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Sports

Volleyball sports winning record as stretch of home games begins

October 6, 2016

After winning their eighth game of the season against St. Lawrence, the Hamilton Continentals resumed their competitive fall schedule with an away match on Saturday, Oct. 1 against the Connecticut College Camels at Luce Field House in New London, Connecticut. This conference match between neck-and-neck teams Hamilton and Connecticut College is the Continental’s ninth match away from home. With unwavering determination, expert skill and great teamwork, Hamilton defeated Connecticut College for the first time since 2002, placing them 5-4 overall and 2-2 in NESCAC. Connecticut College (7-5, 2-2) had won its last 13 matches against Hamilton. Hamilton hit .250 (12-4-32) in winning the first set, 25-19. The Continentals won the second set with an identical score. Connecticut College returned for the third set with overwhelming eagerness to regain the lead, posting 25-18 and 25-22 victories in the third and fourth sets, respectively. Hamilton strongly completed the fifth set with a 15-8 win, clinching the match. More ...

Football outplayed by threetime defending champion Amherst

September 29, 2016

The Amherst College football team, despite its 21-game win streak, is not, as the box score shows, 34 points better than the Hamilton Continentals. In fact, with just under a minute left in the first half, the Saturday afternoon contest had every look of a competitive, exciting game. The Purple and White led the game 13-0, but Hamilton quarterback Cole Freeman ’18 was executing the two-minute drill to precision, hooking up with four different receivers along the way to the Amherst 19- yard line. With their sights set on going into halftime down just one score, Hamilton’s sideline was excited as ever, cheering on their offense. But, just one play after a potential pick-six was called back for defensive pass interference, Amherst cornerback Derek Ward jumped in front of Charles Ensley ’17’s route in the end zone to make a drive-ending interception. This play, unfortunately, stood, and the Purple and White were content to kneel out the clock, ending the half up 13-0. But as much as that moment was drive-killing, it was momentum-killing, as well. Hamilton, whose running game was stuffed all afternoon (just 6 team rushing yards), had trouble piecing together consecutive positive plays throughout the contest. So, when the one extended drive of the first half resulted in zero points, it was certainly deflating. More ...

Men's soccer ascends to top of NESCAC standings

September 29, 2016

Hamilton College men’s soccer team had an explosive week, getting their highest scoring win in nearly six years and topping the NESCAC conference standings. The Continentals played against the Ithaca College Bombers on Sept. 21, in a non-league match, quickly establishing their dominance. Assisted by Mike Lubelczyk ’17, Alex Cadet ’17 scored in the eighth minute, kicking towards the goalie where the ball deflected off a Bomber and into the net. After intense play, Killian Clancy ’18 scored in the 33rd minute and was quickly followed by Rowan Myers ’19 in the 42nd minute. Jefri Schmidt ’20 recorded his first career goal in the 47th minute, hitting the net squarely in its center. After half-time, the Bombers scored in the 73rd minute, but Hamilton responded immediately, with Myers recording his second goal of the game in the 83rd minute. More ...

Women’s soccer drops two hard fought NESCAC matches

September 29, 2016

Women’s soccer fought hard this weekend in two physical games. On Saturday the Continentals faced off against #22-ranked Connecticut College. Hamilton fought hard but lost 3-0. Middlebury made the trip down from Vermont for the game on Sunday. They made the most of the trip as they came away with a 1-0 victory. On Saturday the Connecticut College Camels got off to a fast start. Just five minutes into the game the Camels pushed the ball up field and got a shot off on goal. Hamilton goalkeeper Emily Dumont ’18 made the initial save, but the Camels’ Caroline Kelleher ’18 pounced on the ball. She finished this opportunity for her first goal of the day. Later in the first half, Kelleher scored her second goal of the day. Kelleher got the ball off a nice feed from Michelle Medina ’18, the NESCAC assists leader. Kelleher was 10 yards from goal and made one defender miss before firing the ball into the net. More ...

Young tennis players display promising skills in fall season openers

September 22, 2016

The men’s tennis team opened up their season well last weekend, going 10-6 in singles play as well as 5-3 in doubles at Union College’s Dutchmen Invitational. This matchup was the first of the season for many of Hamilton’s returners. Contributions came across the board from upperclassmen and first-years alike, all of whom performed well. Jonathan Cohen ’17 picked up four wins for the Continentals, going 2-0 in both the singles and doubles play. Cohen is the Continental’s leading returner with 10 doubles wins. He has a career doubles record of 27-17 and has won 33 career singles matches. Cohen’s partner Alex Streich ’18 was 4-0 on the day. Sam Farber ’20 also performed well, going 3-1. Matt Haas ’19 and Andrew Wei ’20 were undefeated in singles play, showing strong depth for the Continentals. The Continentals play at Le Moyne next on Sept. 22. Over spring break, the Continentals will travel to tournaments in Orlando, F.L., as well as compete in conference against other NESCAC schools. As is the case for many sports, the NESCAC is the strongest conference in Division III tennis, as both 2016 NCAA championship finalists were NESCAC programs. Four different NESCAC schools have won a total of nine NCAA men’s tennis team titles since 1999. More ...

