College Roundup Wicklow’s McGettigan wins steeple for Providence

By John Manley

Providence College’s Roisin McGettigan won the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Raleigh Relays in North Carolina. The Wicklow sophomore’s time of 10:42.36 qualified her for the NCAA Outdoor Championship in June.

The Friars were also on track in the UConn Invitational, where sophomore Emer O’Shea triumphed at 1,500 meters. Her time was 4:34.86. O’Shea is from Limerick.

Galway junior Kathryn Casserly was second at 5,000 meters, going the distance in 17:04.16.

Among the Friars’ men, junior Paul Reilly was second at different distances. He placed in the 5,000 meters at Raleigh, with a 14:07.09 clocking. Then at UConn, he was runnerup to teammate Keith Kelly at 1,500 meters. Kelly broke the tape in 3:47.74, while Reilly was along in 3:52.79. Reilly is from Loughrea, Co. Galway, and Kelly comes from Drogheda.

Iona sent a contingent to the Colonial Relays in Williamsburg, Va. Freshman Mark Smyth took fourth place in the men’s 5,000 meters with a time of 14:45.95. Smyth is from Grange, Co. Sligo. Penn State’s Jim Carney won the race in 14:33.21. The Gaels’ Tom Carey finished seventh in the 1,500. The senior from Castleconnell, Co. Limerick, posted a time of 3:57.45. Seneca Lassiter broke the tape in 3:48.58.

Crew

The University of California won its third consecutive San Diego Crew Classic Copley Cup Championship on Mission Bay last Sunday. The Bears finished third in the Men’s Open grand final, with Paul O’Sullivan, a sophomore from Skibbereen, Co. Cork, occupying the fifth seat. California finished second in the Men’s Collegiate Novice-Freshmen Eight, with Padraic Hussey, from Tullamore, Co. Offaly, in the fourth seat.

Golf

Campbell beat out 19 teams to win the Pirate Spring Intercollegiate at the Bradford Creek Golf Club in Greenville, N.C. Campbell was led by Dublin junior David Carroll, who finished third at four-under-par 212 (70-70-72).

He was one stroke behind George Mason’s Craig Mason and St. John’s Andrew Svoboda, who faced each other in a playoff for the individual championship, with Mason prevailing.

Kent State’s Martina Gillen placed second in the Indiana Invitational at the Indiana University Golf Club in Bloomington. Her 54-hole score of 225 (77-73-75) was three over par and two strokes behind the medalist, Michigan State’s Emily Bastel. Kent also finished second in the 15-team event, coming in 11 strokes behind Michigan State.

Alabama-Birmingham took third place in the Billy Hitchcock Intercollegiate at the Saugahatchee, Country Club in Opelika, Ala. UAB was paced by Gr’me McDowell and Payton Osborn, both of whom shot two-under-par 214. McDowell, a sophomore from Portrush, Co. Antrim, shot 73, 70 and 71 to finish two strokes off the low man, Georgia State’s Allen Thompson.

Tennis

Harvard’s Jennie Timoney won both her matches at sixth singles last week. The junior from Celbridge, Co. Kildare disposed of Cornell’s Nicole Chiu, 6-4, 6-0, and handled Columbia’s Ilene Weintraub, 6-3, 6-1. The Crimson defeated Cornell, 4-3, and Columbia, 5-2.

California’s Catherine Lynch rolled to victory in a fifth singles match over UCLA’s Jennifer Donahue, 6-0, 6-1. Lynch is a freshman from Dublin. The Bears, ranked sixth in the nation, were 5-2 winners.

Brown’s Nick Malone joined Jamie Cerratani for two doubles victories last week, and split a pair of matches at second singles. Malone, a junior from Greystones, Co. Wicklow, was beaten by Princeton’s Judson Williams, 6-4, 7-5. He came back to knock off Penn’s Ryan Harwood, 6-1, 7-6(3). At first doubles, Malone and Cerratani got the better of Princeton’s Kyle Kliegerman and John Portlock, 8-4, and Penn’s Harwood and Tanda Stejskal, 8-2. Brown lost to Princeton, 4-3, but defeated Penn, 5-2.