The spring of 2015 was a season of firsts for Juniata College. The men’s tennis team won their first Landmark Championship and went to their first NCAA Tournament in program history, advancing to the second round. The women’s tennis team won their first program championship in the inaugural ECAC Championships. The women’s outdoor track and field team had two first place finishes at Landmark Championships. Men’s volleyball had a player put their name on the top spot in the program’s record books. Among these firsts were a number of accomplishments each team could be proud of.
Jan. 31, 2015: Men’s Volleyball vs. No. 5 Carthage
Down two sets to one, the No.1 Juniata men's volleyball team rallied to win the final two sets and defeated No. 5 Carthage 3-2. The Eagles took the first set after capitalizing on a service and attack error made by Carthage. Juniata played aggressive in the fourth set to send the match into a fifth set. In the fifth set, a four-point surge by the Eagles got them to 14-8 and one point away from completing the comeback. Chad Albert (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) would secure the win for Juniata and they took the match on the 15-9 final set.
March 9, 2015: Softball vs. Finlandia and Mount Ida
With a runner on third and one out in the bottom of the eight, Natalya Sizdahkhani (Gaithersburg, MD/Quince Orchard) laced a single down the right side to bring in the winning run as the Juniata softball team walked off with a 4-3 win over Finlandia in Florida. It was Sizdahkhani's first hit of her collegiate career.
Chrisi Lerchen (Annville, PA/Annville-Cleona) got the win as she went all eight innings and gave up six hits, three runs (one earned), walked two, and struck out five.
In the second game of a doubleheader, the Eagles trailed Mount Ida 4-1 going into the bottom of the seventh inning. Paige Dennison (East Berlin, PA/Bermudian Springs) walked and Alicia Regnault's (Bridgewater, NY/Bridgewater Raritan) single put runners at first and second. Lerchen reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases. Kerigan Ammerman (Alexandria, PA/Juniata Valley) bashed a double into left field to bring Regnault in. Lindsey Kosicki (Patton, PA/Cambria Heights) singled in Lerchen to make it 4-3 and the game ended on Holly Bettinger's (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin) two-run triple as JC prevailed 5-4.
March 21, 2015: Women’s Tennis vs. Catholic
Needing one victory to break a 4-4 tie, the Juniata women's tennis team got the decision it needed as they defeated Catholic 5-4. The match came down to sixth singles as Tori Gray (York, PA/Central York) faced off against Maria Flores. Gray, playing in her first match of the season, took the first set 7-5 and easily took the second one 6-2 to pick up the win.
March 28, 2015: Softball vs. Drew
In their first Landmark Conference game of the season at West End Field, Lerchen pitched her first career shutout as the Eagles defeated Drew 6-0. Regnault hit her first career homerun and also had a double. In the second game, Dennison was 3-for-4 at the plate with a homer and a double. Kosicki also smacked a homer as JC prevailed, 8-5. This was the first time the Eagles swept the Rangers since 2009.
March 28-29, 2015: Baseball vs. Drew
The Eagles won two out of three games against the Rangers to pick up their first Landmark wins of the season. In the first game, pitcher Eric Grace (Hopewell, PA/Northern Bedford) went 7 2/3 innings and gave up just five hits and two unearned runs. A five-run second inning proved to be the difference in the game.
The second game on the following day saw Chris Fulton (West Chester, PA/Unionville) go the distance and give up four hits and one run while striking out six Rangers in a 3-1 JC victory.Anthony Lombardo’s (Altoona, PA/Altoona Area) two-run single in the bottom of the sixth gave Juniata a lead it would not relinquish.
April 4, 2015: Men’s Volleyball at CVC Tri-Match Weekend
The Eagles ended their 2015 season at home with matches against Eastern Mennonite and Hilbert. Against Eastern Mennonite, Joe Bortak (Jeanette, PA/Penn Trafford) became the program’s all-time leader in blocks with 430 as Juniata won by the score of 3-0. The team honored its four seniors in the evening match; Bortak, Paul Kuhn (York, PA/Central York), Mark Feiler (Mountville, PA/Hempfield), and Justin Waldorf (Eden, NY/Eden). The quartet walked off as winners with a 3-0 victory over Hilbert.
