Eagles' Sports Weekend in Review

This past weekend saw many impressive performances from the array of teams across the Mary Washington sports landscape.

The men’s lacrosse team crushed Frostburg State 10-1 last Saturday, April 2, in a Capital Athletic Conference showdown. The win improved the Eagles to 7-5 overall and 3-2 in conference play. UMW dominated the ball for most of the game, as they outshot the Bobcats 40-16. Mary Washington scored the first 10 goals of the game, and a Frostburg State score in the final 30 seconds of the contest allowed the visitors to avoid a shutout.

Sophomore Sean Dacey and freshman John Bohlinger tied for a game-high three points, as they each scored two goals and dished out an assist in the victory. Senior Ryan Kleman played 54 of the 60 minutes in goal and recorded 12 saves to earn the win.

The women’s lacrosse team was involved in a more highly contested game, as the Lady Eagles fell to Stevenson University 13-10 last Saturday. The loss dropped UMW to 8-6 overall and 5-2 in conference play. Mary Washington took an early 4-3 first half lead, but then Stevenson went on a 6-1 scoring run to take a 9-5 halftime advantage and never looked back.

Junior Allie Kimmelman led the Eagles offense, as she accounted for a team-high four points (two goals and two assists). Keller Torrey was another key offensive contributor, as she recorded three points (two goals and one assist) in the loss.

The 25th-ranked men’s tennis team coasted by Salisbury University (5-1) and Wesley College (5-0) last Saturday to stay unbeaten in conference play on the year. Senior Kaz Murata and sophomore Will Apperson earned the singles wins over their Sea Gulls counterparts, while juniors Riley Baver and Andrew Frisk won by default in the Wesley match. The Eagles swept all six doubles matches in between the two contests. Murata was later named as a CAC Tennis Player of the Week after going 3-0 in his three individual matches over the weekend.

The softball team had a pair of heart-pounding home games last Saturday, as UMW narrowly swept a doubleheader against Frostburg State 4-3, 7-6.  The first win for the Eagles came primarily because of junior first baseman Morgan Lamon’s big first inning home run. Mary Washington scored four runs despite only having two hits in the game, but thanks to a pair of walks in front of Lamon, her long ball became a three-run blast.

The second game of the doubleheader was another nail-biter, but a big game from junior shortstop Bireet Chitty helped secure another Eagles victory. Chitty was unstoppable at the plate, as she went 3-3 in the game, scored three runs, drove in four and also added a walk. Sophomore catcher Kerry Busby came away with the eventual game-winning hit in the bottom of the sixth inning, when her RBI base knock put UMW up 7-6. The Eagles would go on to win two more games on Tuesday over Stevenson University, and are now 16-18 on the season and 8-2 against CAC opponents.

Both the men’s and women’s track and field teams took second place at the York College Green and White Invitational this past Saturday, finishing only behind the host school. Freshman Phil Wahlman won the 800-meters crown, and senior Scott Plunkett came away with first place in the 1500-meter race. Senior Matt Geller took first place in both the discus and the hammer throw, and was later selected as a CAC Track and Field Athlete of the Week in recognition of his performance. The lady’s side also had their share of noteworthy performances, with first place finishes by Brooke Thompson in the 400-meter hurdles and Amanda Zapata in the javelin.