lead would be short-lived, however, as Fitchburg State knotted the game at 2-2 in the third on an RBI single and a wild pitch.  The Engineers quickly regained the lead at 4-2 in the fourth on a scorching two-run line drive up the middle off the bat of Maglione. Again, the Falcons retaliated and the tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom half of the on another wild pitch and RBI single.  Fitchburg State took its first lead and the eventual win in the fifth inning on a fielder's choice.  Brown was the tough-luck loser after allowing five runs (3 earned) on 11 hits with a strikeout.  On Friday, WPI suffered a 1-0 and 5-0 sweep at the hands of NEWMAC foe Smith College.  In the opener, the Pioneers registered the only run of the game just two pitches into the contest on a home run over the center field fence.  The Engineers were limited to just five hits in the game.  Hassett was brilliant as well, scattering seven hits while striking out four.  DeCampo tallied a stolen base for the Engineers.  Game two was scoreless through the first three games before Smith broke through for a pair of unearned runs in the fourth inning and three more tallies in the fifth.  Brown took the loss despite pitching well, yielding just two earned runs while throwing all seven innings.  Migdal picked up the only hit for WPI, dumping a single into right center in the bottom of the fifth.  The Engineers wrapped up their week and their season with a pair of losses (8-0 and 11-3) to Wellesley on Saturday afternoon.  Dougherty picked up two hits in game two while Kim Martilla (Kings Park, NY) added two RBI and Migdal knocked in one run.  Softball finishes their season at 14-20 overall with a 3-13 mark in NEWMAC play.

Men's Outdoor Track and Field

Jeff Baker (Wallingford, CT) and Jarrett Arredondo (Somerville, MA) each qualified provisionally for the NCAA Division III Championships in their respective events as the Engineers tallied 139 points to finish second overall at the 2008 Silfen Invitational hosted by Connecticut College.  Coast Guard was the meet champion with 243 points.  Baker was victorious in the javelin (188-02) while Arredondo threw to a first place finish in the hammer throw (171-03).  Arredondo was joined in the hammer by Fran Collins (Springfield, MA) who picked up third (150-02).  Collins took him a first place finish of his own however, winning the shot put (45-00.25) before topping off his busy day with third place in the discus (125-06).  Eugene Douglass (Concord, NH) crossed the finish line first in the 5000 meter (16:42.09) while teammate Peter Brown (Andover, MA) was second (16:50.02).  Distance runner Chris McCann (Haverhill, MA) earned himself a second place finish in the 800 meter run (1:56.34) and Lou Grillon (West Springfield, MA) grabbed second in the 110 hurdles (16.70).  Other top finishes included Pat Benson (Foxboro, MA) in the 10000 meter (3rd; 35:15.44), Keith Flander's (Westford, MA) third place (10:35.06) finish in the challenging 3000 meter steeplechase and Matija Zelic (Westboro, MA) in the long jump (21-00.50).  Earlier in the week, sophomore Ben Roy (Buxton, ME) competed at the two-day Holy Cross Decathlon.  Roy was outstanding for the Engineers, finishing third overall in the ten event competition while qualifying for the ECAC Championships on May 16th at Springfield College.  WPI Track and Field will compete at the NEWMAC Championships at Smith College on Saturday.

Women's Outdoor Track and Field

Senior Amanda Tichy (Norwich, CT) posted a height of 9-05.97 in the pole vault to take home a victory and help WPI to a fifth place finish at the 2008 Silfen Invitational.  The Engineers scored a total of 64 points while host and meet winner Connecticut College amassed 164 points.  Tichy's vault broke her old school record of 9-0.25 which was set just last Friday afternoon in a tri-meet with Springfield and Coast Guard.  In addition to setting the record, Tichy also qualified for the New England Division III Championships at Coast Guard on May 3rd.  Megan Murphy (Perkasie, PA) crossed the finish line first in the 800 meter run (2:23.42) and teammate Anne Rocheleau (Shrewsbury, MA) finished in fourth (2:28.71).  Liz Schreiber (Ashfield, MA) sprinted to second place in the 400 meter dash (1:03.36) while classmate Krista Baker (Medford, MA) placed second in the discus (116-00) and seventh in the shot put (32-02.75).  Junior Amanda Gurnon (Tolland, CT) took home fifth in the triple jump (31-06.75) while Phoebe Riley (Pomfret, CT), Catie Casey (Plymouth, MA) and Sam Cote (North Andover, MA) each earned seventh place in the 100 meter dash (14.01) and 5000 meter run (22:14.24) and long jump (15-01.50), respectively.  Stacy Rudolf (Somers, CT) and Amanda Gurnon (Tolland, CT) each punched their tickets to the New England DIII's at the two-day Holy Cross Heptathlon earlier in the week.  Rudolf finished in 15th place overall, accumulating 3334 points over the seven event competition while Gurnon placed 18th with 2921 points.  Women's Track and Field travels to Northampton on Saturday to compete at the NEWMAC Championships at Smith College.

