By Katherine Jamtgaard for App State Sports. BOONE, N.C. – The App State women’s basketball team will add junior transfer J’Mani Ingram to its 2023-24 signing class, head coach Angel Elderkin announced on Thursday. Ingram is the fifth addition to the incoming class and joins the Mountaineers after making stops at Winthrop and Pearl River Community College.
J’Mani Ingram | 5’7 | Guard | North Augusta HS | Winthrop | Pearl River CC | North Augusta, S.C.
During the 2022-23 campaign, Ingram collected Player of the Week, All-Region, First-Team All-State, and Region 23 All-Tournament team accolades at Pearl River Community College. The North Augusta, S.C. native started 15 of the 27 games she appeared in and averaged 13.6 points per game. She also totaled 163 rebounds on the season.
Ingram was a three-time Player of the Game and earned Hercules Tire Move of the Week recognition while at Winthrop. In her two seasons with the Eagles, she started 26 of 53 games and pulled down a total 211 rebounds and 65 assists. During the 2021-22 season, she recorded double-figures in 17 games, averaging 10.9 points per game. She also led the Garnet and Gold in points and steals in 2021-22.
Ingram intends on pursuing a degree in education at App State.
Why Ingram Chose App State: She “loved the campus and people as a whole.”
Elderkin on Ingram: “We are really excited about the opportunity to add J’Mani Ingram to our Appalachian State Women’s Basketball family. J’Mani will make an immediate impact to our program with her ability to rebound, attack the rim and defend multiple positions. She is someone of high character with a passion for growth on and off the court.”
Ingram joins sophomore transfer Rylan Moffitt and true freshmen Lexi Bugajski, MaKenzie Drout, and Anaya Harris as part of the Mountaineers’ 2023-24 signing class.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — It has been a long time coming, but Appalachian State’s track and field teams have gotten a new home and it is getting its feet wet, so to speak, with the App State Open on April 28-29.
University officials, area dignitaries, and program alumni celebrated the new Randy Marion Track and Field Facility located on the former site of Watauga High School with a ceremonial ribbon cutting at the Mark E. Ricks Athletic Center.
It was a packed house on the 5th floor of the Athletic Center for the new track facility ribbon-cutting. Photographic image by David Rogers
While the ribbon-cutting had been planned for the track and field facility site off of NC Highway 105, the forecasted severe thunderstorm chased the festivities inside, appropriately. Some 250 members of the university and athletic department leadership as well as scores of track program alumni joined in the event.
Athletic Director Doug Gillin emceed the ceremony, introducing the many dignitaries on hand, including Chancellor Sheri Everts, university board members Tommy Sofield (Secretary), Jimmy Barnes (Trustee) and Mark Ricks (Vice Chair), North Carolina Representative Ray Pickett from the General Assembly, as well as University of North Carolina Board of Governors liaison Philip Byers and now retired, longtime App State track and field and cross country head coach John Weaver. The finally finished but long in its development dedicated track facility was Weaver’s dream for decades.
Gillin beckoned Everts to the podium after introducing her as the most passionate App State fan of all the people in the room. “She has always been steadfast in her support of App State student athletes. She came to the university in 2014 as its eighth leader and has helped establish the university as the premier public undergraduate institution east of the Mississippi (River). Under her guidance and leadership, App State regularly earns top rankings for academic excellence and this includes the 21 straight semesters that our student athletes have (collectively) achieved greater than a 3.0 grade point average.”
Introducing Everts as a first generation college graduate in her family, Gillin noted that during her tenure the university has not only grown its enrollment, but increased the percentage of underrepresented students. Significantly, Gillin reported that one-third of the university’s student population is represented by first generation college students, with most coming from rural areas.
Gillin noted Everts’ role in the acquisition of the property on which the track facility has been built, adding that because of the transaction, it allowed the new Watauga Community Recreation Center to be built. “That new Rec Center has been huge for our community,” Gillin said.
