Lions Ledger: Six Teams In Action This Week

Apr 06, 2021

Live Coverage |

RECORDS: No. 8 Saint Leo 4-2, 4-2 SSC | Tampa 1-5, 1-5 SSC | Embry-Riddle 3-4, 3-4 SSC
No. 8 Saint Leo looks to bounce back at Tampa after its loss at Barry in the end of the Lions five-match road stretch. The Green and Gold will wrap up the shortened season with two matches at home, starting on Saturday, April 10 against Embry-Riddle.
On Friday at Barry, Nina Furmaniak stepped off the bus ready to give the Buccaneers a hard time. Furmaniak and Takhmina Zhanatova forced the seven-point tiebreaker but their second flight opponents prevailed; 7-6 (7-5). Furmaniak continued her work in singles at the third flight against #5 Jil Engelmann. The junior from Swidnik, Poland upset her opponent taking the first set in a quick 6-2 decision. She finished her work in the second set, 6-4.
Molly Helgesson has enjoyed filling the first singles flight. Helgesson holds a 5-1 season record entering the week. Meanwhile, with Lavinia Lancellotti, Helgesson has helped put together a 4-2 season mark in the doubles first fight.
Tampa earned its first win of the season against Eckerd on Thursday. The Spartans host the Lions following a weekend 4-3 loss from Embry-Riddle. Maria Khomchenko has filled in the first flight for the Spartans, she holds a 3-3 season record. She also has a 3-3 first flight doubles record with Anine Wilberg.
History: The Lions and Spartans last met in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament Quarterfinals on Friday, April 26. The third-seeded Saint Leo Lions downed the sixth-seeded Tampa in a 4-2 clinch decision.
Embry-Riddle is coming off the tight win at Tampa, which put a halt to a previous three-match losing skid. Sabrina Ehrenfort, Alexis Marshall, and Julia Mautner each enter the week with a 2-2 singles record. In doubles action, Marshal and teammate Roberta Krvajica are on a two-match win streak at the second flight.
History: Last meeting on April 17, 2019, Saint Leo wrapped up the regular season sweeping the Eagles.

RECORDS: No. 3 Saint Leo 6-0, 6-0 SSC | No. 12 Florida Southern 2-3, 2-3 SSC
No. 3 Saint Leo closes the regular season with two matches this week starting at home and ending in Miami Shores. On Monday, Alexander Parker was named the SSC Player of the Week. The senior Englishman remains undefeated in singles and doubles action with teammate Traut Christopher.
Traut, Aurel Ciocanu, and Nicolas Bacella join Parker in stainless singles records. The strong lineup features Traut in the fifth flight, Ciocanu in the third flight, and Bacella in the second.
No. 12 Florida Southern heads to Saint Leo coming off a three-match losing skid. The Lions handed the Mocs their first of the streak on March 20 followed by losses from Embry-Riddle and Lynn.
History:Meeting just a couple weeks ago, this match will be counted as a non-conference match. Previously, Saint Leo blanked Florida Southern.

RECORDS: No. 22 Saint Leo 1-3, 1-2 SSC | Florida Tech 0-5, 0-4 SSC | Palm Beach Atlantic 1-2, 1-2 SSC
No. 22 Saint Leo looks to get back to its winning ways after a tough 15-13 to No. 10 Rollins on Saturday. Delaney Chrisco won six draw controls against the Tars, becoming the program's newest all-time draw leader with 179, breaking Allie Sheftall's (2013-16) previous record of 178.
Fiona McLaughlin paced the Lions' offense with five goals in a five-point performance, the freshman's second straight game finding the back of the net at least five times. Meanwhile, in the cage, senior Emma Crafton had a spectacular day earning a career-high 11 saves while facing 36 shots in 60 minutes of work.
On the season, McLaughlin leads the team in points with 15 followed by Chrisco with 13 and Ashlee Wilsynski with 11. Ashley Salvett leads the team off the draw snagging 18 in the four games. Goalkeeper Emma Crafton enters the week with a 1-3 record in the net after earning 36 saves translating to a .435 save-percentage.
Florida Tech is still in search for its first win of the season. The Panthers have suffered two one-goal decision losses, including an overtime final at Lynn. Rachel Johnson leads the offense with 10 points, while Caroline MacLeod has won 25 draw controls. In the net, Emily Harris has collected 48 saves, a .410 save-percentage, and a 0-5 record.
HISTORY: The Lions and Panthers last meet on March 27, just two week ago in a conference meeting. This week's non-conference game follows a 19-6 Green and Gold victory. McLaughlin gave opponents on the field and those watching the live stream whiplash as heads turned to see the Marietta, Georgia native come off the bench and score six goals off six shots. She was followed by Chrisco with four goals off five shots. The veteran midfielder captured the program's all-time caused turnover record on Wednesday and added four more for a total of 75.
Palm Beach Atlantic looks to bounce back after a 20-5 loss after hosting No. 5 Florida Southern. Kiki Cinotti leads the Sailfish offense with 14 points while teammate Grace Bartlinski leads scoring with eight goals. Off the draw, PBA looks to Lindsey Heffler who has won 11 in three games. In the cage, Abigal Nehring has earned a 1-2 record with 24 stops. She enter the game against the Lions with a .348 save-percentage.
HISTORY: The teams last met on April 6, 2019 due to the shortened 2020 season. In West Palm Beach, the No. 21 Saint Leo Lions rolled past the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish, 26-6. Kaylah Walstad became the program's newest all-time assist leader recording four assists against the Sailfish for a career tally of 49 assists. Meanwhile, Leslie Ferguson broke a game record with 10 points.

