Thrilling, exhilarating and busy are just a few words that describe this week as six of Widener’s teams prepare to play in the Commonwealth/Middle Atlantic Conference Championships.
The baseball team (21-10, 14-4 CC) is in the Commonwealth Conference Tournament a sixth straight year and won its first regular-season league title of any kind since taking the MAC Southern Division in 1978. It opens play in the double-elimination tournament Thursday vs. No 4 seed Messiah at 4:00 pm with the entire tournament taking place in West Lawn, PA.
The squad once has again has been getting solid pitching from sophomore southpaw and 2009 conference Rookie of the Year Jason Ferrie (Royersford, PA), who is second in the league with seven wins, fifth with a 2.57 ERA and fifth with 52 strikeouts. Widener also boasts the top three hitters in the conference in junior second baseman Alex Oliver (Lebanon, NJ) at .467, sophomore catcher Sean Saverio (Horsham, PA) at .427 and junior right fielder Tom DeAngelis (Pottstown, PA) at .417.
The tournament home page can be found here, live stats for all games can be found here and broadcasts of all Widener games can be found here.
The softball team (26-13, 8-6 CC) clinched its third straight league tournament berth and is the number three seed. It will face No. 10 and reigning national champion Messiah in its first game Friday at 1:00 pm with the double-elimination tournament being held in Annville, PA.
Senior shortstop Steph Connolly (Aston, PA) has been a force, sitting first in the league with 43 hits, tied for first with 13 doubles, tied for ninth with nine home runs, second with a .462 batting average, second with 54 hits and second with an .803 slugging percentage. Senior Kim Dougherty (Belle Mead, NJ) is batting .370 to go with a 10-5 record and 74 strikeouts, and senior left fielder Lauren Brubaker (Newtown Square, PA) is hitting .355 with 11 doubles.
The tournament home page is located here and live stats for all games can be found here.
The fourth-seeded women’s lacrosse team (11-6, 8-4 MAC) is in the MAC Tournament for the first time since 2005 and tied the school record for most victories, set in 2003. The Pride on Tuesday host No. 5 seed Lycoming in the first round at 4:00 pm at Edith R. Dixon Field.
Tickets to Tuesday’s game are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $2 for non-Widener students and free for those under age 6. Widener students are admitted free with a valid ID.
Widener once again has received exceptional play from senior attacker Jackie Elliott (Upper Darby, PA), who leads the conference and is in the top 20 nationally with 74 goals and 93 points. Sophomore Rachel Porter (Medford, NJ) is next with 44 goals and 56 points with sophomore Jen Harnden (Hershey, PA) pacing the team at 26 assists. Sophomore Linda Salcedo (Media, PA) owns an 11-6 record in goal.
The tournament home page can be found here and live stats for Tuesday's game can be found here.
The men’s lacrosse team (7-9, 6-5 MAC), which has appeared in the last five MAC finals with four championships, is the sixth seed and on Monday visits No. 3 seed Lycoming for a 4:00 pm game.
Senior attacker Cory Malampy (Ridley, PA) has been a force on the frontline, sitting fourth in the league with 34 goals and seventh with 44 points. Junior Steve Cull (Havertown, PA) is next with 19 goals and 26 points, and sophomore Ryan Shewell (Ellicott City, MD) is tops on the team with 14 assists.
The tournament home page is located here and live stats for Monday's contest can be found here.
The champions of all aforementioned tournaments receive an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
The men’s and women’s track and field teams host the MAC Outdoor Championships from Thursday through Saturday at Leslie C. Quick Jr. Stadium. Tickets will be sold Friday and Saturday at $6 for adults and $3 for students each day and an all-session pass is $10 for adults and $5 for students.
The men look for a team championship to match that from the indoor squad last February. Senior James Green (Lansdale, PA), the 2008 MAC Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year, has won two straight outdoor shot put titles as well as three indoor titles. Freshman Ryan Chance (Glassboro, NJ) captured the triple jump and the long jump in the winter to be crowned MAC Indoor Rookie of the Year.
The women are paced by senior Nikita Halteman (Hatboro, PA), who won the MAC indoor shot put title a second consecutive year and also captured the weight throw. She also won the MAC outdoor shot put crown last season. Sophomore Abby Schaffer (Easton, PA) won the pole vault at both the MAC Indoor and ECAC Indoor Championships before taking second at the NCAA Championships.
The tournament home page is located here.
The golf team finished sixth at last weekend’s Commonwealth Conference Championship. Senior James Presto (Bethlehem, PA) ended 11th overall with 162 and just missed being all-conference a second straight year by one shot.