TOWSON, Md. - Junior Devin Grimaldi posted his first career hat trick, and senior Andrew Wascavage added a season-high 20 saves as Towson (7-5, 3-0 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA)) defeated UMass (5-6, 0-3 CAA), 9-5, on Saturday afternoon at Unitas Stadium.

After a first quarter where neither team scored, Towson ran out to a 6-1 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter on goals from six different players. Grimaldi tallied two of his three goals early in the fourth quarter – insurance Towson needed later when UMass closed the game on a furious three-goal run.

Sophomore Greg Cuccinello tied his career high with two goals. Sophomores Rob Zoppo, Cory Dobyns and Ben McCarty and junior Thomas DeNapoli each posted a goal for the Tigers. Wascavage’s 20 saves are a season high and fell one short of his career high. UMass had five different players - Kyle Smith, Matt Whippen, Connor Mooney, Colin Fleming and Will Manny - score goals. Zach Oliveri made 10 saves in net for the Minutemen.

For just the third time all season, Towson got on the board first. Dobyns took a behind the head shot off a pass from Grimaldi at 12:40 in the second quarter. Smith took advantage of an extra-man opportunity at 6:02 in the second when the Tigers were called for a 30-second hold, but Towson then scored five unanswered goals to take its 6-1 lead.

Whippen stopped the Tigers’ run with an unassisted goal at 1:38. However, Grimaldi scored back-to-back and Cuccinello added his second when he ripped a shot past Oliveri, beating the goal high left. UMass began its comeback with 5:03 left in the game on a goal from Manny. Mooney and Fleming added their tallies at 4:21 and 3:30 in the fourth, respectively, but the effort fell short.

The Tigers return to action on Saturday, April 13 when they travel to University Park to face No. 13 Penn State.

NOTES: Grimaldi’s hat trick was the first of his career … his four points on the day were a career high … Towson is 3-0 when scoring first this season … the last time the Tigers were 3-0 in the CAA was 2010 … Towson’s win snaps UMass’ three-game win streak in the series … this is the fourth straight game the Tigers have limited their opponent to less than nine goals and fifth time in the last six games … Juniors Thomas DeNapoli and Andrew Hodgson and senior Andrew Wascavage continued streaks – DeNapoli and Hodgson each have a point in 13 consecutive games, while Wascavage has made 10+ saves in 13 straight contests.

College Men’s Lacrosse: Towson 9, UMass 5
UMass (5-6, 0-3 CAA) 0-1-1-3/5
Towson (7-5, 3-0 CAA) 0-2-4-3/9

GOALS: UMASS – Smith, Whippen, Mooney, Fleming, Manny; TOW – Grimaldi 3, Cuccinello 2, Zoppo, DeNapoli, Dobyns, McCarty. ASSISTS: UMASS – Smith, Sokol; TOW – Zoppo 2, Grimaldi, Hodgson. SAVES: UMASS – Oliveri (10, 60:00, 9 GA); TOW – Wascavage (20, 60:00, 5 GA). SHOTS: UMASS – 40, TOW – 35. GROUND BALLS: UMASS – 25, TOW – 20. FACE-OFFS: UMASS – 13-18; TOW – 5-18. CLEARS: UMASS – 12-12; TOW – 22-25. EMO: UMASS – 2-3; TOW – 0-2. ATT: 1027.

TOWSON, Md. - On Saturday morning, the Tigers held their full scrimmage of the spring season and Coach Rob Ambrose was encouraged by most of what he saw.

“Considering it was the first time that we played 11-on-11 football since last November at New Hampshire, it wasn’t too bad,” said Coach Ambrose. “We have a lot of guys that we need to evaluate and this was a great opportunity to see them play.

“This was ‘real deal’ football,” he added. “We ran 90-to-100 plays and they were much-needed. We had a chance to play as 11 and it was encouraging.”

While he was pleased with most of the team’s performance, Ambrose admitted he was very disappointed in the play of his quarterbacks. Peter Athens, Joe Brennan and Connor Frazier have been battling for the starting position and none of them has stepped up to claim the job.

