Great Danes aim for Spring Success
ALBANY, N.Y. (March 7, 2023) — The spring sports season is under way at UAlbany and the Great Dane student athletes are aiming for success.
But as baseball, softball, track and field, golf and lacrosse seasons are starting, the women’s basketball team has its sights set on continuing its season a little longer.
On Friday, the Great Danes travel to Burlington, Vt., to take on the University of Vermont Catamounts in the America East Championship game. The game tips off at 5 p.m. and will air on ESPNU, with the winner earning a spot in the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament. The Great Danes are the defending champions, having defeated Maine in last year’s America East title game.
Lacrosse seasons under way
Meanwhile, the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams have started their nonleague campaigns with early season contests against nationally ranked opponents such as Syracuse, Cornell and Johns Hopkins. On Monday, Sarah Falk was honored with the Great Danes’ third consecutive America East Player of the Week award, following teammate Katie Pascale’s back-to-back honors. Now 3-3 overall, the women take on No. 18 Stanford in California on Sunday. The Great Danes start conference play with their next home game on Saturday, March 25 against Vermont. The game starts at noon on John Fallon Field.
The men’s lacrosse team plays its next game against UMass this afternoon at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium. The game starts at 3 p.m. and will air on ESPN+. The Great Danes host No. 4 Maryland on Saturday at noon at Casey Stadium, before beginning their America East campaign on March 18 against UMass Lowell. On Feb. 25, longtime head coach Scott Marr won his 200th game with the Great Danes as UAlbany knocked off Drexel, 11-7.
The Drexel victory “was the number one victory for this team, which is really all we’re concerned about,” said Marr after the game. “The 200 for me, personally, shows how many wonderful people I've been around for 23 years.”
Marr recognized his former athletes, coaches and administrators who helped him achieve the historic milestone.
Track and Field Set for invitationals
The women’s and men’s track and field teams are readying for events in Orlando, Puerto Rico, Philadelphia and Albany this spring as the outdoor campaign starts on March 17.
The teams just completed their indoor campaigns when competing in this past weekend’s IC4A Indoor Championships, with the women’s distance relay team placing third and the men’s 4x800 team taking the title at the event. Next up for track and filed is the Black & Gold Invitational in Florida and the Spring Break Classic in Puerto Rico, both beginning March 17.
After events at UConn and UMass, the Great Danes will once again host the Bobbi Palma UAlbany Spring Classic at the University’s Track and Field Complex on April 22. The event is named in honor of Bobbi Palma, the first women’s track and field coach in the University’s history and part of the Greater Capital Region Track, Field, and Cross Country Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 2018.
Women’s Golf readies for MAAC Championship
The UAlbany women’s golf team plays a split season in the fall and spring, and the Great Danes were back on the course in February when they finished tied for 13th at the Columbia Classic in Melbourne Florida.
Up next for the team is the Sacred Heart Spring Classic, followed by the Georgia State Spring Invitational and the St. John’s Spring Intercollegiate. The season concludes at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships starting Friday, April 21 in Orlando.
Baseball, softball take to the diamond
The baseball and softball teams have also started their spring seasons. The baseball team has played series against Hofstra and Fairleigh Dickinson, with a midweek matchup against Central Connecticut State up next. The America East season begins with a three-game series starting March 24 against UMBC at Varsity Field. The Great Danes also host their regular season series finale against NJIT starting May 18.
The Softball team travels to Dover, Del., next for a set of four games against Delaware State and Drexel. The Great Danes play Delaware State at 1 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. on Sunday, followed by games against Drexel at 3 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The team hosts their first games at UAlbany in a doubleheader on Saturday, March 25 at UAlbany Field against America East foe UMass Lowell.