MERCYHURST UNIVERSITY LAKERS
Laker student-athletes excelled this year both in competition and in the classroom – from a 25th-place fnish among 268 schools in the 2016-17 Learfeld Sports Directors’ Cup standings to a third straight year producing the most Scholar-Athletes in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. Read below for a sampling of highlights from winter and spring sports, and visit hurstathletics.com to read more.
MEN’S GOLF The Lakers swept all three major PSAC awards: Chris Kupniewski was named Athlete of the Year, Adrian Larsen Freshman of the Year and Ron Coleman Coach of the Year. Kupniewski and Harison Laskey were named All-PSAC First Team and All-Region. Kupniewski tied for 45 th at the NCAA Championships in Reunion, Florida. MEN’S LACROSSE In the Lakers’ frst year in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, Keyan McQueen was Ofensive Player of the Year, Greg Weyl was Defensive Player of the Year and Chris Ryan was Coach of the Year. Weyl and Benjamin Brooks were Second Team All-Americans, while James Crowe was a Third Team All-American and McQueen was an Honorable Mention All-American. All-GMAC honorees included Weyl, Crowe and McQueen on the First Team; Matt Wells, Derek Richards, Brandon May and Kurtis Woodland on the Second Team; and Will Agate, Joe Cerio and Evan Hollfelder on the All-Freshman Team. WOMEN’S LACROSSE The Lakers rode a fve-game winning streak into the PSAC Tournament fnals before falling to East Stroudsburg. Carly Zimmerman was named to the All-PSAC First Team while being named Third Team All-American. Kristin Anderson, Taylor Izzo and Kira Kolb were recognized on the All- PSAC Second Team, and Janelle Williams on the All-PSAC Third Team. WOMEN’S ROWING The Mercyhurst women placed third at the NCAA Championships as the Varsity Four boat won silver medals and the Varsity Eights took fourth. During the spring, the Varsity Four squad won gold at the MACRA Championships. MEN’S LIGHTWEIGHT ROWING The Lakers fnished their year in the Visitors’ Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta in Oxfordshire, England, falling to Edinburgh University. During the spring, the team claimed gold medals in the Lightweight Four and Varsity Eight events at MACRA and in the Varsity Eight at the Knecht Cup. COMING NEXT YEAR: MEN’S HEAVYWEIGHT ROWING A men’s heavyweight team is being added to the Hurst rowing program. A small number of rowers will enroll this fall and recruiting in the coming year should bring the team up to full strength, with a Men’s 8 ready to compete by fall 2018. Coach Adrian Spracklen says there hasn’t been a heavyweight team at Mercyhurst since the ‘90s, adding, “It’s exciting to see the program grow and expand its exposure across the country.” WOMEN’S TENNIS The Lakers qualifed for the NCAA Round of 16 for the frst time in program history with Atlantic Region wins against Shaw and Charleston, before ultimately falling to Columbus State. Saioa Gomez de Segura
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL The Lakers enjoyed a historic season, matching the program record for wins in a season (24) and making the program’s frst appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 1994-95. The team placed third in the PSAC West for its highest-ever fnish in the division. Angela Heintz and Natalie Piaggesi were named to the All-PSAC West First Team, while Alex Artise was named PSAC West Defensive Player of the Year. Heintz eclipsed the 1,000-point mark while Jalin Steel passed 1,000 points for her time at both Erie and North East. Heintz now holds school records for career assists (400) and assists in one season (211), while Piaggesi has records for career blocks (180), blocks in one season (64) and career games played (115). MEN’S BASKETBALL Durrell McDonald was named to the All-PSAC West Second Team. The Lakers fnished with a 14-14 record and fell in the PSAC quarterfnals. MEN’S ICE HOCKEY The Lakers swept American International in the opening round of the Atlantic Hockey tournament, but fell in a three-game series to Army West Point in the quarterfnals, fnishing 15-20-4. Les Lancaster was an Atlantic Hockey Co-Defenseman of the Year while claiming All-Atlantic Hockey First Team honors; Derek Barach was named to the Second Team. Kyle Dutra signed a contract with the Norfolk Admirals (East Coast Hockey League) and Stephen Hrehoriak joined the Pensacola Ice Flyers (Southern Professional Hockey League). WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY Jillian Skinner and Brooke Hartwick were named All-CHA Second Team while freshman Maggie Knott made the CHA All-Rookie Team. Kelley Steadman ’12 returns to the Hurst as assistant coach this fall. WRESTLING Willie Bohince was runner-up in the 125-pound class at Nationals and became the program’s first four-time All-American. Francis Mizia placed third at 165 at the NCAA Championships, helping the Lakers place 10 th as a team. Mizia is now a three-time All-American. Andrew Welton (285), Logan Grass (149) and Wes Phipps (197) also competed at NCAAs. Welton was the Super Region One champion in his class as the Lakers placed fourth at the Regional. WOMEN’S GOLF Bridget Merten became the frst Mercyhurst women’s golfer to be named PSAC Freshman of the Year.
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