Staff Writer
Meaghan Flanagan of the women’s lacrosse team and Matt Scully of the men’s track and field team had outstanding individual performances that propelled their teams, earning them the Springfield Student Newspaper Players of the Week award for 3/1/12 through 3/7/12.
Athletes of the Week for 3/1/12–3/7/12
Meaghan Flanagan
Meaghan Flanagan has been selected as this weekโs Female Athlete of the Week after her performance in the womenโs lacrosse season opener against Western New England on Monday. Flanagan had eight points in the game; seven of those points came off goals. The junior helped Springfield to a great start and hopes to continue the success for the rest of the season. Although a standout on the stat sheet, Flanagan remains humble, saying, โI would like to thank my teammates, coaches and parents for helping me get to this stage in my lacrosse career. None of this would have been possible without their support along the way.โ
Q. How does it feel starting the season off strong with a win?
A. Weโve worked very hard the past six weeks and it is always a great feeling to get that first win off of a long preseason.
Q. Do you think you can keep the high-scoring offense going all season?
A. With the offense and defense working together like we did on Monday, high scoring games should be an often occurrence for us this season.
Q. What can you do to maintain your personal scoring all season?
A. Working with my teammates and staying focused and determined will help me get points on the scoreboard for SC.
Q. How does it feel scoring that many points in a game?
A. It felt great! It was a career high for me, so it was very exciting. I have to give credit to my teammates and coaches for helping me get to that point. I could not have done it without them.
Matt Scully
Ryon Lynch continued his out-standing play in the early part ofโจthe season, scoring five goals with โจthree assists in Springfieldโs 15-7โจ win over Nazareth on Saturday.โจ Just a sophomore, Lynch is leadingโจ the team in scoring through twoโจ games as the Pride have climbedโจ to No. 18 in the USILA Divisionโจ III rankings. Last season Lynch โจregistered just six points the entire year as he saw limited time โจas a freshman. The Frederick, Md. native has been impressive thus far, but with two games against Stevens Tech and Middlebury coming up, the sophomore will need to keep bringing the โLynchsanityโ for the Pride to continue this run.
Q. How, in your opinion, has the team done this year?
A. This year we have struggled because of the huge loss from the seniors last year. But we have positive captains like Dylan Brock, Sean Nunan, Kevin Coyle and Ryan OโConnell that have kept the team vibe motivated throughout the season.ย
Q.ย As the season comes to an end, what do you take as your high points for it?
A.ย For a runner a season never really ends, but Iโd have to say I will miss all the experiences of running at top-notch indoor tracks like BU and The Armory in NYC.
Q. You ran in the All New England meet recently; how does it feel running in a race of that magnitude?
A. Getting a chance to run at All New Englands is always so sick. You get to run against D1 runners. Itโs super competitive.
Q. The ECACโs are coming up; how do you think Springfield will perform at the event?
A. Iโm always stoked for ECACโs because it is such a cool time. Itโs at The Armory, which is one of the fastest indoor tracks in the nation. Itโs also in NYC, so its nice to get out of Mass. and see new places. We have a really small group going this year, so I feel like as a team we wonโt be the strongest ones there, but personally we can do some big things.ย
Nick Lovett may be reached at nlovett@springfieldcollege.edu