RECORDS: Saint Leo 5-8, 4-7 SSC | Florida Southern 7-5, 6-4 SSC
Saint Leo baseball has just one game this week, a midweek conference contest at Florida Southern. The game originally slated as a non-conference has been changed to an SSC contest due to early postponements following COVID-19 protocols. The Lions and Mocs were originally scheduled to meet six times this season, three SSC games and three non-conference contests. Wednesday's meeting was originally going to be the sixth and final meeting between the two programs but will now mark just the second game this season between the Lions and Mocs.
The Lions are coming off a 1-2 week in which they dropped a conference series to Rollins winning the lone home contest of the three game series 8-4. The Tars won on their home field 4-2 on Wednesday and 7-3 on Friday.
Sophomore Yazael Nunez has taken over the batting average lead on the squad as he enters the week with a .350 average. He is second on the team in hits (14), doubles (3) and stolen bases (3) this season. Redshirt senior Jake Vander Wal continues to lead the team in RBI (14) and home runs (5) while classmate Danny Torres leads the team in doubles with four.
Redshirt junior Devin Blair leads the pitching staff with a 2-0 record on the mound while three others each have a single victory. Andy Booth (2.13), Nathan Crissey (2.45) and Devin Blair (2.57) all have below a 3.00 ERA so far this season. Jimmy Burnette now leads the team in strikeouts with 23 and innings pitched at 17.1. Five different pitchers have started games for the Lions this season with Jestin Jones and Burnette leading the way with four each.
Florida Southern is 7-5 this season and most recently took 2-of-3 from Lynn including two wins in Boca Raton. Tor Sehnert leads the team with a .372 batting average but Jacob Teter is not far behind at .366. Sehnert and Vaun Brown share the team lead with eight home runs apiece while Brown is the sole leader in RBI with 17. The Mocs have used five different starting pitchers this season with Nathan Madej and Jarrod Cande leading the way with four starts each. Six of their pitchers who have seen action have a sub-3.00 ERA so far this season including three with a perfect 0.00. Madej leads the squad with 25 Ks over 19.1 innings pitched.
HISTORY: Saint Leo took the only other meeting between these two squads earlier this season 14-7. Since 2017, the Lions have won 2-of-3 versus the Mocs every season except 2020 when the two teams did not meet due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

