Freshmen

Annapolis was dubbed "the center of the jazz world" by local jazz impresario Elana Byrd last weekend for hosting the three-day Four Freshmen Society convention at the Doubletree Hotel on Riva Road. The society is an international fan club whose members gather once a year for a convention celebrating the group. The longest continually performing vocal group, the original Four Freshmen started singing together in 1948, and had their first hit single, "It's a Blue World," four years later.

Coppin State University should enroll higher-caliber freshmen, focus more on transfer and returning students, and reorganize its academics and administration, a committee plans to report Wednesday to the University System of Maryland Board of Regents. The recommendations, from a panel convened in December to study Coppin State, are meant to turn around the stressed institution, one of Maryland's four historically black colleges and universities. The school has one of the lowest six-year graduation rates for first-time, full-time students in the country at 15 percent as of fiscal year 2012 and is underenrolled by more than 2,000 students, the committee said.

Dizzy, Sara and Remi don't know whether or not the new freshmen at McDaniel College are feeling a little homesick, or experiencing their first time on a campus away from family or friends. But regardless, on Tuesday they were only too happy to cuddle with students who needed a hug in Whiteford Hall, the dorm for freshmen females, and also spent time visiting students at Kriel Lounge, a popular gathering place that includes a large cafeteria. The trio - Sara and Remi are spaniels, and Dizzy is a Chinese crested puff - were tough to resist, with their tails wagging and their puppy dog eyes.

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.

The Class of 1997 has arrived.Three freshmen -- Hammond's Rene Hines, Howard's Chanelle Carter and Glenelg's Camey Brian -- haven't wasted any time proving they can play with the best in Howard County girls basketball. All three have turned in big minutes and big baskets giving their squads sometimes badly needed depth.Hines stands tall at the head of the class -- and not just because she's 6 feet 1."Rene is the best freshman I've seen coming into the league, and there have been some good ones," said Craig O'Connell, coach at Howard for the past six years.

Maryland's Katie Schwarzmann couldn't have done much better as a college freshman. Last spring, the Century graduate was the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year, a third-team All-American and an integral part of a national championship team. She scored three goals in the Terrapins' 13-11 NCAA Division I title victory over five-time defending champ Northwestern and was named to the All-Tournament Team. Now Schwarzmann and a handful of others who made stellar debuts last spring face another transition.

Et cetera 3 Towson freshmen earn CAA weekly football honors A trio of freshmen from the No. 10 Towson football team — tailback Terrance West (Northwestern), kick return specialist Derrick Joseph and cornerback Tye Smith — have been named as winners of Colonial Athletic Association weekly awards, conference officials announced Monday. West was named the Offensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week, while Joseph was honored as the Special Teams Performer of the Week and Smith was the Rookie of the Week.

It was like a flashback to 1981: Edward Teller, father of the hydrogen bomb and "Star Wars," plus lots of Republicans eager to pursue peace through strength. All were brought together at a Baltimore hotel yesterday by the Heritage Foundation, unofficial policy arm of the Reagan White House.The new twist was that the eyes of this crop of Republicans for the mid-1990s appeared to glaze over at much of Dr. Teller's talk of high-science defense technology. But the soon-to-be members of Congress bolted upright at a crack he took at the Democrats' penchant for government regulation.

Earlier in the week, North Carolina coach Joe Breschi told Pat Foster it was his time to shine. On Saturday, the freshman attackman delivered with three goals and an assist in the No. 7 Tar Heels' 11-6 win at No. 6 Maryland. Foster (Boys' Latin) was making his first start on attack, filling in for the injured Thomas Wood. Foster felt some pregame jitters playing in front of a home crowd of 3,176 at Byrd Stadium, but those anxieties soon faded as he scored his first goal late in the first quarter, and his last one early in the fourth to push North Carolina's lead to 10-5.

With 49 seconds left in the 132-pound final at Saturday's Franklin Invitational, John Carroll freshman Chris Scott was trailing by two points. He knew he had to do something, and do it fast. When the match restarted, Scott knew he needed a takedown just to tie. And he and his opponent, top-seeded Owings Mills senior Zach Shapiro, both went for it. Shapiro seemed to have gotten the advantage, but he couldn't hold it as Scott scooted away and got the advantage. And then, quick as a blink, the freshman had the senior on his back for a near fall.

