Weekly Roundup: September 27, 2017

September 26, 2017 | Boston College Athletics, Softball, Women's Golf, Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, #ForBoston Files

Flying under fall and winter sports, the softball team is back to work in a big way.

By: Dan Rubin, BCEagles.com contributor

For the Boston College softball team, fall ball is an incredibly interesting time. Kicking off their practice just four months after the end of last season, it can feel like a continuation of last year moreso than the start of this year. So for head coach Ashley Obrest, it became important to both blend the past success while setting it apart from the upcoming year.

"We had a team meeting before we even got on the field," Obrest said. "We went over some RPI stuff from last year. We went over the schedule from last year and just started looking at our 2018 schedule. We touched on what went well last year and what we need to improve upon. But at the same time, we weren't going to sit and compare last year to this year or last fall ball to this fall ball. We built a new set of goals and a new mission to separate (the seasons) so we could create a short memory and turn the page."

It's a new day for the Eagles, who are 3-0 to start their eight-game fall ball schedule. They finished last year 31-22 but ultimately fell short of the NCAA Tournament, falling in the first round of the ACC Championship to Notre Dame. With so much talent on that 2017 roster, the memory can remain, which makes it important to begin formulating this year's identity now as opposed to waiting for the first games.

"We gave them the first couple of days to get used to class schedules but then jumped right into lifting, conditioning and practices," Obrest said. "We did that just to get everyone used to a new routine. We try at this point to throw as much at them as possible while not overwhelming them. Coming off of summer, it's like we didn't miss a beat but at the same time, we have so many different faces around."

Fall is about integrating the new faces into the roster, getting them used to in-game situations against other teams. Defensively, it's about formulating the new rotation. A year after Jessica Dreswick broke the school record for starts (39) and wins (22), the Eagles are in the process of working Ally Frei back into the rotation while integrating some of the newcomers.

"(Dreswick) had surgery on her foot over the summer, but we haven't seen her in a boot once this fall," Obrest said. "She got on the mound against Boston University and threw 69 miles per hour. So she looks really good, and Ally Frei is back after she redshirted last year. The goal now is to get Ally as many innings as possible just to get her into the swing of things, but she's healthy and ready to go already. She looks as good as she did during her sophomore year."

The duo headline the returnees hoping to anchor the Eagles' transition through the fall. Five freshmen are adjusting to the college way of life, and it's a process that, with practice, can help bring them into the fold well before the first pitch of 2018 starts.

"With the freshmen, we really fill their time so they don't have time to sit back and really miss home," Obrest said. "We don't want to overwhelm them, but the busier we can keep them for the first month to two months helps surprise them when they get to Thanksgiving. We talked to them last week about adjusting, if there's anything they miss about home. They all said they loved to be in college, and I think the only thing one girl said was that she misses her cat. They're doing a much better job than some other freshmen in the past."

Fall is critical for those freshmen both on and off the field. Moving into BC for the first time, it's important for them to get their routines down, from classwork to practice to game situations. It creates a system where the team is a support system designed to help them excel, especially for situations where they're expected to make immediate impacts.

"Our freshmen are going to be playing, so this is a big time where they learn about going to class, getting to practice and getting to the field," Obrest said. "They've done a great job, they're super coachable and respectable kids. It makes them a joy to be around. They're also a sponge at this point where they're willing to do everything we ask of them, accept it and move on."

That pliability is something the team will explore through their remaining five fall ball games. In wins over Connecticut, Sacred Heart and BU, the Eagles ran a simplified model of their game. Heading into their last couple of weekends, the goal now is to try out new things with the hopes of developing the team both physically and mentally.

"We have kids in different positions," Obrest said. "We still have Lexi DiEmmanuele and Annie Murphy in our outfield, but we have a freshman at first, a freshman at third and Carly Severini at second where she didn't play a lot at that position last year. It's a little bit of a different look. We have more power, but we still have some speed. It's a good balance. When people look at us, we seem stronger and that's important because it goes back to strength and conditioning.

"We've kept it simple offensive in the first three games," she continued. "We haven't done a lot of hit and runs or bunts. But the next couple of weekends are going to be a little bit more creative. We're going to see if we can pair quick players next to each other, if we can have a freshman hit four or five in the order or drop them down. We're going to throw more at them to get some challenges. It hasn't been easy (to stay simple) but we don't want want to have their heads spinning in the first practices and games either."

Fall ball games wrap up Oct. 8 with a doubleheader at Providence, and though a team always wants to win every game, the goal is on building the database so the players can hit their individual grounds running.

