For Release: May 19, 2008

MEN’S TENNIS ADVANCES TO NCAA SEMI’S
MARINKOVIC ADVANCES TO FINALS

The Middlebury College men’s tennis team had another impressive spring run at the NCAA Championships hosted by Bates College. The Panthers advanced to the NCAA semifinals for the sixth straight season as they picked up a 5-0 win over Mary Washington.

Sophomores Andrew Lee (Eden Prarie, Minn.) and Chris Mason (Owings Mills, Md.) put the Panthers on the board first as they defeated John James and Jason Dunn by a score of 8-3 at #2 doubles. First-year players Rich Bonfiglio (Bronxville, N.Y.) and Andrew Peters (Baltimore, Md.) made it a 2-0 match with an 8-6 win at #3, before senior Filip Marinkovic (Toronto, Ont.) and sophomore Andrew Thomson (W. Bloomfield, Mich.) defeated Randy Loden and Kaz Murata 9-7 in the #1 slot.

Middlebury needed two of six singles matches to clinch the victory, as Marinkovic put them one step closer in singles play. The team's lone senior made it a 4-0 lead with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Loden in the #2 singles slot. Sophomore Peter Odell (Scarsdale, N.Y.) followed with a 6-2, 6-1 win in the #6 singles match over Zach Detweiler to seal the match.

Middlebury saw its season come to an end with a 5-1 loss to Emory in the NCAA semifinals. All three doubles matches were tightly contested, with Emory edging out all three victories. Michael Goodwin and David Caplan were 8-6 winners over Marinkovic and Thomson in the #1 slot to give Emory a 1-0 lead. Bonfiglio and Peters fell to Oliver Lopp and Michael Kaufman at #3 by a score of 8-5, before Mark Boren and Hardy Ehlers defeated Mason and Lee, 9-8, 7-5 in the tie-breaker.

In singles play, Ehlers gave the Eagles a 4-0 lead with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Bonfiglio at #5. Thomson put the Panthers on the board at #3 as he was a 6-4, 6-0 winner to cut the deficit to 4-1. Goodwin of Emory ended the match with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Lee at #1 singles.

Marinkovic won his first set and led 4-3 in the second when the match was halted, while Odell was about to even his match at one set apiece.

Middlebury played its final match of the season as they lost a heartbreaker to Claremont by a final score of 5-4 in the NCAA third-place match. The Panthers end their season with an 18-7 record with their sixth straight trip to the NCAA semifinals.

Middlebury fell behind 2-0 in doubles play with losses at #1 and #3. Bonfiglio and Peters were defeated by Ronald Wu and Mike Starr 8-4 in the #3 slot, while Marinkovic and Thomson fell 8-4 to Guillaume Schils and Lawrence Wang in the top slot. The Panthers got on the board at #2 as Mason and Lee were 9-7 winners over Ben Hough and Eric MacColl.

Claremont took a 3-1 lead as Wang defeated Lee at #1 singles, 6-3, 6-1. Marinkovic won a tight match at #2 over MacColl to make it a 3-2 match with a 6-4, 7-5 win. Sabater defeated Peters 6-2, 6-4 at #4, leaving Claremont just one point away from the win at 4-2. Middlebury did not go away as Odell out-lasted Hough at #6 singles 6-2, 1-6, 6-2. Bonfiglio tied the match at 4-4 with a 6-4, 7-6 (5) win over Brockett at #5, leaving the outcome to be decided by Starr and Thomson at #3. Starr edged out a 7-6 (10) win in a tie-breaker in the first set, before earning a 6-2 win to seal the match in the second set.

Individuals from the team took part in the NCAA Championships at Bates. In the first round of singles play on Friday, Marinkovic picked up an impressive win over the #2 ranked player in the country, Andy Bryan of Gustavus Adolphus. After dropping the first set 6-4, Marinkovic tied the match with a 6-2 win in set #2. The third set went to a tie-breaker, as Marinkovic came away with a 7-6 (3) victory. Lee was also a first-round winner, picking up a 7-5, 6-4 win over Mark Boren of Emory. With the victories, both players earn All-American status.

