College roundup: Dallastown's Holden Koons celebrates senior day at James Madison

After a storybook high school tennis career at Dallastown, Holden Koons has continued to rewrite record books at James Madison University. There was plenty to celebrate on the decorated Duke’s senior day last weekend.

Koons notched singles and doubles wins Saturday to give him 146 total victories (88 in singles) across his four-year Division I college career. His 6-1, 6-3 win in the No. 1 singles match gave him a career undefeated record at home, and he also matched his career high with his 29th singles win of the year.

The reigning Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year is 29-10 overall in singles this season (including 14-5 in dual meets) and 13-11 in doubles (10-4). JMU improved to 11-8 overall and 3-4 in the Sun Belt — which it joined after leaving the CAA in the summer — with its 4-0 team win over Coastal Carolina.

Koons’ career accolades include the CAA Player of the Year nod — he became the program’s first such selection — and JMU Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors in 2022; CAA Co-Rookie of the Year and first team All-CAA singles in 2021; and VaSID University Division Rookie of the Year in 2020. He’s continued to excel as the Dukes’ No. 1 singles player for the last three years.

Last April, JMU played a “home” match at Wisehaven Tennis Center in York, giving Koons a chance to compete in front of a hometown crowd against Morgan State. The Dukes finished the 2021-22 season 14-6, their best win percentage in 32 years.

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At Dallastown, Koons won four consecutive York-Adams League and District 3 Class 3A championships. He was the state runner-up in 2018 and finished third as a senior in 2019. The Wildcat program has continued to excel in recent years, adding another district crown last year. Dallastown’s team still includes Koons’ younger brother, Hayden, a sophomore.

JMU’s regular season continues this week with road matches against Radford and Old Dominion. The Sun Belt tournament begins April 20.

YORK COLLEGE NOTES

The Spartan men’s lacrosse team rebounded from Wednesday’s 9-8 home loss to Gettysburg with a 16-8 thumping of then-No. 16 Denison at home Saturday. Senior attackman Will Harnick earned MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Week honors after notching eight goals (three vs. Gettysburg, five vs. Denison) in the pair of contests, giving him 43 in 11 games this season. York College now sits at 6-5 overall and 14th in the USILA coaches’ poll entering Wednesday night’s clash with MACC foe Alvernia.

Women’s lacrosse also split its games last week, handling Mary Washington 14-6 before losing 11-5 to No. 6 Salisbury in a reunion of former York Catholic stars Sydney Mentzer and Grace Doyle. Senior goalie Bella Garabo made 26 saves across the two contests to earn MACC Defensive Player of the Week for the third straight week. The No. 9 Spartans (8-3, 2-0) resume league play at Alvernia on Wednesday.

The baseball team completed a series victory over Eastern on Monday with a 15-4 road win. The teams had split a Saturday doubleheader in York, with the Spartans losing 4-3 before winning 3-2. York College (14-12, 10-5) visits No. 10 Randolph-Macon on Wednesday and begins a conference series with Hood on Friday.

Spartan softball went 1-3 last week, splitting a doubleheader at Susquehanna on Wednesday and dropping two to Ithaca on Sunday. The team is 9-13 overall entering its Thursday twin bill vs. Arcadia, and York will take a 3-3 MACC record into a Saturday doubleheader against Hood.

Both tennis teams fell short Saturday afternoon against Lebanon Valley, with the Spartan women (7-5, 2-1) falling 5-4 and the men (4-7, 1-2) losing 7-2. The squads are on the road against Hood on Wednesday and at Alvernia on Friday; the men also have a Thursday home match against Marymount (Va.).

The men’s and women’s golf teams were both in action Tuesday at the Alvernia Spring Invitational. The men ultimately tied for second in the two-day event, with a 39-over team score four shots behind Stevens and tied with Eastern. The women placed third in a one-round competition behind Alvernia and Millersville.

THUNDERBOLT REUNION

Much like Saturday’s York Catholic girls’ lacrosse reunion in the York College-Salisbury game, a pair of former Littlestown softball teammates shared the field Friday when sophomore Bailey Smith (Delaware Valley) and freshman Megan Gorsuch (Lycoming) met for a doubleheader.

Lycoming swept the twin bill, winning 8-4 in the opener and 10-0 in the five-inning nightcap. Gorsuch went 1 for 2 in the first game for the hosts, while Smith scored a run in that contest and pitched 3.2 innings in the second game, allowing four unearned runs.

Gorsuch has seen scattered action as a rookie for the Warriors, who improved to 16-6 with the sweep. Smith is 6 for 31 (.194) at the plate for the Aggies (5-18-1) and holds a 6.83 ERA on the mound, a number she’s brought down by allowing just four earned runs in 15 innings over her last three appearances.