As if injuries weren’t enough to severely cripple the Tigers depth, three players have voluntarily left the team. Rob Osborne, Kevin Ives and Devon Brown are no longer on the roster, according to Towson head coach Rob Ambrose.
After a demoralizing loss against West Virginia last Friday, the Tigers return home to host the consolation bracket of the WNIT this weekend. Towson will match up with Winthrop in the second of two games on Friday evening, following a contest between North Carolina A&T and Chicago State.
Pete: Picking against me this week is my old roommate and good friend, Doug Medcalf. Doug’s a big Colts fan, and he knows a pretty good deal about football in general, so I have to stay on my toes today. I’m glad I brought Doug in this week because I believe his team is facing off against a popular local team this Sunday…
Coming off five straight losses, the Tigers will head to James Madison University, where they will end their season on Saturday. Now 2-8 this season and only 1-6 in conference play, not much has gone right for Towson. Injuries on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball has forced head coach Rob Ambrose to get creative with lineups and rely on some inexperienced players to get significant game action.
Coming into the off-season, many fans overlooked Athletics’ closer Andrew Bailey and Marlins’ left fielder Chris Coughlan as viable candidates for American and National League Rookie of the Year, and I must admit I was one of them.
After an 82-71 home victory over the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks to begin their season, the Tigers look to keep their early success going Saturday against the visiting Buffalo Bulls.
If Brett Favre wins another Super Bowl this season, it will add to his long legacy as one of the best quarterbacks of all time.
The last time the Tiger women lost a meet, it was at the hands of the University of Maryland Nov. 15, 2008. Nearly a year later, the Tigers fell again to the very same Terrapin team 184.50-115.50 on Saturday, snapping their 13-meet win streak.
Beginning the season as a part of the preseason Women’s National Invitational Tournament is tough enough. Starting against a well-prepared squad on the road is even more challenging. That’s what Towson had to deal with Friday evening as they played the West Virginia Mountaineers in Morgantown, West Va., and fell 79-42.
Chris Whitney needed just six completions to throw for 93 yards and two touchdowns and also caught a touchdown in a trick play as the third-ranked Villanova Wildcats punished the hapless Towson Tigers, 49-7, Saturday in the final home game of the season at Johnny Unitas Stadium.
Senior forward Calvin Lee had 25 points and four blocked shots to lead the Towson Tigers to a season opening 82-71 victory over the Miami (OH) Redhawks.
Once a year, Towson and the other 11 universities within the Colonial Athletic Association compete against each other off of the field to see who can collect the most units of blood during the “Have a Heart” blood drive challenge.
The Tigers return four starters to their lineup from a year ago, with the only spot open at the 2-guard position. All head coach Joe Mathews had to do to find his fifth starter was look down the bench and find his most productive reserve from the 2008-09 season, Omara Parker.
Towson head coach Rob Ambrose understands the difficulties of a tough schedule, which continues this Saturday when No. 3 ranked Villanova visits Johnny Unitas Stadium. Despite a rash of injuries on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, Ambrose is preparing the Tigers to take on their third top-five opponent in three weeks.
Towson junior Meredith Budner was announced as the CAA Swimmer of the Week for the third time in her career this Tuesday for her efforts in last weekend’s sweep at the four team pod meet hosted by the University of Delaware.
Well, the season’s fully over now, meaning it’s time to talk about free agency. Both Baltimore and Washington are going to be looking for improvements around the field and on the mound this off-season, and it’s going to be very interesting to see what team picks up which player.
Pete: This week, I’m taking on five of The Towerlight’s staff members at once. I’ve got Colin Stevens on the classic Patriots-Colts game Sunday night, Andrew Constant defending his Packers, senior editor Ashley Rabe rooting on the execrable Steelers, Philadelphian Kevin Hess backing the Eagles and news editor Dan Gross debating the Ravens with me. There are some fantastic games this weekend, so I apologize to the Redskins fans in the crowd for caring less about Dan Snyder’s awful franchise than about the first four beauties here…
Tigers are two deep at each position, but won’t have a go-to guy in clutch
After surprising most of the league by reaching the semifinals in last year’s CAA playoffs, Towson will look for more success as they enter the 2009-2010 season.
