Broadside Sports

By Fernanda Bartels, Staff Writer

Last season, junior Eric Lucas recorded 309 digs, falling two digs short of matching the highest individual single-season record for digs of all-time. The record was set by his father Ric Lucas 25 years ago.

Ric was a two-time All-American and a member of the 1984 National Collegiate Athletic Association All-Tournament men’s volleyball team.
Eric learned how to play volleyball early in his life from those close to him, especially from his father who was always hitting, passing and setting with him during his time off.

“I wanted to pepper with him all the time,” said Lucas, a computer science major at George Mason University. “Whenever he wasn’t playing in a match, he would be peppering with me on the sidelines. I just loved volleyball from the very beginning.”

Eric started playing volleyball outdoors. Playing grass and beach tournaments shaped him as a volleyball player.

“I prefer outdoor because you have to do everything,” said Lucas. “You have to pass, set and hit. I’m a good all-around player; I’m really good outdoor. I started playing it first, so I just have this passion for it.”

His awards speak for themselves. Eric won the High Performance East Coast Beach Volleyball Championship in 2006 and received the Most Promising Young Player award in the Pottstown Rumble Grass Volleyball Championships in 2007.

After joining the Patriots in 2007, Lucas managed to play outdoor tournaments during offseason.

Hailing from Ellicott City, Md., Lucas started travelling further away to play pro beach tournaments this past summer.

He played in the Association of Volleyball Professionals qualifiers as a starting point for his future plans to join the professional circuit.

“I’m definitely planning to play as much professional beach tournaments as I can, and try to work my way up on the beach tour,” said Lucas.

Aside from his ambitions of playing professionally after graduation, playing beach volleyball over the summer helped Lucas improve his attacking skills.
“I worked really hard over the summer,” said Lucas. “I got stronger and faster. This past summer, my jump went up four or five inches. I came in jumping 32/33 inches; last time I tested, I jumped 39 to 40 inches.”

His improvement on the sand has transferred to the court. Returning for his third season with the Patriots, Lucas showed Head Coach Fred Chao that he could be an option for the team as an outside hitter.

“[Improving the jump] gave me the desire to play outside [hitter],” said Lucas. “Because I’ve been playing pro beach tournaments, I knew that I could hit against big blockers.”

Lucas started off his junior year as a hitter. He is second on the team with 107 kills. Aside from his new responsibilities as a hitter, Lucas still is an aggressive back row player. He is third in digs and second in passing attempts on the team.

“I’m still trying to be aggressive at passing because I’m good at that,” said Lucas. “It’s one of my strengths, and I need to make sure that I’m taking enough court and passing the ball well even though I’m still hitting.”

As Lucas tries to balance his new responsibilities as an outside hitter and his previous tasks as a libero, he also hopes to balance his athletic and academic career after graduation.

As a computer science major, Lucas hopes to land a job in a software engineering company while still hoping to play volleyball on the weekends during summer.

By Donald O’Mahony, Staff Writer

Former George Mason University men’s soccer goalkeeper Sean Kelley had always hoped for the opportunity to play professionally, but it was never his intention to ignore a call from one of the Major League Soccer teams.

The spring semester was underway, and in late January, a phone call from an unknown number disrupted Kelley during class. He thought nothing of it until he received a call from Patriots Head Coach Greg Andrulis a little bit later.

“I knew something was up because my coach never calls me,” Kelley said in an article on MLSnet.com. “I figured it out. I just wanted to run out of class and head on over here. It was a pretty exciting time.”

The unknown number turned out to be FC Dallas goalkeeping coach Drew Keeshan, who called to inform Kelley that the team wanted him to come to Texas and train with the chance of earning a contract.

“I had not been doing a whole lot since the end of the season, so [Andrulis and I] started a training program,” said Kelley.

Twice a week, he and Andrulis went over goalkeeping drills in his preparation for professional soccer.

The sudden change of plans raised some questions for Kelley involving his academic career.

“It was tough to figure out what I had to do with my classes,” said Kelley. “I had to call my professors and tell them I might be back, but I wasn’t sure. They gave me a two-week window in case I got cut that I could come back, but I’m still here.”

In a situation that could have been difficult because graduation was so close, Kelley’s parents have been nothing but helpful.

“My parents have been really supportive,” said Kelley. “They said I can always go back and finish school, but this might be the only chance to chase my dream.”
Kelley could not be going into training at a more exciting time. With the World Cup approaching this summer, a few of the players are battling for a spot on the American roster.

