Go ‘Gate

Men’s rowing wins gold at Dad Vail

The men’s Varsity 4+ captured the program’s first Dad Vail Regatta gold medal with a thrilling victory on May 11. Thunderstorms delayed the grand final for nearly three hours, but it was worth the wait — the Raiders crew beat out Oklahoma City by less than three seconds to claim the Thomas A. Curran Cup.

In the boat were Ryan Kelliher ’15, Sal Curasi ’15, Graham Horman ’17, and Clarke Cady-McCrea ’17, along with coxswain Natalie Smith ’17 (pictured above with Head Coach Khaled Sanad, Assistant Coach Michael Cute, and a regatta official). They claimed their opening heat in 6:49.938, edging out SUNY Geneseo’s 6:53.542 and advancing to the semifinal round. There, they lost to Oklahoma City by 2.191 seconds but still advanced to the grand final. When it mattered the most, the Raiders pulled through, crossing the line in 6:25.584 to clip Oklahoma City’s 6:28.254.

The Freshman/Novice 4+ crew of Justin Manzi, Andrew Isaacson, Francis Migliore, and Shane Buchanan, along with coxswain Smith, also had a strong showing. In the heat, they clipped Michigan by more than five seconds with a time of 6:42.261. They were victorious again in the semifinal, posting a 6:51.014 result to defeat SUNY Maritime by more than four seconds. Their time in the grand final, 7:56.291, landed them in sixth place.

NCAA recognizes Colgate

Colgate placed 12 teams among the top 10 percent of their respective sports in the latest Academic Progress Report (APR), earning Public Recognition Awards from the NCAA. The APR is an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all of Division I. Teams must meet a certain academic threshold to qualify for the postseason, and they also can face penalties for continued low academic performance.

The score requirements for the top 10 ranged from 980 to a perfect 1,000, depending on the sport, with the majority of top-10 teams earning a perfect APR. The most recent APRs are multiyear rates based on scores from 2009–10 through 2012–13.

Colgate is one of just 58 schools to have received at least one Public Recognition Award in the program’s nine years. Seven of those 58 schools (including Colgate) are Patriot League members. During 2012–13, 21 Colgate teams earned perfect scores of 1,000, and the Patriot League averaged a score of 991, which was second in the country among conferences.

Women’s Lacrosse

In the home game against St. Bonaventure, women’s lacrosse won 18-6. The team ended the season in the quarterfinals with a 10-8 loss at Holy Cross and a 7-9 overall record. (Photo by Bob Cornell)

The Golden Gates

The athletics division handed out hardware and recognized accomplishments on May 4 during The Golden Gates, the seventh annual all-sports banquet, at Cotterell Court.

A crowd of more than 600 welcomed U.S. Olympic ice hockey goaltender Jim Craig P’15 as the featured speaker. Craig played on the 1980 team that won gold at the Lake Placid Winter Olympic Games. His daughter, Taylor, will be a senior forward on the ice for the Raiders next season.

“Remember the importance of taking advantage of opportunity,” Craig said. “You can’t achieve it if you don’t dream it.”

Volleyball player Diane Seely ’15 and basketball player Murphy Burnatowski ’14 were each named Athlete of the Year. Seely was Patriot League Player of the Year and earned a spot on the All-Academic Team. Burnatowski picked up All-Patriot League Second Team honors and was the team’s Bob Duffy-Tucker Neale MVP recipient — claiming both for a second time.

Earlier in the evening, Colgate recognized two rookies who made an immediate impact on their teams: Sarah Bowles ’17 from lacrosse and Charlie Finn ’17 from ice hockey. Bowles was a major contributor with 16 goals and two assists for 18 points. Finn was in the ECAC Hockey top five in goals-against average and save percentage.

Captains Macy Warren ’14 from rowing and Nick Arpey ’14 from soccer were each named Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Warren has twice been named National Scholar-Athlete by the CRCA, in addition to making the Dean’s List every semester. Arpey is a three-time Patriot League Academic Honor Roll recipient and was named to the 2012 Academic All-Patriot League Team.

The Howard N. Hartman Award for coach of the year was presented to Men’s Hockey Head Coach Don Vaughan.

The John LeFevre ’41 Appreciation Awards went to Associate Provost Trish St. Leger and volunteer photographer Phil Inglis. Student-Athlete Advisory Committee leaders Kaylee Fifer ’14 from volleyball, Lauryn Kobiela ’14 from basketball, Alex Lagowitz ’15 from golf, and Jimmy DeCicco ’15 from football also were recognized.

That evening, several tributes were made to Brian Crockett ’13, a former Raiders football student-athlete who died March 4 at age 22 after surgery-related complications.