“We have been very disappointed with the play of the quarterbacks – all of them,” said Ambrose. “We expect better. We need to find someone who can move the ball consistently and run the offense with confidence. But, we’ve got a lot of practices to figure that out.”

The Tigers will resume their spring practice schedule on Tuesday morning at 5:30 a.m.

Opening Face-Off
Both teams are coming off a 7-6 decision last week. Towson defeated then-No. 15 Hofstra at home on Saturday, while UMass fell at St. Joseph’s. The game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. and can be heard live on the Towson Sports Network on www.towsontigers.com with Spiro Morekas and former Tiger midfielder Hunter Lochte calling the action. 

Updating the Tigers
Towson won its third-straight game on Saturday with the 7-6 victory over Hofstra. Senior Andrew Wascavage made a season-best 19 saves and junior Andrew Hodgson and sophomore Justin Mabus each scored four points in the win. Thomas DeNapoli leads the CAA in goals per game (2.55) and is third in points per game (3.45). Wascavage’s 13.82 saves per game rank first in the league and his .608 save percentage is third. 

Last Time Out vs. UMass – May 2, 2012 (No. 1 UMass 10, Towson 3)
Towson finished its season in the CAA semifinals against then- No. 1 UMass with a 10-3 loss. The Minutemen kept the Tigers off the board until 2:50 in the third quarter, scoring six goals themselves. Sean Maguire, Matt Lamon and Andrew Hodgson each scored a goal for Towson. Justin Mabus led the Tigers with two assists. Art Kell (3) and Colin Fleming (4) had hat tricks for UMass, and Will Manny totaled five assists. Andrew Wascavage made 11 saves for Towson, while Tim McCormack stopped eight shots for UMass.
Towson-UMass Series History
Although this series began in 1963, it is a short one. After UMass claimed a 7-3 win on March 28, 1963, the Minutemen and the Tigers did not play again until 2010. Towson won both games played that season, but UMass has won the last three consecutive meetings by a combined score of 33-14.

Towson-UMass By the Numbers

BENIMON NAMED AP HONORABLE MENTION ALL-AMERICAN
Towson Junior Listed Among the Nation’s Best Players

TOWSON, Md. – Towson University junior forward Jerrelle Benimon added to his list of postseason accomplishments on Tuesday when he was selected as an Honorable Mention All-American by The Associated Press.

The All-America honor is the first of Benimon’s career, while he is the third Tiger to earn the accolade. Towson standout Devin Boyd earned AP All-America status in 1991, a year after Kurk Lee was honored.

Benimon, who was also recently named a Lou Henson All-American, ranked second in the nation with 20 double-doubles. The 6-8 forward was the fourth leading scorer in the Colonial Athletic Association with 17.1 points per game and reached double figures in 27 of 31 outings.

The 2013 CAA Player of the Year, Benimon led the conference and ranked third in the nation with 11.2 rebounds per game and his 346 rebounds set a Towson single-season record. It was the sixth-highest rebound total in a season in CAA history. Showing his all-around game, Benimon was also third in the conference in blocked shots (1.9 bpg) and fourth in field goal percentage (53.3 percent) while leading Towson with 79 assists.

Led by Benimon and head coach Pat Skerry, Towson is coming off its most successful season since 1993. The Tigers, who went 18-13 overall and finished second in the CAA, recorded the largest single-season turnaround in NCAA history during the 2012-13 season. Towson returns four of five starters next season, including Benimon.

2013 ASSOCIATED PRESS DIVISION I ALL-AMERICA FIRST TEAM
Trey Burke, Michigan
Otto Porter Jr., Georgetown
Victor Oladipo, Indiana
Doug McDermott, Creighton
Kelly Olynyk, Gonzaga

2013 ASSOCIATED PRESS DIVISION I ALL-AMERICA SECOND TEAM
Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State
Cody Zeller, Indiana
Mason Plumlee, Duke
Shane Larkin, Miami
Ben McLemore, Kansas

