Sports Talk

The spring season is underway and the Spartans have come out of the gates a little slow. Castleton has a record of 8-18 between its five varsity sports to begin the 2010 campaign. Am I worried about our Spartans, though? Not at all.

The men’s tennis team has started the season 3-1 and has a perfect 3-0 conference record. Greg Kropfer has been flawless, as he has put together a 4-0 singles record. Eric Slosek, Justin Garritt and Kevin Eisenburg are all 3-1 in singles play so far this season. All in all, I’m standing by the men’s tennis team to get things done and go perfect in the conference.

I don’t have much concern for the baseball team either. It’s impressive how they got a win in Texas this year because that is no easy feat. I still have high hopes for Ken Cook on the mound this year. Matt Eisenhuth and Ryan Zielinski look to be the driving forces at the plate this year which makes me excited about the team’s runs-per-game average. That can only help the pitching rotation, and if we’re going to have a shot at Husson in the NAC tourney, we’ll need solid pitching.

My initial reserves about the softball team still have me concerned with its road to the NAC tournament. The 0-5 start doesn’t concern me too much, though, because it’s all out of conference games. I’ll start getting concerned in late April if the team is struggling in its conference games. A top spot in the NAC is still wishful thinking in my mind. I think the Spartans will be third or fourth heading into postseason play, and I’m still hanging onto my first round upset prediction.

The women’s lacrosse team has a 2-2 record to start the season and opens up conference play on March 27 at Elms College. Marie VanDerKar already has 12 goals through the first four games. Stephanie Pearce (10 goals) and Nicole Adams (9 goals) are finding the net as well. The game to watch is on April 3 at home against Bridgewater State. The Spartans might not get the upset in April, but come May I’m thinking that that NEWLA plaque will be in Glenbrook.

The men’s lacrosse team has been plagued with slow starts and playing from behind too much this season. The Spartan’s defense has looked good throughout this, though. There is definitely a lack of goals being scored in the first half, but this trend will stop when Castleton hosts its first conference game of the year against Johnson State College on March 27. I expect about 10 goals a game out of this offense and around six goals against. I still think this group will win the NAC title.

My bold predictions: Men’s lacrosse beats Mount Ida on April 3 in overtime. The baseball team will have no more than two conference losses before facing Husson late this season. Tennis will dominate – what’s new? The softball team will beat Thomas on April 10, and come close to beating Husson on April 18. The women’s lacrosse team will enter the Bridgewater State game with a three-game win streak.

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