Welcome to the official online blog for Mercyhurst athletics. This blog will be devoted to providing Mercyhurst fans with information about the department that does not warrant an entire story on the site. We envision this blog as providing updates on alumni, letting fans know about advance schedule changes, giving notes that don't necessarily fit into a game story, and anything else we think might be interesting.
12/17/08
-- Former Mercyhurst men’s lacrosse standout Mike McLellan was drafted seventh overall by the Philadelphia Barrage in the 2009 Major League Lacrosse Supplement Draft, conducted via conference call on Wednesday, Dec. 10. McLellan, a 2005 graduate of Mercyhurst College, is the Lakers all-time leader in points per game (4.11) and goals per game (3.33). He was voted to the USILA Honorable Mention All-American Team in 2004 after tallying 43 goals and eight assists for 51 points. He currently plays for the New York Titans of the National Lacrosse League.
10/17/08
-- The Mercyhurst wrestling team has moved a pair of home contests to Mercyhurst North East. Matches scheduled for home Dec. 18 against Mercyhurst North East and Seton Hill have been moved due to a conflict with the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
10/14/08
-- The Buffalo News columnist Bucky Gleason wrote an excellent article on Garrett Kensy Oct. 14. The story can be viewed at:
http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/columns/story/463045.html
10/7/08
-- Mercyhurst's football game with Lock Haven will replayed on the Image Sports Network Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. locally on Time Warner Cable.
10/2/08
-- WICU 12 visited Mercyhurst as the athletic department hosted Dr. Jarrod Spencer. Dr. Spencer talked with the student-athletes about alcohol abuse awareness as part of Mercyhurst's CHOICES grant. The video from WICU can be viewed here:
http://www.wicu12.com/news/index.vnss?newsid=6396&type=News
9/25/08
-- With help from Internet Consulting Services (ICS), we've added a new feature to the web site: Photo Galleries. You can view the photo galleries (there's only one now, but we anticipate adding many more as the year progresses) by clicking on the Multimedia navigation bar on the left hand side of any page and going to Photo Galleries. Or, you can click on the following link:
http://www.hurstathletics.com/photo_gallery.aspx
9/16/08
-- The 2008 Mercyhurst Baseball Alumni Game and Reception will take place over homecoming weekend on Saturday, Sept. 27. The game will take place at 9:00 a.m. at the Mercyhurst Baseball Field with an all-you-can-eat-and-drink reception to take place immediately after.
The cost of the event is $25 for alumni participating in the event (includes a t-shirt), and $10 for friends and family. The price includes the reception and admission to the football game against PSAC rival Slippery Rock. To reserve a spot or for questions, contact the baseball office at (814) 824-2441.
9/11/08
-- The men's basketball team has made one time change for the upcoming season. The game Nov. 30 at home against Penn State Greater Allegheny had been changed to a 3 p.m. start time.
-- Baseball America named its top 10 prospects from the summer Coastal Plains League and Mercyhurst junior starting pitcher Steve Grife was listed as the third-best prospect.
Grife emerged as the ace of league runner-up Florence after leading the Lakers in ERA (2.50), wins (six), complete games (seven), innings (68) and strikeouts (78) during the 2008 fall season. Pitching for Florence, he had a 12-strikeout no-hitter and finished the summer 4-1 with a 1.65 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 49 innings. He reached 94 miles per hour on the radar gun during the summer and consistently pitched in the low 90’s.
Baseball America commented, “He had one of the quickest arms in the CPL. He complements it with a very good changeup that he uses against both lefthanded and righthanded hitters, and a hard curveball that can be an out pitch at times and a show pitch at others. He projects as a power reliever at the next level.”
Grife was rated just behind Georgia Tech’s Deck McGuire and Canisius’ Kevin Mahoney, and just ahead of North Carolina A&T’s C.J. Beatty and South Carolina’s Parker Bangs. Grife was the only non-Division I player listed as one of the top 10 prospects in the CPL.
9/9/08
-- The Mercyhurst football team’s defensive unit has come a long way in a short time. A year ago, the Lakers ranked 118th out of 144 teams in total defense, but through two weeks of the 2008 season, Mercyhurst has the top ranked unit in the country – the first time the program has been ranked that high in either total offense or total defense since moving to NCAA Division II.
The Lakers opened the season by facing Wayne State, a team with two potent running backs in Joique Bell and Daryl Graham. Bell had rushed for 545 yards against Mercyhurst in 2006 and 2007, but was held to just 45 yards rushing, while Graham had only 43 yards. As a team, Mercyhurst held Wayne State to 178 total yards.
