Mount to add Water Polo to sports lineup

Collin Riviello
MSMU Class of 2020

(2/2020) Lacrosse, softball and baseball all start their seasons this month which means new opportunities to set records and to win championships! Before we break down each sport’s schedule, we must debrief on the big news that came from Mount Athletics in early January!

On January 9, Director of Athletics Lynne Robinson announced that the Mount will be adding men’s and women’s water polo as NCAA Division I sports beginning in the 2020-2021 school year. In a press release put out on the Mount Athletics website, Robinson commented, "Water polo has experienced tremendous growth in popularity over the past few years, including growth at the high school and club levels on the East Coast. This is another great opportunity for us to give students a chance to further their education at the Mount and compete at the Division I level."

With the addition of men’s and women’s water polo, the Mount will field 24 NCAA Division I sports next year. Since the 2016-2017 academic year, the Athletics department has added eight NCAA sports in which its students can compete in. A head coach has yet to be announced at the time of this article’s writing.

Water polo is a water-based sport in which two teams of seven players each (including one goalkeeper) attempt to throw, kick or bounce a yellow ball into the opposing team’s net. Players may swim underwater to maneuver their way around the pool but are not allowed to physically touch the bottom of the pool in any way. An NCAA match consists of four eight-minute periods and after that the team with the most points wins. If the score is tied, then overtime rules are applied in which two three-minute periods are played. Sudden death rules will apply if both teams are still tied after the two-three-minute periods, in which case teams will play three minute-long periods until a winner can be declared.

Women’s lacrosse has recently announced their spring 2020 schedule. The defending Northeast Conference regular-season champions seek to avenge last season’s NEC Championship game defeat against Wagner College. Last season, the Mountaineers ravaged through both non-conference and NEC opponents alike, putting up a 16-3 record, which set a program-record for wins in a single season.

The Mount will start off their season at home against George Washington University on February 15 and then take on UMBC on February 19. The Mount defeated both teams last season (17-9 and 9-8 respectively). A new opponent coming up this season will be Binghamton on February 22 in New York. The Mountaineers will then return to Emmitsburg for a two-game homestand against George Mason and Campbell on February 26 and March 4 respectively. The Mount will travel to Lafayette on March 7 for a game before coming back home to face off against Howard on March 11 and Temple on March 14. Their last non-conference opponent will be Navy on March 18 in Annapolis, Md.

Conference play will begin on March 27 at Long Island. The Mount will then head out to New Jersey to face off against Wagner on March 29. Central Connecticut will then travel to Emmitsburg to face the Mount on April 3 while Saint Francis University will follow the Blue Devils six days later. Sacred Heart will host the Mount on April 11 and a rematch of last season’s NEC semifinal will occur on April 17 when Bryant comes down to the state of Maryland. New NEC member Merrimack College will travel to the Mount as well for a game on April 19. The Mountaineers will finish off their regular-season schedule with a game at Robert Morris on April 25. The NEC Tournament will take place from April 30 to May 2 at the regular-season champion’s home turf.

Softball also starts their season in mid-February. Last season, the Mount went 26-28 overall (9-7 NEC) and qualified for the post-season. They’ll kick off this season at the Campbell Invitational in North Carolina from February 15-16. From February 22-23 the Mount will compete in the Gardener-Webb Softball Tournament. They’ll then head to California to take part in the San Diego Classic from February 28-March 1. While in California, they’ll also play in the USD Tournament from March 5-7. The Mount will then return home to host their own tournament, the Mount Softball Tournament, from March 13-15. St. Bonaventure, Cornell and Norfolk State will join the Mount in the tournament. Three days later, the Mount will take a trip up to Morgan State for a doubleheader on the 18th. Albany will visit the Mount from March 20-21 and then Coppin State will follow for a doubleheader on March 24. Conference play will start for the Mount on March 28 at St. Francis University. The Mountaineers will then host Long Island University for a doubleheader on March 29. On April 1, the Mount will host Bucknell for two games before travelling to Fairleigh Dickinson and Central Connecticut from April 4-5. Sacred Heart will travel to the Mount for a doubleheader on April 10. The Mount will play their last non-conference opponent of the season on April 14 at Coppin State before hosting Wagner and Robert Morris from April 18-19. After traveling to Merrimack on April 25, the Mount will end their regular-season schedule at Bryant on April 26. The NEC Championships will be held from May 7-10.

Baseball also gets underway in February. Last season, the team finished with an overall 15-35 record (8-16 NEC). The team will host St. Bonaventure from February 21-22 before welcoming in University of Maryland Eastern Shore from February 28-29. The Mount will then travel to San Francisco for two games on March 3-4. They’ll travel to UC Davis for a doubleheader on March 7 before Mount heading back to Maryland to host Navy on March 10, Coppin State on March 11 and Lehigh on March 13. A doubleheader at Lehigh will then ensue on March 14 and one last game will be played there as well on the 15th. Merrimack will travel to Emmitsburg for three games from March 20-22 before the Mount heads to George Washington for a game on March 24.

The first game in April will be at Coppin State on April Fool’s day. The Mount will return home to host Fairleigh Dickinson from April 3-5. They’ll travel to Central Connecticut from April 9-11 and then to the University of Maryland for a game on April 14. The Mount will play Long Island University again except this time at home from April 17-19 and also George Washington on April 21. Wagner will play host to the Mount from April 24-26. The University of Maryland will come and visit the Mount on April 28 and the first opponent in May for the Mount will be Sacred Heart and play will be from May 1-3 in Connecticut. Bryant will be welcomed from May 8-10 before ending their regular-season schedule at Merrimack from May 14-16. The NEC Tournament will begin on May 21 and run through May 24.