Mike Lane (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) earned NCAA Division III All America honors in the two events in which he competed last weekend at the Division III national championships held at the University of Miami (Ohio). Breaking his own school records set earlier this year 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 is 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 this season. Most recently at the New England Championships held three weeks ago at Williams College, Lane posted a time of 58.45. Lane also set school records in the 100 Breast during the UMass Dartmouth Invitational on Dec. 7 and at a Dec. 14 meet against Trinity College.

Coach Bruce Wheeler's Corsairs are off to a great start in California, earning three straight wins to advance to the finals of the California Invitational Tournament before losing the title game to California Lutheran, 11-5 on March 23. UMass Dartmouth's Pat Schultz (Wareham, MA) was named to the All-Tournament Team for the Corsairs.

In the season opener, UMass Dartmouth scored two runs in their first at bat of the season on the way to a 16-4 win over the University of La Verne. Starter Steve Pereira (New Bedford, MA) went the distance for the Corsairs, scattering 12 hits to pick up his first win of the season. The Corsairs produced plenty of offense behind Pereira led by Jeff Cross (Holden, MA) (4-5, 5 RBI), who had a ninth-inning grand slam to highlight a seven-run ninth inning. Schultz was 3-6 with a pair of RBI and a homerun, while Brian Sullivan (Wareham, MA) went 2-3 with 2 RBI, Isidro Fonseca (New Bedford, MA) added 3-5 with an RBI and Eli Munkholm (Salem, MA) was 2-5.

The Corsairs swept their opening day doubleheader later by taking an 8-1 decision over the University of Redlands. Freshman Steve Lauzon (Lincoln, RI) fired a three-hit complete game in his first outing for UMass Dartmouth. The Corsairs' offense continued to score runs in bunches, putting three runs across in the first and another five in the fifth. Munkholm led the Corsairs with 3-4 and 4 RBI, including his first home run of the season. Schultz added 2-4 with 2 RBI, Cross was 2-3 and Fonseca was 2-4.

A 10-9 extra inning victory over Chapman University put the Corsairs into the tournament championship game. Derek Handler's (Harwich, MA) tenth-inning homerun (2-5, 2 RBI) and three innings of relief by Alex Tikonoff (Middleboro, MA) gave the Corsairs the one-run victory. In picking up his first win of the season, Tikonoff came in to relieve starter Sean Donovan (Quincy, MA) in the eighth. After holding an 8-3 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth, the Corsairs let Chapman explode for six runs to take a 9-8 lead. UMass Dartmouth tied the game in the top of the ninth and won it on Handler's game-winner in the tenth. Cross was 3-6 with 3 RBI plus his second home run and Schultz was 4-5. Pereira was 3-5 with 2 RBI and John Connole (Auburn, MA) was 2-5 with an RBI.

In the tournament championship game, the Corsairs fell to one of the top five Division III teams in the country. California Lutheran scored four in the first, one in the second and two more in the third enroute to the 11-5 tournament-clinching victory. UMass Dartmouth starter Ryan Pinto (New Bedford, MA) took the loss for the Corsairs, getting relief help from Brandt Wajda (Milford, MA) and John Alves (Fairhaven, MA). UMass Dartmouth was limited to eight hits with Handler (3-4, 2 RBI) and Fonseca (1-3, 2 RBI) leading the offense.

Following this week's games which include an appearance in the Claremont Invitational Tournament March 28-30, UMass Dartmouth will return to New England for an April 1 game at Bridgewater State. The Corsairs home opener is set for April 3 against Springfield College at 3 p.m.

Four Corsairs brought home first-place finishes as UMass Dartmouth opened the 1997 season at the Rhode Island College Relays on March 22. Jen Raxter (Fall River, MA) had an outstanding afternoon for UMass Dartmouth, earning a first-place finish in the discus with a throw of 109-3. She also earned second-place honors in both the hammer (77-0) and shot put (30-6). Teammate Julie Briggs (Jefferson, MA) also had an impressive performance, taking first in the hammer with a throw of 124-8 and a second-place finish in the discus (94-7). In her first track and field appearance for UMass Dartmouth, Natarsha Silva (Brockton, MA) won the long jump competition with a leap of 17-4. Christine Cardoza (Fairhaven, MA) topped the field in the shot put with a toss of 31-11. In the javelin, Karla Jarquin (Shrewsbury, MA) finished third with a throw of 97-11.

The Corsairs' men's team was also successful at the Rhode Island College Relays as Keith Rose (Harwich, MA) and Bill Langfield (Somerset, MA) had first-place efforts for UMass Dartmouth. In his first meet for the Corsairs, Langfield won the shot put with a 39-6 throw. Coming off an All America season last year as a junior, Rose picked up where he left off, winning the javelin with a throw of 182-7. Teammate Will Whiting (Attleboro, MA) placed third in the javelin with a throw of 142-0.

Senior John Barbarossa (Billerica, MA) will represent UMass Dartmouth at the first USA Division III College Football All Star Classic to be played April 6, 1997 at Robeson Stadium in East Orange, New Jersey. Barbarossa is one of only four players from the New England Region to be selected for the all star game, featuring the top Division III players from across the country.

A tight end/defensive end/kicking specialist for Coach Bill Kavanaugh's 8-2 football team last fall, Barbarossa earned several post season awards, including All New England Football Conference at three positions. Barbarossa was also a New England Football Writer's All New England First Team selection. Barbarossa was a three-year starter for the Corsairs.

After a week in Fort Myers, Florida this week with games against St. Lawrence, St. Mary's and Union College, Coach Marilyn Ritz's women's softball team will open the New England portion of its schedule by hosting Bridgewater State College in its home opener on April 1......The UMass Dartmouth Sports Information Line is up and running, providing up-to-date scores and results of the Corsairs' athletic teams. 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......The March 20 men's tennis match with Stonehill College has been moved to April 22 at Stonehill College, beginning at 3 p.m...... Jarrod DiBona (Weymouth, MA) was UMass Dartmouth's top scorer this season, finishing the season with 19 goals and 29 assists for 48 points. DiBona capped the Corsairs' 21-4-2 season by scoring a pair of goals and assists to earn the game MVP honors in UMass Dartmouth's 6-3 win over Fitchburg State College for the 1996-97 ECAC North-Central-South championship. Captain Marc Salvi finished second in scoring (15-29-44) followed by Craig Hardy (Everett, MA) (15-24-39) and Jason Cormier (Waltham, MA) (17-21-38). Both Corsair goalies had excellant rookie seasons. Ryan Sloper (Billerica, MA) posted an 11-3-1 record with two shutouts, a 2.55 goals against average and a saves percentage of .899. Louis Weimann (Burlington, VT) was 10-1-1 with a 2.59 GAA and a .907 saves perecentage.