| Friday, Apr. 24 |
One day away from "Break The Record" as UMass lacrosse hosts defending NCAA Champion Syracuse on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Be a part of the crowd that could break the mark of 12,143 set in 1989. JTAM has several stories on the men's lacrosse team including a compelling piece from the Springfield Republican. Friday after brings the start of the A-10 women's lacrosse tournament in Philadelphia. UMass takes on George Washington at 1 p.m. JTAM also has news on softball and baseball.
Here is Ron Chimelis' story on the UMass lacrosse team as the Minutemen have restored their image in 2009 after tough times last year.
UMass senior goalie Doc Schneider, a Tewaaraton Trophy Final Nominee, is featured on a full page as the top goalie to watch in the NCAA Tournament according to Inside Lacrosse.
On Inside Lacrosse's website, IL has its weekly conference notebook with a good mention about UMass: The regular season title is UMass' to lose. They'll be the conference champions with either a Loyola loss to Hobart this weekend or by beating Rutgers in their season finale on May 2. The Minutemen are hoping to break their home attendance record of 12,143 set in 1989 (and win) when they host rival Syracuse this weekend.
From Syracuse, here are stories previewing the big lacrosse match-up: Post-Standard with a piece on sophomore leading goal scorer Stephen Keough, the Watertown Daily Times and Post-Standard with a stories on the NCAA clearing Cody Jamieson to play after transferring from Onondaga Community College.
Matt Vautour in the Daily Hampshire Gazette has a preview of the women's lacrosse A-10 Tournament where UMass is the favorite. The article also has blurbs on other UMass teams in action this weekend.
Check out the Daily Collegian's recap of the softball team's dramatic win at UConn yesterday, 6-4.
The Day newspaper in Connecticut and Hartford Courant have references to yesterday's UMass-UConn softball game.
The baseball team looks to continue its winning ways at La Salle this weekend. The Daily Collegian has a preview of the three-game set in Philly.
The track and field teams host the Pre-Conference Meet this Saturday in Amherst. Here's the Daily Collegian's preview.
Fresh off their 13th Atlantic 10 crown, the UMass rowing team will meet up with MIT on the Charles River this weekend. The Daily Collegian has this story.
The NFL Draft takes place this weekend. Its unlikely any UMass players will be selected, but Liam Coen is mentioned in this great Boston Globe feature on Massachusetts native Todd McShay, who works for ESPN as a draft expert.
UMassAthletics.com Feature To Check Out: Want to watch the Syracuse game from the press box? Then click here to bid on the opportunity. Bidding ends at 8 p.m. tonight, so don't miss your chance!
Don't miss this: What else but Saturday's "Break The Record" at McGuirk Stadium. Join us and hopefully more than 12,000 friends in cheering the lacrosse team on against Syracuse.
| Thursday, Apr. 23 |
Today brings a UMass football reception in Boston with head football coach Kevin Morris. The UMass softball team is also in action as it travels to Storrs to face the UConn Huskies. It's an exciting time in UMass Athletics as the women's lax team leaves today for the A-10 Tournament while the men's squad continues to prepare for Saturday's game vs. defending national champion Syracuse. This JTAM has stories from softball to both laxes, and even an update on Mass Attack hockey alums in the AHL and ECHL playoffs!
Looking ahead to Saturday's huge nonconference men's lax tilt vs. Syracuse, the Post-Standard (Syracuse) has a story on how the Orange will face one of the nation's top goalies in UMass senior Doc Schneider.
The Daily Collegian also has this preview of the long-standing rivalry. Check out this other sidebar on the nature of a "rivalry game" and a preview notebook.
Inside Lacrosse has its latest bracketology with UMass pitted to play Johns Hopkins in the first round. IL also has a wonderful breakdown of how the NCAA Tournament field is selected.
Lacrosse Magazine has an awesome feature on women's lacrosse senior defender Jackie Rosenzweig. Check it out.
