Terrapins men’s tennis coach Kyle Spencer was voted the Atlantic Region Coach of the Year by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association on Monday.

Spencer led the Terps to four ACC wins — the most wins since 1990 — including the program’s first-ever win over Miami and its first defeat of North Carolina in 22 years. Spencer is the first Terps coach to win the award.

Under Spencer’s tutelage, Maros Horny and Vlad Stefan became the first Terps to earn All-ACC honors since 2002. Stefan was also named Co-ACC Player of the Week on April 17, becoming the first Terp since 2002 to win the award.
Horny and John Collins earned a bid to the NCAA Doubles Championship. The 26th-ranked pair is the team’s first participants in the NCAA tournament since 2008.

The Terrapins men’s lacrosse team has had a tendency to wilt late in games this season.

That changed last night.

The unseeded Terps rallied from a two-goal deficit in the fourth quarter to shock No. 7 seed Lehigh, 10-9, before a record-breaking crowd of 2,278 at the Ulrich Sports Complex.

With the game tied, 9-9, the Terps controlled possession for the game’s final 4:41.

And with six seconds remaining, senior attackman Joe Cummings proved why he’s considered the leader of this Terps team. He dodged past two defenders and laced the game-winner over the shoulder of Mountain Hawks goalkeeper Matt Poillon.

The score ruined Lehigh’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, and set up a quarterfinals matchup with No. 2 seed Johns Hopkins on Saturday at Navy-Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md.

Midfielder Drew Snider’s three goals and attackman Owen Blye’s four assists led the Terps. Attackman Kyle Stiefel paced Lehigh with his first-career hat trick.

“We fought through a lot of adversity,” coach John Tillman said. “We hung in there, we hung in there and we just kept battling. I was really impressed with our grit, our determination and our resiliency.”

Check out the full gamer at diamondbackonline.com.

The No. 3 Terrapins women’s lacrosse team started out the NCAA Tournament right with a 15-12 victory over Massachusetts yesterday in College Park.

After a back and forth first half left the score at 7-5 at the break, the Terps (18-3) came out on fire in the second half. Attacker Brooke Griffin, who picked up a game-high six points, scored a goal from an assist by midfielder Kelly McPartland only 13 seconds into second half play.

“Our team has the ability to turn it on, and that’s one of our messages this season- play in the moment, and get out there and control that next draw, that next play,” coach Cathy Reese said. “These guys came out after halftime and got the draw, and we went down and scored off our offense. That’s what we like to do throughout the whole game.”

And after both teams exchanged goals for the next ten minutes, the flood gates opened on UMass (19-2)

The Terps broke out on a 5-0 run that increased their lead to eight with just six minutes to go in the first round matchup. Three of those goals capped off hat tricks for Terps players, including McPartland, Griffin and attacker Kristy Black. UMass head coach Angela McMahon pulled her starting senior goalie Katie Florence out of the game, and offensive star Katie Ferris was ejected after getting her second yellow card.

As bad as it was for the Minutewomen, they still made a last ditch effort to claw back. They ended the game on a 5-0 run, but through both lack of time and the Terps running out the clock, it was too little, too late for UMass, which only lost one game in the season.

Terrapin midfielder Katie Schwarzmann, coming off being named the ACC Tournament MVP and the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, has a chance to win another major award soon- the prestigious Tewaaraton Trophy.

Schwarzmann, along with Florida midfielder Brittany Dashiell, North Carolina attacker Becky Lynch, Northwestern midfielder Taylor Thornton and Syracuse attacker Michelle Tumolo, was invited to the Tewaaraton Award Ceremony held on May 31 at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, where the winner will be announced.

The junior leads the ACC and is third in the country with 63 goals, and leads the conference in game winning goals as well (11). She could be the third player in program history to win the award, after Jen Adams in 2001 and Caitlyn McFadden in 2010.

The Terrapins softball team’s senior class of five has sent three to the All-ACC Team to close the season. Outfielder Vangie Galindo and shortstop Kathy McLaughlin were awarded first team honors, while pitcher Kendra Knight is on the second team.

Galindo claimed her second straight first team appearance for her 2012 performance. She led the conference in hits, with 64, and placed third with a .374 average. She became the program leader in career hits last Sunday, when she recorded her 220th in an extra-inning win over Florida State. She also holds the program mark for stolen bases and batting average.

McLaughlin received her first seasonal conference honor thanks to a torrid finish. She hit .460 in ACC play, and .379 overall, both of which led the league. The shortstop spent the year in the leadoff spot and recorded 58 hits, good for third in the conference.

Knight, the staff’s ace, also made her first All-ACC appearance. She tied for second in the conference with 27 wins, against only 11 losses. In the Terps’ recent 14-2 streak, she has won every game and recorded all but four outs. She has pitched over 70% of the team’s innings this season.

The Terps (34-19, 10-8 ACC), and their three All-ACC members, meet Virginia Tech (38-18, 12-8) tonight to kick off the conference tournament. The Hokies took three games from the Terps in College Park in late March.

The Terrapins men’s soccer team announced its schedule for the 2012 season today.

The Terps will open the campaign on Aug. 26 against Louisville — the same team that ended their 2011 season in the Round of 16. The Terps then welcome UCLA (Aug. 31) and California (Sept. 2).

Other key dates include home games against Virginia (Oct. 5) and North Carolina (Oct. 19), and road trips to Boston College (Sept. 7) and Duke (Oct. 12).

“Once again, I am pleased to announce a great schedule for our fans to enjoy,” coach Sasho Cirovski said in a press release. “I am excited to challenge our players early and often as we embark on our 2012 journey. In addition to the great challenge we always have in the ACC, we are eager to play top teams from eight other conferences. I can’t wait to get going.”