Field hockey team battles with Trinity College to a narrow defeat

September 22, 2016

After winning their third game of the season against Geneseo 3-1, the Hamilton Continentals resumed their competitive fall schedule with a determined fight against the Trinity College Bantams on Saturday, Sept. 17 at Goodfriend Field in Clinton. This game was the Continentals’ fourth game of the season, second NESCAC game and first NESCAC game out of three in a nine-day period. The Continentals controlled the first half of the game with first-year Michaela Giuttari helping Hamilton obtain a 1-0 lead nine minutes into the game with her second collegiate goal. Assisted by Sarah Stinebaugh ’19 who controlled the ball and directed a pass to Giuttari, Giutarri directed a shot on Trinity goalkeeper Lori Berger from point-blank range. Hamilton’s Lizzie Clarke ’20 scored the second goal of the game and first collegiate goal on a penalty corner with two minutes and 56 seconds left in the first half. Emma Anderson ’17 directed the ball to Liz Wagenbach ’18; Wagenbach stopped it for Clarke who immediately shot from the top of the circle, giving Hamilton a two-point lead at the end of the first half. More ...

Men’s rugby fights hard against strong Plattsburgh team

September 22, 2016

This past Saturday, men’s rugby tried to avenge their loss in the conference finals last year to SUNY Plattsburgh. The 25-11 loss was the Continentals’ only one of the season. The team won their first game of the season two weeks ago, beating St. Lawrence with the score 12-10. Nick Pace ’19 and Alex Hollister ’16 scored the two tries, and Pace earned Man of the Match. The Continentals had a great week of practice between the games. Unfortunately, several players had to deal with minor injuries. However, the team was in good spirits and full of energy going into their toughest match of the season. SUNY Plattsburgh not only won the conference, but also went on to finish third in the nation. Not only is the Plattsburgh’s best player individually ranked, but the team is full of players who are two hundred pounds and over six feet tall. More ...

It’s football time: Hamilton hits the field with high expectations

September 22, 2016

At long last, the Hamilton football team is back on the field and practicing. The team is looking to build on its success from the 2015 season, in which Hamilton won two of its last three games and came within five points of winning four others. The first of those two victories, against Williams College, snapped a 25-game losing streak. It was Hamilton’s first victory since week four of 2012, Hamilton’s first win over Williams since 1996 and the first time a Hamilton football team left Williamstown victorious since 1986. The Continentals have made great strides under head coach Dave Murray, who has installed the offensive, defensive and special teams systems that he utilized at Alfred University in 2014. The team has now had three years to learn these systems. Assistant Coach Matt Wright noted that gaining experience with these strategies has been key: “For our guys, the juniors already have three years doing what we do on every phase of football, so they will have better understanding and be able to make better decisions faster.” With these techniques fully implemented, there should be fewer mental mistakes on the field. The arrival of Murray’s first two recruiting classes, both of which were smashing successes, have bolstered the team tremendously. “Some young guys are coming in and competing right away. We get most out of those guys going into week one,” commented Coach Wright. More ...

Three stars of the week

September 15, 2016

Eva Rosencrans ’17, Field Hockey; Emily Dumont ’18, Women’s Soccer; Erin Donahue ’18, Volleyball More ...

Men’s soccer secures Coach Nizzi’s 150th victory against Bates

September 15, 2016

The Hamilton College men’s soccer team won their NESCAC opener on Saturday after a disappointing loss to SUNY Oswego on Tuesday in a non-league game. Hamilton finished with a 17-11 advantage in shots against SUNY Oswego and had two opportunities to take a first half lead. Goalkeeper Evan Bogucki challenged mid-fielder Jefri Schmidt ’20 wide of the net on the goal line. Schmidt was able to tap the ball to mid-fielder Mike Lubelczyk ’17 but Lubelczyk’s shot into the net was negated by a Hamilton foul. Bogucki was also able to block a Hamilton penalty shot, diving to his right in the 25th minute. More ...