Seasons wrap up with mixed results

Swimming and lacrosse led UD during the winter and spring sports seasons, with the men’s swimming team finishing a program-best third at the Colonial Athletic Association championship and both lacrosse teams reaching the conference playoffs.

The swimming teams had outstanding seasons, with the men finishing third and the women sixth in the CAA championships.

It was the best finish ever for the men, as senior Andrew Zinn became the first Fightin’ Blue Hen to win an individual title in men’s competition in the CAA meet.

Zinn won the 100-yard freestyle and finished second in the 50-yard freestyle in the conference meet, becoming an NCAA provisional qualifier in both events. Another provisional qualifier was freshman Cortney Barry, who finished third in the 1,650-yard freestyle.

UD Head Coach John Hayman was named the CAA co-coach of the year, and senior Adam Blomberg, a physics major, was named the CAA scholar-athlete of the year in men’s swimming and diving. Six swimmers were named All-CAA, and two relay teams were also honored based upon their performances at the conference championship meet.

The men’s team was ranked No. 11 and the women’s team No. 25 in the final national poll of mid-major swimming and diving programs as rated by the [CollegeSwimming.com] Web site.

Both the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams made the CAA playoffs this spring.

The women’s team, led by Head Coach Kim Ciarrocca, finished 11-6 overall. The Blue Hens finished fourth in the conference and lost a 15-14 heartbreaker to the host College of William and Mary in the semifinals of the CAA championship tournament.

Seven Blue Hens were named All-CAA, with sophomore midfielder Emily Schaknowski and junior goalkeeper Jessica Cerveny selected to the first team.

The defending CAA champion men’s team, led by Head Coach Bob Shillinglaw, went 9-6 and fell 9-7 to Hofstra University in the conference championship tournament semifinals. Six Blue Hens were named All-CAA and three of them—sophomore attack Curtis Dickson, sophomore midfielder Martin Cahill and senior defender Evan Crowther-Washburn—were selected to the first team.

In track and field, the Hens produced two CAA champions, as freshman Chase Renoll won the shot put and sophomore Connor Whitesel won the hammer throw. UD was particularly strong in the shot put, as freshman John Viotta finished second, Andrew Lynch fourth and Doug Alpers fifth.

The Delaware women set four school records at the CAA meet, with freshman Kayla Hennessy taking part in each one. She was second in the 400-meter hurdles, fourth in the 100-meter hurdles and teamed with Cristine Marquez, Asha Quant and Kristi Cox to finish third in the 4x400-meter relay and sixth in the 4x100-meter relay. Quant earned All-East recognition in the long jump and went on to compete at the NCAA regional meet.

The UD men’s team finished in fourth place at the conference meet, its best result since 2004, and the women’s team finished seventh.

Both the softball and baseball teams reached 20 wins, although neither was able to earn spots in their respective CAA playoffs. The softball team finished 22-26 overall, and senior center fielder Katie Lee led the Blue Hens with a batting average of .365. Her 199 career games started is tied for the school record. The baseball team finished 22-31 overall, and sophomore Ryan Cuneo led the team with a .351 batting average.

Both UD tennis teams fell in CAA tournament quarterfinal matches. Susan Pollack, a senior, ended her career with 69 doubles wins, the most in school history, and 67 singles wins, No. 4 on the all-time list. For the men, Austin Longacre had 22 singles victories on the season, a new school record.

The golf team finished seventh in the CAA championships, with junior Tommy Ellison the top individual competitor in a tie for 15th place with a three-day score of 221. His finish was the second-highest ever for a Blue Hen at the conference championships, after Joe McLister, who finished 10th in 2006.

The women’s varsity rowing team and the men’s club team had fine seasons, with the women finishing third in the CAA championships and the men winning the Dr. Thomas Kerr Jr. Cup at the storied Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia. At the CAA, the women’s novice eights team finished second, and both the varsity eights and second varsity eights finished third.

The men’s club team won the Kerr Cup, which is awarded to the men’s team with the most points at the end of the regatta, for the first time in club history. UD is the only club team besides Purdue University to win the men’s point championship in the history of the regatta.

In basketball, the UD men’s team bounced back from a difficult season by finishing 14-17 and winning a CAA tournament opening round game, 60-51 over archrival Drexel University. The women’s team had its most difficult season in memory, going 7-24 and falling 59-56 to the University of North Carolina Wilmington in the opening round of the conference tournament at the Bob Carpenter Center. Senior Kyle DeHaven was named the CAA defensive player of the year.