Sports

• Second Half Rally Falls Short

  Sports February 18, 2010 at 11:15 am Comments are Disabled

  Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor For the second straight game, the women’s basketball team fell short in an inspiring effort on the road. Mason lost its seventh consecutive game and 11th overall road game in a 51-47 loss to the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks on Thursday night. The Patriots dropped to 8-15 overall and 1-11 in the Colonial Athletic Association while the Seahawks improved to 8-15 overall and 3-9 in the conference. In the first half, junior guard Brittany Poindexter led Mason with eight points on 4-of-9 shooting and grabbed four rebounds, and freshman forward Janaa Pickard and junior guard Ashleigh Braxton added four points apiece. The team trailed 27-18 at halftime after shooting just 32.1 percent from the field. Mason started the game down 5-4 at the 15:37 mark, but the Seahawks responded with a 9-0 run and eventually extended its lead to 15 late in the first half. Down 25-10 at the point, the Patriots closed the half on an 8-2 run. Mason’s persistent run had gradually trimmed into the Seahawks’ lead; midway through the second half, Mason had trailed by just three points at 39-36. The Seahawks scored the next six points, but Mason again mounted a comeback, cutting […]

   

• Offensive Woes Continue; Hofstra Takes Early Lead to Rout Mason

  Sports February 18, 2010 at 11:13 am Comments are Disabled

  Cody Norman, Staff Writer Since rattling off six wins in eight games to open up the 2009-10 campaign, the women’s basketball team has gone cold. Their offense has stammered as the Patriots have only topped the 60-point mark once in their last 11 outings and have notched an ugly 2-11 record. Although they have played extremely well at home this season, notching an 8-4 record, the Patriots have recorded only one win against their conference opponents. “We have somehow gotten so focused on the fact that we don’t hit shots that we’re not defending as well as I thought we had earlier in the season,” said Head Coach Jeri Porter of her team’s recent defensive woes. “I thought we were a good defensive basketball team and here in the last couple games, we just have not defended very well at all.” In Thursday night’s Colonial Athletic Association matchup with the Hofstra Pride, the story continued. Mason’s struggles at the offensive end transitioned to a poor defensive effort as the Patriots connected on just 13 of 51 shot attempts in its 72-39 loss to the Pride. The Patriots made only five of its 26 shot attempts in the first half, but […]

   

• Women’s Lacrosse Hosts the Blue Jays on Saturday

  Sports February 18, 2010 at 11:11 am Comments are Disabled

  Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor Overview: The women’s lacrosse team will battle the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays on Saturday at 1 p.m. at George Mason Stadium. Mason concluded the 2009 season with a 6-10 overall record and 2-5 conference record, defeating the James Madison Dukes 8-7 in the regular season finale. The Patriots hosted its season opener last week against the UMBC Golden Retrievers. Johns Hopkins opened the season ranked 15th in the nation last year and defeated the Patriots 15-10 in the opener. Saturday’s game will mark the Blue Jays’ season opener. The Blue Jays finished 5-12 overall last season while going 0-4 in the American Lacrosse Conference. Mason: The Patriots return with four 20-goal scorers from last season. Among the quad is the leading scorer, junior attacker Madalyn Jamison. The Second-Team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection led the Patriots with 59 points on 29 goals and 30 assists. Jamison recorded a game-high five goals and seven points twice last season. Junior midfielder Chelsea Gamble will also provide some offensive spark for Mason. Last season, she scored 21 goals and led the team with a .538 shot percentage. Johns Hopkins: The Blue Jays will be led by its two sophomore […]

   

• Setup for the Future; Men’s Tennis Goes Young for 2010

  Sports February 18, 2010 at 11:10 am Comments are Disabled

  Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor For the first time in two years, the men’s tennis team will be without the duo of Brian Fitzgerald and Dan Schneider. In contrast to last year, Mason enters the spring 2010 season with a youth-oriented team. Head Coach Gary Quam returns for his 21st season with Mason. After being eliminated in the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, the team wrapped up its 2009 season with a 5-12 record. With only three returning players from last year’s squad, the team looks to receive a large contribution from its newcomers. Mason will be headed by sophomore Jorge Osuna and freshman Kevin McMillen at the top. “Last year, we had an older team — we had a bunch of seniors. Now, we have a fresh team; we don’t have as much experience as last year,” said Osuna of the change entering this season. Osuna also believes that the recruitment can potentially lead to positive results next year. “We have really good recruits, so the future seems to be quite promising,” said Osuna. Osuna served as the team’s lone freshman last year. This year, the team brought in McMillen and five other freshmen. Osuna and […]

   

• To Be Continued; Mason Looks to Extend Home Winning Streak

  Sports February 18, 2010 at 11:08 am Comments are Disabled

  Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor Overview: The men’s basketball team has its home conference winning streak of 18 games in jeopardy as the team takes on the William & Mary Tribe on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. At the same time, Mason will look to prolong its nine-game home winning streak. The Patriots will host another tough opponent in the College of Charleston Cougars in the ESPN BracketBuster on Saturday at 8 p.m. Entering Saturday’s game against the Old Dominion Monarchs, the Patriots held a 16-9 overall record and 11-3 conference record. Mason: Two months ago, the Patriots dropped a nail-biter to the Dayton Flyers, snapping its 18-home game winning streak. Since then, Mason has won nine consecutive games, including a thriller last Tuesday against Colonial Athletic Association rival, VCU Rams. Even when the team had to rally from a 13-point halftime deficit, the Patriots did not dismantle in the overtime period. Mason has won 27 of its past 28 games at the Patriot Center. Sophomore forward Mike Morrison delivered a career-high 18 points and added 10 rebounds to his double-double while holding Rams’ Larry Sanders to just two points in the second half of the 82-77 win. William & […]

