Sports Features

Sports

Mercer impressed in first year as floor leader for men's team

March 30

As the starting point guard for the AU men's basketball team, Derrick Mercer earned the position as a freshman, a rare accomplishment in Division I basketball. But the early success didn't come easy for him. Adjusting to college is hard enough for any freshman, let alone a starting basketball player.

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Sports

Sidelined by injuries, Hadavi still found ways to contribute

By Jesse Epstein | March 30

Tala Hadavi was recruited to AU as a transfer from Virginia Commonwealth to be the leader of a program that was headed for its first NCAA berth. In two years of eligibility, she had one of the most up-and-down careers in Patriot League history. She played only eight games her junior year before blowing out her knee, and 22 games this year before suffering the same injury on her other knee.

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Sports

In sports, March is going out like a lion

By Ryan Spilhaus | March 30

Has so much ever happened in one month? March is always an exciting month for sports, with the NBA and NHL playoff races heating up, baseball starting spring training, and, of course, the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. The past month, however, has surpassed all expectations in terms of excitement and sheer volume.

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Sports

Sports brief: The Mount tops women's tennis

By Kevin Hilgers | March 30

The AU women's tennis team's top two earned victories, lbut the Eagles ost the match Tuesday at Mount. St. Mary's, 4-2. Junior Julia Colarusso and sophomore Malvina DeLaCanal each won, 2-0. Colarusso defeated Jen Isosue, 6-3, 6-3, while DeLaCanal beat Katie Muething, 6-1, 6-2.

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Sports

Patriots' revolution will fail in Indy

By Jesse Epstein | March 30

Wow, I'm a battered human, a shell of my former self, dead to the world, or any other pathetic clich? you can come up with for what happened to me and my bracket last weekend. If you can find it in your hearts, please disregard the "four truths" column I gave last week, when I proclaimed Duke, Villanova, Gonzaga and U-Conn.

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Sports

Sports briefs

By Kevin Hilgers | March 27

Lacrosse loses to Hopkins, but 3-0 in PL The AU women's lacrosse team fell to No. 3 Johns Hopkins Sunday, but beat Villanova Saturday to stay undefeated in the Patriot League. The Blue Jays (6-0) scored the first ten goals of the game in Baltimore on the way to a 15-7 win over the Eagles.

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Sports

Beware the ides of March Madness

March 27

Spring is here, and it's not warm enough. March Madness is here, and all I can think about is the NBA Playoffs. The NHL is here and nearing the end of its regular season, but I can't stand watching it because of the rule changes. Still, certain sports have come together to create the perfect time of year when following them is a full-time fantasy job.

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Sports

Time to take it outside for Eagle track squads

By Justin Hall | March 27

As winter turns the corner to spring, the AU men's and women's track teams look to continue their success from the indoor season in their upcoming outdoor campaign. Coming off their best finishes in school history at the Patriot League championship meet - third and fifth, respectively - the two squads now try to carry over this momentum through the rest of the season.

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Sports

Runners win trio of events at Navy

By Erin Keaveney | March 27

The AU men's and women's track teams competed at the Navy Invitational in Annapolis, Md., Saturday, grabbing three first-place finishes and recording personal bests for several team members. The Eagles dominated the men's 1,500-metet run, pulling a one-two-three sweep when Brendan Fennell, Brian McCabe and Steve Hallinan placed first, second and third, respectively.

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Sports

Sports briefs

By Kevin Hilgers | March 23

Lacrosse loses close match at Richmond No. 9 Richmond clipped the visiting AU women's lacrosse team Wednesday, 10-8. The Eagles led 8-7 midway through the second half when sophomore midfielder Chelsea Kapp scored her third goal of the match. But the Spiders (6-2) rattled off three unanswered goals to secure the win.

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Sports

Lacrosse is young, optimistic

By Erin Keaveney | March 23

After coming off its worst season since joining the Patriot League four years ago, the AU women's lacrosse team is looking to make 2006 a banner year for the program. And so far, they're making a pretty good case. They finished a disappointing 6-11 last season, but the Eagles have bounced back this year, maintaining a perfect record in league play and an overall record of 3-5.

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Sports

March Madness for wrestlers, Thiel

By Dan Jacobson | March 23

Senior Muzaffar Aburakhmanov and sophomore Josh Glenn made AU history last weekend in Oklahoma City, earning All-American honors and finishing third and fourth, respectively, at the NCAA championships. The duo capped off the greatest season in AU wrestling history.

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Sports

By George! D.C.'s own make most of NCAAs

By Simone Echeverri-Gent | March 23

The result of this year's March Madness certainly brought pride to the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The name to remember is "George." George Mason, Georgetown and George Washington all made it to second round of play in the NCAA tournament. Although George Washington fell to Duke in the second round (and there's nothing shameful about losing to Duke), George Mason's and Georgetown's success offers hope for AU's future prospects for the NCAA tournament.

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Sports

First AU woman in NCAAs since 1994 is a top 40 hit

By Justin Hall | March 23

Sophomore swimmer Meghan Thiel competed at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships last weekend, finishing in the top 40 in both the 500- and 1,650-yard freestyles. Thiel was the only PL swimmer selected to go to the meet and the first AU swimmer to qualify since Gabriella Csepe in 1994.

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Sports

Here's the truth about Final Four

By Jesse Epstein | March 23

What would the third week of March be without a Final Four projection? Instead of the normal "Two Truths and a Lie," we're going to switch it up and go with simply the "Final Four Truths." Truth: Duke will beat Texas to advance to the Final Four. Maybe it's the easy way out, but the Dukies are playing well again after a couple rough games.

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Sports

Sports briefs

By Kevin Hilgers | March 9

Thiel will swim at NCAA championships Sophomore Meghan Thiel of the AU women's swimming team will compete at the NCAA championships March 16-18 in Atlanta. She will be the Patriot League's lone female representative there after winning conference titles in the 500- and 1,650-yard freestyles.

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Sports

Any takers for Nats?

By Erin Keaveney | March 9

I don't know if anyone's interested, but there's a baseball team for sale. They're potentially pretty good, they're local and they've just cleared a plan to build a brand-new park. Any takers? OK, so maybe it's not that easy. It's not like Major League Baseball can just take out a want ad.

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