McHugh Blast Helps Cougars To Season-Ending Split

Recap, photo courtesy of Clark University

Boston, Mass. – Kayleigh McHugh (Pepperrell, Mass.) blasted a three-run homerun in the seventh inning, securing a season-ending split of a New England Women's And Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) softball doubleheader between Clark University and Emerson College on Saturday afternoon.

The Lions won the first game in extra innings, escaping with a 5-4 win in nine innings before Brenna Foley (Charlton, Mass.) twirled a complete game shutout in the 7-0 Cougar win in the nightcap.
The split for Clark wraps up their 2016 season at 13-25 – an 11-game improvement over their win total from a season ago.

Game 1: Emerson College 5, Clark University 4 (9 innings)
Emerson scored an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth inning to take the opening game in extra innings.

Clark held a 2-0 lead after Rachel Kraytenberg (Londonderry, N.H.) drove in a run in the first on a

Conway's Bombs Help Cougars Take Slugfest With Beavers

Recap, photo courtesy of Clark University

Worcester, Mass. – In a game that featured 28 hits and six homeruns, it was the excellent relief pitching of Joshua Dobratz (Southington, Conn.) that helped Clark University hold off Babson College, 13-9 in a slugfest filled with postseason implications on a very breezy Granger Diamond on Tuesday afternoon.

The Cougars have now won a season-high four straight games to improve to 16-18 overall and more importantly move within a half game of second place Coast Guard in the New England Women's And Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) West Division. In addition, the 16 wins in head coach J.P. Pyne's first season ties the school record for wins in a single season – a feat accomplished in 2005 and 2010.

For the Beavers, meanwhile, they have now dropped four of their last six and now stand at 16-12-1

Clark's Boats Shine On Lake Quinsigamond On Sunday

Worcester, Mass. – In what many might consider the best day out on the water for the Clark University rowing program in some time, the Cougars posted a pair of victories on Sunday morning on Lake Quinsigamond.

On the women's side, for the second straight week, the Novice 8 posted a victory, this time blazing to a win over the University of Vermont and New England Women's And Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) rival Simmons College. The boat of Wenlen Lawrence (Austin, Texas), Emily Ladda (Farmington, Conn.), Halley Glier (Shelburne, Mass.), Emily Thibault (Williamsville, Vt.), Aubrey Hulbert (Reno, Nev.), Mackenzie Satalino (East Hartford, Conn.), Holly Bauer (Portland, Conn.), Niki Lew (Auburndale, Mass.) and Katy Deng (Quincy, Mass.) blazed to a time of 7:39.6, besting second-place UVM (7:44.7) by more than five seconds. Simmons was well off the pace at 7:55.5.

The varsity four, meanwhile, turned in a solid performance, finishing second to Bryant University and ahead of Endicott. The lineup of Kate Barnett (West Simsbury, Conn.), Lydia Warters (Simsbury, Conn.), Sarah Fisher (Teaneck, N.J.) Jacqueline Jimenez-Maldonado (San Francisco, Calif.) and Cailyn Keely (Takoma Park, Md.) posted a time of 8:18.46, just behind the Bulldogs (8:08.3) and way in front of the Gulls (8:56.45).

Clark's varsity eight of Barnett, Warters, Fisher, Jimenez-Maldonado, Glier, Ladda, Keely, Lew and Brooke Wilson (Fairbanks, Alaska) faired pretty well against some stiff competition that included league rivals Simmons and Mount Holyoke as they finished fourth of six boats in a time of 7:30.27.

The Cougars' other victory on the day came on the men's side where the varsity four led by coxswain Freya Pollack (Asheville, N.C.) coasted to an impressive victory. Thomas Viollier (Sunnyvale, Calif.), Nick Reynolds (Lenox, Mass.), Grant Madigan-Kolstad (Concord, Mass.) and Jamie Chaitman (Old Chatman, N.Y.) best a quartet of University of Vermont boats and one from Endicott in a time of 7:05.9.

Both teams are back in action on Sunday when they face Tufts and WPI.

Cougars Race Past Framingham State, 3-0

Framingham, Mass. – In a matchup that featured a pair of emerging teams in the region, Clark University took control of the match early and never looked back, rolling to a 3-0 win over host Framingham State in non-league volleyball action on Thursday evening.

The Cougars improve to 16-4 with their third consecutive victory, while the Rams slip to 17-6 and have now dropped back-to-back matches for the second time this season.

In the first set, the Scarlet and White jumped out to an 11-6 advantage but Framingham State stormed back and actually took a 14-12 lead -  a scoring run that was aided by a trio of kills by Julia Wan (South Deerfield, Mass.), Annie DeLoid (Plymouth, Mass.) and Danielle Girard (Tivoli, N.Y.). Clark settled down and went ahead 20-17 before collecting the 25-19 win capped by consecutive kills by Courtney Pharr (Seattle, Wash.).

With the score knotted at 9-9 in the second set, the Cougars ran off nine of the next 11 points to surge ahead 18-11 following a Marina Ramos (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) kill and a Mia Cattaneo (Santa Barbara, Calif.) service ace. The Rams didn't go away, however, and closed the gap to 23-17 but another kill from Ramos was followed up by one from Ana Mercado (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) to seal the set, 25-18.

The hosts came out energized in the third and the score was close at 9-8 after a Girard kill. Clark went on another one of their patented scoring bursts and when the dust cleared they were in front 15-9.

Framingham State made one final push, getting as close as 17-16 as Alycia Rackliffe (Feeding Hills, Mass.) and Wan hammered down kills. The Cougars put the match away, however, as Pharr tallied a service ace around a pair of Ramos kills, giving the Scarlet and White the 25-18 triumph.

Clark's offense was paced by Ramos, who totaled a match-high 17 kills to go along with nine digs, while Pharr had a strong evening as well, recording eight kills and a pair of service aces.
Rachel Webb (Celina, Texas) dished out a match-high 31 assists, Shannon Glass-Smythe (Albuquerque, N.M.) added nine kills, while Cattaneo led a strong back row for the Cougars, collecting 15 digs.

The Rams were led by Rackliffe, who finished with nine kills, while both Girard (seven kills, 15 digs) and Wan (seven kills, ten digs) just missed out on double-doubles.

FSU is back in action this weekend with a pair of matches against NEWMAC foes. They will face both Mount Holyoke and Smith on Saturday beginning at 11:00 a.m.

Clark, meanwhile, is off until Tuesday when they entertain Wheaton in a key conference showdown. First serve is slated for 7:00 p.m.

Cougars Roll To 4-1 Win Over Blazers

Worcester, Massachusetts – Lauren Mackey (Dublin, N.H.) finished with two goals and an assist while teammate Olivia Barksdale (Fort Washington, Md.) added a goal and an assist as Clark University won its second straight non-conference contest with a 4-1 win over Elms College in field hockey action on Thursday evening.

The Cougars inched closer to .500 with the win (4-5), while the Blazers fall to 1-8.

Clark got on the board twice in less than a minute in the first half beginning in the 23rd minute. First