Sports

Women’s Lacrosse 

Once again, a season of great promise ended in heartbreak for the women’s lacrosse team. For the third consecutive year, the Eagles stormed through the regular season and postseason, only to lose in the NCAA championship game, this time falling to Maryland 12–10.

The narrow loss over Memorial Day weekend brought to a close not just the team’s season, but also the magnificent collegiate careers of Sam Apuzzo and Kenzie Kent. The dynamic attackers have been instrumental in Boston College’s recent run of lacrosse brilliance, which has included back-to-back undefeated regular seasons.

Apuzzo, from West Babylon, New York, was the 2018 winner of the Terwaaraton Award, which recognizes the best female and male college lacrosse players in the nation. This year, she led the nation in goals scored and tallied 124 points (94 goals and 30 assists). She leaves as Boston College’s all-time leader in goals (278) and points (390).

Kent, from Norwell, Massachusetts, was named the 2017 NCAA championship game’s Most Outstanding Player, and was the Eagles’ premier playmaker this year, recording 75 assists to go with her 52 goals. In her career, she scored 124 goals and had 131 assists—particularly impressive given that, in her first three seasons, she played a total of just thirty games because she would join the team in midseason following the conclusion of the women’s ice hockey season. On the ice, Kent, who played left wing, had a total of 40 goals and 98 assists, and helped the team reach three Final Fours. Kent won the 2017 Mary Garber Award, which honors the top female athlete in the ACC, and the Boston Globe named her the year’s best college athlete. Apuzzo, Kent, and their teammates leave a powerful legacy. “Boston College wasn’t a lacrosse school four years ago,” said coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein. “Now it is. Because of them, little girls want to play at BC and the top players in the world want to play at BC.”

Fencing—In a clean sweep for the Eagles, the team went undefeated in the eleven-member Northeast Fencing Conference and claimed the men’s, women’s, and combined titles.

Sailing—For the second consecutive year, Boston College won the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association Match Racing National Championship—the sailing team’s twentieth national title. The boat was crewed by seniors Wade Waddell (skipper), Tara Ferraris, and Peter Lynn and freshman Jack DeNatale.

Football—The Eagles scored the only touchdown in December’s First Responder Bowl against Boise State, but it was for naught. Lightning caused a suspension of play at 9 minutes and 53 seconds of the first quarter, and the game was ultimately ruled a no contest. Both teams left with bragging rights to the first bowl game ever canceled because of weather.

Women’s Tennis—After a 16–10 regular season that included the program’s first win against a top-10 team (Syracuse), the Eagles earned their first NCAA tournament berth in twenty-two years.

Off the Field—Boston College tied for third (with Stanford) in the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate (APR) rankings, with twelve teams placing in the top 10 percent academically for their sport. Boston College has been among the national leaders every year that the APR Recognition Award has been presented. Meanwhile, three student-athletes received ACC Weaver-James-Corrigan 2019 Postgraduate Scholarships: Zach Allen ’19 (football); Asiya Dair ’19 (tennis); and Isabelle Kennedy ’18 (track and field). ◽