2008 Woodie Awards
The combination of power hitting and perfect pitching extended the Massachusetts softball team's win streak to 20 games and 37 straight games against Atlantic 10 opponents. Junior pitcher Brandice Balschmiter threw her second perfect game of the season in Game One as UMass romped Dayton, 12-0.
After seemingly having Travis Ford locked up as the Massachusetts men's basketball coach for "many years to come," Ford unexpectedly left for more money at Oklahoma State -- leaving the job open. That job is no longer open according to ESPN's Andy Katz, who reported today -- via a UMass source -- that Memphis assistant coach Derek Kellogg will take over the job at UMass.
When they walked off the field last May 20 following a 6-3 loss to Oklahoma in the NCAA Regionals, the members of the Massachusetts softball team seemed in disbelief. A year removed from reaching the Super Regionals with a freshman pitcher and coming within one win from reaching the first Women's College World Series since 1998, the Minutewomen came up short at home and lost their chance to finish what they had started in 2006.
Though the Massachusetts men's lacrosse team successfully neutralized Hobart's high-scoring offense in its previous game, little could have prepared the Minutemen for the onslaught of shots they faced Saturday. Junior goalkeeper Doc Schneider made a career-high 20 saves for UMass, but Georgetown overwhelmed the Minuteman defense en route to a 12-8 loss in Washington, D.
In two embarrassing losses to Charlotte this weekend the Massachusetts baseball team allowed 51 hits, 17 walks and committed nine errors in an 18-3 defeat on Friday and 24-6 thumping on Saturday. Charlotte should have saved some of those runs for Sunday.
The Massachusetts women's tennis team has had a successful season by nearly every measurement. It showed heart, overcame a brutal early schedule and a 3-7 start to finish with a .500 record, won every regular-season conference match and captured the top seed in the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
On one of the hottest weekends of the season, the seniors of the Massachusetts women's lacrosse team were the model of consistency. A number of seniors had multiple-goal games for the Minutewomen. Sunday's match-up against Duquesne was a shootout that saw the Dukes get the win on a late goal by Kathleen McNish.
The Massachusetts women's tennis team has had a successful season by nearly every measurement. It showed heart, overcame a brutal early schedule and a 3-7 start to finish with a .500 record, won every regular-season conference match and captured the top seed in the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
After winning 12 straight Atlantic 10 Conference titles, the Massachusetts rowing team's streak ended this weekend, as they placed second in the conference championships. Rhode Island overcame the Minutewomen this year in the A-10 Championship, after losing last year by one point.
This past weekend, the Massachusetts men and women's track and field teams competed at Princeton University in the Larry Ellis Invitational. UMass was led by a record-breaking performance from Lisa Wilson on the women's side and Andrew McCann on the men's side.