MEGAN DREHER, TAYLOR BRETHAUER, Editor-in-Chief & Senior Writer
The semester is coming to a close and while some teams have completed their seasons, others still have a few more weeks ahead of them leading up to their respective MAAC tournaments. Check out these recaps and updates on the spring sports teams.
Baseball
The baseball team started their season back in February and at this point in the semester, they are currently 15-26 overall, but 8-4 in the MAAC conference. Their big lead came after a three-game sweep against Iona College on April 6 and 7.
Graduate student and left-handed pitcher John Cain added to that success after his 8.1 innings of pitching during game one, only allowing two runs off of six hits from the Gaels.
“I was just trying to stay down in the zone and let the defense work and they played great today,” said Cain in a post-game interview at the time with Go Jaspers.
The team still has a few more games left before gearing up for the MAAC tournament, which will be played on Staten Island, starting May 22.
Golf
The golf team recently wrapped up their season after the MAAC tournament in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. at Disney’s Magnolia Golf Course on April 18, 19 and 20.
The team, consisting of three freshman, three sophomores and two juniors, finished eighth place overall, combining for a +78 score.
One freshman, Sam Taraian, tied for 19th overall after shooting a final-round total of 80.
As reported in last semester’s fall 2018 sports recap, junior captain Preston Shortell was the only returner for the team after the other six members graduated in May 2018. He was selected earlier in the season as the MAAC golfer of the week.
Men’s Lacrosse
The most recent win for men’s lacrosse came from their game against defending MAAC champions Canisius. The Jaspers topped the Golden Griffins on April 19, 7-6, ending a 12-game losing streak.
The game-winning goal made by senior Parker Giarratana was also his 100th goal of his lacrosse career at Manhattan.
At this point in the season, the team is 6-7 overall and 2-4 in conference.
The team has not secured a spot in the MAAC tournament, which only takes the top four teams in the conference. The Jaspers sit in sixth place.
Men’s Club Rowing
The rowing team has been on and off the water throughout the entire year, but will officially wrap up their season at the New York Collegiate Rowing Championships in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. on May 4.
The following day on May 5, the team will also compete in the Spring Metropolitan Championships in New Rochelle, N.Y.
In a previous Quadrangle article previewing the team’s upcoming fall season, senior member Vincent Wiedemann spoke about regrowing the team. He was the only one to stick with the team since freshman year and return with the coaching change.
“I think it started off kind of tough,” said Wiedemann. “Last year was the first we revamped the whole program, so I’m the only kid from before the new coaching. There were a lot of novices this year, so you have to practice with kids that don’t know what they’re doing yet, so there was a lot of development in the beginning.”
The team has definitely proven to have grown during this school year as they head into the upcoming tournaments next month.
Jasper Dancers
The Jasper Dancers ventured down to Daytona, Fla., for the National Dance Alliance College Nationals Competition. The team prepared two dances: jazz and hip hop.
In order to compete for a national title, the team had to perform in a preliminary round and place high enough to move onto the final round.
For the jazz category, the team placed 17th, which was not high enough to move on to the next day.
But for hip hop, they moved onto finals in first place. The following day, they competed at the bandshell stage on the beach of Daytona. The team held onto their first place spot and earned the title of national champions in the division 1 hip hop category.
“The long hours of practice are so much easier when you’re surrounded by people that you love to be around. When we’re on stage we dance for each other and trust that everyone’s going to do their part and be the best they can be,” said junior captain Taylor Malagone in a previous Quadrangle article.
The team will be holding tryouts for next year’s season during the upcoming orientation dates.
Track and Field
Prior to their strong start in the outdoor season, the Manhattan’s track and field team earned 17 medals at the 2019 MAAC Indoor Track and Field Championships on Sunday, February 17 to wrap up their very successful indoor season. Highlights include Junior sprinter Niasia Boone winning the women’s 200-meter race, finishing with a personal best time of 24.93. Boone also went on to win the women’s 4×400 relay with teammates Zarah Harris, Chinelo Nnakwe, and Jasmine Davis finishing with a time of 3:52.33, defending the gold medal that Manhattan won in 2018 in the event.
