In women’s tennis, Rachel Wallwork ’10 was named Centennial Conference Player of the Year for the second straight year.

Women’s tennis (5-10, 4-6 CC) For the second straight year, Rachel Wallwork ’10 was named Centennial Conference Player of the Year, posting a 12-4 overall record in singles, including an 8-0 mark in conference play at the number-one spot (her current win streak is at 19). Also named First-Team All-Centennial for singles, Wallwork participated in the NCAA Division III Individual Championships a second consecutive year, at Oglethorpe University on May 22–24. Teammate Jennie Park ’09 was also named to the All-Conference first team for a school-record fourth year in a row, combining with Wallwork to go undefeated at No. 1 doubles in conference play (8-0) with a 10-2 overall mark.

Zak Kelm ’12 (left) earned All-Centennial First Team

Men’s tennis (11-7, 8-1 CC) The Swarthmore men made the Centennial Conference Championship match, posting the most wins in 18 years. Senior captain Kevin Shaughnessy joined freshman Zak Kelm to earn All-Centennial First-Team doubles honors with a perfect 8-0 mark in CC regular season play. Kelm played a strong first-year campaign at No. 3 singles, going 15-6 overall and 7-1 in the conference. Senior J.J. England ended his career on a six-match win streak, posting a CC 5-0 mark at No. 5 singles.

Right-hander Neil Mejia ’11 led the Garnet baseball team to its highest win total in more than 10 years, posting team-low in earned run average.

Baseball (13-23, 4-14 CC) A new wave of freshmen pushed the Garnet baseball team forward, ending the season with four straight wins—including the team’s first sweep of a Centennial doubleheader in four seasons. Infielder Anthony Montalbano ’12 became the second Swarthmore freshman (after Jared Leiderman ’05) to earn All-Conference honors after ranking in the top 10 in the conference in hits (47), walks (19), RBIs (32), triples (three), and total bases (74), while leading the circuit in sacrifice flies (six). Montalbano also led the Garnet in slugging percentage (.540) as well as doubles (nine). Classmate Michael Cameron led the team with five home runs (the most since Dick Cameron ’52) and 54 total bases in just 75 at bats, despite a mid-season shoulder injury.

Golf (fifth at CC Championship) Alex Nichamin ’12 carded the low round on the final day at the CC Golf Championships, with a two-over-par 74 to tie for third place overall at the three-day event at Bridges Golf Club in central Pennsylvania. He earned All-Conference honors with a total score of 234 (83-77-74), the first Garnet player to receive Centennial accolades in his first Championships. David Lau ’09 played his way into the top 10, tying for sixth place with a 236 (77-77-82) and leading the team in stroke average during the season (80.4). In the Centennial Conference Women’s Golf Championship, a two-day event at Olde Homestead Golf Club in New Tripoli, Pa., Samantha Phong ’09 posted a score of 202 (103-99) to finish 16th out of 28 participants.

Men’s lacrosse (6-8, 3-5 CC) Swarthmore had the best defensive unit in the Centennial, leading the conference in goals-against average (7.05). Juniors Max Wilson and Kevin Friedenberg were named All-Conference as the Garnet posted its best CC finish since 2004. Wilson, a defenseman, scooped up 39 ground balls in 2009 and caused 11 turnovers (second on the Garnet team) while winning 45.8 percent of the face-offs he took (22 for 48). Friedenberg made an immediate impact in his first year as the Swarthmore starting goalie. He ranked second in the conference in goals-against average (7.12) and save percentage (.625). (His save percentage ranked seventh in all of Division III.) Friedenberg posted double-digit save totals 11 times in 2009, including a career-high 18 saves in a 10-5 win at Dickinson.

Senior tri-captain Melissa Grigsby was named to the All-Conference lacrosse team for the third year in a row.

Women’s lacrosse (9-8, 1-8 CC) Senior tri-captain Melissa Grigsby was named to the All-Conference team for the third year in a row, earning first-team honors after leading the Garnet in ground balls (52) and caused turnovers (37). Grigsby tied for second in caused turnovers (1.78/game) among Centennial players and ranked fifth overall with 2.89 ground balls per game. Sophomore attacker Amy Vachal was the first Garnet player in five years to accumulate 50 goals, finishing third in the Centennial in goals per game (3.12) and second in game-winners (four). Classmate Emily Evans added 41 goals while posting 10 hat-tricks during the season. Swarthmore again joined with Bryn Mawr and Haverford to host the Tri-Co Invitational. Six teams competed in the one-day tournament, raising more than $2,200 for Autism Speaks, an organization that funds global biomedical research into the causes, prevention, treatments, and cure for autism.

Despite a leg injury, second baseman Christine Sendelsky ’09 led the softball team in home runs, batting average, and slugging percentage.

Softball (15-22, 5-11 CC) Swarthmore players Lauren Walker ’09, Kathryn Riley ’10, and Krista Scheirer ’11 were selected to the All-Centennial Conference softball team, the third time in four years that Swarthmore has placed three players on the team. Pitcher Riley posted Swarthmore career highs for batting average (.420), runs (23), walks (16), and on-base percentage (.500) and was the first player in program history to make CC first-team three times. Walker, the centerfielder, hit .326 in 16 Centennial games this season while tying for the conference lead with seven stolen bases. She concluded her four-year career as one of the top Centennial base thieves, swiping 55 bases (a school record) in 60 attempts. Scheirer, a first baseman, made All-Centennial for the first time in her career, posting career-highs in home runs (two), doubles (nine), RBIs (19), total bases (39), and slugging percentage (.433). In the Centennial, the sophomore ranked in the top-10 for doubles and hit-by-pitches (three). Although Garnet second baseman Christine Sendelsky ’09 saw her senior season cut short by a leg injury, she still led the team in home runs (four), batting average (.481), and slugging percentage (.852). The two-time All-Region selection concluded her career tied for the most career home runs (nine) in Swarthmore softball, ranking second all-time in RBIs (81), doubles (36), triples (five), and total bases (221).

Men’s track and field (eighth at CC Outdoor Championship) Sophomore Chris Mayer-Bacon ran fourth in the 400-meter hurdles at the Centennial Outdoor Track and Field Championships (56.79), and Daniel Ly ’12 also just missed a medal with a leap of 42 feet, 2¾ inches in the triple jump. Senior Neel Prakash took fifth in the decathlon, tallying 4,106 points after finishing second among the participants in the discus.

Hurdler Kenyetta Givans ’12 earned silver medals this year in the 55-meter race at the CC winter championships and in the 100-meter this spring.

Women’s track and field (eighth at CC Outdoor Championship) At the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Cait Mullarkey ’09 finished 11th of 18 runners in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. During a busy final month of competition, she took gold at the Centennial Championships as anchor of the 4×800-meter relay with Kathy Feeney ’09, Margret Lenfest ’12, and Hannah Rose ’12 and broke the school record in the 1,500 at the annual Swat Last Chance Meet. Nicole Cox ’12 captured her first conference medal, a gold in the high jump, with a jump of 1½ meters. Kenyetta Givans ’12 earned her second medal of the year—a silver in the 100 meter hurdles (Givans won silver in the 55-meter hurdles at the Indoor Championships in February).