Photographic image by David Rogers
“We are really excited to dedicate the facility on the same day that App State hosts the App State Open, the inaugural meet at the Randy Marion Track & Field Facility,” said Everts, before recognizing the aforementioned dignitaries, the alumni, and former track and field coaches Weaver and David Ward, noting their contributions in laying the groundwork for the new facility, including 103 conference championships between the school’s memberships in the Southern Conference and current Sun Belt Conference.
Everts introduced App State track and field alum Randy Marion, Jr., whose family’s gift helped make possible the facility’s construction, along with contributions from the Mountaineer Impact Fund.
App State Chancellor Sheri Everts. Photographic image by David Rogers
Marion delivered perhaps the most memorable quip of the afternoon upon taking the stage.
“Coach John Weaver is the reason I came here,” said Marion, “because no college accepted me. John said, if you can get in, I’ll let you run!”
He added, “It is great to be here and see the incredible job everyone has done to make this facility a reality. It is a state-of-the-art facility.”
Marion continued, “Our student athletes deserve a place to help them succeed and that is what we do here at Appalachian State.”
Randy Marion, Jr. recognized former head coach John Weaver during the ribbon cutting for the Randy Marion Track & Field Facility at Appalachian State University. Photographic image by David Rogers
Current Director of Track and Field Operations Damion McLean presented Marion with a commemorative plaque then offered what for the alumni must have been an inside joke, judging by the raucous laughter when he apologized, “I have to get this out. We are sorry we didn’t have Golden Corral cater this event for Coach Weaver. Coach (Michael) Curcio made sure that I mentioned it!”
McLean drew appreciative applause when he noted that Weaver has been recognized by the United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association with induction into its Hall of Fame.
Gillin closed the press conference part of the ceremony by giving instructions to the crowd about the formal ribbon cutting.
Director of Track and Field Operations Damion McLean presented Randy Marion, Jr. with a commemorative plaque during the dedication ceremony for the Randy Marion Track & Field Facility. Photo courtesy of App State Communications
“Coach Curcio actually brought a piece of the track here, so we are literally going to cut the ribbon over the track!” said Gillin.
On the first day of competition at the App State Open, sophomore Daiyanna Cooper posted a personal best and facility record of 56.86m (186′ 7″) in the women’s hammer throw. Cooper remains second in the App State all-time list. Fellow sophomore Graysen Arnold posted a personal best of 45.78m (150′ 2″) to place second, while sophomores Jaeda Harris and Cierra Woods took fourth (39.18m (128′ 7″)) and fifth (38.76m (127′ 2″)), respectively. Junior Chris Wainscott set the facility record with a first-place finish in the men’s hammer throw with a toss of 56.36m (184′ 11″).
The meet resumes at 10 a.m. on April 29. Teams competing in the App State Open include Western Carolina, VMI, Bob Jones University, N.C. Central, Liberty University, Livingstone, Milligan, Lenoir-Rhyne, UNC-Asheville, Truett-McConnell, Anderson (S.C.), RMPV, Higher Power Athletic Club, App State Alums, and several unattached athletes.
From App State Sports. PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. – App State won the doubles point and three quick singles matches to claim a 4-1 victory over Georgia State in the first round of the Sun Belt Women’s Tennis Championship on April 26 at the Peachtree City Tennis Center.
The fifth-seeded Mountaineers (13-7) advance to the April 27 quarterfinals and will face No. 4 seed Georgia Southern at 10 a.m. The winner of that match will play the winner between No. 1 seed Old Dominion and either No. 8 Troy or No. 9 Texas State on Friday (10 a.m.).
“I loved our team effort today,” head coach Ashleigh Antal said. “Postseason tennis is always different and exciting, so I’m really happy with the way we battled the nerves and came away with the win. I want to give a huge thank you to our players’ families who came from all over for the support today, it was really a game changer for us. Looking forward to competing hard against a tough Georgia Southern team tomorrow.”
App State made quick work of the doubles point, with Virginia Poggi and Maggie Pate winning by forfeit on court three, followed by Ellie Murphy and Savannah Dada-Mascoll winning 6-3 on court one.
In singles, Olwyn Ryan-Bovey won by forfeit on court six, Erika Dodridge breezed to a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Alexia Alvarez on court four, and Poggi claimed a 6-3, 6-3 win on court five to seal the Mountaineers’ second win this season over Georgia State (2-19).
