March 13, 2006

Bryant Weekly Sports Update: Spring Sports Busy This Week As Four Teams Open Season; Men's Lacrosse To Host Defending National Champion Saturday

WEEKLY UPDATE (full PDF format)

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MEN’S BASKETBALL (21-10, 14-8 NE-10)
SEASON COMES TO AN END WITH LOSS TO UMASS
LOWELLIN NCAA TOURNAMENT
Heading into the 2005-06 men’s basketball season, expectations were not quite as high for the Bulldogs to repeat the same kind of season the team enjoyed a year ago, ending with a trip to the NCAA Division II Championship game.  However, behind the stellar play of senior guard John Williams (
Springfield, Mass.), the Bulldogs reached the semifinals of the Northeast-10 Conference tournament and gained the school’s third-straight ticket to the NCAA tournament.   Unfortunately, the season ended in the quarterfinal round of the Northeast Regionals Saturday as UMass Lowell held off a late second half charge by the Bulldogs to win 77-67 in Easton, Mass.  Bryant trailed 41-24 at the half but rallied to pull within two, 65-63 with a little over 2 minutes left following a runner in the lane by Dan Hammond (Brunswick, Maine).  But Lowell held on with solid free throw shooting to pick up the win.  Williams had 18 points in his final game in a Bulldog uniform, giving him 1,754 career points at Bryant  - the fourth most in school history.  He also finishes as Bryant’s all-time career 3-point field goal leader with 323.  

INDOOR TRACK
GREIGRE 16TH IN MEN’S 200 METERS AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP FRIDAY

Bryant sophomore speedster Hafiz Greigre (Attleboro, Mass.) placed 16th in the men’s 200 meters at the NCAA Division II Championships this past weekend at The Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, Mass.  Greigre placed fourth in his preliminary heat Friday in a time of 22.15 and failed to qualify for the finals which ran on Saturday.  Greigre concludes his indoor season with five new school indoor records.  
 
BASEBALL (2-9, 0-0 NE-10)
BULLDOGS RETURN TO DIAMOND THIS WEEK WITH TRIP TO
MOUNTOLIVEAND SHIPPENSBURG
The Bryant baseball team will hit the road this week for a pair of non -conference series.  The Bulldogs will face Mount Olive (NC) on Tuesday and Wednesday and head back North for a four-game series at Shippensburg (PA) starting Friday.  The Bulldogs will return home to
Smithfield the following week to open Northeast-10 Conference play against UMass Lowell at the Bryant Baseball Complex.

SOFTBALL (0-0, 0-0 NE-10)
BUSY OPENING WEEKEND AHEAD FOR BULLDOGS

The
Bryant University softball team will open the 2006 season in sunny Florida this weekend when the Bulldogs play six games in three days at the Florida Southern tournament Friday through Sunday.  Bryant, 29-17 last season and Northeast-10 Conference Tournament Champions, were picked to finish second in the Northeast-10 Conference this season in the preseason coaches’ poll.  

MEN’S TENNIS (1-1, 1-0 NE-10)
TEAM FALLS TO
BARRYUNIVERSITY9-0 SUNDAY
The Bryant men’s tennis team dropped its first match of its trip to
Florida as Barry University, the No. 8 team in the nation, rolled to a 9-0 win Sunday.  Sean Authier (North Smithfield, RI), playing at No. 2 singles, fell to Patrick Rittenauer in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.  The Bulldogs will face Eckerd College Monday.

WOMEN’S TENNIS (2-0, 2-0 NE-10)
BULLDOGS VISIT
PUERTO RICOFOR THREE MATCHES
The
Bryant University women’s tennis team, 2-0 on the young season, will visit Puerto Rico for three matches this week.  The Bulldogs will play at the University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras Monday and Tuesday before visiting UPR-Mayaguez for a single match Wednesday.  

MEN’S LACROSSE (1-0, 0-0 NE-10)
TEAM OPENS WITH WIN OVER CATAWBA SATURDAY

The Bryant men’s lacrosse team kicked off the 2006 season on the right foot Saturday, defeating Catawba 19-6 in
Altamonte Springs, Fla.  Jedd Storoshenko (Bayshore, NY) tallied three goals while Craig Buckout (South Salem, NY), Adam Smith (Bainbridge Island, WA), and Jason Zilewicz (Longmeadow, Mass.) each added a pair of goals in the win.  Bryant will take on a club team from Florida State on Tuesday and face Saint Leo’s Wednesday before returning home to face top-ranked and defending national champion New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) this Saturday in Smithfield, RI (1 pm). Bryant is ranked No. 9 nationally this week and picked by the coaches to finish second in the Northeast-10 Conference this season behind powerhouse Le Moyne.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE (0-0, 0-0 NE-10)
TEAM READY FOR OPENER THIS WEEK IN
FLORIDA
The Bryant women’s lacrosse team will open its 2006 season this week in
Florida when the Bulldogs take on Presbyterian on Monday and New Haven Wednesday.  Bryant, 12-5 last season, was picked to finish third in the Northeast-10 Conference preseason coaches’ poll.

MEN’S GOLF
BULLDOGS OPEN SPRING SEASON IN
MYRTLEBEACH
The Bryant men’s golf team will open the 2006 spring season this week at the Fairfield Invitational in
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The Bulldogs captured their 20th Northeast-10 Conference championship this past fall.  

DOWN THE STRETCH …

WILLIAMS NAMED ALL-REGION
Bryant senior guard John Williams (
Springfield, Mass.) has been named First Team All-Region by Daktronics for the second straight year.  Williams, the co-Player of the Year in the Northeast-10 Conference, will join first team selections from the other seven regions on the national all-America ballot.    

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