May 2, 2018
Dodge, dip, dive, duck and dodge! Maryland basketball's #CampusChallenge continued Wednesday with a matchup against the club dodgeball team at the XFINITY Center. After getting a pre-match rules explanation from the club captain, both teams settled in on their end lines to start.
It took the Terps a little time to adjust in the opening game, as the club dodgeballers recorded some quick outs to get off to an early lead. Maryland quickly adopted the, “gather up all the balls on our end and ambush the other team” strategy leading to some extended possessions on offense.
Alex Tostado and Kevin Huerter's throws proved to some of the most accurate for the Terps, as club president Vinnie Demaio noted one of Hueter's throws may leave a mark.
“Definitely impressed with a lot of their arms...Kevin [Huerter] nailed me in the neck,” said Demaio. “That one definitely hurt.”
Demaio, a junior public health science major from New Jersey, said his group was excited with the opportunity to challenge the basketball team with so many members being fans of the team.
“Most of our guys here are huge basketball fans, we come to every game together usually,” said Demaio. “So we figured it would be a fun time to come out here and play them.”
Although the Terps had some valiant efforts late in games, the club dodgeball squad's experience proved to be the x-factor as they swept the first three matches. Despite the result, rising sophomore Reese Mona was confident that with a little more practice, the Terps would have no problem flipping the script.
“I think if we played them in a week from now we could take them down,” said Mona.
With final exams on the horizon at Maryland, the #CampusChallenge has concluded for the spring semester. Be on the look out this summer and beyond, you never know when a challenge may spring up!
April 23, 2018
Batter up! Maryland basketball's #CampusChallenge took the Terps to the diamond on Monday evening for four innings of softball with the club softball and baseball teams. A picturesque spring evening in College Park set the scene for a showcase of skills and day of fun at the Engineering Fields.
Prior to the start of the game, the Terps elected rising junior Anthony Cowan Jr. as the team's starting pitcher.
“Where's my glove? Where are my accessories? That's what makes me the player I am,” Cowan shared during his pregame warm up, as the Bowie, Md. native finalized his preparation for optimum performance on the mound.
Unfortunately, it took Cowan a while to settle in, but he made up for it offensively with a pair of hits and couple runs scored.
The top of the first inning brought one of the most memorable moments on the day, as former Shenendehowa Central High School baseball standout Kevin Huerter launched a two-run homer into deep center to give the Terps an early lead.
When asked about the homer Huerter said, “I got a high fastball and I was able to hit it to deep center and kept running. I'll admit I was super nervous, but when I first made contact I was relived; I had a lot of my teammates putting pressure on me. At the end of the day I surprised myself out there.”
The bottom of the first presented the hoopsters some issues, as errant play in the in the field led to a marathon inning for the club softball/baseball squad. Despite some miscues, Huerter along with his teammates received kudos from club softball manager Meghan Brown, a junior accounting major from Middletown, Md.
“They're better than I thought they were,” said Brown. “They got better as the game went on. Kevin shocked us, that was a bomb he hit. Overall, we were pretty impressed with their ability.”
Brown shared how she was excited to play the basketball team, adding that she and some of her teammates lined up six hours before Maryland's home game with Michigan State this year. She also enjoyed meeting head coach Mark Turgeon prior to the game, calling the opposing coach, “Down to earth and nice.”
“It was great to see him out here playing with the team, you can see he's a really good leader.”
Matt Sniezek, a junior mechanical engineering major from Columbia, Md., also raved about the experience.
“You see these guys on TV, but to interact with them in a sport that you love is great,” said Sniezek “They're really great guys, and you just want to support them because they're competing for your school and your community.”
Much like Brown, Sniezek and his club baseball team arrived early and cheered for the Terps team from the student section throughout the year.
“We even have one of the Turgeonites out here playing tonight,” he added.
Turgeon, who saw action in multiple outfield positions and as the team's third base coach, opened up the top of the second inning with a quality at bat. A liner to the outfield was snagged by the left fielder as Turgeon smiled walking back to dugout.
“I haven't picked up a bat since I was 25,” said the 53-year-old head coach. “Not bad, a good catch out there in left.”
After a 90-minute game, both sides came together for the obligatory team photo and handshake line.
The #CampusChallenge will take things indoors next, hitting the lanes at the TerpZone in the Stamp Student union for some bowling.
April 20, 2018
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The Maryland basketball team is usually bouncing the ball on the hardwood, but on this particular Wednesday the Terps were trying to keep the ball off the floor.
Maryland faced off with the club volleyball team this past week as part of its “campus challenge” initiative, with the Terrapins welcoming athletic competition challenges from their fellow classmates for the remainder of the spring semester.
“We feel it's great that the basketball team gets to interact with their fellow students on campus who they otherwise might not spend time around,” said Director of Player Personnel Matt Brady.
The Maryland basketball team climbed into an immediate hole Wednesday evening finding themselves down 24-9 in the first of two sets against the aforementioned club volleyball team. The Terps, behind the strong play of Bruno Fernando, Kevin Huerter and Darryl Morsell, went on a 9-0 run before dropping the first set 25-18.
Former Terps volleyball player and current club team member Megan McTigue smiled when asked if the Terps posed a threat, “We did take it easy on them because we wanted to extend the game. We hit it high because they were making progress blocking our shots. They need to work on their defense overall, but they made strong progress in the second game.”
The second game was knotted up at 25-25 after an extensive rally that ended with a Fernando kill. Then club volleyball served it out with two straight to cap an exciting 27-25 win and sweep the match.
Morsell, a rising sophomore and a catalyst in the Terps ill-fated comeback, was all smiles after the match.
“We had a lot of fun, I hope we can do this again,” said Morsell. “I think with a little bit more practice we improved. It was great to compete with our fellow students.”
Up next for the Terps is a matchup with the club softball team on Monday afternoon at 5:00 pm at the Engineering Fields.
Think you can beat the men's basketball team in your respective sport? Have your club team challenge the Terps on twitter (@TerrapinHoops) with the hashtag #CampusChallenge.
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