This is the second time App State has advanced past the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament since joining the league in 2014-15. The 2018 squad defeated Texas State in the first round before falling to Georgia State.
By Matt Present for App State Sports. BOONE, N.C. — App State alum Dom Parisi has returned to his alma mater as an Assistant Athletics Director for Development.
Parisi, who has spent the last two years as a Director of Development at Wyoming, will direct the operations of the Mountaineers Athletic Fund’s Yosef Club and contribute to the revenue generation of App State Athletics by managing the membership portion of the MAF.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dom back home,” said Patrick Ransdell, Deputy Athletics Director for External Relations. “He has a high-caliber work ethic and a passion for App State, which shows when you interact with him. I am confident that he will help App State continue to break new fundraising records.”
Parisi arrived in Boone as an App State freshman in 2010 and remained in the High Country through June 2021. He was an Assistant Director of Annual Giving from 2019-21.
“I am beyond excited to return home to the beautiful mountains of Boone, North Carolina,” Parisi said. “I never fully understood how special the High Country is until I left. It is hard to put into words how honored I am to come back and work for the Mountaineers Athletic Fund to make sure our current and future student-athletes enjoy an experience even better than mine. I’m excited to continue giving my all for App State!”
Parisi’s ties to App State run deep given his various experiences at the university, including roles as a student-athlete, coach and administrator.
He was an NCAA qualifier and Academic All-American as an App State wrestler from 2010-15, and he worked as a volunteer assistant coach for the Mountaineers’ title-winning wrestling program from 2016-19. During that time, App State won three consecutive regular season championships in the Southern Conference.
Parisi joined the wrestling coaching staff as a volunteer assistant after graduating from App State in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in recreation management and a concentration in outdoor experiential education. He earned his master’s degree in higher education with a concentration in community college and university leadership at App State in 2016.
On the mat, he won a SoCon title at 125 pounds as a junior, returned to the NCAAs as a senior and was a three-time recipient of NWCA All-Academic honors.
Parisi grew up in Canastota, N.Y., and Harrisburg, N.C., where he attended Jay M. Robinson High School.
BOONE, N.C. – The Mountaineers’ bats came alive at the plate on Sunday, plating a season-high 18 runs in the ballgame, and posting their second walk-off of the series, scoring a run in the bottom of the seventh inning to run-rule Old Dominion, 18-8, at Smith Stadium.
The Mountaineers (19-18, 9-8) scored a run in each of their final six at-bats of the ballgame, tallying 17 hits on the day, and batted .515 as a team. Seven Mountaineers enjoyed multi-hit efforts, led by CJ Boyd and Andrew Terrell who tallied three hits apiece.
App State opened the scoring in the second inning, batting around in the frame. Hayden Cross led off with a walk, and Golston Gillespie followed with an RBI double into the left field corner. A second run scored on an error, and later in the frame, Terrell beat out an infield single to plate a third runner. Xavier Moronta capped the scoring with an RBI double to right, finishing the series with five doubles in three games.
Hayden Cross led off the third inning with his fourth home run of the season, while Hunter Wilder and Terrell added RBI singles later in the frame, to increase the lead to 7-1.
Caleb Cross (win, 4-2) enjoyed his best start of the season. He struck out the first four batters he faced, on his way to a career-high seven strikeouts in the ballgame, in 4.2 innings of work. Grey LaSpaluto added two more strikeouts, covering the final 2.1 innings of the contest.
The Mountaineers continued to pile on at the plate. They scored two more runs in the fourth inning, with Dylan Rogers and Jonathan Xuereb drawing back-to-back bases loaded walks. App State drew 11 walks in the ballgame, while issuing just one.
App State added four more in the fifth inning, with Luke Drumheller and Rogers each belting two-run doubles in the fame. Drumheller extended his hitting streak to ten consecutive games.
The Black and Gold batted around again in the sixth inning, with Boyd singling home a pair of runs.
Then in the seventh with two outs, Terrell laced a two-out double, and after advancing to third on a wild pitch, came into score on a walk-off single by Boyd, in between third and shortstop.
