Holy Crap! It’s Freeman Hrabowski riding a Unicorn in a meadow while shooting rainbows out of his hands!!!

Last March Kurowski was left completely off the all-conference teams, despite averaging nearly 13 points per game and six rebounds per game.  It was no surprise to see first-team All-AEC guard Chantell Alford be an unanimous selection, along with Binghamton’s Andrea Holmes and Stony Brook’s Kirsten Jeter, who have been dominant since coming into the AEC, but despite having played just two seasons Kurowski is the second-leading active scorer in the AEC.

Kurowski should be due for a much bigger season as both Carlee Cassidy (13.3 ppg) and Katie Brooks (8.3 ppg) now gone as she is likely the go-to-scorer on the team now.

Men’s Pre-Season Poll:
1. Boston U 62 (6)
2. Stony Brook 57 (2)
3. Maine 51 (1)
4. New Hampshire 41
5. Vermont 35
6. Hartford 24
7. Binghamton 23
8. Albany 22
9. UMBC 9

Points (First places votes)

Men’s All-Conference Team:
Greer Wright, Binghamton*
John Holland, Boston U*
Jake O’Brien, Boston U
Gerald McLemore, Maine
Evan Fjeld, Vermont

*unanimous selection

Women’s Coaches Poll:
1. Boston U 64 (8)
2. Hartford 56 (1)
3. Binghamton 50
4. Stony Brook 39
5. UMBC 37
6. Vermont 30
7. Albany 18
8. Maine 17
9. New Hampshire 13

Women’s All-Conference Team:
Andrea Holmes, Binghamton*
Chantell Alford, Boston U*
Kirsten Jeter, Stony Brook*
Mo Moran, Boston U
Alex Young, Boston U
Jackie Smith, Hartford
Denise Beliveau, New Hampshire

Further coverage of these will be featured in The Retriever Weekly, Volume 45, Issue 8.

Categories:

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Best Local Band:

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UMBC may not have a reputation for being the sportiest campus around, but not showing the Ravens Monday night game in the Sports Zone of the Commons is just baffling.

When I walked up to the Sports Zone with just a few minutes remaining before kickoff I was expecting to see the 80 inch projector screen showing the pre-game with a handful of Ravens fans sitting at the tables watching.  But to my surprise when I walk up there is no projector screen, no Ravens fans, no game.  Instead there is a gathering of several fraternity members.

So where on campus was this game being shown?  The first floor of Flat Tuesdays, on three 22 inch televisions with barely enough seating to fit 20 people.

Why not just change the name of the Sports Zone to “the lounge”?  It will be far more fitting.  The only thing that remotely relates the Sports Zone to sports is that they have a few lacrosse sticks and basketball jersey’s hanging up on the walls.  Otherwise there are no sports, pretty much ever.

Ravens games, Orioles games, heck even Wizards games should be shown their every night.  If you go in the Sports Zone throughout the day it’s not ESPN being shown on the two flat screen televisions on the walls, it’s CNN.  The only thing that could be considered to be a sport shown on the televisions on a regular basis in the Sports Zone is Monday Night Raw, which is not a sport- it’s a show.

When UMBC plays a televised road game, it’s not shown, no matter what sport.  When the Ravens play, it’s rarely shown.  The one time it was shown last year the game nearly ran past midnight (closing time of the commons) and the staff was threatening to kick students out before the end of the game.

And try finding a person who has the authority to change the channel on the televisions, they don’t exist.  You can ask to watch the Orioles game, but you won’t get it.

With 16 goals and 19 assists senior Kyle Wimer led the Retrievers in points and extended his scoring streak to 31 straight games. Wimer moved into 15th place in UMBC history with 133 career points. He was one of just four unanimous selections for the All-AEC team.

Joining Wimer on the first team were three other seniors. Matt Latham earned his first first-team selection after being a second team pick the last two years. This year he led UMBC with 25 goals, 16 of which came in conference play. He has 86 career goals, and was second in the nation in shooting percentage, scoring 25 times in 47 shots (53.2%).

After struggling as a junior, Maxx Davis reinvented himself as a defensive midfielder and earned first team honors as a short stick midfielder. His 31 ground balls is second on the team but excelled on both sides of the ball with six goals and 7 assists. He scored three, including a game-winning overtime goal, against University of Vermont.

Matt Kresse has been an overshadowed defender for the majority of his career but has been one of the most consistent ones in the conference four four years. He has started 49 of 60 in his career and picked up 12 ground balls and caused six turnovers this year. Against University of Hartford he scored his first career goal off his first career shot.

On the second team was senior long-stick midfielder Mike Camardo, who was second in the nation with 2.91 per game. His totals of 47 ground balls and 35 caused turnovers both led the team. He also scored one goal and two assists as the defensive long-stick midfielders.

Midway through the season freshman Nick Doub was moved into the first midfield unit, replacing Bobby Stockton, who led the team with 12 goals after six games. His polished game and good passing ability kept him on the unit and he scored four goals and two assists as a freshman. Because of his efforts he was named to the AEC All-rookie team.

