Varsity athletes spring ahead this season

Matt Haney, a junior defender on the men’s soccer team, was named a first team Academic All-America by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

He was one of 11 players named to the first team by a nationwide vote of sports information directors and was the first player in the history of UD’s men’s soccer program to be named a first team Academic All-America. Haney, who has a major in biological sciences and a minor in chemistry, maintains a 3.984 grade point average.

In other spring sports news, two baseball players, junior centerfielder Brandon Menchaca and sophomore infielder Alex Buchholz, have been named to the Louisville Slugger Collegiate Baseball News preseason All-America team. They spearheaded a 2006 UD offense that led the nation in home runs per game, doubles per game and slugging percentage, and also ranked among the national leaders in runs scored.

The Hammerin’ Hens were picked to finish third in the Colonial Athletic Association in a preseason poll of conference coaches. The conference tournament will be played May 23-26 at UNC Wilmington.

The golf team is led by senior captain Joe McLister, who was the top finisher for the Hens in four tournaments during the fall. Other top finishers were seniors Tyler Kupper and Josh Williamowsky and freshman Jason Bernstein. The CAA championship tournament will be held April 20-22 at The Homestead in Hot Springs, Va.

Senior midfielders Alex Smith and Jordan Hall, junior goalkeeper Tommy Scherr and senior defender Brian Calabrese are captains of the 2007 men’s lacrosse team. The four are key members of a team that has seven starters, its top seven scorers and 20 letter winners back from a 2006 team that posted a record of 12-5 and advanced to the CAA championship game for the second straight season.

The Hens have a record of 23-11 over the last two seasons and were ranked No. 13 in the nation in the Lacrosse Magazine preseason poll. The conference championship tournament will begin May 2.

The women’s lacrosse team, picked to finish sixth in the CAA in a preseason poll of conference coaches, has named seniors Katie Muth and Stephanie McQuade co-captains. Both are three-year letter winners.

The Hens hope to improve on 2006, when they finished 5-12, and return leading scorer Casey McCrudden, who had 38 goals and eight assists. The conference tournament will begin May 4.

Captains for the UD rowing team are seniors Laura Beaufort and Melanie Turner. The Hens will compete in the Kerr Cup in Philadelphia, which decides the unofficial CAA champion, on April 21, and in the storied Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia on May 11-12.

In softball, the Hens return nine starters from the 2006 team that went 33-24 and advanced to the CAA championship tournament.

UD will be led by senior pitcher Carolynn Sloat, the team captain who earned second team all-region honors last season after going 19-16 with a 1.85 earned run average and leading the CAA in innings pitched. Junior second baseman Allison Borchers will pace the offense after earning first team all-conference and all-region honors in 2006. The CAA championships will be played May 10-12.

The swimming and diving teams had an outstanding dual meet season, with both the women and the men posting record results. The Hen women’s team went 13-2, the team’s highest win total since a perfect 13-0 season in 1980-81, while the men’s team went 7-5, the highest win total since going 8-4 in 1995-96. Both teams were ranked in the NCAA Division I mid-major top 25 rankings.

In the CAA championships, held Feb. 14-17, at George Mason University, Maryann Walker won an individual championship in the 200-meter backstroke. The UD women’s team finished in fifth place, and the men’s team finished in eighth place.

Susan Pollack and Amanda Campbell have had a strong showing in tennis, both as a doubles team and as singles competitors. They were invited to an Intercollegiate Tennis Association regional tournament last fall, and Pollack is in the top 10 all-time at UD in singles victories. The CAA championships will be held April 19-22 at Huntington Park in Newport News, Va.

Captains of the women’s track and field team for the outdoor season are senior sprinters Daniella Price, Asha Quant and Brittany Wright and senior distance runners Annie Kowtoniuk and Leslie Wason. Men’s captains are Chris Dixon, Brad Dodson and Jared Wasser.

Outstanding indoor track performances were turned in by the 800-meter relay team of Laura Heenan, Christina Antonopoulos, Yianna Antonopoulos and Kellyn Wright, which set a new UD record of 9:26.98, breaking a 1993 record by more than seven seconds. Michelle Gomes set a record in the 60-meter dash, and Quant set another in the long jump.

The CAA outdoor championships will be held April 20-21 at James Madison University, with the Penn Relays April 26-28 and the Delaware Open meet May 5 at the Delaware Mini-Stadium.

To keep up to date on all UD’s varsity athletic teams, visit [www.udel.edu/sportsinfo/].