“It’s a big opportunity for these guys, and they are extra serious, if that’s possible,” said Kelley. “It adds to the environment in training. They were away for national team camp for a while and you could tell something was missing. They add an extra spark when they are here.”

One player in particular stood out to Kelley when it came to the training ground.

“Heath Pearce is a defender, but he could play almost anywhere on the field,” said Kelley. “He is really consistent and works very hard. When he’s not in the game, his presence is greatly missed.”

Another common topic among the players is the impending strike. The players’ union has been negotiating with league officials in Washington, D.C. recently, but if no deal is struck by March 25, the players have agreed that a strike is necessary.

“No one wants a strike, but there have been disagreements between the union and the league,” said Kelley. “I hope it all works out, but it’s really up in the air.”
Regardless of the outcome, getting the opportunity to play professionally has been an experience that not everyone gets in life — the chance to chase a childhood dream. If Kelley shows the drive that he had during his time at Mason, then it will be quite a while until he finally graduates.

By Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor

To follow a solid two-hit shutout from sophomore Miranda Cranford in the earlier game, senior starting pitcher Becky Anderson capped Saturday’s doubleheader with a perfect game, retiring all 15 batters in the George Mason University’s softball team’s 8-0 win against the Morgan State Bears.

The Patriots easily took the first game of the weekend’s four-game set, defeating the Bears 6-0. Moving closer to the .500 mark after starting the season 1-5, the Patriots improved to 5-7 overall with the sweep while the Bears dropped to 4-8.

On Saturday, the player sporting the number 4 on her jersey became the fourth pitcher in Mason history to reach perfection, the first since 2002. Anderson, who made her first start since March 9, struck out six batters and managed only one ball to leave the infield. With the perfect game, Anderson lowers her conference-best opponent’s batting average to .170.

“I felt like I didn’t have my stuff, but I still hit my spots; Kara [Weiner] was really framing the ball well,” said Anderson.

In the matinee game, Cranford went six innings, allowing two hits and striking out three batters; freshman Amanda Buffington, who had a team-best 2.00 ERA entering the game, pitched the seventh inning to wrap up Mason’s 6-0 win.

Sophomore shortstop Rachael Davies had a two-out double in the first inning and advanced to third on a fielding error on sophomore shortstop Lydia Walther-Rodriguez, and scored on an RBI double from sophomore first baseman Katie Rynex. The Patriots struck again with two more runs in the fourth inning as sophomore second baseman Alyssa See doubled to right center, and Davies added an RBI single for Mason’s third run of the game.

Mason essentially put the game out of reach, scoring three runs in the fifth inning. Freshman catcher Emily Lafferty knocked in her first career RBI, and freshman left fielder Reagan Doiron tallied her first career hit on a run-scoring single. Doiron later scored on a single from senior center fielder Kate Bustin.

Davies and Lafferty recorded two hits and an RBI apiece as Mason racked up 10 hits against the Bears’ junior starting pitcher Megan Johnson. All but one Mason starter recorded a hit.

In the second game, the Patriots attacked for three runs in the first inning. Junior catcher Kara Weiner hit a two-run single to right field to give Mason a comforting 3-0 lead.

In the third inning, the Patriots took advantage of several miscues from Morgan State and translated that into five runs. After Davies led off with a walk, she advanced to second base on a wild pitch from senior pitcher Porsche Boddicker, and later took third base on a passed ball.

While being untouchable on the mound, Anderson provided some offense with an opposite-field single, plating Davies in the process. Boddicker hit junior center fielder Stephanie Strother with a pitch to load the bases and walked freshman right fielder Daria Siwczak to force in a run.

Doiron grounded to the second baseman, who tried to throw to home, but Weiner slid in safely to extend Mason’s lead to 6-0. See followed with an RBI groundout, and freshman third baseman Megan Blank added Mason’s eighth run with an infield single.

In the fifth inning, Anderson induced three groundouts to give Mason its first back-to-back wins in the 2010 season.

“In both games, we played hard,” said Anderson. “We definitely learned how to finish the games because in other games, we’ve fallen apart, so we just kept it together and played well defensively and got the hits in.”

While Mason remains under .500, the team has played in a number of close games. Of the 10 games played prior to Saturday, the Patriots lost four of the six one-run games.­­­ Nevertheless, the pitching continues to thrive from the rotation of Anderson, Cranford and Buffington. The Patriots entered the day leading the Colonial Athletic Association with a 2.16 team ERA. With the two shutouts on Saturday, Mason was able to lower that to 1.84.

