This past week, the softball team earned a #20 ranking by D3 Softball Newsletter. Roanoke was one of two ODAC teams that made the list. In addition, pitcher Clarissa Norwich was named the Atlantic Region Co-Player of the Week, with the newsletter noting her no-hitter against then #30 Rowan (NJ) and her opponent batting average of .089. The Ferrum Invitational this weekend was cancelled, so the team remains 9-1, their best start since the 2007 season. The team has three ODAC games coming up this week, starting on Wednesday, March 18with a game against Guilford in the ODAC-opener. They will play at the Salem Civic Center field this weekend against Virginia Wesleyan and Randolph-Macon on March 21-22.

The baseball team played two games this past week at home, and counted a loss on each. On March 9, they played Shenendoah with a loss of 13-1 then fell to Milligan on the following day with a score of 4-3. This game came in much closer than their previous game against Milligan at the beginning of the season. Their ODAC opener against Randolph-Macon was scheduled for Saturday, March 14^th, but was postponed due to inclement weather. The team will be playing three games this week, starting with Ferrum on March 17 and Emory & Henry the following day with game times starting at 7 p.m. Both home events will be held at Salem Memorial/Lewis Gale Field which is the home of the Class-A Salem Red Sox. After the ODAC-opener against the Wasps, the Maroons will travel to Lexington, Va. to play against Washington & Lee.

The women's lacrosse team (3-3), ranked #25 on the IWCLA poll this past week, lost two games against nationally-ranked teams. The Maroons first game was played on March 10 at #16 St. Mary's, resulting in a 14-9 loss. On Sunday, they traveled to #14 Catholic and held a slim lead in the first half before falling to the Cardinals, 8-5. Roanoke will be playing three games this week, starting with its ODAC-opener against Lynchburg on the 17^th at 7:00pm at Lynchburg.  Roanoke was ranked #2 on the ODAC preseason poll, with Lynchburg coming in at #6. The Maroons will then travel to Greensboro, NC to take on the Quakers of Guilford College March 20 at 4 p.m. in ODAC action. The biggest game of the week will be Saturday against #2 Salisbury at home with game time starting at 2 p.m. It will be the first home game for the Maroons since their season-opener on Feb. 21. It will be the fourth nationally ranked team the Maroons will play this season.

The men's lacrosse team was ranked #5 this past week by both the USILA and Laxpower.com polls. The team played Dickinson College on the 14^th, and brought in their seventh win of the season with a final score of 14-13. The team is now tied for the best start in school-history with the 1978 and 1979 teams, which resulted in a NCAA championship ('78) and reaching the NCAA Quarterfinals ('79). This past week would also see multiple players move up in their records quest. Zach Thomas is now ranked second all-time in shots on goal with 183, tied for eighth in all-time scoring with 195 points and tied for seventh in career goals with 119. Both Chas Carlson and Pat March are one point away from moving up in all-time points to #16 and #21, respectively. This week the Maroons will be playing in two games, starting on March 19 with a 3:30 pm home game against Richard Stockton. Arguably the biggest game of the season will take place on Saturday, March 21 in Radnor, PA against #6 Cabrini which will be the game to watch around the Div. III men's lacrosse nation.

 

Robin Yerkes won the 400-meter dash event at the 2009 NCAA Indoor Track and Field National Championships this afternoon. The championships were held at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana. With the first-place finish, Yerkes became the school's first NCAA National Champion since Casey Smith in 2000. It is also the school's fourth National Championship.

Nearing the end of the last turn Yerkes was behind event favorite Hannah Baker of Wartburg, but she took control in the final 50-meters as she passed Baker to become the programs' second National Champion. Yerkes' time of 56.09 seconds in the 400m set a new school-record. Baker finished second with a time of 56.58 seconds.

Yerkes earned her sixth All-American honor and is the second Maroon in Roanoke history to be a National Champion in track and field. The first was Casey Smith who won the 10,000m in 2001 with a time of 35:05.63.

Yesterday, Yerkes competed in the 55m dash trials and finished ninth. She was one hundredth of a second short of advancing to the finals. Even though she didn't advance, her time of 7.23 seconds set a new school-record in the event.

Yerkes' outstanding performance wraps-up the indoor season for the Maroons. The team will start their outdoor season on Mar. 21 as they host the Roanoke Invitational.  Events start at 9:00 a.m.

The Men's Tennis team is currently 0-3 as they have faced a tough schedule to start the 2009 spring season. The Maroons fell to #18 Washington & Lee, 7-2 and to Dickinson, 8-1 this past week. Jon Roy defeated Alex Brooke, 6-4, 1-6, 10-2 to win the #1 singles against the Generals. Roy and Sherrill defeated the Generals in #1 doubles, 8-4. They will have three matches this week against Lynchburg (3/17), Emory & Henry (3/18) and North Carolina Wesleyan (3/22).

The women's tennis team is off to the best start (4-0) since Scott Gibson has been head coach of the program. The wins have come against Averett (8-1), Southern Virginia (6-3), Mary Baldwin (9-0) and Ferrum (8-1). The Maroons will play against Washington & Lee on March 16 to open up ODAC play. Matches that follow will be Emory & Henry on March 18 and North Carolina Wesleyan on March 22.