Sports Shorts

Rugby suffers heartbreaking loss in Northeast Championships

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Men's rugby faces Harvard over The Game weekend.

The men's rugby team finished its regular season last weekend with a frustrating one-point loss to Providence College in the Northeast Championship finals. The frustration resulted not from the loss but because Yale had had to play Middlebury, one of the toughest teams in the New England League earlier on Saturday, while Providence College easily won against Columbia, the number-one team from the New York Metro League—a much weaker league than the New England League.

The Middlebury game was extremely physical, resulting in several Yale injuries, but it also demonstrated the high skill level exhibited by the Yale team throughout the season. Yale achieved victory over Middlebury, 18-15, for the second time this season and advanced to the final game with determination and some new starters. Yale faced a challenging first half against Providence College as the Yale players had to adjust to the physical size of their opponents and their own altered lineup.

Dara MacCaba, MC '02, said that the first half was difficult because "Providence was strong in the positions where we were missing our starters and getting possession was a struggle."

The first points in the game for Yale came when the referee awarded Yale a penalty try after a Providence player illegally tackled MacCaba from behind during a chase for the ball on the ground. Fullback Collin May, SY '02, made the conversion with two minutes left, bringing the score to 13-7. Near the end of the game Aaron Zahn, TC '01, crashed over the line for a score, making it 13-12.

Unfortunately, with only 30 seconds left, the kick fell wide to the right and the game ended. Despite the loss, the veterans on the team were very impressed with the athletic talent demonstrated by reserves like Kiel Walker, BK '04, who started at scrum half for the injured Micah Block, JE '03.

—Erin Fitzpatrick

VOLLEYBALL

Semifinal loss to Princeton ends season for volleyball

On the heels of a four-game winning streak, the Yale volleyball team entered last weekend's Ivy League tournament with hopes of competing for a championship. But for the second year in a row, the Bulldogs could not overcome Princeton, and fell to the Tigers in the semifinals yet again. "I think we just came out a bit flat," Captain Stephanie McMahon, TC '01, said. Indeed, the Bulldogs never really had a chance, as Princeton soundly defeated Yale in straight games, 15-5, 15-9, 15-6. "They have a very different style of play," McMahon said, "and we just didn't play up to our potential."

But the weekend was not a complete washout. To advance to the semifinals, the Bulldogs had to defeat long-time rival Dartmouth on Fri., Nov. 11. While Yale beat Dartmouth in the regular season, the Big Green had often challenged the Bulldogs over the past few seasons. But Friday night belonged to McMahon and her squad, as they cruised by Dartmouth in straight games. "It was a really big win for us," McMahon said. "Our team chemistry was excellent and managed to dominate the net and settle down on defense."

Saturday's loss ends the Bulldog's season, a year that saw them compile an impressive 18-8 record (5-4 Ivy) while winning seven out of their last nine matches, and five in a row before falling to the Tigers. Advancing to the semifinals guarantees Yale a top-four finish in the league. "I look back on it as a very successful season," McMahon said of her last games in Yale blue. "Particularly, in the last month and a half, we really picked up our play and adapted to and capitalized on the talents of the team."

—Ted Diskant



MEN'S BASKETBALL

Bulldogs prep for OSU

In the backcourt, the Buckeyes will struggle to replace legends Scootie Penn and Michael Redd, both NBA draft choices. Yale—despite the departure of star Onaje Woodbine, BK '02— will feature two experienced guards. Last season's assist (87) and three-pointer (51) leader Chris Leanza, SY '03, will start with Isiah Cavaco, JE '01—who led the team in those categories in 1998-1999 (73, 76 respectively) but who sat out most of last season with a knee injury.

In the frontcourt, Head Coach James Jones will rely on captain and center Neil Yanke, MC '01, to contend with the force that is Ohio State's Ken Johnson '01, to whom the NCAA just granted a fourth year of eligibility. Johnson was first in the nation in blocked shots (161) last season and led the Buckeyes to a winning regular season (24-5) and into the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Yanke led Yale and was second in the Ivy League in rebounds (7.7. rpg) and was third in the conference in blocked shots (43) last season. "I'm glad Ken Johnson came back. I enjoy playing against good competition. I'm not really going to do anything different against him except I might throw a few extra shot fakes at him," Yanke said.

—Anna Dolinsky

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