“I hope we gain the confidence because earlier in the season, we haven’t really pitched as well as we are capable of, so it really helps boost our confidence knowing that we can shut [our opponents] down,” said Anderson.

The Patriots look to complement their strong pitching with a solid offense. The team has struggled to produce runs, averaging just 3.1 runs in the first 10 games, but on Saturday, Mason managed to score 14 runs in their two games.

Davies, who led the team last year with 36 hits and 24 RBIs, has been a huge impact on the offense, leading the CAA with a .448 batting average entering Saturday’s doubleheader. Davies raised her average to .471 after going for a combined 3-for-5.

“I’ve just been working really hard,” said Davies. “My goal is to hit RBIs and bring in runners whenever we have them in scoring position.”

The Patriots will continue with their 20-game homestand as they take on the Howard University Bison on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at George Mason Field before playing host to the defending conference champion James Madison Dukes in the weekend series. The first pitch is scheduled at noon on Saturday and will be followed by the second game at 2 p.m.

“We just want to play good softball,” said Davies. “I would like to sweep them, but I think it will be a good game, and if we play our game, I think we can achieve a lot.”

Donald O’Mahony, Staff Writer
Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor

AL East: New York Yankees
The defending champions will be difficult to dethrone this season. Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui and Melky Cabrera are all gone along with a few pitchers from the bullpen. But, as usual, the Yankees did not shy away from new player acquisitions.

They upgraded their pitching staff with Javier Vazquez, who has pitched over 200 innings in five consecutive seasons, finishing second in the 2009 Cy Young voting. They also brought in Curtis Granderson, who hit 30 home runs for the first time in his career last season, to replace Johnny Damon. The key for the Yankees this season will be to find the chemistry they had last year again. With so many changes on the roster, it may be difficult at first. It has become their tendency to get off to a slow start. However, you can count on the Yankees being in a good position at the end of the season.

AL Central: Detroit Tigers
The Tigers have developed one of the best young pitching rotations in baseball. They will count on their young guns to carry them deep into the season once again this year. Justin Verlander can be found on most people’s list for preseason Cy Young candidates and 21-year-old Rick Porcello will look to improve on his 14-win rookie season. The offense should be pretty exciting this year, led by Most Valuable Player candidate Miguel Cabrera.

At first glance, the outfield might look like a Yankees’ spring training lineup. The Tigers received young prospect Austin Jackson as part of the Granderson trade and recently signed Johnny Damon, who had one the best offensive seasons of his career last year. This division will be close, with the Tigers, Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins all expected to compete. However, after the Tigers’ meltdown in the late part of last season, they will be motivated to lock up a spot in the playoffs this year.

AL West: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Angels lost John Lackey to the Boston Red Sox this offseason, but they have made up for the loss. Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders, Ervin Santana, Scott Kazmir, and Joel Pineiro make up a starting rotation that will be difficult for opposing teams to hit every night.

The Angels also added World Series MVP Hideki Matsui to an already formidable offense. A lot of responsibility will fall on the shoulders of first baseman Kendry Morales. He had a breakout season last year, batting .306 with 34 home runs and 108 RBIs. Morales will be expected to repeat his numbers from last season and lead the team to the playoffs once again.

The Seattle Mariners made a big splash this offseason with the Cliff Lee trade and the signing of Chone Figgins, but expect the Angels’ dominance in the West to continue for at least one more season.

AL Wildcard: Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox did well this off-season to bring in some of the best players available. They signed the top free agent pitcher in John Lackey and a great option at third base in Adrian Beltre. Lackey will join Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and a revitalized Daisuke Matsuzaka in a pitching staff that could make many teams feel hopeless.

Beltre and Mike Cameron will join an offense that was less intimidating last year than it was in the years before. The Red Sox will be hoping that David Ortiz can get back to his old ways. They will also be looking to Dustin Pedroia to return to his MVP form from 2008 and challenge the Yankees in the East. The Rays could challenge the Red Sox for the final playoff spot in the American League, but it seems like the Red Sox would have no trouble winning any other division. They are the best bet to win the wildcard in the AL.

NL East: Philadelphia Phillies
Critics may not agree with General Manager Ruben Amaro’s decision to trade Cliff Lee since the Phillies could have potentially had the best 1-2 pitchers in baseball. Nevertheless, the Phillies still have a solid five-man rotation. Some will say that Cole Hamels had a down year when he raised his ERA from 3.09 to 4.32.