Men's Crew

Men's Crew competed with Trinity, Bates, UNH, Vassar and Washington College on Saturday.  The varsity eight came away with a second place finish while Trinity took home first place.  The WPI eight of Connor McGrath (Troy, NY), Scott Gary (Lubbock, TX), Neil Lettenberger (Oakland, ME), Henry Moore (Jaffrey, NH), Arthur Gager (Kennebunk, ME), Sebastien Cohn (Orinda, CA), Tobin McGee (Rye, NY), Andrew Sandefer (New Orleans, LA) and coxswain Bethany Bouchard (Nashua, NH) posted a time of 6:09.91 over the 2000 meter course.  The second eight comprised of Drew Oprea (Hicksville, NY), Berk Birand (Istanbul, Turkey), Jeffrey Onderdonk (Colechester, CT), Nick Vitello (Tolland, CT), Ben Johnson (Northford, CT), Max French (Harwinton, CT), Don Havener (Turner, ME), Evan My (Marshfield, MA) and Brenna Colleary (Southboro, MA) also rowed to a second place finish (6:25.31) while the varsity four combination of Josh Wimble (Albans, VT), Jack Sternal (Westfield, NH), Tim Navien (Haverhill, MA), Marshall Berklow (Devens, MA) and Eileen Gribouski (Sutton, MA) capped off the day with the third second place finish of the day for the Engineers.  Sunday was a banner day for the men's crew program as the varsity eight took home the Baker Cup by defeating RIT, RPI and Tufts in a time of 5:58.  The second eight grabbed a first place finish of their own, crossing the finish line in 6:15 while third eight of Garret Cavanaugh (Townsend, MA), Tom Parenteau (Scarborough, ME), Evan May (Marshfield, MA), Matt Kielbasa (Ludlow, MA), Elan Pelletier (Georgetown, MA), Andrew Emerson (York, ME), Drew Domnarski (Pawcatuck, CT), Philip Kellermeier (Berlin, Germany) and Nina Bass (Trumbull, CT) finished in 6:38.02 and earn WPI a second place finish.  Men's Crew is back on the water on Sunday against UMass, Boston College and UConn.

Women's Crew

The women's varsity eight rowed to a fifth place finish at this years NEWMAC Championships hosted by Clark University.  Coast Guard took home the top prize for the second consecutive year, rowing the 2000 meter course in 6:52.07.  WPI's eight of Katie Siering (Sheridan, OR), Amanda Ruksznis (Sidney, ME), Stephanie Kavrakis (Long Beach, NY), Kyla Bye-Nagle (Hanau, Germany), Chelsea Brown (Utica, NY), Bridget Stevens (Cropseyville, NY), Laura Rockett (Pembroke, MA), Simone Staley (Albany, NY) and Allison Dinitto (Wakefield, MA) posted a time of 7:15.53.  Both Sireing and Ruksznis were tabbed to the 2008 All-Conference Varsity Team for their outstanding efforts while Stevens was named to the All-NEWMAC Novice Team.   On Sunday, the Engineers competed against William Smith, Tufts and RIT.  The Varsity came away with third place (7:06.01).  William Smith posted a time of 6:42.30 to take home the top prize while Tufts took home the Bernie Brown Cup.  The Novice Four of Shiela Muriel (Long Beach, CA), Brown, Stevens, Amanda Connor (Bolton, MA) and Staley rowed to a second place finish (9:07.60), defeating Holy Cross and Clark while falling to Rensselaer. Women's Crew is off until May 3rd when they compete at the New England Championships beginning at 8am.