Mitchell College Sports Roundup

The Mitchell College men’s lacrosse team wrapped up its regular season with a resounding 19-0 victory over Rivier College on Wednesday. The men's tennis team also became the first in the season to defeat Lesley University. The following information was provided by David Longolucco, sports information director at Mitchell College:

Men's Lacrosse: Mitchell 19, Rivier 0

Mitchell netted 17 goals in the first half and coasted to the win. Junior Adam Grillo (Waterford, Conn./Waterford) led the way with seven goals and two assists in the contest and became the first player in school history to record 100 career points. Freshman Shane Sullivan (Quaker Hill, Conn./Waterford) chipped in with four goals and three assists while classmates Demetre Lyras (Rocky Hill, N.Y./Rocky Hill) and Erik Vasquez (Oceanside, Calif./El Camino) each added hat tricks.

The Mariners (9-3 overall) ended the regular season with a school record for wins. Mitchell also set single season benchmarks for team goals (132), team assists (67) and scoring defense (7.15 goals per game).

Mitchell outshot Rivier (0-10 overall) by a 59-15 margin and held a 63-24 edge in ground balls. Raiders’ goalie Chris Benoit (Blackstone, Mass./Blackstone-Millville Regional) finished with 17 saves in the loss. Danny Hooper (Wakefield, R.I./The Prout School) led Rivier with five ground balls.

Grillo reached the 100-point mark with his first goal just 65 seconds into the contest. He netted six markers in the first half and added the final one in the fourth quarter. He finished the year with 41 goals and 13 assists for 54 points, breaking the single season school records for both goals and points.

Freshman goalie Peter Eshenfelder (Quaker Hill, Conn./Waterford) made six saves to secure the first-ever shutout for the Mitchell program. Sullivan’s three assists in the game also pushed him to the school’s single season record (16).

Mitchell will now await word on whether it receives a bid to the 2011 ECAC New England Championship. The Mariners will learn if they are a part of the eight-team field on Monday, May 9.

Rivier will wrap up its regular season at home against Wheelock College on Saturday, April 30 at 1 p.m.

Men's Tennis: Mitchell 8, Lesley 1

The Mitchell College men’s tennis team handed Lesley University its first loss of the season by an 8-1 final on Wednesday afternoon to claim a share of the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) regular season title.

Both Mitchell (10-2 overall, 7-1 NECC) and Lesley (9-1 overall, 7-1 NECC) finished the regular season with identical conference records. The teams split the regular season series, with the Lynx edging the Mariners in the first meeting by a 5-4 score on April 2. Lesley earned the title for the first time while Mitchell, the outright winner in 2009 and 2010, claimed the honor for the third straight season.

Mitchell took control by winning all three doubles matches to carry a 3-0 lead into the singles portion of the competition. The Mariners then rallied to win five out of the six singles matches to seal the victory.

Mitchell junior Kyle Carmona (Norwich, Conn./Norwich Free Academy) defeated David Newton (Hamden, Conn./Hamden) at No. 1 singles by a final of 6-1, 4-6, 6-2. It marked the first time that Carmona had been taken to three sets during his collegiate career. Carmona and partner Rocco Devona (Waterford, Conn./Waterford) also picked up an 8-2 win over Newton and Alex Zhitnik (West Hartford, Conn./Conard) at No. 1 doubles.

Devona won in straight sets at No. 2 singles, defeating Nick Mattox (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) by a final of 6-3, 6-3. Zhitnik dropped his singles match to Adam Samuels (New Rochelle, N.Y./Soundview Prep) at the No. 4 position by scores of 6-0, 6-1.

The lone win for the Lynx came at No. 5 singles where Christian Domingo (Granada Hills, Calif./Delphi Academy) knocked off Andrew  Small (Westerly, R.I./Westerly) by a final of 6-2, 6-3. Domingo finished the season undefeated in conference play with a 7-0 singles record.

Carmona, Devona, Samuels and junior Tyler Engleberg (Niantic, Conn./East Lyme) each finished the regular season with undefeated conference records in singles play for the Mariners. Engleberg wrapped up his season with a hard-fought 7-5, 7-6 victory over Paolo DiPietrantonio (Cambridge, Mass./Rindge & Latin) at No. 3 singles.

Mitchell and Lesley will next compete at this weekend’s NECC Men’s Tennis Championship. The flighted tournament will be held on April 30 and May 1 at the Mitchell tennis courts in New London, Conn. Matches are slated to begin at 10 a.m. each day.