Corsairs football bows to Nichols

DARTMOUTH, Mass. — Curtis Smith recovered an option pitch and raced 87 yards down the sideline with 1:40 remaining to cap a 14-point surge within two minutes and 12 seconds late in the fourth quarter as visiting Nichols defeated the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s football team, 21-10, in a New England Football Conference Boyd Division game at Cressy Field Saturday afternoon.

Trailing, 14-10, the Corsairs received the kickoff with 3:45 remaining, drove 47 yards in four plays and threatened to take the lead. Junior quarterback Alex Garro connected with senior tight end Charles Gryska for 11 yards, hit senior wide receiver Derek George for five yards, then connected with junior wide receiver John Henry for 34 yards to the Bison 11 yard line, with David McLean making a touchdown-saving tackle. On the next play, Garro rolled right and tried to pitch the ball to senior running back Bob Sullivan, but he was hit as he tossed the ball, it came loose, and Smith recovered and raced all the way for the clinching touchdown.

“We really needed to finish that drive, and we weren’t able to,” said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Mark Robichaud. “Our defense stepped up and did a great job. We moved the ball on the last drive, but Alex got his as he made the pitch on that play, Bobby couldn’t control it, and they picked it up and scored.”

Nichols took the lead late in the fourth quarter, after a strong rush forced sophomore punter George Vasiliadis to hurry his kick, which went out of bounds at the Corsair 38 yard line. On second down, Kevin Oberg connected with Nicholas Kane for 31 yards and a first down at the UMass Dartmouth five-yard line. Chris Stewart scored on the next play to give the Bison the lead for good with 3:52 remaining.

Nichols had taken a 7-0 lead when Oberg connected with Anthony Pillari from 25 yards out with 10 seconds to play in the first half. The Corsairs tied it on their first possession of the third quarter after the Bison failed on an onside kick. UMass Dartmouth drove 46 yards in five plays, capped by Sullivan’s 17-yard run.

The Corsairs took the lead after stopping a Nichols drive on downs at their own 17-yard line late in the third quarter. They drove 78 yards in 15 plays to the Nichols five-yard line, and Vasiliadis kicked a 21-yard field goal to give UMass Dartmouth a 10-7 lead with 13:38 remaining.

“Our defense really stepped up and did a great job,” said Robichaud. “We had a few pass interference calls in critical situations which were caused by our kids being aggressive. They made a good play to score right before halftime. It was a good throw and a good catch; you have to give them credit.”

Sullivan led all rushers with 97 yards on 19 carries, while Garro was 12 of 22 passing for 137 yards. Oberg completed 13 of 40 passes for 180 yards, but the Bison were held to 68 yards rushing on 35 carries. Nichols blocked a punt and successfully converted two fake punts.

The game had shaped up as a duel between the top two running backs in the conference, juniors J.T. Harold of UMass Dartmouth and Nichols’ Robert Morris. Morris carried only on the first play of the game, while Harold saw no action — both because of injury.

“Let’s face it, we’re a different team without J.T;” said Robichaud. “He averages 160 yards a game and opens things up for everyone else.”

UMass Dartmouth dropped to 4-4 and 3-2 in the NEFC Boyd Division with the loss, while Nichols improved to 5-2 and 4-1 with the victory. The Corsairs will return to action when they host Endicott next Saturday, while Nichols will host Curry next Saturday.

Get the brooms out: Volleyball sweeps WSC

By Trevor Medeiros

Last Wednesday, the UMass Dartmouth women’s volleyball team picked up its first home win of the season in sweeping fashion, beating Worcester State College in straight sets 30-23, 31-29, 30-12 at the Tripp Athletic Center.

The victory marked the first home win for the Lady Corsairs (6-14) and first-year head coach Steve DeRossi. The team’s previous wins came either on the road or at neutral sites.

Worcester State jumped ahead early in the first game, but UMD fought its way back to take a 9-8 lead. Then Nazareth Cardoso and Jaclyn Davis combined for a nice double block to stretch the UMD advantage to 26-19. The Lady Corsairs later closed out the first game to win by seven points.