Aside from giving up more hits, Hamels’ fielding independent pitching last season was identical to that of 2008. Fans ought not to be skeptic towards Amaro. It is true that the Phillies could have gone into the 2010 season with two, if not three, arsenal arms, but then again, the Phillies are still the team to beat in the National League.

While Amaro picked up one of the best pitchers in the game in Roy Halladay without giving up top prospect Dominic Brown, the Phillies added a few solid prospects from the Lee deal.

NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals
Year in and year out, the Cardinals have the best offensive player in baseball, one of the best defensive catchers, and solid pitching. As first baseman Albert Pujols looks to earn his third consecutive Most Valuable Player award, catcher Yadier Molina hopes to win his third consecutive Gold Glove.

Molina, a proven defensive player, has made a positive impact on offense in the last few years. Although Molina does not hit for power, he hit for a respectable average and had relatively high walk-to-strikeout ratio. Last year, Molina led the NL with a .366 on-base percentage.

The offense complements the exceptional pitching of Adam Wainwright. Even though Wainwright has been lucky over the years based on FIP, his numbers had evidently shown that he was becoming more of a premiere pitcher. Wainwright will be a player to watch this season, especially when his effectiveness at breaking balls is added to his repertoire.

NL West: Colorado Rockies
The West division is especially tough when three quality teams would be considered contenders in any other division. While the San Francisco Giants are heavy in pitching and the Los Angeles Dodgers are relatively balanced, the Rockies put forth a robust offense and may even have a better pitching staff than the Dodgers. Jeff Francis, a vital part of the team’s 2007 World Series run, is set to return for the 2010 season.

After having a down year in 2008 and missing all of last season, he will not likely return at the top of the rotation. The hard-throwing Ubaldo Jimenez, a pitcher who ranks among the top five in the NL, will likely occupy the ace position. In the minor leagues, Jimenez walked approximately five batters per nine innings, but in the last few years. He has been able to improve his control while increasing his strikeout rate.

NL Wildcard: San Francisco Giants
General Manager Brian Sabean acquired second baseman Freddy Sanchez, utility man Mark DeRosa, and first baseman Aubrey Huff to solve his team’s past offensive woes. Despite sporting a marginally improved offense, the pitching may just be good enough for the Giants to vault into the postseason.
While he was overshadowed by the no-hitter last season, Jonathan Sanchez enters the 2010 season as a viable mid-to-back-end rotation starter.

The big story coming out of San Francisco will be the 20-year-old prospect Madison Bumgarner. With the Connecticut Defenders last season, Bumgarner saw that Double-A ball posed a challenge as he struck out just 5.8 batters per nine innings (K/9), whereas he had 10.42 and 8.51 K/9 in Single-A and High-A, respectively.

Being a pitcher with pinpoint control, Bumgarner is projected to start in the tail end in 2010, which will only strengthen the Giants’ already top-of-the-line rotation.

John Powell, Asst. Sports Editor

So Mason’s loss may just come back to bite them. They had a shot at Northeastern on Saturday, but the late foul by Ryan Pearson may have cost the Patriots the game.

It was one of the lowest-scoring contests I’ve ever witnessed. No doubt it was because of the referees’ tendency to allow contact everywhere — on offense and defense, on shooting and dribbling — without blowing the whistle.

I don’t blame Ryan for the contact. First of all, on a fast play like that, it is, as Coach Larranaga said, “a mad scramble.” Second of all, the referees had not been calling many shooting fouls on the Patriots; Northeastern only shot eight free throws the entire game. Finally, Chaisson Allen made a good play. Instead of attempting to drive to the basket with under a second to go, he pulled up for the trey, probably hoping to make it or get fouled like he did.

Ryan should have figured the referees game-calling out by that point. There were only two Patriots with more than one personal foul: Luke Hancock with two and Pearson with four. The referees may have just had an eye out for the big man off the bench.

“As disappointing as that is, the regular season is over,” said Larranaga after the game. “Every team goes into the tournament with the same record: zero and zero.”

He’s right. Old Dominion (23-8, 15-3) and VCU (20-8, 11-7), Mason’s two most formidable possible foes, are both winless as far as the tournament is concerned.

VCU actually needs to win against Delaware to play Mason. Mason beat both teams at the Patriot Center earlier in the year, although they dropped their game at Old Dominion.

