CUA Hurling Team Hosting Regional Tournament This Weekend
Image Courtesy of Ben Mason
By John Maggio
The CUA Hurling team will be hosting this year’s National Collegiate Gaelic Athletic Association Eastern Regional Hurling tournament.
Competing against five other teams, CUA will be hoping to win this tournament to compete in the national competition in March. They hope to progress this year, after placing 3rd in nationals last year.
The tournament will be held at Jefferson Field at 7th & G Street near the L’Enfant Metro stop all day this Saturday, Nov. 4th. CUA will be competing against University of Georgia, University of Connecticut, University of Memphis, University of Tennessee Chattanooga, and the Citadel. No tickets are required to attend.
The Hurling Club President is Ben Mason, a sophomore majoring in business administration. Mason explained what it is like being on the hurling team.
“There is a lot more freedom with hurling. It is not as much as rowing or football or something. We like to keep things manageable; we try to keep things reasonable. We understand that people will have to miss practices for homework throughout the year. We let school set how we operate, not the other way around.”
Mason talked about his role on the team.
“It is a lot, it is a bit to juggle, but it is all super rewarding. I am blessed.”
The team’s Treasurer is Michael McCarthy, a sophomore majoring in social work. McCarthy talked about the upcoming tournament.
“The school hosts the tournament every five years. Last time we hosted it, there were only two schools, now there are six teams. We’ve really grown a lot.” McCarthy said that this is “a really big event” coming up.
McCarthy explained how he balances his academics with his role in the club.
“It’s my first year running the team, it’s a bit of pressure.” “Hurling is unique, it’s not as demanding as other teams. We have practice twice a week for two-and-a-half hours, but there is no guilt or shame by the rest of the team if we had to miss a practice to do homework.”
McCarthy says that he “Wants to be able to focus on his studies” and described the hurling team as “a fun community.”
“Most of the guys on the team are Irish so it is a cool Irish community and it is a way for me to get in touch with my Irish roots,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy talked about where the team is at, saying that we are aimed at “rebuilding the team.”
“A lot of the team graduated last year, but we are rebuilding the team. There are a lot of promising freshmen joining the team this year.”
