Freshman

Maryland freshman offensive lineman Nick Brigham has withdrawn from the university for personal reasons, a team spokesman said Wednesday. Brigham, a 6-foot-2, 280-pound guard from Atlanta, was a four-star prospect and the No. 28 player in Georgia, according to 247Sports.com. He never appeared in a game for Maryland. Brigham, a 3.9 student in high school, committed to the Terps in March 2011 shortly after a visit to College Park.  "And so I went there, looked at it completely, objectively," Brigham told The Sun . "Would I still love this campus even if I didn't have football?

The wake-up call came at 3:15 a.m. Tuesday, but Midshipman Alberto Salabarria was ready well before then. Anticipating a grueling, thrilling, muddy day of Sea Trials at the Naval Academy, Salabarria and some of his classmates couldn't wait. "Everyone was listening to music, trying to motivate themselves," Salabarria said. Staying upbeat is a key to surviving Sea Trials, a 14-hour test of strength, endurance and will that marks the end of the freshman, or "plebe," year at the Naval Academy.

Loyola Blakefield's freshman soccer team completed a perfect 15-0-2 record this season in claiming the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference title. The Dons also prevailed over B Conference junior varsity squads from St. Paul's and Boy's Latin. After starting the season with five consecutive wins, a trip to Georgetown Prep in Bethesda was the first real challenge for Loyola. "Both teams were undefeated, and we were unsure how the game would play out. It turned out to be extremely physical.

St. Mary's College of Maryland has only locked in about two-thirds of the students it needs for a full freshman class next school year, a shortfall that could cost the public liberal arts school $3.5 million in lost tuition. Though the school's admissions department is trying to fill about 150 vacant spots, the president warned faculty and staff to prepare for budget cuts. "All of the numbers on this campus are small numbers, so this has a large impact," said President Joseph R. Urgo, who since becoming president in 2010 has revamped the school's admissions department.

College football West only freshman on Walter Camp team Towson running back Terrance West (Northwestern) was honored Friday as a first-team selection on the Walter Camp Football Foundation Football Championship Subdivision All-America team. He was the only freshman named to the first or second teams, which are selected by head coaches and sports information directors at FCS schools. The second-leading rusher in the Colonial Athletic Association, West rushed for 1,294 yards and scored an FCS-best 29 touchdowns in 11 games.

When Maryland takes the field at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis for Saturday's NCAA tournament quarterfinal matchup against No. 2 seed Johns Hopkins, Goran Murray will likely move to a spot opposite Zach Palmer and shadow the Blue Jays' junior attackman incessantly. That's been the role that the 6-foot, 175-pound defenseman has played in his freshman campaign. Having tangled with the likes of Virginia senior Steele Stanwick, Colgate junior Peter Baum, and Lehigh senior David DiMaria, being asked to contain an opponent's top attackman has become a matter of routine for Murray.

In 2008 and 2009, Maryland rotated Jason Carter and Brian Phipps in the net. The Terps' season-opening opponent this Tuesday may be taking a similar approach. Mount St. Mary's plans to open tomorrow's contest with freshman Will Rego in the cage. But coach Tom Gravante said freshman Frankie McCarthy may play in the second half. “We may play [Rego] the first half and then come in with the other freshman, Frankie McCarthy, for the second half and see what happens,” Gravante said Monday afternoon.

The search for St. Mary's goalkeeper of the future has centered on freshman Joey Casey. The Ellicott City native and Mount St. Joseph native made 15 saves in the Seahawks' 13-12 upset of No. 11 Roanoke Sunday. In doing so, Casey validated coach Chris Hasbrouck's decision to go with him rather than seniors Scott Marsh and Ben Wheeler and junior Zack Blewett. “Great to have,” Hasbrouck said of Casey, who is scheduled to make his second career start against No. 8 Dickinson Saturday.

Ohio State freshman Joey Atas doesn't plan on joining the new wave of collegiate tennis baseliners anytime soon. "I like quick points," said the 6-foot-1 Atas, who began making his mark on the tennis court four years ago at Calvert Hall. Atas is having far too much success as a big serve-and-volleyer, using his power game to become the first Buckeye named the Big Ten Conference's Freshman of the Year. He was also one of 13 selected to the 2004 All-Big Ten team, compiling a 25-8 overall singles record while playing mostly at the No. 2 position.

It is the question Maryland basketball fans seem to be asking themselves. Heck, it's the question Mark Turgeon must be asking himself when he goes to sleep at night and gets up in the morning What has happened to Alex Len? The player who had Terps fans chanting "We love you Alex" during his impressive debut last month against Albany and then followed up with equally strong performances against Radford and Cornell has slowly disappeared in Maryland's four ACC games. Except for a few spurts on the offensive end against N.C. Stateand on the defensive end against Wake Forest and Georgia Tech, the 7-1 freshman from the Ukraine has looked out of sync.

