MU sports teams have plenty of weekend success
BY DOUG McKENZIE Correspondent
It was a very productive week for several of Monmouth University's spring sports teams, as both wins and individual achievements seemed to follow the Hawk squads throughout the week.

ERIC SUCAR staff Monmouth University shortstop Lee Simonetti (left) tries to get the out at second base before Wagner's Kate Eshelman (right) can get to the base during the first game of a doubleheader at the Monmouth University Softball Complex in West Long Branch on April 12. The Hawks were swept in the doubleheader, dropping their record to 12-17-1 overall this season.

As the regular seasons approach their conclusion, some of the MU teams are battling for conference supremacy, while also beginning to prepare for the postseason. For other teams, however, these last couple of weeks marks a time to build for the future.

Here is a look at some of the top Monmouth performers of the last week.

MonmouthUniversity'swomen's lacrosse team just keeps rolling along, and appears to be in peak form as the Northeast Conference Tournament rapidly approaches.

TheHawks improved to 11-4 overall and 5-1 in Northeast Conference play with a 15- 10 victory over Robert Morris (4-10, 3-4 NEC) inMoon Township, Pa., on Sunday afternoon. With 20minutes remaining in regulation and the score tied at 7-7,Monmouth launched an eight-goal assault over eight minutes that propelled themto a 15-10 win. After MU's Ali Pollack, a sophomore from Watervliet, N.Y., scored the opening goal, Monmouth found itself down 3-1 early, with RMU's Jenn Collins scoring two of the Colonial's first three goals.MUfreshman Rachel Feirstein (St. James,N.Y.) tallied her first of four goals at the 14:58 mark but Collins answered twominutes later for RobertMorris. Monmouth then launched a three-goal unanswered run, with Feirstein scoring the first (11:07), Shore Regional grad Ashley Waldman, a senior, tallying the second and senior Megan Nutter (of Moorestown) netting the third at 4:14. RMU's Missy Suseri then tied the game up with 21 ticks left on an unassisted goal, before Waldman regained the lead for the Hawks with two seconds left, scoring on a free position attempt to giveMonmouth a 6-5 lead going into halftime.

Waldman scored the first goal of the second half aswell, scoring a free position at the 27:35mark to expandMonmouth's lead to 7- 5. Back-to-back RobertMorris goals tied the game upwith 19:45 to play in regulation, but it was all Monmouth from there as senior Brittany Scott, of Freehold, senior Brittany Picciuto, of North Caldwell, sophomore Megan Brennan, of King of Prussia, Pa., freshman Carissa Franzi, of Fairfield, and Nutter all scoring goals (with Picciuto netting two) to give the Hawks an insurmountable lead.

Robert Morris scored three goals too in the final 3:52, but the lead was too much to overcome.

Feirstein led the Hawks with four goals, her sixth four-goal effort of the season.Waldman finished with three goals, one caused turnover and two draw controls. Nutter finished with three points on two goals and an assist. Brennan had just two points but was a menace on the defensive side of things, picking up four ground ballswhile causing a trio of RMU turnovers. Junior goaltender Monica Johnson, of Radnor, Pa., had a solid day in net with 14 saves.

Heading into the weekend, Monmouth finds itself in a battle with both Quinnipiac (9-4 overall, 7-1 in NEC play) and Sacred Heart (9-6, 6-1), for the top spot in the NEC. The Hawks scored an 11-10 win over Quinnipiac onMarch 22, but fell to SacredHeart, 12-9, just two days earlier. With just two games left on their NEC slate, the Hawks will likely need to win both to have a shot at the top seed in the upcoming conference tourney.

Prior to Sunday's win over RMU, Feirstein was named Northeast Conference Rookie of theWeek after scoring 12 goals in three games for the Hawks last week. Feirstein claims her league-best third NEC Rookie of the Week honor this season after finishing with 12 goals, 12 draw controls, five ground balls and two caused turnovers in Monmouth's 2-1 week. She scored four goals in each of the three contests, a feat she has now accomplished six times on the year. In a 14-9 setback to Rutgers onWednesday, she recorded an NEC single-game seasonhigh eight draw controls, and followed with three ground balls, two draw controls and a pair of caused turnovers as theHawks rolled past Saint Francis (Pa.), 19-3, on Friday. In addition to her four markers, she won two draw controls in Sunday's 15-10 victory at RobertMorris.

Monmouth is back in action this Friday when they hostWagner at 4 p.m. on Friday.

