Spring Sports Wrap-Up

Jun 7, 2019 8:26 AM

MEN'S LACROSSE

Record: 12-8, 2-4 Capital Athletic Conference

Highlight: Bobcats win their first ECAC Championship in program history

Recap: The Frostburg State men’s lacrosse team captured its first ECAC Tournament Championships in program history with a 10-8 victory over Westminster (Pa.) at Bobcat Stadium. FSU reached the conference semifinals in the extremely competitive CAC for the fifth time in the last six seasons. A six-game winning streak earned the Bobcats some national attention as FSU received votes in the USILA national poll during the season. With 12 wins, the Bobcats posted their winningest season since 2016. Junior midfielder Jimmy Lucas was named All-CAC Second Team, and junior Paul Ruppert set FSU’s single-season record with 48 goals. Ruppert and first-year student Matt Ward posted a team-best 64 points, tied for the second most in program history. Junior defender Garrett Colvin’s 29 caused turnovers were the third-highest total in FSU history.

Next season: Men’s lacrosse will join the East Coast Conference next season as an associate member. The Bobcats’ top five scorers, including Lucas and Ruppert, are set to return. Goalie Jack Marks looks to be a four-year starter between the pipes.

WOMEN'S LACROSSE

Record: 4-14, 1-5 CAC

Highlight: Women finish sixth in premier DIII lacrosse conference

Recap: The FSU women’s lacrosse squad returned to the CAC Tournament with a sixth-place finish in one of the top Division III women’s lacrosse conferences in the nation. Frostburg State featured a young roster with 18 underclass players, one junior and two seniors. FSU posted the third-most draw controls (232) and fifth-most assists (102) in program history. The Bobcats defeated Southern Virginia 22-15 to pick up a CAC victory. Sophomore Summer Cavey earned All-CAC Second Team honors after posting 72 draw controls, the third most for a single-season in program history. Senior Morgan Cavey concluded her illustrious career with 42 goals and 13 assists to push her all-time totals for goals (165) and points (210) into the top-six in FSU history. Sophomore Stephanie King led the Bobcats with 70 points, including four outings with at least eight points.

Next Season: Women’s lacrosse will look to compete immediately in the Mountain East Conference. King and Summer Cavey will lead an experienced group of rising juniors and sophomores into Division II.

MEN'S TRACK & FIELD

Highlight: Bobcat men finish third at CAC Championships

Recap: The Frostburg men closed the regular season by finishing first at the Falcon Invitational (Messiah) and the Mason-Dixon Invitational (Gettysburg) before posting a strong third-place finish at the CAC Championships. The Bobcat men had talent at virtually every event this spring as junior John Kerns (hammer throw), junior Michael Belcher (hammer) and first-year student Ratez McLaurin (triple jump) all garnered USTFCCCA All-Mideast Region awards. Meanwhile at the CAC championships, Kerns won the hammer throw, junior D.J. Wiseman won the 100-meter dash and senior Robert Romano won the 1,500-meter run. All three took first-team all-conference medals with their victories. Romano closed his Frostburg career with a runner-up showing at the AARTFC Championships, and he was named a CoSIDA Google Cloud Academic All-District II honoree for his excellent work in the classroom.

Next Season: The future looks bright for the Bobcat men as all three All-Region honorees – Kerns, Belcher and McLaurin – return.

WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD

Highlight: Frostburg earns seventh at CACs

Recap: The Frostburg women’s track & field team earned eight top-10 finishes at the CAC Championships at Christopher Newport and went on to finish in seventh place in the final standings. Junior Keileen Estrada posted the highest individual finish, as she took first in the 400-meter hurdles in a season-best 1:05.05. The 4x100-meter relay team of Estrada, along with juniors Maddison Watson, Sidonie Brown and sophomore Ashleigh Myers finished in fifth place with a time of 50.61. First-year student Amy Trembly earned third place in the high jump at a season-best 1.54 meters. Junior Keirsten Tawney claimed the CAC hammer throw title launching the hammer 46.17 meters, breaking her own school record. Senior Holly Van Wie finished in third in the hammer throw with a toss of 44.72 meters.

