Athletics

Focus is key to success in any team’s season, but 2013 brought more than just wins and losses for the Morrisville State College women’s lacrosse team. Together 15 college age female student-athletes and a staff of three coaches, made a collaborative effort to streamline a new campaign on campus off the lacrosse field, a month long “Reach Out, Speak Up and Play On” crusade throughout April to raise awareness to the often unspoken issue of domestic violence among college age students.

The State University of New York Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher, recently announced the winners of the 2012-13 Scholar Athlete Award, which recognizes academic excellence and outstanding athletic achievement at the Division I, III and NJCAA levels. More than 65 student-athletes from across the SUNY System were honored, including Morrisville State sophomore student-athlete Amanda Hunt (Tunkhannock, Pa.) who was selected as the recipient of this distinguished honor for Division III women’s cross country.

The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) has announced its 2013 men’s lacrosse All-Conference selections, naming five Morrisville State student-athletes to its first and second teams.

The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) office announced its individual award winners, naming Morrisville State College freshman attack, Louis Geswaldo (Lafayette, N.Y. / Lafayette HS) the 2013 Men’s Lacrosse Rookie of the Year. Geswaldo led Morrisville State in scoring this season, posting 25 goals and assisting another 13 for 38 team points. Three of his tallies came on man-up opportunities, and he added 28 ground balls and three caused turnovers to his tallies in 13 games.

The Morrisville State College athletic department has named freshman Tiffany Burks (Macedon, N.Y.) and junior Brandon Shannon (Stanhope, N.J.) the Mustang Athletes of the Week for the Week ending April 29. Burks, designated player and pitcher for the softball team, was key to the Mustangs play throughout the week, going 8-for-16 from the plate (.500), scoring six runs, four RBI’s, while throwing three complete games on the mound. Of her six hits, one was a double, two were triples and two were homeruns.

The #4 seed Morrisville State College men’s lacrosse team concluded the 2013 season Wednesday afternoon, falling 11-5 to top seed Keuka College in the semi-final round of the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Championship Tournament, held in Keuka. Morrisville State concludes the season with a 4-9 overall record, and finish fourth in the conference with a 4-3 record.

The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) office announced its post-season tournament brackets Monday, giving Morrisville State College men’s and women’s lacrosse bids to the championship tournament for the fourth straight season. The men’s team claimed the fourth spot in the tourney and will face-off against top seed Keuka College on Wednesday at 4 p.m. in the semi-final round in Keuka.

Hamilton College’s Kelly Leonard '15 tossed a one-hit shutout and the Continentals cruised to a 12-0 non-conference win against Morrisville State College at Hamilton’s Ferguson Fields on April 30. The game was stopped after the top of the fifth inning due to the eight-run mercy rule. Hamilton wraps up its season with a non-conference doubleheader at home against St. Lawrence University on Wednesday, May 1.

The Morrisville State College women’s lacrosse team saw an eight game win streak snapped Sunday afternoon, as visiting Keuka College collected the 18-11 North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) victory, claiming the regular season conference title. The Mustangs drop to 9-6 overall and 8-1 in conference action, and will await NEAC tournament seeding and additional information as it becomes announced at the beginning of the week.

The Morrisville State College women’s lacrosse team remained undefeated in North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) action Saturday afternoon, collecting a 16-3 conference decision over visiting Wells College on Drake Field in Morrisville.