Ursinus’ Arnold becomes two-time All-American, finishes 4th in D3 finals

LACROSSE, WISC. » Derek Arnold capped his spectacular Ursinus College wrestling career with a fourthplace finish in the 157-pound bracket at the NCAA Division III Championship on Saturday, matching his own record for the best national placing in school history.

Arnold, who placed fourth at 149 pounds in 2015, finished his remarkable senior season with a record of 32-3 and leaves Ursinus as one of only two two-time All-Americans in the program’s history.

Cortland State’s Bobby Dierna, a three-time All-American and the defending 157-pound national champion, pinned Arnold in 1:46 in the semifinal bout to move on to the championship for the third time in his career and end Arnold’s hopes of becoming Ursinus’ first national champion. Dierna improved to 105-9 in his career and 20-0 on the season, with all of his victories earning bonus points (major decision, technical fall, pin).

Arnold bounced back immediately, pinning Loras’ Jimmy Davis in just 35 seconds to reach the third-place match. Matched against third-seeded Nick Bova of Wabash, Arnold led 1-0 after two periods before Bova evened the score with an escape and earned four near-fall points on a takedown to secure a 7-3 victory.

Nine members of the Ursinus College wrestling team have been named Scholar All-Americans by the National Wrestling Coaches Association, which revealed its academic awards at this weekend’s NCAA Division III Championship.

Seniors Derek Arnold, Victor Fernandez, Alexander Kramer, and Matan Peleg; junior Christopher Tan; sophomores Robert Endy and Zach Goranson; and freshmen Thomas Boldosser and James Harnkess all garnered Scholar All-America honors, which requires a 3.20 cumulative GPA and a high level of success on the mat.

Additionally, Ursinus finished 15th in the NWCA Scholar-Team standings with a team GPA of 3.23. The Bears trailed only Johns Hopkins and Stevens among Centennial Conference programs.

Men’s Lacrosse

The Ursinus College men’s lacrosse team’s offense continues to hum at a historic pace – and the Bears are still unblemished because of it.

Sophomore Peter DeSimone (four goals) joined juniors Lou Harrison (three goals, one assist) and Gerard Brown (three goals) with hat tricks, and freshman Bobby McClure dished out three assists to power No. 14 Ursinus (5-0) to a 15-10 victory over visiting Elizabethtown on a chilly Sunday afternoon. Ursinus is off to its best start to a season since winning its first seven games in 2010, and the Bears have netted at least ten goals in five straight contests to begin a season for the first time in program history.

Baseball

Sophomore Carter Usowski of the Ursinus College baseball team was chosen as the Centennial Conference Player of the Week, it was announced Monday by the conference office.

Usowski was red-hot in the Bears’ final eight games in Florida, hitting .536 (15 for 28) with six doubles, a triple, a home run, and eight RBI to lead his squad to a 6-2 record. Usowski, who ended the week on an eight-game hitting streak, had at least two base knocks in six of those contests and scored five runs in addition to a walk and a stolen base. He produced a .929 slugging percentage and a 1.462 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging) for the week.

The conference player of the week for the first time, Usowski finished 5-for-6 with three doubles in a split with New Jersey City on Monday, then hit his first career round-tripper and drove in four during a split with Penn State-Altoona the next day. Usowski was 4-for-8 with a double, triple, and two runs scored as the Bears swept SUNY Poly before going 3-for-7 with three two-baggers, two runs scored, and three RBI in two victories over Muskingum on Friday.

Women’s Soccer

Ursinus College has announced the hiring of Aileen Ascolese as the next head coach of its women’s soccer program.

“We are elated to bring a coach of Aileen’s caliber to Ursinus,” Ursinus College Director of Athletics Laura Moliken said. “Her demonstrated track record of attracting and developing talented student-athletes, as well as her commitment to a balance between academics and athletics and success as both a coach and former player, stood out in an extremely talented applicant pool.”

Ascolese served the last four years as head coach at Alfred University, where she developed four All-Empire 8 selections and recruited the school’s 2015-16 Outstanding First Year, a campus-wide award given to a first-year student-athlete. During the 2016 season, her last at the helm, Alfred registered the best winning percentage in school history with a 7-9-2 overall record.

The Alfred women’s soccer program excelled in the classroom under Ascolese. Since taking over in the fall of 2013, the Saxons have produced 15 Empire 8 President’s List selections, which requires a term GPA of 3.75 or higher. The program has also received multiple NSCAA Team Academic Awards.

Prior to her time at Alfred, Ascolese spent two seasons (2011-12) as an assistant at Brandeis University, helping to guide the Judges to an overall record of 22-16-4 and an appearance in the Elite 8 of the NCAA Division III Championship. Ascolese was an assistant at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute during the 2009 and 2010 seasons, acting as the team’s recruiting coordinator and coaching the Engineers in the nontraditional fall campaign. She was a graduate assistant at Elmira College from 2007 to 2008, serving as junior varsity head coach and as an interim head coach in 2008.

Ascolese was a standout player at Division I Rider University, starting all four seasons and playing the role of team captain as a senior. She twice garnered NCAA National Student-Athlete Award recognition and was a three-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Academic Team selection. Ascolese ranks 10th all-time in Broncs history in assists.

Ascolese, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communication from Rider in 2006 and a master’s degree in general education from Elmira in 2009, holds a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) ‘B’ license, an NSCAA Advanced National Diploma and an NSCAA National Goalkeeping Diploma.

“I want to thank Laura Moliken and the search committee for the fantastic opportunity they have presented me with,” Ascolese said. “I could not be more excited to be named the next women’s soccer coach at Ursinus.

“The college, its athletic department and the women’s soccer program have a rich tradition of success, and I am honored to be a part of our student-athletes’ experience. I am extremely grateful for the time I spent at Alfred and am looking forward to utilizing the tools and knowledge I gained there to take UC women’s soccer to the next level.”

Ascolese replaces Kelly Wakeman, who spent the past five seasons as the team’s part-time head coach.