If they want to have any shot at the Colonial Athletic Association title, Cam Long is going to need to get hot quickly. After getting hot near the beginning of conference play, Cam has gone cold quickly.
His team has gone cold with him. Other than the 83-point blip against College of Charleston, Saturday’s game marked the one-month anniversary of getting more than 70 points in a game, when they had 77 against Delaware at the end of January.

“We’ll have to meet as a team and talk about what we need to do to get him going because he’s a huge part of our offense,” said Larranaga after Saturday’s game.

The other teams’ stars haven’t gone cold though. Old Dominion’s Gerald Lee netted 21 points in his final regular season game and VCU’s balanced offense, with Larry Sanders on the inside and Joey Rodriguez on the outside, has kept them close in every game, making them hard to beat outside of Richmond, and even harder to beat at home. Since the conference tournament is in Richmond, every game is a home game for VCU.

The other side of the tournament is undoubtedly easier, since top seeds Northeastern and William & Mary have both struggled recently, losing games that were seemingly easy to win.

If Mason can pull off a win against VCU, they may be able to ride the momentum against Old Dominion to reach the finals, barring some other upset.

The tournament is certainly not in Mason’s favor, but they, and the other 11 teams in the conference, certainly have a shot at the title.

Cody Norman, Staff Writer

The Old Dominion Monarchs clinched their first regular season title since the 2004-05 season with a win over the VCU Rams on Saturday afternoon. After Northeastern Huskies’ close victory over the George Mason Patriots, the Huskies have secured the number two seed heading into this weekend’s Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. The Patriots and William & Mary Tribe claim the final two first round byes.

The tournament will be held in Richmond from Mar. 5-8.

The Top Four:
The Monarchs concluded their 2009-10 regular season campaign with a tough win over the VCU Rams. Much of their success this season has come due to an impressive +7.8 rebounds margin per night as well as a league-best 15.6 assists per game. They are led by senior forward Gerald Lee, who is posting more than 14 points and five rebounds per night. Lee recorded 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting on Saturday evening to lead all scorers and give his team a momentum-shifting win heading into the conference tournament. Junior forward Frank Hassell averages 8.7 points and a team-high 6.5 rebounds for the Monarchs. Old Dominion has won five of their last six matchups heading into the postseason.

The Huskies completed the regular season on Saturday afternoon with a controversial win over Mason. They enter tournament play with the CAA’s top scoring defense as they are allowing an average of only 55 points a night. Northeastern is led by senior Matt Janning, who is averaging better than 15 points per game. Janning ranks fourth all-time in scoring with 1,781 points and is only one of two men to rank in the top five in both points and assists. Junior Chaisson Allen is the CAA’s second leading 3-point shooter as he is tossing in more than 42 percent of his long-range attempts. Allen is averaging a career-high 14.3 points a night while posting a career-best 110 assists on the season.

Senior David Schneider and sophomore Quinn McDowell led the way for the William & Mary Tribe. From the guard position, Schneider is averaging just under 16 points and 6 rebounds a game while adding a steady 2.7 assists per night. McDowell chips in 14.2 points and 4.4 rebounds a night for Coach Tony Shaver. The Tribe has lost two of their last three contests heading into tournament play.

Mason fields the youngest team under Head Coach Jim Larranaga since the 2004-05 season when the Patriots had no seniors on their roster. Louis Birdsong is the team’s only senior and, after starting nearly every game for the last two seasons, he has struggled to find consistent minutes in his final campaign. Instead, Larranaga has turned to an abundance of young talent to produce an impressive 12-6 CAA record. The team is led by junior guard Cam Long, who is averaging nearly 13 points and three assists a night. Sophomore forwards Mike Morrison and Ryan Pearson man the paint for Larranaga’s squad while freshmen Luke Hancock and Sherrod Wright have turned in positive minutes off the bench. The Patriots, however, have lost four of their last five contests heading into the conference tournament.

The Rest of the CAA:
The VCU Rams are led by juniors Joey Rodriguez and Larry Sanders. Sanders is averaging better than 15 points and nine rebounds for the CAA’s top ranked scoring offense while making his presence felt on the defensive end. Rodriguez is atop the CAA with six assists and two steals per night. The Rams ended their regular season on Saturday evening with a tough loss to the top-ranked Old Dominion Monarchs, but they have won three of their last four games.

The Drexel Dragons squeaked by the James Madison Dukes in their final regular-season CAA matchup on Saturday night. They have earned the sixth seed in the conference tournament. The team is led by junior guard Jamie Harris, who is averaging better than 14 points and three assists per game. Freshman guard Chris Fouch contributes 11.1 points a night for Head Coach James Flint. Saturday night’s win is the Dragons’ first in the last four games.

