Bates Student: Sports: 'catscratches

		- October 9, 1998
		'catscratches By CAM DONALDSON Sports Editor
		Defense, anyone? Bates Football (0-2) certainly has plenty, but the offense was uninspired at Amherst two weeks ago, where the 'Cats lost their season opener, 21-0. With the ball in their hands, Bates sputtered, coughed and finally stalled completely in the face of the Lord Jeffs' stifling defense, which allowed a NESCAC-best 93 points last year. The one spark in the pan came in the third quarter, when cornerback Tom Price '01 snagged an Amherst pass and returned it 24 yards into enemy territory. As fate would have it, however, the Lord Jeffs intercepted a feed from Adam Greenlaw '01 on the very next play and returned it for a touchdown. Coach Mark Harriman seems to have a rock-solid defensive philosophy, but it remains to be seen what his impact on the offense will amount to. At Tufts (2-0) last weekend, Bates fell by a score of 28-6, failing to capitalize on a chance to get their offense rolling against a team that has not had a winning season since 1991. While their defense is not quite ESPN-caliber, Tufts illustrated their ability to run up the scoreboard with the best of them. Harriman's troops could not contain Jumbos quarterback Dan Morse, perhaps the best at his position in NESCAC and owner of the team record in total offense yards (1,770 yards). The Bobcats' own Ryan Jarvis '00 answered with some thunder of his own, setting a new school record with 40 carries. The first touchdown of the year for Bates came with a dramatic 12-play, 77-yard drive in which you could almost hear the rusty gears of the offense groaning to life. In the first half, Bates missed field goals from 31 and 33 yards, failing to take advantage of three fumbles recovered by Paul Calner '01. Calner was one of five 'Cats registering sacks on the afternoon. The Bobcats' balanced defense will be faced with the twin-screws passing game of Williams this weekend, lead by tailback Fred Storz and split end Matt Sigrist. With some WD-40 and a few gobs of grease applied in just the right places, the Bates offense may come to life this Saturday as well. Students, families, friends: catch your first glimpse of the Bobcats of Bates College on their home turf at 1:30...Bates Golf finished 3rd/12 at the State of Maine Golf Championships last week. Nick Brunero '00 won the tournament with a four-over-par 76 performance, becoming the first Bobcat ever to win the competition. Brunero continued his stellar season with a 2nd-place finish at the CBB Championships on Wednesday, in which Bates and Bowdoin (427) bowed to the Mule (418)...Women's Volleyball (12-5) coach Marsha Graef garnered her 400th career win last week at the MIT Invitational, where Bates went 2-2 and beat Wheaton, the No. 4-ranked team in New England, by a 3-1 score. Graef's milestone win also gained the `Cats some national recognition in her final season as coach. They are now the 5th-ranked team in New England. Graef has had a hand in producing many NCAA-ranked teams over her 14-year career, posting a 403-137 mark with a winning percentage that is higher than any New England Division III coach who has coached more than five years. At MIT, Bates started the day by deep-sixing Coast Guard, 3-0, but hit the decks against Wellesley (No. 2 in New England) and Williams (No. 6 in New England), failing to win a game in either match. AVCA National Division III Player of the Week Amanda Colby '00 was lethal from the midcourt, averaging 3.2 kills per game, while setter Kate Hagstrom '01 notched 104 assists in 13 games. The `Cats finished off another impressive week by bageling Colby with scores of 15-5, 15-12 and 15-12...Who says Bobcats can't catch fish? Last week at the Codfish Bowl race at Franklin Park in Massachusetts, Men's Cross Country brought in an excellent haul, placing 2nd/16 with 75 points. Only MIT (1st; 55 points) could keep up with Bates in a race that included several New England-ranked teams and Division II squads. Familiar famehound Mike Danahy '00 was the Bobcats' top performer for the third straight week, establishing a personal-best time of 25:27, good enough for fifth place. Matt Twiest '00 followed close behind, finishing ninth with a time of 25:48. Steve Dutton '00 (13th; 26:10) and Andrew Gruel (14th; 26:16) rounded out the top point-getters for Bates. Last weekend at the Babson Invitational, Bates (97 points) placed 4th in a competition that included runners from over 20 schools. With Danahy on a leash to pace his teammates, Twiest lead the `Cats with a 4th-place finish. MIT was back for refills in this one, putting up 58 points for their second first-place finish of the week...Women's Cross Country continued to make strides in the right direction at the Babson Invitational, with Kate Parker '01 (27th overall) finally emerging to give familiar Bates frontrunner Adelia Myrick '99 (23rd overall) a run for her money. The `Cats checked in at 13th/30 at Babson. The State Championships come to Lewiston on Saturday, with all the fun and games scheduled to begin at 3:00...Men's Soccer (3-2) played it even-Steven with Plymouth State (70-1) last week, but failed to score while giving up a first-half goal on a direct kick. The