Chronicle covers of 2011

–Compiled by Samantha Epstein, Joe Addonizio and Tim O’Donnell

January 26

Back: Quinnipiac men’s basketball team struggled with the absence of reigning NEC Player of the Year Justin Rutty, who needed elbow surgery to repair two bone chips. After starting with a record of 7-2, they went 5-5 and were a different team without Rutty. The team focused on how to match up against a tough Robert Morris team in which they sought revenge after the NEC Finals loss to the Colonials on March 10, 2010. -JA

February 2

Back: Then-freshmen phenom Kelly Babstock took the ECAC and nation by storm, catching the eye of Team Canada’s Olympic team. With the regular season winding down and playoffs on the horizon, she helped women’s hockey to a weekend split. Men’s basketball won, and women’s basketball lost despite 20 points from Kari Goodchild. -TO

February 9

Back: Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey had a record of 54-0-5 when leading after two periods until Feb. 5, when the historic streak came to an end following a 3-2 overtime loss to Union College. Before the loss to No. 11 Union, Quinnipiac had the longest streak in NCAA Div. 1 hockey. -JA

February 16

Back: Students held these signs as Quinnipiac and Yale met in the “War for Whitney Ave.” Yale defeated the Bobcats, 6-1. -TO

February 23

Back: Quinnipiac men’s basketball team had a 68-67 win over in-state opponent, Central Connecticut. Thanks to a career-high 17 points from guard Dave Johnson, Quinnipiac moved past Central Connecticut in the NEC standings and took second place. The victory ultimately guaranteed the Bobcats two home games in the NEC tournament rather than one. -JA

March 2

Back: The men’s basketball team wrapped up the regular season with a 71-60 victory against Fairleigh Dickinson and started preparing for the playoffs. Those playoffs would be the last time Justin Rutty and Deontay Twyman suited up for the Bobcats. -TO

March 9

Back: Bobcat fans were stunned as Robert Morris crushed any dreams of the men’s basketball team making it to the the big dance for the second straight year. This year, Quinnipaic lost to Robert Morris in the NEC semifinals, 64-62, as Colonial guard Velton Jones sunk a floater over two defenders with six seconds left for the game-winning basket.

Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey head coach Rand Pecknold made a rare decision to start two different goalies in their first two games of the ECAC tournament against Brown. Dan Clarke shut out the Bears in the opener with 22 saves while Eric Hartzell matched his shutout with 26 saves to win the series and advance to the quarterfinals. The Bobcats were the second team ever to shut out its opponent in an ECAC tournament series. -JA

March 30

Back: With the spring sports schedule getting underway, the Chronicle released its Spring All-Fantasy team featuring Heather Schwartzburg, Marissa Caroleo and Jack Oppenheimer. The baseball team was off to its best start since 2004, led by its strong pitching. -TO

April 6

Back: Quinnipiac women’s tennis freshman Juliet LaBarthe quietly made a name for herself on the hardcourts. As of April 5, LaBarthe had won seven NEC rookie of the week awards which broke the record previously held by teammate Rachel Cantor. Her record also stood at 34-10, which was just six wins shy of the team’s freshman record. The women’s lacrosse team continued its hot streak with two wins to extend its win streak to six games. The team also defeated Sacred Heart, which had defeated Quinnipiac in the NEC finals the last three seasons. -JA

April 13

Back: The baseball team had its highlight of the season when Kyle Birdsall threw the first no-hitter in Quinnipiac history. Other than the no-hitter, the Bobcats had a down weekend. The Bobcats lost three of four to Monmouth and fell out of first place in the NEC. -TO

April 20

Back: After falling short in the previous two seasons, the Quinnipiac women’s tennis team reigned NEC Champion. The championship marked the sixth time in the last eight seasons that the team had taken home the trophy. Unfortunately, the men’s team could not repeat as champions and were dethroned by Sacred Heart in the finals.

Mariano Rivera Jr. committed to Quinnipiac in the fall of 2011. The son of future New York Yankees Hall of Famer hoped to play baseball in the spring and had talked to head baseball coach Dan Gooley upon visiting campus. -JA

April 27

Back: The softball team found its power in Jordan Paolucci. The freshman stepped in and became a key cog in the middle of the Bobcats’ lineup. She led the team with 10 home runs on April 27. The women’s lacrosse team clinched the No.1 seed in the NEC tournament for the first time in team history. The 13-6 win over Monmouth gave the Bobcats home-field throughout the tournament. -TO

May 4

Back: After losing in the conference finals to Sacred Heart the previous three seasons, the women’s lacrosse team found out that the fourth time was the charm. The Bobcats defeated Mount St. Mary’s, 15-3, to win their first NEC Championship. The men’s lacrosse team defeated Wagner, 16-10, in its final regular season game to win a share of the NEC regular season title. Due to head-to-head results, Quinnipiac was awarded a No. 2 seed for the NEC tournament. -JA

Summer 2011

Back: The TD Bank Sports Center is home to Quinnipiac men’s and women’s hockey and basketball. It plays host to some of the top teams from the area. It also serves as a great recruiting tool to help make the teams that play there even better. The highlight of any season at the arena is the men’s hockey game against Yale. -TO

August 31

Back: While Irene pushed games back, the men’s soccer team had already played and saw the return of Philip Suprise. Suprise came back from three surgeries in the past year and assisted on a goal in the team’s season opener. Like schools around the country, the “Pay for Play” debate came to Quinnipiac. Some athletes said they should be paid while Jack McDonald, director of athletics and recreation, said no. -TO

November 2

Back: The women’s cross country team continued its NEC dominance with its seventh straight NEC title. The top seven Bobcats to finish were among the top 25 overall which helped secure the championship.

