April 30, 2007

WEEKLY SPORTS UPDATE: PLAYOFF TIME IS HERE

Bryant Sports News Update
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POSTSEASON PLAY ARRIVES THIS WEEK
As the month of May arrives this week, that can mean only one thing: playoff time.  Several teams begin conference tournament play this week while women's tennis, fresh off capturing its fourth-straight Northeast-10 Conference Championship, will travel to California, Pa. on Friday for first round play in the NCAA Division II Championships.  The Bulldogs are making their fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championships.  Women's lacrosse will host a Northeast-10 Conference quarterfinal round game Wednesday at Bulldog Stadium while the men's lacrosse team will host a semifinal round game on Friday at the stadium.  If the men's lacrosse team were to win Friday's game, Bryant will host the championship on Sunday thanks to the team's No. 1 seed in the tournament.  Baseball and softball wrap up their regular seasons this week before opening conference tournament play while men's golf will be the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Regional's beginning May 7 in West Virginia.

BULLDOG WEEKLY ROUNDUP ...

BASEBALL (25-17, 18-7 NE-10)
The Bryant Baseball team split a non-conference doubleheader with Dominican over the weekend.  This week, the Bulldogs will travel to Southern NH on Tuesday for a makeup game and will visit Southern Connecticut (Thursday) and UMass Lowell (Friday) before returning home to host UMass Lowell for a doubleheader Saturday.  It will be "Senior Day" on Saturday as Bryant will honor seniors Mike Upton (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Mike Rocco (Tewksbury, Mass.)

MEN'S LACROSSE (10-3, 9-0 NE-10)
The fourth-ranked Bryant men's lacrosse team captured its first-ever Northeast-10 Conference regular season title this past week, defeating Merrimack and Southern NH to finish the conference season a perfect 9-0.  On Sunday, the Bulldogs saw their 10-game win streak snapped in a non-conference loss to seventh-ranked Limestone.  The Bulldogs, however, will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming NE-10 Conference tournament. The Bulldogs will have a bye for Tuesday's quarterfinals and will host the winner of the Saint Anselm / Merrimack quarterfinal match-up this Friday in the semifinals at Bulldog Stadium (4 pm). As the top seed, if the Bulldogs were to advance to the tournament championship, Bryant will host the game Sunday at 1 p.m.

WOMEN'S LACROSSE (9-5, 7-3 NE-10)
The Bulldogs won a thrilling 16-15 overtime decision against Merrimack on Thursday as senior Shaun Leddy (Sea Girt, NJ) scored the game-winner in the third overtime period.  Leddy had 10 goals on the week for the Bulldogs.  Bryant will host Merrimack College this Wednesday afternoon in a Northeast-10 Conference tournament game at Bulldog Stadium starting at 4 p.m.

WOMEN'S TENNIS (14-5, 11-1 NE-10)
This year's senior class of Sacha Solomon (Bourne, Mass.) and Annette Jervasi (Colchester, Conn.) completed their amazing streak of winning four-straight Northeast-10 Conference Championships and with it earning four trips to the NCAA Division II tournament.  The Bulldogs will face Queens (NY) this Friday at 10 a.m. at California, Pa.  Last week, Jervasi was named first team all-conference after posting a perfect 12-0 mark in conference matches.  She is 41-3 overall during her four-year career in NE-10 play (57-14 overall).   Solomon, a third-team selection in 2007, posted a remarkable 44-2 conference record - all at No. 1 singles.  The pair were also recognized as first team all-conference at No. 1 doubles.  Lauren Mullen (Braintree, Mass.) and Michelle Burke (Barrington, R.I.) were named Second Team All-Conference at No. 2 doubles.  The Bulldogs are coached by Barbara Cilli (Providence '87).

SOFTBALL (21-14, 16-9 NE-10)
The Bryant softball team split a doubleheader at Saint Anselm on Tuesday and dropped a pair at Saint Michael's on Sunday.  The Bulldogs will host Bentley College Tuesday afternoon to wrap up conference play and will travel to the Northeast-10 Conference tournament this weekend at either Le Moyne or Southern Connecticut.

MEN'S GOLF
The Bryant University men's golf team finished ninth at the two-day 2007 Northeast Invitational with a team score of 471.  The Bulldogs were seventh after a rain-shortened first round Friday.  Freshman Jason Thresher (West Suffield, Conn.) finished the tournament tied for 25th overall with a two-day score of 117.  Thresher carded a 38 Friday and followed with a 79 on Saturday. Bryant will be the third seed of the upcoming NCAA Division II Regional Championships in Wheeling, West Virginia starting May 7.

TRACK & FIELD
The Bryant men's and women's track & field teams competed at the Brown Springtime Invitational on Sunday.  Senior Rob Schneider (North Cornwall, Conn.) set a new school record in the men's pole vault with a second place finish after clearing 14 feet, 5.25 inches. Hafiz Greigre (Attleboro, Mass.) was first in the men's 400 meter dash in 47.31 seconds while Alex Engel (Spencer, Mass.) was fourth in the 100m (11.26 seconds) and placed second in the 200m (22.48).  Lorenzo Perry (Providence, RI) was fifth in the 100m in 11.31 seconds. The Bulldogs will travel to Lowell, Mass. this weekend for the Northeast-10 Conference Championships.

Bulldog Notes ...

AWARDS BANQUET MAY 2
The annual Bryant University Awards Banquet will take place Wednesday, May 2 starting at 6 p.m. Among several awards expected to be handed out during the evening, Bryant will announce its male and female athletes of the year during the banquet. 

BLACK & GOLD GOLF OUTING JULY 23
The annual Black & Gold Golf Outing will take place Monday, July 23 at the Crystal Lake Golf resort in Burrillville, RI.  The tournament will kick off with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. 

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