The Penmen Press | 11
SNHU Baseball is Sliding into 2021 Season Steven Covey Staff Writer SNHU’s baseball team began their season on March 25 at Stonehill College and finished with a 2-0 record after beating the Skyhawks 10-2 in the first game and 3-1 in the second game. With new COVID regulations in place, the baseball players are excited to hit the field again after not having a 2020 season. “I’m pretty excited. Seeing other schools practicing together in the fall and winter hurts, while we haven’t seen each other since last March,” said Joshua Goldstein (‘21), captain and infielder. “Not being together has been especially tough on us for the most part because we’re so close. I wouldn’t say I’m nervous; it’s more of a learning experience for everyone.
Hopefully, we just do the right thing, stay COVID free, and we’ll be all set for the season.” Even after their first practice, Goldstein was happy to be back. “Our first practice went well. It was great to be back out there with the guys, and everyone brought great energy. We met all the new guys and got into a rhythm. We had to wear masks the wholetime and we were split up into smaller groups when we went inside to hit, but other than that it was a pretty normal practice,” said Goldstein. Some players think the team should focus on recreating the bond they had before SNHU closed due to COVID-19 in order to be a cohesive group. “It’s more about bonding as
a team that’s important because we haven’t built a lot of team chemistry yet,” said Idelson Taveras (‘21), outfielder. “I feel like team chemistry is something we need to work on, not because we lack it but because there’s a lot of new guys, and we just have to get used to being together again. I think it should be one of the main goals due to the limited time we have.” With the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association (NCBWA) ranking SNHU’s baseball team as number 11 nationwide and the NE10 Coaches’ Poll ranking the Penmen at number 1, the baseball team has a promising season ahead.
SNHU Tennis Takes a Swing at Spring Christopher Kelly Staff Writer After a year off, SNHU Men's and Women's Tennis has finally returned to campus to play an abridged spring season in the NE10 conference. This is all occurring with new rules and restrictions in place to ensure the safety and health of the players, such as weekly testing and wearing masks during daily practices. Everyone involved is excited to resume their seasons, which were cut short last year due to Covid-19. Head Coach Gregory Coache is very enthusiastic about the season returning and getting to work with his athletes. “We’re just excited to get the players back…I would say I want them to really enjoy their experience, [to] please be smart and be healthy. If they are, both my men's and women's teams could go very far as they have in years past,” said Coache. The women’s games are on
Sundays and Wednesdays. The season began with a winning streak, beating Saint Anselm (4-0), Saint Michael’s (7-0) and Assumption (7-0). However, in the next game, SNHU lost to undefeated Franklin Pierce (2-5). The game against Saint Michaels was postponed, but on Saturday the 27, SNHU played Saint Anselm (). Co-captains Liz Dwyer ('22) and Alexa Etienne ('22), when asked about how they feel about the season, said, “It’s definitely looking promising for the future since everyone came back and they're fitting pretty well.” They are hoping to win the NE-10 this season and get the ring that comes with it. The men’s season began on March 27 with a [win/ loss] to Bentley. This follows postponements for the first two games on the schedule due to testing complications. Games
will proceed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. As explained by Willem van Biezen ('22), a grad student from Sassenheim, Netherlands, “We always get Covid tested on Tuesdays in the morning, but if we have Tuesday matches, we would need that negative result before we start the match, so we are now testing on Monday. They were afraid that we couldn’t get that result on time Tuesday, so...they postponed it for this time.” Despite the delay, van Biezen remains positive that men’s tennis will be able to do well this season. Because of health and safety concerns, spectators are not allowed to be in the stands. However, viewers are able to watch live-streams of the matches or can email Coach Coache for full recordings of them.
