BRYANT WEEKLY SPORTS UPDATE
May 1, 2006
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      As the calendar moves into May, that can only mean one thing for the Bryant University Department of Athletics:  Postseason tournament play.  The Bulldog spring sports teams have enjoyed tremendous success over the past two months and this week several will be competing in both conference and NCAA postseason play. 
     The Bryant women's tennis team, fresh off a third-straight Northeast-10 Conference tournament championship, will host  NCAA Division II first and second round matches this Friday and Saturday at the brand-new Bryant Tennis Courts Complex on campus.  The Bulldogs (16-3) will face Philadelphia University on Friday at 3 pm.  Kutztown (Pa.) and California (Pa.) will meet at noon with the winners advancing to the regional title match Saturday at noon. 
     Softball, the 2006 Northeast-10 Conference regular-season champions, will look to defend last year's conference tournament title by hosting the Northeast-10 Conference Championships this weekend.  The three-day tourney will start Friday with the championship scheduled for Sunday at Bryant.  The Bulldogs are currently ranked No. 4 in the NCAA Northeast Region and look to be a lock to qualify for the NCAA tournament for the third-straight season.
    Men's golf team will make its 28th appearance in the NCAA Division II Golf Championship when the Bulldogs travel to Wheeling, West Virginia for the regional tournament championship May 1-3.  The Bulldogs have won four-straight regional tournament titles (eight overall).  The winner of the regional will advance to the Division II Championship May 14-18 in Beckley, West Virginia.
    Men's lacrosse will travel to Merrimack College Wednesday for a Northeast-10 Conference tournament semifinal game starting at 4 pm with the winner advancing to Saturday's conference championship game.  Women's lacrosse will host Saint Anselm College Wednesday (4 pm) for a Northeast-10 Conference tournament quarterfinal round game.  The conference semifinals and championship will take place Saturday and Sunday.
    Finally, men's and women's track & field will host the Northeast-10 Conference Championship this Saturday at the Bryant Track.

BASEBALL (16-30, 14-12  NE-10)
BULLDOGS HOST PACE UNIVERSITY TUESDAY
     The Bryant baseball team is currently seventh in the Northeast-10 Conference standings at 14-12 following Sunday's 1-0 win over American International College.  Sophomore Luke Cowan (Wilton, Conn.) pitched eight strong innings allowing just three hits and striking out eight to earn the win.  Junior Mike Rocco (Tewksbury, Mass.) is hitting .248 this year.  Bryant will host Pace University Tuesday (3:30 pm) before heading to Pleasantville, NY Wednesday for an afternoon tilt with the Setters.  The Bulldogs will host Assumption Sunday for a doubleheader starting at noon. Six teams will advance to the conference tournament that will start May 10.  Pace, currently fifth in the standings, is still in transition after dropping down from Division I and thus will not be eligible to compete in the NE-10 tourney this year.

MEN'S LACROSSE (11-4, 8-2 NE-10)
BULLDOGS ADVANCE TO SEMIFINALS WITH WIN OVER SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE SATURDAY
      Senior Jedd Storoshenko (Bayshore, NY) scored four goals and added an assist to lead the Bryant University men's lacrosse team to a 13-8 win over Southern New Hampshire in a Northeast-10 Conference quarterfinal round game Saturday.    
    Bryant (11-4), the No. 3 seed of the tournament, will advance to the conference semifinals for the third-straight season this Wednesday when the Bulldogs travel to North Andover, MA to face second-seeded Merrimack College at Warrior Field.   Bryant fell to Merrimack, 14-13 in overtime back on April 15, however the Bulldogs knocked off Merrimack in overtime, 10-9 in last season's Northeast-10 Conference semifinals. 

WOMEN'S LACROSSE (10-4, 8-2 NE-10)
BULLDOGS HOST SAINT ANSELM WEDNESDAY IN NE-10 SEMIFINALS
    The Bryant women's lacrosse team went 2-0 last week to earn a No. 3 seed in this week's Northeast-10 Conference tournament. The Bulldogs will host Saint Anselm Wednesday with the winner advancing to the semifinals which will be played at the highest seed, likely at Stonehill College.   Juniors Shaun Leddy (Sea Girt, NJ) and Lauren Carlisle (San Diego, Calif.) lead the way with 38 goals each while freshman Delia Glover (Marston Mills, Mass.), also a member of Bryant's volleyball team, is making a strong push for Freshman of the Year honors in the conference with 33 goals this spring.

MEN'S GOLF
BULLDOGS RETURN TO NCAA REGIONAL PLAY
   The Bryant men's golf team will make its 28th appearance in the NCAA Division II Golf Championship when the Bulldogs travel to Wheeling, West Virginia for the regional tournament championship May 1-3.  The Bulldogs have won four-straight regional tournament titles (eight overall).  The winner of the regional will advance to the Division II Championship May 14-18 in Beckley, West Virginia.

SOFTBALL (24-14, 22-4 NE-10)
BULLDOGS CAPTURE CONFERENCE REGULAR SEASON TITLE WITH WIN OVER SAINT MICHAEL'S SUNDAY
The Bryant softball team earned a split with conference foe Saint Michael's Sunday, but in the process clinched the program's first conference regular season title.  The Bulldogs, with only one senior on the roster, have won 21 of their last 24 games including an 11 game winning streak during that span.  The Bulldogs will visit Le Moyne in a makeup game on Tuesday afternoon. 

WOMEN'S TENNIS (16-3, 11-1 NE-10)
BULLDOGS HOST NCAA FIRST AND SECOND ROUND THIS WEEK AT BRYANT TENNIS COURTS
      The Bryant University women's tennis team will make its third-straight NCAA tournament appearance this week when the Bulldogs host first and second round matches at the new Bryant Tennis Courts.  Bryant will face Philadelphia University on Friday at 3 pm while Kutztown (Pa.) and California (Pa.) will square off in the first match Friday at 12 pm.  The winners of both matches will play Saturday at noon for the right to advance to the finals which will take place May 10-13 in Kansas City, Missouri. Bryant is 1-2 in NCAA tournament play with the lone win coming against Queens (NY) in 2005.

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD
BULLDOGS HOST NE-10 CHAMPIONSHIPS SATURDAY   
    The Bryant men's and women's track & field teams will host the 2006 Northeast-10 Conference Track & Field Championships this Saturday at the Bryant Track.  This will be the second home meet of the year for the Bulldogs who competed Sunday at the Brown Springtime Invitational.  This will also be the first conference track championship since 2004 after last year's scheduled meet in Lowell, Mass. was canceled due to weather.

DOWN THE STRETCH  ...

BRYANT SPORTS BANQUET THIS THURSDAY
   The Bryant University Department of Athletics & Recreation will hold its annual Awards Banquet this Thursday evening at the Chace Athletic Center starting at 7 p.m.  In addition to recognizing team and individual accomplishments in the classroom and on the fields of play, Bryant will announce the 2005-06 Male and Female Athletes of the Year.