Sports

Sports Briefs: Orient rower wins gold medal

WILLIAM SMITH ATHLETICS PHOTO  |
WILLIAM SMITH ATHLETICS PHOTO |  Libby Hughes of Orient won a gold medal as part of the William Smith College varsity eight.

Orient rower wins gold For the second year in a row, the William Smith College varsity eight won a gold medal at the New York State Collegiate Rowing Championships over the weekend on Lake Whitney. The Herons, who include senior Libby Hughes of Orient, earned a spot in Sunday’s grand final with a nearly six-second victory over second-place St. Lawrence in Saturday’s heats. William Smith posted a winning time of 7 minutes 6.4 seconds, which was 5.9 seconds better than the Saints. In the grand final, the Herons put even more space between themselves and the field, beating second-place Ithaca by 6.84 seconds. William Smith logged a winning time of 6:50.46 to secure the gold. The Herons will be back in action on Sunday when they compete in the ECAC National Invitational Rowing Championships on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass.

COLLEGE BASEBALL: Strong outing by Ascher A four-run seventh inning for SUNY/Oneonta and the pitching of sophomore Steve Ascher of Mattituck proved to be the difference in a 7-2 win over Brockport on April 26. Ascher pitched eight and one-third innings, allowing five hits and two runs while striking out six hitters en route to picking up his fourth win of the season.