"They get a couple of days off, and it's right into individual workouts," Obrest said. "That's the most important time. A lot of it will come while the coaches are out recruiting, so it's important to get their swings in and hold each other accountable. They're really invested and committed to the work."

*****

Opening Night is still on the horizon, but hockey season continues to gather rumblings as it draws nearer. Hockey East released its coaches polls for both the men's and women's disciplines, and if predictions hold true, it's going to be an exciting winter at Conte Forum.

The women, ranked No. 4 in the national preseason rankings, drew nearly every available first place votes as the predicted conference champions. BC earned seven first place votes, with Northeastern coming in second with two first place votes. Since coaches cannot vote for their own team to finish first, it means the Eagles are as close to a unanimous selection as possible.

On the men's side, the Eagles drew a first place vote with a predicted fourth place finish of the reconfigured conference. BC won the regular-season championship last year but fell short of the NCAA Tournament. Earlier in the week, BC earned a No. 13 ranking in the preseason USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll.

Hockey East also announced a return to its 11-team tournament following Notre Dame's departure. Every teams will make the conference tournament, but only the bottom six teams will play first round series. The fourth place team will host the fifth place team, who earns a first round bye but is relegated to a road series. If the preseason poll holds true, that would mean Northeastern would earn a bye but have to visit Conte Forum.

*****

The women's golf team wasted no time giving visitors an 18-hole tour of Massachusetts, shooting the second-lowest scores in both the first and second rounds at the Boston College Intercollegiate this weekend. It paved the road to a second place finish for the Eagles, who finished 11 strokes behind Richmond in the team score.

Bibilani Liu finished third individually, four strokes behind Richmond's Elsa Diaz, as the program enjoyed perfect weather on the links. Shooting a 73 and 71 in the first two rounds, her even score sat atop the leaderboard heading into Monday's third round. Liu also finished with 13 of the team's 35 birdies.

Katie Kim, Ailin Li and Jocelyn Chia all finished within or near the Top 25 finishers for the Birds. Kim finished tied for 17th at +12, while Li and Chia tied for 26th thanks to a strong third and first round, respectively. Li and Kim led the Eagles with a combined 77 par holes; the team finished with 152 pars on the tournament, which was BC's first "home game" since 2003-2004.

*****

Out on the water, the sailing team was all over the East Coast this past week, taking on some of the nation's elite programs. Scott Rasmussen finished in second place in the NEISA Men's Singlehanded Championship, while Sophia Reineke and Isabella Loosbrock finished fifth and seventh, respectively, in the women's championship.

BC also grabbed a fifth place finish as a team in the Chris Loder Trophy and a sixth place team finish in the St. Mary's Interconference Regatta.

In the first Sailing Women's and Coed Rankings released this week, the Eagles are among the top five programs in the nation. Ranking second in the women's poll, BC sits behind only Yale. They garnered six first place votes while Yale accumulated 10. Coast Guard came in third in the polls while earning a single first place vote.

In the coed rankings, the Eagles placed fifth, right behind Hobart, in a poll led by Georgetown.

*****

Franklin Park is widely recognized as one of the most heavily-utilized cross-country running tracks in Massachusetts. The home course for Boston College's men's and women's program, the Eagles took part in the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown last weekend among dozens of teams visiting the Hub.

The women finished 10th in a field of 20 teams as six Eagles broke 19 minutes. Ashbrook Gwinn finished 16th overall out of 188 runners to lead all BC runners.

Sean Burke finished 71st overall in a field of 156 runners, topping the list of Eagles as BC's men's team finished 16th.

The fields included a star-studded list of teams for both genders, including national powerhouses like Syracuse, Indiana, Georgetown and Providence.

*****

After 13 straight days of competition, BC Athletics teams have Wednesday and Thursday off this week before representing the Maroon and Gold again on Friday. It'll be a busy day at Newton Campus in particular as field hockey hosts Duke at 4 p.m. Men's soccer then hosts Virginia Tech at 5 p.m., while the women's team faces the Hokies in Blacksburg later in the evening.

Field hockey returns to action two days after the Duke game with a road game at UNH on Sunday.

Volleyball has a big weekend on the road, heading down to Tobacco Road for Friday and Sunday. They'll play at Wake Forest on Friday and at Duke on Sunday.

Men's tennis heads to Providence for the Brown University Invitational this weekend, while sailing is in a number of regattas on Saturday.

And as the headliner, football hosts Central Michigan on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. After the game, fans can catch the men's hockey's exhibition game against New Brunswick at 7 p.m. at Warrior Rink in Brighton.