The winter sports season has always been among the most successful seasons of the year at UMass Dartmouth and the 1996-97 season lived up to expectations. Men's teams in ice hockey and basketball completed championship seasons and the men's swimming squad produced an All-America swimmer in two events.

Coach John Rolli's Corsairs posted a 21-4-2 record and capped the season with a 6-3 win over Fitchburg State College for the ECAC North/Central/South championship. By winning all three playoff games on the road, the fifth-seeded Corsairs became the first team to win the championship without playing a home game during the three-game tournament. The ECAC North/Central/South championship gave Rolli and UMass Dartmouth its third title in five years and seventh in the last 15 years.

Travelling more than 1200 miles to St. Michael's in Vermont and Skidmore College in New York, UMass Dartmouth advanced to the finals with a pair of 3-2 victories in the quarter-final and semi-final rounds. In the finals, the Corsairs travelled to Fitchburg to knock off the second-seeded Falcons, 6-3, to take the championship that had eluded them one season ago. The Corsairs were sparked by a two-goal and two-assist performance from Game Most Valuable Player Jarrod DiBona (Weymouth, MA) and an 18-save effort from goalie Louis Weimann (Burlington, VT).

UMass Dartmouth opened their season in impressive fashion with a surprising 2-1 overtime victory over Potsdam State to win the Pepsi Invitational Tournament in Potsdam, New York. After getting past Plymouth State, 7-2, in the tournament opener, the Corsairs rode a Tournament MVP performance from Weimann to the title. Weimann came up with 59 saves in the final game, setting the stage for Craig Hardy's (Everett, MA) game-winner in overtime.

The Corsairs finished the regular season on a roll, going 10-0-1 over the last 11 games heading into the ECAC North/Central/South playoffs. By the time they ended the season, UMass Dartmouth had the second longest unbeaten streak among NCAA Division III teams. The Corsairs placed three players on the 1996-97 ECAC Central All-Star Team. Salvi earned First Team honors at forward, while teammate Kayne Beaudry (Melrose, MA) was named First Team at defenseman. Goalie Ryan Sloper (Billerica, MA) shared First Team honors in goal.

UMass Dartmouth led NCAA Division III in two team statistics, ranked second in two more categories and third in one other and had three players among the top 10 in several individual statistical categories. As a team, UMass Dartmouth finished first in penalty-killing percentage and scoring margin, second in scoring offense and winning percentage and third in scoring defense. In 27 games, the Corsairs had a scoring margin of 3.53 goals per game by averaging 6.15 goals per game and allowing 2.63 goals per game. In the team penalty-killing percentage category, UMass Dartmouth had a .897 success rate, allowing only 16 power play goals in 155 attempts to lead Division III. The Corsairs' 6.15 goals per game ranked second in scoring offense with 166 goals in 27 games, second only to Fitchburg State's 6.46 goals per game. UMass Dartmouth's 21-4-2 record gave the Corsairs a .815 winning percentage, second to Middlebury's 22-3-2 (.852) record. In the scoring defense category, UMass Dartmouth allowed only 71 goals for a 2.63 average to finish third in Division III.

One of the Corsairs' keys to success was the outstanding play of their two goaltenders, Weimann and Sloper. In 16 games in goal, Sloper played 823 minutes, allowing 35 goals for a 2.55 goals against average, sixth among Division III goalies. Weimann allowed 35 goals in 14 games for a 2.59 goals against average, placing him 10th among Division III goalies. Weimann's 10-1-1 record produced an .875 winning percentage, second among Division III goalies, while Sloper's 11-3-1 gave him a .767 winning percentage, placing him eighth nationally.

Jarrod DiBona finished the season with 19 goals and 28 assists for 47 points in the 21 games he played, giving him a 2.24 point per game average. DiBona was sixth among all Division III scorers in that category and his 1.38 assists per game placed him sixth in that category as well. Salvi finished second in scoring (15-29-44), followed by Hardy  (15-24-39) and Jason Cormier (Waltham, MA) (17-21-38).

Any coach will tell you its not how your team starts the season, its how the team finishes the season. Coach Brian Baptiste's Corsairs were a perfect example of that old coaches' axiom. UMass Dartmouth was 1-4 and 2-5 in the early going before turning things around and posting an 18-2 record in its last 20 games. The Corsairs posted a 20-7 mark complete with another LEC regular season and post season championship and the subsequent invitation to the NCAA Division III tournament. UMass Dartmouth closed out the regular season ranked 20th nationally and second in the New England Division III poll.

The LEC regular season championship for the Corsairs was their sixth consecutive title and their ninth in the conference's 11-year history. The LEC Tournament title, which comes with an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III tournament, was UMass Dartmouth's eighth championship. UMass Dartmouth's season came to a halt in the first round of the tournament when Tufts University snapped the Corsairs 16-game winning streak by beating the Corsairs, 65-63, in an NCAA first round game at the Tripp Athletic Center.

