Mother Nature is certainly not interested in gaining the favor of spring sports athletes this year.
In what has become a daily occurrence, yesterday's baseball, softball and men's tennis matches were all postponed due to generally abysmal field conditions.
Already jam-packed with games, the spring season never allows for an easy shuffling of schedules, and with the number of rainouts, postponements and changed locations just over the last few weeks, many athletes are wondering if everything will be played in time for the championship season - a nightmare for any student athlete, coach or administrator involved in collegiate athletics.
Since returning from spring break on March 25, the softball team - which generally boasts one of the spring's most hectic schedules to begin with - endured three postponements and five location changes. And playing on Spicer Field, the athletic complex's lowest elevation of any, has certainly not improved matters. Relatively speaking, the baseball team has been a little luckier, having cancelled only one game and moved one location, in part the result of a new tarp this year, which has allowed Huskins Field to withstand even the most dire April conditions.
Usually able to withstand the worst weather, the lacrosse teams have even been hampered by Mother Nature's relentlessness over the past few weeks, as one men's lacrosse game was postponed, while one women's game moved locations.
But the teams most vulnerable have been the tennis squads, which have been relegated to the Gantcher Center for nearly every home match. The men's team has moved locations six times this season, while the women's team has been fortunate to have only changed places four times.
But there is sunlight at the end of this dark and dreary tunnel, as after today, weather.com isn't predicting rain until a week from today, sending teams scrambling to reschedule games. Starting tomorrow, the softball team will play seven games in five days - far from ideal considering the quickly approaching finals schedule.
With that in mind, athletes are hoping these April showers bring May flowers sooner rather than later.
-by Rachel Dolin