The Hofstra Pride took down the Georgia State Panthers by a final score of 87-74 in the final regular season game of their 2009-10 campaign. They are led by junior guard Charles Jenkins, who is averaging better than 20 points and four rebounds a night; freshman Chaz Williams averages nearly 10 points a night. The team will next put their six-game winning streak to the test in the CAA Tournament.

The Towson Tigers ended their regular season run with an 81-66 win over the last place Delaware Blue Hens. The team gets very solid contributions from seniors Calvin Lee and Josh Thornton as well as junior forward Robert Nwankwo. Lee and Thornton average an even 10.8 points a night; Nwankwo puts up a near double-double with 10.1 points and 9.2 rebounds a night for the Tigers. Towson has taken two consecutive games heading into the conference tournament.

The UNC-Wilmington Seahawks dropped to 5-13 in the CAA after their 60-51 loss to the William & Mary Tribe on Saturday night. UNC-Wilmington is led by junior point guard Chad Tomko, who is averaging 13.3 points and 4.4 assists a night. Junior forward Josh Fields, the beneficiary of many of Tomko’s assists, is pouring in better than 10 points a night while snagging a team-high 8.7 rebounds. They have lost four of their last five contests heading into tournament play.

The Georgia State Panthers closed out their season with an 87-74 loss to the Hofstra Pride on Saturday afternoon. They will carry a 5-13 conference record into the tournament this weekend and are led by senior guard Joe Dukes. Dukes is averaging 13.2 points and 5.2 rebounds a night while senior Trae Goldston adds nearly 10.5 points per game. The Panthers have dropped two consecutive matchups to conference opponents heading into the tournament.

Junior forward Denzel Bowles leads the way for the James Madison Dukes with 21.3 points and nine rebounds a game while his front court counterpart, Julius Wells, chips in 16.5 points per night. James Madison was taken down at home at the hands of the Drexel Dragons in their final CAA matchup on Saturday night. They will carry a two-game losing streak into the postseason tournament in Richmond.
The Delaware Blue Hens finished their 2009-10 campaign with a poor performance against the Towson Tigers, losing 81-66. The team is led by junior guard Jawan Carter who is averaging 18.3 points and five assists a night. Junior Alphonso Dawson puts up about 12 points a night while snagging more than six rebounds. The team finished 12 games back with a record of 3-15 against CAA opponents this season.

First Round Games:
Delaware Blue Hens (3-15) vs. VCU Rams (11-7)
James Madison Dukes (4-14) vs. Drexel Dragons (11-7)
Georgia State Panthers (5-13) vs.Hofstra Pride (10-8)
UNC-Wilmington Seahawks (5-12) vs. Towson Tigers (6-12)

Cody Norman, Staff Writer

The night was plagued by extremely poor free throw shooting and a stagnant offense, but outstanding defense down the stretch allowed the George Mason University men’s basketball team (17-12, 12-5) to outlast the Delaware Blue Hens (7-22, 3-14) on Wednesday night.

After trailing for much of the first half, the Patriots used a 9-0 second half run to upstage their Colonial Athletic Association opponent in a thrilling 61-59 victory.

Sophomore guard Andre Cornelius made four of seven 3-point attempts for 16 points, and junior guard Cam Long followed up with 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

Freshmen reserves Sherrod Wright and Luke Hancock continued their strong play and contributed a solid effort in the contest.

Wright shot a perfect 3-of-3 from the field to chip in 10 points in the winning effort. Hancock added nine points, four rebounds and four assists.

Despite shooting 55.6 percent in the first half, the Patriots trailed 38-32 at halftime after committing 10 turnovers. In the second half, Mason shot just 32 percent from the field and made 11-of-20 free throws, but ended up outscoring the Blue Hens 29-21 in the latter half.

The defense stepped up in the second half, stopping Blue Hens’ guard Jawan Carter, who scorched the Mason defense in the first half.

Carter eventually scored 25 points to lead all players, but the Patriots managed to contain him in the second half, especially in the closing seconds when Carter lost control of the ball.

Down 45-40 at the 15:16 mark in the second half, Mason used a 9-0 run to take a 49-45 lead as Wright drained a 3-pointer with 11:45 left in the game. After Carter made a basket to bring the Blue Hens within two points, Wright answered with another 3-pointer. With two more free throws, Wright’s eight-point consecutive streak extended Mason’s largest lead to seven points.

