Athlete of the Day: Mason Pynn

Mason Pynn is a Red-shirt Sophomore on the Men's Lacrosse team from Victoria, British Columbia where he attending the Claremont school a secondary school in British Columbia. In his first year as a Dragon Mason played a reserve role, appearing in 14 contests. He picked up his only assist of the year against Mount St. Mary's. 

Mason loves playing Lax, if you ever seen a game you know that there is a lot of hitting in Lacrosse  kind of like Hockey. A big hit on a guy can be something to ignite a team and if you ask Mason this is what he likes most about Lacrosse. "The thing I like about lacrosse is the physical nature of the game. I love the scrappiness of it, fighting to get the ball. I also love when you get a good hit and just rock a guy." I can't lie, everytime I see a big hit I just want to jump out if my seat and go crazy. That's not the only thing that Mason like about Lacrosse, he says that "What I like most about lacrosse has to be being a part of a team, something bigger than yourself. There’s no better feeling knowing you have 40+ brothers who have your back no matter what." Mason got a point here, I know when I was feeling down about something my teammates/brothers would be there for me. It may not have been 40 guys on the team but it was always love and the relationships you guild with your teammates last forever. 

 A gameday routine is something a lot of athlete do because honestly I believe we all are a little superstitious. I had one since highschool and kept it throughout college. Masons ganeday routine consist of him jamming to a little music. "I have a bit of a game day routine. Before I leave for the field I always listen to kick start my heart by motley crue. Then at the field I always put on a shirt that belonged to my dad before I warm up and write our scouting report on my gloves. The final thing I do before we go out to the game is listen to Enter Sandman by Metallica to get me fired up." I like the scouting report on the gloves thing, to bad we didn't wear gloves in basketball or I would have had guys on lock down. 

Your captain are suppose to be your fearless leaders. When I think of how a captian should be I think of King Leonidas, ready to die for his guys. A captian like can inspire you to do great things and being the best out of a player. "The captain of the team are Jason Klunder and Ben McIntosh. They keep things easy going and fun in the locker room before a game, keep everyone loose, before the game they give the whole team a talk and get us pumped up, inspiring us through their words." I was never the guy to give a big speech before a game, Frantz that guy for us and he would deliver these speeches with such conviction that we honestly were ready for war. 

If anyone saw our Lacrosse team play two Sundays ago you saw Nick Saputo's two goals right before halftime. I wanted to know what the team morale was like leading up to this Mason told me that their morale was high even before he scored the two goals, "The team morale was extremely high because we knew we were still in that game even before he scored. Saputo not having many goals, it totally pumps the team up when a guy like that scores 2 goals seconds apart to take the lead at half." Definitely, I'm not even on the team an I was pumped watching from the stands. 

I want to thank Mason Pynn for taking the time to chat with me. 

Athlete of the Day: Jared Boudreau

Jared Boudreau is a Senior Lacrosse player who grew up in vermont, born and raised in a little town called Hinesburg vermont with only a few thousand people in town. He went to a public high school for 3 years until he was able to go to a prep school at Brewster Academyin New Hampshire.  There he boarded for 2 years. "This was an excellent opportunity for me both academically and athletically as it opened a lot of doors for me and helped pave the way for me to end up here as a dragon."

A true Dragon fan is up to date with the current events of the school athletic programs. Of this is you then you know that on Sunday May 18th our Lacrosse will be taking on Denver in Delaware. This is a special team, just ask Jared, "Honestly, this team is something special, having been on the sideline for 3 years to now starting and playing all the time is literally a dream come true. The fact that this team has had the resilience it has had to survive and advance in such a great way has been something truly amazing." Definitely these guys go out there and give it their all and when you can tell a player is working hard on the field that's a good sign for success. 

I've been on great teams in my Career at Drexel and I always wanted a conference championship. Just so I can come back and say "I did that". Although that never happened for me I'm glad my buddy Jared got the chance to taste what a conference championship is like. "I can't believe that this has finally happened and love that I have been able to be a part of something as special as tying 80 plus years of drexel lacrosse alumni together and creating such a great year for our program. I am really proud of the whole team top to bottom." So is everyone at Drexel. 

What was it like playing Penn in the first round?

The battle of 33rd Street is something you look forward to as an athlete. I know when we would play University of Pennsylvsnia Basketball team it was a huge deal. We see those guys often around the city and it's nice to just beat on some Ivy League kids. This was no different for Jared and his band of brothers. Just look at what he says about the experience. "It was surreal, there aren't many other adjectives I can think of to describe it other than just that, surreal. These are the days I was dreaming of as a 10 year old kid in my back yard playing on the big stage scoring goals and making plays with the guys I have come to call my brothers."

