Senior Rich Peters and senior Monica Adler represented the Boston University track team at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field National Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., this past weekend. Peters finished in fourth place in the men’s mile, running 4:03.49.
The finish served as Peters’ second top-10 placing in the event. In 2012, the England native ran 4:01.78 in a runner-up effort. Junior Anthony Rotich of the University of Texas-El Paso won this year’s race in 4:02.54. Peters also competed in the 3,000m, but was unable to complete the race.
Adler had an impressive showing of her own, running 4:40.87 to finish eighth in the women’s mile. Her performance was just off of her personal-best 4:36.35, which was set March 2 at the BU Last Chance meet.
For their efforts, the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association recognized Peters and Adler as First Team All-Americans on Monday. The honor was Peters’ fifth in his BU career and Adler’s first.
Wrestling competes at UPenn
The Boston University wrestling team finished tenth at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships at the University of Pennsylvania Sunday. Thanks to their performances, senior Nestor Taffur (157), junior Tyler Scotton (141), and junior Mitchell Wightman (165) qualified for this weekend’s NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City. BU coach Carl Adams was awarded EIWA Coach of the Year and the team was honored with the conference’s Sportsmanship Award.
Taffur won his weight division for the second consecutive year, sweeping the bracket and defeating Marcus Scheidel of Columbia University 8-2 in the Championship match.
In his 141-pound division, Scotton reached the semifinal match, losing to Todd Preston of Harvard University, 5-0. In the third-place match, Scotton fell to Franklin and Marshall University’s Rich Durso, 3-0. Scotton had previously defeated Durso earlier in the weekend in a 4-3 sudden victory.
Wightman also claimed a spot in the NCAA Championships in the 165-pound division by virtue of his fifth-place finish.
Tennis takes on Miami
Over the Spring Break, the Boston University men’s and women’s tennis teams traveled to Florida.
The men took on the University of Miami Saturday in Coral Gables, Fla. The Terriers (5-8) fell to their opponent, 6-1. Sophomore Mario Sandoval provided the team’s only victory in singles, defeating William Abanese in three sets 3-6, 6-3 and 10-2. Senior Chanon Varapongsittikul narrowly fell to Hurricanes (10-4) senior Omar Aly.
In doubles, the team of Varapongsittikul and senior Jesse Frieder lost 8-4 to the duo of Aly and Wilfredo Gonzalez. Sandoval and sophomore Stefan Lemire were defeated by senior Diego Soto and junior Henrique Tsukamoto by the same score. To cap off the day of competition, freshman Jay Leelavanich and freshman Jake De Vries fell to Abanese and freshman Daniel Shebshayevich 6-3.
In nearby Miami, the women’s team went 2-3, defeating Middle Tennessee State University and Florida International University and falling to Troy University.
To kick off the week, the Terriers (7-6) narrowly defeated the Blue Raiders (7-5) by a score of 4-3 on March 10. Sophomore Johanna Hyoty, sophomore Lauren Davis and sophomore Kim McCallum each recorded singles victories in straight sets to kick off the action. The duos of Hyoty and senior Leonie-Charlotte Athanasiadis and McCallum and sophomore Madison Craft downed their doubles opponents to seal the Terrier victory.
Three days later against the Trojans (7-6), BU did not fare as well, losing 4-3. McCallum, freshman Barbara Rodriguez and junior Sami Lieb won in singles, and Hoty and Athanasiadis provided the Terriers’ only doubles victory.
BU ended the trip on a positive note, posting a convincing 5-2 victory at FIU (5-4). McCallum won her third singles match of the trip, and Lieb, Hyoty and Davis also recorded singles wins. Once again, Hyoty and Athanasiadis defeated their doubles opponents. Rodriquez and Davis claimed their first doubles’ win of the trip, edging out Valentina Briceno and Carlotta Orlando, 8-7 (7-4).
Jackie is a sports reporter for The Daily Free Press and has previously served as Managing Editor and Associate Sports Editor of the FreeP. At this moment, she's probably watching Shark Tank and thinking of ways to work, "and for that reason, I'm out," into casual conversations. Please send all inquiries in the form of a box combo from Cane's with no coleslaw and extra fries or follow her on Twitter at @jackie_bam