In the second round, Lee was defeated by John Watts of Washington-St. Louis, the #1 player in the nation, by scores of 6-2, 7-5.

After his marathon first match, Marinkovic came back with another three-set battle, this time against David Maldow of Johns Hopkins. After falling in a tie-breaker 7-6 (4) in the first set, Marinkovic battled back with a 6-3 win in the second set. In his second straight three-set match, Marinkovic came through with a 6-4 win in the third set to advance to the quarterfinals.

After those two matches, Marinkovic was back on the court with his double partner, Thomson. The duo were 6-1, 7-5 winners over a pair from Salisbury to advance to the quarterfinals and earn All-American honors.

On the second day of individual competition, Marinkovic continued his run with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Charlie Cutter of Washington-St. Louis. The senior then advanced into the finals with a 6-2, 7-6 (6) win over Stephen Sullivan of Bowdoin.

In doubles play, Marinkovic and Thomson went down to a duo from Gustavus Adolphus in the quarterfinals, 7-6 (2), 7-6.

Back to singles action on the final day as Marinkovic took on Michael Greenberg of Kenyon for the NCAA D3 singles title. Marinkovic took the first set 6-3, before falling 6-4 in the set second. In a tightly-contested third set, Greenberg was able to come away with a 6-4 win to earn the title.

Marinkovic ended the weekend playing more games and sets than any other player at the NCAA's.

For complete match summaries, see: http://www.middlebury.edu/athletics/sports/mens/tennis/
• Men’s tennis final record: 18-7

WOMEN’S GOLF COMPETES AT NCAA’s

The Panther women's golf team finished the 2008 NCAA Championship in 14th place, with a 1,315, at +163. The Panthers improved their score for the first three days, while shooting a 329 on the final day of the tournament. Methodist continued its domination of D3 women's golf, winning the title with a 1,219.

Leading the Panthers on day one (337) was Senior Karen Levin (Morton Grove, Ill.), who came in with a +10 82 on the day, including a pair of birdies on par 3's. First-year players Courtney Mazzei (Larkin Valley, Calif.) and Jessica Bluestein (Tucson, Ariz.) each shot 84 for Middlebury, with Bluestein earning a pair of birds on the front 9. Junior Julie Ellenberger (Concord, Mass.) was next for the Panthers with an 87, followed by first-year player Elizabeth Hirsch (New City, N.Y.) with a 95.

Ellenberger and Mazzei led Middlebury on day two (328), each shooting an 81, with both players birdying the third hole. Levin came in with an 82 with just one double-bogey on the day. Bluestein wasn't far behind with an 84 with one double, followed by Hirsch with a 95.

The scores continued to decrease on day three (321) as Ellenberger shot a six-over-par 78 with two birdies on par 3 holes. One stroke behind her was Mazzei, who also had a pair of par 3 birdies with a 79 on the day. Levin and Bluestein each shot an 82 on day three, followed by Hirsch with a 93.

The final day of the tourney saw Bluestein pace the squad with a +6, 78 on the day. Levin followed with an 82, followed by an 84 for Ellenberger, Mazzei, who shot an 85, and Hirsch with a 92.

Levin and Bluestein each ended the tournament at +40, followed by Mazzei (+41), Ellenberger (+42) and Hirsch at +87.
• end of season

MEN’S LACROSSE ENDS SEASON IN QUARTERS

The Middlebury College men's lacrosse team saw its season come to an end with an 11-10 overtime loss at Cortland in an NCAA quarterfinal match-up. Adam Hyde scored with 39 seconds remaining in overtime to lift #2 Cortland to the win against #8 Middlebury. The Red Dragons improved to 17-1 with their 13th straight win and advance to the national semifinals where they will host Ithaca. The Panthers end their season with an impressive 13-3 mark.