The Blue Hens, however, hung on as guard Alphonso Dawson made a layup to cut the lead to 56-54 with 5:13 left in regulation; guard Edwin Santiago, who scored 11 points off the bench, scorched the basket with a 3-pointer with 1:41 left.

Long made only one of two free throws for Mason to grant the Blue Hens a stay of execution, but the Blue Hens were not able to take advantage of the opportunity with a missed 3-pointer from Carter.

Wright had a chance to put the game away, but he was unable to make a free throw, keeping it a one-possession game.

Carter had one final shot, but he lost the ball as he drove to the hoop. The Patriots sealed the win and also guaranteed themselves a top four spot in the CAA Tournament.

Jerry Holy, Broadside Correspondent

Four years after Torino in 2006, the world turned its attention to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for the 21st Winter Olympic Games. Vancouver witnessed many triumphs, defeats, successes, disappointments and redemptions.

The United States currently leads the medal count at 37 medals, seven medals in front of Germany.
This year’s Olympics started with a tragedy. The death of 21-year old Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili on the luge track was a sad moment for everyone.

A moment of silence was held in honor of Kumaritashvili during the Opening Ceremony on Feb. 12th, where his fellow Georgian athletes wore black in remembrance. In spite of this tragedy, each Georgian athlete went on to compete in their events, and the Games began.

Team USA got the early lead in the medal count when Apolo Anton Ohno and teammate J.R. Celski took the silver and bronze medals in the men’s 1500-meter short track event. Ohno went on to win the bronze medal in the men’s 1000-meter short track, making him the most decorated USA short-track skater.

On the same day, Hannah Kearney and Shannon Bahrke won the gold and bronze medals in the women’s moguls event. Kearney, the favorite to win the gold medal in Torino, redeemed herself after not even qualifying four years ago. Bryon Wilson went on to win the bronze in the men’s moguls event.
Skier Bode Miller aimed for redemption after not receiving a medal at all in Torino. Miller went on to win the bronze medal in the men’s downhill event, silver medal in men’s super-G event and the gold medal in the men’s super combined event. Fellow teammate Andrew Weibrecht also won the bronze medal in the men’s super-G event.

Seth Wescott went on to defend his gold medal from Torino in the men’s snowboard cross event. Unfortunately for Lindsey Jacobellis, she fell short of competing for a medal in the women’s snowboard cross event.

In figure skating, Evan Lysacek put on a performance of a lifetime, winning the gold medal over Yevgeny Plushenko of Russia. Lysacek is the first American to win gold since Scott Hamilton in 1984.
Japan also earned its first men’s figure skating medal. Johnny Weir and Jeremy Abbott both placed in the top 10, with Weir finishing sixth and Abbott placing ninth.

In ice dancing, Canada and the U.S. took gold and silver while Russia played spoiler for a North American sweep of the medals. Meryl Davis and Charlie Davis earned the silver while Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto placed fourth.

Team USA also set a new U.S. Winter Olympics record when it won six medals in one day. Three of those medals were gold.

Lindsey Vonn took home the gold in the women’s downhill event while Juila Mancuso took the silver. Both women would later earn another medal each.

Shani Davis took the gold in the men’s 1000-meter speed skating event with Chad Herrick taking bronze.
Shaun White and Scotty Lago received gold and silver in the men’s snowboard halfpipe event. The U.S. would also go two and three in women’s snowboard halfpipe.

Team USA Hockey also put on an impressive performance. The men pulled off an epic 5-3 victory over Canada on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice.”

The women’s hockey team also did not disappoint with a stunning semifinal 9-1 victory over Sweden.
Women’s ice hockey went a little differently, however, with Canada beating Team USA in the gold medal game Thursday night.

For more information and results of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and Team USA, visit http://www.nbcolympics.com.

Brian T. Chan, Staff Writer

Prior to Thursday’s match at Springfield College, the George Mason University men’s volleyball team took on the Springfield Pride at the RAC and were unable to come up with a win in their three-game homestand. The Patriots (4-6, 2-2) started the match with a 2-0 lead and held on in five sets against the Pride (8-5, 2-3), winning with a score of 30-28, 31-29, 22-30, 27-30, 15-13.

Mason had an extremely strong first set, recording 21 kills and a .436 hitting percentage. The Patriots rallied from being down 18-13 and 24-20 to force a deadlock tie at 24-all. Springfield regained the lead at 28-26, but Mason closed out the set with four consecutive points.

