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» 📨 A Letter From Charlie Baker. “This is a massive step forward for student-athletes and college sports, but it does not address every challenge. There are still pending legal issues, such as those related to employment with the NLRB and the Johnson case.”

TOP STORY
1. A Dynasty in Vermont

Middlebury has not lost the final game of a season since 2018.

Let that set in for a moment.

The Panthers extended their winning streak to 51 matches, securing their third straight national crown with a convincing 16-5 victory against Salisbury for the DIII women’s lacrosse championship. Hope Shue led Middlebury with four goals, while Kelcey Dion added two goals and two assists.

» Continue Reading

LACROSSE (M)

2. Late Jumbos Spurt Ends RIT Run

Tufts broke open a tie-game after three periods, outscoring RIT, 5-1, in the decisive 15 minutes to win its fourth NCAA DIII men’s lacrosse title, 18-14.

Charlie Tagliaferri scored three times and assisted on three other goals for the Jumbos (18-3) who captured their first crown since 2015. John Mozrall had a goal and four assists for the two-time defending champion Tigers (21-3).

» Read More

TRACK AND FIELD

3. La Crosse Men, WashU Women Run Away With Crowns

Wisconsin-La Crosse duplicated its indoor title, while Washington U. showed why it was top-ranked throughout the year at the DIII Outdoor Track and Field championship in South Carolina.

Sam Blaskowski won the 100 and 200, while Cael Schoemann took the 800 to lead the Eagle men to the championship. Blaskowski also was a member of the winning 4×100 relay. Emma Kelley won the 400 and 800, as well as running a leg of the triumphant 4×400 relay as the Bear women rolled to the crown.

» Team Scoring (M). UW-La Crosse 76, UW-Oshkosh 48, Rowan and Bethel 43, Wartburg 34.

» Results (M). 100: Blaskowski (UWL) 10.24; 200: Blaskowski 20.63; 400: Gregory (Gallaudet) 45.73; 800: Schoemann (UWL) 1:48.65; 1500: Llaneza (Lynchburg) 3:51.05; 5K: Patzka (UWW) 14:07.74; 10K: Moon (Simpson) 30:41.91; 110 HH: Nkrumah (Rowan) 13.77; 400 IH: Frost (Dubuque) 51.04; Steeplechase: Patzka 8:50.75; 4×100: UW-La Crosse 39.82; 4×400: Bethel 3:07.90; High Jump: Bliey (MIT) 2.14m; Pole Vault: Di Nicolantoni (Catholic) 5.19m; Long Jump: Rivers (UWO) 7.95m; Triple Jump: Goodman (Rochester) 15.76m; Shot: White (Carthage) 18.69m; Discus: Ekoue (UWEC) 55.20m; Hammer: Eichler (UWP) 64.11m; Javelin: Wheeler (Whitworth) 65.81m; Decathlon: Anderson 7063.

» Team Scoring (W). Washington U. 71, UW-La Crosse and MIT 47, Loras 43, Wartburg 26.

» Results (W). 100: Jarrett (UWL) 11.70; 200: Jarrett 23.81; 400: Kelley (WashU) 53.76; 800: Kelley 2:06.02; 1500: Schoenegge (Vassar) 4:19.46; 5K: Duncan (Wilmington) 16:44.12; 10K: Smith (St. Benedict) 34:27.32; 100 HH: Mathews (Stevens) 13.67; 400 IH: Sawyer (Buffalo State) 58:01; Steeplechase: Johnson (Central) 10:13.46; 4×100: UWL 46.06; 4×400: Washington U. 3:44.69; High Jump: Hoskins (Loras) 1.74m; Pole Vault: Ruff (Wash U) 4.06m; Long Jump: Dunham (Ursinus) 5.98m; Triple Jump: Kadiri (JHU) 13.04m; Shot: Boykin (MIT) 15.44m; Discus: Frere (Augustana) 50.27m; Hammer: Boykin (MIT) 62.50; Javelin: Heuler (Brockport) 47.35m; Heptathlon: Alley (Loras) 5289.

» Complete Results

GOLF (W)
4. Tartans Take Title

Carnegie Mellon posted four rounds under 300 to run away from the field and capture its first-ever NCAA DIII women’s golf championship. The Tartans led by just two shots entering the final 18 holes but an eight-under-par 296 enabled CMU to pull away from runner-up Emory for a 14-shot victory.

George Fox’s Alison Takamiya fashioned a two-under 70 to come from three shots off the pace to take individual honors.

