Women’s Golf and Men’s Tennis Advance to NCAA Tournaments

 By The Equinox Sports Staff

Head Coach Rob Warren was named coach of the year as Women’s Golf captured the Northeast Conference championship for the third straight year. Senior Julia Warke was named NEC Player of the Year.

Warke and sophomore Victoria Schroedl earned first-team all-NEC honors and freshman Anete Liis Adul and senior Nicola Smith were named second-team All NEC.

The Knights shot a three-round score of 907 (308, 296, 303) at the Penn National Golf Club (par. 72, 5,971 yds) in Fayetteville, Pa. Warke grabbed top individual honors, shooting a three-day total of 224 (74, 71, 79) in the tourney that wrapped up on April 18. The Knights dominated the field, finishing 39 strokes ahead of the No. 2 finisher, Sacred Heart, to grab the league trophy for the fifth time in six years.

The team advances to play in the Louisville Regional as the No. 18 seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, May 10-12. 

Men’s Golf

Graduate student Florian Schroedl was named first team All NEC. Junior Jaime Julve and sophomore Freddie Spencer took second-team honors. 

The team finished third in the 2021 NEC Championship on April 25 with a combined three-round score of 903 (300, 302, 301) at the Penn National Golf Club (par 72, 6,972 yards) in Fayetteville, Pa. 

Team scores NEC Championship

1. LIU (+33) 303+299+295=897
2. Sacred Heart (+35) 310+294+295=899
3. FDU (+39) 300+302+301=903
4. Bryant (+51) 305+304+306=915
5. Mount Saint Mary’s (+77) 318+314+309=941
6. Saint Francis University (PA) (+78) 324+310+308=942
7. Wagner (+96) 327+317+316=960

LIU (+33) 303+299+296=897

1. Freshman Jan Rybczynski (+4) 73+74+73=220
2. Junior Jesse Macnaughtan (+8) 76+76+72=224
3. Freshman Kona Kagawashi (+13) 84+70+75=229
4. Freshman Andre Ulvenes Kleppe (+15) 73+79+79=231
5. Senior Manuel Sosa (+20) 81+80+75=236

Sacred Heart (+35) 310+294+295=899

1. Senior Saptak Talwar (-3) 73+69+71=213
2. Freshman Marcus Lim (+7) 77+74+72=223
3. Junior Nathan Kim (+8) 77+71+76=224
4. Sophomore Simon Trebon (+24) 83+81+76=240
5. Freshman Victor Ginart-Belmonte (+11) 83, N/A=83
6. Sophomore Shane Richardson (+11) N/A+80+83=163

FDU (+39) 300+302+301=903

1. Graduate Student Florian Schroedl (+4) 72+74+74=220
2. Junior Jaime Julve (+7) 75+75+73=223
3. Sophomore Freddie Spencer (+13) 77+75+77=229
4. Graduate Student Patrick Brennan (+17) 76+80+77=233
5. Graduate Student Simon Uribe Garcia (+21) 80+78+79=237

Bryant (+51) 305+304+306=915

1. Senior Nick Piersall (+8) 75+73+76=224
2. Redshirt Sophomore Dan Kurson (+12) 78+78+72=228
3. Junior Tyler Hahn (+12) 74+74+80=228
4. Sophomore Jack Woods (+22) 79+81+78=238
5. Senior Doug Champagne (+6) 78+N/A=78
6. Sophomore Patrick Galleher (+8) N/A+79+80=159

Mount Saint Mary’s (+77) 318+314+309=941

1. Senior Ignacio Gomez (+12) 77+76+75=228
2. Freshman Hank Schaefer (+18) 83+74+77=234
3. Junior Michael Robinson (+27) 79+80+84=243
4. Junior Matthew Kinsey (+19) 79+84=163
5. Freshman Juan Fradera (+14) 83+N/A+75=158
6. Sophomore Mitchell Gallo (+22) N/A+84+82=166

Saint Francis University (PA) (+78) 324+310+308=942

1. Sophomore Marc Antoine-Hotte (+12) 78+73+77=228
2. Senior J.W. Cunningham (+18) 81+80+73=234
3. Junior Luke Minsky (+20) 81+77+78=236
4. Junior Alexander Kiepert (+28) 84+80+80=244
5. Sophomore Joseph Piscarcik (+39) 84+88+83=255

Wagner (+96) 327+317+316=960

1. Sophomore Tyler Galantini (+18) 80+75+79=234
2. Sophomore Michael Katsman (+19) 78+76+81=235
3. Senior Ben Steenland (+27) 85+81+77=243
4. Freshman Joshua Hayes (+33) 85+85+79=249
5. Freshman Luke Bigelow (+71) 84+103+100=287

Men’s Tennis

The Knights (6-4) face No. 5-seeded Virginia (21-2) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday, May 8, at the Boar’s Head Resort tennis facility in Charlottesville, Va. FDU advanced to the nationals with their 13th NEC title and a 6-0 mark against the league this year.

