Saints Roll Into Summer By: Mathias Woerner Staff Writer Summer is just around the corner here at the University of St. Francis (USF), and on top of all the other things we love to do in the coming warm weather, there will be plenty of Saint athletics to keep you in the sun all summer long!
conclusion of this tournament, the softball team will turn their focus towards the NAIA National Championship tournament, which starts with the opening round on May 16.
Men’s and Women’s Track & Field will have the CCAC Outdoor Championships at Joliet Memorial on Friday, May 6 at 4:00 P.M. This meet will go a long way towards setting the stage for the NAIA Outdoor Championships slated to begin on Wednesday, May 25, in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Before nationals, however, the Saints' track teams will be on their home turf one last time at the Fighting Chance Meet, set to take place Friday, May 13 with a 3:00 P.M. start time.
The baseball team, on the other hand, will have a quick turnaround as they compete back home in Joliet at another CCAC Conference Tournament at DuPage Medical Group Field, just two days after Crown Point, according to www.jolietslammers.com. This will be followed by the NAIA National Championships that carry the team through the end of May, depending on how far they advance.
The Men’s and Women’s golf teams will be kicking it into high gear for this last stretch of the season, preparing to compete in the NAIA National Championships. The men will tee off on Tuesday, May 17, when they travel to Silvis, IL for their final outing of the year, according to www. stfrancis.edu. The women’s team will be trekking all the way down to Oklahoma City to compete in their National Championship one week later, on May 24. Saints' Tennis is winding down the last couple weeks of their season with May 17 circled on the calendar. It is on this day that the NAIA National Championships take place for both the men’s and women’s teams in Mobile, Alabama. A summer on the diamond awaits all St. Francis fans as they put this Spring semester in their rearview mirror. The conclusions of the Saints’ baseball and softball teams will unfold before us in the balmy summer sun, as study guides become sunflower seeds and bubble gum. Our softball team will look to continue their upward tilt into the summer months, as they try to tackle a CCAC Conference Tournament in Crown Point, IN, on Thursday, May 5, through Monday, May 9. At the
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Gio Pappas, a junior member of the USF baseball team, has reason for optimism heading into the final home stretch of the year, saying, “We got off to a rough start mainly due to our tournaments in Florida and Tennessee, but ever since then, the whole team has gotten going in the right direction. I think we’re in a good place going into the end of the year, I really do.” Optimism going into the summer will be paramount for all Saints' athletics, and there’s no shortage of options for Saints' fans to come out and enjoy the good weather while supporting your Fighting Saints!