TENNIS (M)
5. Maroons Down Stags In Net Thriller

The University of Chicago men’s tennis team rallied from a 4-2 deficit to topple top-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and win the 2024 DIII championship.

Trailing 2-1 after doubles, the Stags won the Nos. 1-5-6 singles matches to forge a 4-2 advantage. The Maroons tied the match with victories at 2 and 4 before a two-hour lightning delay paused the No. 3 singles match with a title on the line. Arjun Asokumar rebounded from a first-set loss to pull out a 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory to secure the championship.

» Read More 

» Individual Titles. Capping off a great week for Chicago women’s tennis, Rena Lin won the individual singles crown with a 6-0, 7-6 (3) victory over teammate Sylwia Mikos. Babson’s Matia Cristiani and Olivia Soffer captured the doubles title with a 6-1, 6-7 (1), 6-4 triumph over the Claremont-M-S duo of Nikolina Batoshvili and Alisha Chulani. Today’s men’s singles final will pit Bowdoin’s Tristan Bradley against Denison’s Kael Shah.

BASEBALL

6. Cleveland Rocks

The national championship brackets are set for the DIII baseball championship that begins on Friday in Eastlake, Ohio, located northeast of Cleveland. Just three top-10 teams survived the super regionals - #1 Endicott, #5 UW-Whitewater and #8 Salve Regina. The Gulls are the top seed.

Bracket 1

#12 Pomona-Pitzer (37-12) vs. #11 Misericordia (38-9)
#1 Endicott (46-2) vs. Lynchburg (35-15)

Bracket 2

#8 Salve Regina (38-8) vs. Birmingham-Southern (32-14)
#5 UW-Whitewater (40-9) vs. #24 Randolph-Macon (33-14)

» Updated Bracket

SOFTBALL
7. Super Regionals Preview

There are eight elite teams coming to Marshall, Texas, for the final rounds of the 2024 DIII softball championship that begins Thursday. Five of the top-10 teams entering the tournament are still alive, including No. 1 ranked Linfield.

#1 Linfield (48-2) vs. #17 Tufts (38-8)
#12 UW-Oshkosh (44-5) vs. #8 Virginia Wesleyan (40-8)
#2 East Texas Baptist (39-2) vs. #15 Rowan (39-8)
#7 Case Western Reserve (40-7) vs. #10 Belhaven (42-7)

» Updated Bracket

NEWS
8. Lightning Round

» 🧑‍🎓 Elite 90. Avery Campbell of Albion (Women’s Outdoor Track and Field), Gunner Schlender of Wisconsin-Whitewater (Men’s Outdoor Track and Field), Hannah Kassaie of Case Western Reserve (Women’s Tennis) and Hope Shue of Middlebury (Women’s Lacrosse) were recognized as the Elite 90 winners.

» 🗞️ News. “Keystone College and a strategic partner have signed a letter of intent on a deal that will ensure the school stays open, the college announced Friday.”

» 🗞️ News. “St. Catherine University (Minn.), has cut 11 staff roles as it grapples with annual budget deficits. The institution posted an operating deficit of $19 million for the fiscal year that ended May 2023 after racking up a $9.5 million deficit the year before, according to its latest financials.

» 🗞️ News. “Buffalo State University is set to cut 37 low-performing programs amidst school-wide financial woes, the school announced Thursday. The cuts affect early childhood education, chemistry M.A. and urban studies programs, as well as several in foreign languages, including French, Italian and Spanish. Twenty-seven of the 37 programs are being cut immediately, while another 10 are still under review for deactivation by spring 2025.”

TRANSACTIONS
9. Comings and Goings

• ADRIAN - Angela Lorusso named assistant women’s wrestling coach

• BETHANY - Matthew Wolf named head men’s soccer coach

• GENEVA - Alexis Ritson named head men’s volleyball coach

• MILLIKIN - Olivia Lett resigned as head women’s basketball coach

• NCAA - John Macrina named vice president and chief technology officer

• NORTH CENTRAL (Minn.) - Adam Hill named head baseball coach

• OGLETHORPE - Jasen Jonus named head women’s basketball coach

• PITT-BRADFORD - Mark Lucas named head women’s volleyball coach

• ST. JOSEPH’S (Brooklyn) - Sean Salomons named head women’s volleyball coach

• SCRANTON - Andy Loughnane named head men’s soccer coach

• UMASS BOSTON - AJ Lewis named assistant athletic director for development

• WILKES - Todd Kane stepped down as head tennis coach

• WILLIAM PEACE - Lauren Conway named head softball coach

• WISCONSIN-STOUT - Anthony Michels named head women’s tennis coach

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