After a successful spring season, Brown athletics placed 32 players on the All-Ivy League Squads. Led by the baseball team's Matt Kutler '05, who won Ivy League Player of the Year by a unanimous vote, eight Brown athletes earned First Team honors, 17 earned Second Team and seven earned Honorable Mention.
Kutler, who also received the University's Fritz Pollard Award for best male varsity athlete of the year at the varsity sports banquet May 5, garnered his third All-Ivy First Team selection. It was a memorable season for Kutler, who broke both the Brown and Ivy League career hits records with 260 after missing all of last season due to a thumb injury. He also led the Ivies in eight different batting categories, finishing ninth nationally with a .427 batting average.
"It is very nice to have (been honored), especially since I started the year off slow and my confidence was down a bit," Kutler said. "Right around spring break I sort of found my swing again and it went from there. It's really nice coming off an injury where I did not know whether or not I'd play again to have played like I did."
Kutler went on an offensive tear, notching a 16-game hitting streak and 22 multi-hit games, helping the Bears to their best Ivy record ever at 14-6 (23-19 overall).
Baseball
Second baseman Paul Christian '06 made the First Team for second year in a row. A deadly hitter at the plate, Christian tied Kutler for the team lead in runs scored, with 43, and home runs, with eight.
"I didn't know what to expect (for the All-Ivy selections)," Christian said. "It really depends on how the other players in the league that play your position perform. I knew I had a shot, but I hadn't really followed how the other second basemen had played down the stretch."
Christian also led the team in walks and doubles. He is now fourth all-time at Brown with 24 career home runs.
In addition, outfielder James Lowe '05, pitcher Jeff Dietz '08 and pitcher/infielder Bryan Tews '07 were all named to the Second Team. Lowe received the Cliff Stevenson Award for the Brown male varsity athlete who best exemplifies enthusiasm, spirit and devotion to the University and surrounding community at the Brown awards banquet. He finished his career seventh all-time in RBIs with 122. Lowe also led the team in stolen bases with nine.
Dietz, meanwhile, ended the season strong, giving up just two earned runs in his last two starts, leading the team with a 3.60 ERA and finishing second in league play with a 2.75 ERA. He led the team with a 4-0 record.
Tews had a successful season both at the plate and on the mound, batting .322 with 17 RBIs and 42 hits in just 27 games. He led the team with 10 starts, two complete games and 46 strikeouts on the hill, posting a 2-3 record and a 5.55 ERA.
The final member of the team to be honored was catcher Devin Thomas '07, who earned his second consecutive Honorable Mention after hitting .310 in conference play.
Tennis
In tennis, co-captain Adil Shamasdin '05 made the First Team unanimously. Along with co-captain and Second Team All-Ivy selection Nick Goldberg '05, Shamasdin led the Bears to a perfect 7-0 Ivy record (23-5), a No. 40 ranking nationally and a first-round NCAA tournament match against Ohio State on May 14. Shamasdin, who is ranked 86th nationally, also made Second Team All-Ivy in doubles with Goldberg.
Eric Thomas '07 was also named to the Second Team for singles after going a perfect 7-0 at third singles.
Men's track
The men's track and field team left New York with a sixth-place finish at the Heptagonal Championships, but it placed three members on the First Team and two on the Second Team.
Highlighting the Bears' performance in the Big Apple was co-captain Pat Tarpy '05, who earned an exciting victory in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 30:37.39 in which he out-leaned the second-place finisher at the line. It was the first time Tarpy had competed in that event. He was named the team's MVP at its banquet on Wednesday.
Ray Bobrownicki '06 also had a great weekend, continuing to dominate the high jump, winning the event for the fourth time at Heptagonals and the second time outdoors. He cleared 6 feet, 10 3/4 inches to take the victory for Brown.
The final member of the squad to make First Team was co-captain Jake Golenor '06, who became the first Brown athlete to ever win the individual discus title at Heps, taking the top spot with a distance of 166-9.
"It felt good to be able to pull through for the team. (The Heps individual win) was something I'd been focused on all season," Golenor said.
Teammate Kent Walls '06 finished just behind Golenor to earn Second Team honors with a personal-best throw of 164-4. Paul Rosiak '07 also secured Second Team status with a javelin throw of 206 feet.