Senior forward Calvin Lee must take responsibility as top big man
Pat Kennedy knows talented basketball players when he sees them. He is one of just five coaches in the country who have been a head coach at least 29 consecutive seasons.
1. Drexel—Reigning CAA Player of the Year Gabriela Marginean returns to lead a loaded Drexel squad for head coach Denise Dillon. Marginean was third in the nation in scoring last season with 23.3 points per game and will be joined by rugged Jasmina Rosseel, a third team all-conference pick a year ago.
1. Old Dominion—The Monarchs return all five starters and are perhaps the deepest team in the CAA. The conference has garnered national attention over the past few years and Old Dominion hasn’t necessarily been among the teams to do so, but with preseason CAA co-Player of the Year Gerald Lee anchoring the post in the middle, ODU will be a force and look to make the NCAA Tournament.
What is the most poorly-run franchise in the NFL?
After losing two straight sets to Delaware on Friday, the women’s volleyball team rallied back to win the third set, forcing a forth. Unfortunately for Towson, they dropped that fourth set 25-21, losing the match, 3-1. The team’s record is now 8-19 overall and 1-11 in the CAA.
The Tiger women, who barely escaped with a victory over UNC Wilmington this past weekend, have now won their last 19 dual meets, continuing their historic tear through the CAA by sweeping yet another four-team dual meet hosted by the University of Delaware. The victory improved Towson’s record to 7-0 on the season.
The William & Mary Tribe ate up the clock and wore out the Towson defense on their way to a 31-0 victory over the Tigers Saturday afternoon in Williamsburg, Va. Four Tribe scoring drives lasted more than 4:09 each, while each of the five drives in which they scored went 57 yards or longer.
With their seventh conference loss of the season, the Tigers ended their year against the James Madison Dukes Saturday evening, 5-2.
Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings has become the early leading candidates for NBA rookie of the year, and in doing so is validating the European basketball leagues as a place where the high school elite can go to build experience before they are eligible to be drafted in the NBA.
It’s unfortunate that such a thrilling post-season has to be tainted with bad umpiring. Not to take away from the rather exhilarating World Series, but really – aren’t these guys supposed to be the best of the best? The amount of blown calls in such an important time for baseball is ridiculous.
Towson will head off to the campus of William & Mary Saturday for a battle with the No. 5 Tribe at Zable Stadium. With a 7-1 record, the Tribe holds their best starting record since 1986. They are undefeated all-time (6-0) in their meetings with the Tigers.
Since 2001, the Women’s Basketball team has steadily improved; with a lot of the credit going toward head coach Joe Mathews.
Pete Lorenz vs. Jonny Chandler
Pete: All right. My opponent this week is my roommate, Jonny Chandler, a junior music education major who plays cello. Jon’s a big Chargers fan, and loves talking pigskin with me in the apartment, so I’m looking forward to showing him just how tough it is to pick these games week in and week out.
I love the games this weekend, which is nice because we’ve had some terrible NFL weekends so far.
Jonny: Few things are quite as rewarding as a healthy roommate competition. There are a lot of great games coming this week, including a pivotal game for my beloved San Diego Chargers! Being Pete’s roomie, it’s going to be a blast taking down the Sports Editor and showing that music majors do have sports smarts.
Breaking stereotypes, and bragging rights around the apartment make this a fun match-up, and a great week.
Whenever people think about the most important player on the football field, why does quarterback always have to be the ultimate answer?