The Nashua Telegraph also features Rosenzweig' teammate and fellow co-captain Holly Drown looking at her strong career finish as a senior. The piece also talks about her sister Tracey who was a Minutewoman and assistant coach of the program. UMass has had a Drown in the line-up for the last nine straight years.
Speaking of women's lax, the Collegian previews the Atlantic 10 women's lacrosse tournament, which the Minutewomen enter as the top seed.
The softball team is set to play at UConn at 4 p.m. The Huskies' game set for Wednesday was canceled due to inclement weather.
The softball game is also previewed by the Collegian.
The UMass swimming teams are mentioned in this feel good article in the Springfield Republican about Senior Citizns and UMass students joining together for a great cause.
Hockey playoffs are in full swing, so here is an update on Mass Attack alums in their quest for the Calder Cup (AHL) or Kelly Cup (ECHL). In the AHL, Mike Kostka and the Portland Pirates are trailing the Providence Bruins 2 games to 1. P.J. Fenton hasn't yet seen action in the postseason, but his Worcester Sharks tied the series with Hartford at two games apiece with a dominating 6-0 win on Wednesday night. Alex Berry's Toronto Marlies are also tied at 2-2 with fellow Canadian team Manitoba. The best news comes from Milwaukee where Mark Matheson and Stephen Werner are off to the Division Finals after a 4-0 series sweep of Rockford. Matheson was credited with an assist in four games. For complete information on the Calder Cup Playoffs, please click here ... Unfortunately, not as good luck in the ECHL as both David Leaderer (Trenton Devils) and Chris Capraro (Charlotte Checkers) have been eliminated from their postseason series. Leaderer did score two goals in a 4-3 series loss to the Elmira Jackals. Capraro had a goal and two assists in three games of the Checkers' 4-2 series loss to the South Carolina Stingrays.
ABC40 ran a nice feature on brothers Kevin and Dave Johnson of the Track team. The twins hail from Ludlow and talk about how their 'sibling rivalry' pushes them in life and on the track. You can see the duo on Saturday as the Track & Field teams host a pre-conference meet featuring nearly 20 teams at the UMass Track & Field Complex.
UMassAthletics.com Feature To Check Out: Want to watch the Syracuse game from the press box? Then click here to bid on the opportunity. Bidding ends at 8 p.m. tonight, so don't miss your chance!
Don't miss this: Of course, the football reception. For more information, please click here. Softball is also set for a contest vs. rival UConn. Be sure to follow via GameTracker, or even better, Listen Live.
| Wednesday, Apr. 22 |
Happy Wednesday and welcome back to Just Take A Minute. Today at 12 Noon, the UMass Sports Luncheon holds its annual "Kids Day" at the Student Union Ballroom. In addition to the special $5 kids menu for Youth Day, kids will have the opportunity to meet various coaches and athletes, as well as Sam the Minuteman, who will be there signing autographs. Some of the student-athletes expected to be attending are: Ricky Harris (men's basketball), Whitney Mollica (softball), Carley Normandin (softball), Corey Quirk (hockey), Will Ortiz (hockey), Andrea Morand (rowing) and Stu Amick (men's soccer). JTAM also has news about men's lacrosse's huge win over Fairfield yesterday.
Coverage of the men's lacrosse clutch 12-6 win at Fairfield is provided by Daily Hampshire Gazette, The Daily Collegian, Springfield Republican and Lacrosse Magazine.
According to Inside Lacrosse, UMass senior goalie Doc Schneider is a top two candidate for the C. Markland Kelly Award as the nation's top goalie. Though he's been hot in most of the Gorilla's wins and at least somewhat off in their losses, Schneider is still the biggest reason to hope that UMass can duplicate their '06 run.
Here are the latest softball polls where UMass remains at No. 21 by USA Today/NFCA and stands at No. 17 according to ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25.
ESPN.com's Graham Hays has a feature blog piece on UMass softball's improved defense.
