ATTENTION: The weekly round-up is designed to provide a concise summary of the past week's results and information on athletes.
FOOTBALL (4-1, 2-1 Empire 8): Oct. 18 vs. Frostburg State
Ithaca held host Norwich to nine first downs as the #26 Bombers posted a 41-6 win. Sophomore running back Dan Ruggiero (Pen Argyl/Pen Argyl, Pa.) ran for a career-best 101 yards and the first two touchdowns of his career. Junior running back Thomas Bergerstock (Webster-Thomas/Webster), who didn’t play in the game’s final 38 minutes, ran for 98 yards and a touchdown. Senior quarterback Dan Juvan (Dobbs Ferry/Yonkers) threw for 239 yards, completing 19 of 30 passes. He threw an eight-yard touchdown to sophomore wide receiver Thomas Vossler (Saranac Lake/Loon Lake) to open the scoring and a 63-yard pass to senior wideout Kyle Crandall (Herkimer/Herkimer) in the fourth quarter. Vossler led Ithaca with a career-best seven catches; the TD was the first of his career. Crandall gained a team-best 87 yards on four receptions. Sophomore tight end Dan Higgins (Greece Athena/Rochester) caught the first four passes of his career. Senior wide receiver Matt Quinn (Rush Henrietta/Henrietta) capped the game’s scoring with a 10-yard touchdown reception from junior quarterback Brian Grastorf (Niskayuna/Rexford). The touchdown catch was the first of his career and came on his first collegiate reception. The Bombers held Norwich to 140 yards of total offense, including 43 rushing yards on 25 carries. Freshman linebacker Ryan Clarke (Archbishop Spalding/West Friendship, Md.) led Ithaca with a career-best 12 tackles. Senior linebacker Matt Scalice (North Tonawanda/North Tonawanda) added seven and forced a fumble that sophomore defensive end Matt Dibble (Columbia/East Schodack) recovered. Senior cornerback Jason Chier (Chenango Forks/Binghamton) had a pair of tackles for loss, intercepted one pass (returning it 19 yards) and broke up two others. Junior strong safety Roniel Bencosme (Sleepy Hollow/Sleepy Hollow) intercepted two second-half passes, including one in his own end zone. Junior defensive tackle Joe Goetz (New Hyde Park/New Hyde Park) was in on two tackles for loss. Sophomore free safety Tom Eschen (Cazenovia/Cazenovia), who made his first career start, made a career-best five tackles. Freshman Andrew Rogowski (Canisius/East Amherst) kicked extra points after five of Ithaca’s six touchdowns. Junior Adam Drescher (Christian Brothers Academy/Fayetteville) blocked the extra-point attempt after Norwich’s touchdown.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY: Oct. 24 at Cornell’s John Reif Invitational
Senior Lindsey Nadolski (Chapel Hill/Chapel Hill, N.C.) led the #21 Bombers to a second-place finish at the Hamilton Invitational as she finished first out of a field of 128 runners with a time of 17:38. For Nadolski, this was a career best in the 5K, topping her previous personal record by 12 seconds. Freshman Heidi Baumbach (Lake Placid/Lake Placid) finished seventh with a time of 18:37. Baumbach also set a new 5K personal record, bettering her previous time by 43 seconds. Three other Ithaca runners finished in a tight pack within a 10-second interval, ranging from 18:54 to 19:04. Junior Melanie McCormick (Champlain Valley Union/Williston, Vt.) was 12th; sophomore Catherine Ortiz (Newburgh Free Academy/Newburgh) was 15th; and junior Amanda Boccio (Guilderland Central/Albany) was 16th. Ortiz also set a new 5K personal record at 18:59, besting her previous time by three seconds.
MEN’S SOCCER (7-2-1, 2-0-1 Empire 8): Oct. 15 at Hobart; Oct. 18 at Alfred; Oct. 19 at St. John Fisher
Ithaca lost 1-0 to Rowan Saturday. The Bombers were unbeaten in their previous 10 home games, a streak that lasted over a year. The loss also snapped Ithaca’s five game unbeaten streak. Senior goalkeeper Andy Wilhelm (Centennial, Ellicott City, Md.) made three saves.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY: Oct. 24 at Cornell’s John Reif Invitational
Ithaca finished fourth out of 10 teams at Hamilton College’s Invitational. The Bombers were led by sophomore Stefan Karkuff’s (Cumberland Valley/Mechanicsburg Pa.) fourth-place finish, as well as three other runners in the top 30. Karkuff finished with a time of 26:57, which was 1:16 faster than his pace on the same course last year. Danny George (Walter Johnson/Bethesda, Md.) was the other Bomber to join Karkuff in the top 10. George finished 10th with a time of 27:14. The other scorers for Ithaca were sophomore Tyler Gustafson (Jamestown/Lakewood) in 16th at 27:29, junior Eric Olen (Neuqua Valley/Naperville, Ill.) in 27th at 28:00, and sophomore A.J. McConville (Haldane/Cold Spring) in 29th at 28:16.