Early in the third quarter, Towson freshman quarterback Tommy Chroniger’s 12-yard touchdown run gave Towson a 14-13 lead. There was hope at Johnny Unitas Stadium and a buzz in the air that Towson could do the unthinkable and knock off a team that hadn’t lost in 17 games coming into Saturday.
Playing his second and the last home game of his collegiate career, Towson senior goalkeeper Frank Fregoso got his first ever win, a 2-1 victory over Georgia State on Sunday afternoon.
Who’s the NFL MVP halfway through the season?
While the Tigers weren’t exactly a stand-out squad at the CAA Championships, the result was one of the more memorable ones in recent history.
Towson wrapped up its season this weekend, falling to two conference foes to finish the season 5-12 and winless in the CAA. Saturday night’s 3-2 loss against the Hofstra Pride played out like many of the Tigers’ games this season.
After learning that they could not qualify for the CAA playoffs, Towson (7-11-2, 3-7-1 CAA) traveled to Fairfax, Va., Saturday afternoon, to conclude their season against the George Mason Patriots (14-4-2, 6-3-2 CAA). The teams battled to a scoreless tie in the first half, but the Patriots erupted for four second-half goals and finished off the shutout victory.
While the weekend produced another set of losses for the Tigers, 3-0 to William & Mary Friday and 3-0 to Virginia Commonwealth Saturday, it also ended in a career milestone for Missy Rohrbaugh, who recorded the 1000th career dig in Saturday’s first set.
Sigma Chi’s Derby Days raise more than $2K for charity
Sigma Chi brought together almost every Towson sorority during their annual Derby Days, which consists of events and activities to benefit their philanthropy.
As evidenced by many of my friends’ status updates on Facebook, there are mixed feelings about this World Series matchup. I was initially disappointed in the Phillies-Yankees matchup, but I’ve changed my mind somewhat. Though I had wanted a Dodgers-Yankees World Series, I think a Philadelphia-New York matchup will be incredibly entertaining to watch unfold.
After finishing in second place last week at the Austin Peay Invitational, Towson tied for eighth place out of the 14 competing schools in Kitty Hawk, N.C. Tuesday. The Tigers finished with a team score of 599 (307 Monday, 292 Tuesday) at the Seascape Invitational, hosted by repeating champions Old Dominion.
The Towson Tigers were eliminated from CAA playoff contention Wednesday following their 1-0 loss to the Hofstra Pride at the Towson Center Soccer Complex. Towson’s only offensive production resulted in two impressive saves by the Hofstra goaltender, and tight officiating otherwise silenced the Tigers, which included two red cards on Towson players.
Pete: After losing once again to baseball writer Carrie Wood in a football picks column, I’ve decided to search for someone who knows even less about football than Carrie. This is a difficult task, but editor in chief Rachel Fauber has proven her mettle as someone completely devoid of pigskin knowledge.
Golden, Budner lead way in Tigers win; men’s team falls at ECU
After Towson University extended head coach Pat Mead’s contract on Oct. 15, there was every reason to believe that his swimmers would want to come out and prove that his extension was an excellent investment on Towson’s part. The women’s team did exactly that, winning all three of their meets this past weekend.
Who will win the World Series? Colin: I hate to say it (really, I do), but the Yankees are going to win their first World Series title since 2003. This team is on a mission, and no one is getting in their way. Their rotation is solid, and with ace C.
Is it just me, or has the cry for the expanded role of instant replay become even louder this postseason?
Towson battered by Northeastern, tough injuries to fall to 1-3 in CAA
The winless Northeastern Huskies entered the weekend’s CAA contest against Towson with just four interceptions on the season. The Huskies defense came ready to play on Saturday, however, picking off Towson five times and helping Northeastern jump out to a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Northeastern got its first win of the year, 27-7, over the Tigers (2-5, 1-3 CAA). The win snapped Northeastern’s 13-game losing streak dating back to last season.
