The RIT woman’s hockey team finished the 2013 season at a 10-7, a winning record. However, they fell short of their goal: winning the Liberty League championship.

As the RIT women’s Lacrosse team began to prepare for next season, For the Tigers had the opportunity to talk to a freshmen player, Sage Sarkis (’17), who will be returning next year. We wanted to get her take on the prospect of next year’s team and the challenges they will face in the upcoming season.

For The Tigers: How will the team fill the void left behind by the graduating seniors?

Sage Sarkis: It’s going to be really tough for us to even begin to replace our seniors. We may have to replace them on the field, but we never will in our hearts. We learned a lot
from them and we will carry out what they have taught us throughout next year.

FTT: Shelby Vakiener (#24) owns the single-season records in points (115), goals (78), assists (37), and draw controls (73), according to RIT Athletics. How do you feel about Vakiener leaving?

SS: I’m really going to miss Shelby. She not only was she my teammate but off the field she is an ever better friend. If we were down in a game by a few points...I knew I could look to her for a little bit of hope that we could still win it.

I think it will impact the team a lot that she’s leaving, but we just have to make up for the goals we won’t have from her. And I know we can do it, because we are a strong team and we will want to make Shelby proud.

FTT: What are your goals for next year?

SS: Our goals for next year are to simply work harder. We need to run more, and work harder in practice. The main goal is to win the liberty league and show everyone who thinks we can’t do it that we can.

Although they face tough competition and steep challenges, coach Jeff McGuigan and returning players, such as Sarkis, are determined to make this next year even more successful than the last.

Author: Mohammad Alzuhair

Teammates from the Beavers, consisting of the RIT Varsity Hockey Team, warm up before their playoff game

Ready for the pitch

A player from DR Tigers desperately tries to catch up to a fly ball hit by one of the Beavers.

A player from the Beavers heads towards second base.

The batter makes solid contact

After hitting a home run, a player from the beavers is greeted at home plate by his teammates

The pitcher makes a short catch

An outfield player celebrates after one of the final outs of the game.

A Beavers outfielder catches a fly ball in the 9th inning.

Beavers players celebrate after their playoff victory.

Author and Photos: Matthew Pickett

RIT Women’s hockey team presents four new captains for its upcoming season.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The RIT women’s hockey team presented its four new captains as it prepares for its second year as a Division I team this September. Celeste Brown (third year in sociology and anthropology) and Lindsay Grigg (third year in psychology) will lead as the captains. Morgan Scoyne (third year in nutrition management) and Melissa Bromley (fourth year in journalism) will be the assistant captains.

Celeste Brown, Lindsay Grigg, Morgan Scoyne and Melissa Bromley
(Matthew Pickett)

Following its transition to Division I after winning the NCAA Division III championship in 2011-2012, the team continued to make successful progress by finishing in third during the College Hockey America (CHA) Division I postseason tournament.

“The transition from Division III to Division I inspires us in a huge way and it just makes us work much harder. A lot of people didn’t think that we could play in Division I,” said Brown, who scored 15 points during the 2012-2013 season. “I wouldn’t trade the experience for playing in Division III and that opportunity to win the championship.”

With their first official game of 2013-2014 just being five months away, the team continues to keep themselves active by working out in the gym and practicing on the ice rink, four times a week. This routine helps to maintain their stamina and eventually keeps them mentally prepared in the long run.
In addition to the upcoming arrival of a group of fresh recruits, for the new academic year of 2013-2014, they hope to leave a lasting legacy and look forward to winning more championships.

“Learning to help lead the team for the senior year helps to build that extra
experience,” said Bromley, a defenseman. “Coming from Division III and being in a top team, it’s interesting to see that we maybe weren’t that far off from the entire team. To know that we can compete, that’s going to push us even further.”


Scoyne, a defense player, highlighted the work ethics instilled within the team especially in dealing with the challenges in daily life.

“Knowing how far to push yourself and finding a balance for school and sports can be a challenge. I believe in setting a good example for the team,” said Scoyne. “We all have different roles on a team, but it’s a good match for all four of us coming together.”

Grigg, a forward, shared the impact of support from the community and the enjoyment of just playing the game.


“It’s nice knowing that we have support around us, and a good fan base,” she said. “There are times when we have games with other rival Division I teams, we would get more fans than them.”
The RIT women’s hockey team will return to the ice with their sights set on the 2013- 2014 CHA tournament. Its first home game will be against Oakville on Sept. 23, followed by Mercyhurst on Sept. 28 and 29.

Stay tuned to For the Tigers for more information on games and other highlights.


Author: Margaret Linandjaja

RIT women’s lacrosse prepares to face-off against St. Lawrence University Friday, April 26 in what will be a tough Liberty League match.

