Over Spring Break, North Florida athletics earned first place finishes and opened ASUN play.

Track and Field

Men’s Track and Field team snagged many of the top spots during the Sheraton Spring Break Invitational at Hodges Stadium.  

Nick Morken was the only UNF runner to place first. Morken ran a 3:49.24, giving him the top spot in the 1500m. Fellow Osprey Tyler Stahl came in a close second with 3:49.62. Michael Damato topped out the top four with a 3:52.41.

Shelton McLean came in second for the pole vault, hoisting himself over a 4.85m (15-11.00) pole.

During the 800m, junior Rayford James came in second running a 1:53.58. Teammate Constantine Stathis rounded out the top five finishing at 1:55.

UNF came in fourth for the 4×400 relay with Cristian Acuna, George Escobar, Chris Robin and Desmond Robb a part of this squad.

Women’s Track and Field team also had a nice performance during the Sheraton Spring Break Invitational with three of the ladies taking first place in their categories.  

Vanessa Philbert swooped up the top spot in the 800m running a 2:11.61. Audrey Carpenter also snagged a first place finish running a 11:23.64 in the steeplechase. Alyssa Young jumped into first place with an impressive 1.70m (5-07.00) in the high jump.

At the Raleigh Relays, Eden Meyer set a personal and school record for the 10,000m. Meyer ran a 33:43.46, for a second place finish.

The Ospreys also came in second for the 4x400m Relay with a time of 3:50.54. This relay team included Tianna Hearn, Vanessa Philbert, Skye Zeller and Tayler Johnson.

Both teams will take a trip to Gainesville to compete in the Florida Relays from March 30- April 1.

Baseball

On the diamond, baseball went 3-3 over spring break, bringing their overall record to 17-9.

The Ospreys started off the break with a 7-3 loss against University of South Florida Bulls snapping a three-game winning streak. Even after overcoming a deficit early on, the Bulls were still able to get the win in front of their home crowd.   

The Osprey’s next four games were played at home in the Dusty Rhodes Field at Harmon Stadium.

North Florida earned a demanding 7-2 win over Savannah State, sweeping the Tigers.

The Ospreys were able to score runs in many of their innings, giving them an edge over the Savannah State.

Over the next three days the Ospreys faced Dallas Baptist three times, going 2-1 during the series. The first game was definitely one to see. The Ospreys managed to pull out a 8-7 win over DBU.

Yahir Gurrola hit his team-high fifth home run of the season,  and scored three of the team’s eight runs.

Wesley Weeks was able to hit his first home run of the season in style. Weeks slugged a home run, clearing the bases in the process.

North Florida pulled out an impressive win during this first meet-up.

DBU came back hungry for a win the next day. Dallas Baptist was able to get the win over UNF 9-5.

During the final matchup North Florida was relentless. UNF dominated DBU 6-2 easily coasting to a win. Weeks went off for another home run, giving UNF an impressive 5-0 lead. The Ospreys would score one more run, giving them a 6-2 victory.

Baseball start ASUN play later this week against at Harmon Stadium against Kennesaw State.

Softball

Softball was untouchable this spring break, as they won both of their doubleheader matchup against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on March 22.

The first game was a great win for the Ospreys as they scored in four of the seven innings.

Freshman Kayla McGory started the Ospreys off as her single was able to bring home sophomore Navia Penrod.

By the third, the Ospreys had a total of four runs on the board as the Yellow Jackets tried to make a comeback. The Yellow Jackets scored three runs in the third, but it would not be enough to keep up with the Ospreys.

The Yellow Jackets went scoreless in the rest of the game, but the Ospreys would put up one final point in the sixth inning, moving the final score to 5-3 with the Ospreys winning.

Later that day, the Yellow Jackets got a second chance against the Ospreys in hopes of bringing in a win.

Unfortunately for the Yellow Jackets, the Ospreys came out swinging even harder than before.

The Ospreys continued their strong start and picked up their first score in the first inning.

Things went quiet in the second and third inning as neither team scored.

Sophomore Dominica Cocuzza, reigning ASUN Player of the Week,  would break the silence with a home run down center field in the fourth inning. Cocuzza’s hit streak has been moved to 13-games now.

The Ospreys would rack up six more runs by the end of the game, with four of them scored in the sixth inning.

The game was a great win for the Ospreys with an ending score of 8-0.

The Ospreys record moves to 19-13 this season, as the Ospreys prepare to take on UCF on March 29.

Tennis

Men’s tennis kicked off their ASUN tournament play on March 25 with a fantastic win over the FGCU Eagles.

The Ospreys started strong, grabbing the doubles point after the No. 2 and No. 3 pairs won their sets.

This doubles point was UNF’s 15th straight doubles win this season.

North Florida kept up the momentum in the singles round, winning five of the six singles matches.

Not letting his injury against Tennessee Tech on Monday hold him back, senior Jack Findel-Hawkins bounced back against the Eagles to defeat his opponent 6-2,6-2.

Junior Jefta Kecic pulled through with a win in a three-set match to move his win streak to four games.

Findel-Hawkins is currently ranked 58th in the nation while Kecic is ranked 96th.

The final score of the game was 6-1 as the Ospreys prepare for their next conference game against Kennesaw State on March 30.

Women’s tennis shut down the Stetson Hatters in their first ASUN conference game.

The Ospreys had an outstanding performance in the double matches, sweeping the Hatters in doubles play.

North Florida added more fuel to their fire in the singles play, bringing in four of the six wins.

Junior Irina Karangozishvili, in the No. 4 position, and senior Michelle Vazquez, in the No. 3 position, expanded their win streak to three games in their recent win over the Hatters .

The Ospreys will play Kennesaw State on March 30.

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