| Lacrosse team preparing for Patriot League Tournament BY MIKE UNGER
Jackie Lane
Lauren Aksionoff
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The aim of any team—regardless of sport—is to peak at the end of its season. It’s a mantra the AU women’s lacrosse team is following to perfection. The Eagles are rolling into this weekend’s Patriot League Tournament on a high, having won three of four (through today). AU closed out its home schedule Wednesday by defeating Longwood 20-9, the team’s fourth straight victory at William I Jacobs Recreational Complex. Junior Jackie Lane tallied a team-high six points on five goals and an assist, and junior Lauren Aksionoff added four goals. “The past couple weeks have been strong for us,” Coach Katie Woods said. “Are there things we need to work on? Of course. But that’s us pushing them to get better every day. We clinched a spot in the Patriot League Tournament [earlier this month], and that was their focus all year, so now we have to have a new focus.” AU iced its victory over Longwood with a 9-1 run in the first 15 minutes of the second half. Junior defender Brittany Finnegan started the scoring for the Eagles, and less than a minute later, Aksionoff notched her second goal of the day to give AU a 10-5 lead. After Longwood answered, Anne Marie Person fed Aksionoff for another goal, sparking a 7-0 run for the Eagles during which senior captain Caithlin Gorman added two goals and sophomore Stefanie D’Andrea recorded her first goal of the season. “We came out in the second half really strong and were able to start connecting,” Woods said. “The first half was a little slow for us, but we were able to regroup and come out a lot harder in the second.” After losing in overtime to Lehigh on Saturday, AU’s record stood at 8-7. The Eagles finish the regular season today in Philadelphia against Drexel, and will have a rematch with Lehigh in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals on Saturday. Track team hitting its stride as it prepares for Penn Relays
Brendan Fennell
Megan Mason
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Brendan Fennell and Awit Yohannes qualified for the NCAA East Regionals during the Bucknell Outdoor Classic on Apr. 13, a meet that proved to be immensely successful for many Eagles. Fennell outran Patriot League Indoor 5,000 meter champion Matt Forys of Bucknell, winning the race, lowering his personal best and school record, and qualifying for the NCAAs all in one fell swoop. Fennell’s time of 14:02.53 was more than five seconds faster than Forys. Crossing the finish line just seven seconds after his teammate was Yohannes, whose third-place finish eclipsed his personal best by more than 10 seconds and also qualified him for the regionals. Fennell and Yohannes join Dustin Emrani (800 meters) and Carlos Jamieson (1,500 meters) as Eagles who have qualified for regionals. Fennell previously had qualified in the 1,500 meters. The women also performed well at Bucknell, with Cathleen Ford winning the 5,000 meters, followed by Greta Wicklund and Megan Mason. Wicklund, in her first attempt at the distance, ran 18:05.33 for second—the eighth-fastest time in school history. Mason was only three seconds back in third with a more than 12 second personal best. Next up are the prestigious Penn Relays, which begin Thursday in Philadelphia. |
