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UMass Dartmouth Athletics

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 22, 2004

UMass Dartmouth Corsair Hall of Fame

announces inductees for Class of 2004

(Dartmouth, MA) – Six former Corsair athletes, UMass Dartmouth’s most successful tennis coach and a noteworthy member of the local media highlight the inductees into the Corsair Hall of Fame for 2004. Also being inducted at the Friday, October 8, 2004 ceremony at White’s of Westport will be UMass Dartmouth’s only Final Four men’s basketball team.

The 17th annual Corsair Hall of Fame induction ceremony and dinner are part of UMass Dartmouth’s Fall Festival Weekend 2004. The induction activities will begin with a social hour at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner and the formal induction ceremonies. Tickets are $30 per person and can be obtained by calling the UMass Dartmouth Athletic Department at (508) 999-8720. Tickets will not be sold at the door on the night of the event.

The six former athletes to be inducted as part of the Class of 2004 are Susan Tanner ’80 (women’s tennis), Eamon Kingman ’89 (baseball), Ian Toal ’90 (swimming), Scott Pearsons ’91 (ice hockey), Deon Barrett ’95 (cross country), and Kirsten Modestow ’95 (swimming). Also being is former men’s and women’s’ tennis coach Warren Preti and a former student, coach and employee of the Athletic Department, now the Executive Sports Editor of The Herald News in Fall River, Mike Silva. The annual Corsair Hall of Fame team award will honor the 1992-93 men’s basketball team which reached the NCAA Division III Final Four.

For more information about tickets, contact the UMass Dartmouth Athletic Department at (508) 910-6930. Tickets are $30 each and must be obtained prior to the event. Tickets will not be available at the door.

Below are biographies for each inductee:

Mike Silva ’74

A 1974 graduate of Southeastern Massachusetts University, Mike Silva has long established connections to the university’s Athletic Department as a coach, an employee and as an outstanding member of the southeastern Massachusetts sports community. After graduating from SMU with a degree in Marketing, Silva returned to the Dartmouth campus to work as the Assistant Director of Sports Information in 1975. Silva’s journalism career began as an undergraduate, covering SMU sports for The Standard-Times from 1972 through 1974. In 1975, Silva was named Sports Editor of The Taunton Gazette, a position he held until 1991, when he left for his current position, Executive Sports Editor of The Herald News in Fall River, MA. Silva has always remained close to the local collegiate and high school athletic scene, first serving as the SMU golf coach from 1979 until 1991, compiling a record of 38-19 in his nine seasons. Silva also returned to SMU to work in the Sports Information Department from 1985 through 1991. Silva has also been the junior varsity basketball coach at Dighton Rehoboth High School since 1991 in addition to being a high school softball and field hockey official. Silva’s commitment to UMass Dartmouth Athletics was first recognized in 1988 when he received the John Frye Alumni Service Award. He has been an active member of the Corsair Hall of Fame Committee for the last six years.

Susan (Powers) Tanner ‘80

A 1980 graduate of Southeastern Massachusetts University, Susan (Power) Tanner was the Corsairs’ top women's tennis player throughout her four-year career. During an era when the SMU women's tennis teams competed against schools like Boston University, Providence College and Holy Cross, Tanner dominated her opponents as the Corsairs’ #1 singles player. The best evidence of Tanner's stature in tennis is her personal winning streak which stretched across three seasons. Entering her senior season, which was cut short due to a wrist injury, Tanner lost only one match in three seasons. The streak started in her first season when a leg injury in the first set of a match led to a loss. Throughout the next three seasons and into her senior year she never lost another match. During her senior season, Tanner won five matches and never lost a single set and was never forced into a tiebreaker. With a playing style described by The Torch in a 1979 story as "mechanical grace and precision." "She outlasts an opponent", wrote a Torch sportswriter during her final season. "There is seemingly no ball she can not reach. Coordination. Anticipation. That is Sue Powers on a tennis court. She draws her racquet back smoothly, evenly. She waits for the ball to come to her and she just drives into it. Legs, arms, shoulders work as a unit and the ball rockets back, meanly low, and explodes on the other court. Meanwhile, Sue Powers is already moving, ready for the return if there is one."

