This Week in Athletics: April 23

April 23, 2025

Greetings #TARnation! We are oh so close to the end of semester, but the action in athletics is heating up! Postseason play has already begun for some, and will start for others this weekend. Before we look ahead, let's recap the last week of action: 

- Baseball (27-13) showcased their high-octane offense in the series against Eckerd, outscoring the Tritons 44-10 in the three-game sweep. Corey Zientek had a two homerun game, Mason Wilson had a six-RBI game, and Rob Buckley has homered in four straight games! The Tars currently lead the SSC in average (.330),  hits (482), home runs (56), RBI (334), and slugging (.510).

- Rowing had a phenomenal weekend in Oak Ridge, Tennessee at the SIRA Championships. Gold medals were awarded to men's Novice 4 and women's Varsity 8, while men's Varsity 4 and women's Pair each captured silver. The women's Varsity 8 was named SSC Boat of the Week for their efforts. 

- Men's lacrosse faced #6 seed florida Tech in the quarterfinal of the SSC tournament on Saturday, dispatching the Panthers 13-8 at Cahall-Sandspur Field. Seth Isenhour scored four goals and added an assist in the win that moves the Tars to the conference semifinals. 

- Speaking of lacrosse, the SSC announced their award winners on Monday. Six Rollins athletes were named All-SSC, including Jack Johnstone, Sam Mattson, and Frankie Hapney on the first team and Aaron Williams, Craig Wexelblatt, and Charlie Metz on the third team. 

- More hardware was handed out on Wednesday morning as the College Sports Communicators announced their Academic All-American selections. Among the honorees were two Tars, Luke Dinges and Evan McInerny. Dinges was named to the first team while McInerny collected third team accolades. 

- Softball (27-14) won one of three games at Eckerd, led by a fantastic performance from freshman Camila Leon-Blanco in the circle on Saturday. She went the distance with a final line of seven innings, five hits, three runs, and three strikeouts to earn her eighth win of the season. 

- Sailing took eighth place in the 18 team field at the SAISA Open fleet Race Championship in Coral Gables, Florida that was hosted by the University of Miami. 

- Women's tennis took a tough 4-3 loss at #18 Florida Southern in their final match before this weekend's upcoming SSC championship. Despite the loss, Amina Taibi had a great day, taking first court doubles alongside Nancy Liu 6-2, before an impressive 6-0, 6-1 victory on second singles.



- We have entered "survive and advance" territory for four teams. Men's lacrosse will look to avenge their 14-7 loss at Lynn on March 22 with much higher stakes in the SSC semifinal on Wednesday night. A win will put them in the SSC championship game for the third straight year on Saturday. Women's rowing needs a strong performance at the SSC championship to claim a bid to NCAAs in May. Both tennis teams are hoping to play three straight days this weekend in West Palm Beach in order to receive consideration for a spot in the NCAA Regional in a few weeks. 

- Baseball still has nine games left in their season, but these next three are huge for RPI and strength of schedule. The Tars will travel to #12 Colorado Mesa (30-10) for the second time in three years for a set with the Mavericks. The two teams have hit a combined 122 home runs in 80 games this season, so pitchers beware!

- We encourage all student-athletes to join us at the 2025 Tommy Awards on Tuesday, April 29 as we celebrate the success of Tars athletics. Dress to impress and come cheer on your teammates, relive the highlights, and enjoy a fun evening celebrating the best of the best from #TARnation

Remember, if you can't make it to the games in person, you can always find live stream links at the SSC Digital Network Page. 
 
-Tommy Tar
#TARnation