I never thought I’d be writing this final column.

I always assumed I would have stormed Nickerson Field at some point this semester and never stopped running.

Unfortunately, when the lacrosse team won the America East Tournament in overtime Sunday and my attention diverted to running out on the field and tearing down the Terriers’ goal, no one wanted to join me. I know, you’re probably thinking the same thing as me: Who would ever pass up that opportunity?

Anyway, finals are mere days away and the end of another semester is approaching faster than a disheartened basketball player trying to file his transfer papers.

But I hope I didn’t speak too soon about that. After all, it has started to become a rather unfortunate trend in the basketball program for players to leave unexpectedly, but Terrier fans can finally let out a sigh of relief.

This is, after all, the second semester since fall 2005 where BU fans did not have to watch a basketball player’s name cleared from the roster in any shape or form.

Of course, there are still two weeks left until the official end of the semester. Let’s just hope Carlos Strong doesn’t crack under the pressure of finals and decide the NBA Draft is a better alternative to the real world.

Perhaps the mental break after the first semester was needed. BU athletes all over Comm Ave. seemed to turn it up as soon as the spring semester commenced.

Before I get into specifics, I will address everyone’s theory right away so we can move past it. Contrary to popular belief, the success of Terrier sports in the spring semester did not occur because I started writing a sports column. I understand the correlation seems flawless and I am flattered, but we need to move on.

Ultimately, hockey fans have to be disappointed, as the Terriers played about three months of high school quality hockey. The very slow start was countered with a brilliant – yet nearly impossible – attempt to revitalize a season that lost its pulse months earlier.

However, 2008 and the spring semester brought hope to the hockey team. The Terriers played as a completely different team in the second half of the season and – with All-American defenseman Matt Gilroy and freshman phenom Colin Wilson returning to the lineup next year – have the potential to compete with the best teams in the nation. Even if the Terriers can’t piece together a national title by next season, at least the odds of beating Boston College will go up. Mathematically, they have to.

Just a block away from Agganis stands Walter Brown Arena, and the current home team of this venue is trying to live up to the success the men’s team once achieved on Babcock Street. If the women’s team walked away with anything this season, it’s the fact that the men’s team no longer stands alone when it comes to BU hockey.

Fortunately, the women walked away with more than that.

Sure, this may be the program’s third year in existence, but the team’s failure to live up to the hockey standard at BU in its first two seasons is no longer a problem. The Terriers heated up at the right time and qualified for their first ever Hockey East postseason.

While the actual playoff game certainly rained on the proverbial Terrier parade – BU was downed 8-0 by the University of New Hampshire – I couldn’t help but think about the direction the program is heading. If I didn’t look toward the future, where else would I look? It was too painful to actually watch that game.

The women’s team obtained a winning record in just its second year as a program and, by the third season, the Terriers proved that they belong in a power conference by finishing among the best. This type of exponential growth is certainly worth a closer look. The Terriers may establish themselves as the typical BU hockey team fans have come to know and love.

This semester allowed me to explore other sports teams on campus. I attended my first women’s basketball game in January and almost forgot what it felt like to lose by the end of the season. The team went undefeated at Case Gymnasium and ended a successful 2007-08 campaign in the conference tournament final. Next season, the Terriers will attempt to keep their home-court streak and hopefully end the University of Hartford’s perennial dominance in America East.

It was a glorious semester for Boston University sports. Given this is my last column of the semester, I’m very sorry I didn’t break down and cry for everyone, but there is just too much to look forward to in the few years I have left on campus.

As programs continue to grow and teams look to improve, I have no problem starting my summer of BU sports withdrawal knowing my return to campus next year will be well worth the wait.

Ross Lichtenberg, a sophomore in Sargent College, has been a weekly columnist for The Daily Free Press. He can be reached at [email protected].