Playing the first round of the two-round North Coast Athletic Conference men’s golf championship, Kenyon posted a team total of 305 on Saturday, April 24, which was good for third place in the nine-team field.
Saturday’s round was played at Denison Golf Club, which proved to be a huge advantage for Denison, a team that ended the day in first place with a total of 279. That was 14 strokes ahead of the second-place team, Wittenberg, which wrapped up Round 1 with a 293.
All scores from Saturday's round will carry over to next Saturday, May 1, when the second and final round of the championship will play out at Westbrook Country Club in Mansfield. The cumulative two-round total will determine the final standings as well as the individual and team NCAC champions.
From an individual standpoint, Kenyon senior Lawrence Courtney put together a team-best score of 69, which was two strokes under par on the par-71, 6,486-yard course. Courtney went out in 3-under, at one point carding birdies on four of five holes. His back nine, however, was not as steady. He did fire an eagle on the par-5 12th hole and a birdie on the 14th, but that was mixed with four bogeys in his final five holes.
MEN’S LACROSSE
Ethan Dewbrey scored two goals in the third period to spark a 5-0 Kenyon run while lifting the Lords to a 13-4 win against Allegheny on Sunday, April 25, at Frank B. Fuhrer Field in Meadville, Pennsylvania.
Dewbrey finished with three goals and an assist for a game-high four points. Weston Powell, Declan Curry and Joe Boesel each finished with two goals and an assist.
In front of the net, senior goalkeeper David Metzger made eight saves for Kenyon and improved his season save percentage to .660 and his goals-against average to 6.77.
TRACK AND FIELD
Kenyon’s men’s track and field team took part in its lone spring event on Saturday, competing at the Wittenberg University Quad with the host Tigers, Albion College and Case Western Reserve University.
In its only scheduled event of the season, the Kenyon women’s team logged two individual event wins and scored 27 team points during competition on Saturday, April 24, at the Wittenberg University Quad in Springfield.
The Lords (14 points) finished fourth behind winner Case Western (89), and the Ladies were fourth (27) behind winner Case Western (114.5).
Leading the way for the Lords was Angus Soderberg. He notched the team’s highest finish with a runner-up spot in the 400-meter dash, crossing the finish line in 50.46.
The Ladies’ event victories came from Anna Barrett and Davida Harris, who each accounted for seven points toward the Kenyon total. Barrett, a junior, won the high jump by clearing 4 feet, 9.75 inches. That was her personal collegiate best, topping her previous best of 4-9.5.
On the track, Harris, also a junior, served up another personal best. Her winning time of 2:37.79 in the 800-meter run shattered her previous Kenyon best of 2:39.13.
SOFTBALL
Kathryn Riggs had a big day at the plate for Kenyon, hitting two home runs and nearly leading the Ladies to their first win of the season in Game 2 of a doubleheader against Allegheny in NCAC play on Saturday, April 24, in Meadville, Pennsylvania.
Despite holding a 4-2 advantage heading into the sixth, the Ladies could not quite hold on, falling 5-4. The Gators also took a hard-fought opener by a score of 9-4.
Allegheny had great pitching in Game 1 before winning an offensive shootout in the second contest on Friday, April 23, as it swept Kenyon in Gambier.
Tori Vradenburg struck out a season-high 11 batters as the Gators won Friday’s opener, 2-1.
The second contest was nothing like the first. There were 34 combined runs and 40 hits between the teams as the Gators won 18-16.
Kenyon had solid defense in Friday’s opener with Emily Pater in the circle. She did not allow a run until the sixth inning and ended up inducing 15 flyouts and groundouts while striking out five, a season high.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
Kenyon scored seven of the game’s first nine goals en route to a 14-13 win over Allegheny on Saturday, April 24, at the Field at Benson Bowl.
Newcomer Kate Lengel tied for the game high with five points on four goals and one assist, while Alex Tiatia and Maya Fair each scored multiple goals. Sophomore Emma Hutchison also contributed a pair of goals while recording a career-high eight draw controls.
In goal, Delaney Gallagher gave a superb performance, recording a career-high 16 saves.
VOLLEYBALL
Host Wittenberg didn’t entertain any ideas about an upset and ended up sending Kenyon back to Gambier with a 25-10, 25-12, 25-14 loss.
Wittenberg racked up 35 kills during the three-set win, while Kenyon managed only 15. Sidney Reeder led the Tigers with a match-high 10 kills. Katie Hiestand and Sarah Hettich both threw down five kills.
D.J. Taylor, Lindsey Abramson and Natalia Arrigoni each posted a team-high three kills in the Ladies’ spring season finale.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
Kenyon continued its undefeated start to the season with an 8-1 win against DePauw on Sunday, April 25, at VandenBerg Courts in Gambier.
The Ladies, the nation’s No. 12-ranked team, faced minimal resistance in routing the Tigers and improved to 5-0.
Kenyon dominated all three doubles matches, dropping just three games combined to the Tigers. Eleni Dakos and Kayla Pukys barely broke a sweat in a quick 8-0 win in the No. 3 match. Ilana Blackwood and Victoria Vasquez did not have much more trouble in No. 2 doubles, winning 8-1. At No. 1, Daria Beshentseva and Erika Oku took care of business with an 8-2 victory.
It was smooth sailing for the Ladies in singles play as well. Vasquez kicked things off at No. 3 by nearly blanking Paige Bennett 6-0, 6-1. A 6-0, 6-3 win for Anna Winslow in the No. 6 match secured the team victory for Kenyon.
MEN’S TENNIS
Luis Andres Platas, Thomas Kallarakal, Jack Wagner and Harshal Rukhaiyar each had perfect days to lead Kenyon to a 7-2 win over DePauw in NCAC play at VandenBerg Courts on Sunday, April 25.
Platas and Kallarakal defeated Thomas Partridge and Bryce McClanahan 8-3, and Wagner and Rukhaiyar beat Noah Roberts and Jake Watson by the same score to give the Lords a 2-0 edge.
The foursome each won singles matches as well, with Platas beating Patridge 7-6 (7-3), 6-0; Kallarakal defeating McClanahan 6-3, 6-3; Wagner taking Watson 7-5, 6-0; and Rukhairar besting Ryan McCook 6-3, 6-3.
For the first time in his young career, Platas was named the NCAC’s Athlete of the Week following his performance against the Tigers.
