Winter Sports is Back at BSU
Winter sports are back here at BSU after the cancelation last season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Here is what’s to come from our BSU Winter Varsity Sports Teams.
Men’s Basketball: The Bridgewater State Bears Men’s Basketball Head Coach Joe Farroba is entering his 29th year in the position and I was able to catch up with him to discuss his expectations for the upcoming 2021-22 season.
Coach Farroba has a lot of potential for his team this season despite his team being young with minimal or no college game exposure
Key players: The only returning players from the 2019-2020 season are Senior guards Alan Pettway and David Laine, and Junior Center Stanley Pierre-Louis.
The Bears had a 10-15 record with a 7-5 MASCAC record in the 2019-2020 season, as they lost to Salem State in the MASCAC Quarterfinals.
The Bears open at Tinsley against UMASS Dartmouth on November 9th. MASCAC Conference play will not start until January 5th with the regular season will ending on February 19th.
Women’s Basketball: The Women’s Basketball Head Coach Bridgett Casey is heading into her 24th season as the Bears head coach.
“We are very excited to get started again, It has been a long time for these student-athletes and I am so happy that we finally get to compete again. With all that they have been through in the last 20+ months they need this!”
Casey’s expectations are that everyone on the team will be on the same page: Win another MASCAC Championship.
Key players: Seniors Hannah and Olivia Dziadyk, Destiny Fitzgerald, and Juniors Kylee Piche, Sophie Gaucher, Syd Bradbury.
The Bears had an 11-16 record with a 6-6 MASCAC record in the 2019-2020 season. The team lost to Framingham State in the semifinals of tournament play.
The Bears will start at Tinsley on November 9th against Regis University. MASCAC Conference play begins on January 5th against Framingham State at home, as the season wraps up on February 19th.
Track & Field: The Bears Track & Field head coach Connor Foley is heading into his 3rd indoor season and 4th year in the program.
This will be the Bear’s first time racing indoors since Winter 2020 due to the last indoor season being canceled. The Bears, however, were able to compete outdoors last year and instead of the big meets with multiple track teams, it was just matchups from the MASCAC, however, these large-scale tournaments will return this season.
Key runners:
Men’s team: Senior sprinter Matt Lighten, 2020 All-American, qualified for NCAA Division III National Competition for indoors in March 2020 (race canceled due to COVID). Junior Exodus Barnes currently holds indoor and outdoor school records for the high jump.
Women’s Team: Ashley Garvey, Julie Glavin, Allison McDonough, and Abby Peterson.
Both the Women’s and Men’s teams won the MASCAC Conference Championship in the outdoor season last year, which was the first time that both teams won the Conference title since 1996. This was also the third consecutive conference title for the men’s group.
The Bears’ indoor season will start on December 4th at the Emmanuel Invitational in Boston, but then don’t have another meet until January 15th when they go to the Wheaton Invitational.
The outdoor season will start on March 26th, when the Bears host the BSU Invitational.