Noah Stebbins
2014-08-25T12:00:02Z
When Columbia and Dartmouth met in Manhattan on Feb. 8, no one in Light Blue knew much about a 5-foot-11 guard from Florham Park, N.J. But after the freshman scored nine straight Big Green points in a four-minute stretch late in the game, everyone in Levien knew Alex Mitola's name.
"Mitola definitely got the best of us," Columbia head coach Kyle Smith said of the guard's performance in Dartmouth's 60-57 victory. "He's a good player. He's such an important part of their deal."
Despite his rookie status, Mitola has proved to be a leader on the court. Aside from their win against the Light Blue, he's led his team in scoring six times this season—the last two at Yale on Feb. 22, where he scored 27, and at Penn where he put up 17 in a win on March 1.'
He attributes much of his success to his work ethic.
"It is all about playing as hard as I can," Mitola said. "Everything I have done in training has prepared me for these games."
In his solid freshman year, Mitola is putting up team highs of 10.7 points in 32.6 minutes per game. He also leads the team in free-throw percentage at 87 percent and in assists with 51. The key to his success is being aggressive in order to shut down the opposing team.
"The goal is to do whatever it takes to win," Mitola said.
In the Feb. 8 contest, Mitola finished with 17 points, sinking four of his five shots from behind the arc. But his ability to drive in the lane also left an impression on Smith.
"We hadn't seen him live, and we'll probably play him a little differently," Smith said. "He had two big layups, two big drives where I thought he'd have trouble. So that'll be something we tweak."
Mitola, though, is coming off an up-and-down weekend. Though he scored 17 against Penn, he followed that up with a 2-10 shooting performance at Princeton—including 1-8 from behind the arc. Mitola finished the game with three turnovers and just five points.
"Princeton was not as good of a game for me," he said. "Personally, I have to be more consistent."
Still, Smith knows how important it will be to keep the freshman in check. The Light Blue coach said that sophomore Steve Frankoski and freshman Maodo Lo may be two players tasked with guarding Mitola on Saturday.
"Steve can guard," Smith said. "There's games where he's been a really good defender ... He was pretty good against Dartmouth."
While defending Mitola will be important for the Light Blue, the freshman guard is trying to stay even-keel in the final weekend of his first season with the Ancient Eight.
"There are a lot of ups and downs in a basketball season," Mitola said. "The goal is not to get your highs too high or your lows too low. It's an emotional ride, but you just need to stay consistent."
sports@columbiaspectator.com | @CUspecsports
... "Mitola definitely got the best of us," Columbia head coach Kyle Smith said of the guard's performance in Dartmouth's 60-57 victory. "He's a good player. He's such an important part of their deal."
Despite his rookie status, Mitola has proved to be a leader on the court. Aside from their win against the Light Blue, he's led his team in scoring six times this season—the last two at Yale on Feb. 22, where he scored 27, and at Penn where he put up 17 in a win on March 1.'
He attributes much of his success to his work ethic.
"It is all about playing as hard as I can," Mitola said. "Everything I have done in training has prepared me for these games."
In his solid freshman year, Mitola is putting up team highs of 10.7 points in 32.6 minutes per game. He also leads the team in free-throw percentage at 87 percent and in assists with 51. The key to his success is being aggressive in order to shut down the opposing team.
"The goal is to do whatever it takes to win," Mitola said.
In the Feb. 8 contest, Mitola finished with 17 points, sinking four of his five shots from behind the arc. But his ability to drive in the lane also left an impression on Smith.
"We hadn't seen him live, and we'll probably play him a little differently," Smith said. "He had two big layups, two big drives where I thought he'd have trouble. So that'll be something we tweak."
Mitola, though, is coming off an up-and-down weekend. Though he scored 17 against Penn, he followed that up with a 2-10 shooting performance at Princeton—including 1-8 from behind the arc. Mitola finished the game with three turnovers and just five points.
"Princeton was not as good of a game for me," he said. "Personally, I have to be more consistent."
Still, Smith knows how important it will be to keep the freshman in check. The Light Blue coach said that sophomore Steve Frankoski and freshman Maodo Lo may be two players tasked with guarding Mitola on Saturday.
"Steve can guard," Smith said. "There's games where he's been a really good defender ... He was pretty good against Dartmouth."
While defending Mitola will be important for the Light Blue, the freshman guard is trying to stay even-keel in the final weekend of his first season with the Ancient Eight.
"There are a lot of ups and downs in a basketball season," Mitola said. "The goal is not to get your highs too high or your lows too low. It's an emotional ride, but you just need to stay consistent."
sports@columbiaspectator.com | @CUspecsports
2013-11-16T03:58:03Z
The Columbia softball team is fighting harder than ever for a winning record. After playing a double-header against Fairleigh Dickinson on Tuesday, the team managed to pull off a 5-4 victory in the first game, giving head coach Kayla Noonan her 200th win. But the excitement was short-lived, as the Light Blue lost its the second game, 10-7.