WOMEN’S SOCCER (9-1-1, 5-0 Empire 8): Oct. 18 at St. Lawrence
The #21 Bombers won two more games, stretching their shutout streak to six games by blanking Elmira and Alfred by 8-0 scores. Junior forward Winnie Adrien (Blairstown Academy [N.J.]/Selden) recorded two second-half goals against Elmira and senior forward Chelsey Feldman (Lynbrook/Hewlett) scored on a penalty kick in the first half. Junior midfielders Emily Mogk (Bozeman/Bozeman Mont.) and Amy Scheffer (Schalmont/Schenectady) combined on Ithaca’s second goal as Scheffer finished a cross from Mogk. Senior Lauren Koppel (Southside/Rockville Center) and sophomore midfielder Liz Masucci (New Providence/New Providence, N.J.) scored their first goals as Bombers in the second half. Freshman Kelly Walsh (Northern Burlington County/Chesterfield, N.J.) assisted on Koppel’s goal. It was her first career assist. Senior midfielders Nikki Rice (Sutton Memorial/Sutton, Mass.) and Chelsea Stouffer (Wheatland-Chili/Scottsville) also scored their first goals of the season. Junior Sarah Moore (Amherst Regional/Leverett, Mass.) assisted on Stouffer’s goal for her first point of the season. Sophomore goalie Alyssa Sotomayor (East Brunswick/East Brunswick, N.J.) played the first half while sophomore Jessica Platt (Monument Mountain/New Marlborough Mass.) and junior Colette Heefner (Calhoun/Merrick) split the second half. Against Alfred, Feldman scored her 11th goal of the season just before the seven minute mark. Scheffer and Adrien each scored in the next 5:02 to push the lead to 3-0. They have both recorded at least one point in Ithaca’s last eight games. Scheffer also assisted on two goals and is tied with Adrien for the team lead with four assists. Moore scored her first goal of the season to push the score to 4-0 before the first half ended. Mogk scored Ithaca’s first goal of the second half. Less than 10 minutes later, sophomore forward Kelly Gannon (Schoharie/Howe Cave) scored her first goal of the season on a direct kick. Walsh and Koppel added goals after the 80th minute. Masucci and senior Sara Dowling (Baldwin/Baldwin) both added assists. Dowling’s was her first point of the season. Sotomayor played the first half and saved Alfred’s only shot. Platt and junior Meredith Young (Lowville Academy/Lowville) split the second half.
FIELD HOCKEY (5-6, 1-3 Empire 8): Oct. 15 at Rochester; Oct. 18 vs. Utica
Ithaca won a pair of games last week, beating Morrisville 4-2 and shutting out Nazareth 4-0. Against Morrisville, Ithaca opened the scoring in the 13th minute on a goal by senior Elyse Green (Shawnee/Medford, N.J.). The goal was her fifth of the season. Sophomore Katherine Brown (Akron/Akron) and junior Annie Onzik (Bishop O’Reilly/Shavertown, Pa.) were credited with the assists. The Bombers continued to put the pressure on and scored twice more before halftime. Senior Courtney Clark (Camden/Boonville) scored off a pass from freshman Sofia Johnson (Holland Patent/Holland Patent) in the 26th minute. The assist was the first assist and point of Johnson’s career at Ithaca. Two minutes later, Onzik scored to put the Bombers ahead 3-0 off an assist from Clark. Clark scored her second goal of the game late in the half off an assist from Green. Clark had the first multi-goal game of her career with two goals, and her five points in the contest were also a career high. Junior goalkeeper Courtney Dowell (Massapequa/Massapequa) started for the Bombers and earned her second win of the season. Dowell had two saves. Ithaca opened the scoring against Nazareth in the seventh minute on a goal by Johnson. The goal was her first as a Bomber. Onzik was credited with her second assist of the season. The Bombers continued to put the pressure on and scored one more before halftime. Freshman Kirsten Auer (Branford/Branford, Conn.) scored off a pass from junior Krista Fieselmann (Bridgewater-Raritan/Bridgewater, N.J.) in the 31st minute to put Ithaca in front 2-0. The goal was the first goal and point of Auer’s career at Ithaca. The assist was also Fieselmann’s first of the season. Auer scored her second of the game in the 52nd minute off an assist from sophomore Laura Murphy (Orchard Park/Orchard Park). The assist was the first assist and point of Murphy’s career. Onzik put the Bombers up 4-0 less than a minute later with a rebound goal. Onzik now shares the team lead for goals this season with five. Dowell earned her first shutout of the year with seven saves and improved to 3-1 this season.
