Vaughn DiBattista (vadibattista@ursinus.edu)
February 1 is a pretty ordinary day for most people, but at Ursinus College, February 1 couldn’t be closer to a holiday.
This date marks the return of spring sports for the Centennial Conference, and student-athletes at Ursinus could not be more excited. Baseball, track, golf, lacrosse, softball, and tennis find themselves taking their respective fields/courts once again. Excited, and surely ready, the Bears are looking to add some hardware to the Floy Lewis trophy cabinet.
On the diamond, we’re excited to see softball get it going this spring. Coming off of a 5-7 season, the young Bears look to add more experience this coming season. With only four seniors, the team will have to rely on underclassmen performance, but they are surely in good hands. Sophomore Grace White has been showing promise at the plate, boasting a .350 average in her debut season. Sophomore Sara Sullivan is also hoping to improve from her already stellar freshman year, hitting over .300 in the rookie campaign. The Bears are also looking forward to the debut of promising sophomore, Madison Wilson, who lost her freshman season to injury. With young talent, and stellar leadership, the Bears are looking to start their year off on the right foot against Mitchell on March 5.
On the golf side, the Women’s golf team is looking bright this season. Led by captain Jessica Lamarca ‘22, the Bears have been working hard to make sure this season is as great as possible. “We’ve been setting up team lifts for the first time in team history, and hitting the course when we can. We’re all really hype for what’s to come,” Bailey Hann ‘24 stated. The Bears boast some fine young talent, especially in star freshman Kaylin Chen. Chen broke the women’s record at Ursinus College this fall, shooting 7 over 78 at the fall invitational, and is looking to improve during her already stellar rookie season.
Coming off of a 7-8 season, the Ursinus Baseball team is looking to bounce back. The Bears are looking to their veteran presence to carry the boats this year, returning 9 seniors. They also return some standout juniors in Tom Snipes ‘23 and ace reliever Brady Antolick ‘23. They open up their season at The College of New Jersey on March 1, and we are excited to see them get rolling again!
Moving on to lacrosse, the Women’s team has already improved upon last season, going undefeated in their fall play day against Widener and Kean. Despite losing a notable amount of seniors, the Bears return some key starters, especially in captains Becca Lewis ’22 , Paige Weidman ‘23, Reilly Morgan ‘22, and Emma Wood ‘23. With new assistant coach Izzy O’Connell, the Bears feel well equipped to take on the new season, opening up the year February 23 at Rowan. We can’t wait to see what the Bears have in store.
In men’s lacrosse, the Bears are looking to improve from their 4-2 record from last year. They may have lost star attackman Hakan Atillasoy ‘21 to graduation, however, the boys are more than equipped to improve from last year. Under the leadership of Chris Porzelt ‘22, Tommy Reinhart ‘22, Chase Rondeau ‘23, Ben Goetz ‘22, and Tyler Neal ‘23, the team is confident that they can get back to the Centennial Conference championship. Lacrosse opens up the season on February 19th at Stevenson under the lights, and they could not be more amped to get the ball rolling.
On the tennis side, the Men’s and Women’s teams are already off to a good start with both teams picking up wins in their fall tournaments. Star duo Lars Jeperson ‘24 and Will Oberholtzer ‘24 came out with an 8-0 shutout in the fall, and we’re really excited to see the duo get to work in the spring. On the Women’s side, the team is looking deeper than ever. Despite the loss of ace Brenna Trkula, the Bears return seasoned vets Ava Compagnoni ‘23, Caitlin Vinsonholar ‘24, and Avery Samer ‘24. They will get rolling on March 7 when they take on Wittenburg in Orlando, Florida.
We all can’t wait to see our spring athletes get after it this spring, and we can’t wait to see all their accomplishments. With the talent showcased by every team, it’s looking to be a successful and promising spring for the Bears.