Boston College 2011-12 in Review, Part V: Women’s & Coed Sports

Today, finals at Boston College are wrapping up and the seniors are one week away from receiving their degrees. What better time than now to put a final period on the school year that was in BC sports?

It’s the women’s and coed sports that get their due today; at the end, a few final words on the sum total of the 2011-12 Eagles athletics season.

Much like the men, there were a number of women’s teams that left something to be desired. All of our student athletes give their best, in that I’m confident, but sometimes the standings leave you scratching your head. That certainly didn’t apply to all sports, however, and the news is perhaps a little better today than it was in Part IV.

Teams are listed alphabetically.

Women’s basketball

The ladies had a bad season, going 7-23 (2-14) and washing out in the first round of the ACC Tournament with a 72-41 loss to Virginia. At one point, Boston College had lost 11 games in a row, all in ACC play. Shortly after the season ended, Head Coach Sylvia Crawley resigned “due to health reasons” and was replaced by Denver coach Erik Johnson. Johnson was an assistant coach under Cathy Inglese at the end of her BC tenure.

It’s hard to believe that with all the problems men’s basketball had, the women were actually worse. The coaching change was probably needed, anyway. Observing from a distance, there was always a bad vibe coming from this team under Crawley, and 2011-12 was a fantastic, unequivocal trainwreck. Her tenure began with mystery — as in, why Inglese left — and continued with failures to make the NCAA Tournament and the very peculiar declining of the WNIT bid a few years ago. Women’s basketball needed a new start and will hopefully get one, but make no mistake: this past season was no good at all.

Women’s cross country

Women’s XC had a pretty good season all things considered. Competing from September to November, they won two invitationals and finished second in three others, including the NCAA Northeast regionals in November. They placed 12th of 31 in the NCAA championship meet, giving the program its best year-end result in about a decade.

Four players — junior Bridget Dahlberg, senior Jillian King, graduate Hope Krause and freshman Liv Westphal — made the All-ACC Academic Team.

Women’s fencing

Like cross country, women’s fencing represented themselves well in 2011-12. They won their fair share of matches throughout the course of the season and managed to take gold at the New England Collegiate Championships in February.

Chelsea Rosenbauer qualified for the NCAA Tournament, winning four bouts in her first appearance.

Field hockey

Field hockey had an average year, going 10-9 overall but finishing just 1-4 in the ACC. They fell out in the first round of the ACC Tournament, losing on a last-minute Wake Forest goal in early November.

Several players from the team were named to the NFHCA and All-ACC academic teams.