Senior outside hitter Nazareth Cardoso was all over the court in the first game for UMD. She tallied 11 kills total that night.

In game two, junior Hillary Teichert had a nice kill to give the Lady Corsairs a two-point lead (10-8). With the game tied at 20, the lead see-sawed back and forth until Worcester State had a game point opportunity (29-27).

However, UMD showed some heart, scoring the final four points of the game to win 31-29. Teichert, the junior co-captain, was a big reason why UMD took the second game. She led UMD with 16 kills in the match.

With the comeback win in the second game under their belts, the Lady Corsairs jumped out to a 20-9 lead in the third game and never looked back, winning the game 30-12 and sweeping the match in the process.

“The girls were absolutely intense,” said DeRossi. “We served well; we hit well. Home or not, it was a big win. Hopefully we’ll be able to build on this.”

Coach DeRossi also credited Amanda Langfield and Mellanie Staiger for contributing to the victory. Staiger dished out 38 assists to pace the Lady Corsairs’ offensive attack.

“Our goal today was to play to win, be intense, be focused. If we made a mistake, no one was even gonna talk about it.”

It’s been a tough first season for DeRossi, who’s not used to losing when it comes to coaching volleyball. Under his watch, the New Bedford High boys’ volleyball team had been the most successful in the state, qualifying for the playoffs every year since Massachusetts began recognizing high school volleyball. His teams also won eight state championships, a record that won’t be broken anytime soon.

Six of UMD’s losses have come against teams in the top 15 in Division III this season. While his team won’t have a high seed in the upcoming Little East Conference tournament, DeRossi is hoping they will still make some noise.

DeRossi noted, “Once you get into a league tournament, anything can happen.”

Men’s soccer blanks Plymouth State

DARTMOUTH, Mass. — The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s men’s soccer team scored a pair of early goals and went on to blank visiting Plymouth State, 2-0, in a Little East Conference match at the UMass Dartmouth Athletic Complex Saturday afternoon.

Senior forward Lee Soares broke the scoreless tie when he took a pass from senior forward Adam Rolfe and fired a shot past PSU goalkeeper Tyler Shute at the six minute mark of the first half. Soares set up the second goal when he lofted a corner kick toward the net. Junior midfielder Matt Correia headed it in at the 14:10 mark.

The Panthers fought back, pressing the attack in the second half. UMass senior goalkeeper Kyle Fossey (Townsend, MA/North Middlesex HS) made nine saves to keep PSU off the scoreboard, earn his fourth shutout of the season and put the Corsairs in position to earn a Little East Conference tournament berth for the first time since the 2002 season. The victory broke a six-game losing streak for the Corsairs against Plymouth State.

“We came to play today, and it showed,” said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Ray Cabral. “This is the first time in my career that we’ve beaten these guys, so it was a big win. We got on top, and Kyle Fossey was huge in the second half. They threw everything at him, and he made a couple of big saves. We’ve put ourselves in position to make the conference tournament.”

The Panthers out-shot UMass Dartmouth, 13-8. Fossey made nine saves, while Shute was credited with four.

UMass Dartmouth improved to 11-3-1 and 3-2-1 in the Little East Conference with the victory, while Plymouth State dropped to 5-7-1 and 2-3-0 with the defeat. The Corsairs will return to action when they visit Bridgewater State Tuesday, while the Panthers will visit Green Mountain on Wednesday.

Intramural sports involvement at record levels

By Adam K. Ellis

When Jerry Jennings took over as UMass Dartmouth Director of Intramural Sports, never did he imagine that the program would take off like it did. When Jennings arrived in 1996, as the student population was growing, varsity athletics continued to carry the same amount of roster slots. With intrigue rising, Jennings was brought on to find a solution to an intramurals program that was non-existent.

“When I first came here, our number of participants was zero,” Jennings explained. In 1996 despite student attendance numbered in the thousands and varsity athletic participation in the hundreds, UMass Dartmouth athletics outside-of-team affiliations were not accompanied by thousands of potential amateur athletes. Eleven years later, the program Jennings installed, has flourished.

