by Jake Sauberman, sports editor

Spring finals may have marked the end of the Northeastern school year for many students, but track and field, baseball and rowing trek on into the summer months. The last two weeks saw men’s track take home its third consecutive Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) title, baseball face CAA rivals Hofstra University and University of North Carolina-Wilmington (UNCW) and men’s rowing win the Congram Cup for the 13th straight year, among other feats.

Baseball

Northeastern baseball sat atop the CAA standings heading into the series against Hofstra University on April 28 and padded its lead by taking two out of three from the Pride.

Senior righthander Nate Borges, recently inserted into the regular rotation, earned his newfound role by spinning six innings of two-run ball in game one, allowing the offense, paced by sophomore infielder Ryan Solomon’s three-RBI day, to take the 8-4 victory.

The Huskies needed more effort in game two, as senior infielder Nick Fanneron blasted a clutch two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth to knot the game at four. Freshman Brian Rodriguez and sophomore Andrew Misiaszek combined for three innings of relief, allowing just one baserunner and senior infielder Cam Hanley ended it with a walkoff single in the bottom of the tenth.

“That’s what this team has done all year long,” head coach Mike Glavine said in an interview with GoNU. “We play nine innings, 10 innings, whatever it takes. We’re tough, resilient;  they battle and they fight. It’s a sign of what a great team is, and right now, these guys are able to do that and do it consistently.”

Junior righthander Brian Christian suffered his first loss of the season in game three, allowing three runs over five innings. Sophomore utilityman Charlie McConnell put the Huskies up 2-0 in the third inning, but five unanswered Hofstra runs put the game away.

The Huskies took on Bryant University in Rhode Island on May 3. Taking advantage of the non-conference game, Glavine got six pitchers and ten position players in the lineup. The game went 10 innings, with Bryant winning on a walkoff single.

“Bryant always plays us tough,” Glavine said. “We struggle against those guys. They have a great program and have had a lot of success the last few years.”

A road trip against UNCW followed that weekend, and the Huskies saw their first place standing slip away as they were swept in the three-game series. UNCW jumped out to early leads in each of the three games and dominated the Husky lineup, allowing 18 total hits.

The Huskies currently sit at 11-7 in the CAA, good for third place behind the College of William & Mary and UNCW. They take on Virginia Tech on May 9 before heading to William & Mary that weekend to try to regain their strong CAA seeding.

Track and field

Track and field competed at the Brown Invitational in Providence, Rhode Island on April 30, setting 25 personal bests and four top-10 finishes. Highlighting the meet was sophomore Sarah Adler, who ran a personal-best mile in 4 minutes and 55 seconds, finishing first. Junior Eric Mellusi’s career-high discus throw of 52.08m and hammer throw of 54.63m qualified him for the New England and Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4A) Championship meets. Sophomore Mike Duggan finished second in the 5000m with a time of 15:08, and sophomore Chris Jewett finished first in the 200m, clocking in at 21.83 seconds.

The team then competed at the University of Delaware as part of the CAA Championships, where it finished first. Nine Huskies earned gold medals, 11 earned silver and 10 took home bronze. A trio of freshmen took part in the gold spree, comprised of Travis Kurtz in the pole vault, Naukym Morton in the 100m dash and David Adams in the 400m hurdles. Seniors Paul Duffey and Jordan O’Dea capped off their final CAA Championships with gold medals, taking part in the 800m run and the steeplechase, respectively.

Track and field will prepare for the New England Championships and the IC4A/Eastern Conference Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships this weekend, spanning from May 12 to May 15.

Rowing

The No. 9 Northeastern men’s rowing team took on No. 4 Harvard on the Charles River on April 29 in the Smith Cup but couldn’t manage a winning race. With the victory, Harvard now holds a 25-3 all-time record against Northeastern in the Smith Cup.

In the first varsity race, Northeastern kept it close through the third 500m mark, but the Crimson managed to pull away in the open water in the final 500 meters to finish at 5:44 compared to the Huskies’ 5:51.

The second varsity race was closer, despite another strong initial 750 meters from Harvard. However, Northeastern found a second wind in the final 750 meters to close the deficit to under three seconds as they finished second with a time of 5:57 compared to Harvard’s 5:54.

Harvard capitalized on their momentum in the third varsity race, mirroring the first varsity race by holding and expanding their early lead throughout. They finished in 5:59, with the Huskies crossing at 6:09.

Northeastern was back out on the Charles the next day to compete in the Congram Cup, squaring off against the No. 13 University of Wisconsin. The two teams split the first two varsity races by a margin of less than two seconds each, leading to an intense, back-and-forth third varsity race.

Northeastern and Wisconsin were jockeying for position for the initial 250 meters before NU took a slight lead approaching the 500-meter mark. Wisconsin fought back to take a slight lead of their own, but the final 750 meters and the Congram Cup belonged to the Huskies as they muscled their way to a two-second win at 5:51.

The victory marked the 13th straight Congram Cup win for the Huskies. Postseason play begins for men’s rowing on May 14.

The women’s rowing team made a splash of their own, touting all of the varsity crews in the grand finals of the Eastern Sprints for the fifth year in a row on April 30. It is the 37th appearance all-time for the Huskies in the regatta, and the 19th under head coach Joe Wilhelm.

Northeastern took home the silver in the first varsity race, finishing behind Harvard and ahead of Columbia University at 6:52.

The second varsity race quickly became a fight for silver, as Radcliffe College burst out with early separation. A three-way battle between Northeastern, Columbia and Drexel was settled in the final 250 meters, as the Huskies pulled ahead with a full-length lead to take silver.

A similar cast was present in the varsity four race, with Northeastern, Radcliffe and Columbia jockeying for positioning in the first 750. However, Harvard caught up with the pack and barely edged out the Huskies by a mere second at 7:46.

The third varsity race mirrored the second, with Radcliffe pulling away to leave a jumbled pack fighting for second place. Northeastern made its move following the second 1000-meter mark, creating separation from Dartmouth and Drexel, and finished with the silver at 7:29.

Women’s rowing will be back on the water on May 14 as they travel to Cherry Hill, New Jersey to compete in the CAA Championships.