College Roundup: Providence’s Reale wins New England 800-meter title

Iona’s Sean Connolly placed third in the 3,000 meters at the IC4A Championships in Boston. A junior from Tallaght, Co. Dublin, Connolly got home in 8:15.97, well behind Liberty’s Josh McDougal, who broke the tape in 7:55.70. Connolly also ran anchor for the Gaels’ winning effort in the distance medley relay. The winning time was 9:49.26, five seconds better than Navy, the runners-up.

MEN’S BASKETBALL
Davidson’s Conor Grace pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds as the Wildcats defeated Elon, 67-53, in first-round action of the Southern Conference tournament. The Dublin senior threw in six points on 3-for-8 shooting. He also had three assists in 24 minutes on the floor. Davidson, which went undefeated during the regular season, was then upset by UNC-Greensboro, 73-68, in the semifinal round. Grace collected five rebounds and scored two points. Davidson, 21-8 for the season, awaits either an NCAA at-large berth or an NIT slot.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Monmouth’s Niamh Dwyer was held to nine points as Quinnipiac eliminated the Hawks (17-11) from the Northeast Conference tournament, 75-68. Dwyer, a junior from Thurles, Co. Tipperary, shot 4-for-13 from the floor, including 1-for-4 on 3-point tries. The Bobcats’ Kim Fitzpatrick had something to do with shutting Dwyer down. The Waterford senior played all 40 minutes and chipped in five points and six assists. Quinnipiac (16-12) was slated to face St. Francis (Pa.) on Tuesday evening in an NEC semifinal contest.
Dwyer was named to the All-Northeast Conference first team. She started in all 27 games for Monmouth and led the team in scoring with a 16.6 points per game average.
Southern Mississippi was bounced out of the Conference USA tournament in the first round by South Florida, 68-47. Southern Miss freshman Emer Foley just missed a double-double, scoring nine points and grabbing 13 caroms. Foley, from Bray, Co. Wicklow, averaged 8.0 points and 6.6 rebounds for the season. The Lady Eagles finished the season 9-19.
Dowling’s Laura Mullally, a senior from Athlone, Co. Westmeath, was named to the All New York Collegiate Athletic Conference first team. She sparked the Golden Lions’ offense, averaging 15.8 points per game.

GOLF
South Alabama’s Jonathan Caldwell shared second place at the completion of the Tulane Invitational at English Turn in New Orleans. The freshman from Clandeboye, Co. Down, finished at even-par 216 (73-71-72), two strokes behind Tulane’s Michael Thompson. Teammate Eamonn Coghlan, a senior from Dublin, tied for 63rd place at 239 (79-81-79). Coghlan is the namesake son of the renowned runner. Southeastern Louisiana’s Peter O’Keeffe, a freshman from Cork, took a slice of 39th place at 230 (79-70-81). That second-round score was low for the round, matched by one other competitor.
East Tennessee State’s Cian McNamara tied for 12th place in the Puerto Rico Classic at the Westin Rio Mar in Rio Grande. The Limerick freshman finished three under par at 213 (69-68-76), nine strokes behind Arizona State’s Alejandro Canizares, the medalist. ETSU’s Gareth Shaw, a freshman from Lisburn, Co. Antrim, shared 43rd position at 223 (76-79-68). Minnesota’s Niall Turner, a sophomore from Cork, tied for 49th place at 224 (77-75-72). Minnesota took sixth place in the 18-team field, with ETSU placing eighth. Georgia Tech finished on top.
Iain Hall tied for 24th place among 108 golfers in the Pfeiffer Invitational at Pine Needles Resort in Southern Pines, N.C. The Queens (N.C.) freshman from Naas, Co. Kildare, came in 14 over par at 156 (79-77), 11 strokes behind top dog, Lee University’s Josh Coley. Queens finished ninth of 22 teams.
Troy’s Shauna McVeigh shared fifth place in the Buffalo Rock/Southern Shootout at Bent Brook in McCalla, Ala. The junior from Kilkeel, Co. Down, was seven over par at 151 (75-76), which was five strokes off medalist Brooke Mangan of UAB.

TENNIS
Memphis senior Mark Finnegan saved the Tigers from being shut out, winning his match at fifth singles as Mississippi prevailed, 6-1. Finnegan, from Kill, Co. Kildare, defeated Jakob Klaeson, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.
Harvard’s Elsa O?Riain defeated North Carolina’s Jenna Long, 6-4, 6-4, in action at third singles to help the Crimson paste a 5-2 defeat on the Tar Heels. O’Riain, a sophomore from Cork, is ranked 58th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Assn. rankings.
Conor Taylor knocked off Florida State’s Matt Cloer, 6-3, 7-6, at first singles to key a North Carolina State victory by a 4-3 score. Taylor is a senior from Dublin.
San Diego’s Emma Murphy, ranked 45th by the ITA, won three of four singles matches in the first slot last week. The junior from Cork began with a win over Furman’s Mary Neill Hagood, 6-1, 6-1, helping the Toreros to a 4-3 victory. Murphy then prevailed over Hawaii’s Lauren Fitzgerald, 6-2, 6-2, as San Diego romped, 7-0. She then lost to Washington’s Dea Sumantri, no. 5 in the rankings, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, with the Huskies taking a 5-1 win. Murphy then handed Florida State’s Michaela Moldovan a 6-3, 7-6 (4) loss, although the Seminoles were 4-3 winners.
Colin O’Brien saved William & Mary from falling victim to a shutout when he defeated Stanford’s Phil Cheng at third singles, 6-7, 7-5, 1-0. The Dublin sophomore then teamed with Alex Fish to nearly defeat the nation’s second-ranked doubles team. In the end, the Cardinals’ Sam Warburg and K.C. Corkery were 8-6 winners. Stanford won the match, 6-1.