RAMAPO SPORTS
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Roadrunners Lacrosse Plans to Step it Up This Season By MICHELE McKENNA S taff Writer
The women’s lacrosse team is entering their fifth season at Ramapo College. After a couple of bumpy seasons and three changes in coaching staff, the team has had its ups and downs, but this spring is likely to be their break-out season. “This year’s team is the strongest team that we have put together,” Coach Concetta Valerio said. This is Valerio’s second year at Ramapo, and she has turned the team around. The lacrosse program started in 2006 and has changed staff three times. Valerio took the team from a 1-10 record in 2008 to a 4-10 record last season. “Coach Valerio is a young coach, but she knows lacrosse and she knows us,” senior defensive player, Jourdan Chiavaro said. “I got into lacrosse because of Coach Valerio,” junior, Christina Urciuoli said. “Looking at this season compared to last season there is a huge improvement already.” According to Valerio, there were several games last year that just slipped from their grip. This year, they plan to take those games. “One of our biggest rivals is Kean University, which is where coach played and graduated from,” Chiavaro said. “We lost to them last year 13-15, so we are certainly looking to destroy them this year.” The Ramapo lacrosse team has high hopes for this season. This year will be the most experienced team Ramapo has seen with 17 returning players out of the 24 on the roster. “We’re striving for over a .500 record and we also want to make it to the Skyline Conference playoffs this year for the first time in Ramapo lacrosse history,” Chiavaro said.
“Our goals are to improve on everything we worked on last year and of course to win more games,” Valerio said. As the team visualize playoffs in their future, they are busting their butts in the meantime to get there. The team has been practicing three hours a day, six days a week since winter break. “Being a young program, it has been very tough competing in the NJAC with programs that have already established themselves as a lacrosse powerhouse,” Valerio said. Although it is tough to compete with more experienced teams, Ramapo is working on all their skills to prep them for the big games. “I’m looking forward to the games against the teams that we may have lost to by one or two goals last year,” Urciuoli said.
“We need some strong leadership to pull the team together,” Valerio said. “I am looking forward to see how we come together when the pressure is on.” Women’s lacrosse started their season on Tuesday with a 15-1 victory over the College of St. Elizabeth. The Roadrunners came out extremely aggressive, scoring goals as early as the first 15 seconds of the game. The score was 10-1 after the first half and the scoring spree continued for Ramapo into the second half. Everyone got a piece of the action with six assists, 30 shots, 15 goals and one save. There is no doubt that the women’s lacrosse team is serious about seeing success this season. “The great thing about this team is that every one of us brings something different to the team talent wise, skill wise, and knowledge for the game,” Chiavaro said.
photo by Stef Mauro
The Roadrunners hope to learn from past mistakes and make the Skyline Conference playoffs.
Star New York Athletes Linked to HGH Investigation
By ANDREW GOULD S taff Writer
Just when the talk of performance enhancing drugs in baseball began to fade, a Canadian doctor linked to star athletes is being investigated for smuggling human growth hormone across the border. New York baseball stars Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes have been interrogated in an investigation of Doctor Anthony Galea, who serves as their personal doctor. Galea was arrested in October after his institution in Toronto was searched. HGH, which simulates growth and allows athletes to get stronger and heel faster, is legal in Canada but illegal in the United States. MaryAnne Catalano, an assistant to Galea, was caught trying to smuggle drugs across the border for Galea. She is now cooperating with investigators to relieve herself of any criminal charges and has claimed that Galea has no medical license to operate in the United States. None of his clients have admitted to using HGH, and they do not seem to be concerned about their involvement in the investigation. Rodriguez previously admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs prior to his successful 2009 season with the Yankees. After finally winning a championship and getting the preverbial monkey off his back, Rodriguez will now have to deal more questions surrounding his connection with Galea. Reyes and Beltran both missed significant time last year in
a season where the majority of the Mets stars were on the Disabled List. Beltran, upset with the Mets doctors, received
photo courtesy of Creative Commons
Mets shortstop Jose Reyes was interviewed by the FBI.
treatment from Galea and recommended him to Reyes. Reyes also has to deal with thyroid concerns that create another setback for his return from an injury-plagued 2009 season. The thyroid is a gland in the neck that produces hormone, and an imbalance in Reyes’ thyroid has been producing superfluous hormones. The condition has prevented him from playing in spring training and has cast a cloud of doubt on his ability to play this season. While there has been no proof that this imbalance could be a side effect of HGH, it cannot be considered out of the question. Another patient of Galea is Tiger Woods, who was speculated by some people of performance enhancing during his absence from golf. Woods received plasma-replacement therapy, an operation in which someone’s blood is removed, spun, and reinserted. Reyes also received this operation. The procedure is highly controversial, but not illegal. Galea resigned from his position as team doctor of the Canadian football Toronto Argonauts after holding the job for six years. Galea also serves as a doctor for former Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado, Colorado Rockies closer Huston Street, and Olympic swimmer Dana Torres. Delgado remains unsigned after only playing 26 games for the Mets last year after undergoing hip surgery. Street, who recorded 35 saves last year as the Rockies’ closer, is currently dealing with an inflammation in his right shoulder. At age 31, Torres won three silver medals in the 2008 Summer Olympics.