The past Spring quarter was a good quarter for Chicago athletics. Here is a summary of the endeavors of the U of C’s Maroons in recent months — a wrap-up if you will.
The women’s tennis team started strong, winning six of their first eight. However, starting with their March 4th Kenyon match, they faltered, winning only once more to finish 7-7. 10. The women’s team, led by Joo Lee and Julie Calhoun, finished fourth at the UAA championship. Men’s tennis finished a lackluster fifth. In June, Natalie Butler of Bryn Mawr took over for the venerable Coach Bill Simms — a palpable loss — with his departure the U of C loses a figure compared by many to Bill Cosby for his humor and leadership.
Men’s track and field ended the season with a strong second place showing at the UAA championships while women’s track and field came in fifth place at the same event.
Notable performances include Patrick Sullivan’s tenth place finish in the 1500 meter run at the NCAA all-Division III competition and Tom Haxton taking the Rookie of the Year prize at the UAA for his first place finishes in the five and ten thousand meter runs. The Maroon track and field squad will also have a new coach in the fall: Chris Hall is taking over for Jim Spivey.
Maroons’ softball finished with an impressive 26-12 record, with an 8-2 record at home. To complement this strong showing, two players, junior pitcher, Kelly Ostler, and sophomore shortstop, Christina Metildi, were picked for the National NCAA Division III team; they were joined by senior catcher Erin Slone on the Great Lakes Regional team.
The strongest Maroon team performance was put in by the baseball team, who chalked up 26 wins and only eight losses for the year.
Because the team plays in a conference that lacks an automatic playoff berth, playoff contention is nearly impossible — the boys gave it their best, but it wasn’t enough.
Nonetheless, they finished an unblemished 8-0 at home, giving the team a 45-17 home record over the past 6 seasons. Right handed pitcher Wayne Headly was the team’s standout player, he was named to the NCAA Division III All-Central Region first team after completing the season with a 10-0 record, a 2.48 ERA, and, in 72.2 innings pitched, only 57 hits against a whopping 52 K’s.
