By Esteban Bachelet, John Bray, Reed Dickerson, Brian Hess, Richard Pera, Alex Pijanowski, Ian Round
Men’s Soccer
Head Coach: Chris Brown
Captains: Andrew Parmelee and Lewis Williams-Gray
After a 9-6-3 season that saw Kenyon men’s soccer place fourth in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), Head Coach Chris Brown hopes to cement a place in the top four once again.
“We’ve finished top four since 2007,” he said in an interview with Kenyon Sports Connection. “Top four for us is the minimum.”
In the NCAC 2013 preseason coaches’ poll, Kenyon ranks third out of 10 teams. For the Lords, a successful season will depend largely on midfielder Andrew Parmelee ’14, who recently earned an All-Ohio first-team selection for his contributions as a box-to-box player last season. “He’s a force in the midfield,” Assistant Coach Darren Moore said. “When he forces forward, it’s hard for the opposing teams to match that [intensity].”
The Lords return a successful back four from last season but expect some first-years to fill in gaps up top and in the midfield. They continue their quest against Spalding University in Danville, Ky., on Friday, Sept. 6.
Women’s Soccer
Head Coach: Kelly Ryan
Captains: Lauren Wolfe, Becca Romaine and Anna Walley
Lauren Wolfe ’14 will save the shots and Becca Romaine ’15 will score the goals.
This was the theme of the 2012 season for the women’s soccer team and was of their first two games in 2013. Last season, Romaine scored 13 of the Ladies’ 25 goals, while Wolfe had 57 saves and saw time in the net in all but one of the Ladies’ 17 games.
The Ladies went 7-8-2 and finished sixth in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) last year.
The 2013 campaign started with 2-1 losses to both Wilmington College and Hope College on Aug. 30 and 31, respectively. Romaine scored the only goal against Wilmington and Maggie Smith ’17 scored against Hope. Head Coach Kelly Bryan emphasized, however, that the team is already showing signs of improvement toward the team’s goal of an NCAC championship.
“At the end of it all, we want to compete for the conference championship,” Bryan said. “We want to be competitive in every single game.”
Field Hockey
Head Coach: Jacque Demarco
Captains: Susie Gurzenda, Sammy Johnston and Maddie Breschi
After a 2012 season in which Kenyon’s field hockey squad went 8-10 overall and 7-7 in conference in Head Coach Jacque DeMarco’s first season, the Ladies look to improve with their added experience.
“On-and-off the field, Coach DeMarco in her second year has taken the team to a new level with her emphasis on hard work and camaraderie,” co-captain Susie Gurzenda ’14 wrote in an email.
While the team is young ﾗ first years and sophomores comprise the majority of the team ﾗ the Ladies are excited about the fresh vivacity they’ve shown thus far. “The dynamic class of 2017 has added great energy and talent to this team, taking us to an exciting competitive level,” Gurzenda wrote. “We have super-talented players all over the field, and it is exciting to see the team working together so well this early in the season.”
Gurzenda’s comments ring true, as the Ladies’ most recent defeat was a 1-0 loss to No. 18-ranked University of Rochester.
“We played the best field hockey Kenyon has played since I’ve been here on Sunday [against Rochester]. We fought hard and were in the game the entire time,” DeMarco wrote. “I expect to see that play the rest of the season. We have a very dynamic and versatile group, and I have great expectations for this year.”
The Ladies hope their strong play will translate into some victories when they play next at the Frostburg State University tournament in Maryland on Sept. 7.
Cross Country
Head Coach: Duane Gomez
Captains: Tory Bruch, Jenna Willett, Kerry Strader, Bryce Raz and Ben Tanoff
As summer turns to fall, the Kenyon men’s and women’s cross country teams look to build off their successful 2012 seasons and carry that drive into 2013.
Head Coach Duane Gomez, who begins his 31st season as head coach of the program, said he expects great things from his teams this year. Both teams return the bulk of last year’s key runners, and in 2012 the current sophomore class featured some of the best first-year runners in the program’s history. Many seniors will also play important leadership roles.