The Lions got the day off to a strong start with the help of sophomore Alix Cook and junior Emily Caruthers, as each batted a runner home. Cook, freshman Alyssa Swearingen, sophomore Kayla Shimoda, junior Emily Snodgrass, and senior Alison Lam all crossed home plate to add five runs for Columbia. Fairleigh Dickinson responded with three runs of its own when Bryana Dorado batted two of her teammates to home and then crossed the plate herself, but it wasn't enough.
Going into the fourth inning of the second game, the Lions led 4-3. Nearly everyone in the Knights' lineup scored a run, though, giving Fairleigh Dickinson a lead that it was able to maintain after a seven run streak in the forth inning.
Columbia managed to score five runs over the first four innings but was unable to fight its way back after the Knights offensive surge in the forth. Snodgrass was the powerhouse for the Lions, hitting the ball all four times she was at bat, sending two runners home, and crossing the plate three times herself. Teammates Shimoda and freshman Nicole Borchard helped Snodgrass catch up to Fairleigh Dickinson, putting up a combined total three runs and batting two runners home.
The Lions have finished their homestand and will continue the season at Brown on Friday and Yale on Saturday.
sports@columbiaspectator.com | @CUspecsports
... The Lions got the day off to a strong start with the help of sophomore Alix Cook and junior Emily Caruthers, as each batted a runner home. Cook, freshman Alyssa Swearingen, sophomore Kayla Shimoda, junior Emily Snodgrass, and senior Alison Lam all crossed home plate to add five runs for Columbia. Fairleigh Dickinson responded with three runs of its own when Bryana Dorado batted two of her teammates to home and then crossed the plate herself, but it wasn't enough.
Going into the fourth inning of the second game, the Lions led 4-3. Nearly everyone in the Knights' lineup scored a run, though, giving Fairleigh Dickinson a lead that it was able to maintain after a seven run streak in the forth inning.
Columbia managed to score five runs over the first four innings but was unable to fight its way back after the Knights offensive surge in the forth. Snodgrass was the powerhouse for the Lions, hitting the ball all four times she was at bat, sending two runners home, and crossing the plate three times herself. Teammates Shimoda and freshman Nicole Borchard helped Snodgrass catch up to Fairleigh Dickinson, putting up a combined total three runs and batting two runners home.
The Lions have finished their homestand and will continue the season at Brown on Friday and Yale on Saturday.
sports@columbiaspectator.com | @CUspecsports
2013-11-16T03:58:03Z
The Lou Gehrig division got out to a hot start this weekend for Ivy baseball season, with three of its four teams going 3-1. While the Red Rolfe division only had two teams go 2-2 for its best record, it still received some stellar performances to begin conference play.
March 30
Brown at Cornell
Game 1: Cornell, 6-1
Game 2: Cornell, 4-1
Brenton Peters got the scoring started for Cornell (15-7, 3-1 Ivy) by scoring in the bottom of the first of game one, advancing from a passed ball. Though Brown (2-15, 0-4 Ivy) got a run back in the top of the third inning, the Big Red's early lead proved too much for the Bears to handle. Ryan Plantier scored on a throwing error, and Matt Hall singled in a run to cap the scoring in the bottom of the sixth.
In game two, Cruz led his team to a 4-1 victory. He got a hit in each of his four at-bats, driving in one while scoring two runs. D'Alessandro also crossed the plate on Plantier's sac fly in the bottom of the eighth.
Yale at Princeton
Game 1: Princeton, 4-0
Game 2: Yale, 9-1
Princeton (5-17, 3-1 Ivy) got its Ivy season started with a shutout over Yale (5-15, 2-2 Ivy). The Tigers' Alec Keller was the star of the game, homering to left field at the bottom of the first and then capitalizing on a passed ball with another run at the bottom of the second. All Alex Flink had to do was bat two players across the plate for the 4-0 win.
But Yale came back in the nightcap, scoring nine runs on 10 hits. The Bulldogs' Brent Lawson led the way with five hits in his six at-bats, crossing the plate twice. Though Yale was able to capitalize on the Tigers' three errors, they scored those nine runs without an extra base hit in the contest.
Dartmouth at Penn
Game 1: Penn, 3-2
Game 2: Penn, 3-2
The Big Green (15-3, 2-2 Ivy) was unable to pull through in its Ivy opener against Penn (16-9, 3-1 Ivy). Though Dartmouth's Ennis Coble went four-for-four with a double, Dartmouth never ended up scoring him. Penn won the game in the bottom of the ninth on a walk-off sac fly by Austin Bossart.