Rob Ambrose has had a tough week. First, Towson lost 49-21 at the hands of arch-rival Delaware Saturday on homecoming. Later in the weekend, Ambrose was met with the news that Jasper Howard, a former player of Ambrose when he was at Connecticut, was stabbed and killed after a school dance. Howard was a starting cornerback and was soon to be a father.
Instant gratification.
It’s what our generation thrives off of – if we can’t have it right now, it’s not worth it. Anything requiring any actual effort and patience isn’t worth it. Why actually learn something doing research when you can just type something into Google? Why send a thoughtful letter when you can just e-mail or text that person?
Carrie Wood: It’s been a while since I’ve had to do anything that requires thinking about football. I guess Punt, Pass and Pick will be a good refresher course. I’m sure I’ve made it abundantly clear by now that baseball is the sport I actually know things about, and football is something that barely even exists in my life.
Women finish season in continued injury struggle
The men's team came in second place out of the 17 competing schools in the Austin Peay Invitational this week, making it the third time this season the Tigers have placed in the top five. Towson shot 1-under par with 862 at The Links At Novadell in Hopkinsville, Ky.
Senior star scores twice in final home game to help beat Drexel, 4-3
After blowing a lead in the second half, the Tigers came back to beat Drexel 4-3 in overtime when senior Erica Marshall fittingly scored the game-winner in her final home contest.
After dropping nine of their previous ten games, the Tigers looked as if they were going to break the streak against Georgia State University on Friday.
UNC Wilmington scored two goals in a 35-second span in the second half, which gave them a 2-1 comeback win against Towson, who led 1-0 at the half on Sunday afternoon at Loyola’s Geppi-Aikens field. The teams played at Loyola because the weekend’s weather made Towson’s field unplayable.
I don’t know jack about football.
On Saturday, Towson competed in the Delaware Invitational at White Clay Creek State Park. The invitational included 14 teams, and Towson finished in third place overall. The Tigers were led by junior Lindsay Warfield, and the sophomore trio of Liya Kasimova, Katie Ogden, and Kaylin Gilmartin-Donohue.
As if a five-game losing streak wasn’t enough, the Tigers had to battle two things on Friday afternoon: a steady downpour and the Delaware Blue Hens. Despite the adverse conditions, Towson prevailed, 2-1, for their first victory since Sept. 24.
After dropping nine of their previous ten games, the Tigers looked as if they were going to break the streak against Georgia State University on Friday.
ALCS and Boise St.
Should Boise St. be in contention for the title? Sam: Sure, Boise State will receive some consideration for an invite to the BCS title game if they happen to go undefeated this season. However, if they are still undefeated when the season ends, will they be in the BCS bowl? No.
Towson put together their first back-to-back wins of the season Sunday, shutting out Appalachian State 3-0 at Stevenson University Field.
Transfer quarterback Pat Devlin needed just three quarters to lead the Delaware Blue Hens to a 49-21 romp over the Tigers on Homecoming Saturday at a rain-soaked Johnny Unitas Stadium. Devlin was 9-15 for 127 yards and two touchdowns, both to receiver Mark Duncan, and also added 49 yards rushing in the victory before sitting out the fourth quarter with Delaware leading 49-0.
Christina Boarman tied Towson’s all-time goal record Wednesday night, helping beat the Georgetown Hoyas 6-2 to stop the Tiger’s losing skid at five.
Kevin: All right, Pete. I’m going to play it straight on this one, your competition up until me has been pretty lame. I’m here to give you all you can handle and I feel like I’m more than qualified to do so. I only get one shot to do this, so I have to make the most of this chance. One thing we do know, though, is that the Ravens are going down. Right?
Clearly, things didn’t turn out exactly the way Jason Bergmann and I predicted last week. Not that that’s a bad thing. I like surprises.
The Dodgers have been a surprise for me this post-season. I thought the Cardinals were going to stomp them into the dirt; instead, they got swept.