2013 ASSOCIATED PRESS DIVISION I ALL-AMERICA THIRD TEAM
DeShaun Thomas, Ohio State
Jeff Withey, Kansas
Russ Smith, Louisville
Erick Green, Virginia Tech
Nate Wolters, South Dakota State

2013 ASSOCIATED PRESS DIVISION I ALL-AMERICA HONORABLE MENTION
Kyle Barone, Idaho; Jerrelle Benimon, Towson; Anthony Bennett, UNLV; Tommy Brenton, Stony Brook; Sherwood Brown, Florida Gulf Coast; Isaiah Canaan, Murray State; Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia; Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse; Ian Clark, Belmont; Jake Cohen, Davidson; Jack Cooley, Notre Dame; D.J. Cooper, Ohio; Allen Crabbe, California; Aaron Craft, Ohio State; Seth Curry, Duke; Matthew Dellavedova, Saint Mary’s; Gorgui Dieng, Louisville; James Ennis, Long Beach State; Chris Flores, NJIT; Jamal Franklin, San Diego State; Ian Hummer, Princeton; Colton Iverson, Colorado State; Joe Jackson, Memphis; Kareem Jamar, Montana; Lamont Jones, Iona; Ray McCallum, Detroit; Rodney McGruder, Kansas State; Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA; Erik Murphy, Florida (1 first-team vote); Mike Muscala, Bucknell; Stan Okoye, VMI; Jamal Olasewere, LIU Brooklyn; Phil Pressey, Missouri; Augustine Rubit, South Alabama; Peyton Siva, Louisville (1); Taylor Smith, Stephen F. Austin; Omar Strong, Texas Southern; Kendall Williams, New Mexico; Pendarvis Williams, Norfolk State; Khalif Wyatt, Temple.

Honorable Mention: Auto Racing-NASCAR STP Gas Booster 500 (Sunday 1pm from Martinsville, VA live on FOX), IndyCar Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama (Sunday 3pm from Birmingham live on NBC Sports Network); Golf: PGA Tour Valero Texas Open (Thursday & Friday 3pm live on Golf Channel, Saturday & Sunday 1pm live on Golf Channel 3pm live on NBC. All golf from San Antonio), LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship (Thursday & Friday 12pm & 6pm Saturday & Sunday 5pm from Rancho Mirage, CA live on Golf Channel); Women’s College Basketball: NCAA Tournament Elite 8-Notre Dame vs. Duke(Tuesday 7:05pm from Norfolk live on ESPN), Tennessee vs. Louisville (Tuesday 9:10pm from Oklahoma City live on ESPN); Final Four (Sunday TBA from New Orleans live on ESPN); Mixed Martial Arts: UFC on FUEL TV-Alexander Gustafsson vs. Gegard Mousasi (Saturday 11am from Stockholm, SWE live on FUEL TV); Bellator MMA (Thursday 10pm from Atlantic City live on SpikeTV)

10. Maroon 5/Neon Trees/Owl City (Wednesday 7:30pm Verizon Center); Green Day (Thursday 7:30pm Patriot Center); They Might Be Giants (Saturday 9pm Rams Head Live); Brigance Brigade Foundation Benefit feat. Charm City Devils/Loving The Lie (Saturday 8pm Baltimore Soundstage); Senses Fail (Friday 8pm Ottobar); Marc Broussard (Monday 8pm Rams Head on Stage); Meek Mill (Saturday 8pm Fillmore Silver Spring); Ozomatli (Wednesday 7pm 9:30 Club), Local Natives (Friday 8pm Saturday 7pm 9:30 Club), Black Crowes (Monday 7pm 9:30 Club); Carolina Chocolate Drops (Wednesday 7:30pm Birchmere); Macklemore & Ryan Lewis/Walk The Moon (Sunday George Washington University)

I like Charm City Devils. I LOVE supporting anything involving O.J. Brigance. Nice little Saturday night then.

Loving The Lie is another excellent Baltimore band playing the event Saturday night. I throw my support fully behind that.

Genuinely believe I’ve heard more about Local Natives in the last month than I’ve heard about U2 in my life. Pretty good reason for that.