Softball finishes with a victory

Colgate softball finished the season taking two games from Holy Cross in May. The Raiders recorded 2­-0 and 6-­4 victories over the Crusaders to end their season with an overall conference mark of 5­-13 and a 13­-30 overall record.

In game one of their three­-game set, Eileen Ornousky ’14 drilled her third homer in four games to give the Raiders the 2­-0 win.

After falling 6-­5 in eight innings in game two, the Raiders rebounded with a 6­-4 performance in the series finale. Strong defense and pitching from the Raiders in the final two innings secured them the win.

Two players earned all­-league recognition: Mariel Schlaefer ’16 and rookie Katie Bushee ’17. After leading the team in season home runs with five, Schlaefer showcased why she was voted to the All­-Patriot League First Team for the second consecutive year. She was voted to the first team after finishing the season hitting .255 on the year and .268 in conference play. She recorded six doubles and one triple while reeling in 16 RBIs to place second on the team. The Brookfield, Conn., native earned a team­-high 17 walks and four stolen bases.

Bushee received her first league honor after being tabbed to the All­Patriot League Second Team for her performance in the outfield. The San Marcos, Calif., native led the team for most of the year with a .322 batting average. She also accounted for 29 Colgate runs and 17 stolen bases — both team highs. In her 143 at bats, Bushee recorded 46 hits, 13 doubles, and three triples to go along with her first two career home runs.

Watch clips from this softball season in the video series Sisters of the Diamond by outfielder Jennifer Martin ’14, who wanted to record memories from her final season.

Burke is PL rookie of the year

Brandon Burke ’17 (Photo by Bob Cornell)

Burke won Colgate’s starting position in the preseason. His highlight reel of saves throughout the season demonstrates why he ranks statistically as one of the nation’s top goalkeepers.

“I’m humbled, but I’ve got to say thank you to Bobby Lawrence [’14], Leo Stouros [’16], John Baker [’16], and Matt Yeager [’15],” Burke said. “They made my job a lot easier. For every single game and every practice, they’ve given one hundred and ten percent to play in front of me and keep the fewest shots possible coming my way.”

Colgate’s 2014 All-Patriot League first-teamers were Lawrence on defense and Matt Clarkson ’15 in midfield. Lawrence, the captain, earned a first-team nod for the second consecutive year. Walsh headlined the second-team unit at attack and was joined by Eric Foote ’16 in midfield and Alex Kinnealey ’15 as the faceoff specialist. Walsh, who led the Raiders with 31 goals and 45 points, is a repeat second-team selection.

Emily Speck ’14 named Yeardley Love Unsung Hero

Lacrosse defender Emily Speck ’14 is this year’s national female recipient of the Yeardley Reynolds Love Unsung Hero Award.

She joined Yale’s Dylan Levings on the men’s side as being the Division I lacrosse players who share the qualities of former Virginia women’s lacrosse player Yeardley Reynolds Love. The YRL Unsung Hero Award recognizes the accomplishments of two student-athletes “who help his and her team achieve success in ways that may not be measured in goals, saves, or ground balls. It places value on characteristics that often are undervalued in the competitively charged environment of college lacrosse.” The two winners were each awarded a donation to the charity of their choice.

Speck graduated with a neuroscience degree and also earned Colgate’s Gottesman Award for Excellence in the Sciences and Athletics. She played in 13 games this season with 12 starts on defense, and caused the team’s third-most turnovers with 15.

Fourth All-Patriot League honor for Gensburg

Tennis player Luke Gensburg ’14 became a four-time first team All-Patriot League competitor when he was named to the top team in 2014. Gensburg is the first Raider to earn first team All-Patriot League all four seasons since the league went to an overall first and second team in 2003. (Previously, the league had a doubles and singles format for first team).

Gensburg finished the year with a 12-5 singles record and had a 3-3 mark in conference play as the top singles player for the Raiders for the fourth-straight year. He won eight of his first 10 singles matches and earned victories in his first four of the spring season.

Gensburg, who is from Glencoe, Ill., led the Raiders to their first win over Navy since 2006. He won in both singles and doubles to help his team to a 5-2 win. He led the Raiders to a 4-3 record in Patriot League play and a 10-9 mark overall. Gensburg played all season at the top doubles position and went 8-11.

Go figure – Playing for a cause

7 Colgate teams held a total of 16 charity events in 2013–14

$10,000+ raised for Autism Awareness

25 pink ribbons worn by dance team for Play for Kay (breast cancer awareness)

2-1 Colgate beat Dartmouth during the Make-A-Wish fundraising game

34 rainbow socks worn by men’s basketball players during the Blue for Q game in support of LGBTQ initiatives

4,379 spectators at football vs. Bucknell game in support of ependymoma awareness