Young stars lift Vermont lacrosse

Freshman Megan MacDonald of Wayland and sophomore Alison Haigh of Northborough have cranked up the offense for the University of Vermont women's lacrosse team, which qualified for the America East Conference tournament for the first time since 2002.

Vermont (8-8, 5-1 conference), after recording the most conference wins in its history this spring, was the No. 2 seed in the tournament, which concludes today at Boston University.

MacDonald, an All-America performer at Wayland High and a four-time America East Rookie of the Week, was second in team scoring with 27 goals (tying the program record for a freshman) and nine assists. After having an 11-game goal-scoring streak snapped in a 12-11 loss to Oregon, she ended the regular season with five goals (a career high) and three assists in a 23-9 win against Binghamton.

Haigh, who was a point behind McDonald with 24 goals and 11 assists, had scored goals in 13 straight games heading into the tournament. A graduate of Algonquin Regional High, she had nine goals and two assists as a freshman at Vermont.

Pitchers Jim Fuller of Marlborough and Nick Carlucci of Franklin and catcher Nick DeProspo, who was captain of the baseball squad at St. John's High in Shrewsbury, have formed a strong battery this spring for Southern Connecticut State University.

Fuller, a sophomore left-hander who was his Marlborough High team's MVP, had appeared in 10 games as a starter and was 7-1 with a 1.07 earned-run average for Southern Connecticut this spring. Carlucci, a senior right-hander out of Franklin High, was 4-2 in nine appearances (eight as a starter) and had a 2.38 ERA last week.

"Fuller throws in the low 90s and has command of all his pitches," said Southern Connecticut coach Tim Shea, whose club (23-15, 13-6 Northeast-10) had won 10 of 11 games as of last weekend. "Carlucci has one of the best changeups I've seen and he can use it at any point in the count."

DeProspo, a Worcester native, has taken over as starting catcher as a freshman. In 32 games he was batting .248 with 16 RBIs, 10 runs scored, 7 doubles, and a home run. His walk-off double last Sunday scored classmate and Ashland High graduate Andrew Babb with the deciding run against the College of Saint Rose.

Babb, who was batting .325 in 31 games, with 18 RBIs, 6 doubles, a homer and 21 runs scored, "was mainly recruited as a pitcher but has become one of our everyday outfielders," Shea noted.

Shrewsbury's Tom Dolan, a senior cocaptain on the Trinity College men's tennis team that is ranked ninth nationally in Division 3, has earned the reputation as a fierce competitor.

"Tom is the most single-minded and determined tennis player that I have coached in 35 years," said Trinity coach Paul Assaiante. "He's tough, relentless and never gives in."

Dolan was 10-2 at No. 3 and No. 4 singles and 11-1 at No. 2 doubles to help the Bantams post a 12-1 overall record and 7-1 mark in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. The team, ranked fourth regionally, was competing as one of the top seeds this weekend at the NESCAC tournament at Middlebury.

At St. John's High of Shrewsbury, Dolan was a 2004 New England singles finalist and a member of the 2003 state championship team.

After a monthlong recuperation from injury, Duke University junior first baseman Nate Freiman of Wellesley returned to go 2 for 4 with three RBIs to lead the Blue Devils to a 4-1 victory recently over North Carolina State.

"To have him double in his first at-bat and hit a home run to put the game away was like something out of a movie," said Duke head coach Sean McNally.

Freiman, despite missing 18 games, was leading the team in batting (.407), homers (7) and RBIs (34) through 41 games.

The top local finishers from Monday's running of the 112th Boston Marathon, according to the Boston Athletic Association, were:

Men - Michael Platt, 46, Needham, 2:41:33; Chris Benestad, 30, Northborough, 2:42:38; Greg Picklesimer, 41, Newton, 2:43:25; David Oliver, 51, Westborough, 2:43:35; and Jonathan Fortescue, 40, Wellesley, 2:44:02.

Women - Christy Mae Carrara, 32, Hudson, 2:58:13; Sarah Nixon, 43, Medfield, 3:05:25; Maria Urso, 32, Natick, 3:07:21; Lara Johnson,, 27, Newton, 3:11:38; and Tina Dowling, 41, Bolton, 3:12:42.

Marvin Pave can be reached at 508-820-4223 or marvin.pave@ rcn.com. Craig Larson also contributed to this column.

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