SPORTS BRIEFS

BASEBALL

The Rams suffered a large setback this past
weekend in their attempts to qualify for next
month’s CAA Tournament. William and Mary
swept VCU as the Rams dropped to 3-12 in
the CAA and 10-24 overall. Chris Jackson’s
(Midlothian/Manchester) fourth-inning RBI
single gave the Rams a 1-0 lead Friday, but the
Tribe answered with five runs in the bottom of
the inning on its way to an 8-4 win. VCU again
got on the board first in each game of Saturday’s
double-header, but William and Mary countered
for two more wins, 8-6 and 13-7. VCU will play
its midweek game Tuesday at Richmond at 3 p.m.
before traveling to James Madison for a series
next weekend.

GOLF

Coach Matt Ball was named CAA men’s golf
coach of the year for the first time in his eight
seasons at VCU after leading the Rams to the
nation’s No. 93 ranking, entering the conference
championship. Sophomore Vincent Nadeau (Penn
Hook/Purdue) won two events this season and
earned a spot on the All-CAA first team. Fellow
sophomore Rafael Campos (Guaynabo, Puerto
Rico/Baldwin School of PR) was named to the
All-CAA second team.

MEN’S TENNIS

Top-seeded VCU cruised through the CAA
Tournament dropping just one match en route to
the title in Newport News. The championship is
the 11th in 13 seasons for the Rams since joining
the conference. The Rams claimed the doubles
point but were locked in a 1-1 tie with William
and Mary in Sunday’s finale before winning three
straight matches and the championship, 4-1.
Seniors Damien Lacombe (Perigueux, France) and
Alex Israel (Marseille, France) won in straight sets,
6-1, 6-1 and 6-2, 6-0, respectively. Sophomore
Thibaut Charron (Sens, France) finished off
the win 6-3, 6-3. The Rams topped Hofstra and
UNC Wilmington in the first two rounds. Sunday
marked the sixth time since 1999 that VCU and
William and Mary met in the conference title
match. The Rams qualify to play an opponent in
the NCAA Tournament that will be announced
April 29. The first round is May 9-10.

WOMEN’S TENNIS

William and Mary, the CAA’s top seed, got
the best of second-seeded VCU 4-0 in Sunday’s
conference championship. The duo of Kateryna
Yergina (Kiev, Ukraine) and Olena Leonchuk
(Kiev, Ukraine) won the Rams’ only doubles
match as the Tribe earned the point. Laura Burns
(Hertford, England) was victorious 7-5, 2-4 (DNF)
in singles play. This season is the seventh in a row
in which these two schools went head to head
for the championship. VCU downed Hofstra and
Old Dominion to advance to the finals. The Rams,
No. 35 in the nation and now 18-5, will await the
April 29 announcements for the chance to go to
their third consecutive NCAA Tournament.

WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

VCU finished ninth at this past weekend’s
CAA Championship in Williamsburg. The host
school, William and Mary, won first place for
the sixth time in seven years. Senior Danielle
Williams (Virginia Beach/Salem) tallied 13 of
the Rams’ 28 points, including a second-place
finish in the 1500-meter with a time of 4:32.52.
Williams also earned fourth place in the 800-
meter with a time of 2:15.51. Senior Frankie
Moore’s (Chesapeake/Great Bridge) 5-feet-5-inch
high jump was good for second place. Moore
didn’t finish below second place in any meet this
season. Junior Natalie Duncan (Alexandria/West
Potomac) finished in sixth place in the shot
put with a toss of 42 feet 7 inches. The Rams
will compete April 24-26 at the Penn Relays in
Philadelphia.

MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

The Rams took third place at the CAA Championship
this past weekend in Williamsburg.
Sophomore DeAngelo Wilson (Richmond/Prince
Edward County) posted his season-best time
of 21.13 in the 200-meter and won the Most
Outstanding Track Performer of the meet.
Wilson teamed with freshman Antonio Norvell
(Portsmouth/I.C. Norcom), sophomore Jamal
Blyden (Virginia Beach/Landstown) and senior
Jason Gallo (Rochester, N.Y./Eastridge) to take
the 4×100 relay title. Sophomore Michael Garel
(Stafford/Brooke Point) finished the 110-meter
hurdles in second place at 14.61 and junior Cordell
Page (Richmond/Manchester) came in fifth place
with a time of 15.33. Freshman Donnie Seward’s
(Richmond/Huguenot) time of 47.88 garnered
him a third-place finish. The Rams will be in
Philadelphia from Thursday to Saturday for the
Penn Relays.