The two teams opened the season Aug. 30 in a home tri-meet against Mount Vernon Nazarene University and Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU). Although the meet went unscored, Sam Lagasse ’16 finished first in the men’s division with his time of 16:22.4, and Natalie Plick ’16 placed first overall in the women’s field with her time of 14:32.4. Plick’s top time set both a meet record and a course record, and earned her this week’s North Coast Athletic Conference Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week award.
Both teams are scheduled to compete next on Saturday, Sept. 7 at the Great Lakes Colleges Association Championship hosted by OWU in Delaware, Ohio.
Golf
Head Coach: Grant Wallace
Captains: Alex Blickle
Heading into a new season, the Kenyon golf team hopes to continue to build off of the experience its young members gained last year. The Lords played well last fall, finishing third in a field of 10 teams and fifth in a field of nine teams. Building upon the early success, the Lords continued their strong play during the spring season, putting themselves in the position to finish in second place at the Muskingum University Invitational, but were disqualified because of illegal scorecards. The Lords later completed their season by finishing in fifth place in the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament.
The Lords only lost two members from last year’s squad and added three first years to the roster. While their roster includes newcomers, the Lords still enter the season with more experience.
“We expect our leaders from last year to improve their performance, show our freshmen what it takes to win, and ultimately keep improving on the program,” Head Coach Grant Wallace said. “I expect to see us at the top of the conference, like last year.”
Alex Blickle ’15 and Jake Fait ’16 are two of the returning leaders for Wallace. Both played well down the stretch last season and competed in tournaments throughout the summer.
The quest towards a conference championship begins this weekend in Lexington, Ky., where the Lords will compete in the Transylvania University Fall Invitational.
Football
Head Coach: Chris Monfiletto
Captains: Reed Franklin, David Brackett and Sam McQuiston
The Kenyon football program is coming off the greatest turnaround in its 122-year history. After snapping a 24-game losing streak last September, the 2012 Lords went on to finish 6-4, just a win away from a conference title and National Collegiate Athletic Association playoff berth. After the bitter season-ending loss to archrival Denison University, Head Coach Chris Monfiletto told his distraught players: “Remember this feeling, because it’s never going to happen again.”
The 2013 campaign represents a struggle to finish what last year’s team could not. The team is out to prove that 2012 was no fluke, and it’s a tall order. The North Coast Athletic Conference mandated that, beginning this year, all conference teams will face each other, and it will feel like the season is on the line each and every week ﾗ because it probably is. Kenyon will play perennial conference powerhouses Wabash College and Wittenberg University, both of whom the Lords did not play last season, in back-to-back weeks in October.
The great unknown is the quarterback position, where Monfiletto has not named a starter for Saturday’s opener at Allegheny College. Transfer student Jake Bates ’15 and last year’s backup Max Boyd ’16 have been competing for the starting job since the beginning of fall camp, but neither has ever started a collegiate game under center.
The Lords open their season this Saturday in Meadville, Pa. in a conference matchup against Allegheny College at 1 p.m.
Volleyball
Head Coach: Katie Charles
Captains: MaryJo Scott, Sierra DeLeon and Hannah Shank
After a tough 2012 season, the Kenyon College volleyball team began their fall season this past weekend at a tournament in Columbus hosted by Capital University and Otterbein University. The Ladies were not able to find the winning way, dropping all four matches during the two-day tournament. Despite the rough start, the Ladies showed some strength on the court last weekend, especially in their final match against Defiance College.
“We played really well, possibly the best we’ve had here at Kenyon since I’ve been here,” Head Coach Katie Charles said.
This season, returning co-captains Sierra DeLeon ’14 and MaryJo Scott ’14 look to keep up their stellar play as the core of the Ladies’ offensive capabilities, while fellow co-captain Hannah Shank ’15 looks to remain the anchor of the Ladies’ defense.
The Ladies also return Ana Maricic ’14, the former North Coast Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year, and Sandhya Bhasker ’14, who was abroad last season. On Sept. 7, the Ladies will play next at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology tournament in Terre Haute, Ind.
[starbox id=”admin”]