By Matthew Barnes, Sports Editor
The Asbury athletic program has put a focus on community this year, and one way of doing that has been keeping the alumni involved. During Family Weekend, the baseball and swim teams hosted events on campus that were against former Eagles.
According to baseball head coach Manny Cervantes, the team has played an alumni game since he’s been here, which has been five years. He said that the alumni guys aren’t specifically invited; they just show up. The game is always during the first weekend of October and is promoted through social media.
The baseball program had a table full of cheeseburgers, hot dogs and chips that players and fans could walk over and get at the game on Oct. 6. The teams were laid-back and just having a good time because the result of the game had no real impact on their season. Cervantes described it as a casual, fun time together.
Junior second baseman Colton Back has also enjoyed the games. “We aren’t just playing against them but also interacting with them and reminiscing on some of their times with the team,” said Back. “Coach Cervantes always makes it clear to former players that they are always welcome to come to practices and stuff, so it shows that this program is always trying to get better.”
The men’s and women’s swim teams also competed at the Luce Center pool against alumni on Oct. 6. Head coach Alex Keyser said that they kept it fun, doing distances that are not part of college swimming, which is mostly so alumni can come back and not feel the pressure of having to be in shape to do collegiate events.
“It’s a laid-back environment to give our current student-athletes a chance to race and to bring back former swimmers and give them an opportunity to connect with the current team,” said Keyser. “We don’t keep score or anything like that.”
Although the alumni matchups are fun and relaxed, they still served as great practice for current Eagles against experienced competition. The events were also opportunities for visitors during Family Weekend to get a taste of the “family” dynamic that the school’s athletic program has. It shows that this university’s athletes may eventually be gone but are never forgotten.
