The University of Rochester grabbed 28 offensive rebounds and turned those into 32 second chance points to post an 80-53 victory over RIT in the quarterfinal round of the Wendy’s Classic at William Smith College.

UR (3-1) won its 22nd consecutive game in the Classic and its 13th straight opening round game. The Yellowjackets will play in the semifinals at the Palestra on Thursday night against SUNY Brockport, which defeated St. John Fisher, 72-62. The first semifinal game at 6 pm pairs SUNY Geneseo (a 75-50 winner over Nazareth) against William Smith, which held off Roberts Wesleyan, 79-74.

Rochester head coach Jim Scheible earned two milestone victories with UR’s effort. The win was his 259th at UR, putting him into the career lead, one ahead of Joyce Wong who coached from 1978-1999. This is Scheible’s 14th season at UR. It was also his 400th career victory. This is his 22nd season as a head women’s basketball coach. He coached previously at Clarkson University and at Elmira College before coming to UR for the 1999-2000 season.

Forwards Danielle McNabb (eight), Loren Wagner (seven), and Emily Trapani (six) combined for 21 of the 28 offensive boards. Wagner scored 11 points, McNabb had 10 – seven in the second half when the Yellowjackets pulled away – and Trapani scored a career high 13, all in the first 20 minutes.

Ally Zywicki led UR in scoring with 17 points which equaled her career high.

Leslie Havens and Courtney Tennant paced RIT (0-1) with 11 points apiece. Kayla Wheeler had eight points. The Tigers will play in the Thursday consolation doubleheader at Geneseo against the loser of the Brockport-Fisher game.

Rochester finished with an overall 49-18 advantage on the glass, 21-6 at the RIT end of the floor and 28-12 under its own basket.

Trapani scored seven points in a 14-3 run that turned an 8-5 deficit into a 19-11 lead midway through the first half. The Tigers got within one point twice, the last time on a basket by Wheeler with 3:20 left (27-26). Rochester went on a 10-4 spree to finish the half. Zywicki drained a three from the top of the key, then added two free throws. Katie Weiner made one free throw and Breanna Madrazo sank both ends of a one-and-one. Wagner finished the first half scoring for Rochester with a layup. It was 37-30 at the break.

RIT got as close as three, 41-38, just over two minutes into the second half. The Yellowjackets held the Tigers without a field goal for the next six minutes and used a 17-2 run to take command for good. Zywicki scored seven of the 17. Woods dropped in a pair of layups. Wagner made one layup and McNabb scored three points – one field goal, then one of two from the line. That gave Rochester a 58-40 lead.

Story and photo courtesy of University Athletics.

In the drill competition, the freshman class earned a 3rd place finish in Platoon Inspection under the command of RIT sophomore Conor Kelley. The Midshipmen did even better in the military excellence portion of the competition, earning a 1st or 2nd place finish in almost every event and a 2nd place finish overall. Among the more celebrated victories were the grueling Recon Challenge, the Distance Medley Relay, and the 4×400 Relay.

In the Recon Challenge, the toughest physical event Villanova has to offer, RIT sophomore Ryan Baptiste and RIT junior Abe McAndrew fought their way to a well-earned 2nd place finish. The challenge is conducted as a two-man team in camouflage utility uniforms, and consists of an alternating rope climb, a 5¼-mile run with various weighted packs, a stretcher carry, a combat-carry, and a 1000m fin swim. In the Distance Medley Relay, RIT freshman Daniel Palmiter, UR sophomores Anthony Paschke and David Delong, and UR junior Edmond Boulliane took the top spot.  The 4×400 team took 1st place as well.  This event included UR sophomore Anthony Paschke, UR juniors Ben Desch, Jake Godbolt, and Andrew Smith, and the captain, RIT junior Kunle Akinpelu.

Article written by MIDN 3/C Andrew Myers, a sophomore at Rochester Institute of Technology. Photo courtesy of Ross Spinelli, also a student at Rochester Institute of Technology. Both Myers and Spinelli are members of the NROTC Rochester unit.

Success like this does not happen overnight. For some, the training, especially for athletic events such as the 10K race, begins in the summer. For others, such as the newly inducted freshmen, the training in the discipline necessary for close-order drill begins at the start of the semester. From the flashy rifle-twirling performances of trick drill to the coordinated formations of platoon basic drill, each success in the competition represented many hours spent learning and perfecting the various movements and routines. The hard work especially paid off for the freshmen, who faced the tall order of continuing Rochester’s history of success in both Platoon Drill events. In the notoriously high-pressure Platoon Inspection, a nerve-wracking detailed inspection by professional Marine drill instructors, the team of freshmen, led by RIT junior Erik Smolinski, came away with an unquestioned first-place, even against older, more experienced teams from full-time military schools. They then performed a highly coordinated drill routine in the Platoon Basic Drill event, and while many of the students came to Rochester’s battalion with no prior drill experience, they earned a third-place finish.

