The Kings Point baseball team stands at 3-6 overall and 2-2 in the Knickerbocker Baseball Conference following two wins and a loss this past week. On March 24, the Mariners hosted the Valiants of Manhattanville in a Knickerbocker doubleheader and walked away with their first two Conference victories. In the first game, the Blue and Gray prevailed by a final score of 9-2. Kings Point opened up a 1-0 edge in the bottom of the second before the Valiants tied it (1-1) at the start of the third. The Mariners then scored two in the fourth to take a lead they never lost. Senior captain Mike Albritton (Tampa, FL) was the major contributor for the Mariners, both at the plate and on the mound. He threw a complete-game win, allowing three hits and two runs which were both unearned. Albritton walked three batters and struck out 15 in the game. At the plate, he was 3-3 with two runs scored and a stolen base. Senior Ken Graff (Dix Hills, NY), the other end of the winning battery at catcher, was 2-4 at the plate with a run and a stolen base.

In the second game, freshman pitcher Ben Earnest (Englewood, CO) threw a seven-inning shutout, allowing just two hits, as Kings Point won by a 5-0 score. He struck out six batters en route to the win. Sophomore shortstop Brian Kelly (Palm City, FL) went 3-4 at the plate, while freshman Dan Circelli (New Hartford, NY) and junior Josh Domingo (Omaha, NE) were 2-2. Kelly had an RBI double, and Circelli and Domingo each stole a base in the win.

On Sunday, March 25, Kings Point fell to the College of Staten Island on the road, 6-5. The Mariners jumped out to a 3-1 lead by the top of the third before the Dolphins came to the plate. Staten Island answered with two runs in the third and another in the fourth to regain the lead at 4-3. In the sixth, the Blue and Gray again took the edge with two runs, giving the visitors a 5-4 lead. The Dolphins tied it in the bottom of the sixth and then scored the winning run in the seventh to pull out the game, 6-5. Kelly went 2-5 in the game with a run scored and a double, while sophomore Jon Burnett (Helena, MT) was credited with the loss.

The Mariners' nine now owns a 2-8 overall record and a 2-2 mark in the Skyline Conference after an up-and-down week. The Blue and Gray began their season up north with two wins over SUNY Maritime on March 19, winning the first game, 16-3, and the second game, 16-4. In the first game, freshman pitcher Sandra Short (Richmond Hill, GA) won her first collegiate game in style, throwing a no-hitter and striking out six. Freshman Alison Martins (Severna Park, MD) and senior Lindsay Tullis (Portland, OR) were both 3-3 from the plate. Martins scored four runs and had three stolen bases while Tullis added two runs. Sophomore Mickey Stark (Fargo, ND) had a double as she went 2-3 to help Kings Point to the 16-3 victory.

In game #2, Kings Point was led at the plate by freshman Jena Jeffries (West Columbia, SC) and Martins who each went 2-3. Martins scored three runs, hit a double and stole a base. Jeffries tallied three runs and two RBI. Senior Malia Schoch (Kaneohe, HI) was 1-3 with a homerun and two RBI and sophomore Melannie Lovercheck (Jackson, WY) was 1-1 with a bases-loaded triple that scored three runs.

On Saturday, March 24 the team returned to Kings Point Park for their next two conference games against Mt. St. Mary. The Blue Knights were victorious in both outings but not without a strong fight from the Mariners. Mt. St Mary struck first, scoring twice in the first inning. The Mariners responded with four runs in the bottom of the first to take the lead. The two teams battled back and forth until the Blue Knights added a run in the fourth and three in the fifth to take an 8-4 advantage.The Blue and Gray had one more cross the plate in the fifth but it was not enough for the win. Stark was 3-4 with a double and two runs scored, while Schoch and Tullis were each 2-3. Tullis had two RBI and Schoch added one. Short was the Mariners' losing hurler as she threw the complete game allowing eight hits and striking out seven batters.

In the second game, Mt. St. Mary opened up a 9-3 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning. The Mariners were able to rally and drive in seven runs to take a 10-9 lead behind some solid hitting. In the comeback stretch, Jeffries hit a three-RBI triple, while Tullis, Stark, Schoch, Martins, and freshman Jeanne Klaine (Cincinnati, OH) each had singles. Despite the momentum shift to the Blue and Gray, the Blue Knights were able to tally some hits of their own and scored six runs in the seventh. The Mariners added one in the bottom of the seventh but it was not enough for the win as Mt. St. Mary held on, 15-11. Schoch went 4-4 at the plate with three runs and an RBI. Jeffries was 3-3 with the three-RBI triple , and sophomore centerfielder Aileen Villano (Sacramento, CA) was 2-3 with a run.

The Mariners played again the next day as they headed to New London, CT to face rival Coast Guard. Kings Point fell by scores of 8-0 and 12-2. In the first game, Kings Point was held three hits which were tallied by Martins, Tullis, and Short. In game #2, Klaine was 2-2 at the plate and Jeffries was 1-2 with an RBI double.