The Big Green got on the board first in game two with Trent Goodrich scoring on a bases-loaded walk in the top of the first. Penn retaliated for the win, scoring runs in the bottom of the second and the seventh, thanks to Spencer Branigan crossing the plate twice for the Quakers.
March 31
Brown at Princeton
Game 1: Princeton, 3-1
Game 2: Princeton, 3-1
Brown and Princeton faced off at Clarke Field on Sunday with Princeton using its home field advantage to win the game. Steve Harrington was a key player for the Tigers, scoring in the bottom of the second on a bases-loaded walk and again in the sixth on a sac fly.
Princeton managed to use its early momentum in the game against the Bears to push through another victory. Keller played a significant role once again, with two hits and two runs.
Harvard at Penn
Game 1: Penn, 4-1
Game 2: Harvard, 6-3 game completed April 1
Carlton Bailey's efforts were not enough to bring in a win for Harvard (4-19, 1-3 Ivy) on Sunday. Bailey himself led the team with two hits out of three times at the plate, putting up Harvard's only run at the top of the seventh.
The rain halted game two of the doubleheader in the eighth inning, but on Monday Harvard prevailed over Penn. Knotted up at the start of the ninth, the Crimson managed to rattle off three runs to steal the game and pick up their first win in Ivy League play.
Yale at Cornell
Game 1: Cornell, 8-5
Game 2: Yale 4-2 game played April 1
The Big Red toppled the Bulldogs in a high-scoring game Sunday to win their first game of the weekend. Though Yale put up five runs in the first inning, Cornell managed to match them in the bottom of the frame. But Cornell was also able to score a run in each of the third, fourth, and fifth innings to take the lead and then the game.
In another contest delayed due to inclement weather, the Bulldogs split the two games, prevailing over the Big Red in game two. With a big scare as Cornell put up two of its runs in the eighth inning, Yale's pitching got back on track and Charles Cook added another run to ensure that they would not see another game slip away from them.
sports@columbiaspectator.com | @CUspecsports
... March 30
Brown at Cornell
Game 1: Cornell, 6-1
Game 2: Cornell, 4-1
Brenton Peters got the scoring started for Cornell (15-7, 3-1 Ivy) by scoring in the bottom of the first of game one, advancing from a passed ball. Though Brown (2-15, 0-4 Ivy) got a run back in the top of the third inning, the Big Red's early lead proved too much for the Bears to handle. Ryan Plantier scored on a throwing error, and Matt Hall singled in a run to cap the scoring in the bottom of the sixth.
In game two, Cruz led his team to a 4-1 victory. He got a hit in each of his four at-bats, driving in one while scoring two runs. D'Alessandro also crossed the plate on Plantier's sac fly in the bottom of the eighth.
Yale at Princeton
Game 1: Princeton, 4-0
Game 2: Yale, 9-1
Princeton (5-17, 3-1 Ivy) got its Ivy season started with a shutout over Yale (5-15, 2-2 Ivy). The Tigers' Alec Keller was the star of the game, homering to left field at the bottom of the first and then capitalizing on a passed ball with another run at the bottom of the second. All Alex Flink had to do was bat two players across the plate for the 4-0 win.
But Yale came back in the nightcap, scoring nine runs on 10 hits. The Bulldogs' Brent Lawson led the way with five hits in his six at-bats, crossing the plate twice. Though Yale was able to capitalize on the Tigers' three errors, they scored those nine runs without an extra base hit in the contest.
Dartmouth at Penn
Game 1: Penn, 3-2
Game 2: Penn, 3-2
The Big Green (15-3, 2-2 Ivy) was unable to pull through in its Ivy opener against Penn (16-9, 3-1 Ivy). Though Dartmouth's Ennis Coble went four-for-four with a double, Dartmouth never ended up scoring him. Penn won the game in the bottom of the ninth on a walk-off sac fly by Austin Bossart.
The Big Green got on the board first in game two with Trent Goodrich scoring on a bases-loaded walk in the top of the first. Penn retaliated for the win, scoring runs in the bottom of the second and the seventh, thanks to Spencer Branigan crossing the plate twice for the Quakers.
March 31
Brown at Princeton
Game 1: Princeton, 3-1
Game 2: Princeton, 3-1
Brown and Princeton faced off at Clarke Field on Sunday with Princeton using its home field advantage to win the game. Steve Harrington was a key player for the Tigers, scoring in the bottom of the second on a bases-loaded walk and again in the sixth on a sac fly.
Princeton managed to use its early momentum in the game against the Bears to push through another victory. Keller played a significant role once again, with two hits and two runs.
Harvard at Penn
Game 1: Penn, 4-1
Game 2: Harvard, 6-3 game completed April 1
Carlton Bailey's efforts were not enough to bring in a win for Harvard (4-19, 1-3 Ivy) on Sunday. Bailey himself led the team with two hits out of three times at the plate, putting up Harvard's only run at the top of the seventh.
