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Contact: Scott C. Miller
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March 26, 2007
NU Athletics: March 2007 Sports Recap
Men's Hockey
The Cadets won their 9th straight ECAC East regular season, earning the right to host the final four. Norwich met Babson in the opening semi-final match and right off the bat, the Cadets commenced the scoring as Rick Cleaver found the back of the net off the opening face off. However, the Beavers scored four unanswered goals for a 4-1 victory. Babson won the ECAC title with a 5-3 win over New England College the following day.
Norwich received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, marking a return to the tournament for the second straight year. The Cadets met Oswego State in New York, a rematch of the 2003 NCAA title game won by Norwich at Kreitzberg Arena. The Lakers scored a pair of power-play goals early on and moved on with a 3-0 win. Oswego eventually won the NCAA title with a 4-3 overtime win over Middlebury in the championship game in Superior, WI.
Rick Cleaver was named 1st Team All-America by the American Hockey Coaches Association after leading the Cadets in goals and points with 24 and 44, respectively.
Four Cadets were named to the ECAC East All-Academic team, Jim Koehler, Raphael Robitaille, CJ Viso, and Justin Wissman. Each player had a grade-point average of at least 3.0 and competed in at least half of Norwich's games during the season.
Women's Hockey
The Cadets closed out the season at the ACHA Tournament held at UMass-Amherst. In the opening game, Norwich met regular-season and post-season foe Rhode Island and again, the Rams emerged as the victor, 3-2. In the second game, NU got by Western Michigan, 6-4. That set up a meeting with top-seed Robert Morris and RMU took the win, 3-1, giving the Cadets an 18-8-1 record for their final year as a club team.
Four players earned All-ECWHL honors. Sophie Leclerc was named to the 1st Team, while Annie DiVito made the 2nd Team. Amanda Gage and Becky Scully were named Honorable Mention.
Women's Basketball
The Cadets made a return to the NCAA Tournament, meeting Fitchburg State in a four-team sub-regional at Southern Maine. The Falcons were making their first appearance in The Big Dance and took control with a 13-2 run in the first half and went on to the victory, 79-60. Norwich finished the 2006-07 campaign with a 24-4 record.
Men's Tennis
The Cadets got off to a 2-0 start in 2007 with an 8-1 home win over Castleton State at home, and a 5-4 victory at Albertus Magnus.
Men's Lacrosse
The Cadets opened the season with an 8-6 win at Emerson, which equaled NU's win total for 2006. In the Pilgrim League opener at Lasell, the Lasers posted a 19-2 win. Prior to the regular season, Norwich practiced and played a few exhibition games in Cocoa Beach, FL. It was the Cadets first venture to the Sunshine State since 2003.
Rugby
The Men's & Women's Rugby opened the spring season at Providence College. The women won 10-5, while the men were defeated, 22-19.
Softball
The Cadets spent spring break in Fort Pierce, Florida, playing four doubleheaders. Here are the results:
3/12 vs. Penn State-Beaver W, 14-3; W, 13-8
3/13 vs. Rutgers-Camden L, 0-13; L, 0-12
3/15 vs. Northwestern College W, 10-8; L, 8-9
3/16 vs. Hilbert College W, 7-0; L, 2-10
Baseball
After a hiatus in 2006, the Cadets returned to the Sunshine State for a week of games in Cocoa Beach, FL. Here are the results:
3/11 vs. Brandeis L, 0-27
3/12 vs. Washington College L, 8-9
3/13 vs. Plattsburgh State (DH) L, 0-19; L, 4-16
3/14 vs. Mount St. Mary L, 6-20
3/14 vs. Gordon College l, 9-14
3/16 vs. Plattsburgh State L, 3-5
3/16 vs. Medaille College W, 11-9