Concluding their indoor season, the Jaspers officially kicked off their Spring 2019 outdoor season on March 22 at the VCU Ram Invite in Richmond, VA., and both men’s and women’s teams have seen much success thus far in the MAAC.
The team proved their strength in the two-day Monmouth Season Opener in West Long Branch, NJ back in March. Both the men’s and women’s teams placed third overall, with the men totaling 79 points, and the women earning 80. Many personal best records were toppled and qualifiers were met for both the ECAC and IC4A Championships.
Manhattan will compete in the 2019 MAAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, beginning on Saturday, May 4th.
Swimming and Diving
The Manhattan Swimming and Diving team wrapped up a successful 2018-2019 season following the 2019 MAAC Championship, which concluded on February 16.
This season was spearheaded under the guidance and direction of their new head coach, Patrick Malone. A collegiate swimmer himself, Malone spoke to the Quadrangle in a previous interview that he was looking forward to the MAAC Championship and what this program has to offer in the future.
“I think we’re gonna surprise a lot of people in regards to our results and give the conference a little taste of what’s gonna come for years to come.”
The Manhattan men’s team set records in eight different events and finished with four seasonal wins, a tournament win, and set a program record for points in the ECAC Winter Championships. The women’s team garnered a win against Saint Peter’s earlier in the season and saw growing success in its diving program, with freshman Lexington Passamonte breaking records in the one-meter dive and the three-meter dive twice.
Women’s Lacrosse
The Women’s Lacrosse team, seeded at No. 4 in the MAAC, wrapped up their season with a loss to No. 5 seed Marist College in the first round of the 2019 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship. This was the first time the team has secured a spot in the Championship tournament since the 2009 season. They also were able to match program overall victory record, with an 11-6 record and finishing 6-2 in the MAAC.
There were many notable members who greatly contributed to the success of this team throughout the season. Freshman Grace Lipponer secured four MAAC Rookie of the Week titles due in part to her great contributions to the team. Senior Goalkeeper Nikki Prestiano led the MAAC with a 8.79 GAA, and is notably ranked 9th in the nation.
Softball
The softball team secured a MAAC win during a double-header against Canisius on Saturday, April 27. They faced a second double-header at Niagara to continue MAAC play. Currently, the Lady Jaspers are ranked 7-9 in the conference, with a 20-24 record overall, excluding the results of their games versus Niagara.
According to a pre-season report on Go Jaspers, the Jaspers were selected to finish fourth in the MAACs preseason coaches’ poll. They began their season breaking even on Opening Day, with a win over Detroit Mercy and a loss against Georgetown at the 2019 Madeira Beach Invitational. Since then, their season has seen both highs and lows, including a split with MAAC rival and No. 4 seed team, Iona College.
Their season continues into the weekend, and they will begin tournament play on May 8.
Women’s Rowing
Following their most successful fall season in the program’s short history, the Manhattan women’s rowing team officially opened their third year’s spring season on Saturday, April 6 at Iona College.
In the MAAC preseason poll, Manhattan was slated to finish seventh. Head Coach Alex Canale had high expectations for his team heading into the season.
“I am very confident that we’ll make our way out of the B final and into the A final in a couple of those MAAC races. And then from there it’s gonna be all about the time we put in from now to March. I know they’ve got the skill, so now we’ve gotta make up some ground on some bigger, faster programs. We’re ready to close the gap for sure,” said Canale in an interview with Go Jaspers.
In addition to the success they’ve seen on the water, one rower in particular has earned other collegiate accolades as of late. Senior Alia Flanigan has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant award for the 2019-20 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. As one of three students awarded this honor by the college, the international studies major will teach in Malaysia next year.
The team will compete in the New York State Championships, Spring Mets, and Dad Vails before competing in the MAAC Championship beginning on May 18.