The Blazer Times

Our student-athletes continue to make us proud on the field/track, and in the classroom. Please take a minute to review all of their accomplishments and the exciting news we have to share about the future of Hood athletics!

Keith Claiborne Jr. of the men's basketball program represented Hood at the 2019 Mid-Atlantic Regional Commissioner's Association (MARCA) Ethnic Minority Careers in Athletics Symposium (EMCAS). The symposium is developed annually for students who are aspiring to or just beginning a career in athletics. This program aims to enrich participants' skills, expand their professional network and promote the recruitment and retention of ethnic minorities within athletics, including the intercollegiate setting.

Participants gain knowledge from a variety of interactive discussion sessions through various topics. They will also network with peers, coaches and administrative staff.

The Blazers went 25-13-1 on this season and posted a 15-6 record in conference to win the regular season championship and earn the No. 1 seed in the MAC Commonwealth tournament. Senior Nate Luscombe was named the MAC Commonwealth Pitcher of the Year and Jordan Patterson earned All-D3baseball.com All-Mid-Atlantic Region. Coach Mike Impellittiere took home the conference's Coach of the Year Award, while Brad Sawyer, Nathan Kessler and Dylan Beck joined Luscombe and Patterson on the all-conference team.

The Hood College men's golf team had the second-best scoring average in program history, on its way to a fifth-place finish at the conference championships. Andrew Heon (80.8) and Sam Driscoll (81.4) each finished with averages in the Blazers' top seven all-time. Alex Polidoro finished 12th at the conference championships, shooting a 77 on the second day.

The Blazers had the best showing in the program's short history, finishing seventh at the MAC Championships in a field of 13 institutions that sponsor the sport. Jenna Frick turned in the best season average (95.2) in the program's four years and shot seven of the 10 best rounds in school history this season.

A year after tying the school record for wins, the Blazers won a school-record 10 games in 2019. Bentley LeBarron was named to the All-MAC Commonwealth Second Team, with Grayson Zubradt picking up his third all-conference honor. Zubradt and fellow senior Zak Kooser rewrote the program records for goals, points and assists. Zubradt holds the records for goals and points, while Kooser holds the assist mark. In addition to Kooser and Zubradt, senior Eddie Somerville also reached 100 points in his career.

Hood's women's lacrosse team won a program-record nine games in 2019. The Blazers placed three student-athletes on the All-MAC Commonwealth team. Nikki Lunn and Rachel Slater were tabbed with second-team accolades, while Danielle Holt picked up an honorable mention. Slater set school records with 26 assists, 71 points and 89 draw controls this season, setting the career records for assists. Lunn became the program's all-time leader in caused turnovers with 68. Holt was third in the league in save percentage and fourth in goals-against average. Senior Kara Phoubandith had her season cut short but not before setting Hood's record for points in a career with 172, two more than Slater.

The Hood College softball team opened the season with a 3-3 mark on the Blazers' spring break trip to Florida. Hood was the youngest team in the MAC Commonwealth, using as many as seven first-year student-athletes in the starting lineup. The Blazers picked up a late-season doubleheader sweep over Frostburg State in the Bobcats' final season before moving to Division II. Senior Kaitlin Barron was named to the All-MAC Commonwealth team after the season.

The 2018-19 season was a rebuilding effort for the Blazers. The top doubles duo of Jorden Hahn and Ben DeLeo scored a pair of conference wins for Hood. Hahn and newcomer Dom Spinuzzi added MAC Commonwealth victories in singles play.

The Hood College women's tennis team started the spring portion of the season with four-straight wins, including a victory over Division II Shippensburg. Megan Carter was voted the MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year after going 10-1 at first singles. Skylar Wright joined her on the all-conference team, forming the other half of a doubles pairing that went 8-4 together on the season.

AJ Lewis of the men's track and field program won the long jump at the MAC Championships with a leap of 6,95 meters (22-9 3/4), just 0.01 meters (half an inch) farther than the second-place finisher. Fred Roberts set a program-record in the decathlon with a total of 5,235 points. Lewis and Evan Ellington went on to compete at the ECAC Championships.