App State has now won four Sun Belt series, and at 9-8 in Sun Belt play, is just one win back of third place in the conference standings.
The Mountaineers will be back in action on Wednesday, when they conclude their home-and-home series with No. 2 Wake Forest. The contest will be played at Keeter Stadium in Shelby, N.C. and admission is free.
By Matt Present for App State Sports. BOONE, N.C. — App State came from behind to tie three different times in the ballgame, but an eighth inning home run from UNC Asheville proved to be the decisive blow in a, 7-6, loss to the Bulldogs Tuesday at Smith Stadium.
Trailing 6-4 in the fifth inning, Golston Gillespie was hit by a pitch to begin the frame. One batter later, Dylan Rogers blasted his fourth home run of the season over the visitor’s bullpen in right field, to tie the score in a seesaw battle through the middle innings.
App State (17-17, 7-7) also drew even at 3-3 and 4-4, earlier in the contest, in a game in which neither team led by more than two runs on the night. The difference came with runners in scoring position, where App State finished just 1-for-13, and stranded 13 batters in the ballgame.
Dante Chirico made his first start of the season for the Mountaineers, and set the tone early. The right-hander retired the first seven batters he faced, including four strikeouts. Chirico finished with six strikeouts in the ballgame, allowing just three unearned runs to score.
App State grabbed an early 1-0 lead on a solo home run from Jonathan Xuereb in the second inning, which struck halfway up the batter’s eye in straight away center field.
After the Mountaineers fell behind 3-1 in the third, they drew even in the home half of the frame. Luke Drumheller tripled to center with two outs, and Hayden Cross came through with an RBI single to score him one batter later. Cross has now reached base in 23 consecutive games. The Mountaineer catcher came into score on a balk later in the frame.
After the Bulldogs grabbed a 4-3 lead in the fourth, App State again responded with a run in the bottom half of the inning as CJ Boyd was hit by a pitch and came into score on a wild pitch with the bases loaded.
Grey LaSpaluto impressed in relief for the Mountaineers, striking out five in three innings of work. Offensively, Gillespie reached base four times in the ballgame, while Drumheller and Hunter Wilder each tallied two-hit games.
App State continues their homestand this weekend, when they face off with Old Dominion in a three-game series. Friday’s game is set for 6 p.m. and will air on ESPN+. Saturday and Sunday’s games will be radio broadcasts airing on appstatesports.com and will get underway at 3 p.m. and 1 p.m. respectively.
Tommy Burleson lives in Avery County, N.C., with his wife, Denise. They have three sons. In 2022, he retired after 28 years serving as Avery County’s Planning and Inspections Director. For several years, he has served as a special ambassador for the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. He is also an avid supporter of North Carolina State University. Burleson is a former professional basketball player. A 7′2″ center, Burleson played for North Carolina State University’s 1974 NCAA national championship team. He was drafted by the NBA’s Seattle Supersonics as the third player taken in the 1974 NBA Draft. He played seven seasons in the NBA with Seattle, the Kansas City Kings and the Atlanta Hawks.
By Tommy Burleson. For millions of Americans, supporting college sports is practically etched into their DNA. Unconditional love for a team, spirited competition, battle cries proudly sung at a win or a loss — all of these are passed down generationally and bind families closer together.
Yet, as foundational as college sports may be in our culture, it currently faces an existential threat. A new revenue-sharing bill in California, called the College Athlete Protection Act (CAPA), could turn college athletic recruiting into a pay-for-play scheme and bankrupt many of the programs we cherish so much.
passage of ‘capa’ would put the entire collegiate athletic ecosystem at risk.
California legislators are attempting to mask reality with the name of their bill — in practice, the bill will not protect college athletes. Absent congressional action to create a uniform system, the passage of the CAPA legislation would put the entire collegiate athletic ecosystem at risk.
While there is widespread agreement that college athletes should be able to benefit from the legitimate commercial use of their names, images, and likenesses (NIL), CAPA goes far beyond that. This bill would require universities to share half of the revenue generated from a particular sport’s program, minus the cost of scholarships, with that sport’s players. For programs that generate high revenues, this would mean some players could receive yearly compensation in the six figures.
