NCAC Weekly Release (5-21-12) - NCAA Spring Sports Championships

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2012 NCAA Baseball Tournament

The baseball season in the North Coast officially came to a close last week in the 2012 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament. DePauw (34-14) won its first game of the Central Regional held in Millington, Tennessee, against Emory, 2-0, but was eliminated from the tournament field after dropping back-to-back games against Webster, 10-2, and Illinois Wesleyan, 6-0. Wooster (27-18) saw its season come to a close at the Mideast Regional held in Marietta, Ohio, after losing a pair of contests against Adrian, 8-4, and Washington & Jefferson, 8-0.

The Tigers, who made their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2001, snapped a seven-game and 35-year losing streak in Div. III postseason play as their last win came against York, 12-6, in the 1977 season. In its first year of competition in the NCAC, DPU finished atop the West Division standings with a 12-4 record and finished as the runners-up to Wooster in the NCAC Baseball Tournament. In addition, the Tigers set a program benchmark in the national rankings as they reached as high as No. 11 on the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) National Poll on April 17th and were just one win shy of matching the single season school record for wins in a season.

The Fighting Scots qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the 26th time in program history after defeating DePauw in the championship round of the NCAC Baseball Tournament. The Scots’ five-member senior class comprised of pitcher Kyle Cunningham-Rhoads (Kalamazoo, MI/Central), catcher Michael DeBord (Cuyahoga Falls, OH/Woodridge), pitcher Colin Meinzer (Toledo, OH/Central Catholic), pitcher Josh Stidham (Moncolva, OH/Anthony Wayne) and infielder Zack Vesco (Pickerington, OH/St. Charles) finished their careers with an impressive overall record of 126-55 (.696), while 31-year head coach Tim Pettorini became the seventh coach in NCAA Div. III history to reach the 1,000-win plateau. Since taking over the Wooster baseball program in 1982, Pettorini holds an overall record of 1,002-376-6 (.726), which includes an NCAC-best 14 league titles and five regional crowns (1989, 1994, 1997, 2005, 2009).

2012 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament

Denison saw its historic season come to a close in the quarterfinal round of the 2012 NCAA Division III Men’s Lacrosse Tournament with a 14-7 setback against Stevenson. The Big Red opened the 2012 NCAA Tournament with a 12-11 double overtime victory over Adrian and advanced to the quarterfinal round for the 12th time in school history with a 10-5 triumph over Lynchburg in the second round.

The Big Red end the 2012 campaign with an overall record of 15-2 with both losses coming at the hands of Stevenson. The .882 winning percentage is the best single season mark in program history, while the 15 victories match the 1982 squad for the most victories in a season. DU senior standout and 2012 NCAC Player of the Year Cory Couture (Coronado, CA/Coronado) netted two goals and dished out one assist in his final collegiate game. Couture ends his career with 76 goals and 94 assists, good for seventh all-time on the career assists list and 11th all-time on the career points list (170).

2012 NCAA Tennis Championships

The NCAA Division III Tennis Championships will get underway today (May 21) at the Cary Tennis Center in Cary, North Carolina. The Kenyon men’s squad will take on Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in a quarterfinal match at 10:30 AM with the winner advancing to Tuesday’s semifinal match to take on either Amherst or Washington (MO), while the national championship match is scheduled for Wednesday, May 23rd.

The Lords, who are participating in their 16th NCAA Tournament all-time, advanced to the round of eight with an opening round bye followed by a pair of 5-0 wins over previously unbeaten Baldwin-Wallace and 21st-ranked University of Mary Washington. The Lords hold an overall record of 15-15 in NCAA Tournament play, but this will be the first meeting between KC and CMS on the national stage.

The singles and doubles portion of the NCAA Div. III Tennis Championships will also be held in Cary this week, with competition beginning on Thursday May 24th and concluding on Saturday, May 26th.

Oberlin senior Ariel Lewis (Vacaville, CA/Vacaville), DePauw senior Kelly Gebert (Wichita, KS/Kapuan Mt. Carmel Catholic) and Kenyon junior Amy Schlessman (Sandusky, OH/Perkins) will compete in the women’s singles championship, while Denison senior Sarah Short (Cheswick, PA/Fox Chapel) will serve as one of four alternate competitors in singles competition.

The DU tandem of Short and junior Alex Marcell (Chicago, IL/Loyola Academy) have qualified for the doubles competition, while Gebert and freshman Maggie MachPhail (Indianapolis, IN/Park Tudor) will serve as an alternate team.

On the men’s side, Denison senior Tom Cawood (East Lansing, MI/East Lansing), DePauw sophomore Sam Miles (Indianapolis, IN/Park Tudor), Kenyon freshman Mike Razumovsky (Baltimore, MD/Pikesville) and Kenyon junior Paul Burgin (Baltimore, MD/Pikesville) have qualified for the singles championship.