Being a student at the Mount for the last 4 years has been a blessing. Living in Emmitsburg, there really isn't much to do compared to my home in Brooklyn, New York. With not much to do, I turned to sports to keep me occupied. I’ve always been a huge sports fan, but being at the Mount definitely made me even more of a fan of sports, especially basketball.
Back in Brooklyn, there are parks, restaurants, movie theatres, fields, and even sports venues all within walking distance from where I live. At the Mount, there isn't much nearby, and most things "nearby" you have to drive to. That is, except for the ARCC. With the ARCC being really the only thing within walking distance, I spend a lot of my time there. I play basketball after classes, and try my hardest to attend every Mount men’s basketball game, although it was impossible to attend last year’s games due to COVID.
My roommate during freshman year was cousins with one of the players on the team, which led me to develop a solid friendship with a few of the players very early during that year. Between the passion I had for basketball, the love I had in watching live sports, and the bond I developed with some players on the team, attending these games was something I really looked forward to. So as both a huge fan of basketball and a student at the Mount, I loved both watching and rooting for the team. Now, as a senior, of all the friends I made that were on the basketball team, only one remains. That doesn't matter to me though, as I’m still going to attend every home game and enjoy watching my team play!
The men's team has enjoyed some success recently. For example, we made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. The NCAA Tournament, also known as March Madness, is a 68-team tournament to crown that season’s NCAA champions. March Madness takes place after the NCAA basketball season, which ends after conference tournaments are played to crown a winner of that certain conference. The Mount made it to the Big Dance by winning the NEC (Northeastern Conference) tournament, after a COVID-19 shortened 12-11 season, the fourth best in the conference.
This year, the team looks as if they might go down the same path and might possibly make March Madness as an underdog team. We started off this season very slowly, but recently went on a six-game win streak. As of today, the Mount sits in 5th place in the Conference with a 12-14 record and two games to go before conference tournaments start. As a senior in my last year at the Mount, I’m really hoping to see the Mount in the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row, although I also hope we don’t lose in the very first round once again.