It was another hard week for the Tigers. Just as injuries impacted the team last weekend at the ECAC Tournament in Williamsburg, Va., they continued to play a negative factor this week, causing the team to play short-handed.
The Tigers’ bid to keep momentum on their side came to a halt when they were shut out by Northeastern 2-0 Wednesday afternoon. The Tigers ran into a hot Huskies team that has now won three of their last four games, ending Towson’s own streak of three wins.
Going into the 2009 postseason, the matchups were set and each appeared to heavily favor one team . But after the first five days, two teams that looked to have the edge in their division series are out and can start to plan their winter golf tee times.
Junior Meredith Budner and sophomore Cari Czarnecki won three individual events each, leading the Tigers to a 173.50-124.50 victory against William & Mary. It was the 19th straight CAA victory for Towson. With the combination of the win this weekend and the first place finish on Oct. 2, the prospect of a third straight CAA title looks promising for the team.
After dropping 12 of its last 13 sets, Towson won the first set of its Saturday match against the Hofstra Pride, 25-23. However, the win was short-lived as the team went on to lose the match, 3-1.
On Sunday, the Tigers hosted La Salle University and defeated the Explorers in all seven matches. The Tigers were lead by Katie Young, who totaled two victories in the contest. The Tigers also won all three doubles matches. Lauren Cloonan and Beth Daub defeated Courtney Babo and Allison Amrein of LaSalle, 8-2.
With their season looking all but lost, the Tigers (3-9, 0-5 CAA) dropped their fifth conference game in a row at Northeastern Friday, 3-0, leaving them as the only team in the CAA without a conference win.
Who is the X-factor in the MLB playoffs? Colin: It’s an A-bomb…from A-Rod! In case you missed the thrilling comeback against the Twins Friday night, Alex Rodriguez made it obvious that he is ready to make everyone forget about his past failures during clutch situations.
As if their long road-trip wasn’t long enough, a 2-1 double-overtime loss to Georgia State in the final game made it a longer and more somber trip home on Sunday afternoon. The loss had its bright spots though, as Erica Marshall netted her 21st career goal and became only the fifth player to reach 50 career points, as she now has 51.
Sophomore Liam Maloney said after the 6-5 double overtime loss to Drexel on October 3 that if they were to win one or even both of the games against George Mason and Old Dominion, then his team would have a renewed confidence and be right back in the middle of the CAA standings. The loss to Drexel capped a frustrating four-game losing skid that pushed their Colonial record to 0-2.
The Towson Tigers got a much needed victory Saturday, a 36-28 road win over conference rival Rhode Island.
Fans calling for back-up already?
If you’ve been to one of the two home football games this fall, you have undoubtedly seen my face-painted friends and I in the front row with our massive banner, makings tons of noise and causing ruckus. If you’ve been to either game, you’ve also probably seen - let me see how I can put this nicely - erratic quarterback play from Peter Athens, Tommy Chroniger, and most recently Blair Peterson.
In a must-win game Wednesday night for Towson’s CAA playoff hopes, Marco Mangione and Liam Maloney each scored a goal in the final 12 minutes of regulation to give the Tigers (4-5, 1-2 CAA) their first conference win of the season, a 2-1 road victory over previously unbeaten CAA rival George Mason (7-3, 2-1). The Tigers improved to 4-2 when scoring at least two goals this season.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year: post-season baseball.
The matchups have been decided and things are already underway.
Pete: With me in this week’s edition of Punt, Pass & Pick is 2009 Towson alumnus Andrew Fortier, who’s a great friend of mine. Forty’s also a huge Ravens fan, so I thought he’d be great to represent the home team when it hosts my favorite team. Cincinnati is ready to take over first place, while some other big games will be debated between my guest and I.
Coming off the worst loss in the history of Johnny Unitas Stadium, the Tigers will travel to Rhode Island Saturday, where they will face a Rams team that they beat for one of their just three victories from a year ago.