The Monmouth University men's baseball team is also on quite a roll, winning 16 of its last 17 games (including a 15-game winning streak) to improve to 18-9 overall, and 7-1 in NEC play.

And with theHawks dominating play on a daily basis, the individual accolades are starting to pile up with the wins.

Monmouth senior Brad Brach, of Freehold Township, was named the Akadema/NEC Pitcher of the Week, while freshman Nick Pulsonetti, of Old Tappan, was tabbed theAkadema/NEC Rookie of the Week, as the Northeast Conference announced its weekly award winners onMonday afternoon.

Brach, the 2007NEC Pitcher of theYear, earned theNEC Pitcher of theWeek nod for a second time this season, as the right-hander tossed a complete game shutout victory over Wagner on Friday afternoon. Brach matched a career-high with 11 strikeouts in the win, while walking just one. He surrendered seven hits in the game, all singles, en route to his program-leading 24th career victory.

Pulsonetti won his fourthNEC Rookie of theWeek honor in the last fiveweeks, as the rookie hit .421 (8-for-19), while driving in five runs, scoring four times and drawing twowalks. The freshman had five of his hits result in extra bases, including two home runs, two doubles and a triple, which resulted in a .947 slugging percentage.As firstplace Monmouth took three of four games withNECrivalWagner, Pulsonetti produced a .500 (7-of-14) clip at the plate during the weekend series. Nearly hitting for the cycle in the series opener, he went 3-of-4 with a home run, a double, a triple, two RBIs, and two runs scored in the 5-0 Monmouth triumph.

Pulsonetti hit safely in five of Monmouth's six games, and made an impact in all six. Despite a failure to reach base during a 5-1 mid-week victory over Lafayette, the rookie drove in the winning run with a sixth-inning sacrifice fly.

Monmouth returned to action on Tuesday, when the Hawks hosted in-state rival RiderUniversity, andwill open a three-game series with Quinnipiac on Friday.

The Monmouth University men's golf team jumped seven spots in the second round of the Lafayette Invitational to finish in fifth place overall, out of 25 teams, atCenter Valley Country Club, on Sunday afternoon.

Monmouth's second-day 302, allowed the Hawks to finish with a two-day total of 609, highlighted by a second round 73 from junior Ryan Beck, ofMaple Glen, Pa.

Bucknell claimed the overall team title with its two-round total of 594, three strokes ahead of Drexel (597). Monmouth finished three strokes behind NEC rival Mount St. Mary's (606).

Monmouth's Anthony Campanile, a senior from Manahawkin, finished in a tie for sixth place overall out of 126 golfers, as he carded a 147 (73-74) to pace the Hawks. Beck, who tied Campanile for the Hawks' low round of the tournament with his second day 73, finished in a tie for 29th place overall (153). Freshmen Andrew Hurley, of Belmar (t-34th; 77-77=154) and Taylor Krug, of Hawthorn Woods, Ill. (t-53rd; 80- 78=158) were the next Hawks' finishers, while sophomore Michael McComb, of Egg Habor Township, rounded out the five-some with his 61st place finish (77-82=159).

Monmouth returns to action this weekend when the Hawks compete at theMount St. Mary's Invitational at Quail Valley Golf Club, in Littlestown, Pa.

The Monmouth University men's tennis team also had a good weekend, beating Mount St. Mary's in Northeast Conference action, 7-0 on Sunday afternoon at the Brookdale Community College tennis courts.With the win, the Hawks improve to 6-10 on the season.

The Blue andWhite only dropped one set in their singles matches with the Mount, sweeping the six points. Senior Benjamin Evenden (ofCresco, Pa.) recorded a three-set win over FavioOsorio at first singles forMU, while TomCorrie (ofHerfordshire, Eng.) defeatedAndrewMaranucci 7-6, 6-1 at second singles for the Hawks. Corey Forrest (of Ocala, Fla./Trinity Catholic) also playedwell in third singles action with a win over Patrick Plastow, 6-1, 6-3.

Pedro Bruno (of Sao Paulo, Brazil) won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4 at fourth singles over Thad Mostowtt, while teammate Vik Gupta, a junior fromPrinceton,won 6-3, 6-3 at fifth singles over Rob Dupaya and Tim McLane, a junior from Green Cove Springs, Fla., defeated Sam Walton 6-0, 6-2 at sixth singles.

The Hawks took two of three matches to earn the doubles point, led by the team of Evenden and Corrie, who were 8-4 winners at first doubles over Osorio and Marinucci. Gupta and Bruno won 8-3 at third doubles over Plastow and Poirier.