Sports
Fencing Concludes Successful Season
Photo by Brittany Barnett.
By Broadside Sports Editor Brian Chan
Even a first-year club that won a conference championship still has goals for its subsequent years. The George Mason University fencing club wrapped up their inaugural season, winning the Baltimore-Washington Collegiate Fencing Conference championships last weekend.
Mason finished first overall with the sabre and epee teams taking second and the foil team earning a third-place finish. Junior club president Chris Atwood took the second-place medal in sabre while junior Josh Reed ranked ninth in epee, freshmen Victoria Owens and Jay Carty placed fifth and sixth in foil, respectively, in the individual competitions at University of Maryland-Baltimore County.
Men's Volleyball: End of the Road
By Broadside Staff Writer Fernanda Ferreira
Penn State University hosted the 2009 EIVA Men’s Volleyball at the Rec Hall this past week from Thursday to Saturday.
After defeating Springfield College at the quarterfinals of the EIVA Championship Tournament, the Patriots fell to the top-seeded Penn State Nittany Lions, ranked fifth in the nation, in the semifinals match in three sets (19-30, 22-30, 21-30).
Lady Patriots Win 8-7
By Broadside Correspondent Ebad Khan
The women’s lacrosse team partook in their final regular season game against their conference counterparts, the James Madison University Dukes. With the sound of the whistle blowing promptly at 7:00 p.m., the Lady Patriots began their attack and held on to defeat the Dukes 8-7 in a seesaw battle between the in-state rivals.
Closer Returns After Missing All of 2008
By Broadside Correspondent John Kleeb
In recent years in Major League Baseball, the closer position has been one that has seen record-breaking numbers. Eric Gagne set the National League record with 55 saves in 2003 and converted 84 consecutive save opportunities from 2002 through 2004.
Last season, Francisco Rodriguez broke Bobby Thigpen’s single-season record with 62 saves. For junior Jordan Flasher, the distinction of George Mason University’s single-season and all-time save leader is already clinched.
Fight Club
Photo by John Porter.
Phil Davis defeated Terry Cohens by T.K.O.
Phil Davis defeated Terry Cohens by T.K.O.
By Broadside Correspondent John Porter
S. Marcello Foran, the Ultimate Warrior Challenge CEO, held another successful mixed martial arts event at the Patriot Center with over 4,000 fans in attendance and the rest watching a live stream on sherdog.com.
Saturday, April 25, was the sixth event held by the mixed martial arts organization, UWC. Some major sources have labeled the UWC as the East Coast’s Strikeforce.
Mason Softball is Out of the Rat Hole
Photo by Aaron Arenas.
Freshman Alyssa See went 3-for-8 on Saturday.
Freshman Alyssa See went 3-for-8 on Saturday.
By Broadside Sports Editor Brian Chan
MASON 3 DELAWARE 1
The softball team (15-29, 1-15) snapped their 20-game losing streak in the CAA after defeating the University of Delaware Blue Hens (20-17, 6-8) 3-1 in their final home series of the 2009 season.
Junior pitcher Becky Anderson (8-19) surrendered only four hits on one run and received enough run support, winning for the first time since March 18. Despite getting into trouble in the seventh inning, Anderson got the Blue Hens to hit into a game-ending double play.
Krieger is the Hit King
By Broadside Sports Editor Brian Chan
Three George Mason University batters recorded three hits apiece as the baseball team (32-8, 12-4) cruised to a 7-2 win over the Hofstra University Pride (6-24, 2-14).
Already leading 1-0, sophomore designated hitter Shane Davis belted his third home run of the season in the second inning, scoring two more runs for Mason. Davis had a strong day on offense as he picked up three hits and recorded four RBIs. Davis fell only a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.
Mason Volleyball Trumps Harvard
By Broadside Staff Writer Fernanda Ferreira
The men’s volleyball team (13-15) downed Harvard University (11-8) in four sets (31-29, 31-33, 30-19, 30-26) last Wednesday and advanced to the quarterfinals of the EIVA Men’s Volleyball Championship.
Mason, the fifth seed during the regular season, confirmed their favoritism over the eighth-seeded Harvard University Crimson, even though the Crimson were willing to fight for every point. As the match started, the Patriots controlled over the score through the entire first set, but had trouble finishing it. The Crimson held strong by the end of the set, scoring six points in a row to tie the score at 29. The Patriots were not able to side out to conclude the set. After missing several opportunities to wrap up the set, a kill by junior opposite hitter Ben Nichols, followed by a Crimson error, ended the first set at 31-29.
Building the Bridges
Photo by Peter Flint.
By Broadside Correspondent Brenda Shepard
College life can be overwhelming and hectic, but for some student athletes, the balance is worth working hard for. Often, it is hard to manage schoolwork while maintaining some form of social life. However, senior women’s lacrosse player Maggie Bridges has managed to succeed in academics and athletics while also growing as a person.
“I wouldn’t have changed a thing,” said Bridges, who is a biology major.
Bridges has been playing lacrosse since her freshman year in high school. She knew she wanted to play and what George Mason University had to offer made it easy for her to make a decision.
Mason Baseball Dominates the CAA
Photo by Stephanie Knapp.
Henderson leads Mason in batting average, on-base and slugging percentage.
Henderson leads Mason in batting average, on-base and slugging percentage.
By Broadside Sports Editor Brian Chan
The power-hitting tandem of senior left fielder Scott Krieger and junior first baseman Justin Bour serves as a smokescreen to the baseball team’s top-to-bottom batting lineup and pitching rotation.
Earlier this month, George Mason University achieved their best 20-win season after defeating the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers and also won 10 straight games earlier this season. Mason had only one double-digit consecutive winning streak prior to this season.