College Collage: Greylock Lacrosse Alums to Collide in NCAA Tourney

On Wednesday, the NCAA Division III men’s lacrosse tournament will include a first-round game pitting two Mount Greylock alumni against one another when New England College meets St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y.

 

NEC freshman Liam Chenail has 10 goals and eight assists in 17 games for the Pilgrims (13-6), who on Friday won their third North Atlantic Conference championship in five years.

 

The St. Lawrence Saints (15-2) have gotten 10 goals and six assists this spring from junior Brett McCormack. The Saints were upset by RPI in the Liberty League semi-finals, but earned an at-large bid to the tournament and are ranked fourth nationally in the latest U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association/Nike poll.

 

Meanwhile, up in Middlebury, Vt., the Panthers and freshman Michael McCormack (Mount Greylock) open the NCAA DIII tournament on Wednesday against Springfield College. Middlebury (12-6) lost to Tufts in the NESCAC Championship game last weekend. Michael McCormack has a goal and three assists in 14 games.

 

Taconic High graduates Steve Witkowski and Alex Carusotto are flying high as members of the UMass Boston baseball team. The two sophomores helped the Beacons win their first ever Little East Conference regular season title, UMass Boston opens the conference tournament on Wednesday against sixth-seeded Western Connecticut State.

 

Witkowski has a 7.32 earned run average in seven appearances this spring. Carusotto’s ERA is 9.49 in eight appearances.

 

Franklin Pierce senior Tanner Bird and the Franklin Pierce baseball team Tuesday advanced to the second round of the Northeast-10 Championship Tournament. Bird, a graduate of Hoosac Valley High School, did not appear on the mound on Tuesday; he has an earned run average of .53 and a record of 8-0 in 19 appearances - mostly out of the bullpen - this season.

 

Worcester State junior and Taconic graduate Brian Bonacquisti finished the year with his team’s third-best batting average, .302, and had five doubles for the Lancers.

 

Dickinson College freshman Ian Brink (Mount Greylock) posted a 4.01 earned run average in seven appearances for the Red Devils, who finished 20-18.

 

Columbia University senior John Kinne ended his career on a high note as the team defeated Penn in the season finale. Kinne and his classmates won 106 games, second most in school history and helped the Lions win the 2015 Ivy League championship. This spring, Kinne batted .268 with 22 RBIs in 40 games.

 

Monument Mountain graduate Bobby Kinne batted .316 with 13 RBIs in 23 games this spring as a sophomore at Vassar College. 

 

Plymouth State junior Eric Leitch (Mount Greylock) is hitting .390 this spring, appearing in 26 games for the Panthers (20-20), who open the Little East Conference tournament on Wednesday against UMass-Dartmouth.

 

In his first season with the Division I University at Albany baseball team, Pittsfield High graduate Kevin Donati is hitting .323 with 16 RBIs. He has started 38 games for the Great Danes (19-23).

 

Hoosac Valley graduate Justin Nichols has an ERA of 8.84 in 11 games for the Mass Maritime baseball team. The Buccaneers were upended by Salem State in the MASCAC Championship game but will play Brandeis on Thursday in the ECAC New England tournament.

 

Dominic Nda had a busy and successful day at last weekend’s NCAA Division III Regional Championship meet. The Taconic High graduate and UMass-Boston sophomore placed fifth in the 100 meters (10.95 seconds) and sixth in the 200 (22.26) and ran on a third-place 4-by-100 relay squad.

 

Bridgewater State sophomore Michael Kotleski (Monument Mountain) earned all-New England honors in the 400-meter hurdles by finishing eighth in a season-best time of 55.72 seconds at the NCAA DIII Regional.

 

At Northeastern, freshman Tucker McNinch finished sixth in the 10,000 meters (32:39.80) to help the Huskies win their second straight Colonial Athletic Association team title over the weekend.

 

Wahconah graduate Gabby Lavinio and the Western New England softball team finished the year with a 23-18 record after dropping a 2-0 decision to Roger Williams in the Commonwealth Coast Conference tournament over the weekend. Lavinio, who hit .431 with 13 doubles and seven home runs, was named to the College Sports Information Directors Association’s Academic All-District team.

 

Elms tournament title run began with a 7-3 win over Regis College, where senior and Monument Mountain graduate Michaela Nejaime went .343 with 17 RBIs this spring. Sophomore Alexa Nejaime batted .243 with 11 RBIs.

 

Wahconah grad and Becker sophomore Brianna Herforth was named to the NECC all-Tournament team after helping lead Becker to the conference championship game, where Elms prevailed, 1-0. Herforth batted .380 with six doubles and 20 RBIs this spring.

 

Mount Greylock graduate Catie Benoit helped lead Babson’s softball team to a 28-15 season by hitting .356 with 18 RBIs for the Beavers, who lasted four games in the double-elimination NEWMAC tournament.

 

Drury graduate and Simmons College sophomore Cat Record finished the year 2-5 with a 3.89 ERA for a team that went 13-20.

 

The Westfield State women’s lacrosse team’s run at a MASCAC title ended in the championship game last weekend, when second-seeded Bridgewater State defeated the top-seeded Owls, 11-10, in overtime. Mount Greylock graduate and Westfield freshman Lucy Barrett had three shots in the loss and finished the season with eight goals and six assists in 18 games.

 

Westfield State advanced through the semi-finals of the conference tournament over Worcester State, which featured another Mount Greylock graduate, junior Chloe Anderson, who finished the season with one goal for the Lancers.

 

At Carleton College, sophomore Emily Kaegi (Mount Greylock) finished 10th in the 1,500 meters at the Meet of the UnSaintly in St. Paul, Minn., over the weekend.