The rain halted game two of the doubleheader in the eighth inning, but on Monday Harvard prevailed over Penn. Knotted up at the start of the ninth, the Crimson managed to rattle off three runs to steal the game and pick up their first win in Ivy League play.
Yale at Cornell
Game 1: Cornell, 8-5
Game 2: Yale 4-2 game played April 1
The Big Red toppled the Bulldogs in a high-scoring game Sunday to win their first game of the weekend. Though Yale put up five runs in the first inning, Cornell managed to match them in the bottom of the frame. But Cornell was also able to score a run in each of the third, fourth, and fifth innings to take the lead and then the game.
In another contest delayed due to inclement weather, the Bulldogs split the two games, prevailing over the Big Red in game two. With a big scare as Cornell put up two of its runs in the eighth inning, Yale's pitching got back on track and Charles Cook added another run to ensure that they would not see another game slip away from them.
sports@columbiaspectator.com | @CUspecsports
2013-10-19T03:04:03Z
As Columbia softball (22-26, 8-12 Ivy) finishes its season, there is a lot of room left for improvement.
2013-10-19T03:04:03Z
The softball team lost both games of its doubleheader against Lehigh on Tuesday, but not without putting up a fight. The Mountain Hawks took charge in the first game, winning 5-1. But Columbia gave them a close game in the second half of the doubleheader, narrowly losing the second game 4-3.
... 
2013-10-19T03:04:03Z
The softball team closed out its series of home games this week on a positive note. Columbia continued its winning streak from this past weekend against Cornell with wins in both games against Marist on Tuesday. The games were close, but the Lions managed to secure back-to-back wins with stellar performances from freshmen Alyssa Swearingen and Macy Shrum, sophomore Liz Caggiano, and junior Emily Snodgrass.
... 
2013-10-19T03:00:02Z
Columbia softball begins Ivy play this weekend against Dartmouth on Friday and Harvard on Saturday.
The Lions split a two-game bout against Manhattan on Tuesday, bringing their record to 10-10.
Freshman Nicole Borchard and junior Emily Snodgrass have emerged as the team's leaders. Borchard batted in a total of five runners against Manhattan, and leads the Lions with an impressive .364 batting average.
Snodgrass has been consistent all season. After a stellar performance against Manhattan, she has a .355 batting average and an astonishing .629 slugging percentage. In the 62 times she has been up to bat, she has batted 17 runners home.
Junior Emily Caruthers is another force to be reckoned with, having crossed the plate four times against Manhattan.
Dartmouth and Harvard will be trying matchups. While Dartmouth is 10-12, Katie McEachern has an impressive .381 batting average for the season with a slugging percentage of .571. Four players have consistently batted over .300 for the Big Green, despite the team dropping its last four contests.
Harvard will be a slight challenge coming off two recent victories, but with only a 7-12 record for the season. Andrea Del Conte and Katherine Lantz will be challenging opponents for Columbia, with .327 and .306 batting averages in 19 games, respectively. Together they have put up 24 points this season. Katherine Lantz scored 3 runs in Dartmouth's recent doubleheader against Rhode Island.
The upcoming four games will be at the Columbia softball stadium in the Baker Athletics complex. The doubleheader against Dartmouth begins at 2:00 p.m. and the games against Harvard begin at 12:30 p.m.
sports@columbiaspectator.com | @CUSpecSports
... The Lions split a two-game bout against Manhattan on Tuesday, bringing their record to 10-10.
Freshman Nicole Borchard and junior Emily Snodgrass have emerged as the team's leaders. Borchard batted in a total of five runners against Manhattan, and leads the Lions with an impressive .364 batting average.
Snodgrass has been consistent all season. After a stellar performance against Manhattan, she has a .355 batting average and an astonishing .629 slugging percentage. In the 62 times she has been up to bat, she has batted 17 runners home.
Junior Emily Caruthers is another force to be reckoned with, having crossed the plate four times against Manhattan.
Dartmouth and Harvard will be trying matchups. While Dartmouth is 10-12, Katie McEachern has an impressive .381 batting average for the season with a slugging percentage of .571. Four players have consistently batted over .300 for the Big Green, despite the team dropping its last four contests.
Harvard will be a slight challenge coming off two recent victories, but with only a 7-12 record for the season. Andrea Del Conte and Katherine Lantz will be challenging opponents for Columbia, with .327 and .306 batting averages in 19 games, respectively. Together they have put up 24 points this season. Katherine Lantz scored 3 runs in Dartmouth's recent doubleheader against Rhode Island.
The upcoming four games will be at the Columbia softball stadium in the Baker Athletics complex. The doubleheader against Dartmouth begins at 2:00 p.m. and the games against Harvard begin at 12:30 p.m.
sports@columbiaspectator.com | @CUSpecSports