I can get behind EVERYTHING about Carolina Chocolate Drops…

9. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Presents Dragons (Tuesday-Sunday 1st Mariner Arena); Jon Lovitz/Chris Kattan/Tim Meadows (Thursday 7:30pm Birchmere); Louis C.K. (Saturday 8pm & 10:30pm Meyerhoff Symphony Hall); Brian Regan (Friday 8pm Modell Performing Arts Center at The Lyric); Shawn & Marlon Wayans (Thursday-Sunday DC Improv); Craig Shoemaker (Thursday 8pm Baltimore Comedy Factory), Bret Ernst (Friday & Saturday Baltimore Comedy Factory); Rich Vos (Thursday-Saturday Magooby’s Joke House); “That Thing You Do!” available on Blu-Ray (Tuesday)

Don’t kill me for this, but I searched “That Thing You Do!” on YouTube and discovered this video of ‘N Sync performing the song over a decade ago. I could have ignored the video, but instead I shared it with you here.

Language, but nothing not to enjoy about Louis C.K…

(Continued on Page 2…)

Towson Receives Funding from Governor O’Malley’s Supplemental Budget to Address Title IX and Extend Decision Timeline on Baseball

[April 1, 2013] Towson, MD—Today Towson University received funding in the Governor’s FY14 Supplemental Budget to partially address both financial and federal Title IX issues surrounding last month’s decision to discontinue baseball and men’s soccer. Governor O’Malley has positioned this funding of $300,000 per year for two years to give Towson’s Division I baseball program and its supporters, a window of opportunity to raise necessary funds to become self-sufficient by Fall 2015.

“No leader seeks to make a decision to disappoint young people who have a passion, whether it’s a sport or an academic discipline.  I thank the Governor for helping Towson address this Title IX issue through his supplemental budget—a move only he could make,” said President Maravene Loeschke. “I am pleased that he heard my strong desire to not resolve this issue solely on the backs of students with a large student fee increase and I applaud his continued commitment to keep college affordable in Maryland.”

According to the supplemental budget released this afternoon, this additional $300,000 per year will go to Towson’s athletics operating budget “to provide funds to address the immediate issues with Federal Title IX compliance and equity for women’s scholarships and support services; assistance to explore the addition of another woman’s sport to meet proportionality requirements; and operating assistance to support baseball operations while the University community engages in an aggressive fundraising campaign to enable baseball to be self-sufficient in two years.”

The request comes after President Loeschke’s meeting with Governor O’Malley last week. Even with this additional funding, a student fee increase of 1 percent, plus an additional fundraising effort of at least $100,000 per year from baseball program supporters will be required to keep the program in operation.

Unfortunately, this additional funding does not include the reinstatement of men’s soccer at Towson.  In order to reach proportionality, federal Title IX law will require Towson Athletics to explore additional female athlete opportunities in the near future.

TOWSON, Md. - Senior goalkeeper Andrew Wascavage made a season-high 19 saves and sophomore Justin Mabus and junior Andrew Hodgson each scored four points as Towson men’s lacrosse (6-5, 2-0 CAA) claimed a 7-6 victory over No. 15 Hofstra (6-4, 1-2 CAA) on Saturday night at Unitas Stadium.

It was Towson’s first win over a ranked team this season and first at home since a 9-8 victory over then-No. 5 Brook on March 19, 2011. The Tigers have now won three straight games this season for the first time and two in a row against the Pride, dating back to the 10-9 double overtime win in Hempstead on March 31, 2012.

Wascavage faced 42 Hofstra shots on the evening, withstanding a late Pride charge and turning away eight shots in the final period. Hodgson and Mabus each had two goals and two assists for the Tigers, who took a sizable 7-4 lead with 6:43 remaining in the game on Mabus’ second tally of the evening. Hodgson’s four points were a career best, while Mabus also notched a personal best with two goals.

Adrian Sorichetti had a goal and an assist to lead the Pride. Five other players had a single goal each for Hofstra. The Pride outshot Towson 42-26 and picked up three more ground balls, 19-16. Hofstra also won at the “X,” claiming 11 of 16 face-offs.

