College Roundup Iona’s Brosnan a champ on boards and in class

By John Manley

Iona’s David Brosnan ran to victory in two events at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s Indoor Track & Field Championships, thereby earning Most Outstanding Male Athlete honors for the meet. Brosnan, a senior from Cork, was victorious in both the mile, with a time of 4 minutes, 14.05 seconds, and the 800 meters, in which he was clocked in 1:55.25.

Teammate Vinny Mulvey, a sophomore, from Ashbourne, Co. Meath, won the 5,000 meters with a time of 15:00.66, and was runner-up to Iona’s Chris Longo at 3,000 meters. Mulvey finished in 8:37.11 to Longo’s 8:35.14. Iona, coached by Dublin native Mick Byrne, finished third in the team standings with 87 points, behind Manhattan, the champion with 208, and Rider, with 117.

Brosnan and teammate Padraic Buckley also were named to the MAAC’s Indoor Track & Field All-Academic Team. Brosnan, a finance major, carries a 3.26 grade point average. Buckley, a senior from Banteer, Co. Cork, majors in mathematics, and boasts a 3.49 GPA.

Florida State sophomore Fiona Norwood ran the second leg of the Seminoles’ winning effort in the 4-by-400 meter relay at the Atlantic Coast Conference Indoor Championships. Florida State placed first with a time of 3:42.24, almost two seconds ahead of Georgia Tech. Norwood, a sophomore from Kilkenny, also placed second in the 400-meter dash. She covered the distance in 55.98 seconds. The winner was Georgia Tech’s Tiffany Giles in 54.97. North Carolina ranked highest among teams with 121 points, while Florida State placed fourth with 72.33.

East Tennessee State’s Derek Murphy, a senior from Kildare, managed two in-the-money finishes at the Southern Conference Championships. Murphy was second at 3,000 meters and third in the mile. He ran the 3,000 in 8:36.05 to winner Nic Crider’s 8:34.11. Crider, of Tenn.-Chattanooga, once again finished ahead of Murphy in the mile, but ETSU’s Zach Whitmarsh wore the winner’s laurels after breaking the tape in 4:19.14. Murphy was along in 4:20.67. ETSU was fifth in the team standings with 73 points. Western Carolina topped the list with 159.50 points.

Providence’s Larry Morrissey, a junior from Waterford, ran second in the mile at the Big East conclave at Syracuse’s Carrier Dome. Morrissey, in at 4:09.07, trailed Georgetown’s John Jordan, who ran 4:05.44. The Friars were also represented by Drogheda junior Keith Kelly and Limerick sophomore Ciaran Lynch. Kelly was 11th at 3,000 meters, where his 8:39.74 lagged Notre Dame’s Ryan Shay, the winner in 8:20.38. Lynch ran 12th at 5,000 meters, timed in 15:08.60, while Georgetown’s Justin McCarthy led the pack in 14:16.30.

Brown contested the Heptagonals Championships at Cornell. Damien Lowry, a sophomore from Dublin, took eighth place in the 500 meters. Lowry posted a 67.60 clocking, compared with 64.67 for the winner, Yale’s Donald Carson.

Brown’s Enda Johnson, a freshman from County Monaghan, ran seventh in the 1,000 meters with a time of 2:29.42. Teammate Trinity Gray headed the field in 2:26.03.

Princeton, which won the team championship at the Heps, got a fifth-place finish in the weight throw from Hugh Kennedy, a junior from Dublin. Kennedy’s best heave traveled 17.21 meters (56 feet, 5.75 inches).

Women’s basketball

Susan Moran earned All-Tournament honors as St. Joseph’s (Pa.) won the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament with an 85-73 victory over Xavier (Ohio).

Moran was high scorer in the contest with 24 points, as she hit on 11 of 18 from the field. She also had 8 rebounds. In a quarterfinal round game, St. Joe’s defeated Duquesne, 71-54. Moran, a freshman from Tullamore, Co. Offaly, made 5 of 8 from the field and 1 of 2 from the foul line for 11 points. Her 9 rebounds led St. Joe’s. Moran was less prolific in a 74-56 semifinal win over George Washington. Foul trouble limited her to 20 minutes of floor time and she eventually left the game with five personals. She added 6 points to the cause, and grabbed 5 caroms.

Men’s basketball

Ken Lacey was the man for Rider in their two games in the MAAC Tournament.

Lacey led all scorers with 20 points in the Broncs’ 73-46 thrashing of Manhattan in the first round. The Irish national team player cashed in on 14 of 15 free throws. His 9 rebounds were also tops for both teams. He added 2 blocks and 2 steals. Rider then felt the sting in the next round, losing to Siena, 101-73. Lacey’s 19 points led Rider, and his 15 rebounds were a game high. Rider finished the season 12-16.

Tennis

Mississippi State’s Eimear Sloan has been on a winning binge. The Dublin junior was victorious at fourth singles over Southern Mississippi’s Marie Lindberg, 6-1, 6-2, and Alabama-Birmingham’s Michelle North, 6-3, 6-2.

Alongside Amelie Detriviere at second doubles, Sloan defeated Southern Mississippi’s Lindberg and Caroline Weems, 8-3, and UAB’s Mirela Vladulescu and K.B. Mogonediwa, 8-4. Mississippi State, ranked 50th, defeated Southern Miss, 9-0, and 74th-ranked UAB, 8-1.

Brown shut out Massachusetts, 7-0, with freshman Nick Malone coming through at third singles and first doubles. Malone, from Greystones, Co. Wicklow, handed Rob Manchester a 6-3, 6-2 defeat in singles action. He joined Sharad Kohli to outlast Manchester and Steve Prisco, 9-8.

Harvard journeyed to Seattle for the USTA/ITA National Men’s Team Indoor Championships. The Crimson lost their opening match to Mississippi, 4-3. Dublin juniors John Doran and Joe Green each won a singles match for Harvard. Doran defeated Martin Selin, 6-4, 6-1, at third singles, while Green needed three sets to dispose of Vikrant Chada, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, at fifth singles.

The next day’s match against Tennessee went to the Volunteers, 4-3. The outcome hinged on Doran’s match at third singles with Mark Way. Doran asserted himself early with a 7-5 first set win, but Way retaliated to take the next two sets, 6-2, 6-3, and, thus, the match. Green did no better at fifth singles, losing to Paul Podbury, 7-6(5), 6-3.

Harvard bounced back on the final day to throttle Oklahoma, 6-0. Doran settled in at second singles, where he trimmed Dusty Beard, 6-0, 6-2. Green moved up to fourth singles, where he handled Jeremy Dunham, 6-1, 6-1. Doran also tasted victory at third doubles, where he and Andrew Styperek recorded an 8-6 win over the duo of Clinton and Alford.

Indiana’s George McGill earned a three sets victory over Ball State’s Juan Fernandez, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3, at third singles. The junior from Castleroy, Co. Limerick, also teamed with Ari Widlansky to defeat Eastern Kentucky’s Christian Lentz and Jason Crutchfield, 8-2, at third doubles. Indiana defeated Ball, 5-2, and Eastern Kentucky, 7-0.

Swimming

North Carolina State’s Gina Galligan finished eighth in the 100-yard breaststroke at the ACC’s Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships. The Dublin senior parted the waters in 1:05.67, in a race won by Virginia’s Danica Wizniuk in 1:00.52.