Jennie Werts (New York, NY/Fieldston School) is a senior who makes an impact for the Dutchwomen on and off the courts. Like Certs, she is a breath of fresh air, and the score that is like the shape of Certs, a “0,” was posted on the net twice with her impressive 6-0, 6-0 win in #1 singles to lead Union to the 8-1 victory over Hartwick. She joined teammate Jessie Meola (Hartsdale, NY/Ardsley) for an 8-3 triumph in doubles.
“Jennie is extremely devoted and is always there to boost everyone else's confidence,” said Meola, who is also her doubles' partner. “It is truly an honor to be able to be her partner. Not only does she bring talent to the team, but she is so much fun to be around.”
Werts was named the Liberty League Co-Performer of the Week, joining Hamilton's Sarah Coleman. On the season, the senior has four singles victories, tied for the team lead in wins. She joins Meola for four doubles victories, which also leads the squad.
“Jennie always give 110% and pushes everyone else to do the same,” Meola added. “I'm so proud of her, that she won this great honor.”
“Jennie has really been able to pick up her game lately, just in time for our run in the Liberty League Championships,” said first year coach Bill Brahler. “She has won her last two matches, including a third set tiebreaker that decided the match at RPI for the 5-4 win. With that win, we qualified for the state championships at Cornell later this month.
“Her drive and motivation has lifted our team spirit, allowing us to believe that we can compete against anyone,” continued the coach. “She has certainly earned the respect from not only our coaches and players, but from all the others in the league as well.”
Werts and her mates have four team victories on the season, after a 5-4 comeback win at Rensselaer on October 4. They hope to have mint performances this Saturday, October 8, at the Liberty League Championships at Vassar.
Dylan Walton-Yedlin (Seattle, WA/Lakeside) is quite a story, and added another chapter in last week's 23-17 overtime football victory at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. The senior defensive lineman led the Dutchmen with four sacks for losses of 38 yards, five tackles for losses, two pass deflections, and three quarterback “hurries” (by the way, when the quarterback hurries, whether it be on the field or on the highway, it usually doesn't work out too well for him). The first honor was the Liberty League Defensive Performer of the Week. He then received the ECAC Division III Northwest Defensive Player of the Week, and followed it up by being named to the D3football.com National Team of the Week.
“Dylan has worked so hard to become a good player. He has excellent speed and quickness and has become a great leader and example of our people up front on defense, that his play motivates the other players,” said Coach John Audino. “He is coachable and knows the system, and what is expected of him by his coaches.
“Dylan had a tremendous game last week and did all things well, from rushing the passer to playing the run, and his gap control. He was relentless in his pursuit of the football,” continued Audino, “and remember, he is doing all this with one arm in a cast. He is a tremendous person and had a fine game.”
The Dutchmen improved to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the Liberty League. Walton-Yedlin has a bone injury in his left hand and has a large cast protecting it, that would hinder most player performances. But he has 18 tackles and six tackles for losses on the year. RB Tom Arcidiacono (Castleton, NY/Columbia) won the contest with a four-yard TD run in overtime, and he now is second in the nation in rushing with an average of 199.0 yards per game. WR Steve Angiletta (Plantsville, NY/Southington) is tops in the NCAA Division III rankings with 154.0 yards per game receiving. After three straight road games, Union finally returns to Bailey Field this Saturday for a 1 p.m. game with WPI. Meanwhile, the coaching staff of the offense from last week's opponent will gladly turn the page and close the (play)book on Mr. Walton-Yedlin.
The Union men's and women's cross country teams competed at the Liberty League Championships at Hamilton Saturday. Victor Guaiquil (Astoria, NY/Stuyvesant) led the Dutchmen with a 33rd place finish at 29:55.1. Patricio Guaiquil (Astoria, NY/Brooklyn Tech), Victor's brother, was 35th at 30:05.3. On the women's side, Akousua Dwumfour (Shrewsbury, MA/Shrewsbury) finished an impressive 16th out of 65 competitors. She clocked at 25:10.7. Both teams placed sixth in the team scoring. Union will compete at the Westfield State Invitational on Saturday.
Entering last week, the men's and women's soccer teams at Union combined for the fifth best record in the country for NCAA Division III soccer teams. But the women, ranked #12 for two consecutive weeks, suffered the first loss of the season and fell out of the poll. Union is 7-1-1 entering a big Liberty League weekend. Friday features a game at Hamilton at 4 p.m., and Saturday will be a 2 p.m. contest at #4 William Smith, which is 8-0. Cassandra Mariani (Boonton, NJ/Morris Catholic) has eight goals and 18 points while Caitlin Cuozzo (Norfolk, MA/King Phillip) has 15 points for the Dutchwomen. Julie Gawronski's (Dunkirk, NY/Dunkirk) GAA in the nets stands at 0.94.
The men's soccer team is 7-2-1 and had an eight-game unbeaten streak snapped. The Saturday loss at Plattsburgh was the first defeat since the season opener, September 3. Chris Poey (Amherst, MA/Amherst Regional) has eight goals and 19 points and Casey Ftorek (Bedford, MA/Taft School) has 14 points. Goalkeeper Rob Kramer (Westport, CT/Staples) has an 0.82 GAA. Union will be home this weekend with Liberty League games Friday at 4 p.m. against Hamilton and Saturday at 2 p.m. vs. Hobart.
The second Union Volleyball Invitational of the season is on tap this weekend. The Dutchwomen will face Skidmore Friday at 4 and St. Lawrence Friday at 6, with matches against Fredonia (10 a.m.) and New Paltz (2 p.m.) Saturday in the five-team tournament. Union posted the fourth win of the season, with a 3-0 victory over Kings at the Oneonta Tournament over the weekend. Suzy Barbaritz (Clarence, NY/Clarence) dished out 36 assists and Danna DeBlasio (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont) finished with 16 digs. Julie LaSpina (Roslyn Heights, NY/Roslyn) had 14 kills to lead the Dutchwomen. After the weekend, Union will have one more home date, a November 1 6 p.m. match against Oneonta.
The field hockey players have been working overtime, if you will, and doubling it up. In fact, two of the last three games have gone into two overtimes each, and Union pulled out a 6-5 second session triumph at Castleton on October 4. Kristin Murphy (Branford, CT/Branford) has been a star all season, and she scored in the 93rd minute for the victory. She has team highs of 10 goals and 23 points on the season, and has an amazing 58 shots in 11 games. In the nets, goalkeeper Elise Wakeland (Kennebunkport, ME/Kennebunk) has a 3.04 goals against average. Union is on the road in Liberty League play this weekend with games Friday at Rochester and Saturday at William Smith.