THE FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. Three days after announcing the $100 Million milestone for the R Big Ten Build fundraising campaign, Rutgers Athletics held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the Gary and Barbara Rodkin Academic Success Center in Athlete's Glen on Busch Campus on Saturday.
2. Football held its annual Scarlet-White Game, presented by PNC Bank, on Saturday, highlighted by the longest touchdown pass in program history from 11-year-old Tommy Marcketta from Children's Specialized Hospital to 19-year-old Lamount Banks from Newark Beth-Israel Medical Center.
3. Men's track and field defended its Metropolitan Outdoor Championships title on Saturday, claiming 14 event titles and 25 Top 3 finishes overall to help register 273.5 points and outscore Fordham and Manhattan at the Bauer Track & Field Complex.
4. Baseball and softball each swept a three-game conference series during the same weekend for the first time in Rutgers history. Baseball took three games at home against Michigan State for its first Big Ten sweep, while softball beat Penn Statefor its first B1G sweep since 2015.
5. Super Bowl LIII champions and Rutgers alumni Jason McCourty and Devin McCourty of the New England Patriots will address graduates at the 253rd anniversary commencement of Rutgers University-New Brunswick and Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences on May 19.
Football
• Closed out spring practice with the annual Scarlet-White Game, presented by PNC Bank (Recap | Highlights)
• Eleven-year-old Tommy Marcketta from Children's Specialized Hospital tossed a 96-yard touchdown pass – the longest passing play in school history – to 19-year-old Lamount Banks from Newark Beth-Israel Medical Center to close out the scrimmage. A clip of the historic play was picked up by several outlets across social media, including College GameDay and ESPN.com.
• Head coach Chris Ash met with the media to discuss the end of spring practice.
Softball (20-19, 4-8)
• Hosts Iowa in a three-game Big Ten series Friday through Sunday at the RU Softball Complex with 3 p.m. start times on Friday and Saturday, and a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday.
• Swept Penn State by scores of 6-1, 3-0 and 5-3 for its first three-game Big Ten series sweep since April 22-24, 2016 and third overall since joining the conference in 2015.
• Freshman catcher Katie Wingert was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after hitting three home runs with six RBIs at Penn State.
• In the Game 2 victory, freshman pitcher Corah Price fired Rutgers' first seven-inning one-hitter since Alyssa Landrith beat UTSA on Feb. 15, 2014.
Baseball (13-19, 5-4)
• Continues homestand Wednesday versus Hofstra (3 p.m., BTN Plus) and on the weekend against Purdue (2 p.m., 1 p.m., 11 a.m., BTN Plus).
• Went 4-0 after winning at Lafayette and sweeping Michigan State at home. It was the first Big Ten weekend sweep since joining the conference. The Scarlet Knights have won five in a row and seven of nine.
• Completed the perfect week with an 8-0 Sunday one-hitter (first since 2004) against the Spartans, with Tevin Murray pitching a no-hitter through 5.2 innings and ending with a career-high nine strikeouts.
• Tevin Murray was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week.
• Kevin Blum led the offense with seven hits and five RBIs on the week.
Men's Lacrosse (6-6, 1-2)
• Hosts Michigan on Saturday (3 p.m., BTN Plus) for Senior Day and Alumni Appreciation Day, with a pregame alumni reception and postgame Senior Ceremony.
• Despite four goals from Adam Charalambides and multi-goal games from four other players, fell 16-13 to No. 3 Maryland on Sunday night in front of a crowd of 2,281.
• Rutgers leads the nation in man-down defense (.867) and goalkeeper Max Edelmann leads the nation in saves per game (15.5).
Women's Lacrosse (5-9, 0-4)
• Hosts Ohio State for Senior Day (noon, BTN Plus) on Saturday.
• Dropped a 12-8 conference game at No. 8 Michigan last Saturday despite a late comeback attempt and a hat trick from junior Samantha Budd.
Men's Golf
• Competes at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate in Columbus this weekend.
• Sophomore Christopher Gotterup carded his second career Top 5 finish at the Rutherford Intercollegiate last Sunday in State College. (Interview)
No. 16 Rowing
• Competed against Michigan State and No. 5 Michigan in a Big Ten Double Dual.
• Captured five event victories, including the first varsity eight win against Michigan State in the morning session.
• The Scarlet Knights picked up wins against the Spartans in the varsity four, novice eight and second varsity four.
• RU defeated No. 5 Michigan in the second novice eight.
• Sends three representatives to the 2019 Under 23 Women's National Team Selection Camps this summer, as Kathleen Butler, Sarah Johanek and Elizabeth Kogan earned invites. Mackenzie George was added to the waitlist for the Women's Lightweight Under 23 selection camp.
Men's Track & Field
• Splits squad for the Virginia Challenge and Princeton Larry Ellis Invitational April 19-20.
• Defended its Metropolitan Outdoor Championships title on Saturday, claiming 14 event titles and 25 Top 3 finishes.
• Prior to Saturday's events, Rutgers honored a few of its graduating seniors in a Senior Day ceremony.
Women's Track & Field
• Splits the squad this weekend between the Virginia Challenge and Princeton's Larry Ellis Invitational.
• Took second at the Metropolitan Outdoor Championships behind eight event victories: Jenna Sobieski (800m), Olympia Martin (5000m), Reanda Richards (400m hurdles), Ajae Alaverz-Tyler, Arianne Strunkey, Sobieski and Richards (4x400m), Oniesha Clarke (LJ), Zia Barr (TJ), Courteney Campbell (HJ), and Kathryn Campbell (Javelin).
Women's Golf
• Returns to the links Friday through Sunday in Maineville, Ohio, for the Big Ten Championships at TPC River's Bend.
• Ashleigh Greenham tied for ninth in the 75-player field to help RU place ninth at the Lady Buckeye Invitational.
Women's Tennis
• Concludes the regular season with matches at Indiana on Saturday (11 a.m., Watch) and at Purdue on Sunday (12 p.m.).
• Hosted No. 14 Michigan and Michigan State for final home matches. Junior Kat Muzik and Tess Fisher added singles victories vs. MSU.
Men's Basketball
• Was named the Most Improved Team of the 2018-19 season by Sports Illustrated in its Year-End Awards. RU improved 70 positions in the KenPom.com rankings since the season's initial rating, best among Power 6 conference programs.
Women's Basketball
• Former Rutgers women's basketball guard Erica Wheeler helped Russia's Nadezhda Orenburg to the Euro Cup Championship behind a game-high tying 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the championship game.
Women's Soccer
• Meagan McClelland and Casey Murphy represent Rutgers as goalkeepers for USWNT U-23 squad.