Hyde finished the game with a pair of goals, while Brandon Misiaszek led Cortland with three goals and two assists. Josh Cittadino had two goals and an assist, Joey Morgan scored twice and Ryan Heath and Kyle Simensky each contributed a goal. Chris DeLuca won 10-of-18 face-offs, while goalie Mike Robinson stopped 11 shots.

Senior Jim Cabrera (Old Greenwich, Conn.) led the Panthers with three goals and two assists. Junior Mike Stone (Boston, Mass.) recorded two goals and an assist, while junior Tom Petty (Newburyport, Mass.) scored a pair of goals. Junior Pete Britt (Summit, N.J.) was impressive in goal, making 13 saves on the afternoon.

The largest lead for either team in the game was two goals, which Middlebury held five times in the contest. Cortland led just twice – 10-9 early in the fourth quarter and on Hyde’s game-winner in overtime.

Petty and Stone gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead five minutes into the game before Morgan netted his first to make it 2-1. Middlebury then outscored Cortland, 2-1, to finish the quarter with a 4-2 lead.

In the second quarter, Hyde and Cittadino scored 41 seconds apart to pull the Red Dragons even, but the Panthers closed the quarter with two-of-three goals, the last from Petty with 30 seconds on the clock, for a 6-5 lead. The Red Dragons had one goal in each of the first and second quarters waved off due to crease violations.

Senior Frank Granara (Norwell, Mass.) scored off a long run to open the scoring in the third quarter, but Cittadino and Misiaszek answered to make it a 7-7 game with three minutes, 49 seconds left in the stanza.

The Panthers took the momentum into the final quarter when sophomore Jeff Begin (Ipswich, Mass.) scored at 15 seconds and DeLuca took a penalty at nine seconds.

Cabrera then netted a man-up goal 20 seconds into the fourth to put the Panthers up 9-7. Cortland responded with a three-goal outburst in 56 seconds to grab its first lead of the game as Misiaszek sandwiched a pair of goals around Simensky’s score. Eleven minutes and 57 seconds still remained on the clock.

Neither team could find the back of the net as the minutes ticked off, and after a Middlebury turnover with just over three minutes left, Cortland tried to maintain possession but eventually turned the ball over at the three-minute mark. On the next possession, Middlebury was whistled for offsides and gave the ball back to Cortland, but the Red Dragons were forced over the end line at 1:33. After a clearing pass to midfield, Stone broke for a goal and tied the game with his 29th goal of the season at 1:16.

The Panthers won the ensuing face-off and missed a shot wide left as the game went into overtime.

Cortland won the face-off to start the extra session, but Britt denied Hyde’s shot at 3:20. After the Panthers cleared the ball, they took a timeout to set up a play for Stone. Stone took possession but fired a shot wide at 2:46. Middlebury kept the ball but eventually turned it over with 1:31 on the clock and the Red Dragons called a timeout.

Cortland worked the ball into the box and Misiaszek had it on the right side. He fed a pass to Hyde 20 yards out right in front. Hyde stepped into the shot and beat Britt from 15 yards out with a high bullet into the top corner to send the Red Dragons into the national semifinals for the third straight season.
• Men’s lacrosse final record: 13-3

TRACK & FIELD COMPETES AT ECAC’S

A handful of Middlebury College track and field athletes competed at the ECAC Championships hosted by Springfield College. Three different athletes earned All-ECAC honors, led by senior Jennifer Currie (Milton, Vt.), who finished fourth in the hammer with a toss of 158’3”. First-year racer Sophia Spring (Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.) earned honors with a seventh place finish in the 1500 (4:42.09), as did senior Jimmy Butcher (Garden City, N.Y.) in the 10,000 with an eighth place finish (31:25.22).

The other top performer from the meet was rookie Nicholas Plugis (Bedford, Mass.), who finished ninth in the javelin with a throw of174’11”.

Qualifying for the NCAA’s this spring for the women was junior Alexandra Krieg (Wellesley, Mass.), who will compete in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meter races.
• Track & Field competes at ECAC’s
• Up next: 5/22-24 @ NCAA’s (Wis.-Oshkosh)

MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE SPORTS ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB: www.gomidd.com