If you saw the Dragons in actions last week you noticed that Jared has quite a plethora of celebration dances. My favorite was when he was left dead open and "sniped" one right past the keeper he did what we call in basketball the gooseneck or if you know Jim Jones, the balling sign. I asked Jared what he thought about his celebration dances. "My celebrations are something I have really, and sadly to admit, have stolen from former players I have known, the ice sweep is one from my days of playing hockey and one which I stole from former brewster standout and syracuse attackman Stephen Keogh. My other celebration was a bit more simple simply because the referee told me to tone it down, so I simply did a little "notch" down with my hand as to say "count it" as a small exclamation point on the goal." Don't worry about it Jared everyone "borrows" from everyone. 

I like to thank Jared Boudreau for doing with me. Good luck to you my friend! 

Athlete of the Day: Laura Rahauser

Laura Rahauser is a Sophomore Squash player from Mecerburg, Pa. At her high-school Mercerburg Academy she was a three sport athlete playing soccer, lacrosse and even ran track. In her freshman season at Drexel she helped Drexel defeat Mt. Holyoke, 5-4, in the first round of the national team championships. She won her matches at the Smith Round Robin to help give the Dragons first place at that event.

I asked Laura what she thought was her best match and she said, "one of my best games as a Dragon was at nationals my freshman year. In squash you play 9 players and games best out of 5. We were at Yale and at this point our team was tied in games, my match decided which team became the 20th women's team in the nation. I ended up winning the match and it was such a great achievement for me but I felt especially grateful to have won it for my team and represent Drexel!" Laura also had told me that the game itself was a nail bitter. Glad she pulled it out for Drexel! 

I like to sometimes ask questions to get into the minds of the people I interview. I asked Laura how I she give away 50,000 dollars. I did this to see what kind of person she was and what causes she would donate to. I found out that Laura went to India in highschool, during her trip she visited an orphanage. This is where she wants give $50,000 dollars to "I went to India in high school and while I was there I visited an orphanage of children that were saved from numerous kidnapping camps in the area. The kids really touched my heart." These are the type of things I like to hear from student athletes. It helps  grow a culture of giving back and to help others in the world who are struggling. 

Laura isn't easily impressed but she says the last thing that impressed her was when "one of my teammates hit a sick kill shot."  It was "fiiiiyaaaa." Growing up in the 90's I watched my fair share of Disney movies. I can speak for everyone and say that The Lion King is the best Disney movie ever but we all have are favorites. Laura says the Little Mermaid is her favorite, "Wow I love a lot of them, but I always loved Little Mermaid."

Thank you Laura for doing this interview with me! 

Athlete of the Day: Christopher Crawford

Christopher "Chris" Crawford is a Sophomore here at Drexel, he is second year player on our Men's Golf team. Chris is from Bensalem, Pa, and went to Holy Ghost Prep. Chris was named the Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year, he was the first Dragon ever to receive this award while finishing13th overall at the CAA Championship.

When you play sports it can be pretty nerve racking, I remember playing in the KFC YUMS Center my freshman year at Drexel against Louisville. We were their first game on the new arena. Thousands of fans were at the game and during the game you could barely hear the plays being called. I was nervous at the beginning of that game but once i started playing my nerves went away. Many collegiate athlete get nervous before matches just ask Chris who says, "I would say I'm most nervous on the opening hole of a round or tournament. I don't ever get too nervous out there, but before you get to settle into your round it's always a little uncomfortable." I think it good to be a little nervous, as long as your not scared, that's a different story. 

You wouldn't believe the amount of rules there are in golf, over 180 pages of rules. Wouldn't some of the rules get a little tedious. How many times can you tell me how to put the ball in the hole. Well asked Chris if there were any rules he'd like to change he said, "golf has a lot of very strange rules, I would change the rule where you have to drop in a bunker while taking relief from casual water. It's one of the worst rules there is, and almost assures a terrible lie in the bunker on your next shot."

My if you would ask me who likes my sport the most in my family I would say me. I've been playing the longest out of my family and hopefully one day I'll go pro, so yeah I'm definitely the candidate for that. Although with Chris' family that's not the case. He credits his father to liking golf the most, "definitely my dad. He's the only other family member who really plays the sport consistently, and he's the one who taught me the game." My dad also taught me the game but I still like basketball more.

There was always that one room you had on your childhood where you love going to hangout. In my house it was our attic, it was finished with a huge TV and my PlayStation. Chris loved going to his basement. "My favorite room is probably the basement. We have a pool table down there and it's just a nice chance to escape and relax for a little while." Yeah it hear that, it's always nice to just get away and relax by yourself.

I want to thank Chris Crawford for doing this with me. It was fun!

Today's Athlete: Nicholas Maccini

Nicholas "Nick" Maccini is Pre-Junior from Cumberland, Rhode Island where he started wrestling his freshman year of high school. As his wrestling career went on he began to like it more each day. In high-school Nick won the Lancaster Invitational and Capital City Classic. He also placed third in states and was academic all state as a junior and senior in high school.  He started traveling for wrestling and his skills landed him here at Drexel University.

