It’s almost that magical time of year when we pack the Reilly Center and rabidly cheer the basketball teams to victory.
These sports likewise require intense dedication, yet the athletes rarely receive the attention the basketball teams do.
The golf team, led by two-time Atlantic 10 player of the week, freshman Josh Stauffer, had quite a successful fall.
The season was highlighted by victories in the Leo Keenan and Cornell Invitationals.
The cross country teams both had their best seasons on record. Despite having teams of nearly all freshmen and sophomores, the Bonnies made team history at nearly every meet this season.
The Little Three Invitational in August marked the first time ever both St. Bonaventure teams finished as high as second. The National Catholic Championships saw four of the top 10 individual 5k times in Bona women’s history.
At the Gettysburg Invitational, two runners on the men’s team moved into the top ten 8k all-time list as both teams logged top ten finishes. Last week, for the first time in the history of St. Bonaventure women’s cross country, the Bonnies finished out of last place at the Atlantic 10 Championships.
This is no small accomplishment for a team with no seniors and only two juniors. Both teams still have Northeast Regional Championships to run next week.
Success was not limited to varsity sports while both rugby teams were solid as always. The women’s team moved to Division II after finishing third in the country in Division III last year.
Despite being new to a conference compiled of much larger schools, the Bonnies finished with a winning record (4-3) and continued their two-year home undefeated streak.
The men’s team was no slouch either this year as the Brown and White have started 4-2 in league play, including wins over Syracuse and Army. The Bonnies may still be able to qualify for playoffs.
However, no fall sport has been as consistently competitive as women’s soccer in the last few years.
After a slow start to the season, the team won five of its last seven conference games to clinch a spot in the Atlantic 10 postseason tournament for the fifth year in a row.
The highlight of the stretch run was consecutive double overtime victories over Xavier and UMass. Both games were ended on goals by sophomore Molly Curry who was later named A-10 player of the week.
The team now has a chance to deliver only the second A-10 Championship in over six years to St. Bonaventure.
Bona Nation should be as excited for the soccer and rugby playoffs as we were for the basketball teams last year.
The fall is not yet over no matter how much the weather is trying to convince us it is.
Let’s continue to support our teams still fighting for championship glory and congratulate the ones who have finished on a job well done.
After all, if we only supported the high profile teams on campus, wouldn’t that make us fair weather fans?
I know Bona Nation won’t accept anything short of being the loudest, rowdiest and best fans in the NCAA. Let’s leave the front running to Canisius.
