2013-14 Review, Part VII: Boston College Women’s Non-Revenue Sports

2013-14 Boston College Women’s Non-Revenue Sports: Sailing

Again, it can sometimes be hard for outsiders to figure out where the events specific to the women’s team end and the coed team begins (probably when dudes start showing up).

What we can tell you is that this program is in pretty good shape relative to other non-revenue sports. In April, the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association (NEISA) named Shelby Hamilton to the All-NEISA first team (crew), Katherine Wysocki to the second team (crew), and Erika Reineke to the first (skipper).

The national championships for women’s and coed sailing are coming up very soon, from May 27 to June 4.

2013-14 Boston College Women’s Non-Revenue Sports: Skiing

Men’s and women’s skiing events seem to parallel each other, so the list of competitions is going to look awfully similar between programs. The ladies opened their 2014 EISA campaign in Vermont with a 32nd-place finish by Taylor Burgart; they finished sixth as a team.

Katie Cutting posted a 24th-place showing at Jiminy Peak in February in one of her final races at Boston College. Burgart was named captain for the 2014-15 skiing season in April.

2013-14 Boston College Women’s Non-Revenue Sports: Soccer

The ladies had a slightly better regular season than the men in soccer, but as has been the case with this program in recent years, they turned it on in the postseason.

The Eagles went 13-10-1 (6-6-1), but it was what they did in November that stood out. Despite a first-round exit in the ACC Tournament to North Carolina, Boston College went on another tear in the NCAA Tournament. They beat Northeastern, Nebraska, and Illinois to get all the way to the national quarterfinals. There, they would lose to ACC foe Florida State.

McKenzie Meehan led the Eagles by a substantial margin in scoring, kicking in twenty goals for Boston College in 23 games. The next most by any Eagle was 12 by Stephanie McCaffrey; those two accounted for over half of Boston College’s 49 goals scored in 2013.

Alex Johnson and Jessica Mickelson split time in goal, with Johnson allowing 1.28 goals on average per game and Mickelson 1.64.

2013-14 Boston College Women’s Non-Revenue Sports: Softball

In 2014, Boston College softball had one of its best seasons in recent program history. Their 12 ACC wins were the most they had earned since joining the ACC for the 2006 season. The Eagles won 30 games for the first time since 2008, ending up with a team batting average of .270, which is one of the highest any Boston College softball team has managed.

The Eagles dropped its first-round game in the ACC Tournament to Notre Dame in early May and did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Following the season, Tory Speer (second team), Megan Cooley (third), and Nicole D’Argento (third) were named to the NFCA Division I All-Region Mid-Atlantic team.

2013-14 Boston College Women’s Non-Revenue Sports: Swimming & Diving

There were a few wins on the board for Boston College swimming and diving this season, including a men/women sweep at the Northeast Catholic Invite in October, consecutive wins over Keene State and Maine, and another over Providence in February.

In the 2014 ACC Championships, Boston College finished in 11th place. There, on an individual basis, Elizabeth Manning and Melissa Merwin both set ACC meet records. For Merwin and Manning, it was in the 50-yard breaststroke time trials.

2013-14 Boston College Women’s Non-Revenue Sports: Tennis

Men’s tennis had a brutal 2013-14, but the ladies actually performed quite well. Overall, they finished 14-10 (6-8), winning a round in the ACC Tournament against Pittsburgh before falling to Notre Dame on April 25.

Heini Salonen won nine singles matches for Boston College this year while Wan-Yi Sweeting went 8-3 overall in hers.

In a picture of just how different tennis recruiting is from, say, football recruiting, Boston College picked up a top-tier recruit for next season in early May from Kazakhstan. WTA tennis pro Asiya Dair will be one of four international Eagles next year.

2013-14 Boston College Women’s Non-Revenue Sports: Track & Field

The Eagles opened up the year in December with a good showing at the Boston University Invitational, coming in second place. From there, things looked to get a little rocky with not a whole lot of top finishes.

In the spring, however, Boston College would come in fourth at the UConn Invitational and then win the UMass Invitational.

Though the ACC Championships did not go well for the Eagles (15th place), they placed second in the Skyhawk Invitational in late April and fourth in the New England Championships.

2013-14 Boston College Women’s Non-Revenue Sports: Volleyball

The non-revenue team with perhaps the best marketing of them all (the “Feel the Power” slogan, in an obvious reference to their playing site in the Power Gym), did not feel much power as they posted a 9-23 (1-19) record.

At one point, the Eagles went on a 16-match losing streak, going about two months in between wins. Boston College closed out the year losing 21 of 22.