The fall athletics season is wrapping up and winter sports are just beginning on Worcester’s college campuses. Here’s a look at the recent sports highlights at the city’s colleges and universities.
Assumption University: The field hockey team (13-6, 11-1 Northeast 10) earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II tournament, its sixth straight trip to the NCAAs. The Greyhounds won 11 of 12 conference games but fell 3-1 to Bentley in the Northeast 10 semifinals on Nov. 7. Senior Elle Murray of Worcester leads the team in scoring with 30 points on 13 goals and four assists. Head coach Annie Lahey is in her 14th season at Assumption. She is a 2002 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and also excelled at both field hockey and softball at Worcester’s Notre Dame Academy.
The men’s ice hockey team swept a two-game series from Post University on November 7-8 before downing Fitchburg State 5-3 on November 11. Junior Jonathan Surrette leads the team with nine points on five goals and four assists.
Clark University: Sophomore Cyriah Coleman was named NEWMAC Offensive Athlete of the Week after leading the women’s basketball team to its third straight Worcester CIty Tournament championship on Nov. 8. She averaged 17 points, 6.5 rebounds and six assists per game as the Cougars defeated Anna Maria and WPI.
Coleman, a native of Los Angeles, scored a team-high 21 points against Anna Maria and chipped in with 13 in the championship game against WPI to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team. As a freshman last season, Coleman was named NEWMAC Rookie of the Year and Second Team All-NEWMAC. Junior Kailey Rios also earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team as Clark captured its 24th all-time Worcester City Tournament championship.
College of the Holy Cross: The women’s basketball team knocked off Boston College 72-71 in their season opener on November 3 thanks to a last-second basket from senior Simone Foreman. It was the first time the Crusaders defeated Boston College at Conte Forum since 1997. Senior Kaitlyn Flanagan led four players in double figures with a game-high 16 points.
Both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams each captured titles at the Worcester City Championship on Nov. 8. Senior Jack Grenier took first place in the distance pentathlon with a time of 11:32.50 while winning all five events (400-yard individual medley, 200-yard butterfly, 200-yard individual medley, the 200-yard backstroke, and 200-yard freestyle).
Worcester Polytechnic Institute: The field hockey team makes its first appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament in 32 years after finishing the regular season 14-5 and 8-1 in the NEWMAC. The 24th-ranked Engineers make their fifth all-time appearance in the NCAAs when they play at number 16 Stevenson in Maryland on Nov. 12. WPI fell 1-0 to Babson in the NEWMAC championship on Nov. 8. Grad student Lauren Meinhold of Boxboro leads the team in scoring with 25 points on 10 goals and five assists. Head coach Kim Cosenza is in her fifth season at the helm of the field hockey program. She was a standout field hockey and lacrosse player at Worcester State University, graduating in 2009.
The 19th-ranked men’s basketball team opened its season with an 81-69 overtime win against Lasell on Nov. 8. Leading the way for WPI was junior Justin Molen (23 points) and senior J.R. Newman (20 points).
Worcester State University: Sophomore Joe Okla of Worcester was named MASCAC Rookie of the Week after averaging 13.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 69 percent from the field as the men’s basketball team opened the season at the Lafrance Hospitality Tournament hosted at UMass Dartmouth. Okla had 16 points and eight rebounds in a 91-80 loss to 25th-ranked Saint Joseph (CT) on Nov. 8 and then added 11 points in an 87-52 win over Brooklyn on Nov. 9.
Junior Kaia Carlson and senior Kelsey Czerniawski of the women’s ice hockey team earned MASCAC honors after a 4-1 win at Framingham State on Nov. 8. Carlson was named MASCAC Player of the Week for notching two assists against Framingham while Czerniawski took home MASCAC Goalie of the Week honors for making 19 saves.
Mike Vigneux is a freelance writer in Worcester with more than 20 years of experience in the fields of municipal government, communications, and public relations. An avid fan of all sports, Mike enjoys telling the stories of local athletes and their teams. He holds two degrees from Clark University, a bachelor of arts in Communication and a master of science in Professional Communication. He can be reached at Mikevigs@gmail.com
