Spring sports pre-season polls release

BY KEENAN YATES, MANAGING EDITOR

The MAC conference spring preseason coaches’ polls have indicated a promising season for a multitude of sports across campus.

Women’s softball was picked third overall, taking two of the nine frst place votes, where three and four were given to Misericordia and Arcadia, respectively. The two-time defending conference champions went 19-19 last season, earning their frst-ever NCAA victory as well, although not their frst appearance at the tournament.

After their 18-3 season last year and appearance in the NCAA tournament, which was the ffth in team history, women’s lacrosse is the favorite coming into this season, raking in six of the nine total frst place votes among coaches.

Men’s lacrosse received all eight frst place votes, putting the two-time defending conference champions as the favorite coming into this season. Following their 13-8 season, going 8-0 in conference games, and with a record of winning their last 21 games against conference opponents, men’s lacrosse is projected to have yet another successful season.

Men’s volleyball was also named the favorite, taking home six of 10 frst-place votes with the other four going to Messiah. Following their NCAA semifnal appearance, and considering that no players graduated of the team, men’s volleyball is expected to have another strong season.

Men’s baseball was picked to be ranked second, receiving one frst place vote after Arcadia, which came in the lead with seven frst place votes. Last season, Men’s baseball went 29-16, including their frst NCAA appearance since 2014.

Men’s Tennis preseason poll earned them all seven frst place votes, putting them in frst coming of their 14-5 season with a 6-0 record in in-conference play. Last season they also had their 14th ever NCAA appearance, making it past the frst round.

Women’s tennis was also named the favorite in the rankings, taking in six of eight frst-place votes as defending conference champions. Last season, women’s tennis had a record of 12-5, going 7-0 during conference play. Last season’s performances and coaches’ polls have projected a very successful season for spring sports. All teams have the talent and enthusiasm from players and coaches that assure that this season will be an exciting one.

Women’s and men’s T&F at the Conference Challenge Cup

BY KATIE BLOOMER, OUTREACH CHAIR

On Saturday, January 28, the Conference Challenge Cup was hosted by Nazareth College at the Golisano Training Center in Rochester, New York.

Senior Laura Mathews won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.79 seconds and the 400-meter dash in 57.93 seconds. She leads the conference in both of these events and is ranked 26th nationally in the 60-meter dash and 16th nationally in the 200-meter dash. Mathews also ran the fastest preliminary race, clocking in at 8.63 seconds.

When discussing Mathews’ performance, Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Head Coach John Kolibab stated, “Laura now sits in the top-30 in the country in four separate disciplines after an incredibly impressive 400 meter win. No one in the history of Stevens Track and Field has shown this kind of range at such a high level”.

Another top fnisher, Kristen Williams, ran the 60-meter dash in 8.4 seconds, earning fourth place. Additionally, Williams ran a season best in the 200 with a time of 28.79 and fnished sixth in the 60-meter hurdles. Sophomore Caroline Tighe earned second in the high jump and a season best with a height of 1.57 meters. There were many other key performances from athletes such as Allie Canciani, Maggie Previglian, Rachel Pinho, Jacqueline Lulaj, Nina Burden, Rachel Rouse, Fionna Feerick, Alexis Merola, and Liana Meyer.

The Men’s Track and Field team also had a successful Conference Challenge Cup. Kolibab gave his insight on what this particular event means to him, stating, “The Conference Cup Challenge is always one of the highlights of our season. Pairing up with Misericordia and going against some of the best teams from other conferences in the area is a perfect way to start the back half of our season. We told the team that this was the meet to re ally kick things into gear and they responded in a big way.”

Senior Ronnie Melao fnished second in the mile with a time of 4:21.85, only in second by eighthundredths-of-a-second. This moved Melao into frst place on the conference leaderboard. He also earned 12th in the 800-meter race.

Other top fnishers included ju nior Jake Aylmer, placing seventh in the mile, junior Liam Concannon, coming in 14th in the 3,000 meter, and junior Colin Keady with a personal best weight throw of 13.96 meters. Additionally, Federico Yacoubian, Kevin Finck, Andrew Anantharajah, and Frank Orlando all had key performances.

Concerning the next track meet, both the men’s and women’s teams will travel to Boston, MA to compete in the David Hemery Valentine Invitational on Friday, February 10.