RIT’s women’s lacrosse has two games left in their regular season, and both are shaping up to be tough in-conference games. The Tigers will face St. Lawrence University this Friday, April 26th. St. Lawrence is currently second in the Liberty League Standings, with an in-conference record of 5-2. The Tigers are fifth in the standings, with an in-conference record of 4-3. The Liberty League, comprised of ten teams, is very close this year. Both RIT and St. Lawrence have identical overall records of 9-5.

Players to Watch:

St. Lawrence

Senior Captain, Brigid Hurley, has established herself as St. Lawrence’s stand-out player. In their most recent game against Union, Hurley scored six goals. Hurley has 49 goals on the season, but cannot be credited as being much of a playmaker, having only one assist thus far. Her numbers are more than double that of the other point makers on the team.

Senior midfielder, Stephanie O’ Rourke has 17 goals on the season and 8 assists, giving her a tally of 25 points. It’s safe to say that St. Lawrence is not a playmaking team. Their third highest points player, freshmen midfielder, Michaela Maybee, only has one assist with her 20 goals on the season.

RIT:

Senior midfielder, Shelby Vakiener, is a goal-scoring machine for RIT. She broke the RIT record for most goals scored in a recent game, when she tallied nine goals against University of Rochester. So far Vakiener has 58 goals on the seasons, and 23 assists for a total of 81 points on the season.

RIT certainly has a more balanced distribution of goal scorers and playmakers than St. Lawrence. Number two in points for the Tigers, freshmen Sage Sarkis, has 37 goals on the season with ten assists, for a total of 47 points. Sophomore attacker, Marlee Vlassis, has a total of 34 points; having tallied 21 goals and 13 assists this season.

The Tigers will finish regular season play at home with back-to-back games, first facing St. Lawrence, and then playing Clarkson on Saturday April 27.


Author: Kristin Klock

The RIT men's lacrosse team faces a pivotal match-up with St. Lawrence with the Liberty League lead on the line.

It all comes down to this- RIT vs. St. Lawrence for the regular season Liberty League title and the top seed in next week's league tournament. There's a lot on the line when the third-ranked Tigers take on the No. 17-seeded Saints on Saturday.

The Tigers (13-2, 5-0) are in the midst of a seven-game winning streak, their last loss coming against No. 1 SUNY Cortland on March 27. St. Lawrence (10-3, 5-0) suffered a three-game losing streak early in the season, but hasn’t lost since their game against No. 6 Middlebury on March 13.

Both teams blazed their way through Liberty League play, but with every different style. If you're looking for a strength-on-strength matchup, this is your kind of game.


St. Lawrence Saints

The Saints have been strong defensively all season, ranking in the top-20 nationally in defense with 6.38 goals allowed. Only two opponents have managed to score double-digit goals against St. Lawrence and they've only allowed 3.25 goals per game in their last four contests.

That strong defensive effort has masked a weak offense, which peaked with 12 goals in their win over Rensselaer last Saturday. The Saints rely heavily on freshman Jeremy Vautour for goals. Vautour has 23 on the season but only a single assist. Senior Davey Hovey leads St. Lawrence in scoring with 29 points on 8 goals and 21 assists.

Still, St. Lawrence has heated up as the season progressed, scoring in double figures in their past five games after a bizarre 4-3 win over Union. Junior Pierson Fowler has come on strong during that stretch, with six goals in the past two games.

Overall, St. Lawrence has a knack for getting involved in low-scoring games. They don't score a lot, but have limited the competition from doing so as well. More importantly, they're in the middle of an eight-game winning streak and playing some of their best lacrosse.


RIT Tigers

The Tigers have been locked into third in the USILA Division III Coaches poll for the second consecutive week, still looking up at a Cortland team that beat them in an epic double-overtime game. The Liberty League title is important, so the Tigers must avoid looking ahead to the NCAA tournament.

While St. Lawrence has been locked into a series of tight games with low scoring, RIT has been lighting up the scoreboard. The Tigers rank fifth in the nation in goals per game at 15.27, which is three points higher than St. Lawrence has scored in a single game.

RIT has managed to score 25 goals in three games this season, including a 25-3 beat down of Vassar and a 25-15 win over rival Nazareth. Scoring has come from all over with junior attacker Jack Krzyston leading the way with 63 points on 39 goals and 24 assists.

In fact, top goal scorers Kyle Aquin (42) and Krzyston have managed nearly as many goals (81) as St. Lawrence has as a team (83). The Tigers aren't slouches on defense either, not allowing any Liberty League opponent score more than seven goals in a game.

Their average margin of victory in league play has been over 10 goals per game. It's been a dominant season so far, but the Saints will represent their biggest challenge in the Liberty League.

Both teams have secured a home game in the tournament next weekend but home field advantage is still up for grabs. The Tigers are undefeated at home this season, which is added motivation to close out league play with a win on Saturday.

The game against St. Lawrence will be on the Turf Field at 12 pm on Saturday, April 27.

Follow our reporter, Steven Howe, on Twitter for live tweets during the game.

Author: Steven Howe