For five minutes, 17 seconds, it would not have been difficult to assume that Dimitri Pecunes felt as if he had let down his Stevenson teammates. The freshman goalkeeper had surrendered five goals in the first quarter of the No. 4 Mustangs' home contest against No. 11 Washington College at Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills Saturday night and was promptly pulled for sophomore Kevin Cain at the start of the second period. But that was not the approach the Baltimore native and Calvert Hall graduate had taken as he stood on the sideline.

The six-goal explosion by redshirt freshman midfielder Ben McCarty that powered Towson's 11-8 upset of No. 15 Drexel in Wednesday's Colonial Athletic Association tournament semifinal must have shocked the Dragons, who probably did not expect McCarty to match his season total in goals in one contest. Even McCarty's coach, Shawn Nadelen, said he did not envision that performance. “I can't say I anticipated that,” Nadelen said with a chuckle Thursday morning. “I'm excited for him to do that.

Goalkeeper Dimitri Pecunes started in Stevenson's 26-5 shellacking of Lycoming last Saturday, but played just the first quarter and did not record the win. The Baltimore native and Calvert Hall graduate is expected to play much longer in the team's home contest against Lebanon Valley in Wednesday night's semifinal of the Middle Atlantic Conference tournament. Coach Paul Cantabene said the sprained AC joint in Pecunes' shoulder that sidelined the freshman for three games is no longer an issue.

The UMBC men's lacrosse team's offense sputtered throughout the first half of Saturday's game against visiting Binghamton. But the Retrievers came alive in the second half and rallied for a win that put them into the America East tournament. Freshman Pat Young scored all four of his goals in the second half, the final one a tie-breaker with 1:18 left, giving UMBC a 10-9 comeback victory. The Retrievers UMBC (6-7, 3-2 America East) will be either the No. 3 or 4 seed in the four-team conference tournament, which begins Thursday at Stony Brook.

Eli Carter, a 6-foot-2 guard who received his release from Rutgers after the firing of controversial coach Mike Rice Jr., announced Friday on Twitter that he will choose between Maryland and Florida. Carter led the Scarlet Knights in scoring as both a freshman (13.8 points per game) and again as a sophomore (14.9) before suffering a season-ending broken leg in mid-February. Given the circumstances of Carter's transfer - coming after Rice was forced out amid charges of physically and verbally abusing his players during practice - he might be allowed to play immediately rather than having to sit out the one year normally required by the NCAA.

No. 4 Stevenson has won two consecutive games without Dimitri Pecunes, but the freshman goalkeeper could return for Saturday's road contest at Middle Atlantic Conference rival Widener. Coach Paul Cantabene said the sprained AC joint in Pecunes' shoulder that he sustained in the first quarter of the Mustangs' eventual 14-13 overtime loss to No. 13 Roanoke on April 9 is improving. He is expected to test his shoulder in practice Thursday afternoon, and Cantabene said he is “optimistic” that Pecunes could play against the Pride.

Harvard's sophomore class took a big hit this past week, as seven players in that class are no longer on the team's roster. Defensemen Jack Breit and Stephen Jahelka ; midfielders Sean Mahon , Keegan Michel (McDonogh) and Grove Stewart ; and attackmen Matt Scalise and Will Walker are not on the team's roster for 2013. A Harvard spokesman confirmed the players are not on the roster for 2013 but would not speculate on whether they would be back on the roster in the future.

Every point for Maryland this season is as valuable as a precious metal. The offense, weakened by injuries and led by a new freshman quarterback, is clearly a work in progress. It just doesn't score that often and can't afford to waste red-zone opportunities. That's why everyone will understand the decision revealed Sunday to use a new field-goal kicker - freshman Brendan Magistro - for the shorter attempts. Maryland has lost two close games in a row -- and Brad Craddock has missed kicks of shorter than 40 yards in both of them.

UMBC freshman midfielder Pat Young was named America East Rookie of the Week, the conference announced Monday. Young scored a pair of goals, including the game-winning goal with 2:39 remaining, as UMBC defeated Stony Brook, 13-12, on Saturday. Division I men's result: Harry Kucharczyk scored with 1:24 left in overtime to cap a second-half comeback by No. 14 Yale, which defeated visiting Stony Brook, 11-10. The Seawolves held a 7-4 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

No midfielder has made more starts for UMBC than Pat Young, and the freshman continues to reward the coaching staff for that decision. Young, who has started nine of 11 games for the Retrievers (5-6), ranks second on the team in both goals (22) and points (28). He has recorded eight goals and four assists in three contests against America East foes and was named the conference's Rookie of the Week after he scored two goals - including the game-winner - in UMBC's 13-12 decision over Stony Brook last Saturday.