Finally, while on the field accomplishment are very impressive, Chris Jones earned his third straight selection to the AEC All-Academic team after maintaining a 3.45 GPA as an economics major. His four goals and one assist this year put him over the 50-point plateau for his career.

Ever since Governor O’Malley implemented budget cuts, Maryland universities have had to scramble to make some adjustments in utilities, such as classes and awards. Aside from lessening faculty morale, UMBC has not suffered much impact, according to UMBC’s Vice President of Research, Dr. Geoffrey Summers.

The University receives most of its research funding from other sources besides the state. Last year UMBC received approximately 88.8 million in funding, 48.7 million of which was federal funding. 26.5 million, nearly half of the federal funding, comes from NASA. In fact, UMBC remains in the top three universities in the country that receives grants from NASA. The funds support UMBC’s Goddard Earth Science and Technology Center (GEST), Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET), and Center for Space Science and Technology (CSST). These three centers together brought in more than $31,000,000 in 2009.

After NASA, the second largest sponsor alternates yearly between the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Other sponsors include the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Department of Defense, and the U.S. Department of Education.

The academic departments that currently receive the most research funding include Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, as well as Biological Sciences and Chemistry. Many other departments also receive substantial external funding.

This alternative funding was not left unscathed. Foundations have been funding less than previously due to the drop in the value of their assets and the resulting loss of income. Many corporations have been hit hard by the recession, affecting their ability to sponsor research. For example, these outside sources put funds toward sponsored activities such as the Hilltop Institute and the Shriver Center Choice program, “a community-based, family-centered case management approach to delinquency prevention and youth development.” The Shriver Center Choice program was dropped last year due to depleted funds caused by the nation-wide economic recession, which Summers believes had a more drastic effect on research funding. “[Although] UMBC received an approximated total of $15,000,000 from Maryland State agencies last year, it has seen a decline in funding from non-Federal sources such as foundations and corporations-many [of which] have seen their funding drastically cut this year,” Summers explains.

The Facilities and Administrative costs on these grants and contracts are used to help further support the research efforts on campus. Last year this amounted to approximately $13,000,000. Half of these funds go to the general fund and are used among other activities to help support the research infrastructure such as the Office of Contract and Grant Accounting and Office of Sponsored Programs. The other half of the indirect costs are called Designated Research Initiative Funds (DRIF). They are used to start up funds for new faculty, support the library, fund undergraduate research, and support departmental research, says Summers.

Despite the economy’s harmful effects on UMBC’s research funding, Summers continues to hold high hopes for the future. “UMBC research funding from Federal sources continues to grow and has compensated for the loss of funding from other sources, so UMBC is expected to increase overall sponsored research funding again this year in spite of the economy,” he concludes.

Jessica Ji, Rosalyn Chirayath, Sekinah Hassan, Morgan Russo, and Tehmeena Hassan were elected to the Finance Board. Also, Chidiebele Agha, Vikram Bambawale, Sumit Bose, Dylan Cook, Alexander Gaines, Gift Jayakar, Toby Le, Damani Lewis, Matthew McNey, Jasmine Batchelor, and Benjamin Smith who were appointed to the Senate.

All four referendums were passed as well. Referendum A aimed to “make more students eligible to serve in SGA” was the most closely contested with 59.5% of the votes for it, and 40.5% of the votes against it. The other referendums B, C and D were the SGA Non-discrimination Clause, SGA Finance Board Authority to Participate in Amending Guiding Documents and Approving Appointments, and SGA Supreme Court Restructuring respectively all passed with over 75% of the undergraduate vote.

UMBC had 23.8% of the Undergraduates Vote in the Student Elections, totaling in 2,368 votes, the second largest vote total ever for a UMBC SGA election. This total is greater than both University of Maryland College Park that had 17.8% and Towson University that had 13.3% of their undergraduate vote according to their campus websites.

Wimer leads UMBC with 30 points off 12 goals and a team high 18 assists. He was a pre-season first team All-American by Inside Lacrosse and currently leads the nation with a 29 straight game scoring streak.

Camardo has had another outstanding season with 38 ground balls and 3.2 caused turnovers per game, which ranks second in the nation. Last season he was the AEC Championship Most Outstanding Player and a Second-Team All-AEC selection.

Men’s Ballot

On the women’s side of lacrosse, Erika Braerman and Kate Quick have been nominated for the Women’s Lacrosse Fan’s Choice Player of the Year award.

Braerman leads UMBC with 29 goals and 21 assists for 50 points. She is second in the AEC in points per game and third in assists. She currently ranks fifth all-time for most assists in a season.

Quick, the First-Team All-Conference goalie, leads the stingiest defense in the AEC, which ranks 14th in the nation with just an 8.79 goals-against average. So far this season she has recorded 106 saves, 34 ground balls, and 15 caused turnovers.

Women’s Ballot

Atwell was a preseason third-team All-American despite missing all of the 2009 season with a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament, and said he felt 100 percent on the field in an interview with Alexander Pyles of examiner.com

Atwell played in the team’s first eight games, stayed home for the team’s trip to Binghamton, and officially left the team mid-week after that.

Coach Don Zimmerman declined to comment on Atwell’s decision to leave the team.