The Knights won the NEC title, beating St. Francis Brooklyn 4-3 in the championship pairing at the Mercer County Tennis Center in West Windsor, N.J., on April 18.

Sophomore Teodors Pukse was named the NEC Player of the Year, all-NEC first team in singles and doubles and NEC all-tournament. Junior Mehdi Dhouib was named all-NEC first team in singles. Senior Andris Gudins joined Pukse in doubles to earn all-NEC first-team honors. Guidns-senior Maciej Autuch and Dhouib and redshirt junior Niclas Pietchwere named second-team All-NEC in doubles.

Women’s Tennis

Graduate student Tatiana Eftenoiu was named second-team All-NEC in singles and doubles. Junior Aleksandra Vorozheikina took second-team All-NEC honors in singles with sophomore Amina Lasheen earning a spot on the All-NEC Second Team in doubles with graduate student Tatiana Eftenoiu. 

Women’s Basketball

The roster is shifting in the off season after 16-8, 12-6 NEC record this past season.

Sophomore guard/forward Maria Roters announced that she will be transferring to the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Rotors was the second leading scorer for the Knights this season, averaging 11.0 PPG. She was also named to second-team all-NEC this past season. The UAB Blazers finished 10-13, 3-11 in the Conference USA this season. 

Junior guard Lindsey Mack has transferred to Youngstown State University. Mack averaged 8.3 PPG this season and joins a Penguins team that was 10-8, 9-7 in the Horizon League. 

The Knights were eliminated 77-62 by Mount St. Mary’s in the NEC tournament semifinals as COVID protocols left FDU with only six players available for that game. 

Softball 

The FDU softball team (11-19, 11-17 NEC) took three of four games in a weekend series against Bryant (3-20, 2-17 NEC) on Sunday, May 2 from Conaty Park. 

The Knights erupted for 15 runs in a 15-9 game-one win, the most in a single game in program history. 

Sophomore Cassidy led the Knights offense, going 2-4 from the plate with three runs scored, while graduate student Madison Emerson also went 2-4 with two runs scored in the 15-9 win. 

Freshman Megan Berg and graduate student Summer Mendoza each had a pair of RBI’s as well while sophomore Hailey Ramberg drove in two runs. 

The Knights dropped game two 4-1, despite Emerson launching her sixth home run of the season and senior pitcher Abby Englad striking out six. 

FDU captured the next two games 5-3 and 12-8 over the Bulldogs. 

In game three, junior Alayna Savaglio pitched her ninth complete game of the year, earning her seventh win of the season while striking out nine batters to lead the Knights to victory. 

In the final game of the series, junior Courtney Mahoney hit a three-run homer, going deep for the second time this season. Emerson reached base in all five of her at-bats, as she went 4-4 with a walk. 

Freshman Abbey Hoesman was 3-5 from the dish, hitting a pair of doubles and driving in two runs while sophomore pitcher Malori Bell earned her third win of the year. 

The Knights will play their final two games of the regular season on Sunday May 9, at 12 p.m., when they welcome Hofstra to the FDU Softball Field. 

NEC Standings:

1. LIU
2. Saint Francis University
3. Central Connecticut 
4. Mount St. Mary’s
5. FDU
6. Sacred Heart
7. Wagner 
8. Merrimack
9. Bryant

Baseball

The Knights beat Wagner 3-2 in NEC play Friday to start a three-game series at home this weekend. FDU scored twice in the ninth inning to give freshman right-hander reliever Jude Baxt his second win in four outings this season. The Knights have eight games remaining before the NEC tourney begins on May 27. 

FDU’s game against Lehigh on May 5 was cancelled. Before that, the Knights were swept in a three-game series against Sacred Heart, April 30-May 2. The Knights are 7-22 overall and 6-16 in conference play. 

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Photos courtesy of FDUKnights.com