In Delaware's 3-0 win over the Tigers at the Towson Center, two Blue Hens finished with nine kills, while Stephanie Barry had 13 digs.
Towson’s struggles continued this weekend, dropping two conference games and falling to last place in the CAA. Sunday, the Tigers lost 2-1 to powerful Old Dominion.
After placing first in the Dartmouth Invitational last weekend, the Tigers suffered setbacks before the Eastern College Athletic Conference Women’s Tournament at the Kiskiac Golf Club in Williamsburg, Virginia.
The Towson men’s and women’s swimming teams both opened the season at the Potomac Relay Invitational Friday. The event was hosted by American University and included seven teams: Towson, Georgetown, George Mason, Mary Washington, American, George Washington and Howard.
The Tigers placed 33rd out of 40 teams, despite placing first in their last two events, during the 36th annual Brooks Paul Short Run, held at Lehigh University on Saturday.
It didn’t take Hofstra long to jump on Towson Sunday afternoon, netting the winning goal in the sixth minute and going on to defeat the Tigers, 3-0.
The Tigers lost their second CAA game in a double overtime shootout to Drexel, 6-5. Scoring five goals was not enough to prevent Towson’s losing streak from slipping to four games, and their record now stands at 3-5.
We’re a quarter of the way into the NFL season, a time when most fans have already passed judgment on their teams as playoff worthy or not. But with so many games left, there is no reason to write any team off yet.
Towson senior Antonino “Nino” Mangione remembers growing up pretending he was Italian soccer icon Roberto Baggio, scoring goals in his backyard while playing with his many brothers and sisters.
The New York Yankees have been dubbed “America’s Team.” I got an e-mail with that statement in my inbox last night, and I thought it was a joke. The Yankees? America’s Team? You’re kidding.
Accusation of racial, homophobic slurs lead to petition to impeach
When roll was called in Tuesday’s Student Government Association meeting, Dylan Hattem notably received no reply.
The Tigers traveled to UMBC Tuesday evening and lost to the Retrievers in four sets despite stretches of strong play from many of the new freshmen as well as from senior Missy Rohrbaugh and junior Britney Loomis.
Pete: Well, when I needed someone to do the weekly picks with me for the fourth set of NFL games in 2009, I turned to a good friend and one of the most trusted football minds I know. Andrew Grogg is a diehard
Three turnovers in the fourth quarter derailed any comeback Towson was trying to make against city rival Morgan State during a 12-9 loss in rainy conditions at Hughes Stadium Saturday evening. It was the Bears’ first victory over Towson since 2003.
After three top-10 teams lost this week, I really have no idea what to think about college football. There are some things you just can’t explain, like how Florida State can obliterate BYU one week and lay a complete egg against South Florida as they did Saturday. But make no mistake about it; there is serious parity in all levels of college football, even parity that affects our own Tigers.
Towson entered their first weekend of conference play this weekend and wound up dropping both games on the road, including Sunday’s 5-1 defeat at Virginia Commonwealth.
Will Drew Brees break the TD Record of 50? Andrew: Drew Brees is on my fantasy team, and I will be rooting for him every Sunday. But 50 touchdowns is a ton, even for Brees. I don’t know if he can reach that magic number set by Tom Brady during their undefeated regular season in 2007, but he’s going to make it interesting.
This weekend, Towson traveled to Navy to compete in the Bill and Sandra Moore Invitational. It was the inaugural home tennis competition in Navy’s school history. Prior to this, Navy just had a club team.
The Tigers opened their CAA schedule by dropping their third straight game in the team’s worst loss of the 2009 season, 4-1, at the hands of the Tribe of William & Mary at the Towson Center Soccer Field.
After waiting for the surface to be playable, James Madison beat Towson 3-2 in overtime Sunday afternoon. The start of the game was pushed back for about an hour and a half following the rainstorms Saturday in the Virginia area, creating a sloppy field for the two teams.
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