Next Season: Van Wie was the team’s only senior this year, so the Bobcats return plenty of depth and talent for their first year in the MEC.

BASEBALL

Record: 13-20-1 Overall, 3-17-1 CAC

Highlight: Bobcats pull off a 10-game winning streak

Recap: Frostburg posted 10 wins in a row to start the season, all of which came on the road highlighted by a three-game sweep of New Rochelle. The Bobcats captured mid-week awards as sophomore Tre D’Amico was named NCBWA Hitter of the Week for his performance in that series. Frostburg’s first baseman Ryan Roell emerged as one of the best hitters in the CAC in his first year of league play. Roell broke FSU’s single-season home run record and ranked third in the nation with 16 home runs. Roell also led the nation in home runs per game with 0.47. Frostburg ended the 2019 season with a series win against Southern Virginia, ending the season on a high note.

Next Season: Roell and junior pitcher Mike Livingston will return to the Bobcats as they transition into DII.

SOFTBALL

Record: 17-22 Overall, 5-7 CAC

Highlight: Frostburg advanced to the CAC Tournament

Recap: The Bobcats finished the 2019 season under first-year head coach Bill Vasko with 17 wins and another trip to the CAC Tournament. After a slow start, the Bobcats got rolling with nine wins in an 11-game stretch over the middle part of the season, and they earned the fifth seed in the CAC Tournament. On the first day of the CACs, FSU rallied from a six-run deficit to defeat rival Salisbury to advance to elimination Sunday of the opening weekend tournament. Frostburg’s season came to a close with a 9-1 loss to No. 9-ranked Christopher Newport. The Bobcats landed two players on the All-CAC teams as senior Olivia Ford and first-year student Amber Keene were second-team selections. Ford set Frostburg’s single-season record with 31 stolen bases and led the team with 35 runs scored, while Keene paced the squad in batting average (.433), walks (17), hits (52), RBI (33), doubles (16), triples (3), home runs (6) and total bases (92).

Next Season: Keene was in the running for the CAC Rookie of the Year award for much of the season, and she will lead a young and talented team that will feature just three seniors next spring.

MEN'S TENNIS

Highlight: Frostburg makes a first-round appearance at CACs

Recap: Frostburg’s men’s tennis team made a first-round appearance at the CAC tournament after capturing the eighth seed. The Bobcats went into the tournament 4-8 overall. This was the first trip to the CAC Tournament since three straight trips in 2011-13. Senior Shasta Braithwaite led the Bobcat men with five singles win and all five came at No. 1. Senior Nate Farlow and sophomore Geoffrey Goldring finished second on the squad with four wins each in singles play. Braithwaite and Farlow combined for a team-best four wins in doubles play.

Next Season: Rising junior Tim Goldring will become team captain for the 2019-2020 season, while his twin brother, Geoffrey, will come for the top singles spot.

WOMEN'S TENNIS

Record: 5-9 Overall, 1-6 CAC

Highlight: Bobcats earned spot in CAC Tournament

Recap: Frostburg started the season winning five of its first seven matches against non-conference opponents. The highlight of this stretch was a 9-0 victory at home to McDaniel spearheaded by a doubles win from Kate Paylor and Jenna Lipinski (8-2). FSU then entered conference play where it defeated St. Mary’s of Maryland for the first time in program history. First-year student Shea Przywieczerski swept her opponent in straight sets 6-0, 6-0. Junior Allison Paul finished the year with a 3-0 record slotted mainly in the second single spot. First-year student Erika Femne ended the campaign with a 3-4 overall record and 2-3 CAC record.

Next Season: Paul is returning along with Femne as they transition to DII.

– Noah Becker M’06