The Week That Was

January 21, 1997 - January 27, 1997

by Jim Mullins
Assistant Director
Sports Information

UMass Dartmouth picks up wins
over Wheaton and Clark

The Corsairs put back-to-back victories together last week for the first time this season, defeating Wheaton College, 140-66, on Jan. 21 and four days later, knocking off Clark University, 135-89, on Jan. 25. In the victory over Wheaton College, Mike Lane (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) and Gary Jones (Seekonk, MA) picked up three first-place finishes to pace the Corsairs (3-2). Lane won the 100 Breast in a national qualifying time of :58.58, while also taking the 50 Free (:22.61) and joining Mike Pereira (Riverside, RI), Jason Howe (Short Hills, NJ) and Erol Moe (Windham, NH) as part of the 200 IM Relay team's victory (1:45.17). Jones captured the 500 Free (5:19.21), 200 Free (1:55.14) and was part of the winning 400 Free Relay team of Moe, Jay Munnis (Braintree, MA) and Will Whiting (Attleboro, MA) that posted a time of 3:38.16. Dan Ryan (Northampton, MA) assisted the Corsairs' cause by sweeping the diving events, taking both the 1M and 3M events with a score of 193.05 points. Among the other individual winners were Kevin Saleeba (Seekonk, MA) in the 1000 Free (11:41.71), Howe in the 100 Fly (56.47), and Whiting in the 100 Free (55.89).

The formula for UMass Dartmouth's victory over Clark University was very similar to the Wheaton College win. Lane captured the 200 Free (1:54.26), 100 Free (:50.95) and teamed with Pereira, Howe and Jones for a win in the 400 M Relay (4:15.10). Jones also captured the 200 IM (2:12.35), and the 500 Free (5:22.53). Howe was the winner in the 100 Fly (:56.65), Matt Tweedie (New Bedford, MA) won the 200 Breast (2:28.67) and the team of Whiting, Munnis, Pereira and Moe were the 400 Free Relay winners in 3:36.54. As he did earlier in the week, Ryan swept the diving events, earning 183.20 points to win the 1M and 202.64 points for a 3M victory.

Wins over RIC and Southern Me. keep Corsairs in the LEC race

Little East Conference victories over Rhode Island College (79-66) and the University of Southern Maine (84-57) extended the Corsairs' (8-6, 3-2 LEC) winning streak to four games and kept them in the hunt for the LEC crown. One game shy of the season's midway point, Coach Brian Baptiste's team is tied for third place with RIC and UMass Boston. In a pair of conference games at the Tripp Center last week, UMass Dartmouth put together a pair of strong showings with two convincing league wins.

The Corsairs controlled the RIC game throughout, combining red-hot shooting with solid team-defense to frustrate the Anchormen on Jan. 21. UMass Dartmouth's offense was a balanced effort with five players in double figures led by captain Rick Taylor's (Freetown, MA) 14 points and five rebounds. Tim Nelson (Reading, MA), Jason Antonio (Mattapoisett, MA) and Ryan Bland (Dartmouth, MA) all scored 13 points and Mosadi Caldwell (Providence, RI) chipped in 12 points along with a team-high eight rebounds. The Corsairs connected on 11 of 19 (57.9%) three pointers with Nelson and Bland both hitting three times and Taylor adding two. Defensively, the Corsairs held RIC to 32.9% (23-70) from the floor and 5-20 from three-point range.

Tony Moreira (Pawtucket, RI) scored a game-high 21 points plus four rebounds to pace the Corsairs in their victory over Southern Maine on Jan. 25. In addition to Moreira, the Corsairs had three other players hit double figures, including Taylor (10 points, three rebounds), Caldwell (10 points, six rebounds) and Sean Donovan (Quincy, MA) (10 points, two three-pointers). The Corsairs shot 63.2% from the floor and were 5-7 from three-point range in the second half. Bland handed out five assists plus five rebounds with two steals. UMass Dartmouth took a 37-23 lead at halftime and never looked back enroute to its largest winning margin of the season.