The Hood College women's track and field program featured a roster without a senior in 2018-19 but got strong performances from all of the underclassmen. Nearly ever student-athlete had a personal record during the season and Danielle Pitts represented the Blazers at the ECAC Championships, placing sixth in the discus. Pitts was joined at the MAC Championships by Gretchen Young.

The Blazers added the Hoodie's to its awards programming in the spring and handed out MVP and Coaches awards for each program, as well as honoring most valuable players and rookies of the year for the entire athletic department. Juniors and seniors with at least a 3.4 cumulative grade point average were inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma and members of the MAC Fall Academic Honor Roll were presented with certificates.

Hood held its annual Senior Awards Banquet and handed awards to its senior student-athletes.

The Kim Servedio Award is given in honor of a former women's soccer player and honor student Kim Servedio, who passed away tragically in 1998. The award is given to a current male and female student-athlete who best embodies Kimmy's characteristics of sincerity, selflessness and optimism.

The Dean's Award is given to a current male and female student-athlete who has shown an unparalleled commitment to the student body through involvement in extracurricular activities and has demonstrated outstanding service to the Hood College athletic department.

The President's Award is given to a current male and female student-athlete who has distinguished him/herself throughout their Hood College careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletic excellence, service, and leadership.

Pictured above are the Most Outstanding Senior Athletes Rachel Slater and Grayson Zubradt, who repeated their honors after earning the department-wide MVP honors.

A total of 34 student-athletes took home awards in various departments at Hood's Honors Convocation in April.

Among the awards presented was the White Blazer Award, established by the athletic department. It honors one male and female student-athletes from the senior class in recognition of outstanding academic accomplishments, significant contributions to the community and excellence in intercollegiate athletics. This award is grounded in a rich Hood tradition when a single member of each graduating class from 1921 to 1969 was honored as a White Blazer Girl for outstanding achievements in academics and athletics. This year's recipients are Nate Luscombe, baseball and Hailey Poisal, field hockey.

A 2014 graduate of Hood College, Chelsea is using her experience as a former student-athlete by coaching and doing personal training. Chelsea earned her CrossFit Level 1 certification, and in addition to coaching she competes as an athlete in CrossFit around the world--most recently placing first in Maryland for the CrossFit Open.

For her full-time job, Chelsea is working as a marketing coordinator in Baltimore, but with her wedding approaching she is going to make a transition to North Carolina where she hopes to expand her coaching and MOD Nutrition. In 2018, Chelsea was the winner of the Hood Pitch competition, for her nutritious meal prep pick up and delivery strategy.

The Hood College Student-Athlete Advisory Committee produced the video below about the benefits of playing Division III athletics as part of the NCAA's Division III Week this spring.

Members of the athletic department joined other departments on campus to "Bring a Broom" Frederick.

The Hood College women's soccer team is taking a summer tour in France, June 7-15. The Blazers will tour Paris, including the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, the Eiffel Tower, the Champs-Élysées, Versailles, Nice and Monaco. Hood will play friendlies against Creteil, OGC Nice, ACBB. The trip coincides with the FIFA Women's World Cup in France, allowing the Blazers to take in the USA vs. Thailand and France vs. Norway matches.

Hood announced this spring that esports will be added as a club sport in fall 2019, joining equestrian as an active club sport within the athletic department.

You heard it here first, Chris Leonard will be formally announced as the program's first head coach later this month.

Esports, also known as electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. They are commonly multiplayer games involving strategy and skill. The popularity of esports is a phenomenon in the technology industry and sporting platforms such as ESPN are devoting time on their media outlets, including live television.

Do you have a child looking to improve their skills this summer? If so, please sign up for one of our several sport camps offered this summer! Please click on the link below for more information.

Over the summer, we will be installing new turf, a new permanent and enclosed press box, pole vault pit, and a discus ring and cage.

On September 27, we will be hosting our annual golf tournament. This year, we have moved our tournament site to PB Dye in Ijamsville, Maryland. Parents, alumni and fans, please help us meet our fundraising goal by either playing in our tournament or by sponsoring a hole. We would certainly appreciate your support! To sign up, please click on the link below.