The Pioneer Trail: Friday, Mar. 13, 2015
Women's Swimming at Day 3 of NCAA Division II National Championships
Outstanding performances in the pool launched the LIU Post women's swimming team inside the top-10 at the NCAA Division II National Championships in Indianapolis. As Day 3 approaches, the Pioneers will look to their two-time defending national champion to continue the quality momentum on the campus of IUPUI.
LIU Post recorded four top-10 finishes in competition Thursday (Mar. 12), including two silver-medal performances in individual meets. First, the 200-yard freestyle relay team of freshman Laura Bendfeldt (Grosshansdorf, Germany), seniors Johanna Pettersson (Kungalv, Sweden) and Courtney Delehanty (Oceanport, N.J.) and junior Meghan Brazier (West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) finished in tenth overall and second in the consolation finals (1:34.27). The performance gave the Pioneers 14 points to add to their total, but the green and gold were by no means done.
Senior Carolin Rademacher (Isernhagen, Germany) continued a banner outing by finishing in second in the 400-yard individual medley race. Her time of 4:18.06 was surpassed only by the time of the winner, freshman Courtney Deveny (Estero, Fla.) of Nova Southeastern (4:16.63). Rademacher earned 17 points for LIU Post and added the silver to her seventh-place finish in the 200-yard IM on Wednesday (Mar. 11).
Junior Joyce Kwok (Middle Village, N.Y.) also won a silver medal, finishing in second in the 100-yard butterfly event (53.59). Wingate swimmer Armony Dumur (Marly-Gomont, France) ---who swam for regional rival Bridgeport last year---won the race with a record time of 52.42. Pettersson, Rademacher, Kwok and Brazier later combined to swim the fourth-fastest time in the 400-yard medley relay (3:41.79). The two events combined garnered the Pioneers another 47 points towards their team total.
LIU Post is currently in seventh place with a total of 96 points. Queens (N.C.) holds the lead after two days with a 280-point total, ahead of two-time defending national champion Drury (257.5). The Pioneers will have swimmers competing in four scheduled events on Friday, including the 200-yard butterfly race. Kwok comes into the event as the winner of the last two national championships in that specific discipline. Her qualifying time of 1:59.52 was the second-fastest time in the nation this year, behind the 1:58.32 of Queens (N.C.) sophomore Hannah Peiffer (Hixson, Tenn.). Other scheduled events include the 800-yard freestyle relay, 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard breaststroke swims.
Softball vs. Dominican – 10 a.m., 12 p.m.
In Division II softball, wins against regional opponents tend to mean more when the NCAA Tournament rolls around. So despite a 1-3 record to start the season, the LIU Post softball team will begin playing regional opponents today when they face Dominican at the Saint Leo University Tournament.
LIU Post (1-3) split a doubleheader with Florida Southern on Wednesday (Mar. 11), dropping the first game to the Mocs by a 3-2 score before winning a 6-5 decision in the nightcap. In game one, the Pioneers took a 1-0 lead in the second inning thanks to an RBI double from sophomore Kayla McCoy (Smithtown, N.Y.). The lead lasted only briefly, however, as Florida Southern scratched three runs across in the bottom half of the frame off of senior starter Megan Salcido (Brawley, Calif.). The Pioneers managed just five hits off of Mocs starter Brandi Jones (Snellville, Ga.), who went the distance in the win.
In the second game, the green and gold unleashed an offensive onslaught to come from behind and achieve the win. Down 3-0 in the fifth, LIU Post loaded the bases for junior infielder Maria Palmeri (Middle Village, N.Y.) to clear them with a double into the left-center field gap. Florida Southern scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, setting the stage for the Pioneers to win the game in the seventh. Senior catcher Aly Dzierzynski (Deer Park, N.Y.) hit an RBI double to start the scoring, and sophomore infielder Melissa Peet (Monroe, Conn.) would hit the go-ahead and game-winning two-run home run to put the Pioneers up 6-5. Sophomore pitcher Ashley Martin (Long Beach, N.Y.) recorded the win, despite allowing five runs on six hits in six innings. Junior Isabella Corrao (Farmingdale, N.Y.) notched the save by throwing a near-perfect seventh inning.
Dominican (1-3) dropped both games in a doubleheader to Stonehill at the NTC Games in Clermont, Fla. on Thursday (Mar. 12). The Chargers were bested by their regional foes in the first game by a final score of 4-3. The Skyhawks grabbed a 4-0 lead after the top half of the first inning, and Dominican was unable to complete the comeback despite scoring two runs in the sixth. Freshman hurler Jenna Maska (Warren, Mass.) went the distance and took the loss, striking out five in her seven innings of work. Sophomore outfielder Elontay Collins (San Diego, Calif.) hit a solo home run in the sixth to cap scoring for the Chargers.
Dominican was blanked by Stonehill junior Sarah Ropiak (Acton, Mass.) in game two, falling to the Skyhawks 4-0. Ropiak pitched a two-hitter, striking out three batters while her offense peppered Chargers sophomore Emily Larsen (Midlothian, Ill.) for 10 hits over her six innings of work.
Wrestling at Day 1 of NCAA Division II National Championships
Standing in the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis will be the 160 best wrestlers from all four Super Regions in NCAA Division II wrestling. Among these 160 grapplers will be---for the first time since the mid-1980s---two members of the LIU Post wrestling team. Getting to "The Gateway to the West" is an accomplishment enough, however, there is still much pressure on both green and gold wrestlers to represent Super Region One.
At the 133-lb. weight class, freshman Joe Calderone (Huntington Station, N.Y.) finds himself with a tough draw. Calderone, sporting a 26-8 dual record in his first season, will take on the second-ranked wrestler in the nation at 133 pounds in the first round. Ashland junior Michael Labry (Twinsburg, Ohio) was named Wrestler of the Year for Super Region Two and achieved a dual record of 39-1, and a career mark of 109-10. Calderone, however, has a knack for performing against top-flight competition, and the freshman recorded 14 victories by pinfall on the season.
Senior Chris DiIorio (Holtsville, N.Y.) heads into St. Louis as the Super Region One champion of the 197-lb. weight bracket. The senior holds a 20-9 mark in dual meets this season, and will face Northern State sophomore Joe Gomez (Graham, Wash.) in the first round. Gomez went 26-5 in 31 duals this season, and earned a fourth-place finish in his Super Region bracket to qualify for the national tournament. The winner of this bout faces a difficult path to the semifinals; awaiting the victor will be either No. 2 Romero Cotton of Nebraska-Kearney or No. 8 Evan Rosborough of Lake Erie.