But Mercyhurst one-upped itself a week ago against Cheyney. The Lakers shut out the Wolves, while holding them to just 68 total yards and three first downs. A week earlier, Cheyney had post 26 points, 16 first downs and 316 total yards against Bowie State, but the Wolves never found any offensive rhythm against the Lakers’ rabid defensive unit.
Mercyhurst actually leads the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in both rushing defense and passing defense, along with opponents third down conversion rate. The Lakers have not allowed their opponents to drive into the red zone yet this year, lead the conference in time of possession, and rank first in the PSAC in both first downs gained and first downs allowed.
In week three, Mercyhurst’s defense will face a tough test against No. 11 Bloomsburg. The Huskies have won two games in a row against teams that were ranked in the top 15 in the country at the team – Ashland and California (Pa.).
9/2/08
-- Although the Mercyhurst women's volleyball team went 1-3 to open the season at the Ferris State Invitational, the Lakers were as competitive against top competition as they have ever been. Research shows that Mercyhurst's 3-1 loss to No. 8 Minnesota Duluth was the first time since 1996 (that's as far back as could be researched) that a Laker women's volleyball team had taken a set against a team ranked in the top 10. As well, in Mercyhurst's 3-2 loss to No. 18 Hillsdale, it marked just the second time a Laker team had won two sets against a team ranked in the top 25 during that same time frame. The only other time that happened came when the Lakers beat No. 25 Ferris State in 2002.
8/29/08
-- As was mentioned in the postgame story, Danny Mudd picked up his 15th career shutout yesterday in the Lakers' 3-0 men's soccer win over Seton Hill to open the season. But a bit more in-depth look at that total moves Mudd into a tie for third place in career shutouts at the 'Hurst (since the stat has been recorded in 1995). Derian Tuitt's 33 shutouts are the all-time record.
Often, a shutout is more a product of either a strong defense in front of the goalkeeper or a weak opposition that is unable to generate quality scoring opportunities, but Mudd deserves a ton of credit for yesterday's shutout. Seton Hill had two breakaways in the first 10 minutes and Mudd made incredible saves on both chances. The defense got things together after that and Seton Hill had very few good scoring chances, but Mudd got the 2008 season started the way a senior leader should.
8/28/08
--
Brandon Reasy has been named the new graduate assistant wrestling coach under head coach Mike Wehler.
8/27/08
-- Softball coach Sara Headley is holding an information meeting for any student interested in trying out for the softball team. That meeting will take place Sept. 3 at 8:15 p.m. in the sports medicine classroom in the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
-- Erie Times-News sports writer Duane Rankin
previewed Mercyhurst's football season. The Lakers open the year Saturday at Wayne State at 12:30 p.m.
08/26/08
-- The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
previewed the upcoming NCAA Division II football season in today's paper. Cornerback/kick returner Theo Hall was highlighted.
-- Due to the cancellation of the Salem International Tournament, the Mercyhurst men's basketball team was forced to reconfigure its schedule. The Lakers will no longer play in the Dec. 5-6 tournament, but will host Salem International Nov. 25 at 2:00 p.m. as the new home opener. Mercyhurst will then play a game at Salem International Dec. 6 at 1:00 p.m.
8/24/08
– Behind strong performances from junior Meghan Agosta and sophomore Vicki Bendus, the Canadian National Women’s Under-22 Team claimed back-to-back victories in less than 24 hours to take a three-game series, 2-1, against the U.S. Women’s National Under-22 Team at the Pierrefonds Sportplexe in Pierrefonds, Quebec.
Team Canada rebounded from a 4-3 shootout loss Wednesday with a 7-2 victory Friday night to even the series at 1-1. Agosta played a big role in the win with two assists.
Despite the victory though, Canada found themselves in a very familiar situation in game three, falling behind, 3-0, midway through second period. This time though, after rallying with three unanswered goals, Team Canada finished the job in overtime, scoring with 1:21 left to play on a five-on-three opportunity. Bendus was accredited with a helper on the game-winner.
For the series, Agosta led the Lakers with three points (1g, 2a), while incoming freshman Bailey Bram (1g) and Bendus (1a) tallied a point apiece.
International play for the U-22 teams will resume again in January with the 2009 MLP Cup (formerly the Air Canada Cup) in Ravensburg, Germany.
8/21/08
– Four Mercyhurst women’s ice hockey players showcased their talents at the international level Wednesday evening, as the Canadian National Women’s Under-22 Team took on the U.S. Women’s Under-22 Select Team in the first game of a three-game series at the Pierrefonds Sportplexe in Pierrefonds, Quebec.
