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MEN > The team, under coach Michael Smith, took home eighth place at the Northeast Conference Championships in West Long Branch, N.J., with 47 points. Senior Kevin Argauer claimed the lone individual trophy for the Colonials, winning the hammer throw with a toss of 185’4”. Senior Sherrod Evers, junior T.J. Green, sophomore Charles Gladman, and freshman Ian Melhorn finished second in the 4x100-meter with a time of 41.84, earning All-NEC honors.

WOMEN > The Colonials finished fifth at the NEC Championships with 70.33 points, also under Smith’s tutelage. A trio of Colonials claimed individual championships at the meet: junior Erica Schmidt won the pole vault with a 10’10” leap, sophomore Samantha Simile broke the tape with a time of 1:04.03 in the 400-meter hurdles, and freshman Gabriella Rinehart’s 161’06” hammer throw made her one of only two freshmen to win an event. Senior Tara Maxwell and junior Ashley Turici also earned All-NEC honors with second-place finishes, Maxwell with a discus throw of 130’09”, and Turici with a javelin toss of 130’07”.

A 9-8 overall record earned the women’s team its first winning season.The team tied for fourth in the NEC at 5-3 under the direction of coach Katy Phillips, just missing out on the conference tournament after a 10-9 loss at Monmouth. Senior defender Mary Kate Egan, the school’s career leader with 70 caused turnovers, made All-NEC First Team; so did senior midfielder Kara Blakeley, who led RMU with 39 goals. Senior attack Ashley Levering, named to the All-NEC Second Team, shattered the NEC singleseason record with 51 assists, giving her an average of 3.0 assists per contest, which ranked third in the nation.

> ALL-AMERICANS

Four female student-athletes were picked for ESPN The Magazine District II Academic All-America teams by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Seniors Susan Perich (elementary education, 3.73 QPA) and Brooke Panepinto (marketing, 3.61 QPA) and sophomore Annie Dubovec (mathematics, 3.97 QPA) garnered the honors in softball, while senior Mary Kate Egan (nursing, 3.95 QPA) was an at-large selection for the sports of field hockey and lacrosse.

Freshmen Alexa Bryson and Jaci Timko made a big impact in their first season of Colonials softball.

Ace pitcher Bryson, from Latrobe, was Pennsylvania’s Gatorade Player of the Year in softball her senior year and led the league in strikeouts. Timko, a Chartiers-Houston grad and the career home run queen in Western Pennsylvania high school softball, is from a family of athletes – most notably her aunt, Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton.

The pair helped RMU pull out a wild 6-5 win against Butler during the team’s annual trip to Florida in March. In Bryson’s fourth start, the Colonials trailed the Bulldogs 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh. But Timko led off with a bunt single, then scored on a double by senior Brooke Panepinto to send the game into extra innings.

After giving up an uncharacteristic three-run homer in the top of the eighth, Bryson recovered, striking out her last two batters. The Colonials then bailed her out with a four-run rally. Timko saved the day again, driving in the tying run with another bunt single before the Bulldogs gave up the game-winner on a fielding error.

The victory was part of a surge that saw RMU win three of its final four games in the Sunshine State. It was the third win for Bryson in what would stretch to a nine-game streak.

“That game was important because it allowed our veterans to mesh with the freshmen, who in essence were under the microscope at a very early stage in their careers,” said coach Craig Coleman, M.D. “I think it gave our youngsters confidence as well that they could play at this level of Division I softball.”

The Colonials finished second in the NEC with a 12-6 league record and 25-21 overall record. Timko recorded a .396 batting average – the thirdhighest single-season average in team history – with 61 hits, 32 RBI, and 10 home runs. Bryson made All-NEC Second Team with a 2.47 ERA, striking out 193 batters on the way to a 19-7 record, including 22 complete games. And Panepinto made All-NEC Second Team, finishing her career with a .345 batting average, which ties the school record.

Under the guidance of coach Jeff Layman, the men finished with an overall record of 3-17, while the women posted an overall record of 3-19. Both teams fell in the quarterfinals of the NEC Championships. Junior David Pinto led the Colonials, winning eight singles victories. Senior Maria Olausson and freshman Ekaterina Rudneva each earned four singles victories to pace the RMU women, and they also teamed up for four doubles victories.

MEN > The squad under coach Jerry Stone earned its best finish at the NEC Championships since 2005, placing fourth with a three-day team score of 915 at Champions Gate Golf Club in Orlando, Florida. Sophomore C.G. Mercatoris earned All-NEC Second Team honors and placed sixth overall after leading the tournament with an opening day 4-under par 68. Mercatoris finished in the top 10 in six of the nine tournaments RMU played in 2009, averaging just under 75 per round. He placed fourth at the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association Amateur Championship at Allegheny Country Club in June, with a score of 212.

WOMEN > The team, also led by Jerry Stone, had its best showing ever in the NEC Championships at the Hershey Links Golf Club, finishing fourth with a three-day total of 978. Senior Melanie Ice finished seventh with 236. Junior Jacqueline Jurinko was the only women’s golfer from the NEC named a National Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar in 2009; the actuarial science major carries a 3.50 QPA.

> Leading By Example

WRITTEN BY JAMES DUZYK M’00

For Mary Kate Egan, the term studentathlete is one she takes seriously.

A four-year starter on defense in two sports, Egan was a leader and captain for both the Colonials field hockey and women’s lacrosse programs. Her abilities on the field earned her a pair of Most Valuable Player awards this year, one for each sport.

Egan, who now is working at an oncology unit at Shadyside Hospital, earned All- Northeast Conference honors twice in women’s lacrosse, including first team this year. She holds the school record with 70 caused turnovers, while her 83 ground balls ranks sixth in RMU history. And Egan was named to the 2009 ESPN The Magazine District II Academic All-America At-Large Team after carrying a QPA of 3.95 as a nursing major.

While her exploits on the field and in the classroom are well documented, Egan proved what an all-around student-athlete she was with her community service. This spring she led a women’s lacrosse team partnership with Girls Hope, an organization that works with at-risk youths. Team members cooked brunch for the girls, participated in breakdance sessions, spent an evening ice skating with the group at the RMU Island Sports Center, and finally helped the girls move into a new home in Coraopolis.

Time management is a challenge for any student. Egan passed with flying colors.

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