Boston College Athletics
Photo by: Rich Gagnon
The Year In Review: Turning The Corner
December 30, 2016 | Boston College Athletics, #ForBoston Files
2016 created memories and moments that will etch their own way into history.
When a year begins in January, it's always full of promise. It starts with endless possibilities in the unknown, a hope springing eternal every year. Anything can happen, ranging from whatever is planned to the truly surprising. When it ends in December, there's a tendency to reflect on the ride that was, a chance to sit back and take stock of what happened then as a way to try to reboot the process once more.
The 2016 calendar year will go down as one of the most surreal years in Boston College athletics history. A year that began with heartbreak instead launched the birth of a new day, bringing with it the hope that better days are coming.
Perhaps no team embodies what happened in 2016 better than the men's basketball program. It's virtually impossible to talk about the beginning of the year without mentioning the dreaded "streak." Last season ended with disappointment after disappointment and it resulted in a winless ACC schedule. It's an uneasy fact, but it's truth.
That streak became part of Boston College history, but while it defined the beginning of the year, it hasn't defined the program. That's proven by latter results and the emergence of a new brand of Eagle hoops is slowly taking shape. There are still growing pains, evidenced in losses to Hartford and Nicholls State, but a victory over Providence is more of an indication of what the team can become. All the while, BC is watching the emergence of players like Ky Bowman, Jerome Robinson and Nik Popovich.
That's the same kind of corner turning performed by football. There's time to unpack and digest everything the Eagles did on the gridiron this year, but a return to a bowl game and the first bowl victory in almost a decade is a clear-cut sign the program is moving forward from the 3-9 season a year ago. It's a process that started in spring practice, continued through training camp until fruition in December.
If programs like basketball and football characterized 2016 as the first steps forward, hockey's interpretation could be very different. The men's team won its 20th Beanpot and advanced to the Hockey East semifinals. Despite a loss to Northeastern at TD Garden, the Eagles advanced out of the Worcester Regional's "Group of Death," defeating Harvard and Minnesota-Duluth along the way. A loss to Quinnipiac in the Frozen Four denied the Eagles a chance at a championship, however.
It was after the season where BC drew attention, however. Seven players signed professional contracts, gutting the roster. Turning the corner meant regrouping in the wake of departures, something the Eagles have done in typical fashion. Ranked sixth in the nation in the most recent national poll, they're among the nation's leaders in wins and have an inside track to another national tournament berth entering the 2017 portion of the schedule. A year that began with old heroes like Thatcher Demko and Miles Wood is ending with the solidification of the senior class and players like Matt Gaudreau and Ryan Fitzgerald, along with the emergence of players like Joe Woll.
In the spring, 40 games into their season, the women's hockey team finally lost, an unfortunate result given that it came in the national championship game. There's something to be said, after all, when a 12-3-3 record is worse than the pace the Eagles were on at this time last year. In the process, they've taken on a different look, with Alex Carpenter and Haley Skarupa departing, the corner turning to players like Caitrin Lonergan and Delaney Belinskas.
Women's lacrosse made the NCAA Tournament, as did field hockey and men's soccer. The sailing team crowned national champions while watching alumnae Annie Haegar and Briana Provancha compete in the Olympics. The duo joined current Eagle Erika Reineke in a group of 14 nominees for the Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year. Softball won 30 games and finished fourth to qualify for the ACC Tournament, no easy task considering the company it keeps in the ACC.
But perhaps no team embodied the overriding theme of '16 quite like the baseball team. Birdball entered the year looking to finally get over the rather large hump keeping them out of the ACC Championship Tournament. Despite improving year over year, producing first-round draft picks and landing individuals on radars wasn't enough to get the Eagles into the conference tournament, which itself is essentially a gateway to the NCAA Tournament.
They responded with one of the most memorable runs by any team in Boston College history. They finished eighth in baseball's premier conference, earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009. Once there, they dominated, sweeping a field featuring two baseball power players and a power conference champion in Oxford, Miss.
The Eagles took a high-powered Miami team to a decisive third game in the Super Regionals, then battled the Hurricanes through an emotional final loss. BC returned home conquering heroes, with five draft picks in the first 20 rounds, all of whom signed and began professional careers. That said, there's still the matter of leaving that one game on the table and 2017 dawns with the quest to get over that new hump that prevented Birdball from traveling to Omaha for the College World Series.