Each year many high-school athletes strive to get offers from division 1 colleges in their respected sports. I know from a personal experience how tough it is for someone coming out of high-school who is not highly recruited to choose a college of your liking. Nick was one of these athletes, "my only other offer for division 1 wrestling came from Sacred Heart University."

Wrestler are known for their physicality on the mat but something Nick finds unique about wrestling is how its brings people together. "I have friends all over the country just because of wrestling. Also people don't know how much wrestlers give back to their sports community."There's no professionals in wrestling, so a lot of former wrestler coach to give back to the community."

If you know anything about wrestling you know that their are different weight classes and each wrestler cuts the same weight amount of weight. "Making weight is the hardest part about wrestling. Naturally I'm about 175 tops, but my wrestle weight is 149." I can see how hard it is for someone to cut 26 during competition, when I gain about 5 during the basketball season.

Nick works 30 hours a week to pay for school, he works as the manager at Drexel pizza. He works beside the owner, who if you've ever seen is a little bit on the meaner side, and doesn't really talk to anyone. Nick says that the best compliment he's ever gotten was from him. "He told me that he was proud of me. It was a big deal, everyone in the family heard about it. It was cool."

I want to thank Nicholas Maccini for taking time out his 30 hour week to chat.

Today's Athlete: Kelly McDevitt

Kelly McDevitt is a Junior at Drexel University, who grew up in Doylestown, PA which is about an hour outside of Philadelphia.  She has an older brother, who played basketball at Widener University.  She is a huge Philadelphia Flyers fan and love the Eagles as well.  I'm majoring in Accounting at Drexel with hopes of getting my CPA after graduation.

Kelly plays Lacrosse here at Drexel her position is on defense and she not afraid to mix it up with the opposing team. In 2013 McDevitt caused a turnover against Hofstra and Villanova, also in that same year she won a draw control in the Dragons victory over Delaware. Kelly recalls her most lopsided win at Drexel was against Mount St. Mary's (CA) in 2012.  "We beat them 15-0.  It's huge to have a shut out in women's lacrosse!"

Not all the teams Kelly played for we're great. Just like every athlete, who has thier share a of bad teams before they get a chance to play an elite team, "the worst team I have been on was probably my club lacrosse team. It's kind of cliche because that team is the reason I got recruited to come play at Drexel.  We were absolutely terrible, got crushed every game, and half of the time we never had enough players because no one had enough dedication to the sport.  The lack of dedication was the reason I made it the worst team to be a part of."

Kelly loves the eagles so much that if she had the opportunity she would coach them. "If I could I would be the head coach the Philadelphia Eagles.  I love football, the atmosphere in the stadiums, fans, and just the game in general!  Philadelphia is an awesome city for professional sports teams.  The fans are brutal, but amazing.  It makes the sport so much more fun and exciting.  And to coach that talented of athletes would be a cool experience.  My cousin plays in the NHL and the level of play, intelligence of the athletes, and dedication to the sport amazes me.  It is really awesome to see how many aspects of life a sport can impact."

If you've ever seen Kellyaround campus you would that she always smiling and you could just feel how approachable she is. Many people would agree with me about how outgoing she is and how easy she to talk to

Kelly and I share something in common but honestly who wouldn't credit their favorite candy as Reese's. I mean they're just so enjoyable.

I want to thank Kelly McDevitt for taking the time to do this with me.

Today's Athlete: Zeynep Mafa

 Zeynep Mafa is Senior who was born in Istanbul, Turkey, but moved to the United States for high school to better her chances of earning a division 1 scholarship to play tennis. She attended a tennis academy in Southern California just outside of Los Angeles, where she trained, competed in tournaments, and  prepared her to play division 1 tennis. "I've been playing tennis since I was 10 years old. I actually chose tennis, because my older brother played tennis, and my mom wanted to make it easier on herself by dropping the two kids off at the same location for practice."

Mafa credits her inspiration to continue to play tennis to her love for the sport and how it challenged her mentally. "I really loved how tennis was a very mental sport. It was a thinkers game. It was for the mentally tough."

Being a basketball player I often learned more from the wins than the loses, because it was easier to pick out the flaws in your game in a loss. Tennis that's not that case,"I believe that I learn more from my loses because it makes me think "what I could have done better." I had my share of tough loses but I never let them get the best of me, I always tried to do better and exceed my potential."

Zeynep is a very accomplished collegiate tennis player. She earned a Division 1 scholarship that she longed for at Drexel University, but was also named a 1st team All CAA as a Junior, which was the first time in Drexel Women's Tennis history. "I always knew that if I believed in myself, and worked hard, I could make my dreams a reality of playing division 1 tennis." 

Just like every college athlete, Mafa set goals for herself because just getting here wasn't enough. "I played #1 singles and doubles this year, and that was one of my college goals was to compete at the highest level, and face the best opponents that the CAA conference had to offer. I think my greatest accomplishment as an athlete is achieving my goals and making my parents proud, which means the world to me."

I want to thank Zeynep Mafa for taking the out her busy day to chat with me.