“Darn glad double zeros came quick there in the fourth quarter,” noted head coach Shawn Nadelen. “At the end of the game, things got a little crazy, but I thought our guys, for the most part, executed our game plan pretty efficiently. Defensively we were very sound and offensively we moved the ball and were patient at times.”

Hofstra scored the first two goals of the game before Towson took a 3-2 lead at the start of the second quarter when Mabus and Hodgson connected at 13:22 on Mabus’ first goal of the game. The Tigers never trailed again. Mabus scored the game-winning goal at Hofstra last season.

Tyler Johnston posted a goal at 5:31 in the second quarter to tie the game at three apiece before the Pride went cold on offense for the next 20:48. Tyler Begley‘s man-up goal at 10:43 in the fourth was the first of three tallies posted by the Pride in the quarter. Lance Yapor beat Wascavage with 12 seconds left, but Towson won the ensuing face-off and held on for the win.

The Tigers return to action on Saturday, April 6 at home against UMass at 1 p.m.

NOTES: Andrew Wascavage has now made double-digit saves (19) in every game this season and has a 12-game streak dating back to May 2, 2012 … Andrew Hodgson and Thomas DeNapoli each continued their point streaks which also stand at 12 games and date back to May 2, 2012 … The win marked Towson’s 58^th program win over a ranked team and first this season … This game was Towson’s second straight 7-6 decision – both victories.

College Men’s Lacrosse: No. 15 Hofstra 6, Towson 7
Hofstra (6-4, 1-2 CAA)   2-1-0-3/6
Towson (6-5, 2-0 CAA)   2-1-3-1/7

GOALS: TOW – Hodgson 2, Mabus 2, DeNapoli, McCarty, Bolewicki; HOF – Sorichetti, Llinares, Begley, Yapor, Johnston, von Bargen. ASSISTS: TOW – DeNapoli 2, Hodgson 2, Mabus 2; HOF – Malave, Sorichetti. SAVES:TOW – Wascavage (19, 60:00, 6 GA); HOF – Selva (11, 60:00, 7 GA). SHOTS: TOW – 26; HOF – 42. GROUND BALLS: TOW – 16; HOF – 19. FACE-OFFS: TOW – 5-16; HOF – 11-16. CLEARS: TOW – 14-16; HOF – 13-15.EMO: TOW – 1-4; HOF – 2-5. ATT: 1429.

Opening Face-Off
Towson went 2-0 last week, defeating UMBC 12-9 and Delaware 7-6 in overtime, both on the road. Hofstra is ranked No. 15 in the USILA coaches’ poll this week. The Pride is coming off an 11-9 win over Dartmouth at home on Tuesday. The game is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. and can be heard live on the Towson Sports Network on www.towsontigers.com with Spiro Morekas and former Tiger midfielder Hunter Lochte calling the action.

Updating the Tigers
Towson started the CAA season off with a 7-6 overtime win at Delaware on Friday. The Tigers are now 5-5 on the year. Towson came back from being down 6-3 and scored three goals in the fourth quarter and the game winner in overtime after suffering through a 29:54 scoring drought. Thomas DeNapoli’s 35 points (27-8) lead the Tigers. Senior Andrew Wascavage is the starter in net and has a 9.06 goals-against average and a save percentage of .591.

Scouting the Pride
Hofstra has been ranked or receiving votes in the USILA coaches poll since the preseason. The Pride has been ranked as high as seventh (week of March 17) after winning four straight games from February 26 to March 16. In fact, Hofstra won five of its first six games before dropping two in a row to St. John’s (7-6) and Drexel (8-7 in 3ot). The Pride are led by Torin Varn‘s 23 goals, while Sam Llinares has a team best 25 points (15g, 10a). Chris Selva minds the net for Hofstra, recording a goals-against average of 6.77 and a save percentage of .615 – both tops in the conference. He is the only CAA goalkeeper allowing under seven goals per game.

Towson-Hofstra Series History
Begun in 1961, Towson and Hofstra have played each other 43 times. The series pre-dates reliable records; five times the teams played where the sites of the games were unknown. Hofstra leads these meetings, 3-2. The Tigers have historically fared better at home, winning 12 of 19 games played in Towson. Towson won five straight games from 2003 to 2005, but Hofstra proceeded to win six of the next seven games until falling in last year’s double-overtime thriller.