   

• Sunday Slam with the Rams; Women’s Basketball Hosts Rival VCU on Sunday

  Sports February 18, 2010 at 11:07 am Comments are Disabled

  Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor Overview: The women’s basketball team looks to defend its home court on Sunday at 1 p.m. when the Patriots take on the heavily favored VCU Rams. Entering Thursday night’s game against the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks, Mason had an 8-14 overall record and a 1-10 conference record. The Rams stood atop the Colonial Athletic Association with a 9-2 record against conference opponents and are among the top teams with a 16-7 overall record. Mason: Prior to Sunday’s game against the Old Dominion Monarchs, the Patriots dropped its worst home loss of the season, falling to the Hofstra Pride 72-39 and shooting just 25.5 percent from the field. In its last two home games, Mason was held to below 40 points. The team responded with a solid effort against the Delaware Blue Hens on the road. Mason held the lead for most of the first half and part of the second half before relinquishing the lead late in the game. Despite losing for the 10th time on the road, Mason displayed exceptional effort on offense, scoring at least 60 points for the first time since its 72-61 win over the Northeastern Huskies on Jan. 17. The Patriots look […]

   

• Mason Hosts Lewis and Loyola

  Sports February 18, 2010 at 11:05 am Comments are Disabled

  Fernanda Bartels, Staff Writer Overview: The men’s volleyball team comes back to its home court this weekend. After playing against the Juniata Eagles and St. Francis Red Flash on the road, the Patriots have a busy weekend ahead against the Loyola Chicago Ramblers and Lewis Flyers. Mason last played the Ramblers and Flyers last March; the Patriots were downed by both teams in three sets. Opposite hitter Kyle Gramit led the Patriots on both matches, having 15 kills against the Ramblers and 10 kills against the Flyers. Mason played Loyola earlier on that season, and lost in five sets. Despite the loss, the Patriots recorded a total of 24 blocks, falling one block short of only one block to match the school’s rally-scoring era record. Mason: Junior outside hitter Eric Lucas adapted well to the hitter position and has led the Patriot offense with 58 kills. Sophomore outside hitter Andrew Dentler is second in kills with 49. Starting freshman middle blocker Piotr Dabrowski and freshman setter Javier Perez have been making the difference on the court; Dabrowski is first on total blocks with 20, and Perez has a team high of 180 sets. The Patriots rank second in kills, assists, […]

   

• Missing Shots, Missing Mo; Mason Drops Third Consecutive Road Game

  Sports February 18, 2010 at 11:03 am Comments are Disabled

  John Powell, Asst. Sports Editor It did not look very good for the men’s basketball team. No shots went their way, Old Dominion held a tight defense, and the only point that came in the first nine minutes was on a free throw from freshman forward Johnny Williams. “Five of our first six shots I thought were really good . . . but when you miss an easy shot, it’s still a miss,” said Head Coach Jim Larranaga. The Patriots were held to shooting only 44.4 percent from the field, while they shot 70 percent from the free throw line. Shooting problems were not the only things plaguing the Patriots (16-10, 11-4), but the nine first-half turnovers gave the Monarchs (20-7, 12-3) point after point on the fastbreak. They came on dribbles, they came on passes. Mason basically could not find a way to keep the ball, even giving it away on a shot-clock violation. The Monarchs, on the other hand, made crisp passes, picked up their own rebounds and Mason’s as well. “They have got a good team. They are good defensively, especially good when their rebounders are playing well,” said Larranaga of the Monarchs’ defense. The Patriots finally […]

   

• The Cost of Winning; Mason Sprinter Deals with, Overcomes Obsession

  Sports February 18, 2010 at 11:01 am Comments are Disabled

  John Powell, Asst. Sports Editor In his junior year of high school, Rachaunn Ruffin was ranked nationally for the first time in his life. While most would simply find an award of this stature a simple recognition of their dedication, Ruffin took a very different perspective on the new recognition. When he was young, Ruffin just played sports that involved running. “I just like running,” said Ruffin of how he began his athletic life. “Every sport that I played, whether it be soccer, football or basketball, as long as I could run, I liked to play.” He always had support from his family. “My father made me realize that I have great potential and that I should never settle for ordinary, even if I win,” Ruffin said of his parents’ impact. “My mom taught me if I lose that there are still people that care about you. I got so obsessed with winning that I thought that if I lose, nobody would care. She taught me that it was okay to lose sometimes.” He learned dedication from his high school football coaches. Specifically, they taught him how to be mentally sharp and that even when he was tired and in […]

   

• On the Breakaway: Second-Year Roller Hockey Club Flourishes with Young Talent

  Sports February 2, 2010 at 7:27 pm Comments are Disabled

  Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor When sophomore John Liebold first came to George Mason University, he found out that the school did not offer a roller hockey program. Liebold, who played the sport for the past 14 years, was not ready to give up on hockey. “In my freshman year, we just started a pickup league team at The Box in Chantilly. It was about the six of us, and we just asked Mason to start a club and went to [the club sports coordinator] Bob Spousta and made it happen for our sophomore year,” said Liebold, club founder of the George Mason Roller Hockey Club. The team, which started with six to seven people last year, has increased its membership to 17 players. The club recruited a player from Pennsylvania while the rest of the players were familiar with each other. The club currently leads the Northern Conference in the Southeastern Collegiate Roller Hockey League (SECRHL) with an 11-1-0 record and 22 points. Mason leads the conference in scoring offense and scoring defense with roughly 7.2 goals scored and 2.5 goals allowed per game. Mason opened this season lighting the lamp in a 13-2 rout over the Florida International […]