Track and Field
Both Boston College men’s and women’s track and field entered the finale of their indoor seasons on Saturday, competing at the ACC Indoor Track & Field Championship in Clemson, S.C. Both squads finished last in the final standings, with the men scoring a mere four and the women scoring seven points. Virginia Tech ran away with the title on the men’s side, racking up 136 points, and Florida State came home with the women’s championship.
Sean Sullivan placed ninth in the men’s mile final, falling back in the field in the final stages of the race after leading for the first 1200 meters. Lauren White headlined the women’s results with a seventh place finish in the 3000 meter run. The men’s 4×400 relay team placed eighth, while the women’s group finished 10th.
Swimming and Diving
After BC women’s swimming and diving wrapped up its season last weekend with a last-place finish at the ACC Championships, the men fared no better in the conclusion of their season this weekend, also turning in a last-place finish at the conference championship meet. Louisville won the title with 1181 points, and NC State came in a close second with 1179. The slim gap between the two teams was the closest margin of victory in ACC history.
Despite the low finish, Eagles swimmers broke a number of school records. Sam Roche led off the 400 freestyle relay with a blazing time of 43.94 seconds, breaking the BC 100 free record by half a second. The trio of other Eagles swimmers in the relay were also strong, and the group finished in a record-breaking time of 2:57.79. Roche also set school bests in the 100 and 50 backstroke, while Zach Szmania set BC records in the 1000 and 1650 free.
Fencing
Duke claimed the conference title in both the men’s and women’s division at the ACC Fencing Championships, with North Carolina coming in second and BC placing third in both competitions. There are only four ACC schools with fencing programs, and Notre Dame was unable to make the trip to Chapel Hill, as the Irish are currently under COVID-19 protocols. Duke cleaned up in the women’s team event, defeating BC 20-7 and North Carolina 16-11. The men’s side was closer, as all three teams went 1-1 in the round robin and entered into a three-team fence-off tiebreaker. Duke defeated BC in the first round of the playoffs and then felled the top-seeded Tar Heels in the final to secure the victory.
Despite the disappointing results in the team events, the Eagles did have some success in the individual competitions. Ten Eagles secured top-six finishes, and Rachel Liu and Gillian Lawlor both medaled in sabre, while Will Smith earned silver in epee.
Women’s Tennis
Ranked No. 15 nationally, the Cavaliers (6-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast) were poised to be a tough test for the Eagles (3-3, 2-3) and more than played up to their billing, defeating BC 7-0. Laura Lopez was the only BC player to win a set but fell to Vivian Glozman 6-3, 4-6, 0-1. Emma Navarro defeated Yufei Long at first singles 6-3, 6-4.
The Eagles fared better on Sunday with a 5-2 win against Virginia Tech (2-6, 0-3). Long, Natashi Irani, and Marice Aguiar all won in straight sets for BC, and the Eagles also won two out of the three doubles matches to earn the point. Long defeated Tamara Barad Itzhaki 6-3, 6-4.
Men’s Tennis
With the women’s squad hosting home games at Weymouth Club, the men went on the road for a pair of games against Louisville and Notre Dame. While the Cardinals (5-4, 1-3 ACC) trounced BC (0-4) by a final score of 6-1, the Eagles won their first match of the season as Shreekar Eedara defeated Josh Howard-Tripp 1-6, 6-2, 13-11. The victory gave freshman Eedara the first win of his college career. Sean Mullins at BC’s first singles was the only other Eagle to take his match to three sets, falling 6-4, 2-6, 5-10 to Tin Chen. Chen is ranked No. 71 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles rankings.
The Irish (7-6, 2-2) proved a similarly daunting foe, sweeping the Eagles 7-0. Eedara continued his strong play and was the only Eagle to take his match to three sets, falling 3-6, 6-4, 4-10 to Tristan McCormick. Eedara moved up to the No. 3 spot for BC after playing the fourth court for the first three matches of the season. No other Eagle won more than three games in any of their sets.
Featured Graphic by Emma Healy / Heights Editor