Diverting this much revenue toward direct player compensation would turn athletic recruiting into a highly expensive, highly complicated bidding war that advantages larger institutions. Consider this: colleges with more financial resources will be able to offer much more lucrative compensation packages to students than smaller schools or historically Black colleges and universities. This creates a de facto “pay-for-play” system, where top talent naturally flows to better-funded institutions, while smaller schools are unable to compete for talent. Gone would be the days of local talent supporting local programs.
‘capa’ would make it so every student-athlete needs a team of lawyers just to do what they love.
Furthermore, the variety of packages between schools would make choosing a school a highly complicated and nuanced process for student athletes. As one article in Bloomberg notes, “these are not simple questions for an 18-to 22-year-old to answer on their own, especially with the pressure of recruiting.” Rather than creating a dynamic environment conducive to good sports recruiting, CAPA would make it so that every student athlete needs a team of lawyers just to do what they love.
If the model established by California’s mandated revenue redistribution bill spreads across the country, where would the money come from? The answer is that it will come directly from other sports programs.
In most cases, a university has one or two highly profitable programs—like football at the University of Alabama or basketball at Duke University—that provide funding for other programs like women’s soccer or track programs. If a state suddenly requires schools to redistribute revenues to recruiting student athletes in those high-revenue sports, then much of the funding for other programs will likely be diverted and those programs will be cut. Although CAPA has language claiming to uphold Title IX and protect women’s and Olympic sports, that language is simply not a practical solution to address the risk these non-revenue sports will face. Such a change will have a detrimental impact across not only college sports but for the United States Olympic teams as well. The vast majority of Team USA members are current or former college student athletes.
california is attempting to shoehorn a flawed, government-mandated revenue-sharing policy onto every other state.
To be clear, all of this isn’t to say that we should abandon any NIL policies—far from it. In fact, the NCAA and many universities are already engaging in good faith to chart a path forward that brings clarity and uniformity to the system.
The problem is that California is attempting to shoehorn a flawed government-mandated revenue-sharing policy onto every other state. This goes well beyond the spirit of college athletes benefiting from their own name, image, and likeness. Given that it’s highly likely other states will implement similar policies to remain competitive as recruiters, this is California’s way of effectively force-feeding its destructive policies to the rest of the country.
Rather than letting individual states upend the college athletic ecosystem unilaterally, Congress needs to step in to set a national standard that all states, colleges, and athletics programs can easily comply with. With a national standard in place, sports programs can more easily follow the law and implement policies that protect students and allow them to receive the value they are due without turning recruitment into a bidding war to the detriment of Olympic sports programs and smaller schools.
College athletics are important institutions that bring the American people together, and it’s important that the sports we love continue to thrive. A national policy that allows fair national competition and protects all student athletes, while avoiding detrimental pay-for-play schemes, is a common-sense approach that would give the institution room to grow and adapt, and ensure that everyone can continue cheering on their team for generations to come.
By Katherine Jamtgaard. HICKORY, N.C. — The App State track and field team totaled 11 event wins and 51 top-five finishes at the Southside Power & Fitness Invitational hosted by Lenoir-Rhyne in Hickory this weekend.
The Mountaineers went 1-2-3 in the men’s 1500 meters and men’s pole vault. Freshman Tucker Sangster led the pack in the men’s 1500 meters, clocking a personal best of 3:58.00, and was followed by sophomore Rylan Haskett (3:59.04) and junior Calbert Guest (4:00.79, PR). In the men’s pole vault, sophomore Matthew Bigelow recorded a personal best clearance of 4.75m (15′ 7″). Juniors Braden Underwood and Taylor Fox took second and third, respectively, with clearances of 4.65m (15′ 3″).
The Mountaineers also took the top four spots in the women’s triple jump. Senior Djamila Peterson took first (11.62m (38′ 1.5″), sophomore Jazmine Posey and junior Siby Yao tied for second (11.53m, (37′ 10″)), and senior Breah Taylor took fourth (11.15m (36′ 7″)). In the women’s long jump, senior Taylor Smith secured second (6.09m (19′ 11.75″)), Yao landed third (6.03m (19′ 9.5″)), and senior Jada Branch took fourth (6.02m (19′ 9″), PR).
