Athletics
Soccer
Sister Act
The TU women’s soccer team was locked in a scoreless draw just before halftime of its August game against rival UMBC when senior Rebecca Groseibl chipped a shot from 35 yards out that found the back of net. As her teammates celebrated, one was just a bit more elated than the others.
Before the season started, Rebecca’s sister Melissa joined the program. The move reunited the sisters, who are more than siblings and teammates.
“Melissa and I have been best friends and as close as can be for as long as I can remember,” Rebecca says. “It’s been awesome having her here with me.”
The women, who have two other sisters and a brother, grew up in New Jersey. They started playing soccer as kids and found that they had an aptitude for it, so they stuck with it. Rebecca, 22, originally played at Boston College before transferring to TU, where she is majoring in mass communication. After a back injury derailed her career at Canisius, Melissa, 20, joined her.
“I came to their game when they won the [CAA] championship last year, and I felt like if I could be a part of something that exciting, that would be a dream of mine,” says Melissa, also a mass communication major. “When my sister and I were younger, we talked about how cool it would be if we could play college soccer together. That opportunity presented itself, and I was like, ‘Towson is where I want to be.’”
Rebecca has been a key contributor for the past three seasons. Last year she totaled a career-high four assists in helping the Tigers win the CAA and make it to the NCAA Tournament.
“We came in early as a team in the summer to do extra workouts and really put in the work, so it was great to see the season unfold the way we wanted it to,” she says.
While Melissa has played sparingly this season, the sisters are important components of the team, head coach Katherine Vettori says.
“Both are composed with the ball at their feet. They are technically clean and have high soccer IQs. They are excellent teammates to have with this group.”
This season has been a storybook reunion for Rebecca and Melissa, even if they do butt heads occasionally.
“If we’re spending too much time together, we [might argue] over where to get coffee: Dunkin or Starbucks,” Melissa says, laughing. “But we get each other so well. Nobody can read me like my sister.”
Welcome Back
Volleyball assistant coach Terry “Hutch” Hutchinson is back on the bench after two years coaching at Georgia State. He spent five seasons (2017–21) at Towson, years when the Tigers earned three straight Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) titles and berths into the NCAA Tournament. TU combined to go 61-9 those three seasons, including a 30-4 record in CAA play.
Soccer
Going Pro
Phoebe Canoles ’23 signed with DC Power FC in July for the 2024-25 season. Canoles joined the Washington D.C. club after helping the Tigers to their first CAA regular season and tournament championship in 2023. The Power play in the USL Super League, which kicked off its first season in August. The team plays its home games at Audi Field.
Hall of Fame
Honored Tigers
Jerrelle Benimon (basketball, pictured above), Kacy Catanzaro (gymnastics), Mike Garner (track), voice of the Tigers Spiro Morekas, Frank Olszewski (soccer coach), Bobby Poist (football) and Brian Yaniger (golf coach) were inducted on Friday, Oct. 18, at the Hall of Fame's 60th-Annual Induction Banquet. The 2012–13 men's basketball team was honored as a Team of Distinction.
Pack the Stands
Black & Gold x3
On Nov. 16, TU sports fans can enjoy a full day of events. First up, football welcomes North Carolina A&T for senior day. Kickoff is set for noon. At 3:30 p.m. volleyball hosts CAA rival Hofstra in TU Arena, and then men’s basketball takes the court against former CAA rival and 2023–24 Sunbelt Conference champion James Madison at 8 p.m.
Golf
FORE!, er, SIX
Six of the 129 players who qualified for the 103rd Maryland Open Championship are current or former TU men's golfers: David Hutsell ’92, Billy Wingerd ’05, Chris Baloga ’05, Ryan Siegler ’16, Brad Riley ’24 and Braden Anderson ’28. Three Tigers have won the tournament in the last 15 years, including Siegler (2023), Hutsell (2011) and Wingerd (2007).
Maya Tucker ’26
was one of two Tigers to earn U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
All-Academic honors after setting three school records in 2023–24.
Sydney Stewart ’26
represented TU at the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Student-Athlete Advisory
Committee Leadership Summit leadership summit this summer.
Carter Runyon ’25
is the first TU Division I All-American tight end. He was on the preseason All-American
second team.
Sean Colson ’26
was named a College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America Individual Scholar
All-American. He holds the second-fastest 100 backstroke time in program history.