Fall Sports Recap and Preview — The Skidmore News

The start of the school semester marks the beginning of new seasons for 11 of Skidmore’s various varsity sports teams. As a result, SkidNews has decided to do a quick preview of the fall sports teams and recap their season results so far.

Men’s and Women’s Crew:

Skidmore’s men’s and women’s crew teams have been diligently working, rowing, and coxswaining to prepare for their upcoming regattas. Both teams will kick off their season by competing at the Head of the Hudson Regatta in Albany on Sept. 22. Following that they will head to Hadley, Massachusetts on Oct. 13 for the Hadley Chase, and will then close out their fall season by competing at the Head of the Fish Regatta here in Saratoga Springs on Oct. 27. However, this season’s real highlight for the team will be the unveiling of the brand new Valentine Boathouse on Oct. 19. Skidmore recently completed a $2.2 million renovation of the college’s boathouse at Fish Creek. The newly improved boathouse will be approximately 6,800 square feet and will include an 850 square foot training room as well as a separate sculling pavilion. Skidmore’s crew teams can undoubtedly look forward to using this new state-of-the-arts facility to improve their rowing skills and rest assured that it will help enhance athlete recruitment that can make the team even better next year as well.

*(photo taken from Skidmore Athletics’s website)*

Field Hockey:

Skidmore’s field hockey team is looking to deliver another NCAA Division 3 Tournament appearance this season. The Thorougbreds are returning 12 players from last year’s team that went 14-7 and are adding eight new freshmen and one junior transfer to their ranks. Look for senior All-American Marissa Folts to spearhead the team’s defensive line as well as contribute some midfield efforts. In addition, fellow senior Meaghan Lynch, and the sophomore trio of Toni Hamilton, Amelia Evans, and Natalie Metzger will round out the defense. In attack, most of the goals will come from senior Gabby Hyman who has been the team’s leading scorer in the past two years, and veterans Emily Richmond ’18, Sarah Winters ’21, and Ellie Bowen ’21 will round out some midfield and attacking positions. According to a preseason poll conducted by the Liberty League coaches, the Thoroughbreds are predicted to finish second in the league Hopefully the team can move up one spot in those rankings and end the season at the top of the league.

Men’s Golf:

This year, Skidmore’s men’s golf team will face off again some of the region’s hardest competition. They kick off their season by travelling to Middlebury on Sept. 15 and 16 for the annual Duke Nelson Invitational. On the 22, they will head to New Hartford, New York for the Liberty League Fall Preview where they will face off against the league’s top talent. Following that they will close off their season by hosting the region’s top teams on Oct. 13 at the Saratoga National Invitational.

Men’s Hockey:

After going 15-8-3 last year and making it to the NEHC Quarterfinal, Skidmore’s ice hockey team will look to improve upon last season. Over the summer the team spent part of its preseason by going on an international trip and visited Italy between Aug. 21 and 27. On top of scrimmaging and practicing with local Italian ice hockey teams, the Thoroughbreds also took tours of the historic Italian cities of Venice, Milan, Bolzano, and participated in various community service exercises.

Riding Team:

This year Skidmore’s riding team will compete in eight events and seek to defend their national championship title from last season. The team will begin its repeat campaign at the Van Lennep Riding Center on Oct. 13 with the Skidmore College Show. They will then travel to Hartwick on Oct. 27, and finish up the calendar year with the second Skidmore College Show on Nov. 17.

Men’s Soccer:

After making the Liberty League Playoffs the last three years in a row, Skidmore’s men’s soccer team is gearing up to make another deep run this year. The team has added eight new and two sophomores on top of bringing back 21 players from last year’s squad. While the team’s defense and midfield look to be mostly the same from last year beside a couple of starters, the team will have to find scoring replacements after losing top scorers Augustine Okoye ‘18 and Kevin Santos ‘18 to graduation. Fortunately, the team can call upon the reliable and experienced trio of Alex Ricci ’20, Kyle Barrett ’20, and Matt Schwab ’20 to take up scoring efforts. The Thoroughbreds will be hoping to compete for the Liberty League Title again this season and hopefully make a deep league playoffs run again. So far the team has started the season off undefeated following two wins to Keuka (1-0) and Elms (2-1) as well as a tie with Geneseo (1-1). Next up on their schedule the team will play on Sept. 14 at home vs Union and Sept. 22 vs Hobart.

Women’s Soccer:

The women’s soccer team is also looking to make another Liberty League Playoffs run this season. The Thoroughbreds are returning 13 players from last year and adding 10 talented freshmen to their ranks. The team is led by two All-Liberty League players, Emily Mendes ’18 and Yasmine Boukari ’21, as well as central defender Phoebe Martell Crawford and leading goal-scorer Emma Basso ’18 (both of whom are co-captains along with Mendes). While the team will have to rely upon the talents of their freshmen players in order to continue their form from last year, look for players like Carly Craft, Vanessa Eljaiek, Anna Jarry, Lily Hammill, and the remaining freshmen to provide a significant boost to the team. The team is already 3-1 through its first four games of the year and look to face William Smith next at home on Sept. 22.

Men’s Tennis:

The men’s tennis team is coming off a very successful season last semester where the doubles pairing of Steven Koulouris (’18) and JT Wynne (’20) made it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division 3 Doubles Tournament and also won the ITA Northeast Regional Doubles Championship. While Steven Koulouris, the 2017-2018 Liberty League player of the year, graduated. The team still has tremendous individual talent and has three returning players who were selected to last year’s Liberty League All-League team (JT Wynne ’20, Travis Leaf ’19, and Jack McClaren ’20). The team will kick off their season on the road vs Middlebury on Sept. 15, and will have their home opener versus Amherst College on Sept. 22.

Women’s Tennis:

Skidmore also boasts a fantastic women’s tennis program. Last year the team not only had seven different players make Liberty League All-League Teams, but freshman star Risa Fukushige ’21 was unanimously ranked as both the Liberty League Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year. On top of that, the coach duo of Curt Speerschneider and Stephen Thriolle were named as Coaching Staff of the Year for the 7th time in eight seasons. Fukushige became the first person to win both Rookie and Player of the Year unanimously and only the second to ever win both awards, the other being her teammate Ada Wiggins ’20. On top of this the Thoroughbreds also advanced to the NCAA Regional Final Four last season for the second time in the past four years. The women’s team will kick off their season on Sept. 14 at the Morehouse Invitational and will look to improve on last year’s success.

Volleyball:

After making the Liberty League Tournament for the first time in six years, Skidmore’s volleyball team is hoping to take the next step and make a deep postseason push this year. The team is bringing back eight players from last year’s team, which went 18-11, and are adding four freshmen to their ranks. Leading the team are the outside hitter duo of All-America Catie Canfield ’19 (who averaged 3.19 kills per set last season) and senior Bailey Hutchins (0.46 aces per set and 2.47 killers per set). Other key players include middle hitter Katy Ehnstrom ’20 who is one of the most lethal hitters in all of the Liberty League, setter Lauren Walters (who had almost 1000 assists last season), and libero/defensive specialist Allie Dillon (who led the team with 3.83 digs per set). Coach Hilda Arrechea will also rely upon the experienced right side hitter Sophia Hettler ’20, and sophomores Jenny Norcross and Nicole Rosner to make an impact on the court this season. While a poll conducted by the Liberty League coaches selected Skidmore to finish 4th in the league, the team will be looking to defy expectations and improve upon last year. So far through 8 non-conference games, the team has gone 5-3, and will look to bring that success to their inter-league competition.