2016 was full of characters, moments and memories. It was a year that Boston College fans and supporters will always remember. It announced to skeptical people that the Eagles could compete among the nation's best, even if the moments, at times, seemed bleak. At the same time, it sent the message that there's still unfinished business. The corner's been turning again, this time into 2017. With it comes the renewed hope and optimism that comes once a year, that the unknown can - and will - be better.
The 2016 calendar year will go down as one of the most surreal years in Boston College athletics history. A year that began with heartbreak instead launched the birth of a new day, bringing with it the hope that better days are coming.
Perhaps no team embodies what happened in 2016 better than the men's basketball program. It's virtually impossible to talk about the beginning of the year without mentioning the dreaded "streak." Last season ended with disappointment after disappointment and it resulted in a winless ACC schedule. It's an uneasy fact, but it's truth.
That streak became part of Boston College history, but while it defined the beginning of the year, it hasn't defined the program. That's proven by latter results and the emergence of a new brand of Eagle hoops is slowly taking shape. There are still growing pains, evidenced in losses to Hartford and Nicholls State, but a victory over Providence is more of an indication of what the team can become. All the while, BC is watching the emergence of players like Ky Bowman, Jerome Robinson and Nik Popovich.
That's the same kind of corner turning performed by football. There's time to unpack and digest everything the Eagles did on the gridiron this year, but a return to a bowl game and the first bowl victory in almost a decade is a clear-cut sign the program is moving forward from the 3-9 season a year ago. It's a process that started in spring practice, continued through training camp until fruition in December.
If programs like basketball and football characterized 2016 as the first steps forward, hockey's interpretation could be very different. The men's team won its 20th Beanpot and advanced to the Hockey East semifinals. Despite a loss to Northeastern at TD Garden, the Eagles advanced out of the Worcester Regional's "Group of Death," defeating Harvard and Minnesota-Duluth along the way. A loss to Quinnipiac in the Frozen Four denied the Eagles a chance at a championship, however.
It was after the season where BC drew attention, however. Seven players signed professional contracts, gutting the roster. Turning the corner meant regrouping in the wake of departures, something the Eagles have done in typical fashion. Ranked sixth in the nation in the most recent national poll, they're among the nation's leaders in wins and have an inside track to another national tournament berth entering the 2017 portion of the schedule. A year that began with old heroes like Thatcher Demko and Miles Wood is ending with the solidification of the senior class and players like Matt Gaudreau and Ryan Fitzgerald, along with the emergence of players like Joe Woll.
In the spring, 40 games into their season, the women's hockey team finally lost, an unfortunate result given that it came in the national championship game. There's something to be said, after all, when a 12-3-3 record is worse than the pace the Eagles were on at this time last year. In the process, they've taken on a different look, with Alex Carpenter and Haley Skarupa departing, the corner turning to players like Caitrin Lonergan and Delaney Belinskas.
Women's lacrosse made the NCAA Tournament, as did field hockey and men's soccer. The sailing team crowned national champions while watching alumnae Annie Haegar and Briana Provancha compete in the Olympics. The duo joined current Eagle Erika Reineke in a group of 14 nominees for the Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year. Softball won 30 games and finished fourth to qualify for the ACC Tournament, no easy task considering the company it keeps in the ACC.
But perhaps no team embodied the overriding theme of '16 quite like the baseball team. Birdball entered the year looking to finally get over the rather large hump keeping them out of the ACC Championship Tournament. Despite improving year over year, producing first-round draft picks and landing individuals on radars wasn't enough to get the Eagles into the conference tournament, which itself is essentially a gateway to the NCAA Tournament.
They responded with one of the most memorable runs by any team in Boston College history. They finished eighth in baseball's premier conference, earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009. Once there, they dominated, sweeping a field featuring two baseball power players and a power conference champion in Oxford, Miss.
The Eagles took a high-powered Miami team to a decisive third game in the Super Regionals, then battled the Hurricanes through an emotional final loss. BC returned home conquering heroes, with five draft picks in the first 20 rounds, all of whom signed and began professional careers. That said, there's still the matter of leaving that one game on the table and 2017 dawns with the quest to get over that new hump that prevented Birdball from traveling to Omaha for the College World Series.
2016 was full of characters, moments and memories. It was a year that Boston College fans and supporters will always remember. It announced to skeptical people that the Eagles could compete among the nation's best, even if the moments, at times, seemed bleak. At the same time, it sent the message that there's still unfinished business. The corner's been turning again, this time into 2017. With it comes the renewed hope and optimism that comes once a year, that the unknown can - and will - be better.
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