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July 4, 2012 ■ Page 9
All-America games unite rivals By BRIAN KAPUR Current Staff Writer
As Gonzaga defenseman Matt Borda walked off the lacrosse field Saturday, a teammate on the D.C. all-star team tapped him on the helmet and playfully said, “Gonzaga sucks.” That player was a fellow all-star from Georgetown Prep — one of the Eagles’ biggest rivals — who quickly followed up the joke by saying, “Gonzaga was the best this season.” The weekend’s Under Armour All-America Lacrosse Classic at Towson University brought players together from local rival schools to represent the District in one of the biggest national lacrosse showcase events of the summer. There was a flurry of both boys and girls games, with Gonzaga and Georgetown Visitation represented. Borda, a rising senior who has already committed to Fairfield, was there for Washington Catholic Athletic Conference champions Gonzaga, while rising juniors Ana Hagerup and Kelly Myers and rising sophomore Maggie Jackson represented Visitation. For those who haven’t committed to university lacrosse programs, the series of games was a chance to show their talent to the slew of collegiate coaches in attendance. “I feel like it raises my level of play and gets me used to playing with the players that I will probably play with in college,” said Myers. “I think it’s just fun to play with all of the best players,” Jackson added. “It makes you get better and they bring out your talents.” For those like Borda who’ve already latched onto a college team, the event was a chance to play with some of the top talent from around the country. “It doesn’t do much now that I’m already committed. But it shows coach [Andy] Copelan up at Fairfield how I’m progressing and what I need to work on,” Borda said. “It definitely gets my game going. You need to step your game up or you’re going to get run off the field.” On the boys’ side, Borda teamed up with players from Georgetown Prep, Bullis, St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes as well as Washington
Catholic Athletic Conference stars from DeMatha and St. Mary’s Ryken. For the Eagles defender, uniting with talented rivals was a pleasant change. “It’s great because I play with most of them all the time,” Borda said. “They can really bring it.” Borda and the D.C. all-star squad went 3-1 in pool play en route to the tournament semifinals. But in the single-elimination round Sunday, the District’s all-stars fell to the Philadelphia squad 10-7. On the girls’ side, the Visitation players joined forces with competitors from their biggest local rival — St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes. But many of the Cubs players have experience playing club lacrosse with the Saints players, which made for an easy transition. “It’s really fun playing with all of these girls,” said Ana Hagerup, who recently gave a verbal commitment to the University of Virginia. “They’re the best from D.C., Maryland and Virginia. It’s different because when we play each other during the school year we are all rivals ... especially [with] the girls from St. Stephen’s.” That familiarity helped the girls roll through pool play and win all four of their games to grab the top seed in the tournament. “I think we’re all gelling really well together,” Hagerup said Saturday after the District pounded the Midwest team 19-3. “We know how they play from scouting them a lot, and we’re all good friends. Some of us are going to college together, so it’s fun to have those
Brian Kapur/The Current
Above, Gonzaga’s Matt Borda, left, joined forces with local rivals to represent the District at the Under Armour All-America Lacrosse Classic. Above left, Visitation’s Ana Hagerup, left, Kelly Myers and Maggie Jackson played for D.C.’s girls team. friendships.” But like D.C.’s boys team, the girls fell in the semifinals Sunday, losing 10-9 to New Jersey. While the underclassmen were trying to make an impression, the upperclassmen had one last contest to play at the high school level — the Under Armour All-America Game. Northwest D.C. wasn’t represented in the girls game, but in the boys senior all-star game, Gonzaga’s Connor Reed played a big role in the South’s 12-11 win over the North’s allstars. The game was tied at three when Reed broke down the North’s defense and dished out
his final assist as a high school player to score the go-ahead goal early in the second quarter. The South never trailed again and went on to win 12-11. Reed will be taking his talents to John Hopkins next spring. For Borda and the underclassmen, the event was part of their offseason preparations for another championship run. “They’re all coming for us next year; we know that,” said Borda. “We want to keep doing what we’re doing and to work hard in the offseason. Then just go get the championship again, four-peat, and get me out of there with four championships.”
Hoyas fall short of London at Olympic trials in Oregon By BRIAN KAPUR Current Staff Writer
Randy Miyazuki/trackandfieldphoto.com
Elizabeth Maloy, right, was one of three Hoyas in the 5,000.
Five athletes with Georgetown University ties participated in the Olympic track and field trials in Eugene, Ore., throughout the last week. On Thursday, Elizabeth Maloy, a 2006 Georgetown graduate, and current senior Emily Infield ran in the women’s 5,000-meter race. Both needed a top-three finish and a time of 15:20 or better to qualify for the London games. Meanwhile, Andrew Bumbalough, a graduate student in sports management, went out for the men’s 5,000-meter race.
Then on Sunday, Georgetown alums Maggie Infeld and Treniere Moser raced in the 1,500-meter finals for a chance to go to the summer games. Despite strong performances, all five competitors’ Olympic dreams were dashed in the trials. Maloy finished in seventh place in the 5000 meter with a time of 15:24.85. “It’s disappointing because it was really anyone’s race,” Maloy told guhoyas.com. “I just had an off day and it’s just disappointing that it had to happen today.” Meanwhile, Infield finished in eighth place with a time of 15:28.60,
a personal best according to guyhoyas.com. “I thought I had it in my legs with 600 [meters] to go,” Infeld told the website. “It was rough, but it was a good experience and fun overall.” On the men’s side, Bumbalough finished in fourth place in the 5000 meter with a time of 13:26.67 — just one spot shy of the London games. “If you look at [today’s race], the guy who got second place today could win the gold medal in London — that just shows you how far we’ve come as a country in this sport,” Bumbalough told guhoyas. com. “It makes it tough for up-and-
coming guys to make team.” On Sunday, Infeld and Moser weren’t able to crack the top three of the 1,500-meter race to claim spots in London. Infeld finished with a personal best time of 4:08.31, but it was only good enough for eighth place. “I tried to run smart and stay patient,” Infeld told guyhoyas.com. “It’s a world-class field. I don’t know that I would change anything — I gave it my all today. Going into this year, I wanted to get to this final and have my best race in this final and I did it.” Meanwhile, Moser finished in 11th place with a time of 4:15.84.