Fall Sports Come to a Close

Collin Riviello
MSMU Class of 2020

(12/2019) With December here, many teams have finally reached the conclusion of their season, but even more teams’ seasons have just started getting underway. However, a notable addition to the Mount’s core offering of sports, albeit not a NCAA division I sport, is the announcement of a Mount e-sports teams coming in the 2020-2021 academic year.

Announced in a campus-wide email on October 18, 2019, President Trainor announced the addition of an e-sports teams that will be considered a varsity program: "Esports, which is increasingly popular but is not an NCAA sport, will be done the Mount way. This means that the program will be consistent with Mount values, including linkages to curriculum, a team chaplain, the right game selection, limits and structure, collaboration with other Catholic teams and a physical component so that the mind, body and spirit are all incorporated." An advisor has not yet been named, but games under consideration to be competed in by the Mount include Super Smash Bros for the Nintendo Switch, Overwatch, League of Legends, FIFA and NBA2K.

Men’s and women’s cross-country ended their season at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships last month at Lehigh University. The top four finishers from each race automatically earn a spot at the National Championships and the top two teams from each race advance automatically as well. Junior William Merritt placed 42nd (31:24.6) overall out of 175 runners in the 10k while fellow junior Isaac Kole crossed the line in 31:31.6 which earned him 46th place. The men finished in 16th place as a team out of 24 teams. Villanova and Georgetown placed first and second respectively.

The women placed 25th as a team out of 31 teams. The Mount’s top finisher was graduate Erin Jaskot who finished in 21:25.6 on the six-kilometer course, which earned her a 52nd overall finish out of 208 runners. Senior Maddie Kole placed 92nd with a time of 22:04.6. Penn State and Villanova went one-two in the team standings.

The men’s soccer team finished their season at 7-10 overall (3-6-0 NEC) which was a vast improvement from last season’s 2-10-4 overall record (1-5-2 NEC). Senior Boris Nana Tonzi was named to the First Team All-Northeast Conference list. In addition, senior Miguel Lucero was named to the All-NEC Second Team. Tonzi scored three goals this season and recorded one assist. He ends off his career at the Mount with seven goals total and one assist. Lucero led the NEC in the assist’s category with seven this season, finishing off his collegiate career with 10 total assists. The Mount finished the season in 8th place in the NEC.

Women’s soccer finished off their season at 3-13-1 (2-7-1 NEC). Junior Maria Buonomo was named to the Second Team All-Northeast Conference list, an honor she previously earned last season. As a defender this season, Buonomo had a 1.96 goals against average and two shut-outs to her name.

Women’s rugby topped off their season at the NIRA Tier II semifinals with a 32-19 loss to West Chester. The team finishes the Fall 15s season at a 5-4 overall record (4-4 NIRA). The winner of this match would have advanced to the Championship match. The Mount got off to an early 12-0 lead with tries from freshman Shandree McNatt and graduate Julie Crochet, but Wester Chester scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to take the lead. Freshman Jalana Jade Garcia soon scored a try, and a good free kick put the Mount back on top 19-17. However, three tries scored by one person on the West Chester side put the Golden Rams up for good. The team will start their spring 7s season next spring.

The men’s and women’s gold teams also rounded off the fall portion of their season. The men finished in 15th place out of 15 teams at the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate Golf Tournament in North Carolina on October 22 with a total of 931 points. The three-day total for the Mount was 312-315-304. Junior Nacho Gomez and sophomore Matthew Kinsey both shot 74 in the final round. Freshman Joe Lostumbo shot a 75 and sophomores Jack Snyder and Pablo Alonso shot 82 and 81 respectively.

On the women’s side, they ended their fall season at the Chippewa Invitational in Birmingham, M.I on October 21 and 22. Sophomore Michaela Chung led the Mount in shooting with a total score of 166 (84-82) to place 38th overall. Junior Olivia Gardenhour shot a 95 on the final day of play to post a total score of 185. Freshman Taylor Woodward shot a 107 on the final day of play.

Men’s and women’s swim and dive are deep into their season. In November, the Mount competed in two dual meets. The men lost to Monmouth 161-93 while the women suffered the same fate, 158-104. Then, during the match-up against St. Francis Brooklyn, the men dropped the meet 153-136, while the women also lost 188-107. The Mount’s next meet will take place at Howard on January 18. They will then host VMI on January 24 and 25 for Senior Night. In February, the Mount will compete at Loyola on the first. The women will then head to the NEC Championships from February 19-22, while the men will head to the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association Championships from February 19-22 as well. Both teams will then head to the National Invitational at Cleveland State in March from the 12-14.

Men’s and women’s indoor track & field will kick of their season in December with a meet at Bucknell: the Bucknell Opener on December 6 and 7. Also on December 7 is the River Hawks Opener held at Susquehanna University. On January 18, the team will compete in the Keydet Invitational at VMI. From January 24-25, the team will head to George Mason for the Patriot Games. A select few athletes will then have the opportunity to compete at the Penn State National Open on January 31 and February 1. Also, on February 1 is the Navy Invitational at the US. Naval Academy and the Susquehanna University Challenge. From February 6-9, the Mount will compete at the Akron Invitational. The team will then return back to Susquehanna University for another meet on February 15. The NEC Indoor Championships will take place from February 21-22. The women’s team is the defending indoor NEC champion after winning the conference title last season with 134 points. The men placed 6th at the same meet. Before ending off the indoor season, some team member will compete at the IC4A/ECAC Championships hosted at the Boston university Track & Field center from March 6-8.