April 12, 2015: Women’s Tennis vs. Moravian
Juniata trailed 0-3 after the completion of doubles play. The Eagles would be down 1-4 after the completion of two singles matches. Juniata dug deep and focused to win the next three matches, putting match point on the fourth flight. Mitsuki Koh (Cupertino, CA / Monta Vista) would defeat Courtnie Lambert 6-3, 6-4 to win her set and the match for Juniata.
April 14, 2015: Baseball vs. Mt. Aloysius
After being down 7-5 after a 6-run third inning by Mt. Aloysius, the Juniata baseball team got their bats ready to go. The Eagles would battle back to send the game into extra innings at 8 runs each. With one out in the eighth inning and the bases loaded, David DeFreest (Duxbury, VT/Harwood Union) hit a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Tyler Morris (Ellicott City, MD/Centennial)to put JC ahead 9-8. Ichiro Narita (Brooklyn, NY/Brooklyn Latin School) got the final three outs to secure Juniata’s 9-8 win in game one of the doubleheader.
May 2, 2015: Men’s Tennis vs. Goucher
Earlier in the season, the Juniata men's tennis team was tied with Goucher for the top spot in the Landmark Conference. The Eagles defeated the Gophers to claim sole possession of first place and would later find themselves preparing to face their conference foe for the championship title. The Eagles trailed 2-1 after doubles play but tied the match at 2-all with Dean Polisena's (Adelaide, Australia/St. Ignatius) victory in first singles. Goucher would pull ahead 3-2 before Bryan Gregory (Glen Mills, PA/Garnet Valley) and Logan Moore (Chadds Ford, PA/Unionville)won both of their matches to send a potential match point to second singles. Matyas Kohout (Krhanice, Czech Republic/ Gymnasium Jizni Mesto) defeated Seth Hoseman 6-4, 6-1 to clinch the match for Juniata. This was the program's first Landmark Conference Championship Title and the win gave them a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
May 2-3, 2015: Men’s Track at Landmark Outdoor Championships
At the Landmark Outdoor Championships, senior Tyler Mandley (Altoona, PA/Altoona Area)reached the podium twice. He had second place finishes in both the 110 and 400-meter hurdles. His time of 55.55 was .23 of a second behind the first place finisher. Both of his times now rank as the fifth best in Juniata history. Mandley was named to Second Team All-Landmark for his performances in the two events.
May 2-3, 2015: Women’s Track at Landmark Outdoor Championships
Two members of the Juniata women’s track and field team were tops in their respective events. Alissa Sellers (Huntingdon, PA/Huntingdon Area) won the long jump with a measurement of 5.13 meters that ranks as the fifth best in Eagles’ history. Katelyn Fisher (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena) won the high jump with a leap of 1.57 meters, defending her title from the previous year. Sellers and Fisher were also named to First Team All-Landmark for their performances.
May 8, 2015: Men’s Tennis vs. Messiah
In their first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, the Juniata men's tennis team found themselves in a similar situation. Much like their match with the Gophers for the Landmark Title, Juniata trailed the Falcons 1-2 after the conclusion of doubles play. They fell behind 1-3 at the completion of sixth singles. Wins from Polisena, Moore and Lifshitz gave Juniata the edge before Gregory would triump 6-3 in his second set to clinch the win.
May 10, 2015: Women’s Tennis vs. Drew
Playing in the inaugural ECAC Championship, the Eagles faced a familiar foe in Landmark rival Drew. Juniata prevailed with a 5-0 victory. Mitsuki Koh (Cupertino, CA / Monta Vista) was recognized as the Most Outstanding Player for her 4-0 performance in singles play. Koh defeated the Rangers Megan Jarvis 6-1, 6-1 to earn the match point for the Eagles.
