by The Cowl Editor on November 16, 2017

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Friar Sports

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By Joe Myko ’19

Sports Staff

  As the year creeps further into November, fall sports at Providence College are beginning to wrap-up. With the exception of volleyball, all the fall sports have ended. Now, before we fully turn our attention to hockey, basketball, and other winter sports, let’s take a look back on an exciting fall season for PC athletics.

Cross Country:

   

  Providence College’s Cross Country Teams remain ranked in regional and national polls this year for their performances, with the most recent and potentially most notable event being October’s Big East Cross Country Championships, in which the men’s team finished fourth overall.

The team began the season in impressive form on Sept. 2, managing to successfully sweep the University of New Hampshire Dual Meet. The men’s team also came in first at the Nassaney Invitational on Sept. 9, with Tom O’Neill ’18 winning the race.

The women finished second, behind Brown, with Millie Paladino ’18 coming in first. The women’s team successfully finished second in the Big East Cross Country Championships, with graduate student Catarina Rocha ‘17G impressively picking up the individual title. The women’s team also deserves praise for winning Battle-in-Beantown on the Sept. 22 for the third season in a row, as well as accumulating their third straight NCAA Northeast regional title.

Soccer:

 

The Providence College Men’s Soccer Team was ranked first in the New England Journal Division and in the Big East Preseason Coaches’ Poll this year, before they kicked off their season with a hard-fought loss againt the University of North Carolina on Aug. 25.

October’s game against Brown University was one of the most notable wins for the Friars, with Joao Serrano ’20 scoring the decisive golden goal in the 96th minute. On Nov. 8, former Friar Julian Gressel ’16 picked up the Major League Soccer Rookie of the Year award for his impressive performances for Atlanta United.         

   It was a successful season for goalkeeper Colin Miller ‘19RS, who has continued his good form from the last campaign where he earned the Big East goalkeeper of the year, with two consecutive Big East Goalkeeper of the Week awards.

  The team was unfortunately knocked out of the Big East Tournament on Nov. 4, bested at the quarterfinal by Xavier University.

   The Women’s Soccer  Team secured Big East All-Tournament honors on Nov. 5, concluding a commendable season in which they made it to the semi-finals of the Big East competition, before losing 3-0 to Butler University on Nov. 2. Two Friars, Katie Day ’19 and Hannah McNulty ’21, were also picked for the All-Tournament team for their impressive performances through the season.

Field Hockey:

  The field hockey team concluded an incredible season with a hard-fought loss in the Big East semi-finals, losing 3-0 to top-ranked University of Connecticut on Nov. 3. The Friars were very successful in the Big East field hockey post-season awards, which were released on Nov. 2, with four different players earning honors.

  Defender Manon van Weezel ’21 picked up the Freshman of the Year award. She was also unanimously selected for the All-Big East First Team, alongside midfielder Megan Hamilton ’18. Defender Corinne Kenney ’19 and goalkeeper Megan Guilbert ’18 also deserve congratulations for accumulating All-Big East second team honors.

Volleyball:

  Prior to the season commencing on Aug. 25, in a 3-0 win against University of Alabama Birmingham, the volleyball team was awarded team academic honors from American Volleyball Coaches Association for their 2016-17 season.

Providence College’s volleyball team then went on to sweep the Hatter Classic on Sept. 2, as well as the 13th Annual Friar Classic on Sept. 9. In terms of individual honors, McKenzie Lydon ’21 and Allison Barber ’21 both deserve praise for picking up Freshman of the Week awards in August and September, respectively.

  Most recently, the team just dropped a match against Xavier University, losing three sets to one. The team will look to get back in the win column on Nov. 17 versus Georgetown University. The Friars will close out their season at Villanova University on Nov. 18.

by The Cowl Editor on November 9, 2017

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Athlete of the Week

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Athlete of the Week: Catarina Rocha

By: Joe Myko ’19

Sports Staff

On Oct. 28, on a brisk day in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Providence College’s Men and Women’s Cross Country teams were involved in the Big East Cross Country Championships with the men’s team finishing in fourth as a collective, while the women’s team finished second.

  Catarina Rocha ‘17G has been competing for Providence College’s track and field team since the beginning of her freshman year in 2013. Rocha became the ninth woman in the college’s history to obtain the individual Big East title, something the athlete herself confirmed to be her “biggest sporting achievement to date.” A gradual improvement, having finished seventh in 2013, second in 2014, and sixth in 2015.

    Rocha said modestly that this win came as a “surprise” to her. The win was all the more impressive because she was unable to compete in the 2016 competition, as she was sidelined with an injury.

  Rocha’s achievement was particularly noteworthy as it also had sentimental value, as she is now the second in her family to have won a Big East cross country title, following her father’s success for Boston College in 1987. Both of Rocha’s parents ran competitively for Boston College, so it is unsurprising to learn that they had a large impact upon her interest and success in running.

Her brother is also on Providence College’s track and field team. Somewhat surprisingly, Rocha admitted that it was only after sophomore year of high school, when she had to sacrifice playing soccer to pursue running, in which it became a huge part of her life.

   In terms of pivotal changes to her day-to-day life which may have contributed to her success, Rocha cites the added focus to enjoy her running which she has been gifted since becoming a graduate student as something which helped her to be perfectly prepared for the Big East Cross Country Championships.

        Rocha was also keen to identify the help of her teammates and coaches in giving her a great platform for her recent title win, highlighting the team spirit, particularythe way in which they will “push each other along when someone’s having a bad day” as being a key ingredient to success.

   Cross country Head Coach, Ray Treacy, was eager to voice his congratulations for Rocha, whose individual title had a large part to play in the college’s success: “I am especially proud of Catarina for winning the individual title, she has been a standout runner for us.”

Looking forward to the next generation, Rocha was happy to offer some advice to the current and future runners of Providence College. Firstly, Rocha recommended that they stay “patient” in successfully balancing academics and training, as she freely admitted she found the step-up between high school and college to be a major one.

Secondly, she was keen to emphasize to upcoming athletes to enjoy their undergraduate years and to savor the key moments,  as the reality is, “You’re never going to be able to be on a team with ten of your best friends again after you leave.”

  In terms of her own future, Rocha is waiting to see what the future holds in terms of competitive running, as she will undoubtedly have a lot of exciting opportunities inside and outside the world of athletics. However, she is confident that running will “always be part of her life” in some regard, as will Providence College, going on to emphasize that “There’s no place like Friartown!”

by The Cowl Editor on November 3, 2017

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Friar Sports

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