Sports & Recreation
Rookies ready for new season behind returning vets
|The last men’s soccer championship came to Fairfax in 2008. Ryan Gracia and Draymond Washington were young, hungry players in a nationally ranked recruiting class and saw a quick reward for their decision to select Mason.
But now both players are gone, playing professionally in Sweden and Tampa Bay, only to be replaced by a new group of athletes. Twelve freshmen fuel the team this season for the Patriots and the leadership void is filling quickly.
Merten's impact felt in balance of academics and athletics
|Attendees who attended a George Mason University men’s basketball game in the past would have most likely seen the Green Machine blasting the school’s fight song, the Patriot Platoon, cheering on their fellow classmates and, President Alan Merten, in his courtside seat, barking at the referees over a bad call and armed with a t-shirt launcher that resembles a bazooka.
When the basketball season begins this fall, however, the man who claims to have missed as few as five Mason basketball games in his career will be absent. The president of the university will be gone.
Basketball's Vaughns reflects on last season and looks ahead
|Under Paul Hewitt’s new regime in Fairfax, the George Mason men’s basketball team went 24-9, 14-4 in CAA competition, and were ousted in the second round of the conference tournament by rival VCU. They fell short of reaching both the NCAA and NIT post-season competitions.
However, players like rising redshirt junior Vertrail Vaughns are hoping for brighter things in the future.
Patriots swept by Delaware in final home series
|The Delaware Blue Hens (24-22, 14-10 CAA) brought their brooms to Fairfax this weekend against the Patriots (32-20, 15-12 CAA) in their final home series of the season.
The Blue Hens took the first game on Friday convincingly, 8-5, and then scratched out a 2-1 win on Saturday.
The Patriots, looking to avoid a weekend sweep against their conference rivals on Senior Day, were unable to do so.
Baseball falls to Delaware in weekend series opener, 8-5
|With the season winding down, the George Mason Patriots (32-18, 15-10 CAA) took on their conference opponents the Delaware Blue Hens (22-22, 12-10 CAA).
When the two teams played last year in Delaware, the Blue Hens swept the season series.
In the opening game of the series on Friday, the Blue Hens sprinted out to an early lead in the first inning, scoring four runs on five hits off of Patriots sophomore starting pitcher Anthony Montefusco.
Zimbabwean triple jump champion Mavugara reflects on life at Mason
|Meet Namatirai Grace Mavugara, Zimbabwe’s national record holder in the women’s triple jump. When she first stepped out of the cab at Mason, she could not find anyone who knew where she belonged. Had they forgotten about her? Was she at the wrong school? She later asked her coach (who was, in fact, waiting at the airport with a sign) why he did not have a sign. He told her he was wearing a green Mason T-shirt.
Ozil United claims Spring Intramural Soccer Championship
|The Men’s All-Campus Game itself was rather uneventful as Ozil United was crowned champion after Pike A, the winners of the IFC Bracket, simply forfeited. However, the champion’s path to the All-Campus game was a rather stunning feat.
Dream team takes A-League, Stacking Cake takes B-League in Spring 4v4 Flag Football
|In Spring 4v4 Flag Football Post-Season Tournament, the Men’s A-League Championship went to No. 3 seed Dream Team after dispatching the No. 5 seed FAF, 48-22, in the finals.
Men's volleyball falls to Princeton on senior night
|The sound of applause echoed off the gym walls. Whistles rang through the crowd. The RAC gym erupted in standing ovation for one man. All eyes were fixated on the George Mason men’s volleyball senior leader and captain, Joe Norton as he celebrated his last home game in green and gold.
However, all of the festivities were an afterthought as the Patriots (12-16, 7-6 EIVA) fell to their Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association rivals, Princeton, 3-2 on Saturday afternoon.
Baseball routs Monarchs in finale to take weekend series
|The George Mason Patriots (27-15, 13-8 CAA) took on the Old Dominion Monarchs (15-27, 5-15 CAA) on Saturday afternoon in the final game of their weekend series, as the schedule was tweaked due to the threat of rain Sunday.
Having lost the first game in dramatic fashion on Friday, the Patriots looked to win the weekend series after having smashed their way past the Monarchs in the first game of a double-header earlier in the day.
The Monarchs scored the first runs of the game, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning.