At long-last the 2017 National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) College Nationals are upon us, as the Soaring Eagles look to capture their third national title in program history. Elmira departs from the Southern Tier this Tuesday, April 4, for sunny skies in Daytona Beach, Florida, for this year's national event, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday and Friday, April 6 and 7. The preliminary round is set for Thursday, while the finals will take place on the 7th. Elmira has finished in third place at nationals in three consecutive seasons. Elmira will send-off the EC Cheerleaders at 2:45 p.m. just outside the campus center – EC is asking those interested in attending to please be at the campus center by 2:30 p.m.
  The Soaring Eagles are in action for a handful of home games at historic Dunn Field this week, starting with tomorrow's non-conference showdown with Hilbert College at 3:00 p.m. However, prior to that game, Elmira will make up last Fridays' postponed contest against Houghton College tonight in Houghton, New York, with a 6:00 p.m. start. EC will also face Wells College in non-league play on Wednesday, April 5, before resuming its conference schedule with a three-game weekend series against Ithaca College. Elmira and Ithaca open the series with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 8, and wrap-up the three-game set the following day, Sunday April 8. The opening pitches on both days are set for 1:00 p.m.
  Winter weather and consistent rainfall forced a bevy of schedule changes to Elmira's schedule in March. However, several of those contests will be made up this week as the Purple and Gold prepare for five doubleheaders in a seven-day span. Four of the five twin bills will take place at Eldridge Park Stadium, starting with today's non-conference showdown against SUNY Canton at 2:30 p.m. On Wednesday, April 5, Elmira will clash with Medaille College and two days later host Houghton College in a two-game E8 series – action begins at 3:00 p.m. on both days. Elmira's homestand continues with a two-game set with Alfred University on Saturday, April 8, before wrapping up the week's action on the road at Hilbert College on Sunday, April 9, at 1:00 p.m.
  The Purple and Gold will look to build on last week's 1-1 showing, as the Elmira men take on The College at Brockport and Hartwick College. EC travels to face the Golden Eagles of Brockport on Wednesday, April 5, at 4:00 p.m. and will host the Hawks of Hartwick on Saturday, April 8, at 1:00 p.m. Saturday's tilt with the Hawks wills serve as EC's HEADstrong Game, in which the Elmira men will don lime-green shoe laces to support the HEADstrong Foundation's mission to improve the quality of life for cancer patients and their families through providing essential services. The Soaring Eagles already raised $1,715.00 during the fall for the HEADstrong Foundation, bringing EC's two-year total to $6,137.00.
  After back-to-back home games, the Soaring Eagles hit the road for a pair of contests this week. Elmira will challenge the Wells College Express on Wednesday, April 5, at 4:00 p.m. in Aurora, New York, before concluding the week with a conference showdown against Hartwick College on Saturday, April 8, at 1:00 p.m.
  It has been six months since the Elmira women last competed, but the spring portion of EC's schedule is quickly approaching as the Soaring Eagles head to the College Golf Course at Delhi for this weekend's two-day SUNY Delhi Spring Invitational. The event is scheduled to begin on Friday, April 7, and ends the following afternoon. Elmira will be looking to build on its last two events in the fall in which the Purple and Gold took home first place at the EC Fall Invitational and second place at the Empire 8 Conference Championships.  
  After suffering a loss in their Empire 8 opener, the Soaring Eagles will look to bounce back against two of the team's most bitter rivals this weekend. Elmira travels to Delhi, New York, for a 6:00 p.m. battle against Harwick on Saturday, April 8. The following afternoon will pit the Purple and Gold against Nazareth College at the Murray Athletic Center at 12:00 p.m. Both contests will have serious postseason implications for all teams involved.
  The 2017 season comes to a close this Saturday, April 8, for the Soaring Eagles as they host Nazareth and SUNY Poly in non-conference action. Elmira kicks things off at 10:00 a.m. against the Golden Flyers, before wrapping-up the season with a 2:00 p.m. showdown against the Wildcats. EC will honor is lone senior, Mark Kawecki '17, at Saturday's match as part of Elmira's Class of 2017 Recognition Day.
  After suffering tough losses in the early game against both Wells and Houghton last week, the Soaring Eagles responded with their two biggest wins of the season in the nightcaps. On March 28, EC defeated Wells 16-1 in the late game, while on April 1, Elmira throttled Houghton en route to a 20-6 victory. The wins mark the team's best outings at the plate, as the Purple and Gold belted 16 hits in the second game against the Express and a season-high 20 in the late game at Houghton.
 