Freshman Ava Studney recorded a personal best clearance of 3.75m (12′ 3.75″) to place first in the women’s pole vault. Studney’s mark moves her to sixth in the App State all-time list. Following Studney was senior Celia Agee, who placed second with a clearance of 3.65m (11′ 11.75″).
Junior Chris Wainscott and sophomore Daiyanna Cooper collected wins in the men’s and women’s hammer throw with marks of 52.49m (172′ 3″) and 55.93m (183′ 6″), respectively. Cooper’s mark of 55.93m (183′ 6″) is a new personal best and keeps her at second in the App State all-time list.
In the women’s 1500 meters, junior Bianca Copeman garnered gold with a personal best of 4:51.19. Freshman Addison Ollendick-Smith recorded a personal best of 2:16.86 to finish second in the women’s 800 meters and junior Cole Krehnbrink finished second with a time of 48.08 in the men’s 400 meters. Senior Mariah Atwater stopped the clock at 24.18 to finish second in the women’s 200 meters, and was followed close behind by graduate student Hunter Robinson, who placed third with a time of 24.37. Atwater also took third in the women’s 400 meters with a time of 56.74.
The women’s 4×100-meter relay quartet of senior Jelonnie Smith, Robinson, Taylor Smith and Atwater clinched first with a time of 45.60 while the men’s 4×100-meter squad of freshman Christian Gore, Krehnbrink, and freshmen Luke Hale and Jayvion Johnson clocked a time of 41.52 to place second.
Friday Rewind
On Friday, Wainscott, Cooper, and freshman Nadiyah Byard garnered gold in their respective events. Wainscott posted a personal best of 17.89m (58′ 8.25) to place first in the men’s shot put, which keeps him at third in the App State all-time list. Wainscott also secured silver in the men’s discus with a toss of 48.51m (159′ 2″). Cooper earned a first-place finish in the women’s shot put with a toss of 12.64m (41′ 5.75″) and finished fourth in the women’s discus with a mark of 34.84m (114′ 4″). Junior Megan Plummer took second in the women’s discus (38.28m (125′ 7″), PR). In her debut in the women’s high jump, Byard clinched gold with a leap of 1.65m (5′ 5″).
Up Next
The Mountaineers will travel to Atlanta, Ga. for the Georgia Tech Invitational on April 21-22.
By Matt Present. STATESBORO, Ga. — Before the series opener against Georgia Southern, Kermit Smith shuffled his lineup. The result was an explosive night at the plate, helping the Mountaineers’ head coach to his 600th career victory — a 10-7 win over the Eagles at J.I. Clements Stadium.
Prior to his arrival in Boone, Smith won 244 games at Lander University and 228 at Belmont Abbey College, taking both programs to the Division II College World Series during his tenure. He has since won 128 games in seven seasons with the Mountaineers, trailing only Jim Morris (611) and Chris Pollard (244) on the App State head coaching “wins list.”
The Mountaineers (17-14, 7-5) stormed out of the gates offensively, sending eight men to the plate in the first inning. CJ Boyd reached on an infield single to begin the ballgame, and traded places with Luke Drumheller on a fielder’s choice. With one out, Hayden Cross drew a walk, and Austin St. Laurent followed with an RBI single to center field. Jonathan Xuereb then laced a two-run single to left field to give App State a 3-0 lead. Xavier Moronta capped off the inning with an RBI single to center to put App State ahead, 4-0.
Georgia Southern (16-18, 6-7) opened the first inning with a single and a double to plate a run before the first out was recorded. However, the RBI double from Jarrett Brown was the final hit that Hamilton would allow. He retired 12 of the next 13 hitters he faced, and finished his outing with nine strikeouts, to give him a conference-best 70 punchouts on the season.
Hamilton (win, 6-2) went six innings, allowing just two runs, on two hits and three walks, to go along with his nine strikeouts.