Samantha Salato was named the USA Softball National Player of Week after she belted seven homers in four games.
The Springfield Republican mentions several UMass stars who were honored this past week in Mike Bogen's College Round-Up.
The Daily Collegian has a complete recap of rowing's A-10 title from this past weekend.
The tennis' team's postseason run in the A-10's is covered in the Daily Collegian as UMass knocked off Dayton before falling to Xavier.
The Worcester Telegram & Gazette has a /1009/SPORTS">mention of Lisa Wilson of Holden who broke her own school record in the discus at the Princeton Larry Ellis Invitational, was named the Atlantic 10 Performer of the Week.
UMassAthletics.com Feature To Check Out: Here are the details on Thursday's UMass Friends Of Football event at the UMass Club in Boston. It runs from 5:30-7:30 p.m. with drinks and food. Join us!
Don't miss this: The weekly Sports Luncheon holds its "Kids Day" at the Student Union Ballroom. Bring out your little ones to meet and greet UMass athletes today at 12 Noon.
| Tuesday, Apr. 21 |
Rain, rain, go away! The heavens have opened up and the rain continues to fall. This afternoon, the No. 16 men's lacrosse team will travel two hours to Fairfield for a huge ECAC match-up at 3 p.m. Today's game will be wet, but Saturday's "Break The Record" game against No. 3 Syracuse will have spectacular weather. The forecast is for 80-plus degrees and sunshine. Join us by calling 1-866-UMASS-TIX. Rain is expected to cause havoc with the baseball team's game at Central Connecticut this afternoon at 3 p.m. Also the softball team is supposed to host Boston College at 5 p.m. at the Softball Complex. Check back for weather and scheduling updates throughout the day.
The South Coast Times has a great story on the Soldiers Legacy Fund, which was started by former UMass hockey star Peter Trovato. "Once you meet some of these families and once you meet some of these kids, it really turns into something much more meaningful," said Peter Trovato, founder of the Massachusetts Soldiers Legacy Fund, which offers college tuition to the children of servicemen killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. "We're helping out great people -- great Americans."
UMass men's lacrosse now stands at No. 16 in the USILA Coaches Poll and No. 15 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. In his power poll, ESPN's Quint Kessenich has UMass at No. 16 stating: Minutemen dropped a key game on Saturday at home to Georgetown. UMass is at Fairfield on April 21 in a dangerous look ahead game. They will be tempted to shift their attention to Saturday's Syracuse square off in Amherst. UMass and SU don't get along. But first things first - UMass needs an ECAC win on Tuesday against Fairfield.
The Daily Collegian has its recap of the Georgetown game as well as a preview of today's contest with Fairfield.
Looking ahead to Saturday's men's lax tilt with the Orange, the Syracuse Post-Standard has this story that talks about the Orange's final two opponents UMass and Colgate.
The softball team's streak of 48 A-10 wins in a row is covered in the Daily Collegian. The paper also has a story on Samantha Salato and her seven-homer week.
The Daily Collegian wraps up women's lacrosse's two one-goal games this weekend as the Minutewomen clinched the A-10 regular-season crown.
The women's lacrosse A-10 first round opponent George Washington is covered in the GW student paper The Hatchet. The Colonials pounded La Salle, 16-4, to clinch their first A-10 berth since 2007.
The baseball team's sweep of Saint Joseph's is covered in the Daily Collegian.
According to the website NorthStarBBall.com Gary Correia will be transferring to Boston University after two seasons at UMass.
UMassAthletics.com Feature To Check Out: Here are the details on Thursday's UMass Friends Of Football event at the UMass Club in Boston. It runs from 5:30-7:30 p.m. with drinks and food. Join us!