Field hockey captain Megan McCreedy set the program record for career assists with 26. McCreedy also broke the single season record with her 14th tally of the year. Men’s ice hockey started the season hot with a 6-2 record thanks to a more mature roster. Last year’s roster featured 18 freshmen and sophomores. -JA

November 9

Back: Basketball season was set to begin with the Connecticut 6 Tournament at Mohegan Sun. But November also meant the end of soccer season and the end of Will Cavallo’s career. Cavallo started as a walk-on and worked his way to being to a key member of the 2011 men’s soccer team. -TO

November 16

Back: If you are a fan of Quinnipiac fantasy sports then you would want to know the top four players for the winter season. Kelly Babstock led the Bobcats, followed by James Johnson, Victoria Vigilanti and Jeremy Langlois.

Following a loss to Fairfield in the Connecticut 6 Basketball tournament, Tom Moore showed patience and love for this year’s team. The team played without senior guard and leader James Johnson. Moore said the team needed time and would come around as new players adapted to his playing style and that of other players. -JA

December 7

Back: The Quinnipiac women’s basketball team started the season on fire, but its five-game winning streak came to an end at the hands of Sacred Heart. But the team wasn’t the only one making noise early in the winter sports season. Matthew Peca made an immediate impact with the men’s hockey. The freshman, drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning, had a 10-game point streak early in the season, just one short of the Quinnipiac freshman record. -TO

September 7

Back: Quinnipiac field hockey players Christa Romano and Kimberly Cunniff were selected to the USA Field Hockey’s high performance team. The field hockey team also defeated Yale, 4-2, in penalty strokes after a 2-2 tie following two overtimes. Bobcat goaltender Nicole Lewis was key in the victory, making big saves all day, including a breakaway stop in the second overtime. Lewis recorded a career-high 19 saves, 10 of which came in the overtime periods. -JA

September 14

Back: This past season was most likely the last season that Matt Rothbart, Durval Pereira, and Kyle Moscovics would play together on the soccer field. But none of them made the Chronicle’s Fall All-Fantasy Team. Soccer players Furtuna Velaj and Philip Suprise topped the list. The fall sports season also saw the debut of women’s rugby at Quinnipiac, led by head coach Becky Carlson. -TO

September 21

Back: The Quinnipiac women’s rugby head coach led her team to take on Eastern Illinois in the first ever NCAA Division I women’s rugby matchup. Although the team was defeated 24-0, it was a historic moment for the coaches, players and game of rugby.

Mariano Rivera Jr. reacted to his father breaking the all-time saves record in the MLB. Rivera Jr. said his father was the best, and now the numbers back it up, as he is at the top of the list. -JA

September 28

Back: The women’s rugby team earned its first ever victory over SUNY New Paltz. The game also marked the first points scored by the rugby team. The men’s soccer season saw the return of Graciano Brito to Quinnipiac’s pitch. Brito, the program’s all-time leading scorer, returned as an assistant coach. Brito helped coach the Bobcats to their second straight win, with Will Cavallo scoring the game-winner. -TO

October 5

Back: The Quinnipiac women’s rugby team, in its first year as an NCAA Division I program, win its first ever home game when the team defeated Marist 23-7. The team also created its first ever win streak after defeating SUNY-New Paltz, 15-5, the week before. After six years of fighting for school recognition, the New Blue rugby team still fought to be considered a club team. Quinnipiac, which does not acknowledge club teams, said that this may soon change.

Freshman Marcos Spanos was stripped of his NCAA men’s soccer eligibility after playing in one professional game for Olympiakos Nicosia. Spanos, who is from Cyprus, came to Quinnipiac for a better education and to avoid military conflict and service in his native country. -JA

October 12

Back: Furtuna Velaj had a standout career. But with her career at Quinnipiac done, she faced the possibility of playing professionally, which is something that she wants to do. While Velaj was looking into her personal future, field hockey and men’s soccer were getting ready to face the challenges of conference play. -TO Special Section: This special 8-page section previewed the four winter sports: men’s and women’s hockey and basketball. The cover featured point guard Dave Johnson.

October 19

Back: Former men’s ice hockey star Reid Cashman returned to the team as an assistant coach. Cashman was the only Quinnipiac hockey player to be named an All-American, which he did three times. He also ranked No. 1 in assists at Quinnipiac with 125 assists. Women’s rugby coach Becky Carlson and Eastern Illinois coach Frank Graziano were rivals when they faced each other for the second ever NCAA women’s rugby game. However, the two are great friends off the field and have been trying to gain publicity for the sport for years. Carlson played for Graziano at Eastern Illinois and was also a part of his coaching staff once she graduated. -JA

October 26

Back: New Blue rugby and Quinnipiac women’s rugby were going in opposite directions. Quinnipiac women’s rugby needed a try late in the game to earn a tie with Stony Brook. New Blue, on the other hand, was shut out by Eastern Connecticut as they tried to make a push for the playoffs. The end of October meant that the basketball season was around the corner, which meant the Bobcats were getting ready to see who would replace Justin Rutty. -TO