A new decade, a new era, for Mount sports

Collin Riviello
MSMU Class of 2020

(1/2020) A new decade means a new era of Mount athletics legacies and memories are about to be created. The Mount’s sports teams can build their own narratives depending on how they perform.

Men’s lacrosse has recently announced their upcoming schedule for the 2020 season. The defending NEC Regular Season Champions look to avenge their semifinal loss in the 2019 NEC Men’s Lacrosse Tournament. Last season, they went 9-7 (5-1 NEC) to earn the right to host the 2019 NEC Tournament, but they fell in the semifinal round, 13-12 in overtime, to Robert Morris.

The men will kickstart their season with the same opponents as last season by starting play at Delaware and at Towson on February 8 and 15 respectively. The first home game of the season will be against UMBC on February 22. Georgetown will then play host to the Mount on February 25. Last season, both Towson and Georgetown were ranked at 10 and 20 nationally respectively. The second home game for the Mount will signal the start to a three-game homestand and it will begin with a match against VMI on February 29.

The men beat VMI last season 12-6. Richmond will then visit the Mount on March 3 to look for revenge after last year’s loss when the Mount stole a victory from the then 14th-ranked Spiders in overtime, 12-11. That game was the first time since 2011 that the Mount defeated a ranked opponent. Utah, also looking for revenge after a 16-15 loss on their home turf, will round out the Mount’s homestand with a game on March 7. Non-conference play will end with a match at John Hopkins on March 10. Last season, the Blue Jays were ranked 17th nationally when the Mount lost in Baltimore 11-4.

NEC play with start on March 14 at Sacred Heart. The runners-up to last season’s NEC tournament, Hobart, will visit the Mount on March 21. Hobart lost to Robert Morris in last season’s finals 11-10. The Mount will then travel to St. Joseph’s on March 28. Wagner and New Jersey Institute of Technology will visit the Mount on April 4 and 11 respectively. NJIT is new to the NEC’s men’s lacrosse program this year as it played under the auspices of a Division I Independent team last season. Long Island will play host to the Mount on April 18. Robert Morris will then visit the Mount on the 25. Throughout the 10s decade of the 21st century, the men’s lacrosse program has gone an overall 63-88 (28-31 NEC), culminating in two conference championship titles (MAC in 2010 and NEC in 2011).

Men’s and women’s tennis have also released their spring schedule. The men finished last season with a 5-18 (2-4 NEC) record. As the number 5 seed, the men upset four-seeded Sacred Heart in the 2019 NEC Men’s Tennis Tournament during the quarterfinals 4-2, but then fell in the semifinals to overall number one seeded Bryant. The women finished last season with a 3-19 (1-4 NEC) record.

The teams will start off their spring portion of the schedule at Duquesne on January 25. They’ll take a trip to Annapolis to face off against Navy on February 15 and then play at St. Francis Brooklyn the next day. New NEC member Merrimack will visit the Mount on February 22 and University of the Sciences will also take a trip to Emmitsburg for a match on February 22. Longwood will play host to the Mount on March 1 before the Mount head to their annual Spring Break trip in South Carolina from March 2-4. They will then travel to Radford on March 8. The Mount will play three different opponents in March at home: Saint Joseph’s on March 14, Delaware State on March 15 and Hofstra on March 19. They’ll then travel to Wagner on March 21, Fairleigh Dickinson on March 22, George Mason on March 26 and Rider on March 28. The Mount’s last four matches of the regular season will be at home: Loyola on April 1, Saint Francis on April 5, Hampton on April 8 and Monmouth on April 15. The NEC Tournament will run from April 17-19. The men’s tennis team’s overall record the past 10 years is 78-97 (20-27 NEC). The women’s record the last 10 years stands at 85-12 (22-25 NEC).

Women’s bowling has been in existence for just a little over one year at the Mount, but they have taken the NEC by storm. At least season’s conference tournament, the women took second place with a team consisting of only freshmen. So far, they are ranked 13th nationally and are sitting pretty at 32-20 (4-8 NEC).

In January, the women will compete in two invitationals: The Stormin Blue and White Vegas Class and the Red Flash Invitational. The former being from January 10-12 and the latter being from the 24-26. At last year’s Red Flash Invitational, the Mount took home third place, and this is the first year the Mount will host the Stormin Blue and White Classic, and it will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada. Head coach Kenneth DeGraaf says that "This is huge for so many reasons. In our sport, Las Vegas is far more than just a tourist city, it is the bowling capital of the world, and at its center is the South Point Bowling Plaza, a state-of-the-art bowling stadium that will give student-athletes an experience they will never forget. As far as bowling facilities go, this easily cracks the top-five. It is on the bucket list of every competitive bowler."

In February, the Mount will compete in the Bowl for the Cure hosted by Molloy College from the 1-2. Then, they will travel to Towson for the James Brown Invitational which is hosted by Morgan State. The last of three regular-season NEC meets will then take place form February 22-23. In March, the women will compete in the USBC ITC Sectionals from the 13-15. Then, the NEC Championships will begin from March 20-22. The winner will head to NCAA Championship Tournament. Last season, the women had an overall record of 78-39 (12-6 NEC), and peaked nationally as the 21st best team.