The start of Atlantic Coast Conference play had seemed so long in coming for Maryland and its excitable freshmen. But when the anticipation ended and the first game finally arrived on Saturday -- in front of the high-octane sellout crowd for which the Terps players and coaches had been hoping -- it all seemed worth the wait. In a game that felt unmistakably different from Maryland's previous 13 contests this season, the Terps -- and freshmen Jake Layman and Seth Allen, in particular -- upped their energy level and passed their first ACC test in striking fashion, dismantling Virginia Tech, 94-71.

Despite some tentative performances in recent weeks by Maryland's freshmen, second-year coach Mark Turgeon said Friday that he had not lost faith in his first full recruiting class. On Saturday, Turgeon's confidence seemed justified. After a slow start against Delaware State at Comcast Center, the Terps were led out of their early afternoon slumber by freshman Charles Mitchell and the rest of a group ranked among the top 15 coming out of high school. Mitchell, who had totaled just six points in his past three games, scored 10 by halftime and finished with career-highs of 19 points and 14 rebounds in leading Maryland to an easy 79-50 victory before an announced crowd of 12,389.

Baltimore Sun reporters Jeff Barker and Don Markus and editor Matt Bracken weigh in on the three biggest topics of the past week in Maryland  sports. Mark Turgeon has seemed down lately on his freshman class. Should Terps fans be concerned? Jeff Barker: Well, we know how transparent Turgeon is, right? So it wasn't a  surprise to hear him say of the four freshmen after Wednesday night's game: “I think the problem is everybody is telling these guys how good they are. And they're listening, instead of listening to me.” None of the newbies -- Shaquille Cleare, Jake Layman, Seth Allen and Charles Mitchell -- distinguished themselves in the Monmouth game.

When the votes from the 6th Congressional District were counted last week, John Delaney didn't just become Maryland's newest House member. He also became the state's newest employer. And as Delaney and his fellow members of the congressional Class of 2012 now head to Capitol Hill for freshman orientation, they'll also be reviewing resumes, interviewing job candidates and hiring the staff members whose work can be the difference between their success or failure in Washington. Every two years, Election Day marks the end of the campaign season and the start of a hiring frenzy, as dozens of new members choose from among thousands of candidates to fill highly coveted staff positions.

COLLEGE PARK - One year ago, Mark Turgeon brought his Maryland basketball team to play in a tournament in Puerto Rico, where not even the swaying palm trees and balmy trade winds could make up for the coach's dissatisfaction with his players' efforts. Turgeon, then in his first year with the Terps, was a portrait of distress, stamping his feet on the sideline and calling out his players for a lack of commitment. While tourists at his beachfront hotel sipped mojitos, Turgeon endured a kidney stone - a suitable metaphor for a trying season in which he often seemed mismatched with players he had inherited from Gary Williams.

There were plenty of "ups and downs" during Damion Lee 's first season at Drexel. "That's what freshman year is really about," the Calvert Hall graduate said. But most freshmen don't average 12 points and 4.4 rebounds. Most freshmen don't play crunch-time minutes for a 29-win team. And most freshmen don't win Rookie of the Year honors in their highly competitive mid-major-plus conferences. It's probably not a stretch to say that most first-year players would love to go through an “up-and-down” season if it fit Lee's definition of the term.

Good Counsel High School has pulled off a triple on Maryland's latest football depth chart. Two true-freshmen (Stefon Diggs and Mike Madaras) from the Montgomery County school are now listed as starters - - and a third (Wes Brown) is a possible starter. In all, Maryland has seen a dozen true freshmen on the field as the Terps (2-2) open Atlantic Coast Conference play Saturday by hosting Wake Forest (3-2) at 3:30 (ESPNU). The 12 freshmen who have played is the ninth most in the Football Bowl Subdivision, according to the school.

Dizzy, Sara and Remi don't know whether or not the new freshmen at McDaniel College are feeling a little homesick, or experiencing their first time on a campus away from family or friends. But regardless, on Tuesday they were only too happy to cuddle with students who needed a hug in Whiteford Hall, the dorm for freshmen females, and also spent time visiting students at Kriel Lounge, a popular gathering place that includes a large cafeteria. The trio - Sara and Remi are spaniels, and Dizzy is a Chinese crested puff - were tough to resist, with their tails wagging and their puppy dog eyes.