Sports
11
Freshman Phenom, Parker Giarratana Continues to Contribute for the Men’s Lacrosse Team Angela Quadrini Contributor
When Drew Kelleher was hired as head coach of the men’s lacrosse team at Manhattan College in 2015, the program acquired more than a coach. Kelleher, then an assistant at Boston University, recruited attackman Parker Giarratana to Boston. The Florida native was set to go to Boston, until Kelleher got the job as head coach at Manhattan. Kelleher saw potential in Giarratana and wanted him to play for whatever team Kelleher was coaching. After some thought, Giarratana took his coach’s advice and committed to Manhattan. Months later, the two-for-one special has paid dividends for Manhattan, as Giarratana has won Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week twice this season, and has started his debut college lacrosse season off with a bang with a teamleading 20 goals and 10 assists. Yet despite the early season success, Giarratana remains humble. “I owe everything to my coaches and teammates, they push me every day to be better,” Giarratana said. “I’m not here to play for myself and get recognized as an individual. I play for this team.” His humble nature has rubbed off on his teammates, including senior defenseman, Alex Gitlitz, who sees him as a great teammate, competitor, and friend. “Parker goes out of his way to make people better on and off the field and it leads to success when he plays in our games,” Gitlitz said. “He’s got such a great personality and it makes an impact on the field.” While he doesn’t usually set personal goals for himself, Giarratana says he strives to be the best he can be for his team-
Parker Giarratana almost didn’t end up at Manhattan, but the freshman has made a home in Riverdale with a team-leading 30 points. Go Jaspers/ Courtesy right now. He cares a lot about his teamfeeder which has helped us,” Kelleher mates and contribute as much as possible mates and always plays hard for them.” said. in hopes of winning a MAAC ChampionIn the team’s first win of the season The Jaspers have been struggling to win ship for Manhattan College. against UMass Lowell on March 12, Giathis season, with a 2-9 record and only four When first recruited, he said he berratana put a point on the scoreboard for games left of the regular season. Despite lieved in Kelleher’s vision for what he Manhattan with just 25 seconds left to the hardships, Giarratana and the team are wanted to do to change the lacrosse team play. united and have a positive outlook for the for the better. Together, he believed they Throughout the game, he racked in reminder of the 2016 season. could turn around Manhattan College’s lathree assists along with retrieving two “Each and everyday we come out, crosse program. ground balls in Manhattan’s favor. The work hard, and play for each other,” Gia“I was very fortunate to get Parker Jaspers won the game 8-5. The win also rratana said. “It keeps us motivated. We to commit to this school,” Kelleher said. marked Kelleher’s first victory as the Jasknow we can do something special, so we “He’s a very skilled attackman who could pers’ head coach. keep working together no matter what the have a very good future here at Manhattan. “He scores a bunch of goals, but he outcome is.” His stick skills are exceptional, he’s got one also gets teammates involved and is a great of the best sticks in the MAAC Conference
Jaspers Talk: Elena Bowman Jaclyn Marr Senior Writer
Elena Bowman, catcher for the Manhattan College softball team, is in her final year as a Jasper and to say she has brought a lot to the team is an understatement. Just looking at last season, Bowman was named MAAC Player of the Year, Capital One Academic All-District and All-America First Team just to name a few. When you ask her about her awards, she never focuses too much on herself. She always has a team mindset. Her accomplishments so far this season include driving in four homeruns and hitting .455 in the St. John’s Invitational, part of the Jaspers’ 14-game road trip. The Jaspers had a comeback win against LIU Brooklyn on March 24 and Bowman notched one run in the team’s seven-run sixth inning. The Quadrangle: You were just named MAAC Player of the Week, the sixth of your career, after your performance at the St. John’s Invitational. How does it feel to be honored like that? Elena Bowman: It’s always nice to be recognized by the conference. It’s not something that ever really gets old. I let myself feel good about it for a minute but
then I think it’s important to focus in on the big picture and what we’re trying to achieve. It’s not where you stand now that matters but where you’re standing in May. TQ: After the team’s long road trip, you return home for four games. How is it for the team to play on home field? EB: It’s so good to be home. We love playing on our field in front of our fans. It’s just a great atmosphere and makes for great softball. TQ: In the LIU Brooklyn game, the team was down and came back to win with a seven-run sixth inning. What does that say about the team’s resiliency? EB: This team is amazing. You put 22 hardworking girls on one roster and that’s what you’re going to get, straight grit. It’s just fun to be a part of. No lead is insurmountable. No team is unbeatable. Like I said, it’s a lot of fun taking the field with this team and I think that’s the way it should be. TQ: How do you feel your season has gone so far? EB: I got off to a little bit of a slow start but Pitt [Lauren Pitney, infield] and Jenn [Vazquez, first base] have been brilliant on either end of me in the lineup. So once I relaxed a little bit and let the game come to me, I feel like I’m finally starting to hit my stride.
TQ: What is an individual goal you have set for this season? Team goals? EB: No individual goals this season. My goal is the same as the team goal, a MAAC championship. Everything else is just white noise. TQ: As a senior, what has been your favorite memory from your years at Manhattan? EB: I would have to say my favorite memory as a Jasper was last year when I broke the career homerun record in front of my family in California. It was the first time they had seen me play for Manhattan and I’ll never forget rounding third base, seeing how excited my team was for me and then looking beyond them and seeing all my family jumping up and down. Really just a special moment. TQ: How does it feel playing in your last season as a Jasper? EB: Very bittersweet. It has been such an amazing experience playing ball here. From my teammates, to my coaches and
Go Jaspers/ Courtesy throughout the entire athletic department, I’ve met the most incredible people and enjoyed every bit of this journey. I’m sad to see it come to an end but I know when I hang up my cleats at the end of the season I’ll have given this team and I’ll have given this sport everything I have. That’s something I think I’ll always be able to take pride in. TQ: Who has influenced you as a player? EB: Bridget Hurlman, our previous assistant coach, was an incredible mentor for me. She taught me a lot about the amount of passion this game demands and the respect it requires. I am grateful for all the hours she spent making me a better ball player but to Coach Bridge and Coach P [Pardalis, head coach] I am forever indebted for making me a better person. TQ: Do you have any plans set for after graduation? EB: No formal plans yet but stay tuned.