It may be just the second week of the academic year, but Boston University’s sports teams are buzzing with excitement. Women’s cross country senior Andrea Walkonen and men’s soccer freshman Daniel Chu both garnered America East honors, while men’s basketball guards Tyler Morris and Matt Wolff were anointed co-captains for the upcoming season last week. The men’s and women’s cross country squads both received regional recognition, and the lacrosse team acquired the final piece of its coaching puzzle.
Tyler Morris and Matt Wolff
The guards were named co-captains of the 2007-08 men’s basketball team Friday in an announcement made by coach Dennis Wolff.
Morris, the defending America East Rookie of the Year, started all 30 games for last season’s 12-18 squad. The redshirt sophomore piled up 13.4 points per game, good for the 10th best average in the conference.
Matt Wolff, son of BU’s bench boss, has appeared in just four games over the past two seasons due to a chronic knee injury. The junior played in all 29 games of the 2004-05 campaign as a true freshman, averaging 4.3 points per game.
The well-rested shooting guard made his presence felt in this summer’s Kainan Tournament in Taiwan, scoring 20 points in BU’s championship game victory over the University of British Columbia.
Daniel Chu
Chu was named America East Rookie of the Week on Monday, three days after netting his first two collegiate goals in BU’s 4-0 rout of Fordham University in the Adidas-Brown Soccer Classic at Brown University in Providence, R.I.
The Irvine, Calif. native notched his first tally at 67:54 on a feed from junior midfielder Neil Hlavaty before striking again at 76:44 thanks to a pass from junior forward Petur Sigurdsson. The rookie forward boasts the Terriers’ second highest point total (4) and is tied with Sigurdsson for the team lead in goals (2).
Men’s and Women’s Cross Country
Both teams were represented favorably in a poll released Monday by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The women’s team ranked seventh in the Northeastern region, while the men nabbed the No. 11 slot.
The Terriers, tabbed as the America East preseason favorite, placed four top-five runners in last Friday’s meet at Franklin Park. Walkonen paced the field with a 17:46 finish, outlasting the nearest competitor by 1:17.
The men’s team, picked to finish third in America East, featured two top-three finishers last Friday in senior David Proctor and sophomore Eric Ashe.
Andrea Walkonen
The senior was named America East’s top female cross country performer of the week Tuesday, four days after finishing first in last Friday’s 5k event at Franklin Park with a time of 14:46. The Jaffrey, N.H. native, competing in her first cross country event since June 9, 2006, was joined by teammates Sarah Mosser, Emma Reid and Anne Wighton in the top five.
Katie Linnertz
The former George Mason University lacrosse star joined BU’s coaching staff as an assistant Tuesday in an announcement made by coach Liz Robertshaw.
Linnertz ranks fifth on the Patriots’ career caused-turnover list with 93 and earned an All-Colonial Athletic Conference Second Team selection in 2005.
Linnertz rounds out the Terriers’ 2008 coaching staff, as former BU goalkeeper Anne Sheridan was named Robertshaw’s top assistant in July.