Also competing in the drill portion of the competition were Rochester’s Color Guard and Trick Drill teams. Both represent a substantial increase in difficulty, requiring members to learn the more complex movements and routines. Rochester’s trick team, formed only a few years ago, showed marked improvement over years past, bringing more experienced members and better routines to the competition. The Color Guard teams proudly and professionally represented the battalion, but unfortunately due to confusion with the routine, neither team placed at this competition.

In the athletic events, Rochester either won or placed in every event. The 4×400 team, led by UR junior Ben Desch, finished first in their heat, but were beat by one other team who ran faster in the next heat, ultimately coming away with a second-place finish. In the pool, Rochester’s swimmers, captained by UR sophomore Trevor DeVisser, dominated the competition, taking first-place in all three relay events (4×100 Free, 4×100 IM, and Crescendo). UR sophomore David DeLong and UR junior Ed Boullianne also performed well, placing second and ninth respectively in the 10K race.

The longest and most grueling event was the Ironman competition. Unlike the famous triathlon, this was an event designed to test the all-around fitness of the teams, composed of push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, a 500-yard swim, and a 3-mile run. The competition was neck-and-neck, but when all the scores were tallied, Rochester came out on top for the first-place finish.

Rochester’s Midshipmen were proud to return home at the end of the competition, having performed well and continuing Rochester’s history of success at the Cornell University Invitational Drill Competition.

Article and photo courtesy of Andrew Myers and David Donaldson, NROTC members.

The University of Rochester Men’s Soccer team beat SUNY Fredonia in the final game, 2-1.  After a scoreless first half, Fredonia got off to a quick start in the second half with several offensive attacks ending with good scoring chances.  However, UR goalkeeper Mike Moranz (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Sutherland) kept the ball at bay. Nevertheless, eight minutes into the second half, the Blue Devils got one past Moranz. The goal put some fire underneath the UR players and they immediately started pressuring the Fredonia defense. In the 56th minute, Rochester freshman Jarvis D’Souza (Powell, OH/Olentangy Liberty) set up classmate Alex Wanger (Penfield, NY/Penfield) on an outstanding pass. The combination ended in a goal by Jakob Seidlitz (Vienna, VA/Georgetown Day) to tie the score. The Yellowjackets didn’t waste any time adding another to the score sheet; freshman D’Souza scored his first goal of the year giving his team a 2-1 lead to win.

Meanwhile, the UR women’s team scored one goal early in each half to clinch the 2-0 victory over Skidmore College.

In the first half, junior Rachel Wesley (Millwood, NY/Horace Greely) and seniors Ellen Coleman (Wauwatosa, WI/Wauwatosa West) and Beth Martens (Hughesville, PA/Blair Academy) played a great offense to put Rochester up 1-0 six minutes into the game. The Thoroughbred defense kept the score at 1-0 throughout the rest of the first half.  But five minutes after half-time Wesley fired from 25 yards out into the back of the net, giving Rochester a 2-0 lead. Skidmore continued pressuring the Yellowjackets throughout the remaining time, but the Lady YellowJackets retained a tight defense to maintain their lead and secure the victory.

Men’s Tournament Awards:
1st Place Team: University of Rochester Yellowjackets
Most Valuable Player: Rochester D Tom Sorrentino
Top Offensive Player: Fredonia F Cory Paine
Top Defensive Player: Rochester D/M Jakob Seidlitz

Women’s Tournament Awards:
1st Place Team: University of Rochester Yellowjackets
Most Valuable Player: Rochester F/D Rachel Wesley
Offensive Player of the Tournament: Skidmore M Kelsey Yam
Defensive Player of the Tournament: Rochester D Danielle Crean

Read more about the Men’s Soccer Team here.

Read more about the Women’s Soccer Team here.

Story courtesy of the Athletic Department, including reports written by Scott Sabocheck, Athletic Communications Asst. Story compiled by Maya Dukmasova, University Communications Intern. Photo Credit: Jamie Germano

Before the game, Seniors Mike Labanowski, David Gould, Peter Wen and Melissa Alwardt were honored in a ceremony for their accomplishments with the Yellowjackets basketball team.