Baseball

Starting pitcher Joe Castaldi ’10 was selected to serve as the baseball team’s captain for the 2010 season. The announcement was made by head coach John Stuper at the annual postseason dinner on May 1.

Castaldi was 0-5 with a 7.75 ERA for the 2009 season but allowed three earned runs or fewer in eight of his 12 appearances. The Sunrise, Fla., native will succeed outfielder Stefan Schropp ’09 as captain.

Pitcher Brandon Josselyn ’10 was named Ivy League Pitcher of the Year with a 3-1 record and 3.41 ERA in conference play. Trygg Larsson-Danforth ’10 was named to the All-Ivy first team.


Women’s Crew

Traditional rival Brown paid the women’s crew a visit last weekend, topping the varsity eight by a miniscule tenth of a second in what was the Elis’ first second-place finish of the year. But the second varsity took the win against the Bears for the first time since 1988, finishing two seconds in front of the Brown boat.

With the crucial Eastern Sprints looming in two weeks, the Bulldogs will likely get a chance to avenge the loss before another possible rematch with Brown in the Grand Finals at the NCAA Championships. The Elis’ next races will come at the Eastern Sprints, held in Cherry Hill, N.J.

The team received a bid to the NCAA Championships on May 29 to 31, where the Bulldogs will attempt to secure their third straight national title. Rower Christine Glandorf ’09 was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team, along with two other Elis.


Golf

Playing in every tournament of his college career had its payoff for Ben Wescoe ’10, as he was named to be next year’s captain of the men’s golf team. At the team’s postseason banquet, this year’s captain, Colby Moore ’09, received the Widdy Neale Award for contributing the most to team morale.

With Wescoe and Seve Gonzales ’10 the only seniors next year, the team will be needing leadership, but Wescoe said he thinks that he can step up to the challenge.

“In golf it’s not necessarily about the big pump-up speech,” Wescoe said. “Instead it’s about leading by example on and off the course and creating an environment where everyone can work together.”

Both Wescoe and Thomas McCarthy ’11 earned All-Ivy honors based upon their performance at the Ivy League Championships in Atlantic City, N.J., from April 24 to 26. Wescoe finished the tournament tied for fifth, while McCarthy ended tied for third. It was the first All-Ivy award for each of them.

Taylor Lee ’10 was selected as the women’s golf team captain. Although Lee will be the only senior next year, the team will benefit from an experienced group of rising sophomores.

Two sophomores — Harriet Owers-Bradley ’11 and Cassie Boles ’11 — were awarded All-Ivy honors after their strong play in the Ivy Championships last month. Owers-Bradley finished second in the tournament, while Boles tied for fourth.

At the team’s banquet, a freshman, Lily Boettcher ’12, was selected for the Widdy Neale Award for playing the biggest role in improving the team’s morale.


Men’s Lacrosse

The men’s lacrosse team ended its season with another close loss to a nationally ranked team.

The Bulldogs (5-8, 1-5 Ivy) fell to No. 14 Maryland by a score of 10-6 on May 2 at Reese Stadium. Middie Michael Karwoski ’09, who led the team in goals and points with 29 and 40, had two goals and three assists on the day. The game was tied 5-5 heading into the final quarter, but the Terps (9-6) rattled off five straight goals to build an insurmountable lead.

Attacker Brendan Gibson ’10 was named captain by a team vote on May 10. Gibson led the team with 12 assists, and was second on the team behind Karwoski with 23 goals and 35 points. The junior has been an All-Ivy honorable mention the past two seasons. Gibson was elected almost unanimously, head coach Andy Shay said.

Karwoski and longstick midfielder Will Gano ’09 have been named to the Division I 2009 Turfer/NEILA All-New England Team. Karwoski was a first-team pick, while Gano, who started all 13 games and had 18 ground balls, was a second team selection. Both players were also second-team All-Ivy selections. Karwoski was also picked to play in Friday’s North/South All-Star Game at Harvard Stadium.


Women’s Lacrosse

In its last game of the season, the women’s lacrosse team fell to No. 8 Georgetown. The 12-4 loss echoed the many disappointing results the Bulldogs have suffered throughout the season.

The Bulldogs (5-11, 1-6) lost all off their matches to ranked opponents. In the match, Yale held tough with the Hoyas (13-5), entering halftime down 4-1. Georgetown broke through in the second half, however, and the Elis couldn’t keep up.

But the loss should not diminish the accomplishments of many players on the team. Although the season did not go according to plan, three Elis received All-Ivy League Honors. Midfielder Jenn Warden ’09 earned a spot on the All Ivy League second team for the third time in her career. Warden, who scored at least once in every game this season, was the Bulldogs’ leading scorer with 43 goals, including 17 against Ivy League opponents. Defender Kaitlyn Flatley ’11 and goalie Whitney Quackenbush ’12 received honorable mentions.

Looking to the future, the Elis are on course to improve on this season. Losing only two seniors in Warden and captain Taylor Fragapane ’09, the team will retain nearly an entire starting lineup. Moreover, because injuries ailed a number of veterans during the season, many young players saw valuable playing time earlier in their careers than would be typical. Head coach Anne Phillips, who just completed her first season with the Bulldogs, said that such playing time should help the program in the long run.

The Elis have elected defender Claire Eliasberg ’10 as their captain for the 2010 season.