final was 2-0 in a game eerily reminiscent of the Bobcats' upset over PSC last year, but this time grit could not surmount the element of chance as Bates bowed to the No. 2-ranked team in New England. They faced 8th-ranked Tufts (4-2) last weekend and gutted out a 1-0 victory for their first NESCAC win of the season. Ted Martin '00 fed Walter Shicko '01 with a perfect cross for the header goal. It was all Bates would need to conserve senior goalkeeper Brian Anton's (7 saves) third career shutout. The `Cats continued their winning ways on Tuesday versus Gordon (4-5-1), stomping them by a score of 4-0. Eric Trickett '99 set up batterymate Andy Apstein '00 for his team-leading fourth goal in the 11th minute. Chad LaFauci '99, Martin and Schicko added tallies for Bates as first-year forward Drew Weymouth picked up his first two collegiate points on assists. Men's Soccer will be competing with Football for the bulk of the fan support on Saturday at 12:00. Those looking for an alternative to the same `ol-same `ol Parents' Weekend experience are advised to attend, especially considering that this soccer team systematically dismantled a nationally-ranked Williams squad several years ago...Women's Soccer (5-4) goalkeeper Susie Arnold '99 made several dandies in a nine-save performance at Trinity (3-1-1) two weeks ago, but could not outperform her counterpart in net for the Bantams, who made 10 saves and kept the home team in it for a 1-0 victory. Bates redeemed themselves last week in a 4-3 bootfest over Simmons (4-3) that featured two-goal performances from Colleen McCrave '99 and Jo-Ellen Rowley '02. The `Cats put Simmons goaltender Erin McElhinney through her paces, forcing her to make 11 saves in a pressure-packed effort by both sides. The Sharks smelled blood in the water as they scored with just two minutes remaining in the game, but Bates managed to avoid a feeding frenzy and survive for the win. McCrave captured the all-time lead for career assists when she picked up her 21st courtesy of Rowley's second goal in the first half. Her achievement is a compliment not only to her playmaking prowess but to the scoring touch of the supporting cast that Bates has fielded for the past three-plus years. In other action last week, Bates crumpled in the face of Tufts (6-1), the number one-ranked team in New England, by a score of 3-0. Kate O'Malley '00 vaulted herself into a tie for third in all-time Bates scoring in a 3-2 overtime victory at Babson (4-2-2) in which she tallied twice. O'Malley now has nine multi-goal games in her career, with three of those coming this season. McCrave blasted the equalizer in the 106th minute to give Bates the win. On Wednesday, the `Cats played as if inspired by Edward the Longshanks himself, running down the sixth-ranked Gordon College Fighting Scots (92-1) by a 3-0 score. Forward Katie Dodson '00 scored twice in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, with both goals coming off nearly identical sneak passes by midfielder Jolene Thurston '00. O'Malley connected with McCrave in the 80th minute for the rub-in-your-face goal, completing an upset in which Bates outshot the heavily favored home team by a 21-7 margin. Next on the chopping block: Williams at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday...Congratulations are in order for the Field Hockey team (2-5), which finally won last Thursday, blanking Gordon College by a 3-0 score. It was Coach Wynn Hohlt's first career win behind the Bobcat bench, coming on the heels of losses to reigning NESCAC terror Trinity (4-0) and Keene State (5-3) last weekend. At Trinity, Bates played an inspired game against the nationally ranked Bantams, lead in goal by sophomore Peggy Ficks's 26-save effort. They were sent packing, however, when Trinity scored in overtime for the 3-2 win. At Tufts (6-0) last weekend, strong goaltending from Ficks (10 saves) and Wendy Zimmerman '99 (3 saves) could not help Bates slide past the nationally-ranked Jumbos as they lost by a 3-1 score. Zimmerman returned to start her first game this season on Wednesday, a 2-0 win over UMaine Farmington in which she made six of her nine saves in a clutch second half. It will take a consistent scoring effort to unseat Williams at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday...First-year Men's Tennis phenom Dmitri Kudrjavtsev finally met his match two weeks ago at the ECAC's. After progressing to the semis on two straight-set wins (6-1, 6-0 and 6-4, 6-3), he lost to the top seed from Division I MarylandBaltimore County, 4-6, 2-6. At the Rolex Invitational last weekend, Kudrjavtsev sliced and diced Amherst's nationally-ranked top seed in the second set after going to war in the first set of his quarterfinal match (76, 6-0). On the semis court, Kudrjavtsev appeared fatigued from his heroic efforts in the previous competition and bowed out to eventual champ Sherman Lim of Williams in straight sets (1-6, 4-6). It's alright, kid. Just wait for the regular season in the spring to bust out with your moves. You can catch a glimpse of the K-Man & Co. this weekend at the Bates Invitational. The aces start flying at the crack of dawn (8:00 a.m.) on Parents' Weekend.

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