Towson-Hofstra By the Numbers

TIGERS TO OPEN SPRING SEASON ON THURSDAY MORNING

Tigers To Conduct Early Morning Practice Sessions 

TOWSON, Md. – For the third year in a row, Coach Rob Ambrose and the Towson University will be getting an early start to their Spring Football practices. The Tigers will hold their weekday sessions at 5:30 a.m. for the next five weeks.

The Tigers will practice at 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday and Thursday during the week. On Saturday, the Tigers will hold practice sessions at various times. The Tigers’ spring season will conclude with Tiger Bowl III on Saturday, April 27.

Despite the loss of 16 seniors from last year’s team, Coach Ambrose and his staff will welcome 58 returning letter winners when the Tigers open their spring practice session on Thursday, March 28 at 5:30 a.m.

Coach Ambrose and his staff have been conducting early morning practices the last two years, and the results have been noticeable.

In 2011, the Tigers were the most-improved team in FCS football as they posted a 9-3 record and won their first Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championship. They finished the season as the ninth-ranked team in the nation and earned a berth in the FCS playoffs.

Last year, the Tigers won their last four games of the season and finished with a 7-4 record. They also earned a share of the CAA championship as they tied for the title with New Hampshire, Richmond and Villanova. However, the Tigers did not receive an at-large bid to the NCAA playoffs.

“It is a common belief in the CAA that we have one of the toughest teams in the conference and I think it all starts with our early-morning practices,” says Ambrose. “It has been said that ‘the strong steel comes from the hottest fire’ and that’s part of what we are doing.

“The things that we are doing before many people eat breakfast help to make us who we are now,” he adds. “We also feel that this schedule is tremendous from the ‘student’ aspect. Our players are done with their football obligations by 10 a.m. every day and that leaves them the rest of the day to be regular students.”

Despite some significant losses to graduation, Coach Ambrose has high hopes for the Tigers. The Tigers return all five starters on the offensive line and All-American running back Terrance West (Northwestern H.S./Baltimore, Md.). On defense, the Tigers have all three starting linebackers returning in addition to a pair of All-CAA cornerbacks.

“We are looking forward to a very productive spring,” says Ambrose. “Everybody has a bad taste in their mouth after the way last season ended. Although we were hoping for an at-large berth to the playoffs, we were disappointed that we didn’t take care of business when we had the opportunity.

“Winning a CAA championship is extremely difficult,” he adds. “Winning back-to-back championships is darn near impossible. We have had a 13-3 record in the CAA the last two years, but there has been zero conversation in the locker room about what we’ve done. This team is focused on what we need to get it done again.”

According to Ambrose, the Tigers have several needs to address.

“We need to find our quarterback and figure out who our wide receivers will be,” he said. “Defensive line is also an area where we have to figure out who will play. We lost three starters on the defensive line.

“But, we are not concerned,” he adds. “We have quality players in all of these areas, but we need people to step up and claim the positions.”

Senior Peter Athens (Huntingtown H.S./Huntingtown, Md.), junior Joe Brennan (Camden Catholic H.S./Audubon, N.J.) and sophomore Connor Frazier (Damascus H.S./Gaithersburg, Md.) are the top candidates for the starting position at quarterback. Athens has started seven games in his career while Brennan is a transfer from the University of Wisconsin. Frazier appeared in three games as a back-up last year.

Sophomore Price Litton (Providence Day School/Matthews, N.C.) and red-shirt freshman Ryan Egolf (Bishop Shanahan H.S./Phoenixville, Pa.) will also receive a long look.

The quarterback who emerges as the Tigers’ starter will have the luxury of working behind a talented and experienced offensive line. The Tigers could have a veteran senior starting at all five positions.

Seniors Eric Pike (DuVal H.S./Landover, Md.) and Randall Harris (DuVal H.S./Lanham, Md.) return as the two tackles.  Pike and Harris were each named All-CAA first team selections as juniors. Pike is the more experienced of the two tackles and he has started all 34 games of his career.