“With respect to the past, today we do have a potential client base of 9,000 students. I am pleased to report that last year we had roughly 2,000 individuals participate in intramurals, doubling the previous year’s total. Each year since I have been here, our program’s numbers have continually risen each year as the number of students associated with the school grow.”

When Jennings began the program, only sports that were in high demand were catered to (such as basketball, football and softball). As of today, UMass Dartmouth supports a wide array of activities ranging from badminton and wiffleball to table tennis and even sailing!

“Our philosophy is to bring the interest of the students to the program. We have even gone so far as to form an intramural board, to entertain the thoughts of those individuals playing intramurals,” he said. “We allow the students to come to the table with suggestions and any activity that we feel warrants it (by the numbers), we will seriously consider the idea.”

An idea that has been recently been brought to Jennings attention is a proposition to attract the mass amounts of female athletes who frequent the UMass Dartmouth Fitness Center.

Jennings explained, “We would like to see an increase in the number of women participating in the intramural program. As of right now, we have females who participate in sports such as volleyball, basketball and soccer, but we would like to gear some activities towards the girls in particular.”

In response to this proposition, Jennings and his staff are in the process of putting together a Ladies Only Night of intramural activities, featuring whatever sport they desire the most.

Jenning’s dedication and willingness to listen in response to student requests may be the program’s greatest strength.

“I take great pride in my job and what I do. Intramural participation is an important part of the college experience,” Jennings said. “Intramurals can be a wellness component in life. It ensures a physical regiment that we hope translates into an everyday routine in the lives of our students.”

As much as Jerry Jennings has contributed to the program, he is quick to credit the success to others within the athletics department.

“The reason why our program works so well is the great communication within the department,” he explained. ”Our current athletic director has been very professional and is enormously supportive of what we do here. We also have an excellent staff of 20-25 individuals who work together and communicate so well.”

With over 2,000 athletes participating throughout Jenning’s programs, as well as the 500 varsity athletes, scheduling activities and gaining availability to the limited facilities around the campus (the gym, tennis courts, outdoors fields and the pool), has become rather difficult.

“In terms of the limited facilities we have at our expense, it takes a group effort. Fortunately, we have great departmental harmony,” Jennings reflected. “All the coaches have made an effort to consistently work with the program to ensure that there is enough time for everyone to use the courts and fields. I am also very pleased with the great job the University has done in supporting our program.”

Basic Info

Intramural activities occur throughout the week, Monday through Friday. Each series of activities begin two weeks into each semester and last until a week before finals are taken.

Currently, the following sports are being played: badminton, basketball, co-ed volleyball, flag football, indoor soccer, roller hockey, women’s field hockey and wiffleball.

For more information regarding Intramural sports, please visit: http://www.umassd.edu/sport/intramurals/.

College football roundup

D-1 teams paving the road to the Rose Bowl

By Trevor Medeiros

With Boston College off this past weekend, let’s look at some of the other happenings that took place in the world of college football.

The best conference in America

Florida beat Kentucky in a shootout in Lexington, 45-37. Quarterback Tim Tebow played well for the Gators, showing why he played so much as a true freshman on last year’s national championship squad. His counterpart Andre Woodson played even better, throwing for over 400 yards and five touchdowns in the loss. While those numbers didn’t garner a win, they certainly deserved a game ball.

But let’s be serious now: It’s easy to see why the Gators won this game. There’s no way a Florida team — let alone an Urban Meyer-coached Florida team — was going to lose three games in a row. Plus, they were coming off a bye week, while Kentucky was coming off its big win over LSU just last week. While Woodson and Kentucky played well in the loss, it wasn’t enough. With two conference losses, UK’s chances of appearing in Atlanta for the SEC title game are now slim-to-none.

