<< Front page Sports Commencement 2004

Spring Sports in Review

Baseball:

Senior Pitcher Troy DeWitt (San Diego, Calif./The Bishop’s School) and Junior catcher Andrew Caprariello (Princeton, N.J./Princeton) headed the Yeoman baseball campaign. DeWitt’s offensive presence helped guide the Yeoman to a 16-22 record.

DeWitt led the team in doubles (10), runs batted in (29), slugging percentage (.510) and on base percentage (.457). He was also tied for the team lead in runs scored (22) and home runs (2) and finished second on the team with a .333 batting average.
Caprariello rightfully earned his first All-NCA distinction. Caprariello finished third on the team in batting average, hitting .315 in 2004. Caprariello led the team in hits (35), at bats (111) and total bases (54), while he was tied for the team lead in runs scored (22), home runs (2) and triples (2). In addition, he was second on the team in doubles (9) and slugging percentage (.486) and third on the team in RBI’s (20). Defensively, Caprariello threw out nine runners in 25 stolen base attempts.

The Yeoman continues to struggle in NCAC play despite earning the most wins since 1988. They finished a dismal 1-13 despite strong performances by a handful of individuals. The Yeoman’ weak non-conference schedule allowed them the opportunity to balance the majority of their losses and improve Eric Lahetta’s all-time record. Lahetta currently stands third all-time among Oberlin’s baseball coaches with 59 wins behind only Guy Throner’s 166 and Bill Grice’s 82 victories.

Golf:

Oberlin College Yeoman returned to the greens after a 27-year hiatus. The Yeoman were guided by Senior Ed Gescke who shot a two day total of 157 and earned All-NCAC distinction at the NCAC Championships. Gescke’s honor distinguishes him as the first golfer to be named all conference since the golf program returned in the spring of 2000.
Oberlin finished an impressive first place at the 2004 Hiram College Quad. Oberlin shot a competitive 327 (+39) as Hiram finished second 10 strokes behind the crimson and gold. La Roche College finished third with a solid score of 360 and Hiram College B rounded out the field at 396. Gescke 76 stroke performance earned distinction as tournament champion. Gescke 4-over-par performance was the lowest score turned in since the program was reinstated in 2000.

The Yeoman finished a solid 8th place in NCAC play. They drove past Hiram College by twenty strokes as Kenyon narrowly putted past the Yeoman for a 7th place finish. The Yeoman finished last in the field at the Wooster Invitation and 14th out of 16th at the Ohio Wesleyan Strimer Invitational. Oberlin shot a 686 for the tournament en route to defeating Hiram and Kenyon College. The Yeoman needed to drop 70 strokes to finish among the top three. Ohio Wesleyan, Otterbein and Wittenberg finished in the top three with scores of 603, 617 and 619.

The future of the Yeoman looks bright despite loosing Gescke to graduation. The Australian native will take his Conservatory Voice Major and his golf game to the opera.

Men’s Lacrosse:

The Yeoman lacrosse squad finished a competitive 5-8. Coach Rob Oldham’s strong recruiting class improved the Yeoman in wins and overall NCAC play. Last spring the Yeoman finished a dismal 3-10 and 0-7 in NCAC play.

Oberlin’s men’s lacrosse team opened the 2004 campaign with a 12-4 whooping of the Washington and Jefferson Presidents. Head coach Rob Oldham’s incoming recruiting class displayed promise in the season opener highlighted by the four goals scored each by first-years Ian Holljes and Bryan Harfenist. The fabulous duo went on to score 49 combined goals and earn 81 points between their fine efforts.

After starting out 1-2 the Yeoman balanced their efforts and finished 4-4 over the month of April. Wins included Washington and Jefferson as well as a 5-4 overtime victory of Misericordia. The Yeoman competitively fought for three quarters as Misericordia took a 4-3 lead early in the fourth quarter. Harfensit caught a pass from Ryan Silakoski and blistered past a defensemen en route to a tying goal. Holljes capitalized in the overtime period as he lost his man and scored the game-winner after shaking the goalie.

April victories included Medaille with an 11-4 whopping and a 13-5 spanking later in the month. The Yeoman later squashed Neumann College 10-6 and an 11-10 heartbreaker over Shenandoah University before heading into NCAC play. The Yeoman remained competitive during NCAC play however were unable to capitalize on close games. Their winless record does not exemplify the fine efforts of many Yeomen.

The Yeoman return many stars including attacker Will Jaffee, goalie Jared Pickard and freshman Max Braun and Bryan Harfenist. Yeoman star Holljes has decided to leave the radicalism of Oberlin and transfer. Holljes fine play will be greatly missed come the spring of 2005.

