Sports Briefs

Baseball, Softball Development Centers Break Ground

Two groundbreaking ceremonies this spring signaled the first steps toward new training facilities for UMD’s baseball and softball programs.

The Stanley Bobb Baseball Player Development Center and the Softball Player Development Center will both feature climate-controlled spaces for pitchers and hitters to train year-round and new technology to aid with analytics. The projects are part of Maryland Athletics’ Building Champions initiative to enhance facilities across UMD sports.

“(Terps) will have the opportunity to continue their pursuit of athletic excellence within a space that’s going to expand our training abilities,” softball head coach Lauren Karn said at her team’s ceremony. “All of that aside, they’re going to be creating great memories through all the hard work that’s going to be done in here.”

Terp Triple Jumps to World Title

Thea LaFond triple jumping

Former UMD track and field star Thea LaFond ’15 leapt to a global victory in March, taking gold in the triple jump at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.

Representing her home country of Dominica, she jumped to a personal-best 15.01 meters. The win made LaFond, an All-American and top-five all-time finisher in multiple field events at Maryland, her nation’s first global champion in any athletic discipline.

“We’re just a little island with a population of 70,000 people, so this one is for my people,” she said. “I am hoping that this inspires the next generation of young Dominica athletes to just go for it.”

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