The team continued its early success with another exceptional performance in the second set. As a team, the Patriots hit .500 with 18 kills and just two attack errors. However, the Pride roared back from the two-set deficit with 19 kills in the third set and 16 kills in the fourth for .516 and .325 hitting percentages, respectively.

While the opposition struggled to score points off kills in the fifth set, Mason gave up seven unforced errors that kept the Pride in the game. Mason broke away from an 11-all tie to take a 13-11 lead. After the Pride closed the gap to 14-13, sophomore outside hitter Andrew Dentler, the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association’s kills per game leader, recorded a team-high 19 kills to close off the match and end Mason’s four-game losing streak.

Sophomore middle blocker Shaun Sibley also tallied 19 kills and added four blocks. Three other Patriots recorded double-digit kills. Sophomore middle blocker Lance Rogers posted 14 kills. Redshirt junior outside hitter Dave Reilly and senior libero Luke Maloney scored 12 kills apiece.

Freshman setter Javier Perez, who had 60 assists and 15 digs in the 3-1 loss to Springfield on Feb. 21, earned back-to-back double-double performances with 67 assists and 11 digs on Thursday night. Perez, who entered the match ranked third in the EIVA with 12.67 assists per game, continues to play a key role in his young career.

AJ Nally led the Pride with 22 kills and added 11 digs. Alistair Matthews and Mike Pelletier notched 19 and 18 kills, respectively. Mason will host the Rutgers-Newark Scarlet Raiders on Friday at 7 p.m. before they head north to University Park, Pa. in a duel against the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor

On your mark, get set, go! For junior Kimmy Moss, a member of the women’s soccer team and track team, the world, in a continuous motion, features dynamic characteristics.

While her athleticism is vastly beneficial to her success, Moss’ ability to adjust and turn the corner from start to finish has been equally vital in her role as a two-sport athlete.

Moss, a tri-sport athlete when she attended Broad Run High School, was named to the first-team All-Met, All-State, All-District and All-Region in her junior and senior seasons and garnered District Player of the Year honors in her junior year while amassing 12 goals and 47 assists in her four years with the Spartans.
Moss came to George Mason University looking for the opportunity in soccer to be part of a competitive team and to contribute individually.

“I definitely wanted to play Division I soccer, but [since Mason is] not at the bottom and not necessarily at the top tier like the ACC teams, I knew coming in I could play and be an immediate impact,” said Moss.
In her first year with Mason, Moss started three of her 14 appearances and managed only three shots, being held pointless for the entire season.

Moss emerged in the 2008 season with a team-leading two game-winning goals, but the Patriots continued to struggle, concluding the season with a meager 5-12-1 overall record and a 2-8-1 conference record.

Despite the two sub-par seasons in soccer, Moss was still passionate about the first sport she ever played. However, she decided to take a slightly different route.

“After having [two rough seasons], I was like ‘You know what? I love competing, but I’m really frustrated with how the season ended; I don’t want to have an awful season, so I’m going to try to walk on for the track team,’” said Moss.

Moss, who last ran cross country in her sophomore year of high school, first considered running for the track team during a family trip.

“The idea came to me when I was apple picking with my family, and with two weeks left to go, it just stuck with me,” said Moss.

“I talked to Coach [Andrew] Gerard and Coach [Sita] Waru-Ewell, the long distance coach, and I talked to my soccer coach, and they were like ‘Why not? You can do this.’”

With a year-round training regimen, Moss is able to keep in shape. Whereas most athletes concentrate on a particular sport, Moss has been known for her well-rounded athleticism. Moss believes that her skillset is what makes her suitable for both soccer and track.

“I think the running and soccer thing complement one another,” said Moss, “probably more so with track crossing over to soccer because I have this endurance with running, and when I get on the soccer field, I’m so fit.”

While Moss credits much of her athletic ability to her endurance, she believes that it originates in her passion for playing sports and staying fit.

“For soccer, [my biggest strength is] my endurance, just being like an Energizer bunny on the field, but I think more than anything, I’m really passionate,” said Moss.

“Racing is different from track. At the end of the race, you’re literally and physically exhausted. That’s when you show character. I’m still learning to squeeze out every ounce of energy in a race.”

After primarily spending most of her life in soccer, running long distances and changing directions to the movement of the ball for 90 minutes, Moss has also gone through making adjustments in both sports.

To read the full story visit connect2
mason.com.