February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By John Manley
Chris Devlin gives every indication that his college golf career will end in style. The Alabama-Birmingham senior from Ballymena won his second straight tournament, cruising to a five-stroke victory in the Bearkat Classic at Bentwater Country Club in Montgomery, Texas. Devlin went progressively lower with each round en route to a 13-under-par 203 (69-68-66). Teammate Gr’me McDowell, a freshman from Portrush, Co. Antrim, tied for seventh place with a score of 214 (73-71-70). UAB tied for fourth
in the team scramble, four strokes behind Texas-San Antonio.
If not for a first round 78, Toledo’s Tim Rice might have been in the hunt for medalist honors in the Kepler Intercollegiate at Ohio State’s Scarlett Course in Columbus. The senior from Rosbrien, Co. Limerick, recovered to card rounds of 70 and 72, for an aggregate of 220 and a share of fifth place. Toledo’s Alan Murray, a sophomore from Bray, Co. Wicklow, tied for 29th place at 229 (79-76-74), while freshman teammate David Jones, from Derry, tied for 54th place at 233 (75-80-78). The Rockets tied for third among teams, 21 strokes behind Northwestern, which featured the low man in Jess Daley at 210.
Track and field
Providence recorded a pair of first-place finishes in a six-team meet hosted by Brown last Saturday. Sophomore Dermot Galvin, from Kilrush, Co. Clare, broke the tape in the 1,500 meters. His time was 3:55.31. Limerick junior
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Ciaran Lynch was first home in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, in which he was clocked in 9:24.60.
The Friars’ women were also on the scene. Emer O’Shea, a freshman from Limerick, won the 800 meters in 2:12.92. Kathryn Casserly, a sophomore from Galway, was second running 1,500, running 4:34.14, less than two seconds behind her victorious teammate, Heather Cappello.
Iona’s Vinny Mulvey, a junior from Ashbourne, Co. Meath, placed seventh in the men’s 5,000 meters at the Sea Ray Relays in Tennessee. Mulvey was timed in 14:16.20. Kyle Baker won the event in 14:11.16.
Western Kentucky features six Cork denizens on its women’s roster and they, too, were at the Sea Ray. Freshman Olga Cronin was sixth in the 5,000-meter
invitational run, timed in 17:04.64. Freshman Caroline Daly placed 10th in the 3,000-meter open run, with a 10:18.02 clocking. Senior Valerie Lynch was
13th in the 3,000-meter invitational run. She finished in 10:13.42. Cronin and her sister Lisa, a junior, ran two legs of the 4-by-800-meter relay, in which WKU finished fifth. Their time of 9:10.0 broke the school record, which had stood since 1979.
The Hilltoppers took inspiration from the performance of alumnus Breeda Dennehy, whose time of 32:11.3 in Lisbon, Portugal, two weeks ago is likely to qualify her for the Irish team in the Sydney Olympics. Dennehy, who graduated in 1991, holds school records at 1,500 meters (4:23.76), 3,000 meters (9:19.45) and 5,000 meters (16:28.86).
Tennis
The University of California’s Claire Curran made a rare appearance at second singles and recorded a three-set win over Arizona’s Vanessa Abel, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. The Dublin senior also teamed with Amy Jensen at second doubles to dispatch Uzma Kahn and Laresa Marino, 8-1. Curran came back the next day at third singles, where she defeated Arizona State’s Faye DeVera, 6-0, 6-4. Morisa Yang replaced Jensen alongside Curran for a doubles victory over Mhairi Brown and Megan Yeats, 8-5. California, which outscored Arizona, 8-0, and Arizona State, 7-2, is ranked fourth in Division I.
Harvard’s men team racked up a 6-1 victory over Penn as the Crimson dedicated the Beren Tennis Center in Cambridge, Mass. Joe Green, a senior from Dublin, was a winner at third singles over Ryan Harwood, 6-2, 7-5. John Doran, Green’s cousin and co-captain, lost at the top spot, 6-4, 6-1, to Fanda Stejskal. In doubles play, Doran and Cillie Swart prevailed over Harwood and Stejskal in the first slot, 8-4. Green and Dave Lingman took Brian Barki and Joe Zupan by the same score at second doubles.
Earlier, Harvard outpointed Princeton, 4-3, with Doran defeating Kyle Kliegerman, 6-2, 6-2, at first doubles. Green, however, fell to Judson Williams, 6-2, 7-5, at third singles. In twosomes, Doran and Swart nailed Ahn Ahn Liu and Scott Borenstein, 8-3. Green and Lingman lost to Kliegerman and Williams, 8-6.
Indiana’s George McGill, a senior from Castletroy, Co. Limerick, continues to excel at fourth singles. He knocked off Ohio State’s Derek DeFalco, 6-2, 6-4, and Penn State’s Chris DeStefano, 6-2, 6-1, last weekend. McGill and Milan Rakvica defeated Ohio State’s B.J. Monroe and Jon Scale, 8-5, at second doubles. The Hoosier duo then lost to Penn State’s Damon Accardi and Jeff Martini, 8-5. Indiana won both matches by 5-2 scores.
Brown’s Nick Malone registered a victory at second singles in Brown’s 4-3 victory over Cornell. The sophomore from Greystones, Co. Wicklow, recovered
from a first set defeat to go on and take the match against Greg Artet, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.
Seton Hall defeated Connecticut, 6-2, with seniors Laura McCracken and Judy McAuley contributing singles victories. McCracken, from Greystones, Co. Wicklow, defeated Colleen Connors, 6-1, 6-0, at the second position, while McAuley, from Loughlinstown, Co. Dublin, easily handled Kara Kaczynski, 6-0, 6-1, in the fifth slot. McAuley and Pille Arike were 8-1 winners over Anne Dewberry and Christine Vorvis at second doubles. McCracken and Kyli LaSalle lost at first doubles, 8-3, to Connors and Trissel Russel.
Harvard’s Jenny Timoney split a pair of fourth singles matches recently. The sophomore from Celbridge, Co. Kildare was bested by Princeton’s Gailor Large, 6-3, 6-3, but came back the next day to post a three-set win over Penn’s Louani Bascara, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Harvard lost to Princeton, 7-2, but edged Penn, 5-4.