WOMEN’S TENNIS (11-0, 8-0 Empire 8): Oct. 17-19, New York State Championships at Cornell
The Bombers won three matches last week to wrap up their fall season with an undefeated record. Ithaca beat Hartwick 7-1, then claimed the Empire 8 Championship Tournament title with 5-1 wins over Stevens Institute of Technology and Rochester Institute of Technology to secure the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs. Against Hartwick, senior Alyssa Jaffe (Pascack Hills/Montvale, N.J.) won twice for the Bombers. She won 8-1 at first doubles with teammate junior Devra Reiman (Columbia/Maplewood, N.J.), and also won at second singles. Seniors Natalie Jenereski (Knoch/Butler, Pa.) and Amanda Korba (Solon/Solon, Ohio) won in straight sets at third singles and sixth singles. Fellow senior Michelle Duffy (Cazenovia/Cazenovia) teamed with freshman Katrina Erdahl (Mars Area/Gibsonia, Pa.) to win 8-4 at third doubles. Junior Sarah Hollis (Greens Farms Academy/Fairfield, Conn.) and freshman Becky Campbell (Sanford School/Chadds Ford, Pa.) also won in singles play. Ithaca started strongly in the Empire 8 semifinal win over Stevens with wins at first and third doubles. Jenereski and sophomore Agata Kubik (C.K. Norwid Gen. Lyceum/Czestochowa, Poland) won 8-6 at first doubles and sophomores Melanie Cohen (Hatboro-Horsham/Ambler, Pa.) and Melissa Nunez (Morris Hills/Rockaway, N.J.) were 8-6 victors at third doubles. Reiman, Jaffe and Hollis won in straight sets in their singles matches to give the Bombers the overall victory. The Bombers swept all three doubles matches against RIT to build a 3-0 lead. Jenereski and Kubik were 8-6 winners at first doubles, beating a previously undefeated team Jaffe – the tournament’s Most Valuable Player – and Reiman won 8-3 at second doubles, and Cohen and Nunez were 8-2 winners at third doubles. Singles victories by Jaffe and Cohen clinched the win.
VOLLEYBALL (11-12, 1-3 Empire 8): Oct. 21 vs. Oneonta
Ithaca went 2-3 last week, losing a four-game match at Cortland and splitting four matches at Union’s Interleague Challenge (beating Hartwick 3-1 and sweeping Potsdam before losing to Skidmore and Union). At Cortland, the Bombers were led offensively by freshman Jessica Hoeffner (Hauppauge/Hauppauge) with eight kills. Junior Corinna Doctor (Skaneateles/Skaneateles) contributed 27 assists, 11 digs, and three aces. Freshman Kate Thoene (Voorhees/High Bridge, N.J.) led the team and set a career-high with seven blocks. Against Hartwick, junior Rachel Busch (Hoover/North Canton, Ohio) picked up a career-best 20 kills. Doctor tallied 40 assists in the win. Defensively, sophomore Tina Orlandini (Flintridge Sacred Heart/Altadena, Calif.) led the Bombers with 26 digs. Doctor added 13. Orlandini and Doctor led the Bombers with 26 and 22 digs, respectively, in the Potsdam win. Doctor also recorded a team-best 43 assists. In the Skidmore match, sophomore Jen Heberton (Darien/Darien, Conn.) led the Bombers with 21 kills, tying her career-high. She hit .346. Busch contributed 14 kills. Doctor recorded 35 assists and 16 digs. Orlandini led the team with 27 digs. Doctor tallied 22 assists and 11 digs against Union. She totaled 135 assists in the tournament and was named to the all-tournament team. Busch led the Bombers with 10 kills. Thoene led the team with seven blocks.