Sailing

The No.1 women’s sailing team took first in the New England Championships on April 26, 2009, thus qualifying the team for the ICSA National Championship. The team will finish their season in San Francisco from May 25 to 27.

The third-ranked Bulldog coed sailing team qualified for the ICSA/APS National Team Race Championship thanks to its second-place finish at the New England Team Race Championship for the Fowle Trophy on the weekend of May 10.

The national regatta will take place on May 29 to 31 in San Francisco. The Bulldogs will compete for the first time since 2007 in both the team and the fleet races.


Softball

Since the Bulldog softball team ended its season on April 26 with a doubleheader sweep of Brown, the team elected Ashley Sloan ’10 as its captain and several players have been honored with year-end awards.

Sloan, whose captaincy was announced at the postseason banquet, led the Elis in hits (46), runs scored (31) and stolen bases (12) this season.

The rising senior, a native of Elk Grove Village, Ill., is 42 hits from breaking the Yale record and ranks fourth in school history with 96 runs scored. She has earned All-Ivy honors in each of her three seasons at Yale.

Four team awards were also presented at the postseason banquet. Pitcher Deanna DiBernardi ’09, deemed the most improved player, received the Barbara Chou Leadership Award. She also shared the most valuable player award with captain Megan Enyeart ’09.

Chelsea Janes ’12 received the Andy Van Etten Coaches Award, which goes to the student who represents the ideals of the Yale Softball program.

On May 14, Lauren Huddleston ’10 was named first team All-Ivy outfielder. DiBernardi, Sloan and Katie Edwards ’09 were selected for the second team All-Ivy, and Rebecca Wojciak ’09 and Enyeart earned honorable mention.

The next day, Edwards received another honor: a place on the Lousiville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Northeast Region First Team. Despite underdoing shoulder surgery in the preseason, she batted .336 for the season and was second on the team in RBI (23) and doubles (7).


Women’s Squash

After an 8-1 victory over Cornell gave the Bulldogs a fifth-place finish in the Howe Cup in mid-February, the season came to a close for all but one of the women of Yale’s squash team. Logan Greer ’11 went on to compete in the CSA Individual Championships and quickly advanced to the quarterfinals of the Ramsay Cup after two 3-1 victories on February 27 in Williamstown, Mass.

She defeated her quarterfinals opponent, former CSA Individual Champion Lily Lorentzen of Stanford, with a solid 9-3, 9-3, 9-4 finish before falling to Trinity powerhouse freshman Nour Bahgat, who went on to win the tournament.

But Greer was recognized for her performance when the College Squash Association assembled its All-American first team. Her finish as the No. 4-ranking player in the United States netted her first team honors, while teammates Sarah Toomey ’11 and Alia Aziz ’10 took Second Team All-American honors as Nos. 13 and 15, respectively. Greer and Toomey also made the All-Ivy list.

On April 6, Aziz was chosen as the captain for the 2009-’10 year, succeeding Tara Wadhwa ’09. With a young but talented team, Aziz will attempt to lead the Bulldogs to their first national championship since 2006.


Men’s Tennis

Since finishing their season with a 4-3 victory over Brown in April, three of the members of the men’s tennis team have been honored with All-Ivy selections. Outgoing captain Jeff Dawson ’09 and incoming captain Connor Dawson ’10 both earned second team All-Ivy singles selections.

Jeff Dawson, playing at No. 1 throughout the season, posted a 3-4 record, while No. 2 Connor Dawson achieved a 4-3 record. The doubles team of Connor Dawson and Michael Caldwell ’09 was also selected for the second All-Ivy team. The duo finished the season 4-3 in the Ivy League while playing in the No. 1 spot for the Elis.

Recently, Connor Dawson was named captain for the 2009-’10 season. Looking forward to the season ahead, the junior said that the team will focus on securing the Ivy title.

“It is a great honor to be named captain by a team that is as close as ours,” he said. “Knowing they trust me in this position is a great feeling. We need to continue the momentum that we built up with a good season this year and add to it.”


Women’s Tennis

Since the end of the regular season, the women’s tennis team has finished competing. It was hoping for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament, but after its loss to Harvard, the women’s ranking was not high enough to qualify.

Sarah Lederhandler ’10 of Silliman College was elected to succeed two-year captain Lilian Nguyen ’09 as captain for the 2009-’10 season.

“Sarah is one of our toughest competitors and always works hard,” head coach Danielle McNamara said. “I think she is ready for this role and will do a great job leading this team to the next level. She understands that being captain is an incredible honor and also a big responsibility, and I think she will rise to the challenge. I’m looking forward to see how she will step into the position and influence the team.”


Additional honors

Along with Christine Glandorf ’09 of the crew team, gymnast Alina Liao ’09 and Ashley McCauley ’10 of the field hockey team were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District list.

Swimming head coach Frank Keefe will receive the Collegiate and Scholastic Trophy from the College Swimming Coaches Association of America, one of the highest honors in college coaching.

The men’s hockey team named its incoming freshman class, which includes three forwards, two defenseman and a goalkeeper from California. Three of the incoming players are natives of Canada.


Reporting was contributed by Efren Bonner, Jorge Castillo, Katie Giaccone, Chelsea Janes, Taylor Lasley, Monica Mark, Chris Merriman, R.J. Rico and Frances Sawyer.

YALE DAILY NEWS