 "Photo: Eric Gazzillo/ The Towerlight")
Following a regular season that saw the Tigers never really gel and lack team chemistry as the team finished with an underwhelming 11-21 regular season record, no one really expected the team to do much of anything in the second round of the CAA Tournament.
They were matched up against Northeastern and star guard Matt Janning.
But the Tigers came out and played inspired basketball for the first time all year, showing tremendous defensive intensity and desire.
With forwards Calvin Lee and Robert Nwankwo anchoring the post defense, senior forwardJunior Hairston and freshman point guard Troy Franklin combined for 27 points as the Tigers took a seven point lead into the second half.
They held on to upset the Huskies by a 58-54 score.
The team would advance to the semifinals against George Mason, where they would fall 56-48.
--Kevin Hess
In Towson’s first ever game against an FBS opponent, the Tigers met Navy for a battle in Annapolis. The event was a groundbreaking moment for Towson, as the team was able to finally get on the national stage with a premier opponent.
But the size and athleticism of Navy was too much for Towson to handle, as the Tigers fell by a 41-13 margin. Towson kept it close in the first half after Marcus Lee’s four-yard touchdown reception with 2:56 left in the first half brought the Tigers to within 21-13, but
Towson wasn’t able to stop Shun White and the Navy option offense.
White ran for 348 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Midshipmen in a romp. But the game was a breakthrough of sorts for Towson, as they were finally able to play a D-I opponent for the first time in school history. The final score was not an accurate indicator of the impact it had on the Towson athletic program.
--Kevin Hess
It was a turbulent beginning to the month of December for the Towson athletic department as the announcement was made that Gordy Combs, who had been involved with the football program for 39 years as both a player and coach, was relieved of his duties as head coach.
The decision was made after Combs’ final two seasons yielded just six wins in 23 games. But that turbulence turned to jubilation when it was announced that former player and assistant coach Rob Ambrose would return to his alma mater as the new head coach, signing a five year contract that was negotiated by his agent Dennis Cordell, a former Assistant Executive Director for the NFL Coaches Association.
Ambrose has begun to overhaul the team attitude and coaching staff while implementing his spread offense.
--Kevin Hess
In a pair of seasons that did not go according to plan, both lacrosse teams reached the CAA final game. The women’s team pulled out a one-goal victory over Delaware, while the men were a single goal away from the conference’s automatic bid.
The women’s team marched on after the loss of Hillary Fratzke, a former Tewaaraton Award finalist. With strong seasons by Nikki Marcinik (50 goals), Meggie McNamara (77 points) and CAA Defender of the Year Julie Ondrako, the Tigers reached the NCAA Tournament before falling to No. 3 North Carolina in the opening round.
The men’s team had a cloudy future entering the season; no one knew what to think of the team that lost nine starters to graduation and missed the conference tournament in 2008.
The Tigers proved many people wrong with an improbable 4-2 CAA record and a 10-2 domination of Drexel in the opening round.
Head coach Tony Seaman saved his job with the comeback near-win in the final.
--Pete Lorenz
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