Junior Meghan Agosta, sophomore Vicki Bendus and incoming freshman Bailey Bram dawned the red and white for Team Canada, while sophomore Geena Prough suited up for Team USA in the exhibition match-up.
Despite falling, 4-3, in a shootout, Bram and Agosta played a major role in Team Canada’s late rally. Down, 3-0, midway through the second period, Bram edged the Canadians within two with her first goal of the series followed by a power-play strike from Agosta just two minutes later to take a one-goal deficit into the third.
Canada would tie it up with three minutes to play in regulation, but thanks to the goaltending tactics of the Molly Schaus, Team USA would hang on for the victory on a shootout goal by Jocelyne Lamoureux.
Both teams meet up again on Friday, Aug. 23 for game two of the series at the Pierrefonds Sportplexe.
-- The Mercyhurst football team has added a pair of assistant coaches to round out the staff.
Stephen Rivera and William McCarthy are hard at work with the football team in their first season with the program.
8/19/08
-- Mercyhurst men’s and women’s rowing coach Adrian Spracklen has been involved with the sport of rowing basically since the day he was born. He was a member of the British National Team and guided Mercyhurst to a women’s rowing national championship in 2004. His father, Mike Spracklen, is the Canadian National Team coach and has been coaching international crews since 1975. Mike Spracklen recently guided Canada to a gold medal in the men’s heavyweight eight and a silver medal in the men’s pairs.
While the country struggled to reach the medal podium early in the 2008 Olympic Games, the pairs silver was the first medal of the Olympics for Team Canada. And for the men’s eight, the gold medal broke a curse of sorts.
No world championship crew had been able to capture Olympic gold the following year since 1980 – the pressure seemed to be too much for the numerous crews who had tried to complete that feat. But Spracklen’s crew broke that curse in dominating fashion, jumping out to a quick lead and never relinquishing.
Spracklen has now led a crew to either a gold or silver medal in every Olympics since 1976.
8/15/08
-- Former Mercyhurst Laker basketball player Terry Smith has signed a contract to begin his professional career overseas with the NVV Lions in Germany. Smith played for Mercyhurst from 2004-08, setting the school's single-season and career three-point shooting records, ranking fourth in career steals, sixth in career points, and 10th in career assists. If you can read German or use one of the many translaters available on the web, the NVV Lions web site is located
here.
8/14/08
-- Erie Times-News writer Duane Rankin had an article in today's newspaper focused on the football team's work to improve on the defensive side of the ball. The article can be viewed on the Erie Times-News site
here.
8/7/08
-- One more schedule change today. The wrestling match against West Liberty State Dec. 3 was incorrectly listed as a road match. It has been changed on the schedule to indicate a home match at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
8/6/08
-- We've had a couple of schedule changes today. The women's soccer team has added a match at Kutztown Aug. 30 at 1:00 p.m. That will serve as the season-opener for the team. Also, the women's basketball game at Wheeling Jesuit Dec. 7 has been moved to a 6:00 p.m. start time.
8/5/08
-- The PSAC Football Media Day yesterday was very professionally done, highlighted by a video counting down the Preseason Coaches Poll for the upcoming season. It was certainly a quicker trip to Lock Haven than it was to Midland, Michigan in the past for the GLIAC Media Day and it showed as the Erie media was out in full-force, something that just wasn't feasible in the past.
Erie Times-News writers Duane Rankin and John Dudley were both in attendance and both wrote stories regarding the new look conference. For stories from those two on Media Day, click
here and
here. WJET's television coverage can be seen
here. WSEE's television coverage is not posted on their site as of the time of this posting, but should be available
here.
8/1/08
-- Rob Keefe was photographed and mentioned in Sports Illustrated this week (Aug. 4, 2008 issue with David Tyree of the New York Giants on the cover). His photo appears in the Leading Off section in which members of the Philadelphia Soul are photographed entering the arena prior to the Arena Bowl. Philadelphia won the Arena Bowl 59-56. The photograph was courtesy Alex Brandon of the Associated Press.
7/29/08
-- Brandon and Kurtis Boyd rowed on Team Canada's
lightweight eight boat that finished sixth at the Senior World Rowing Championships in Linz/Ottensheim, Austria. Kurtis will be a senior on the Mercyhurst men's rowing team this year and Brandon is an alumnus of the program.
7/27/08
-- Congratulations to Mercyhurst alumnus Rob Keefe, who plays for the
Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League. The Soul won the Arena Bowl today with a 59-56 victory over the San Jose SaberCats. Erie Times-News sports writer Bob Jarzomski interviewed Keefe and Mercyhurst football coach Marty Schaetzle for
an article prior to the big game.
