By Mathew Schlisel

Coppin State Eagles
Coppin State junior Anthony Littlejohn earned all-conference honors for the third straight season by finishing fourth at the MEAC Cross Country Championship in Cary, N.C. Littlejohn completed the 8K course in 25:39.7 and managed his highest career finish. Littlejohn finished sixth in the MEAC Championship in both 2004 and 2005.

The Coppin State women's volleyball team had its three-match winning streak halted last Tuesday against Navy at the Coppin Center. The Eagles fell to 6-19 overall while Navy improved to 11-14. Brittany Arvin led the Eagles with 20 kills and also tied her career high with nine digs. The Eagles are back in action Friday when they travel to face Hampton at 7 p.m.

Former New York Yankees minor league player Harvey Lee has been hired as coach of the Coppin State baseball team. Lee spent three years in the Yankees' farm system and also operates Hit After Hit, Inc.

JHU senior Nikkole Haines scored two goals in Saturday's 4-1 win over Franklin & Marshall. (Photo Courtesy of JHU Athletics)

Johns Hopkins Blue Jays
The Johns Hopkins football team was held to just 133 yards of total offense and fell to Ursinus 17-7 at Collegeville, Penn. Freshman running back Aaron Harper led Ursinus with 196 yards and two touchdowns. With the loss, the Blue Jays fell to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the league, and were eliminated from contention for a fifth straight Centennial Conference title. Johns Hopkins hosts Hampden-Sydney on Saturday at Homewood Field.

The 11th-ranked Johns Hopkins women's soccer team finished an outstanding regular season with a 4-1 victory against Franklin & Marshall last Saturday at Homewood Field. Senior Nikkole Haines led the team with two goals, pacing the Blue Jays to their seventh straight win. Hopkins finished the regular season undefeated in conference play, the first team to do so since Muhlenberg in 2001. Johns Hopkins will host the Centennial Conference Tournament, which begins on Nov. 3.

Loyola Greyhounds
The Loyola women's soccer team finished the regular season with a 3-0 victory over St. Peter's. The Greyhounds improved to 10-6-2 overall and 8-1-0 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Freshman Amanda Meehan scored the game-winning goal in the 26th minute. The Greyhounds will enter the conference tournament, which will be held in Fairfield, Conn., as the No. 1 seed.

The Loyola men's basketball team was tabbed for fifth place in the MAAC by the league's head coaches last Tuesday at its annual media day at Madison Square Garden. Marist College, which returns all five starters, was the unanimous selection for first place. Loyola junior Gerald Brown, a transfer from Providence who sat out last season as a redshirt, was selected to the preseason third-team All-MAAC team.

The Loyola women's basketball team was chosen seventh in the MAAC preseason coaches' poll last Tuesday. Senior captain Brittany Dunn was named as a preseason second-team All-MAAC selection.

Morgan State Bears
The Morgan State football team (4-5, 3-3 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) played one of its best games of the season last Saturday, but it was not enough to defeat Florida A&M at Tallahassee, Fla. The Rattlers withstood a late fourth-quarter surge to escape with a narrow 24-23 homecoming victory at Bragg Memorial Stadium.

Chad Simpson, a junior transfer from South Florida, finished with a game-high 130 yards on 20 carries, but was also involved in the game's most controversial play. Late in the fourth quarter and with the Bears trailing 24-21, Simpson was stopped just shy of the end zone on a first-and-goal run from the 5-yard line. On second and third down, Simpson appeared to cross the goal line, but was marked short. After getting stuffed on fourth down, FAMU took over with 2:21 left in the game and despite recording a safety, the Bears were unable to move the ball back down the field for the winning score.

Morgan State is back in action this Saturday at Norfolk State.

Towson Tigers
The Towson football team returned to the Top 25 (No. 21) after downing 25th-ranked Delaware 49-35 at Delaware Stadium in Newark. Towson, now 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the Atlantic 10 conference, piled up 627 total yards and sophomore QB Sean Schaefer threw for 435 yards and tied a school record with five touchdown passes, including three to senior Eric Yancey. For his efforts, Schaefer was named A-10 Offensive Player of the Week. The Tigers are back in action this Saturday when they face William & Mary at Unitas Stadium.

The No. 17-ranked Towson men's soccer team defeated George Mason 2-1 in double overtime, in its regular season finale to finish undefeated in the Colonial Athletic Association and earned the number one seed for the conference tournament.

The Tigers finished 14-1-2 overall and 10-0-1 in the CAA. The victory was also Towson's 10th in a row and the Tigers extended their unbeaten streak to 12 games. In the CAA Tournament, held at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex, Towson will face the winner of Friday's George Mason/Northeastern game. The championship game will be held Sunday at 4 p.m.

UMBC Retrievers
The UMBC women's swimming and diving team rebounded from a loss to Navy last Saturday, with two wins in a double-dual meet against New Hampshire and Wagner Sunday afternoon at UMBC Natatorium. The Retrievers defeated UNH 135-103 and Wagner 142-80. UMBC won 12 of 13 events.Sophomore Daniele Surkovich, junior Meghan Sackett and seniors Ashley Houghton and Agnes Stanislawska won two events apiece.

UMBC's women's volleyball team (12-13, 5-4 America East) is coming off a strong performance last weekend, defeating Hartford 3-0 last Friday at RAC Arena and edging Stony Brook 3-2 last Sunday in Stony Brook, N.Y. Ashley Oscars led the Retrievers in the Stony Brook match with 16 kills, three digs and four service aces.

UMBC returns to action this Sunday, hosting Binghamton at 2 p.m. The Retrievers' last non-conference match is against Navy on Nov. 7 at RAC Arena.

Issue 1.28: November 2, 2006