Athletics

ATHLETICS Wrap-Up

Thomas Athletics had an immensely successful spring sports season, with three teams making it to the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Championship in their respective sports.

BASEBALL FELL IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE (NAC) Championship game to Husson after a great run in the tournament. The Terriers got off to a rough start in the tournament, losing to

SUNY-Cobleskill 23-4. They were able to bounce back later that same day to beat

SUNY-Canton. Thomas followed up their performance against the Roos by coming back to eliminate SUNY-Coblekskill. The

Terriers played a great game against

Husson, ultimately falling 11-7 in the final. They finished their season 17-26 overall and 8-8 in conference. Their most impressive win was a 2-0 win over NVU-

Lyndon, in which first-year Garrison

Paillet threw the first no-hitter in the 26 years since Head Coach Greg King has been at Thomas. Paillet ended the season with a team high 40 strikeouts.

Transfer Tony Meza led the Terrier’s offense with a batting average of .348, including six doubles and 26 RBIs. Senior

Devin Grindle led the Terriers in home runs with nine and in RBIs with 43.

Sophomore Andrew Pruell had a good season on the mound for the Terriers, pitching 29.2 innings and posting an ERA of 3.34, with 24 strikeouts. Softball, like Baseball, lost in the

NAC Championship to conference foe

Husson University. The Terriers had to play six games in three days for the

NAC Championship Tournament, which is double elimination. They dominated NVU-Lyndon in the opener, before falling to Husson by a score of 3-2. With the loss, Thomas entered the loser’s bracket; then bounced back with a big win over SUNY-Canton, before coming from behind to beat Cazenovia College and SUNY-Cobleskill to set up a rematch with Husson. The Terriers played well in the championship but just did not have enough gas in the tank to beat the Eagles. Thomas finished the season 19-17 and 8-2 in conference. Their biggest, regular season win was against Husson in nine innings – they were the only team to beat the Eagles in conference play. Softball had four players named to the NAC East First Team All-Conference. The first player who received all-conference was Senior Bailey Dunphy; she started in all 36 games as a graduate student this year. She recorded a .478 batting average with one home run, 27 RBIs, 33 runs scored, and 23 stolen bases. The second was senior Kasey Champney, who played in 32 games and started in 31. She recorded a .305 batting average with four home runs, five doubles, 19 RBIs, and 18 runs. Next up was Kelsey Currier, who not only played the field but also was the Terrier’s go-to pitcher. She appeared in 35 out of 36 games, recording a .358 batting average with 28 runs and 11 RBIs. In the circle, she posted a 9-7 win-loss record in an incredible 110 innings pitched with an ERA of 3.19, 12 complete games, and 84 strikeouts. Lastly, Maddie Rock played in 34 games, recording a .298 batting average, with two home runs, ten doubles, one triple, 33 RBIs, and 21 runs.

Both the Men’s and Women’s Track programs had record-shattering seasons. On the men’s side, Stephen Gray placed sixth in the decathlon at the New England DIII Outdoor Championships, becoming the first Terrier to place in the school's history. Jake Warn set the school record for long jump and triple jump and finished third overall in the triple jump. Owen McQuarrie, Jarrod Hooper, Ryan Beckerman, and Matthew Shea placed eighth in the 4x800 relay; they were the first relay team in program history to place. Hooper also broke the NAC conference record a week early in both the 800- and 1500-meter.

The women’s season was just as impressive. Molly Walker was named NAC Women’s Field Athlete of the Year and broke the NAC conference record in the discus. She also finished first in the hammer throw. Mary DiSanto became the first woman in program history to place, grabbing eighth place in the discus. DiSanto also finished second at the discus throw behind Walker at the NAC Championship. Field Hockey stand-out and first-year Julia Reny finished second at the NAC Championship in both the 100-meter hurdles and javelin throw.

Men’s Tennis had another terrific season, losing a tight match to SUNYDelhi in the NAC Championship. Thomas played the Broncos three times this season, going 1-2 against them. They beat Delhi at home before falling to them on the road in the regular season and in the Championship Match. The Terriers had a big win at home against

USM after losing to them on the road early in the season. The Men’s Tennis team finished 6-7 overall and 5-1 in conference. Senior Jose Afonso Luis was named NAC Co-Player of the Year. The 2021 NAC Men’s Tennis Senior Scholar Athlete returned for bonus season and notched a 4-2 conference record at #1 singles. He paired with Rookie of the Year Gabe McPhail at #1 doubles for an undefeated conference record of 6-0. McPhail started his collegiate career with an undefeated conference ledger – going 6-0 at #3 singles. Head Tennis Coach Rob Disch was named NAC Co-Coach of the Year for both the men’s season in the spring and the women’s season last fall.

Women’s Lacrosse bowed out of the NAC playoffs, losing to the #1 seeded SUNY-Delhi. Despite the semifinal loss, the team had a terrific season and was chosen to finish seventh in the pre-season poll but surprised everyone and finished fourth. First-year coach and Thomas alum Jenn Morris helped her season to a 6-9 overall record and 4-3 in conference, which is Women’s Lacrosse’s best record since Morris’s last year as a player at Thomas. Mary LaRochelle and Aubrey Schaeffer were both named to the NAC All-Conference First Team. LaRochelle racked up 46 points and 21 assists in 15 games. She scored the most points for the team since Coach Morris in 2015. Schaeffer had never played lacrosse before this season and was able to score her first collegiate goal against UMaine Farmington. She also had 28 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers. Anna Chadwick, Alia Chasse, and Lizzy Gotay were named to the All-Conference Second Team. Chadwick not only helped with Thomas’s offensive efforts but also led the team in ground balls and draw controls. Chasse scored the second most goals on the team, with 32; she also had 25 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers. Gotay was the team’s rock in net, playing every minute in goal this season for Thomas.

Men’s Lacrosse finished 2-10 overall this season and 2-6 in conference. Their biggest win of the season was a close win over SUNY-Cobleskill. They also had a dominate win over NVU-Lyndon for their second conference win. Max Irons led the Terriers, scoring 21 goals and 11 assists for 32 points in 12 games. Junior Dominic Desimone was named to the NAC All-Conference Second Team. The defenseman played and started in all 12 games for Thomas, grabbing 36 ground balls and leading the team in caused turnovers, with 20. This is the second year in a row that Desimone has been named to the NAC All-Conference Second Team. n