Women’s Lacrosse:

The Oberlin College women’s lacrosse team relied heavily on inexperience and youth. The Yeowoman opened the 2004 campaign with a victory over Medaille College. Despite a successful season opener the Yeowoman had a poor overall season. They finished 2-10 overall and 0-6 in NCAC play.

Bright sports included the fine play of junior April Gentile-Miserandino and Sophomore Christine Castilla. Miserandino was named second team All-NCAC after averaging 1.33 points per game. Miserandino totaled 11 goals and five assists for the Yeowoman.

Castilla followed the fine play of Miserandino and scored 19 goals and averaged 1.83 points per game. Castilla was rewarded with Honorable Mention All-NCAC distinction.

The Yeowoman suffered five consecutive losses including CMS, Colorado College and Regis University. Each loss took place over an extravagant spring break tour. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps spanked the Yeowoman 24-5, as did Regis University 18-3. Colorado College who at the time was ranked 15th in the country smashed the Yeowoman 14-6 to culminate their spring break trip.

Despite losing every game over spring break the Yeowoman came back focused to finish among the top four in NCAC play. The following match against Kenyon College, the Yeowoman were respectively defeated once again 17-11. The Lords jumped to an early 4-1 lead and maintained their strong presence into the second half. Eventually the Yeowoman were en route to another defeat.

In spite of these losses, the Yeowoman played well and beat the Cazenovia Wildcats. The Yeowoman finished with strong play and won 19-5.

Castilla is set to return for the spring of 2005 and a handful of talented first years. Callie Gropp, Janine Heiser, Meghan Schott will look to use the experience gained this season to provide depth to the roster next season. The defense will return goalkeeper Sarah Pilzer and juniors Alice Macgil, Alison Obrycht and Beth Sebian.

Men’s Tennis:
T
he Oberlin Men’s Tennis team started off the season with eight straight wins. Through the first six they aced their way through non-conference competition. An early test against Walsh University allowed the Yeoman to prepare for rigorous NCAC Play. Walsh University entered the Heisman Field House, ranked 24 overall in the NAIA preseason poll. They defeated Walsh 5-2; four points were attributed to victories in singles matches. The Yeoman improved to 7-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play.

The Yeoman traveled to Hilton Head, S.C. to face stiff competition including Division II and NAIA teams that boast scholarship players. Oberlin first defeated Division II Shepherd College, 6-3, on the long trek down to Hilton Head, S.C. Yeomen as they rolled their opponents and improved to 7-2 on the season.

The Yeomen second opponent was Palm Beach Atlantic University at the University of North Florida. The Sailfish, formerly of the NAIA, proved to be a tough match. They still have four scholarship players in their lineup carried over from last season’s Division II team. The Sailfish narrowly escaped Jacksonville, Fla. with a victory as they squeaked by Oberlin, 5-4.

Oberlin traveled to Savannah, Georgia to play Division I Savannah State University. Oberlin completely outperformed the home team as they won in a smashing 8-1 contest. They completed their spring tour with an 8-3 overall record, although they went on to drop a pair of matches to the College of Wooster before picking up their first victory with a smashing 5-0 defeat over Wabash College.

The Yeomen swept their NCAC Championship opponents in two out of three rounds. Frankel and Bocek won the number one singles 8-3. Knee and junior Nick Ogren in the second doubles slot and Cotter and Rosenheim in the number three position dropped two close matches. The doubles teams concluded with 8-6 and 8-5 losses.

The third place finish by Oberlin capped off their season with their highest finish in the NCAC tournament since 1990. The Yeomen’s 15-8 record was also their best mark since 1994. The Yeoman will return 8 players for next season Nick Ogren and Mark Knee. The departures of Jamie Frankel and Marian Bocek will provide tremendous recruiting gaps for the coaching staff to fill.

Women’s Tennis:

The women’s tennis team had a successful 2004 campaign, compiling a 14-6 record, good for fifth place in the NCAC. Two of the players, junior Ary Amerikaner and first-year Bianco Barr, were named to the all-conference second team. Amerikaner garnered her first second-team selection with a record of 11-8 overall playing in the first singles slot. Barr, at the second slot, compiled a singles record of 10-8.

Amerikaner often won in convincing fashion, reeling off several straight set victories. Carr and Amerikaner teamed up to go 11-8 in doubles play.

Junior Jessica Hauser anchored the number four singles with an impressive 15-3 record. Senior Whitney Reichheld dominated number three with a 14-4 record.

The Yeowomen finished the seasn after placing fifth in the conference tournament.


 
 
   

The Review News Service: News, weather, sports and more, in your ObieMail every Sunday and Wednesday night. (Click here to subscribe.)