SUNY Cortland Sport Clubs

May 4th, 2008
Lynchburg, VA

The Cortland men’s lacrosse club brought home their 2nd NCLL D-II National Championship in three years with back-to-back wins in the Final Four this past weekend. On Saturday, the Red Dragons disposed of host team Lynchburg and advanced to the championship game by a score of 11-9. On Sunday, Cortland used a second half rally to beat Cincinnati by a final of 12-10.

Cincinnati jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the 1st quarter and held an 8-5 advantage at the half. Cortland’s John Grosse gave the club their 1st lead of the afternoon in the third quarter and Cortland never looked back. Typically, the 3rd quarter has been the time where the club has lost its momentum, but Cortland would break from their routine at the right time. Cortland’s midfield, led by faceoff specialist Aaron Zajac, played well all afternoon, picking up groundballs and successfully clearing defensive stops.

The Red Dragon defense also stepped up when they needed to. Led by seniors Pat Ruppert and Andy Smith, Cortland defense provided the spark for what would prove to be a very physical game. Jim Durso, Pat Sullivan, Sean Kammerer, Paul Basirico, Jake Johnson, Brian Pesner, and Brian Zavitz all contributed defensively to the victory. On offense
On attack, John Grosse netted a hat-trick in the championship game, while Dan Fitzpatrick (2), Paul Zando (2), Aaron Zajac (2), Chris Daly (1), and Mike Hanratty (1) all added goals. Back-up goalie Max Wade turned in an impressive performance, backstopping Cortland to the 12-10 win.

Congratulations to the 2007-2008 SUNY Cortland Men’s Lacrosse Club for their 2nd NCLL D-II Championship in three years!

April 26, 2008
Cortland, NY

Cortland’s running club was able to raise $285 dollars that will be donated to the Spina Bifida Association at a club fundraiser on April 26th. For each dollar that was donated, a club member completed one lap around the Davis Field track. At all times during the event, which began at 7:30am and lasted until about 3pm, at least one club member was running laps. Cortland’s Danceworks supported the running club’s event by performing and then running laps with club members. Combined with their “Utica & Back” fundraising event from the fall semester, the running club has donated $858.35 to charitable causes and organizations. If you are interested in becoming a part of a great club and “running for a cause,” contact Allison Seguin (seguin17@cortland.edu) or stop by the Rec Sports office located at E-245 Park Center.

Congratulations to the running club on another successful year!

April 25-27, 2008

Ithaca, NY/Syracuse, NY

The Cortland baseball club completed a busy weekend of games against local rivals Syracuse and Cornell. On Friday, Cortland lost the opening game of the weekend to Syracuse 5-1. Joe Guiffre (1-1, 2B) scored the only Cortland run on a Mike Torres (1-3, RBI) single and Shaun McGee pitched 2 scoreless innings in relief.

Cortland would get their revenge on Saturday though with back to back wins over the Orange. The Red Dragons scored 7 runs on 9 hits on their way to a 7-4 win. Pitcher Toby MacCart (1-0) pitched well over 6 innings, allowing 4 ER and striking out 12. Josh Butt earned the save by striking out 2 in the final inning. Offensively, Stu Murphy (2-3, 4 RBI), Mike Torres (2-4, 2R, RBI), and Shaun McGee (1-2, 2R, RBI, 2BB) all contributed to the win.

In the final game of the three game set Cortland posted 12 runs off of 16 hits including an 8 run 6th inning on their way to a 12-6 victory over Syracuse. Joe Guiffre was perfect on the day, going 5-5 with 5 RBI and a run scored. Rob Lyons and Mike Torres were both 2-5 and Ken Rhuda and PJ Keil were 2-4 on the day. Cortland’s Dan Huestis (1-0) struck out 6 and pitched the Red Dragons to victory over 5 2/3 innings, allowing 6 ER on 8 hits.

On Sunday, Cortland earned a split with Cornell in Ithaca. Cortland’s Ed Gitlitz gave some rest to an already depleted bullpen and pitched a 7 inning complete game allowing only 1 ER and 2 BB while striking out 8. Tim Holder finished 3-3 with a triple, 4 runs scored, and 4 RBIs. Joe Guiffre (3/5, 2B, 2R), Rob Lyons (3-5, 3B, 2 RBI), Mike Torres (2-4), and Stu Murphy (2-4) all added offense as Cortland rolled to a 9-1 win.

In the weekend’s final game, fatigue was definitely an issue and Cortland left too many men in scoring position as Cortland fell to Cornell 8-2. Four of Cornell’s runs came in the 5th inning on 4 consecutive hits. For Cortland, Casey O’Keefe (1-3, 3B, 2 RBI), Stu Murphy (1-2, R), and Matt Bauer (1-3, 2B, R) provided the offensive spark, but the club still took the loss.

April 26, 2008
New Paltz, NY

The SUNY Cortland women’s rugby club participated in a tournament in New Paltz last weekend. The club finished with a record of 1-2, beating Danbury and losing to Marist and Union. In the first game, Cortland’s Dana Frankl and Aislinn O’Gradey scored tries and O’Grady added a kick in a 12-0 shutout win over Danbury. Unfortunately, Cortland would be shutout in their next game against Union, 5-0. The Peace Frogs finished off the afternoon with a 10-5 loss to Marist. Molly Fogarty scored the lone try in the loss.

The Cortland women’s rugby club will play in their alumni game on Saturday, May 3rd at 10am on the Rugby Field on the SUNY Cortland campus. Check back next semester for schedule information and contest results!