Spring Championship Fling

It's the first of two big weekends of the spring season in the Conference. Five champions will be determined this weekend in M/W Golf, M/W Tennis and women's lacrosse, while the playoff seeds will be finalized in baseball, softball and men's lacrosse. Here's a few things to look for this weekend.

Baseball: Defending champion Franklin & Marshall can clinch the top seed for next weekend's tournament with a sweep of Dickinson. A split opens the door for Johns Hopkins to get homefield advantage with sweeps of Muhlenberg and Ursinus. The Red Devils, Bears and Haverford are still battling for the final two berths in the field. You can listen to the F&M-Dickinson and Swarthmore-Haverford twinbills on the Internet.

Men's Lacrosse: Gettysburg is the top seed and will host the final four beginning next Friday. Who the Bullets will face in the semis is still up in the air. If Dickinson defeats Ursinus and Haverford defeats Swarthmore ... Washington is #2, Dickinson #3 and Haverford #4. If Dickinson wins and Haverford loses ... Dickinson is #2 and Washington is #3. If Haverford wins and Dickinson loses ... Washington is #2 and Haverford is #3. If both lose ... Haverford is #3 and Dickinson is #4.

Softball: Haverford can clinch the top seed for next weekend's double-elimination tourney with a sweep of Muhlenberg. A split opens the door for Ursinus to grab the top spot with a sweep of Dickinson. Swarthmore can secure a playoff berth with one win in its twinbill with McDaniel. The Mules, Green Terror, Red Devils and Gettysburg are still fighting with the Garnet for the final two playoff berths.

Women's Lacrosse: With three of the four teams ranked in the national top 15, you get a feeling that it will be a pretty good tournament starting today at Gettysburg's Clark Field. The four-time defending champion Bullets are the top seed and the top-ranked team in the country. They will tangle with three-time champion Ursinus, a 12-9 victor against Swarthmore in the first round, in the first semifinal at 1 p.m. #8 Franklin & Marshall and #14 Dickinson will meet in the second semi 45 minutes after the conclusion of the Bullet-Bear clash. The winners meet Sunday at 1 p.m. Follow the action on our championship page.

Men's Golf: The 13th annual Centennial championship began yesterday at Pilgrim's Oak GC and with three teams within two shots of the lead, the tournament promises to be tight throughout. Franklin & Marshall (320) holds a slight lead on McDaniel (321) and Gettysburg (322), while Swarthmore (329) and Muhlenberg (331) are right on their heels. Green Terror senior Steve Perrone leads the individual race after carding a 76. Follow the action on our championship page.

Women's Golf: The 36-hole Centennial women's championship begins today at Pilgrim's Oak. The team competition should come down to four-time champ McDaniel and Gettysburg. Bullet sophomore Merrill Fortier is the favorite in the individual competition. Follow the action on our championship page.

Women's Tennis: The inaugural Centennial women's team championship could be the most entertaining event of the weekend. Top-seed Swarthmore plays host to the four-team tourney and takes on Johns Hopkins in the first semifinal at 11 a.m., while Washington and Muhlenberg meet at 3 p.m. Four of the top singles players in the region will be on display today - Swarthmore's Sonya Reynolds, Hopkins' Brittanyt Matava, Washington's Allison Daciek and Muhlenberg's Amy Schmidt, the 2005 CC Player of the Year. Follow the action on our championship page.

Men's Tennis: The inaugural Centennial men's tournament takes place at Washington College with the 12-time Conference champion Shoremen the favorite to make it a baker's dozen. The first semifinal is today at 11 a.m., as the Shoremen take on Dickinson, while the 3 p.m. nightcap pits Haverford and Johns Hopkins. Washington is 103-1 all-time in Centennial dual matches. Follow the action on our championship page.

Talkin' Baseball 4/22

Since today's slate of Conference doubleheaders has been washed out ... let's take a look around the Centennial at the latest baseball buzz ... how would you like to throw a two-hit shutout with nine strikeouts and not have it be the best mound performance of the day? ... Franklin & Marshall's Matt Metsch threw a gem in the Diplomats' 5-0 win against Swarthmore, but Gettysburg's Brian Spicer did him one better ... the Bullet senior tied a school record with 17 strikeouts as Gettysburg shut out #12 Johns Hopkins, 4-0 ... Spicer (pictured), who struck out the side in the third, sixth and eighth innings, scattered six hits in improving to 5-1 ... Muhlenberg battled back from a 6-1 eighth-inning deficit to tie Dickinson, 7-7 ... both teams had opportunities in the extra stanzas, as the Mules had the bases loaded in the 10th, while the Red Devils loaded them in the 11th with one out but failed to produce the winning run ... Washington also came from behind from a 4-1 deficit with six outs remaining to defeat McDaniel, 8-5, in 10 innings ... Mike DeBartolome's bases-loaded double in the 10th keyed a four-run rally for the Shoremen ... Haverford kept its postseason hopes alive, scoring nine times in the final three frames to down Ursinus, 12-5.

F&M holds a half-game lead on Johns Hopkins in the race for the top seed for the May 5-6-7 Conference tournament. Dickinson and Ursinus are tied for the No. 3 spot, three games behind the leaders, while Muhlenberg trails that pair by a half-game. Haverford's hopes are still flickering at six games back. Standings

The ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Magazine Mid-Atlantic Regional Poll has two Centennial representatives - Hopkins and F&M.
1. TCNJ (23-4), 2. Johns Hopkins (22-4-2), 3. Rowan (20-9), 4. Franklin & Marshall (21-8), 5. William Paterson (19-9), 6. Montclair State (15-10-2), 7. Rutgers-Newark (17-12), 8. Pitt-Bradford (19-8) and Arcadia (20-10).

McDaniel Senior Focuses Scientific Knowledge on Field Hockey

McDaniel seniors each must complete a Capstone project – the culminating experience within a major of a liberal arts education – to meet the requirements of their bachelor’s degree. The project may be research or in-depth investigation or original creative expression, and must have both written and oral components.

Among the College’s six graduating Physics majors, Laura Baggaley focused her scientific knowledge on sports for her Capstone project.

"When you’re playing field hockey, like Laura Baggaley does, the team you're playing against matters just as much as what you’re playing on. The Physics major says balls go faster and farther on AstroTurf than they do on grass, and it can affect the outcome of the game.

“I can feel a difference on turf, you’re moving faster and the ball goes faster,” Baggaley says.

For her Physics Capstone project, Baggaley is analyzing grass and turf surfaces in order to calculate the difference between them. She will perform experiments tossing the ball and rolling it over the two surfaces, with the help of a softball machine to control how fast the ball goes and at what angle. Baggaley will analyze the different ground surfaces and take into consideration the forces of friction. Based on velocity and bounce, she’ll estimate how far the ball will go.

“I really wanted to do something with Physics that applied it to my life. Our faculty presents it in a way that’s real life, so we can use it,” says the veteran of four years as a Green Terror field hockey team member. The team finished the 2005 season with an 11-8 record playing on both artificial turf and grass. About two-thirds of the team’s opponents’ fields are made of artificial turf, according to McDaniel field hockey and women’s lacrosse coach Muffie Bliss.

Baggaley’s experiments could add to the heated debate about how the official team sport of Maryland is played.

“In the sports world, it’s a hot topic, especially in field hockey,” Baggaley says. “I wouldn’t be surprised if one or the other was mandated in the coming years.”

Baggaley plans to attend graduate school in the field of medical physics. She wants to work in diagnostic therapy helping plan radiation for cancer patients. And, she also hopes to teach."