Press Box

Rowing Team Wins Atlantic 10 Championship

Last year’s Rhode Island women’s rowing team won more races than any school at the Atlantic 10 Championship. Unfortunately, their overall point total was one shy of Massachusetts, so the Minutewomen took home the Atlantic 10 crown.

Despite earning Coach of the Year honors in her first year at the helm, Shelagh Donohoe and her team were not satisfied.

This spring, the Rhody rowers returned to Cooper River Park in Pennsauken, N.J. Several hours later, the Rams left the Garden State with their first-ever Atlantic 10 Championship, winning the Varsity 8, Varsity 4, and the Lightweight 4 while cruising past second-place UMass, 135-119.

“This caps a tremendous season for our team,” said Donohoe, who garnered A-10 Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive season.

The Rams’ Varsity 8 boat, which placed first with a time of 7:09.0, finished more than two seconds ahead of second-place Saint Joseph’s to earn 40 points. In the Varsity 4 race, the Rams recorded a time of 8:24.2, which was more than 20 seconds ahead of second-place UMass and good for 20 points. The Lightweight 4 boat, meanwhile, finished with a time of 8:05.7 to earn another 10 points.

In the 2nd Varsity 8 Grand Final, the Rams finished with a time of 7:15.3, which placed them second and gave them 27 points. URI also took another eight points with a second-place finish in the 2nd Novice 8 Grand Final (7:56.8).

Rhode Island’s third-place finish in the Novice 8 Grand Final (7:35.5) was good for 16 points while fourth-place finishes in both the Lightweight 8 Grand Final (8:26.0) and the Quad Grand Final (8:49.3) were worth seven points each.

While the Rams did not advance to the NCAA Tournament, they set a new standard for future URI rowing teams.

The following week, seniors Jill Brockmann, Tamara Burman, Ashley Coughlin, Tara Dorsey, Kathleen Hinkel, Beth McArdle, Whitney Phaup, Linnea Rowse, Lucy Sumners, and Amy VanRensburg were honored at the team’s final home meet.

Men’s Soccer

Two graduates from the 2007 men’s soccer team, Geoffrey Cameron (Attleboro, Mass.) and Danleigh Borman (Cape Town, South Africa), continue to impress their Major League Soccer teams.

A member of the two-time defending MLS champion Houston Dynamo, Cameron made his professional debut in front of his hometown crowd when the Dynamo traveled to Gillette Stadium to take on the New England Revolution in their March 29 season opener. A week later, Cameron’s game-tying goal against Dallas FC beat out four other MLS stars—including David Beckham—for the Sierra Mist MLS Goal of the Week.

At press time, Borman—who was picked seventh overall in the supplemental draft—had seen action in each of the New York Red Bulls four games, earning his first MLS start at Dallas on April 12.

URI Student-Athletes Honored at R.I. State House

Ten URI student-athletes were honored as part of a Scholar-Athlete Awards Reception at the Rhode Island State House on April 28. Jimmy Baron (men’s basketball), Tamara Burman (rowing), Jamie Degidio (baseball), Stephanie Gregory (women’s track & field), Brendan Lamboy (men’s track & field), Beth McArdle (rowing), Mike McCampbell (golf), Deb Nelson (women’s soccer), Jeannie Records (field hockey) and David Wilson (football) were presented with a plaque and a citation from the State. In addition, John DeCubellis ‘82 was honored with an outstanding athletics alumnus award.

Reading Week

A number of URI student-athletes visited local elementary schools as part of the National Education Association’s National Reading Week. Members of the football, volleyball, swimming & diving, women’s basketball, and women’s track teams spent time reading to students at Peace Dale Elementary, Warwick Neck Elementary, Matunuck School, Hamilton Elementary, Wakefield Elementary, and the URI Child Development Center.

Senior Banquet Awards

Seniors Jill Anderson (softball), Will Daniels (men’s basketball), Damien Gresko (football), and Dora Larusdottir (women’s soccer) received the Athletic Department’s four major awards while the entire student-athlete Class of 2008 was honored at the Narragansett Towers on April 28. Anderson and Gresko received the Elizabeth Holmes Award presented annually to the female and male graduating seniors who have combined exceptional scholastic achievement with outstanding athletic talent. Daniels took home the Albert LeBoeuf Award, while Larusdottir was given the Winifred Keaney Award; these awards are presented to the most outstanding student-athletes who have been role models throughout their collegiate careers while remaining in good academic standing.

Parfait Bitee

Men’s Basketball

Will Daniels (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) was one of 22 of the nation’s top senior student-athletes selected to take part in the 2008 NABC All-Star Game. The game, which served as a tip-off event for the NCAA Final Four weekend, was played on April 4 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Daniels is the first Rhode Island student to participate in the event. A week later, classmate Parfait Bitee (Yaounde, Cameroon) was one of 62 seniors selected to play in the 56th Annual Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, the nation’s oldest amateur basketball tournament where players are able to showcase their talents for NBA scouts and representatives from international leagues.