Eamon Kingman ‘89

Kingman was a 1989 graduate of Southeastern Massachusetts University and played on some of the best Corsair baseball teams in the last thirty years. During his four-year career, the Corsairs posted an 86-58 overall record with appearances in the NCAA and ECAC baseball tournaments. In a career filled with outstanding efforts, both offensive and defensive, Kingman had one of the best individual offensive seasons in the history of UMass Dartmouth baseball. In 1988 as a sophomore, the Corsairs were 26-15 and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Kingman led the team in hitting with a .459 batting average, the second best single season average in the program’s history. Kingman’s name also appears in a tie for 17^th in the same category after hitting. 402 as a senior in 1990. During his record setting sophomore season, Kingman had 39 doubles (tied for 22^nd all-time), 56 hits (tied for 23^rd all time) and 19 stolen bases (tied for 21^st all time). Kingman’s name is all over the Corsairs all time career record book. As evidence of what an all around player he was for Coach Bruce Wheeler’s Corsairs, Kingman is fourth all time in assists from his second base position with 370. He ranks among the top in several other career marks including batting average (8^th .357), runs scored (10^th 110), hits (11^th, 152), stolen bases (13^th, 47) games played (tied for 16^th, 136), at bats (18^th, 434) among several others. In total, Kingman appears in the top 25 of 11 different offensive and defensive career record.

Ian Toal ‘90

A 1990 graduate of Southeastern Massachusetts University, Toal swam four seasons for Coach Jim Filippo's men's team, from 1986 through 1990. At the end of his career, he had qualified for four NCAA Div III National Championships, earning four NCAA All-America Honorable Mention awards and was a two-time record setting New England champion. As a freshman, Toal was fifth in the 50 Free at the All Division New Englands and qualified for the NCAA Nationals, placing 27th overall. His career took off as a sophomore when he earned NCAA All-America Honorable Mention in the 50 Free as well as the 400 Free and as part of the Corsairs' 400 medley relay team. In 1988, Toal had six finishes of at least fourth or better at the Div. III New Englands and qualified for nationals in four events. Toal won his first New England championship, setting a New England record in winning the 50 Free. An NCAA National qualifier in four events, Toal was 11th in the 400 Free Relay, a 13th in the 50 Free, 14th in 400 medley relay and 18th in the 100 Free. 1990 was his final season at SMU and Toal made the most of it. At the Div. III New Englands, he was once again the New England champion in the 200 Free Relay, setting a new meet record for a second time. He was second in the 50 Free and 100 Free, third in the 400 Free Relay, 200 Medley Relay and fourth in the 400 Medley Relay. In his fourth and final appearance at the NCAA Nationals Toal was an NCAA All-America honorable mention in the 200 Free Relay (10th) and the 400 Free Relay, while competing in a total of five events, with his 17th place in the 50 Free his best effort.

Scott Pearsons ‘90

A 1990 graduate of Southeastern Massachusetts University, Scott Pearsons is the 10^th member of the Corsair ice hockey program to be inducted into the UMass Dartmouth Hall of Fame. Described by his coach John Rolli as “a lanky and acrobatic goaltender,” Pearsons was in net for the Corsairs when they won the 1989 ECAC Championship. That night he stopped 32 shots in a 4-2 win over Iona College and was named the Most Valuable Player of the Game. In his first season with the Corsairs, Pearsons finished the regular season with three consecutive shutout wins and set an ECAC Division II/III record for holding opponents scoreless for 211:37 over a four game span. As a senior in 1990, Pearsons was selected as the ECAC co-MVP as well as an ECAC and New England Hockey Writers All-Star. For his career, Pearsons tops all UMass Dartmouth goalies with 11 career shutouts, 87 games played and 66 career wins, while posting a .898 saves percentage and a 2.65 goals against average. He currently ranks fourth among all UMass Dartmouth goalies with a career record of 66-19-1 for a 773 winning percentage. At the conclusion of his senior season, he was recognized as the team’s Most Valuable Player and selected for the Ken Whitten Corsairs Award. After graduation, Pearsons was an assistant ice hockey coach for three seasons and was part of the 1993 ECAC championship team.

Deon Barrett ‘95

Deon Barrett was a 1995 graduate of UMass Dartmouth and one of the most dominant cross country runners of his era. Barrett was part of Coach Jon Hird’s cross country team for four seasons and was an outstanding runner and leader throughout his collegiate career. A four-time team captain, Barrett was the Little East Conference Cross Country champion for three straight seasons as part of a run of seven consecutive LEC men’s cross country titles for UMass Dartmouth. Competing against the top cross country runners from all NCAA divisions in the Open New Englands, Barrett finished 27th in 1992 and 18th in 1993. At the 1992 NCAA Regional Championships, Barrett placed 23rd overall and improved that finish to 11th the following season in 1993. He capped his career as a senior with a fifth place effort in the 1994 New England Regionals. In his final cross country race of his career for UMass Dartmouth, Barrett placed 24th in the country at the NCAA Division III championship race held in Bethlehem PA, earning All-America distinction as one of the top cross country runners in the country. Barrett remains in the cross country record books at UMass Dartmouth, ranked seventh on the all-time list on the Corsairs home cross country course.