Don't miss this: The men's lacrosse team will muck it up in the rain at Fairfield in a crucial ECAC lacrosse match-up at 3 p.m. The Minutemen need to win their final two ECAC games to secure an NCAA Tournament berth. The softball is also slated for a home game at 5 p.m., but the rain makes that unlikely.
| Monday, Apr. 20 |
First off Happy Patriots' Day! What a weekend for drama! Two titles taking home A-10 titles, school records in softball and track & field and a walk-off win in baseball. Talk about excitement. Monday's JTAM takes a look back at those highlights from the rowing team capturing its 13th A-10 crown to the women's lacrosse taking home its first A-10 regular-season title since 2000. Brandice Balschmiter's 19-strikeout performance to Lisa Wilson's discus record to Mike Donato's game-winning 10th-inning homer for the baseball squad. Simply put WOW!
Former UMass hockey player Peter Trovato continues to make a difference in the lives of others as part of Patriots' Day at Fenway Park, the family of a lost Marblehead soldier will throw on the first pitch prior to the Red Sox game this morning.
Trovato, who captained the men's hockey squad at UMass, had a senior project to do for school, and he decided to come up with the fund, after reading about a fallen soldier that never got the chance to see his newborn son. The fund raises money for the children of Massachusetts soldiers that helps further their respective education.
The women's lacrosse amazing comeback win at St. Bonaventure is covering in the Lacrosse Magazine and Inside Lacrosse. The Minutewomen trailed 11-4 with 21 minutes left before rallying for a 14-13 win to take the A-10 No. 1 seed.
The Springfield Republican leads its notebook with the baseball victory over Saint Joseph's on Mike Donato's walk-off 2-run HR in the 10th. The Daily Hampshire Gazette also has this on the baseball sweep.
The men's lacrosse tough loss to Georgetown is covered in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Springfield Republican, Inside Lacrosse. Also, Inside Lacrosse has a great in-game blog from the Minutemen-Hoyas match-up.
Great weekend round-up of men's lacrosse by Inside Lacrosse's Christian Swezey with several mentions of UMass and how the Minutemen sit for the ECAC race.
Saturday's softball win over GW is reported on by the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Springfield Republican as Brandice Balschmiter won her 20th game of the season.
The Reebok All-American Game in Washington, D.C., featured UMass basketball recruits Raphiael Putney. This story mentions Putney: The future UMass baller gets the crowd on its feet when he takes a missed lay in off the rim and throws it down with two hands. I was most impressed with his versatility at this point in his development as he was able to step back and drain a couple of triples in the first half.
Former UMass All-American Jon Quick is mentioned in the Boston Globe weekly hockey notes for his strong season. The Kings, in fact, think they might have found a goalie in ex-UMass standout Jonathan Quick, who went 21-18-2 with a 2.48 goals-against mark and .914 save percentage.
UMassAthletics.com Feature To Check Out: The Promotions page has been updated for the spring, check it out to see what's happening at lacrosse and softball games.
Don't miss this: Check back to see where men's lacrosse moves to in the polls. Also see if any UMass athletes win weekly awards, including the UMass Athlete of the Week.
Look Back To The Week Of: April 13-17 | April 6-10 | March 30-Apr. 3 | March 23-27 | March 16-20 | March 9-13 | Mar. 2-6 | Feb. 23-27 | Feb. 16-20 | Feb. 9-13 | Feb. 2-6 | Jan. 26-30 | Jan. 19-23 | Jan. 12-16 | Jan. 5-9 | Dec. 29, 2008-Jan. 2, 2009 | Dec. 22-26 | Dec. 15-19 | Dec. 8-12 | Dec. 1-5 | Nov. 24-28 | Nov. 17-21 | Nov. 10-14 | Nov. 3-7 | Oct. 27-31 | Oct. 20-24, 2008 |
Oct. 13-17, 2008 | Oct. 6-10, 2008 | Sept. 29-Oct. 3, 2008 | Sept. 22-26, 2008 | Sept. 15-19, 2008 | Sept. 8-12, 2008 | Sept. 1-5, 2008 | Aug. 25-29, 2008 | Aug. 18-22, 2008
