Lili Johnson ’13
Tennis The 2012-13 women’s tennis season got off to a promising start. The Jaspers began the year with an impressive 6-1 win over MAAC rival Rider, then notched a 5-2 victory at Monmouth the following day. However, injuries eventually took their toll, and Manhattan struggled down the stretch. The Jaspers finished the campaign with a 3-14 record, including a 1-6 mark in MAAC play. After going 2-1 during the fall, the Jaspers began their spring season with a close 5-2 loss to Colgate on Feb. 1. Following losses to very good teams from Navy and Wagner, Manhattan earned a 5-2 triumph over Wagner on Feb. 24. Despite a loss to Niagara on March 2, Manhattan’s MAAC Tournament fate was still in its own hands entering a stretch of five straight conference matches to end the season. The Jaspers suffered a setback against Loyola before heading to Jersey City for a
crucial showdown with Saint Peter’s on April 5. The Peacocks captured the doubles point thanks to a 9-8 win at No. 1 doubles, which propelled them to a 5-2 triumph. Manhattan was then eliminated from postseason contention with a 5-2 loss at Siena in which three singles matches went three sets, including one that was decided in a third-set tiebreak. Senior Lili Johnson was penciled into the No. 1 spot in the singles lineup in each of Manhattan’s 17 dual matches, and she posted a team-high five victories. Johnson also played No. 1 doubles alongside junior Brianna Turano in every match. The duo recorded five wins in doubles action. Turano added five singles triumphs while splitting her time between the No. 2 and 3 positions. Senior Stephanie Tsao was another constant in the lineup, appearing in every match, while sophomores Catherine Clark and Alyssa Rosello notched four singles wins apiece.
Clark and Rosello were also doubles partners for most of the year and registered four victories in the No. 3 position. Following the season, Johnson and Clark were both recognized for their success in the classroom with selections to the MAAC AllAcademic Team.
Outdoor Track and Field The Jaspers again proved to be one of the top teams in the Northeast during the 2013 outdoor track and field season, which saw a number of exceptional individual performances and new records. Senior Brian McGovern established a new mark in the pole vault, clearing 5.36 meters at the season’s first meet, the ASU Invitational. Sophomore Lydia Wehrli set a new school record in the hammer throw, then broke her own mark with a toss of 57.35 meters a week later. The Jaspers went 1-2 in the decathlon at Princeton’s Larry Ellis Invitational, with senior Tom Bechert winning the competition, and senior Felix Siljeback-Larsen taking second. It was the first time in program history that two decathletes scored more than 6,800 points in the same meet. Bechert established a new personalbest in the pole vault, leaping 5.15 meters to qualify for the NCAA East Preliminary Round. At the 119th Penn Relays, senior Mohamed Koita won the Eastern section of the men’s high jump. His leap of 2.20 meters broke a 33-year-old school record and the meet record. Tom Bechert ’13
That effort was, at the time, the 12th-best in the NCAA and 31st-best in the world in 2013, and qualified him for the World University Games. The men entered the MAAC Outdoor Championships as the defending champions, but were unable to repeat, as they finished second behind Rider. The women claimed third place in the team standings. McGovern (men’s pole vault) and Wehrli (women’s hammer throw) established new meet records at the MAAC Outdoor Championships, while the Jaspers also claimed conference titles in the men’s hammer throw (sophomore Killian Barry), men’s javelin (sophomore Phil Ragan), women’s shot put (freshman Alina Koenigs), men’s shot put (freshman Ian McGinnis), women’s pole vault (senior Melissa Yap), men’s 800-meters (sophomore Greg Perrier) and men’s 4x400-meter relay. Koenigs was named Most Outstanding Performer for Field Events on the women’s side after winning the shot put, placing second in the javelin, and finishing eighth in the long jump. In addition, Manhattan placed 13 men and 12 women on the MAAC All-Academic Team. At the IC4A Outdoor Championships, Bechert set a school record in the decathlon with 7,767 points, which also broke the IC4A best. Wehrli bettered her own school mark in the hammer throw at the ECAC Outdoor Champs, then made the finals at the NCAA East Preliminary Round. Bechert and Koita qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Koita finished 16th in the high jump to earn Second Team All-America honors; Bechert was named honorable mention All-America. MANHATTAN.EDU N 21