Senior Doug Shaw (Loyola Blakefield H.S./Woodbine, Md.) returns at offensive center. A third-year starter, he was named second-team All-CAA last season. Seniors Anthony Davis (Clover Hill H.S./Richmond, Va.) and Charles Johnson (Poly H.S./Baltimore, Md.) could be the team’s starting guards. However, they will be pressured by some talented young linemen who will be trying to impress the coaching staff this spring.

For the last two years, the Tigers have had one of the top running games in FCS football, averaging 229.0 yards per game. With the return of West, that shouldn’t change. In two seasons, West has run for 2,376 yards in 21 games and has scored an amazing total of 43 rushing touchdowns. Senior Sterling Phifer (Landstown H.S./Virginia Beach, Va.) and junior Trea Jones (Wake Forest Rolesville H.S./Wake Forest, N.C.) will back him up.

Linebackers Monte Gaddis (Central Catholic H.S./Cleveland, Ohio), Telvion Clark (Granby H.S./Norfolk, Va.) and Bryton Barr (Mechanicsburg Area H.S./Camp Hill, Pa.) return as the heart of a defense that was top-ranked in the CAA last year.

Gaddis earned second-team All-CAA honors last season after making 74 tackles in 10 games. He ranked among the CAA leaders with 12 tackles for lost yardage and five sacks. A transfer from Virginia Tech, Clark made 49 tackles and recovered a fumble. As a first-year freshman, Barr made an immediate impact. A starter in 11 games, he had 74 tackles with two sacks. He also led the team with two fumble recoveries.

Senior Jordan Love (Deep Run H.S./Glen Allen, Va.) and junior Tye Smith (Wakefield H.S./Raleigh, N.C.) return at the cornerback positions. A transfer from Georgia, Love had 35 tackles and intercepted two passes. He was named second team All-CAA. A two-year starter at cornerback, Smith was a third team All-CAA selection. He led the Tigers with 75 tackles and had two forced fumbles.

BENIMON NAMED TO LOU HENSON ALL-AMERICA TEAM

BOSTON, Mass. - In recognition of his stellar junior season, Towson University forward Jerrelle Benimon was named to the Lou Henson All-America Team. The award recognizes the top mid-major college basketball players in the country.

Rather than assemble a first team, second team, third team and honorable mention; the Lou Henson All-America team is one squad consisting of 25 players. Benimon is also a finalist for the Lou Henson Mid-Major Player of the Year Award.

The 6-5 forward recorded double-doubles in 20 of the Tigers’ 31 contests en route to being named the 2013 Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year. Benimon was the CAA’s fourth-leading scorer with 17.1 points per game and reached double figures in 27 of 31 outings.

The junior forward led the CAA and ranked third in the nation with 11.2 rebounds per game and his 346 rebounds set a Towson single-season record. It was the sixth-highest total in a season in CAA history. Showing his all-around game, Benimon was also third in the conference in blocked shots (1.9 bpg) and fourth in field goal percentage (53.3 percent). He led Towson with 79 assists.

2013 Lou Henson All-America Team

Travis Bader, Oakland
Billy Baron, Canisius
Jerrelle Benimon, Towson
Tommy Brenton, Stony Brook
Ryan Broekhoff, Valparaiso
Isaiah Canaan, Murry State
Jackie Carmichael, Illinois State
Will Cherry, Montana
Jake Cohen, Davidson
D.J. Cooper, Ohio
Matthew Dellavedova, Saint Mary’s
James Ennis, Long Beach
Shane Gibson, Sacred Heart
Juan’ya Green, Niagra
Corey Hawkins, UC Davis
Tyler Haws, BYU
Troy Huff, North Dakota
Lamont Jones, Iona
Zeke Marshall, Akron
Jake Odum, Indiana State
Jamal Olasewere, LIU-Brooklyn
Keith Rendleman, UNC Wilmington
Augustine Rubit, South Alabama
Colt Ryan, Evansville
Taylor Smith, Stephen F. Austin