Two fruitful spring outings for AU Track this weekend
The AU Track team had a productive outing at the Bucknell Invitational Friday in Lewisburg, Pa. Senior captain Sean Duffy won the 1,500-meter race with a time of 3:43 to lead the Eagles. Also racing in the 1,500 were freshman Steve Hallinan, who placed sixth, and Brendan Fennell, who finished 12th.
In the 5,000-meter run, senior Patrick McCadie placed second with a time of 14:21, seven seconds behind winner Dave Berdan, running for Elizabethtown.
On Saturday, the team competed in the Lou Onesti/Milton Abramson Invitational in Charlottesville, Va., on the campus of the University of Virginia.
Sophomore Dustin Emrani won the Men's 800-meter run, with a time of 1:50.17, .15 of a second ahead of second-place finisher McGavock Dunbar of Virginia. Senior Matt Barresi placed second in the 5,000-meter.
For the women, Zaia Wharton had the best finish of the day, placing fourth in the 800-meter with a time of 2:15.44. She was the only AU woman to win points in any race Saturday.
Overall, the women placed 17th in the tournament with 5 points, while the men placed 11th with 23 points. The University of Virginia women won the tournament, as did the Penn State men.
AU Women's Tennis ends season on losing note in Maryland
Ending a physically and emotionally draining season, the Women's Tennis team succumbed to the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, 6-1, on Friday afternoon. The only Eagle who won was sophomore Merissa Hollinger, who beat Gabriela Furdyna, 3-6, 6-4 (10-6).
Sophomore Julia Colarusso took the first set over the Retrievers' No. 1 player, Ale Pedargnana, but lost 3-6, 6-3, 7-6. All three Eagles' doubles teams, Colarusso and Tessa Hollyn-Taub, Brandi Kligman and Rachael Honig, and Hollinger and Brynne Ward, lost in straight sets, so the Retrievers registered the team point for doubles victories.
The loss left the Eagles at 1-18 for the year, 0-5 in league play, and they will now prepare for next year, which is planned to be the last year for the program.
The only senior leaving is Alexandra Zerkalova, who wasn't playing at the end of the season. If all the players stay, AU will be led by a strong junior class, featuring Colarusso, Hollyn-Taub, Honig, Hollinger and Ward, and senior leadership from Kligman.
William and Mary punctures AU Men's Tennis's hot streak
The AU Men's Tennis team suffered a 6-1 loss at 72nd-ranked William and Mary on Saturday.
Junior Sebastien Proisy was the only Eagle to win, beating Matt Rubinstein 7-5, 6-7, 1-0. That was the only three-set match, as the Eagles lost in straight sets in the other singles matches. AU also lost two of three doubles contests to drop the doubles point.
The loss dropped AU to 15-4 on the year, while the Tribe improved to 8-14.
The Eagles conclude their regular season with a match in Bethlehem, Pa., against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks Monday.
They have already clinched the No. 1 seed and home court advantage in the PL tournament, which begins Saturday. If the Eagles win the tournament, they would qualify for the NCAA championships and play at a regional site.