According to this week's LEC statistical report, the Corsairs have several players among the conference leaders. Taylor has moved up to second in rebounding (6.2 per game) and fourth in scoring (13.5), while taking over first place in field goal percentage (51.4%) and second in blocked shots (1 per game). Joining Taylor among the top LEC scorers are Bland in sixth place (12.8 per game) and Antonio in ninth (12 per game). Bland is fourth in rebounds (5.9 per game), while Antonio is fourth in both free throw percentage (77.6%) and three-pointers (40%) and third in steals (2.6 per game). Moreira is sixth in free throw percentage (76.5) and Donovan has moved up to third in three-pointers at 43.9%. Bland is third in assists (4 per game) and is tied for third in steals with Antonio with 2.6 each per game.

Bentley College snaps Corsairs'
seven-game winning streak

Bentley College did something no one else had been able to do to Coach John Rolli's Corsairs (11-2-1, 5-2-1 ECAC Central) this season. The Falcons swept their season series with UMass Dartmouth by defeating the Corsairs 4-2 at Hetland Arena on Jan. 21 in an ECAC Central game. Four nights later, UMass Dartmouth's Ryan Sloper (Billerica, MA) came up with 36 saves and made one Corsair goal last long enough for a 1-1 tie with Assumption College.

In the loss to Bentley College, the Falcons jumped out first, scoring twice in the first period before Kayne Beaudry (Melrose, MA) got one goal back with an assist from captain Marc Salvi (Cheshire, MA) at 19:55. Bentley College picked up what would prove to be the game-winner early in the second period before Chris O'Reilly cut the deficit to one at 6:41 with assists from Salvi and Craig Hardy (Everett, MA). The Falcons added one more for a 4-2 lead late in the second period before a scoreless third period. The victory snapped a seven-game winning streak and handed Sloper only his second loss of the season.

The Corsairs got on the board first against Assumption College with a second-period goal from Jamie DiBona (Weymouth,MA). Mike Doherty (Stoneham, MA) assisted on UMass Dartmouth's lone goal of the game at 4:04 of the second period. Sloper maintained the shutout until early in the third period when he gave up the tieing goal. Neither team could get the game-winner through the third period and overtime, resulting in the 1-1 tie. Sloper, ECAC Central Rookie of the Week last week for a second time, picked up his first tie of the season, leaving him with an 8-2-1 record. According to last week's statistics, Sloper led the ECAC Central goalies with an 89.3% saves percentage and a 2.87 goals against average.

McDonald takes a first and second
at Coast Guard Academy meet

Maura McDonald (Greenfield, MA) picked up a first- and second-place finish in the Corsairs' indoor track meet with the Coast Guard Academy on Jan. 25 in New London, CT. McDonald finished first in the 1500 meters with a winning time of 5:03.10, while teammate Tara Carson (Beverly, MA) placed sixth (5:26.8). McDonald followed that victory up with a second in the 1000 meters in a time of 3:17.97. UMass Dartmouth's Kristin Shea (Dartmouth, MA) finished fourth behind McDonald in the 1000 meters at 3:19.72. In the 55 meters, the Corsairs' Rebecca Robitaille (Acushnet, MA) took third place with a time of :07.85. The Corsairs other top performers included Jennifer Raxter (Fall River,MA) with a fourth-place in the shot (32-0), and Laura Caselden (Westfield, MA) fifth in the 600 meters (1:49.72).

Cardoza leads Corsairs in meet with MIT on January 25

Bradley Cardoza (Mattapoisett, MA) was the Corsairs' top performer at a meet with MIT in Cambridge on Jan. 25. Cardoza took third place in the 35 lb. weight event with a throw of 52-11 1/2. Teammates Ken Papetti (Dedham, MA) and Mitch Sousa (Fall River, MA) placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the triple jump. Papetti jumped 41-5 and Sousa's best mark was 41-0 1/4. Sousa also placed in the long jump (fifth, 20-0 3/4) and high jump (seventh, 5-6).

UMass Dartmouth can't snap
losing streak, fall by 1 to WPI

UMass Dartmouth's losing streak reached seven games last week with three more losses, including a pair in two LEC games. RIC got by the Corsairs (3-10, 1-4 LEC) on Jan. 21, Worcester Polytech took a tight, non-conference game, 60-59 on Jan. 23 and Southern Maine made it three straight on Jan. 25 with a 67-46 decision.

Shannon Martin (Scituate, MA) was UMass Dartmouth's top scorer in the LEC loss to RIC, finishing with 17 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Joining Martin in double figures, Kelly Berger (Buzzards' Bay, MA) had 11 points, including three three-pointers and four assists. Natarsha Silva (Brockton, MA) had five steals for the Corsairs, who fell behind, 39-27, at half time and couldn't close the gap.