The road to the NCAA tournament via the Little East Conference tournament was an exciting one for the Corsairs. A pair of free throws by captain Rick Taylor (Freetown, MA) with 19 seconds remaining gave #1 seed UMass Dartmouth its 69-66 victory over UMass Boston in the LEC championship game on March 1. After Taylor's two free throws gave UMass Dartmouth a 68-64 lead, UMass Boston's Sean Harrington cut the lead to two with 13.3 seconds. Ryan Bland (Dartmouth, MA), the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, put the game away by hitting a free throw with 12.1 seconds remaining for the 69-66 final. Bland led all scorers with 20 points, four assists and a pair of three-pointers. Jason Antonio (Mattapoisett, MA) had 19 points and Taylor added 18 points and four rebounds. Mosadi Caldwell (Providence, RI) grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for the Corsairs.

The Corsairs advanced to the LEC Tournament championship following a thrilling semi-final victory over #5 seed Rhode Island College. Bland's game-winning basket with one second remaining lifted UMass Dartmouth to the two-point victory and sent the Corsairs into the LEC title game. Bland's basket capped a 14-2 comeback by the Corsairs over the game's last four minutes. Rhode Island College (16-10) led 60-52 with 4:07 to play before UMass Dartmouth staged its last second comeback. Bland was the Corsairs' top scorer with 17 points and five rebounds. Caldwell added 15 points and nine rebounds and Antonio had 14 points. Trailing 52-51 with eight minutes remaining, RIC ran off nine straight points to take a 60-52 lead with 4:07 remaining. Down the stretch however, the Corsairs held RIC to only a Butler field goal, while outscoring the Anchormen, 14-2. A pair of Caldwell free throws with 47.2 seconds remaining tied the game at 62-62 and set the stage for Bland's last second field goal. Joining Bland on the LEC All-Tournament team were Alex Butler of Rhode Island College, Jay Wetherell of Eastern Connecticut, Damal Ray and Sean Harrington of UMass Boston and Caldwell.

But the Corsairs' season came to an abrupt finish when Tufts University's Dave Sullivan hit a 15-foot fall away jumpshot with .05 seconds remaining to lift the Jumbos to a 65-63 victory over UMass Dartmouth in the NCAA Division III first round game. After UMass Dartmouth's Tony Moreira (Pawtucket, RI) tied the game at 63-63 with a pair of free throws with 22.7 seconds to play, Tufts guard Brian Skerry drove the lane with time running out and kicked the ball back to Sullivan who hit the game-winner. Bland had a game-high 19 points for UMass Dartmouth along with 14 points from Taylor and 12 from Antonio. Moreira, Taylor and Caldwell had six rebounds each and Sean Donovan (Quincy, MA) made three three-pointers for the Corsairs.

For the second year in a row, Caldwell was named a First Team LEC All Star. An Honorable Mention selection last year, Bland was also named to the First Team with Caldwell. At season's end, Caldwell was selected to play in the annual New England Basketball Coaches Association All Star game at Holy Cross. In two seasons at UMass Dartmouth, Caldwell was a two-time LEC First Team All Star, leading the Corsairs two consecutive LEC regular season championships. Caldwell led the LEC in rebounding this season with an average of 8.2 rebounds per game, while finishing fifth in scoring (13.5 points per game) and second in blocked shots (1.0 blocks per game).

Mike Lane (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) earned NCAA Division III All America honors in the two events in which he competed at the Division III national championships held at the University of Miami (Ohio). Breaking his own school records set earlier in the season in both events, Lane took second place overall in the 200 Breast with a time of 2:03.35 and fifth in the 100 Breast with a time of :56.98. Lane became UMass Dartmouth's fifth men's swimmer to earn NCAA Division III All America distinction and the first since Tom Egan won a pair of Division III national championships in diving in 1992.

Lane's record setting performance in the 200 Breast lowered his own school record by an incredible 7.54 seconds. Lane first set the Corsairs' 200 Breast record at 2:10.89 in a Nov. 26 meet against Bridgewater State. In the 100 Breast, Lane's fifth-place time of :56.98 was the fourth time he lowered the UMass Dartmouth record during the season. At the New England Championships held at Williams College, Lane posted a time of 58.45. Lane also set school records in the 100 Breast during the UMass Dartmouth Invitational against Trinity College. At the UMass Dartmouth Invitational, Lane captured six individual first-place finishers, his best performance of the season. He had four double-victory swim meets and turned in three victories in his UMass Dartmouth debut against Bridgewater State College.

Lynn Defonzo (Milford, MA) participated in the preliminary round of the NCAA Division III National Swimming and Diving Championships at Miami University (OH), but did not qualify for the finals. Defonzo qualified for the NCAAs with a pair of winning dives in a meet against MIT and another first-place dive against Babson College. Defonzo posted national qualifying dives when she took both the 1-meter event against MIT with 245.25 points and the 3-meter competition with 251.47 points......Linda Kuntz (Billerica, MA) was a one woman-team among the UMass Dartmouth swimmers during her senior season. Kuntz turned in three victories twice, in meets against Bridgewater State and WPI, while winning two races in three different meets, including a pair at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational......At the NCAA Division III National Championship Meet held in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Bradley Cardoza (Wareham, MA) placed ninth in the 35 lb weight competition with a throw of 51-9. Cardoza had qualified for the national championships by taking second place in the New England Division III championships with a throw of 55-9. At the New England Division III championship meet held at MIT, Cardoza's streak of first-place finishes was broken with a second-place finish ( 55-9) in the 35 lb weight. Cardoza had taken first place in the same event for two weeks in a row when he led the field at the Smith College Invitational. Cardoza, who already had a provisional qualification for the NCAA Division III meet (53-9 1/4), finished first at Smith with a throw of 52-7. Cardoza captured first place at a competition held at the Coast Guard Academy with a toss of 53-2 3/4.