Steve Spurrier must have thought his South Carolina Gamecocks were getting a week off when they played Vanderbilt at home this past weekend. However, he must have forgotten that in the SEC, there are no weeks off. The Commodores beat the ol’ ball coach in his own backyard 17-6. Just another week in the gauntlet known as the SEC, a.k.a. the best football conference in America.

Big Red feeling Blue

Former legendary Nebraska coach Tom Osborne returned to Lincoln last week to take over as the university’s interim athletic director. It’s safe to say he has his work cut out for him.

The Cornhuskers lost the coaches-on-the-hot-seat bowl this past weekend, as Dennis Franchione’s Texas A&M Aggies beat up on Bill Callahan’s lowly Huskers, 36-14. Nebraska is 4-4 on the season; one of their wins: a one-point victory over Ball State (yeah, that Ball State). They have shown little life (and defense) in their four blowout losses to USC, Missouri, Oklahoma State and A&M.

This is a far cry from the days when Osborne roamed the sidelines in Lincoln. It’s safe to say Callahan won’t be back next year. The Raiders-reject coach brought his complicated West Coast Offense to Nebraska a few years ago, but it’s now clear he didn’t bring a defense with him. In a state where football’s sacred, it will be up to Osborne to find a coach (if not himself) that will lead Nebraska back to its glory days in the offseason.

Speaking of (Big) Blue....

After losing its first two games of the season in the Big House, Michigan has reeled off six wins in a row, and is undefeated in the Big Ten after its 27-17 win over Illinois Saturday night.

Michigan quarterback Chad Henne showed some guts, throwing two touchdowns while playing without super back Mike Hart and with a nagging injury. While not winning a national championship is certainly a disappointment for Henne and company, a trip to Pasadena is still not out of the question for the Wolverines. However, the road to the Rose Bowl is going to be tough, as Michigan has to play both Wisconsin and arch-nemesis Ohio State to end the season.

MMA

UFC in Cincinnati

By Timm Freitas

It was a bad night for the hometown fans when the UFC came to Cincinnati last Saturday, October 20. Both main card Cinci-native fighters Rich Franklin and Jorge Gurgel ended up losing their fights in dramatic fashion. Also on the card was a largely popular heavyweight bout between contenders Brandon Vera and former UFC heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia.

As far as the Gurgel fight goes, he lost a lopsided decision to Alvin Robinson. The first round was unarguably in favor of the Cincinnati native, but after that, Robinson imposed his will on Gurgel, leaving Gurgel’s face to look like a piece of Picasso artwork.

For the main event fight of the night, middleweight champ Anderson Silva successfully defended his title again against former Middleweight champ Rich Franklin. This was their second meeting, the first fight which lead to Franklin losing the title to Silva. The two fighters were back in the cage and Silva wasted no time going to town on Franklin, however the fight made it to the second round this time — barely. At the end of the first round Silva landed a hard right dropping Franklin, who was only saved by the bell. Franklin had to be walked back to his corner.

Once the second round started, Franklin was out on his feet and Silva wasted little time in throwing his amazing knees and connecting with Franklin’s face for an impressive TKO victory.

Tim Sylvia was back in action for the first time since his loss to Randy Couture early last year, and Brandon Vera was back after an 11-month lay off. The fight was hardly exciting, except for a flurry of combinations from both fighters at the end of round one. Once again Sylvia proved he is a boring fighter and the fight went to the judges, all scoring in favor of Sylvia. After round 1, it was obvious something was wrong with Vera, which he confirmed by informing the crowd that he broke his hand in the first round. Fighting two rounds with a broken hand didn’t help in his decision loss. This fight may just be the fight that decided one challenger for the vacant heavyweight title.

In all, this event was one of the more boring the UFC has recently broadcast. The co-main events were okay, but the under card was less than spectacular. One question that emerges from Saturday’s event revolves around the status of the UFC’s ultra-thin middleweight division. With Franklin’s loss to Silva again, there is no clear-cut contender for the belt. As of right now it seems that Silva is content with his UFC gold, which is a good thing because it doesn’t look like anyone will be coming close to taking it from him anytime soon.