Many students left the University in the middle of May after finals to return home for summer vacation. The spring sports teams, however, still needed to conclude their seasons and try to win championships.
Starting with the baseball team, Monmouth came up just short of winning the Northeast Conference (NEC) crown. The second seeded Pioneers of Sacred Heart defeated the Hawks 5-1 in the conference championship game.
Hawks’ baseball won 35 games on the season, eclipsing 30 wins for the second consecutive year and eighth time under the direction of Head Coach Dean Ehehalt. Pat Light and Jake Gronsky were both named to the NEC All-Tournament team.
Light was drafted into Major League Baseball by the Boston Red Sox.
The softball team lost its only two games in the NEC tournament to Robert Morris and Quinnipiac to finish the season with a record of 24-20.
Chelsea Paprocki was named to the NEC All-Tournament for her efforts. She knocked in all of Monmouth’s three runs in the post season. She scorched a double down the left field line in the second inning against Robert Morris to plate a pair of runs. Against Quinnipiac, her RBI came on a single to left field in the fourth inning to cut the Bobcats’ lead in half and make it a 2-1 ballgame.
Softball won its final seven games of the regular season to finish fourth in the NEC and beat out Central Connecticut State and Bryant by one game for the final seed in the conference tournament.
Women’s lacrosse won the NEC tournament for the first time since 2007. The third-seeded Hawks defeated Mount St. Mary’s 11- 3. The Blue and White’s defense allowed the fewest goals in the history of the NEC tournament, allowing only seven goals in its two games. The previous record was nine.
“I thought we played well. I thought offensively we were a little tentative early but our defense put a lot of pressure on them,” said head coach Denise Wescott. “That allowed our offense to settle down and get some late goals. At the end Katie made some point-blank saves too. Our defense has been solid all year. Offensively once we settled in we got some good looks.”
In the NCAA Play-In Game, the Blue and White’s lacrosse team fell to #20 Towson 15-5 to end their season. Kaleigh Gibbons scored two goals and tallied an assist for the Hawks. The women’s lacrosse team finished the season with a record of 9-11, 8-3 in the NEC.
The Hawks were very successful in track and field last year, with both the men’s and women’s teams winning the Northeast Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Mount St. Mary’s.
Vincent Elardo was named the Field Athlete of the Meet and the Meet’s Most Valuable Athlete. Elardo was the top seed in the shot put, hammer throw and discus. He won all three competitions.
Ford Palmer was named the Track Athlete of the Meet. Palmer earned the Hawks 18 points by setting a record and winning the 1500m run in 3:49:39 and placing second in the 800m.
Amanda Eller won a couple of events for the women’s team. She set a conference record winning the 1500m with a blistering time of 4:27:91. She won the 800m as well, finishing in 2:13:21.
“We were really pleased with how well both teams responded today in every event area,” said Head Coach Joe Compagni. “We had some challenges and obstacles, and the meet was more competitive than ever overall, but we pulled together and executed very well.”
For the men’s team, this was their eighth team title in the last nine seasons. On the women’s side, this was their fifth title in the last eight seasons.
As a whole, the Hawks provided some memorable and championship performances throughout the spring season.
All of the teams will work hard to improve and come back stronger in 2013.
PHOTO COURTESY of MU Photography