UMass Dartmouth's triple jump team of Mitch Sousa (Fall River, MA) and Ken Papetti (Dedham, MA) had a solid showing in the New England Division III meet. Sousa finished fifth with a leap of 43-1 1/2 and his teammate, Papetti, placed eighth with 42-4. Sousa also competed in the pentathalon and took home eighth place with a combined score of 2,931 points......Julie Briggs (Jefferson, MA) was the Corsairs' top performer at the annual ECAC Championship meet held at Boston University. Briggs captured sixth place in the 20 lb. weight with a toss of 45 feet, 1/2 inch. The toss was good enough to make Briggs a provisional qualifier for the NCAA Division III championship meet......Three Corsair track athletes turned in strong individual performances at the Smith College Invitational, achieving qualifying marks for post season competition. With a finishing time of 3:18.74 in the 1000 meters, Kristen Shea (Dartmouth, MA) qualified for the New England Division III Championship Meet. Maura McDonald (Greenfield, MA) and Becky Robitaille (Acushnet, MA) both earned invitations to the ECAC Championship meet with their performances at Smith College. McDonald finished the 1500 meters in 4:57 and Robitaille placed seventh in the 55-meter dash at :07.74 to earn spots in the ECAC Championship Meet.

With a late-season scoring surge, Kelly Berger (Buzzards Bay, MA) finished as the Corsairs' leading scorer for the 1996-97 women's basketball season. Coach Cathy Houtman's team posted a 4-20 record and 2-10 for sixth place in the LEC. Berger averaged 11.75 points per game to take top honors, followed by Darilyn St. Germaine (Wareham, MA) at 9.1 pts, Natarsha Silva (Brockton, MA) with 8.75 pts and Shannon Martin (Scituate, MA) with 8.17 pts. St. Germaine was the Corsairs' leading rebounder with an average of 9.45 rebs with Martin second at 6.63 rebs. Silva led the team in assists (75), Berger had the most assists (86) and Berger also had the most three-pointers, connecting on 35-109 for 32.1%......The second of two "Skate With The Corsairs" was held in conjunction with the Hetland Panther Youth Hockey Association on November 13 at Hetland Arena in New Bedford. Corsair players conducted a clinic and practice with the Pee Wees and Bantams .....The Corsairs' home opener against Fitchburg State College was Hetland Panthers Fan Appreciation Night at Hetland Arena, featuring a rematch of last year's ECAC North/Central/South title game won by the Falcons 2-1 in overtime.....Former ice hockey goalie Shawn Grenier was named one of Coach John Rolli's assistant coaches.......Former Durfee High basketball coach Tom 'Skip' Karam had to step down from his volunteer coaching position with the Corsairs' men's basketball team due to personal reasons. Karam said an old knee injury made it very difficult for him to stand up for any length of time and may require surgery in the future......The softball coaching vacancy at UMass Dartmouth was filled by a former player for Marilyn Ritz. Former second baseman Jill Cross, who completed her playing career last year, joined the Corsairs as an assistant softball coach for the spring......UMass Dartmouth alumnae attended an all-classes reunion on Saturday, February 8, 1997 at the Tripp Athletic Center. The reunion coincided with a basketball doubleheader featuring the women's and men's basketball teams playing host to Western Connecticut State University. Active members of the UMass Dartmouth Alumni Association and their families received free admission to the games.

Based on their grades from the Fall 1996 semester, seven Corsair student-athletes were named to the UMass Dartmouth Chancellor's list for achieving grade-point averages of at least 3.8 on a scale of 4.0. Another 46 student athletes were named to the Dean's List with grade point averages of at least 3.2 on the 4.0 scale.

Co-captains for UMass Dartmouth's 1997 women's tennis team were announced by Coach Warren Preti. Juniors Oliva Cunha (New Bedford, MA) and Ashley Kennedy (Holliston, MA) will lead UMass Dartmouth during the Fall on 1997. Cunha, a former New Bedford High School tennis standout, is the reigning #6 singles champion of the Little East Conference and has a career record of 21-7. A doubles specialist at Holliston High and at UMass Dartmouth, Kennedy teamed last year with Mary Bourque (Rochester, MA) to win the LEC #3 doubles. Her combined career record at UMass Dartmouth is 20-9......The UMass Dartmouth Sports Information Line was established, providing up-to-date scores and results of the Corsairs' athletic teams. To reach the line, call (508) 999-8751 and follow the menu to obtain daily schedules and results along with other special announcements from the UMass Dartmouth Sports Information office. The line is updated daily and available free of charge, 24 hours a day.