All of the men except Walls will be competing at the NCAA Regionals. Tarpy qualified for the NCAA Regionals in the 1,500- and 5,000-meter runs earlier in the year. He will compete in the 5,000-meters, his best event this season. Bobrownicki, Golenor and Rosiak will compete in the same events they competed in at Heps.
Women's track
After finishing third overall at the Heptagonal Championships in New York City, the women's track team placed two athletes on the First Team and four on the Second Team.
Jumper Ashley Wall '05 was named First Team in the high jump after winning that event with a mark of 5 feet, 7 3/4 inches.
"It was perfect timing for it to happen at the end of four years of hard work," Wall said. "I appreciate it more."
She also garnered Second Team honors for finishing as the runner-up in the long jump with a distance of 18-8 1/2.
She was named the team's MVP at its banquet on Wednesday.
Brittany Grovey '06, meanwhile, captured the outdoor title in the triple jump for the second year in a row, breaking the school record with a mark of 41-8 3/4. She will return next year as a co-captain for the Bears.
Also joining Grovey on the Second Team are Laura Dudek '07, Erin Meschter '06 and Fara Kitton '05. Dudek finished second in the javelin with a throw of 134-4. Meschter set a personal-best in the high jump, finishing just behind Wall with a height of 5-7. Kitton finished second in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.25 seconds.
Men's lacrosse
Although neither the men's and women's lacrosse teams nor the softball team had any First Team selections, they did have 14 selections on the postseason teams.
After being ranked in the top 20 for most of the season, the men's lacrosse team narrowly missed an NCAA berth for the second year in a row, finishing 6-6 overall and 2-4 in the Ivy League.
Attackman and co-captain Chazz Woodson '05 and defenseman Bobby Shields '07 both earned Second Team honors. Woodson finished the season second on the team in points with 28 and tied for second in goals with 19.
Shields scooped up 18 grounds balls for a unit that ranked second in penalty-killing percentage and caused turnovers per game. Shields also notched his first career goal this season.
Midfielders Kyle Wailes '06, Chris Mucciolo '05 and Britton Derkac '05 and goalie Nick Gentilesco '06 were all named Honorable Mention.
Softball
After a 6-8 Ivy record and fifth-place finish, the softball team placed four members on the Second Team and also picked up one Honorable Mention.
Pitcher Uchenna Omokaro '05 earned her second All-Ivy honor less than a week after receiving the Marjorie Brown Smith Award, given to the University's female athlete of the year. Omokaro finished the season with a 9-6 record and a 1.67 ERA. She was also named Brown's Rhode Island Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Distinguished Female Athlete of the Year.
Joining Omokaro on the Second Team are catcher Jaimie Wirkowski '06, first baseman Courtney Jenkins '07 and outfielder LaQuisha Pierre-Louis '08. Wirkowski finished second on the Bears in hits with 25 and third in RBIs with 10. Jenkins, meanwhile, was Bruno's deadliest hitter, leading the team with a .320 batting average, 32 hits and 20 RBIs. Her slugging average of .530 was second in the Ancient Eight. Pierre-Louis wrapped up her rookie season with a .344 batting average in conference play, eighth in the league.
Also garnering postseason honors for the team was Rachel Fleitell '06, who received Honorable Mention after leading the Bears and placing ninth in the League with a .389 on base percentage and scoring a team-high 20 runs.
Women's lacrosse
The women's lacrosse team had a rockier season than the men, finishing tied for sixth in the League at 1-6 (4-11 overall). Nevertheless, the Bears placed co-captains Kate Staley '06 and Julia Southard '05 on the Second Team. Amie Biros '07 was the team's final postseason award recipient, netting Honorable Mention.
Staley was the team's second leading scorer this season with 34 points, leaving her just three shy of 100 for her career.
Southard finished second in the league in saves with 137 and was also the only Ivy goalie to record a shutout this season.
Biros, meanwhile, was red hot in Ivy play, netting 18 goals and seven assists in conference play, finishing ahead of Staley for the team lead in points with 35.
- With additional reporting by Assistant Sports Editors Stephen Colelli and Jilane Rodgers
