Under legal pressure, Quinnipiac reinstates volleyball

By Jeremy Schilling

Back on March 4, Quinnipiac University announced that due to the current economic downturn, they would have to cut the men’s golf team, men’s outdoor track, and the women’s volleyball team. As a result, on April 17, the volleyball team sued the school, claiming Title IX.

This was brought up later that month at an interview school President John Lahey had with The Quinnipiac Chronicle. He denied the accusations in the suit, but said he does understand what Title IX says. He went on to say that if the courts did in fact find that Quinnipiac was in violation, they would have to act further and cut more men’s sports.

Well, in a victory for the volleyball team, that is exactly what happened. It was announced today that volleyball is being reinstated, with men’s indoor track now being cut. The following was the news release put out by John Morgan, associate vice president for public relations:

“In light of recent judicial action, Quinnipiac University will eliminate men’s indoor track in addition to the previously announced elimination of men’s golf and men’s outdoor track. The University’s women’s volleyball program will be reinstated.

“The University’s Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs will immediately begin a comprehensive review of Quinnipiac’s offices of athletic compliance and the athletic director and where necessary, will make appropriate changes in the athletics department to ensure that Title IX reported participation numbers for all men’s and women’s athletic teams are accurate and adhered to by all coaches.

“During the 2009-10 year, the University will also be able to determine actual, as opposed to projected, participation numbers for its newly added women’s sport of competitive cheer.”

WQAQ Sports will continue to cover this story as it develops.

Athlete of the Year: Graciano Brito

By Tyler Chaput

Senior soccer player, Graciano Brito, has been selected as the 2008-2009 WQAQ Sports Department Athlete of the Year. Brito was named the Northeast Conference’s Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.

On his way to earning the award, Brito established himself as the most prolific scorer in Quinnipiac Division I history with a total of 40 goals and 92 points.

This past season alone saw Brito tally a record 18 goals and 39 points.

His tremendous combination of size and speed was unmatched by any defender, or any player at all, in the entire conference.

The WQAQ Sports Department admires everything Brito has done for Quinnipiac and the men’s soccer program. We wish him the best with any future endeavors, whether it involves soccer or not.

Athlete of the Semester: Heather Schwartzburg

By Tyler Chaput

Strikeout machine, Heather Schwartzburg, has been chosen by the WQAQ Sports Department as the Athlete of the Semester. Despite never being selected as Athlete of the Week, her incredible consistency and overall performance have made her a stand-out selection.

The freshman from Mission Viejo, Calif., went 15-15 this season while posting a remarkable 1.64 ERA. Over the course off 200 innings, she struck out 206 total batters, leading the team and recording 145 more strikeouts than the next best Bobcat pitcher.

Schwartzburg also led Quinnipiac in opposing batting average, holding opponents to .196, and total appearances with 35.

This young work-horse certainly seems to be moving in the right direction. With one year under her belt, the future looks bright for Schwartzburg and the Bobcats.

Athlete of the Week: Bryn Doyle

By Tyler Chaput

This week’s WQAQ Athlete of the Week, and final Athlete of the Week for the Spring 2009 semester is Manchester, N.H.’s Bryn Doyle of the Quinnipiac baseball team.

In a 13-10 loss to Boston College on Tuesday, Doyle managed to extend his season-high and team-high hitting streak to 12 games.

Doyle scored three runs while driving in two more in the loss.

In his senior year, Doyle has played in 37 of the 39 games while starting in all 37. Despite the Bobcats’ 13-26 overall record, Doyle has been a consistent leader for Quinnipiac, as he leads the team in hits with 44.

Golf finishes 9th in last tournament

By Jeremy Schilling

As the result of the announcement earlier this semester that the golf team would be cut from the Quinnipiac University Athletics department after the 2009 season, the Bobcats knew that they needed to go out with a bang, and they traveled to ChampionsGate Golf Club in Kissimmee, Fla., for the Northeast Conference Tournament to attempt to do that. They ended up with a ninth place team finish out of 11 teams and a 15^th place individual finish by Senior captain Ian O’Connor.

The team shot a three-day score 945. Sacred Heart won the team portion with an 883, followed by Central Connecticut wit 909, Long Island University with 910, Robert Morris with 915 and St. Francis (Pa.) shot a 916 to round out the top five.

