Fall Sports Seasons Come To a Close

As the semester ends, the sports teams have begun to look back on the season that was, examining both the strengths and weaknesses of their play and priming for either the spring semester or Fall 2011.

The men’s soccer team enjoyed a successful season, finishing 10-6-2 overall and 4-3-1 in Capital Athletic Conference play. They made a run in the conference tournament, beating St. Mary’s College 1-0 in the first round, before losing to York College 2-0 in the semifinal round. Seniors Ryan Taibl and T.L. Tutor were both named to the All-Capital Athletic Conference teams. Tutor, with 12 goals and 25 points, was named to the first team, while Taibl’s six goals and 13 points earned him second team honors.

The women’s soccer team found a bit more difficulty with their 2010 campaign, with an overall record of 8-6-3 and a conference record of 2-3-2. While they were perseverant through tough competition, the opponent proved to be too strong in the first round of the conference championship, where they were defeated 3-1 by St. Mary’s College. The women’s team also enjoyed conference recognition, with junior Amy Olson and senior Sarah Tryon being awarded All-Conference honors. Olson was the team’s leading scorer with five goals and 13 points and was named to the first team. Tryon notched two goals and two assists and was named to the second team.

The men’s and women’s cross country teams worked through another strong fall campaign in 2010, sweeping the first two meets of the season and finishing no worse than eighth throughout the rest of the regular season. The men finished ninth and the women tenth in the NCAA Division III Regional Championships and will head to the National Championships on Nov. 20.

Field hockey enjoyed a 14-8/5-2 season, winning the conference championship 2-0 against Wesley College before losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament 4-1 against conference rival Salisbury University. Freshman Caitlin Baker was named CAC rookie of the year, as well as a member of the first-team All-CAC squad. Baker was joined on the All-CAC first team by junior Morgan Jones and senior Kristin Haynor. Second team honors were given to junior Erin Duffy and senior Heidi Sheehan. Coach Dana Hall earned CAC Coach of the Year honors for the fifth time in her career after leading her team to a victory in the conference championship game.

The rowing teams also reached a strong finish in 2010. Senior Jessica Pryor was selected to participate in the US Rowing Athlete Identification Camp in Charlottesville, Va. with a chance to qualify for the U-23 or Senior National teams.

The volleyball team finished 19-9 overall and 6-2 in conference, beating Salisbury 3-0 in the conference semifinal before losing to Frostburg State University 3-0 in the finals. Freshman Hannah Lawson, sophomore Laura Gomez and juniors Katie Shiflett and Tola Adebanjo were named to the All-CAC teams, with Lawson garnering first-team honors as well as a Rookie of the Year selection. UMW led the conference in number of All-CAC selections.

The men’s swim team currently sits with a record of 4-2 overall and 2-0 in conference play. The women’s team has had an equally impressive season, as after dropping their first meet of the year they have won five straight. The team will look to improve upon their 5-1 record and keep their CAC mark (2-0) spotless going forward. Both teams still have four meets left in the regular season before the CAC championships take place beginning on Feb. 18.

The men’s rugby team rode an undefeated 7-0 regular season to the Ed Lee Cup championship game, where they were defeated by James Madison University. The women’s team defeated the College of William & Mary 20-7 to win the Virginia Rugby Union championship and secure the opportunity to host the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union Championships in the spring semester.

The UMW sports teams had another bunch of successful campaigns this fall season, continuing the strong athletic tradition at the university.