The Kings Point tennis team remained perfect last week with wins over Adelphi and SUNY New Paltz. The Mariners are now 3-0 in 2001. The team posted 6-3 victory over visiting Adelphi on March 23. Kings Point won four of six singles matches and took two of three in doubles. Freshman Jacob Swanson (Carrollton, TX), freshman Randall Reed (Brisbee, AL), junior Dan Bergin (Greenfield, WI), and sophomore Brantley Rushing (Alice, TX) all posted wins in singles at the #2, #4, #5, and #6 slots respectively. All but Rushing took three sets for their victories. Swanson dropped the first set of his match 3-6 but came back to win the next two sets 6-1 and 6-3. Reed won the first set, 6-3, lost the second, 5-7, and won the third, 6-4. Bergin fell in the first set, 4-6 and won the second set in a 7-6 tie-breaker to keep playing. In the third, he posted a 6-2 win to take the match. Rushing disposed of his Panther opponent, 6-2 and 6-1. Kings Point also got doubles wins from the #2 team of Swanson and Reed (6-4) and the #3 team of freshmen JR Guernsey (Achtabula, OH) and Aaron Lewis (Marble Falls, TX), who won 8-7.

On March 24, Kings Point again was victorious with a 7-2 win over visiting SUNY New Paltz. The Mariners had wins in every singles match but fell in two of three doubles matches. Swanson and Bergin each pulled out three-set wins at #1 and #5. Junior Akira Fujio-White (Hilo, HI), junior captain Todd Stallings (Louisburg, NC), Reed, and Rushing all were able to win their singles matches in two sets. Guernsey and Lewis added an 8-4 doubles win for the Mariners.

The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy's lacrosse team had a tough week beginning on Wednesday with a loss to the nation's third-ranked team in Division II, NY Tech, 11-2. The Mariners were kept off the scoreboard until the final quarter, while the Bears capitalized in the foul weather, amassing an 8-0 lead through the first three quarters of action.

Kings Point opened with two quick strikes in the first minute of the fourth quarter with goals by sophomore Jim Krantz and senior Doug Greaker. NY Tech answered with three more finishes to stretch the margin of victory to nine. unior Matt Hunter had 11 saves in the win for the Bears, while junior net minder Teague Murphy collected 15 saves in the cage for the Blue and Gray.

The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy's lacrosse team had their overall record on the season drop to 2-4 on Saturday after losing to Division III rival, Bates College, 13-5. The Bobcats, who had a slim 2-1 lead after the first quarter, busted the game open with four unanswered strikes in the second. Junior attacker Dave Frederick collected a game-high five points including the game's only hat trick for Bates in the win.

The Blue and Gray attack was led by sophomore Jim Krantz who fired 10 shots on net, beating the keeper twice. Krantz was also the defensive workhorse for the Mariners picking up a game-high 10 ground balls in the loss. Sophomore Mueli Dobbyn was spectacular in the cage, snagging 17 saves for the Bobcats. Kings Point net minder Teague Murphy had five saves for the Blue and Gray.

On the season, the Mariners offense has been paced by their top attack line featuring Ross Cutler, Nick Watts, and Phil Egge. Watts has accumulated 14 points on a team-high 11 goals. Cutler and Egge each have 11 assists and are the top two scorers on the team with 18 and 17 points respectively. Jim Krantz has added 12 points and has also been the defensive workhorse for Kings Point picking up 33 ground balls. Goalie Teague Murphy has played every minute of the season in the cage, making 66 saves and allowing 52 goals. The season statistics do not include the March 7 opener against Hampden-Sydney.

The United States Merchant Marine Academy's track and field team opened the outdoor season in spectacular fashion by finishing second overall out of 15 teams at the Montclair State Invitational. The weight crew were the heroes of the day scoring in every throwing event including a sweep of the top three spots in the hammer throw.

Leading the way for Kings Point was sophomore Tim McLaughlin who took first place in both the discus and the hammer throw. Senior Mike Messenger also had a strong day in the field, taking second in the hammer and ending the discus competition in the fourth position. Sophomore Steve Hohenshelt and freshman Kyle Franklin made significant contributions in the throwing events as well. Hohenshelt registered a third-place finish in both the shot put and the hammer throw, while Franklin finished third in the discus and sixth in the hammer. On the women's side junior Kara Babb secured the second spot in the hammer throw.

The performances on the track suffered slightly due to 25-mile per hour winds and a steady, cold rain. However, despite the sloppy conditions the Mariners had several runners produce solid efforts. In the 800m, freshmen Chris Kapfer and Ryan Ripley crossed the line in 2:03.8 and 2:05.0 respectively, good enough for the fifth and sixth spots overall. Freshman sprinter Todd Hoyt also battled through the tough racing conditions and managed a fifth-place finish in the 100m dash with a time of 10.98.

The men's volleyball team began the week on Wednesday by improving to 13-10 overall and 8-6 in the NECVA with a 3-1 win over the visiting Hunter College Hawks. It was the Mariners fifth straight victory. Kings Point won by scores of 30-21, 25-30, 30-23, and 31-29.

On offense, sophomore captain Ray Harmer (Bridgewater, NJ) had a stellar day with 16 kills while junior captain Kevin Kirschhoffer (Monroe, NY) had 14 kills. Junior Dave Van Duzee (Saugus, CA)tallied 35 assists while freshman libero Chris Harkins (Bellmore, NY) added 17 digs.

The Mariners had their winning streak come to a grinding halt on Saturday with a 3-0 loss to NECVA power Johnson and Wales. The Wildcats won the match with game scores of 30-25, 30-21, and 30-21. The Kings Point attack was led by junior Kevin Kirschhoffer, who collected 11 kills. Defensively, the Blue and Gray was led by Dave Van Duzee and Chris Harkins. Van Duzee recorded 20 helpers and 15 digs, while Harkins totaled a team-high 19 digs.