After the Mountaineers tacked on a run in the third inning on a Xuereb sac fly to score Golston Gillespie, who led off with a walk, App State added two more in the fifth. Moronta singled through the right side with two outs, and Alex Aguila followed by blasting a two-run home run deep into the trees in left field to put the Mountaineers ahead, 7-1.
Hamilton came out for the seventh inning, but after giving up back-to-back walks to begin the frame, the Mountaineers went to the bullpen. The Eagles began to chip away, helped by six walks in the inning. They plated four runs in the frame, and trimmed the Mountaineer lead down to two.
App State responded in the eighth as St. Laurent, Xuereb and Morotna tallied three consecutive RBI singles, just as they did in the first inning, to stretch the lead back to 10-5.
After the Eagles loaded the bases with nobody out in their half of the eighth, the Mountaineers called on Collin Welch, who was able to escape the jam, yielding just a sacrifice fly. Welch (save, 1) stayed on for the ninth and got a double-play ball to end the ballgame, securing his first save of the year.
App State came through in the clutch all night long, tallying 10 of their 14 hits in two-out situations. The Mountaineers also went 6-for-16 (.375) with runners in scoring position, while limiting the Eagles to just 2-for-12 (.167) in those spots. St. Laurent and Moronta each finished with three-hit, two-RBI games, while Xuereb drove in a career-high four runs.
With inclement weather expected in Statesboro on Sunday, the series will now conclude with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. Game two will begin approximately 45 minutes after the conclusion of game one. The games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
By Joey Jones for App State Sports. BOONE, N.C. — There was only one way to finish a day of tennis that lasted more than seven hours at multiple facilities with multiple delays: a dramatic, tie-breaking thriller.
Freshman Savannah Dada-Mascoll provided the final touch on a day full of high drama with her singles win that broke a 3-3 tie and propelled App State (11-6, 8-2 Sun Belt) to a 4-3 win over Marshall (13-7, 7-3 SBC) in a matchup of two of the league’s best teams this year.
In a rare occurrence, Dada-Mascoll and her court-two opponent, Emma Vanderheyden, had to finish the final set of their singles match indoors after a second rain shower hit the courts at Watauga High School where the rest of the match was played.
That was one of the toughest situations you could have in college tennis.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” said third-year head coach Ashleigh Antal. “That was probably one of the toughest situations you could have in college tennis. Savannah’s a freshman, and she handled that beautifully. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. It was fun to watch. It’s one of those things that makes you proud as a coach.”
The wild day began when, 10 minutes before the 2 p.m. match and pre-match Senior Day ceremonies for Erika Dodridge, Helena Jansen and Virginia Poggi were set to begin, rain and lightning caused a delay of more than two hours. An incredibly tight competition between the two squads then commenced with App State capturing a crucial doubles point with wins on courts one (Ellie Murphy/Dada-Mascoll 6, Vanderheyden/Johanna Strom 4) and three (Poggi/Maggie Pate 6, Gabrielle Clairotte/Rieke Gillar 3). Murphy and Dada-Mascoll came back from a 4-0 deficit to win six straight games for their victory.
In singles, Dodridge gave the Mountaineers a 2-0 lead with a 6-0, 6-2 straight-set win over Aisling McGrane on court four. After a Marshall win on court one, Poggi made it 3-1 for the home team with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Andjela Lopicic on court five.
Marshall reeled off back-to-back wins on courts six and three to bring it to a dead heat at 3-3 before more weather rolled in.
A steady rain forced the third and deciding set between Dada-Mascoll and Vanderheyden inside to the Deer Valley Racquet Club about 10 minutes up the road from the Watauga HS outdoor courts. Dada-Mascoll displayed the composure and toughness needed to win the final set for a huge 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 win.
“We just wanted to be really calm,” Antal said of the approach before moving indoors for the final set. “I took Savannah aside and we talked for 10 or 15 minutes. We just wanted to be really level. Sav had her game plan kind of worked out by then. We knew exactly what we needed to do, and it was just a matter of managing emotions at that point.
The match ended at 8:16 p.m.
App State is back on the road for a Sunday match at Radford before closing the regular season at Old Dominion next Saturday.