Dennis Rudolph '18 stole the show against Wells, as the junior outfielder slugged a pair of opposite field homers in his first two at-bats of the nightcap. Not only were they the first dingers of his collegiate career, but Rudolph set a program record for home runs in a game, while tying the mark for the most RBIs with five. Joe Kidd '18 picked up the 'W' on the mound – his first since his rookie season in 2015 – by tossing 4.0 one-run innings with four strikeouts. Elmira received a handful of impressive performances against the Highlanders, led by Conor Bawiec '18 with four hits and Will Jenkins '18 with four RBIs. Dylan Bellinger '17 finished 3-for-3 with three runs and three RBIs as well.
  The Elmira men played to a 4-4 tie at halftime with the Highlanders, before exploding for 12 second-half goals, resulting in a 16-5 triumph over Houghton. The win was EC's first of the year and first inside conference play. Although Jacob Magnoli '18 and Sal Magliocco '17 registered their first career goals, it was a banner performance from senior attacker Anthony LaRusso '17 that broke the game wide open. The North Conway, New Hampshire, native netted all six of his goals in the second half as part of a seven-point performance, with both figures marking single-game career highs. LaRusso became the first Soaring Eagle to post at least seven points and six goals in a game since the 2014 season. Elmira capped off the week with a non-conference loss to State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) foe SUNY Geneseo by a 22-2 final score.
   The Soaring Eagles shook off the frigid upstate New York winter and returned to the links at the Hanover Country Club on March 30 for the Gettysburg Spring Invitational. EC placed ninth out of the field of 10 teams with a one-round score of 350 (+66). Finishing with identical 15-over-par 86's were Dan Gridley '18 and Charl Pretorious '19, who placed in a tie for 38th. Senior Brian Demo '17 carded a 17-over 88 and was just three strokes away from tying of his season-low from the fall.
  Elmira's success during the spring portion of its schedule continued with a 2-1 showing last week, as the Soaring Eagles earned non-conference wins against Keystone College and Lycoming College; EC also fell to E8 power Ithaca College. The Purple and Gold cruised to a 9-0 victory over Keystone last Monday afternoon, defeating the Giants in just one hour. Then on Saturday, Elmira opened Empire 8 Conference play against Ithaca, but fell to Bombers, 9-0. The week concluded with tight 5-4 win on the road against Lycoming, despite EC having to forfeit matches at third doubles and sixth singles.
 
Patrick Tracey '18 and Stephen Gervase '20 led Elmira in wins last week as both players went 4-2. Tracey was 2-1 at second singles with both wins coming in straight sets. Gervase was also 2-1 in singles with a straight-set win against Keystone and a thrilling three-set victory that clinched the win for EC against Lycoming at fourth singles. The duo also teamed up for a doubles win at the No. 2 position against the Warriors of Lycoming.
  Elmira could not have asked for a much better season-opener, as it defeated the Panthers of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford by a final score of 3-0 in the opening game of the 2017 campaign. EC's starter Katie McDougal '18 pitched a gem, throwing 7.0 innings while allowing just four hits in the shutout win. Freshman Allie Krohn '20 shined in her first collegiate start, as she drove in two runs in the fourth inning to give McDougal some important run support.
 
The weekend doubleheaders against the fifth-ranked Cardinals and the Golden Flyers were not as successful for the Soaring Eagles, as they dropped all four of those games. In the opening contest against Fisher, EC scored two runs despite not recording a hit and were defeated by a 10-2 final score. In the nightcap, Fisher's pitching continued to roll, as Elmira recorded just four hits in the five-inning shutout loss (10-0) on Saturday evening.
 
In the opening tilt against Naz on Sunday, the Soaring Eagles found themselves down 6-0 early following a six-run second inning by the Golden Flyers. A three-run homer in the third helped pad Nazareth's lead to a commanding 9-0.  EC put its first points on the board in the fourth when Emily Clark '19 launched the first home run of her season, but that run stood as EC's lone point of the 9-1 bout. The second contest started much more promisingly for Elmira, as an Emily Carlin '17 single drove home Maddy Johnson '19 to put the Purple and Gold up 1-0 after one inning. This lead did not last for long, however, as the Golden Flyers scored one in the second to tie it before plating nine in the bottom of the fifth to seal the five-inning victory, 10-1.
  EC cheerleading added another banner to its already illustrious list of accomplishments by taking the top prize in the All-Girl Division III field at the East Coast Classic on Saturday night in Providence, Rhode Island. The Soaring Eagles bested Fitchburg State University to win first place. The final results of the competition will be released on Tuesday, so stay tuned to the Elmira athletics website (athletics.elmira.edu) and our social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter to find out the judges' scores. 
  In the opening match of the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) Crossover at New York University, the Soaring Eagles (10-20) were swept, 3-0, by seventh-ranked NYU. In the opening set against the Violets, EC battled its way to a 25-23 score, despite owning a .040-to-.348 hitting percentage disadvantage. The second and third sets were also tightly contested as NYU had to squeak out a pair of 25-22 wins to seal the UVC triumph. Elmira's serving kept it in the match, as it posted 10 aces in the three-set affair, the fourth most that it has recorded this season.  
 
In the second match of the day, 15th-ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology earned a dominant 25-19 victory in the opening set, after posting a .471 hitting percentage. Both teams shined in the second set, as the Engineers' .500 clip bested Elmira's noteworthy .323 hitting percentage to take the set, 25-22. MIT continued its impressive play in the third, topping the Soaring Eagles, 25-21, after going on an 8-0 run in the middle of the set to overcome a 15-10 deficit. Dan Symer '19 shined in the contest, as he tied a career high with nine digs. 
  After suffering conference losses to No. 10-ranked Ithaca and Utica, the Soaring Eagles bounced back nicely with a 10-9 win over visiting New England for EC's first win of the season on Sunday. Elmira jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals in the first 3:38 of regulation, however, the Pilgrims went on to score five unanswered goals to take a 5-2 lead. From there, Elmira pieced together a 6-1 run that bridged the first and second halves to take an 8-6 lead. The teeter-totter contest continued with back-to-back goals by NEC, tying the game at 8-8, before the two teams traded goals to bring the contest to 9-9 with under five minutes to play. Thankfully, Rachel Grampp '18 provided the game-winning goal with 3:47 on the clock to lift EC past New England.
 
Kyra McDonald '18 had a breakout game for the Soaring Eagles with career highs in points (5) and goals (4). Of her four tallies, three came in the first half, including a beautiful scoop shot with 21 ticks left on the first-half clock. Rookie Rachel Goetz '20 was a four-point producer and finished as EC's only other multi-goal scorer with three goals.