Gwynedd-Mercy College Men’s Basketball Team

The Gwynedd-Mercy College men’s basketball team has a distinct local touch for the 2008-09 season. The head coach is John Baron, a Limerick resident who is a former coach at Owen J. Roberts High School and Ursinus College. Two of his primary players are two Phoenixville Area High School products in guard Jon Crabtree and forward Jon Hogga. Crabtree is in his second year at the Division III school but has upgraded his play and is one of the main players off the bench now. Hogga is a transfer from Division I Saint Peter’s College in Jersey City, N.J.,, who played his freshman year there before switching to closer to home. Hogga is being used as a valuable sixth man to spark the club with energy and offense off the bench for the Griffins, who won their first two games at the season-opening Alvernia College Tournament. Hogga and Crabtree were both named first team All-Pioneer Athletic Conference players two years ago when the Phantoms captured the league championship and advanced into the PIAA Class AAA state tournament.

Traditional Rivalry

The Thanksgiving Day holiday also signals some traditional rivalry scholastic football games that day as well as the turkey and stuffing.
Phoenixville will visit Spring-Ford at 10 a.m. at Coach McNelly Stadium in Royersford to conclue the Pioneer Athletic Conference season for both squads.
Elsewhere, Pottstown travels to Owen J. Roberts for its 50th renewal of that backyard brawl at 10 a.m. St. Pius X is on the road against Pottsgrove at 10 a.m. Boyertown visits Upper Perkiomen at 10 a.m.
In another game of local interest, Great Valley, of the Ches-Mont League American Division, visits Central League entry Conestoga at 10:30 a.m.
Big crowds usually turn out for these Turkey Day clashes, and there have been many upsets over the years, regardless of the two teams’ records going into the day.
This year Phoenixville (6-2 PAC-10, 7-4 overall) meets Spring-Ford (2-6, 2-8); Pottstown (2-6, 3-8) is at Owen J. Roberts (7-1, 9-3); St. Pius X (0-8, 1-8) tangles with Pottsgrove (8-0, 10-2); and Boyertown (4-4, 4-7) goes up against Upper Perkiomen (4-4, 5-6).
Pottsgrove, Owen J. Roberts, Phoenixville and Great Valley appeared in the District 1 Class AAA playoffs with that crown going to West Chester Bayard Rustin over Upper Moreland.
Phoenixville and Spring-Ford players and coaches also get together for a luncheon, sponsored by the Rotary Clubs from each town, the Wednesday before the holiday game. This year the luncheon is slated for the Spring-Ford Country Club at 12 p.m. Wednesday. When the game is played in Phoenixville, the site is Robert Ryan’s Catering.

NCAA Division III Final Four Field Hockey Tournament

Ursinus College in Collegeville will host the NCAA Division III Final Four Field Hockey Tournament this Saturday and Sunday at Eleanor Frost Snell Alumnae Field.
The top four teams are Messiah, Ursinus, Bowdoin and Tufts. Messiah (16-1) will play Tufts (18-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday, followed by Ursinus (19-2) against Bowdoin (18-2) at 2 p.m. in the semifinal games.
Messiah is ranked first in the coaches' poll with 10 first-place votes and 396 points. Ursinus is second with six first-place votes and 395 points. Bowdoin had three votes for first and 384 points and Tufts two for first and 359 points.
Messiah edged Ursinus, 3-2 in overtime, way back on Sept. 6 in Collegeville.
The Bears are coached by Laura Moliken. Some of their top players are former Pioneer Athletic Conference (PAC-10) stars like Centennial Conference Player of the Year Jennie Moore (Phoenixville), a senior forward; senior midfielder Kait Sutherland (Perkiomen Valley); and defender Nikki Thren (Upper Perkiomen). Her sister, Alyssa Thren (Upper Perkiomen), is another Ursinus player.

Practice for winter sports

Practice for winter sports officially started Monday, Nov. 17, at area high schools under PIAA rules.
That means workouts in boys basketball, girls basketball, wrestling, indoor track, swimming and gymnastics for schools that feature all the sports.
However, fall sports are not officially completed since playoffs continue in football for district and state championships to be decided.

Posted by
Barry Sankey

The Ursinus College women’s field hockey team

The Ursinus College women’s field hockey team captured its fifth straight Centennial Conference title Sunday afternoon with a 5-1 victory over Johns Hopkins at Eleanor Frost Snell Alumnae Field in Collegeville.
The Bears (16-2) are ranked third in the NCAA Division III polls while the Blue Jays came into the game as the No. 12 team. Ursinus ripped Washington College, 14-0, in the semifinals Saturday while Johns Hopkins edged Gettysburg, 2-1..
Ursinus will now host the NCAA Division III semifinals and finals Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 22-23.
The Ursinus team is led by Phoenixville graduate Jennie Moore, who was selected as the Centennial Conference Player of the Year. Moore tallied one goal Sunday and assisted on two more goals. Moore now has 30 goals for the season and a conference record 71 goals for her stellar four-year career with the Bears.
Ursinus has four seniors on the team in Moore, Nikki Thren (Upper Perkiomen), Kait Sutherland (Perkiomen Valley) and Katie Mastoris. The Pioneer Athletic Conference (PAC-10) is well-represented on the squad, which also includes freshman Alyssa Thren (Upper Perkiomen).
In the Saturday game, Ursinus set a Centennial Conference record for most goals in a game, breaking the old mark held by Ursinus and Washington (13) and set the CC record for most goals in a playoff game (nine, by Ursinus in 2007).
Moore scored a goal with just three seconds left until halftime, which the set the all-time mark for CC career gaols at 69. Moore scored two goals on the day to give her 70 tallies heading into Sunday’s conference finale.