Individually O’Connor got that fifth place by shooting 72 on the final day for a 54-hole team score of 227. He was followed by Jayson Loranger who had a 235, Charlie Niland with a 241, Ryan Reynolds with a 242, and Ben Cook with a 265. Central’s Eric Hawerchuk shot a 212 to win the individual competition.

So after 12 events for the 2008-2009 school year, head coach John O’Connor and his team of 10 have hit their last QU golf shots for the foreseeable future.

Softball needs to sweep RMU to make playoffs

By Andrew Fletcher

The Quinnipiac Bobcats softball team is not eliminated from playoff contention.

According to the Northeast Conference Web site, the Bobcats will need to sweep a doubleheader against Robert Morris to clinch the fourth seed in the four-team NEC tournament.  If they lose either game, they will be eliminated.  The games will likely be played on Saturday.

WQAQ Sports apologizes for any confusion today’s broadcasts might have caused.

Athlete of the Week: Katie Allendorfer

By Tyler Chaput

For the second time this semester and second time in less than a month, the WQAQ Athlete of the Week is softball catcher Katie Allendorfer.

The junior captain went 4-12 at the plate this past weekend.  She belted two home runs and drove in 10 RBI.

Behind her solid offensive play, the Bobcats split their four games this weekend, going 2-2.  Quinnipiac is now 14-26, but has a remarkable 13-1 Northeast Conference Record.

Allendorfer, who bats clean-up for the Bobcats, leads the team in homeruns (six) and RBI (26). Her play behind the plate has been strong as well, as she has committed only two errors in 40 games.

Bobcats continue final season with 7th place finish

By Jeremy Schilling

The Quinnipiac University Bobcats Golf team continued their final season by finishing seventh out of 10 teams at the Northeast Invitational Friday, April 17 in Providence, R.I. The Bobcats shot a combined 36-hole team score of 649. Sacred Heart won the tournament with a score of 590. They were followed by the University of Hartford with 593 and University of Rhode Island with 598.  Dartmouth and Central Connecticut State rounded out the top five.

Individually the Bobcats were led, for the second straight tournament, by Chris Connell, who shot a two-round score of 155. He was followed by Chris Gatcomb with 156, Charlie Niland with 157, Jayson Loranger with 163, Ian O’Connor with 164 and Ben Cook with 165. Ryan Reynolds shot a 36-hole score of 171.

The Bobcats next play on May 1-3 when they take part in the Northeast Conference Championship in warm Kissimmee, Fla.

Bobcats play two

By Jeremy Schilling

Last weekend, April 10-11, the Quinnipiac University golf team played at the New England Championships in Providence Rhode Island and finished eighth out of 10 teams. The team shot a combined score of 470. The tournament was supposed to be a 36-hole tournament but was cut to 27 due to bad weather. Sacred Heart won the tournament, shooting a 446, followed by Binghamton, Bryant, Rhode Island and Central Connecticut State.

Individually, the Bobcats were led by Charlie Niland who finished in 15th place with a two-day score of 114. He was followed by Ian O’Connor who shot 117. Jayson Loranger followed with 119, with Ryan Reynolds following with a 120. Ben Cook shot a 27-hole score of 125.

On Tuesday, the Bobcats played in the St. Peter’s Peacock Invitational in Neshanic, N.J. The team shot a score of 327 in difficult conditions, finishing eighth out of 15 teams. Iona College won the tournament with a score of 316. They were followed Central Connecticut State, Army, Bucknell and St. Peter’s College.

Individually the Bobcats were led by Chris Connell who finished in third place individually with a score of 75. He was followed by Loranger and Reyndols with scores of 80. Niland was next with 82 and O’Connor and Chris Gatcomb both shot 85. Cook shot 87 and Ryerson Stinson shot 88.

After the tournament, head coach John O’Connor told quinnipiacbobcats.com, “Despite the fact that Chris was a freshman walk on and did not play his sophomore year, his contributions this season have been extremely positive for this team. He has been a tremendous leader on the course and in the class room.”

The Bobcats next play on Friday, April at the Northeast Invitational in Portsmouth, R.I.

Three games on sports stream today

By Andrew Fletcher

At noon, Justin Cohen will broadcast softball’s doubleheader against Bryant on our softball sports stream.

At 1 p.m., Andrew Gau, Jeremy Schilling and Aaron Tanguay will call women’s lacrosse against Mount St. Mary’s on our lacrosse sports stream.

Also at 1 p.m., Mike Radomski will have the baseball call against Mount St. Mary’s on our baseball sports stream.