WOMEN’S TENNIS
Senior Amy Schmidt won in straight sets against rival Sonya Reynolds of Swarthmore, but the Garnet swept the doubles en route to a 7-2 win. (correction made 4/12)

The result extended Swarthmore’s Centennial Conference winning streak to 23 and snapped the Mules’ homecourt run at 33 matches. The Garnet came in ranked 25th in Division III.

Muhlenberg (6-5, 6-1) also had its CC winning streak snapped at 14 but remains in the hunt for the CC championship, as the title will be determined by a four-team playoff for the first time this season.

The featured match was at No. 1 singles, where Schmidt, the defending CC player of the year, took on Reynolds, the defending CC singles champion. The two split two matches last year, with Reynolds winning in the final of the CC Tournament, and both went on to earn All-America honors. Schmidt entered the match ranked third in the Atlantic South Region, while Reynolds was fifth.

Schmidt broke serve up 5-4 to capture the back-and-forth first set. Reynolds broke Schmidt in her first two service games of the second set to go up 3-1, but Schmidt regrouped to win the final five games for a 6-4, 6-3 victory. Reynolds’ only other loss this spring is a 6-4, 6-0 setback to the top-ranked player in the region; Schmidt is now 9-0.

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MEN’S GOLF
Sophomore Garrett Carpenter tied for second with a three-over-par 74 at the NYU Spring Invitational, held at Sunningdale Country Club in Scarsdale, N.Y.

The Mules were seventh out of eight schools that included three from Division I, four from Division III and one community college.

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WOMEN’S LACROSSE
Ursinus, ranked 20th in Division III, overcame a 6-2 second-half deficit and went on to defeat Muhlenberg, 11-10.

The Mules (8-4, 3-4), looking to knock off the Bears (8-4, 3-3) for the first time ever, appeared to be in good shape when they took a 5-2 lead into the halftime break. Freshman Ruth Morrongiello controlled the opening draw of the second half and scored with just 27 seconds elapsed, giving Muhlenberg a four-goal cushion.

The Bears clawed back, however, and a 6-1 run gave them their first lead, 9-8, with just under 10 minutes to play. Muhlenberg got goals from senior Shannon Donohue and freshman Sara Hiller 21 seconds apart to go back on top, 10-9, but Ursinus responded with two goals in a 30-second span to reclaim the lead with 7:14 left.

Muhlenberg won the ensuing draw control and took two shots the rest of the game, but one was saved and the other went wide.

Donohue scored a game-high five points on three goals and two assists, and Morrongiello also netted three goals.

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BASEBALL
Muhlenberg, playing its fourth game in three days, had its four-game winning streak snapped with an 8-6 loss at Ursinus.

The Mules (14-10, 7-2) were up 4-1 after they batted in the fourth, but the Bears (12-11, 6-3) scored two in the fourth and four in the sixth to take a 7-4 lead. Sophomore Joseph Carlo hit a two-run homer in the seventh to trim the margin to 7-6, but that was the last Muhlenberg hit.

Junior A.J. Bettini had a two-run single for the Mules.

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With its second doubleheader sweep in three days, Muhlenberg (12-14, 5-3) jumped over Swarthmore, Washington and Gettysburg, each of which was swept today, into third place in the Centennial Conference standings.

In the nightcap, Kestenbaum was up against the top run-scoring (6.08 runs

The third Mule to throw a shutout this season, Kestenbaum allowed only two runners past first base. The Garnet hit just two balls out of the infield.

per game) and top hitting (.334) team in the CC. However, Swarthmore (16-11, 3-3) was held hitless until one out in the sixth inning, when a bad hop broke up the no-hit bid.

Muhlenberg was not faring much better against the Garnet pitcher, managing just one baserunner over the first four innings. Freshman RiRi Ferrigno got the offense going with a double – her fourth of the twinbill – to start the fifth inning. With one out, sophomore Jennifer Rosenthal smacked a single to right field. Ferrigno danced by the Garnet catcher to avoid the tag and scored the first run of the game.

The Mules picked up three two-out insurance runs in the sixth to take a 4-0 lead. Senior Missy DeFrain and junior Tina Roth each had an RBI hit, and a third run scored on an error.

“I was throwing my screwball for strikes,” said Kestenbaum, who earned her first career victory. “They struggled to get their bat on it, and when they did, they just fouled it off. I paid attention during the first game to see where their hitters liked the ball and used that to my advantage.”

The first game featured a pair of hurlers who each had a shutout when these teams met last year. However, the game came down to hitting and fielding, as a pair of dropped fly balls plated the winning run for Muhlenberg.

Sophomore Kailyn Bloom pinch-hit to lead off the eighth and reached first when the leftfielder dropped a fly ball. Senior Lindsay Ruhling pinch-ran, moved to second on a sacrifice, and scored with two outs when the centerfielder, who an inning earlier sent the game to extra innings with a diving catch, dropped a fly ball.

Muhlenberg staked a 2-0 lead after Ferrigno stroked two-out RBI doubles in the third and fifth innings. Swarthmore’s streak of 12 scoreless innings against junior Nicole Washburn ended as it scored three unearned runs with two outs to take a 3-2 lead in the sixth. Washburn did not allow a baserunner over the last two innings and lowered her conference-leading ERA to 1.44.

The Mules tied it in the bottom of the seventh. DeFrain earned a one-out walk after gaining new life when the Garnet misplayed a foul ball. Sophomore Katie Vecchione pinch-ran and moved to third on Ferrigno’s third double of the game. Roth then stroked a single to left field to bring home the tying run.

Ferrigno became just the second Mule, and the first since 1994, to hit three doubles in a game. She reached base in six of her seven at-bats on the day, and threw out the only Garnet runner who attempted to steal.

“I’ve not been hitting lately, so I’ve been working on a lot of my mechanics,” said the first-year catcher. “I just tried to get off a good swing whenever [the pitch] was close. Their infield was very good, so I wanted to get the ball by them.”

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