Stories and photos by Marc Meyers, sports information director

Baseball reaches NAC tournament

The UMF baseball team made it to the NAC championship round before bowing out, 7-1, against Castleton in Glens Falls, N.Y., in May. In the 16th season under head coach Dick Meader ’68, the Beavers staved off elimination with a 10-6 victory over Thomas before succumbing to Castleton. Josh Garneau and Dan Hemdal received NAC All-Tournament recognition. Infielder Pat Howell, centerfielder Phineas Peake, pitcher Craig Pendleton (pictured), and second baseman Kyle Shea were each named to the All-NAC Second Team. Pendleton was honored during the season as the NAC Pitcher of the Week. Garneau hit a team-high .337 with 17 runs batted in. Peake hit .314 with 15 stolen bases, and Tyler Hanson slugged five home runs. In spring 2010, UMF and fellow NAC members Castleton, Husson, Lyndon State, and Thomas will join the North Eastern Athletic Conference as associate members.

Women’s lacrosse finishes strong

The UMF women’s lacrosse team debuted in the spring and won five consecutive games to close out its inaugural season. Under the direction of first-year head coach Molly Wilkie ’06, the Beavers earned a 12-9 win over Husson in the first home game at Prescott Field. Over its final three games of the season, UMF held its opponents to four or fewer goals in each contest on its way to a fourth-place finish in the North Atlantic Conference. Amie Daniels, Kara Hudson, Jessie LaCasse, Lucy Sargent (pictured), and Ashley Wentworth each earned All-NAC Second Team accolades. Daniels led the team with 18 goals and two assists, followed by Hudson (14 goals) and Sargent (13 goals, two assists). Wentworth, who scored eight times, also was second in the nation in ground balls at 6.56 per game.

Student-athletes earn academic honors
Ten UMF winter and spring student-athletes were honored in May on the North Atlantic Conference All-Academic Team. Those recognized include men’s basketball players David Kerschner and Josh Tanguay; women’s basketball players Amanda Byrne and Erin Porter; women’s lacrosse players Jessie LaCasse, Lauren Proceviat, and Lucy Sargent; softballers Porter, Emily Coye, and Caitlin Flaherty; and baseball player Kyle Shea. To be honored, a student-athlete must have reached junior academic standing and competed for at least two years in his/her sport with a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.5. The two-years-of-competition requirement was waived for women’s lacrosse players, as the program was in its first year of varsity competition.