Spring-Ford grad Schwenk giving UVA lax a faceoff lift
The University of Virginia men’s lacrosse team is a good fit for Justin Schwenk and head coach Lars Tiffany feels he’s a great fit for the Cavaliers.
Schwenk, a sophomore from Royersford (Spring-Ford), is a Monmouth transfer. The 6-foot, 185-pound midfielder has scored two goals and picked up an assist thus far. But that’s not his main job. That’s winning face-offs. He has 75 ground balls and has won 186-of-314 face-offs. His ground balls lead the Atlantic Coast Conference and he’s 16th in Division I with 5.77 ground balls a game. And, his face-off winning percentage (.592) leads the ACC and is 16th in Division I.
“Virginia lacrosse is committed to playing a fast game and there are so many more face-offs after we score or the other team scores,” Virginia coach Lars Tiffany said. “Justin transferred in and what a wonderful, wonderful present it has been for the team and the coaching staff to have someone get us the ball after a score.”
Most face-off players are grinders and that’s what the coach calls Schwenk. But he goes even a step further.
“Justin does what’s needed to get us the ball, even fighting through injuries,” Tiffany said. “He does whatever it takes to get it. He’s such a huge help for our system which is to play fast lacrosse.”
Last year as a freshman at Monmouth, Schwenk was named Middle Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year and was a secondteam All-MAAC selection. He had 77 ground balls and won 164 face-offs.
This year’s Cavaliers are ranked 13th in the country with a 9-4 record and stood 1-3 in the tough ACC after an 18-13 loss to No. 3-ranked Duke on April 14.
The senior was named North Coast Athletic Conference Golfer of the Week on April 9 after a big effort with the Wittenberg women’s team at Ohio Wesleyan’s Laura Bump Invitational on April 7-8 in Ostrander, OH. Hopkinson-Wood, from Pottstown, tied a program record with a four-under-par 68 in the opening round and came back with a one-over 73 for a 141 total to take medalist honors by 10 strokes. It was the 14th time in her career that she has taken top honors in the tournament. She followed that up by posting a 76 to miss medalist honors by three strokes at the Ashland Invitational April 14 in Ashland, OH. The tourney was cut a day short because of the weather. ANAMARIE BRUNI (PERKIOMEN VALLEY) » The speedy sophomore center fielder is seeing action with the South Florida softball team, the Bulls 31-16 overall and in first place in the American Athletic Conference at 9-3 after splitting a league doubleheader against Tulsa on April 15 in Tulsa, OK. Bruni is hitting .233 (17for-73) with two runs batted in and 13 runs scored. She’s reached safely on 11 of 13 stolen base attempts. In the outfield, she has made just one error on 37 chances (.973). She hit .287 in 53 games and 43 starts as a freshman. EMILY OLTMAN (PERKIOMEN VALLEY) » The sophomore has pitched in 19 games with 13 starts for the Rider softball team, the Broncs 12-12 overall and 5-5 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference after going 4-0 in league play April 1314. Oltman picked up the victory in a 7-3 triumph over St. Peter’s on April 14 in Lawrenceville, N.J. She worked four innings in relief and gave and didn’t give up a hit or a run with a walk and six strikeouts. On the season, Oltman is 4-6 with a 5.53 earned run average. In 68.1 innings, she’s given up 62 hits and 52 runs, 44 earned with 64 walks and team-high 67 strikeouts. MATT MESSERLE (SPRINGFORD) » The senior had a big game in goal for the Goucher men’s lacrosse team in a 6-5 Landmark Conference victory over Catholic last Wednesday in Towsend, Md. The 5-foot8, 160-pounder had 17 saves including a key one with 20 seconds left in the game. He also led the Gophers, 8-6 overall and 2-2 in league play, with eight ground balls. He’s started all 14 games and has given up 126 goals with 160 saves. He had a season-high 19 saves in an 11-4 loss to Coast Guard on March 10 and 18 saves in a 14-8 setback to Gettysburg on Feb.21. CALVIN ENDY (OWEN J. ROBERTS) » The 6-foot-3 freshman right-hander is 2-3 with a 2.12 earned run in seven games and six starts for the Delaware Valley baseball team which is 8-14 overall and 3-7 in MAC Freedom play. In 34 innings, he’s given up 32 hits and 16 runs, eight earned, with 16 walks and a teamhigh 34 strikeouts Endy was hit with the loss in an 8-4 loss to Eastern on April 14 in St. Davids. He started and gave up six hits and five runs, three earned, with two walks in 4.1 innings of work. MARIE VALENTI (BOYERTOWN) » The junior midfielder and her Navy teammates showed off their defensive side of the game when the Midshipmen defeated rival Army 20-7 on April 14 in West Point, N.Y. and American 24-5 last Wednesday in Washington, D.C. That’s the sixth time that the defense has held foes under 10 goals this season. The 5-foot-9 Valenti is second on the team in ground balls with 35 and leads in caused turnovers with 25. Navy, ranked 11th in Division I, is 12-3 overall and 6-1 and in second place in the Patriot League. MEGAN STAUFFER (METHACTON) » The sophomore right-hander pitched her best game of the season to lead the Monmouth softball team to a 2-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference victory over St. Peter’s on April 13 in West Long Branch, N.J. She pitched a seven-inning complete game, giving up just two hits with no walks and four strikeouts. Stauffer has pitched in 17 games with seven starts and three complete games. She has a 4.47 earned run average, working 58 innings and giving up 74 hits and 41 runs, 37 earned, with 21 walks and 17 strikeouts. DAN DOWNS (DANIEL BOONE) » The 6-foot-5 senior middle hitter was named to the Allegheny Mountain Athletic Conference first team for his play with the Penn State Altoona men’s volleyball team. He led the Lions in kills (246), total blocks (83 with 43 solos) and points (320.5). He also had 57 digs and 11 service aces to help the team post a 16-13 overall record. The Lions competed primarily in the North Eastern Athletic Conference and lost to Lancaster Bible 3-0 in the league semifinals on April 14 in Lancaster. Downs had eight kills in the match. MARIEL TUCKER (OWEN J. ROBERTS) » The 5-foot-6 junior sat in the No. 2 seat with the Temple women’s rowing team’s Varsity 4 boat that earned a bronze medal at the Kerr Cup Regatta April 14 on Lake Mercer in West Windsor, N.J. The boat finished in 7:42.03 just behind Penn and Boston College. The Owls took their heat with a time of 7:41.22 and then finished first in the semifinals with a time of 7:39.19, beating out Boston College, HarvardRadcliffe, George Washington, Kansas and Connecticut. AMANDA LOAR (BOYERTOWN) » The speedy senior outfielder hit her first collegiate home run to help the Lock Haven softball team defeat Mansfield 8-0 in the first game of a PSAC Central doubleheader last Wednesday in Mansfield. She had two hits, a run and an RBI in an 8-0 second-game victory as the Bald Eagles moved to 24-10 overall and 12-0 in league play. Loar is hitting .302 (29-for-96) with three doubles, 22 runs scored and 17 runs batted in. She’s also stolen nine bases and has made just one error on 44 chances (.977) in left field.