RECORDS: Saint Leo 1-2, 1-1 SSC | Florida Southern 1-1, 1-1 SSC | Palm Beach Atlantic 0-4, 0-3 SSC
Saint Leo will head to Florida Southern on Thursday, April 8 for a 4 p.m. The meeting between the Lions and Moccasins was originally scheduled on March 24 was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. The Lions will turn around quickly to host Palm Beach Atlantic two days later at University Turf Stadium.
On Saturday, The Saint Leo men's lacrosse team out-shot Rollins; 43-34 and placed more on target; 27-23, but came up short at Rollins, 15-13, in the Lions first game on the road. Seven Lions contributed points paced by junior attacker Evan Wray's career-high five points. The Port Coquitlam, B.C. native netted four goals off eight shots and tallied an assist. He also registered a pair of ground balls and two caused turnovers. Reece Hrycan scored a hat-trick, a career-high performance from the junior midfielder who also hails from Port Coquitlam, B.C. Meanwhile, Tyler Eames tallied four points scoring a season-high two goals paired with two assists. Play-maker Matt Shand also earned four points from four assists.
Shand enters the week as the Lions season point leader with nine from a pair of goals and seven assists. Wray and Justin Williams share the goal-scorer with five apiece. At the face, Michael Flores has won 19-of-50 while Jordan Williams has won 18-of-41. In the cage, Gunnar Luckoski holds a 1-2 record after earning 38 stops translating to a .413 save-percentage.
Florida Southern opened the season taking a 22-7 loss from Tampa and has since bounced back, earning a 17-10 win at Palm Beach Atlantic. Point leader, Jeff Atlas, has earned eight points from two goals and six assists. Cody Bielec leads the Mocs' season scoring with five goals. At the face, Kevin Horwitz has won 27-of-57 faceoffs. In the net, Maxwell Freestone has earned both starts and put up 31 saves for a .500 save-percentage.
HISTORY: Last meeting on April 10, 2019, the Lions trampled the Mocs 23-14 at University Turf Stadium. Eames put away five goals while Shand registered four goals and two assists.
Palm Beach Atlantic is in still on the hunt for its first win of the season. The Sailfish have taken a pair of losses from Lynn and one from No. 2 Tampa and most recently, on Saturday, Florida Southern. Ben Justice paces PBA's offense with seven points from six goals and an assist. At the X, Noah McKoeun has gone 18-for-70 while Corbin Schneider has won 5-of-27. Three goalkeepers have seen action with Rowden Lee and Gerrit Kurtycz each earn two starts. Lee started on Saturday against the Mocs. On the season, he has earned 33 saves and a .388 save-percentage.
HISTORY: Saint Leo and PBA last met on March 22, 2019 in Saint Leo, Fla. The Lions showcased a confident 21-5 win over the 'Fish.

RECORDS: Saint Leo 8-2 | Florida Southern 1-11 | Tampa 11-11 | Mercer 8-10
Saint Leo beach volleyball closes out the regular season this week with a pair of matches at home and two matches at the Eckerd Invitational. The Lions will face Florida Southern at home on Saturday and will honor its two graduating seniors prior to the match before traveling to St. Petersburg on Sunday to face Tampa and NCAA Division I member Mercer.
The Lions moved to 8-2 on the season following a 3-1 week which saw wins over Florida Southern (2x) and the State College of Florida. The lone defeat came to the Spartans on Tampa.
Juniors Sydney Omtvedt and Arlaina Stephenson lead the Lions with a 7-2 mark having played two matches at No. 1 and seven matches at No. 2 The duo is 2-0 at No. 1 and 5-2 at No. 2. Seniors Brooke Turner and Nina Vattovaz are 6-3 and have the second most wins on the team. The pair is 4-3 this season at No. 1 and 2-0 at No. 2. The Lions have two more pairs with four or more wins this season including freshman LeeAnn Potter and junior Lina Russo who have posted a 5-2 mark at No. 3 and freshmen Aliya Fredette-Huffman and Ally-Reese Williams who are 4-1 at No. 4.
The Lions are 2-0 versus Florida Southern, 0-1 versus Tampa and have yet to face Mercer this season. The Lions last meeting with Mercer came last season in a 3-2 loss in Charleston, S.C. as part of the College of Charleston Invitational.
Florida Southern is 1-11 on the year picking up its lone win this past weekend with a 5-0 victory over the State College of Florida. After falling 4-1 in their first meeting with the Lions the Mocs dropped a 3-2 decision at home to Saint Leo. Florida Southern won at No. 2 and No. 3 while falling in three games at No. 4 which could have turned the tide of the match.
Tampa is 11-11 this season including a 3-2 victory over No. 20 Florida Gulf Coast. The Spartans have faced eight top-20 opponents while facing 13 NCAA Division I members. The Spartans have dropped just one match to an NCAA Division II opponent and that came against Palm Beach Atlantic this past weekend in Boca Raton, Fla.
Mercer is 8-10 this season including 4-1 against NCAA Division II foes. The lone loss to a DII program came against Tampa at the Tampa Invitational in early March. The Bears top pair is Gracie Garanich and Amber Gibson who are 6-6 this season at No. 1.

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