7/22/08
-- Two scrimmages have been added to the
women's basketball schedule for the 2008-09 season. The Lakers will host Mercyhurst Northeast and will play at Pitt-Johnstown.
7/17/08
-- Fall schedules have been posted for
men's golf and
women's golf.
-- The
men's soccer roster has been updated to reflect the newcomers for 2008.
7/16/08
-- Rosters have been updated for 2008-09 for the following sports:
Women's Volleyball,
Men's Golf,
Softball.
-- The
2008 Football Media Guide is now available online!
-- The
Mercyhurst football Kick-Off Golf Classic will take place August 1 at Riverside Golf Club.
-- Former Mercyhurst rower
Ted Nagorsen has been named the assistant rowing coach.
-- The
2008-09 wrestling schedule is now online.
7/14/08
-- Wrestling fans will have a field day at Mercyhurst in 2008-09. The full schedule for the Lakers should be posted sometime this week, but as a preview, the team will host the National Catholic Invitational for the third year in a row, as well as the PSAC Championships and the NCAA Division II East Regionals. Mercyhurst also hosts a number of dual matches throughout the year.
-- We've added another section to the new web site,
The Lake Effect. Visit the page to see what games Spirit Club will be having contests and giveaways and see which games student support is highly needed.
7/12/08
-- We've added another new section to the web site,
Visitor's Information. You can manually reach the page through the link under Athletics Department in the left column of any page on the site. We've provided a nine-page visitor's guide, as well as information from Scott Enterprises Hotels (Residence Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Comfort Inn, Days Inn, EconoLodge, and Courtyard by Marriott) here in Erie with special Mercyhurst College discount rates for visitors coming to town.
-- Cross country schedules for the fall 2008 season are now posted online. Visit the
men's schedule or view the
women's schedule. The Lakers will run in Erie twice, in the Penn State Behrend Invitational Sept. 13 and then again two weeks later in the Mercyhurst Invitational Sept. 27.
Cullen Eddy taking part in the Columbus Blue Jackets Developmental Camp.
7/11/08
-- Today is the final day of the Columbus Blue Jackets Developmental Camp, in which Mercyhurst junior
Cullen Eddy is taking part. (Photo by Greg Bartram/Columbus Blue Jackets)
7/10/08
-- The 2009 Mercyhurst softball schedule is now posted online. This marks the first year in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) for the program. Take a look at:
http://www.hurstathletics.com/schedule.aspx?path=softball
-- Former Mercyhurst baseball player David Lough hit his sixth home run of the season last night for the Burlington Bees in Class A for the Kansas City Royals. Lough has shown a solid combination of power and speed and he leads the squad in triples, ranks third in stolen bases, and fourth in homers.
7/8/08
-- Mercyhurst lacrosse player
Tyler Burton is representing Canada in the U-19 World Championships in Coquitlam, B.C. Burton scored a team-high six points in the team's win over Japan.
http://www.2008worldlax.com/news.cfm?newsid=21
-- Former Mercyhurst Laker Rob Keefe is playing for the Philadelphia Soul in the Arena Football League. Keefe's squad has advanced to the conference championship and they will play the Cleveland Gladiators Saturday at 1:00 p.m. for the right to advance to ArenaBowl XXII. The game will be carried on ESPN.
-- Mercyhurst senior
Kurtis Boyd and his brother Brandon Boyd, a Mercyhurst alum, have been named to Team Canada's lightweight eight crew that will be competing in the FISA World Championships in Austria near the end of the month. An article can be viewed here:
http://www.recorder.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1099196
-- Mercyhurst junior
Cullen Eddy is participating in the Columbus Blue Jackets' development camp through Friday. The camp is being held for the club's prospects, including six picks from the 2008 Entry Draft. A story about the camp can be viewed on the Columbus Blue Jackets' site at:
http://bluejackets.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=367744
-- Former Mercyhurst hockey player Jamie Hunt has been released by the Washington Capitals. He signed with Washington in 2006 following his junior season at Mercyhurst and Hunt is currently exploring options in the German Elite League DEL.
-- Former Laker basketball player Josh Helm was quoted in an article in the Newark Advocate about his role in helping with a summer camp at Denison. The article can be viewed here:
http://www.newarkadvocate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080702/SPORTS/807020324/1006/SPORTS
-- The Mercyhurst men's water polo schedule for the fall of 2008 is now online and can be viewed at:
http://www.hurstathletics.com/schedule.aspx?path=mwpolo&schedule=93