It’s hard to believe that we are coming to the close of our spring semester. This being The Mirror’s last issue of the year, it is important to reflect on what our athletes have accomplished, as well as our fellow students. Let’s take a step back and remember the highlights of the 2010-2011 school year in Fairfield Athletics.
-Although Fairfield basketball just barely missed out on making the NCAA Tournament, our team certainly got the attention of people around the country. With an overall 25-8 record and a regular season MAAC championship, the Stags compiled an impressive resume. Yes, the home loss to Saint Peter’s was tough, but an NIT appearance for our program is another step in reaching the ultimate goal: the invite to March Madness.
-We had to say farewell to our fan-favorite head coach Ed Cooley, who will always be remembered and respected in the Fairfield community. But with his departure comes a new era; it is now Sydney Johnson’s turn to lead this team to a MAAC Tournament Championship. With the return of Derek Needham, Ryan Olander, and Maurice Barrow, the Stags will not lose a step and already are pre-season favorites to win the MAAC. In addition, we welcome transfers Rakim Sanders and Desmond Wade, who will be essential components in making this team a mid-major powerhouse. The future looks bright for Fairfield basketball; next year should prove to be one for the ages.
-The rising underclassmen of the Women’s Volleyball team deserve recognition for their efforts this past season. Fairfield sophomore Brianna Dixion was named to the All-MAAC Second Team after being named MAAC Rookie of the Year in 2009. She led the Stags with 303 kills and was second with 48 total blocks. In addition, freshman Rachel Romansky was named to the MAAC Championship Tournament team.
– Michelle Yoshida set her sixth program record during the course of three days in the MAAC Swimming and Diving Championships. She won her third straight MAAC Championship in the 100 free and is poised to break more of her own records next year in her senior season.
-Softball is having a great season so far, with a current overall record of 26-18 and 10-2 in MAAC competition. Freshman Lauren Liseth is starting her collegiate career off with a bang. She already has 6 home runs, 32 RBI’s, and a slugging percentage of .617%. Senior pitcher Sarah Minice is also having a fantastic season with a 14-7 W/L record and a 1.37 ERA. She has posted 16 complete games and just tossed a perfect game against Saint Peter’s last week.
-Fairfield University’s Rowing Team put forth an extremely impressive effort this past weekend and won the overall championship trophy at the Spring Metropolitan Regatta. Fairfield had not won the title at this event since 2003 and their accomplishment should not go unnoticed.
-With the ECAC Tournament approaching for the Men’s Lacrosse Team, one particular player will need to continue his stellar level of play throughout the course of this season. Charlie Cipriano, junior goalkeeper, was named ECAC Keeper of the Year this week. He finished the regular season with a .593 save percentage, which was sixth in the entire country and first among ECAC goalkeepers. Cipriano stopped a career-best 153 shots this season, which is the ninth-best single-season effort in Fairfield history. Let’s hope Cipriano and the rest of the Men’s Lacrosse team can be on the right side of their upcoming ECAC games.
Leave a Reply