WPI had an 11-point lead with 3:19 remaining but the Corsairs came roaring back to tie the game on a three-pointer by Berger that completed an 11-0 run with :36 seconds left. After WPI hit the two clutch free throws for a 60-59 lead with time running out, the Corsairs had one last chance to win but couldn't get a shot off as time expired. Berger led the Corsairs with 14 points to go along with six assists and three steals. The only other UMass Dartmouth player to hit double figures was Silva, who had 11 points, three assists and four steals. Silva also was the Corsairs' top rebounder with seven, while Berger and Cathy Danner (Mansfield, MA) (nine points) grabbed six rebounds each and Darilyn St. Germaine (Wareham, MA) had five rebounds.

Poor shooting put the Corsairs in a hole they couldn't climb out of against Southern Maine. While the Huskies were connecting on 16-29 in the first half, UMass Dartmouth hit on eight of 32 shots and fell behind, 37-23, at halftime enroute to their fourth LEC loss. St. Germaine was UMass Dartmouth's lone scorer to reach double figures, picking up 13 points and 10 rebounds. Silva had a strong game, scoring nine points with four assists and seven steals. Berger finished with nine points and four steals, and Jennifer Pitner (Millis, MA) had six points on a pair of three-pointers.

Berger has moved into a tie for eighth place in LEC scoring with an average of 10.9 per game followed closely in ninth place by St. Germaine (10.6). St. Germaine is third in rebounding (10.5 per game) and blocked shots (1.1 per game). Martin is seventh in rebounding (6.7 per game) and seventh in steals (2.1), while Silva has moved up to third in steals (3.2 per game). With 3.3 assists per game, Berger is in sixth place, two spots ahead of Silva with 2.2 per game in eight place.

Kunts, Defonzo and Paquette turn in winning efforts

Losses to Wheaton College (88-66) and Clark University (107-57) dropped the Corsairs record to 0-4 and overshadowed strong individual performances by co-captain Linda Kuntz (Billerica, MA), Lyn Defonzo (Milford, MA) and Jenn Paquette (New Bedford, MA). In the Jan. 21 loss to Wheaton College, Kuntz captured first place in the 1000 Free with a time of 11:35.94. The Corsairs took both diving events as Defonzo scored 21.75 to take the 1M event and Paquette took the 3M competition by scoring 227.30 points. Four days later against Clark University on Jan. 25, Defonzo was a double winner for UMass Dartmouth. First, she posted 210.80 points for a first-place finish at 1M, then she matched that with 201.97 points for first in the 3M.

UMass Dartmouth Sports Notes

A lucky Corsair basketball fan will get a chance to win $5,000 at one of the four remaining UMass Dartmouth men's basketball home games. One fan, picked randomly from the fans in the stands, will have an opportunity to attempt to make a lay up, free throw, three-point shot and a half-court shot within 30 seconds. Make all the shots within the time limit and the lucky fan will win $5,000. The contest will continue this season until someone wins the $5,000 prize. The Corsairs' home games where the contest will be held are Feb. 6 vs. Salem State, Feb. 8 vs Western Conn., Feb. 15 vs. Trinity College and Feb. 18 vs. Eastern Connecticut.

This Week's Schedule
(home games in bold)

Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
28 Basketball Ice Hockey Swimming	29	30 Men's & Women's Basketball	31	Feb 1 Basketball Ice Hockey Indoor Track Swimming

Tuesday, January 28

Men's basketball @ Eastern Connecticut
Women's basketball @ Eastern Connecticut
Ice hockey @ Worcester State
Men's swimming vs. M.I.T.
Women's swimming vs. M.I. T.

Thursday, Jan. 30

Men's basketball @ Framingham State
Women's basketball @ Framingham State

Saturday, Feb. 1

Men's basketball @ Plymouth State
Women's basketball @ Plymouth State
Ice hockey @ Framingham State
Men's track @ Coast Guard Academy
Women's track @ Williams College
Men's swimming vs. Babson College
Women's swimming vs. Babson College

Jim Mullins
Assistant Director, Sports Information and Daily News
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
285 Old Westport Road
Dartmouth,MA 02747-2300
Phone: News (508) 999-8965 Sports (508) 999-8720
Fax: (508) 999-9200
JMullins@UMassD.edu
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 Last Updated On: 6/5/06