Kirsten (Watters) Modestow ‘95

Kirsten Watters Modestow was a two-time NCAA Division III All-America swimmer who dominated the pool during her years at UMass Dartmouth. A 1995 graduate, Modestow was one of the top swimmers in New England as well as the country while she competed for two seasons with Coach Jim Filippo’s Corsairs. After two years at an NCAA Division I school, Modestow transferred to UMass Dartmouth and immediately had an impact on the Corsairs swim program. After earning All-America distinction as a junior, Modestow capped her brief career at UMass Dartmouth with an outstanding senior season. At the Division III New England championships held at Bowdoin College, Modestow earned All-New England honors in three events. In her final swim meet for the Corsairs, Modestow finished 8^th overall in the 200 Free with a time of 1:55.7 to earn her second All-America honors from the National Swimming Coaches Association. More evidence of her standout career can be round by reviewing the UMass Dartmouth swimming and diving record book. Modestow’s name appears as a school record holder in more events than any other woman swimmer in school history. She holds six individual school records, more than any other individual swimmer in UMass Dartmouth history and remains the record holder in the following events, almost ten years after she last swam for UMass Dartmouth: 500 Free in 5:05.03, 200 Free in 1:55.11, 50 Free in 24.82, 100 Back in 1:01.67, 50 Back in 29.32 and 100 IM in 1:02.11 She was also a member of two other record holding relay teams, the 400 Free Relay and the 800 Free Relay.

Warren Preti

Warren Preti is being inducted into the UMass Dartmouth Corsair Athletic Hall of Fame in recognition of an outstanding career as men’s and women’s tennis coach at UMass Dartmouth from 1989 through 2001. Among Preti’s may coaching career highlights was a string of 9 consecutive Little East Conference tennis championships including both men’s and women’s tennis teams. In 12 seasons as head men's tennis coach and another 10 seasons leading the Corsair women, Preti's teams posted a record of 176-87-2. As the men’s tennis coach, Preti compiled an impressive record of 104-34-1, including 6 consecutive Little East Conference men’s tennis championships dating back to 1996. Prior to the 1999 season, Preti had also served as the Corsairs’ women’s team coach for 10 seasons, capturing three consecutive LEC women’s championships, beginning in 1996. A standout collegiate tennis player at Bridgewater State College from 1964 through 1968, Preti turned UMass Dartmouth’s men’s tennis program into one of the most successful Division III programs in New England. Preti coached the top men's singles player in the LEC in five of the last seven seasons. From 1995 through 1999, the #1 singles champion in the LEC was a UMass Dartmouth Corsair. Preti was almost as successful with the UMass Dartmouth women’s tennis program as well. Preti took over the women's team prior to the 1989 season. During his 10 years with the women’s team, UMass Dartmouth compiled a record of 72-53-1, including three consecutive Little East Conference championships. During those three years, Preti’s Corsairs earned 30 wins against only 8 losses and one tie. In the three consecutive LEC championships, UMass Dartmouth women captured 12 of 18 singles titles and 7 of 9 doubles championships.

1992-93 men’s basketball team

Led by the play of All-America center Steve Haynes, the 1992-93 Corsair mens’ basketball team put together the finest season in program history with a 25-6 overall record, a berth in the NCAA Division III national championship tournament. That season, SMU captivated the region by capturing both the Little East Conference regular season and post season tournament, earning a bid in the NCAA tournament. With three tournament victories the Corsairs advanced further than any team in school history, reaching the NCAA Division III Final Four. Head coach Brian Baptiste, assistants Len Desautels and Sal Mondelo had a deep and talented roster led by Haynes, a Division III All America, who also was the ECAC and LEC Player of the Year along with being an All Tournament selection. Aaron Lee was an LEC Tournament All-Star, as well as an NCAA Sectional All Tournament team choice along with being named an LEC and ECAC First Team selection. Stefan Pagios was also an LEC All Star as well as being named LEC Tournament MVP and NCAA Sectional MVP. After opening the season with a pair of wins to take the Hartwick College Tournament, UMass Dartmouth was 6-4 at the holiday break. Starting with a 113-107 overtime win over Salem State, the Corsairs ran off 19 straight wins, the nation’s longest win streak at the time. UMass Dartmouth took the LEC regular season title, captured the LEC Tournament title and advanced to the Final four with wins over Westfield State (90-81), SUNY Geneseo (68-66) and a fourth win in one season over Eastern Connecticut (75-64). The Corsairs dreams of a national title fell one point short in the national semi-final game when UMass Dartmouth lost to Ohio Northern, 74-73, and followed with a 95-74 loss to Rowan in the national consolation game.

Last Updated On: 10/6/04

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