Coming off of a humbling road loss to Albany during the middle of the week, the UMBC women’s basketball game was looking to get back on track. Usually a bounce back win comes courtesy for a nice home game against an inferior opponent. Instead, the girls had the daunting task of traveling as far in conference play as possible… Maine. Add in that the Black Bears defeated the Retrievers on a buzzer beater last year and coach Phil Stern probably would have picked a different opponent for such a game. Not to mention that few road games in the America East are easy to get to, let alone win, and Maine is definitely not an exception.
A nice welcome from the Marriot
Five seconds… name the capital of Maine. If you said Portland, sorry you’re wrong. (The answer is Augusta, but that’s irrelevant). The point is that Maine isn’t exactly a tourist hotbed with big trendy cities. Getting there requires at least two flights and flying into an airport that isn’t even the size of one BWI terminal. Let’s just say that Bangor, Maine (yes, the hometown of Julie “The Cat” Gaffney) isn’t exactly a booming metropolis.
As a pessimist, it would have been easy to make excuses regarding the trip. ”Oh the team is coming off a tough loss.” Or, “all this travel has to take a toll. A trip to Albany and Maine is the same week is a lot.” But this group of young women had the exact opposite midset. The Retrievers didn’t use this game against the Black Bears as a bounce back, but rather as a statement. Again, losing on a buzzer beater a year ago didn’t exactly hurt the motivation either.
Though close for the first few minutes, UMBC soon made its presence known at Alfond Arena. Down 7-6 early, the Retrievers went on an 8-0 run and never looked back. Seniors Erin Brown and Michelle Kurowski were in double figures… by halftime. UMBC played so effectively and efficiently in the second half that after building a 30 point lead, the starters were taken out with over eight minutes to play.
Maine's Alfond Arena
When it was all said and done, Brown finished with 23 points, just one shy of her season-high set against UMES, while Kurowski finished with 14. Seven other Retrievers got on the score sheet as well, while senior Topé Obajolu notched two blocks to bring her within two blocks of claiming the top spot on the school’s all-time list. All in all, the Maine game might be described as a “get fat” game. With everything working for the Retrievers, every player was able to get involved an contribute in some way.
Now it’s back home for UMBC as the team hosts Stony Brook on Thursday evening and Hartford on Monday afternoon. Come out to the RAC and support the Retrievers as they continue to climb up the America East standings.
Glitz and glamour. Flash and style. Land of the rich and famous. A place for LeBron to take his talents (I couldn’t help it). Yep, that’s South Florida. But what about early wake ups, four hours of training and nine o’clock bedtime? Yep, that’s South Florida too, at least it is for UMBC’s swimming and diving teams. Not exactly your average Florida “vacation”, but hey, it’s better than staying home, right?
Just another predawn swim
Looking to sweep the America East Championships for the fourth time in the six years, this was for the most part a business trip for the Retrievers. Sure the beach was there to get a little R&R between sets, but that was the extent of fun. No bars. No night clubs. Only the occasional bowling and mini golf excursions.
With daily wake up coming at a not so restful 5 a.m., the athletes knew they were in for the long haul early. With a two hour practice from 6-8 staring them in the face, the omelette breakfast waiting back at the hotel thankfully provided a little extra motivation. One of the most often heard phrases of the week, “I can’t wait for breakfast”, rang out for the entirety of the day. Whether the athletes were climbing into the van on the way to practice, or immediately after finishing that day’s first meal, the importance of breakfast was evident.
Junior Pat Bryan catches a fish with his bare hands
Post-breakfast activities differed according to which athlete you talked to. Some preferred the complete darkness of the hotel room, while others kicked back with the cool ocean a few feet away. Heck, junior Patrick Bryan decided to go fishing… with his bare hands. The break never lasted along enough however, and that van pickup of 1:15 was quickly approaching. After fighting lovely Boca traffic, another two hour practice was at hand. Round 2. Fight! And that’s exactly what the swimmers did, fight, because each one knows what is at stake.
It’s easy to think, “Uh oh, college kids in South Florida. Hope they don’t get in trouble.” But this is a motivated group. And oh yeah, that 5 a.m. wake up. But overall, the team knew the point of the trip, and Allen Iverson would not like it. Yes, we’re talking about practice.
So while all of the distractions were there for the team to go off the deep end (I went there), this was a business trip. Sure some fun was had along the way, but but pain seemed to be the more prevalent feeling. 5 a.m. is never an easy wake up. Add in a two hour practice (three with dry land workouts sprinkled in) and that’s was the swimming diving team called a vacation. What did you do for New Year’s?
The UMBC volleyball team opened its 2011 season with a trip to Southern California, where it went 2-2, defeating UC Riverside and Prairie View A&M, while battling nationally-ranked Washington and Long Beach State tough. Here’s an account of the trip from senior captain setter Allie Spaay.
The California trip was such a blast! It started out with an early 6 a.m. departure from campus. We were all dragging as we walked through the airport, but so eager to get to the Golden State to face some fierce competition and start off the season (and to soak up some sun of course!). A nap and two movies later, we landed at LAX ready to get the activities started!
Here are pictures from the UMBC volleyball teams’ trip to California for the opening weekend of the 2011 season. These pics are from Thursday’s practice, the final one before the season opener Friday against Long Beach State at 7 p.m.
Here are UMBC Athletics’ highlights of the month for May 2011. Thanks to the everyone who voted for the Athlete of the Month on UMBCRetrievers.com and on Facebook all throughout the 2010-11 school year!
Here are the nominees for UMBC’s Athlete of the Month for May 2011. The nominees are Michael Christmas and Amanda Deller from track and field, D.J. Ream from baseball, Katie Ferguson of softball and women’s lacrosse’s Amanda Pappas. You can vote on UMBCRetrievers.com and on Facebook and Twitter through June 6.
Here are pictures from the 2011 America East Track and Field Outdoor Championships Day 2, held at UMBC Stadium.
Here are pictures from the 2011 America East Track and Field Outdoor Championships Day 1, held at UMBC Stadium.
Here are UMBC Athletics’ highlights of the month for April 2011. Thanks to the over 800 fans who voted for the Athlete of the Month on UMBCRetrievers.com and on Facebook.
The UMBC baseball team used a three-run first inning to propel them to a 4-3 win over Georgetown at Baseball Factory Field Wednesday evening. The Retrievers (7-30) are now 3-0 at home during mid-week games, while the Hoyas fell to 20-27 on the season.
