Women's ultimate beaten by Valparaiso in national Quarterfinal, finishes 6th in the Nation

The depleted Women’s Ultimate team traveled to Appleton, Wisconsin to participate in the DIII National championships.  The team, seeded #1, was dealt a tough blow with scheduling, as the tournament coincided with Stonehill’s graduation, meaning five instrumental seniors would not be able to travel with the team.  “I can’t say enough how well the team played this weekend without their 5 seniors,” commented Head Coach Mark Tuden, “The team did as well as I ever could have hoped, in making the quarterfinals while only having 10 players, all freshman and sophomores.”

The team opened up pool play against Grinnell (Iowa), and came out strong, jumping out 3-0 early, but the lead soon shrunk to 7-6 as both teams broke for halftime, with momentum clearly with the team from Iowa.  Trailing by 1 point late in the game, Grace Walkowicz connected with Emily Nicotera for a huge score, tying the game at 10-10, but Grinnell quickly hit back against the Purple and Black, scoring the final blow for an 11-10 win.  Kate Twombly scored four times in the defeat for the losing side, while Maggie Carmona finished with 2 scores and two assists.

Bucknell was the next opponent for the ladies and they had no problem with the Bison, dispatching them quickly 13-3.  Jane Dudley starred for Stonehill recording 8 assists for the game, while Carmona scored 4 times and dished out 4 assists of her own. Twombly  was also huge, with 5 scores.

Ohio Wesleyan proved to be no match for the ladies in their third match of the day.  Twombly scored 4 times and the emerging star Dudley dished out 6 assists and scored 2 herself, as the women from the Hill jumped out 7-0 en route to a crushing 13-5 victory.

In the final pool game of the day, the ladies needed a win to secure 2^nd place in their pool, but it was not to be.  Steady games from Carmona and Dudley and 4 defensive blocks from Nicotera were not enough as the ladies dropped a tough match to Georgia College 13-8.

Finishing 2-2 in their pool put Stonehill in a tough spot having to face Valapraiso in the quarterfinal.  Strong winds hampered the ladies all game as the team from Indiana jumped all over them for an 8-1 halftime lead.  Sensing an end to their magical ride, the ladies fought hard in the second half, but each scoring run was quickly squashed by Valpo and in the end the ladies succumbed 15-6.  Walkowicz had 4 D blocks and Carmona led the team with 2 scores in the losing effort.