Good morning!
The UMass men’s and women’s lacrosse teams begin their seasons today at Garber Field. The men will play Army at noon, and the women will host UMass-Lowell at 3 p.m. General admission to the twin bill is $8.

Greg Cannella’s Minutemen were 8-6 last season and finished in the top 10 nationally in faceoff percentage and were top 20 in ground balls and turnovers.

The strong spectating schedule includes home games against No. 14 BU on Feb. 25, No. 7 Yale on March 4, No. 9 Rutgers on March 18 and No. 16 Brown on March 25.

The UMass women finished 16-4 last season but were beaten back-to-back by Saint Joseph’s and Princeton in the A-10 and and NCAA tourneys, respectively.

The athletic department unveiled a clever marketing ploy during the UMass hockey game on Jan. 20, when the Minutewomen brought their sticks to the Mullins Center and tossed T-shirts into the crowd. The season opener is against their Kennedy Cup rivals whom they trounced last season, 18-4.

The opening faceoff will mark a changing of the guard after 12 years with Angela McMahon-Serpone at the helm. UMass AD Ryan Bamford chose Jana Drummond to succeed McMahon-Serpone after five years as her assistant.

Drummond cut her teeth at Oregon where she was the Ducks’ all-time leading goal scorer, tweaking the twine 146 times.

Meanwhile in Orlando on Friday, second year softball coach Danielle Henderson’s team was set to jump into the fray at the UCF Tournament. The Minutewomen finished 19-32 last season but were a respectable 12-12 in the A-10. They’ll be up against it with games against Central Florida (49-14 last season), Georgia (43-18), Boise State (40-10) Ohio State (36-17) and Missouri (38-22).

The 27-game traveling road show to Charleston, Tallahassee and Greenville will end on April 1 when they play a twin bill against Saint Louis starting at noon.

Alas, there’ll be no fun in the Florida sun for the UMass baseball team which was 22-26-1 under coach Matt Reynolds. Their season begins on March 1 at Central Conn. State, followed by three games at Navy and a barnstorming tour to schools in North Carolina, Kansas and Philadelphia.

The home opener at Earl Lorden Field will be on March 28 at 3 p.m. against Albany. A week later they’ll host Boston College, and the first pitch for both will be at 3 p.m.

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Kudos to the UMass women’s basketball team for its 80-79 win against Fordham on Wednesday night. Coach Tory Verdi’s team plays with discipline, passion and composure, and it needed all of those traits to beat the Rams (16-9, 8-4). The lead changed hands eight times in the final five minutes and Ber’nyah Mayo — the former third-ranked schoolgirl player in Delaware — hit the winning bucket with 11 seconds left.

It was their ninth straight win and improved their record to 20-4 and 10-1 in the A-10.

“We took their best punch,” Verdi said afterward. “Fordham is a team that wins championships. Seven years ago I told the team I hope that one day we can beat them. Tonight we beat them, and we are better than them.”

The Mullins Center attendance finally cracked the four-figure mark with an announced crowd of 1,413. “It’s great that they’re paying attention to us,” said Verdi. “Finally.”

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It looks like UMass men’s basketball coach Frank Martin’s grade for the 2022-23 season will be an incomplete. He gets an A for his passion, but it’s hard to make an accurate assessment without Noah Fernandes, the team’s best player.

The Witchita State transfer has what’s reported to be a lingering ankle injury. UMass is 7-4 with him, and 6-7 without him. He was hurt in December and returned in January and Martin rode him hard his last three games when he averaged 18 points in 34 minutes.

His last game was against La Salle on Jan. 11, and after a solid first half he had two fouls, two turnovers and missed his only two shots in the final 10 minutes of a heartbreaking 78-77 loss.

Asked why Fernandes hasn’t been referred to an orthopedic specialist in Boston, one insider said, “That is a very good question.”

“Ten years ago we had a Haitian center named Cady Lalanne who broke his foot. He was treated in Northampton by doctors somehow associated with the university but when he returned he re-broke the same foot. We got the name of the Celtics ortho and he was sent there. They treated him and he never had the issue again.”

Lalanne’s talent has enabled him to see the world. According to his Wiki page, he’s played professionally for 11 different teams, from the Zhejiang Golden Bulls in China to the San Pablo Burgos in Spain, and in October he helped Kuwait SC win the Arab championship.

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Kevin Czepiel and his family will be moving to the southwest corner of the state where he will be the boys’ hockey coach at the Berkshire School in Sheffield. The former UMass captain built a successful program at NMH and is ready to take his prep coaching career to the next level.

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SQUIBBERS: Bobby Hull’s passing stoked memories for Charlie Olchowski of when the Golden Jet gave him his autograph at the Boston Garden. “I got brave, went down to the blue line, and stuck the pen and program over the plexiglass. He skated over and signed it and it impressed me for life.” … Before halftime of last Saturday’s Davidson game at the Mullins Center, South Deerfield native Al Beaubien and former UMass SID Howie Davis were both honored for their decades of service to the program as the statistician and scorekeeper, respectively. Usher Mike Cuomo was also honored. … Wind and rain at Pebble Beach last weekend prompted one commentator to recall the golf expression, “When it’s breezy, swing easy.” … LIU hoops has tanked in the aftermath of the Derek Kellogg era. At this writing the Sharks were 3-20 under Rod Strickland, including a 114-61 drubbing at UConn. … Greg Olsen on Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts: “He makes 4.5 linebackers play 4.7.” … The latest SI revealed that in the aftermath of the Malcolm Butler pick in Super Bowl XLIX, some thought that Pete Carroll wanted Russell Wilson to win the MVP trophy and not Marshawn Lynch. … After last weekend’s 15-point loss to Davidson, Frank Martin told Adam Frenier: “We’re not trying to get them happy, we’re trying to get them better (but if) you hold them accountable, they transfer.” … Asked about the possibility that Tom Brady will be his sidekick in two years, Fox broadcaster Kevin Burkhardt showed his northern New Jersey roots: “I have not thought about Tom Brady as a broadcaster for ten (bleeping) seconds.” … During their Sirius-XM morning show this week, Charlie Weis informed co-host Bill Lekas that as of Wednesday a seat in “Terrace End Zone” on Sunday would cost $3,754. … WFAN’s “Boomer and Gio” morning show went on the air at 4 a.m. Arizona time all week. Before Tuesday’s show, sleep-deprived Gregg Giannotti was confronted by NFL reporter Kay Adams over a perceived insult. “I’d rather come face to face with a mountain lion than get that look again,” said Giannotti. …Happy 12th birthday to my Aquarian grandson Chase, who always gets a thrill from beating me at cribbage. … Better coach, better quarterback, the final score: Chiefs 25, Eagles 19. You heard it here first.

Chip Ainsworth is an award-winning columnist who has penned his observations about sports for decades in the Pioneer Valley. He can be reached at chipjet715@icloud.com

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