Issue #28 - Fall 2006

Rhode Island College Anchor Notes
The Official Newsletter of Rhode Island College Intercollegiate Athletics
www.ric.edu/athletics
Vol. VIII No. 1
Providence, Rhode Island
Renew Your Anchor Club Membership Today!
The 2006-07 Anchor Club Renewal B rochure was mailed out with
the last issue of The Anchor Notes in July. Don’t forget to send in y our
renewal information so you can receive all the benefits Anchor Club mem bers enjoy!
Please call Jeff Verklan in the Athletic Dev elopment Office at (401)
456-8260 for more information.
Alumni Games Set for Sept. 29 & 30
as part of Homecoming 2006
In conjunction with Homecoming 2006, Rhode Island College will host
Alumni G ames for the sports of men’s soccer, women’s soccer, baseball and softball.
• The Alumni Softball Game will be held on Friday, Sept. 29 at the Dayna A.
Bazar Softball Complex beginning at 5 p.m.
• The Alumni Men’s S occer Game will be held at the RIC Soccer Field on
Friday, Sept. 29 beginning at 6 p.m.
• The Alumni Baseball Game will be held on S aturday, Sept. 30 at Anchorman
Field beginning at 10 a.m.
• The Alumni Women’s Soccer Game will be held on Saturday, Sept. 30 at the
RIC Soccer F ield beginning at 10 a.m.
• The Alumni Volleyball Game will be held on Saturday, Sept. 30 at The
Murray Center beginning at 10 a.m.
Please contact Art Pontarelli at (401) 456-8863 to register. There will be a bar beque following each game.
Mantia ’66 to Receive Prestigious Bourget Award
Bob Mantia ’66 will receive the Paul Bourget
Award at the annual A thletic Recognition Dinner and
Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, Sept.
30, in conjunction with Homecoming, at Donov an
Dining Center at 7 p.m.
Mantia will be just the second recipient of this
award, which is given to a person who has made significant contributions to the Rhode Island College
Athletic Program.
He was very active in athletics during his underBob Mantia ’66
graduate days at RIC, serving most notably as the men’s
basketball team’s public address announcer. He w ent on to a career in the military, retiring with a rank of Lt. Colonel in 1990, and then embarked on a
career as a successful businessman.
Over the past five years, Mantia has been instr umental in the success of
Rhode Island College’s athletic program, ser ving on the annual Anchor Club
Golf Day Committee and sponsoring the First Annual Endless Summer
Beach Party.
Please contact the RIC Athletic Department at (401) 456-8007 for ticket information.
Inside this edition
Athletic Recognition Dinner Ticket Information . . . Page 1
Alumni G ame Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 1
Bob Mantia to Receive Bourget Award. . . . . . . . . . . Page 1
Fall Sports Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 2
Endless Summer Beach Party Review . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3
Homecoming 2006 Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3
Anchor Club Golf Day Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4
Fall Preview
September, 2006
Athletic Recognition Dinner ticket info
The eighth annual Rhode Island College Athletic Recognition D inner and
Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held on Saturday, Sept. 30, in conjunction with Homecoming, at Donovan Dining Center at 7 p.m.
A reception to honor all former Hall of Fame inductees and all previous
Hetherman and Murphy Award winners will be held at The Murray Center at
5:30 p.m.
Tickets are $40 each. The deadline for ordering tickets is S ept. 20. Please
contact the Athletic Department at (401) 456-8007 to purchase tickets or for
additional information.
Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2006
Michael Enos ’89
Sharon (Hall) G alloway ’87
William McCaughey ’67
Lonnie Morris ’96
Debbie (Allen) Paiva ’90
Ruth (H arnois) Plante ’84
Anthony Rainone ’73
Kim (Smith) Rondeau ’88
Annual Student-Athlete Parents’ Breakfast
Set for Homecoming 2006
Parents of curr ent Rhode Island College student-athletes are cordially invited to attend the annual Student-Athlete Parents’ Breakfast in
The Murray Center on Saturday, Sept. 30 from 9:30-10:30 a.m. in conjunction with Homecoming 2006.
Please call the RIC Athletic Department at (401) 456-8007 if you
plan to attend so w e can make the proper arrangements.
Short Time, Lasting Impact: Mike Morrison
by Don Tencher, Director of Athletics
He was at Rhode Island College for a
just a short time, but Mike Morrison,
Assistant Athletic Director for Development,
left his mark on the way the athletic department raises money.
Mike left his post at RIC this past July
to work in athletic development for the
Huskies at the University of Connecticut. A
search for Mike’s replacement is currently
underway.
Mike worked extremely hard at RIC,
President John Nazarian
opening
new doors, especially in the area of
presents Mike Morrison with a
commemorative chair at the corporate sponsorship. He directed major
Anchor Club G olf Tournament. events like the successful 75th Anniversar y of
Athletics Celebration in 2005 and uniform
retirement program. He was a great ambassador, not only for the athletic
department, but the College too as he reached out in support of alumni and
donor relations.
On behalf of the entire College, I want to join President Nazarian in
wishing Mike much success in his new position and the best for he and his
family, wife Nicole and son Jacob .
Sincerely,
2006 Fall Athletics Preview
Men’s Soccer Hopes to Build on ECAC Championship Season
The Rhode Island College men’s soccer team came up one penalty kick short of advancing to the
NCAA Tournament last fall and the Anchormen will have that fresh in their minds as they take to the
field on Friday, Sept. 1 vs. Rutgers-Newark in opening round action of the Mule Classic at Muhlenberg
College.
The program captured its firs t-ever Easter n C ollege Athletic Conference (ECAC) N.E.
Championship last fall, and despite losing all-time leading scorer Kyle Teixeira, Head Coach John Mello
expects big things fr om the ’06 squad. “I look forwar d to improving upon last season’s success,” Mello
said. “ We feel we have had the best recruiting class ever at our school. Our goal is to win the Little East
Championship and get an NCAA bid.”
Junior James Nigrelli and sophomor e Josh Silv a are expected to anchor the team on defense. Both
Josh Silva
James Nigrelli
goalkeepers in juniors Sean Gonsalves and Jadon Neves are back and that should create some healthy competition for playing time. James Hernandez and Der ek Rocha are the team’s top incoming players who should help the squad right away.
Women’s Volleyball Hopes to Bounce Back
The Rhode Island C ollege wom en’s
volleyball team captured a share of the 2004
Little East Conference Regular S eason
Championship and follo wed that up with a
22-win campaign in ’05.
H ead Coach Craig Letou rneau
received a sur pr ise when senior libero
Stephanie Wojciechowski decided to come
back for her final season of eligibility, which
should anchor the defense as she has always Stephanie Wojciechowski
Erin Miga
done.
Senior All-Little East Conference middle hitter Erin Miga heads into the fall of ’06 just
47 kills shy of surpassing Kristy Nix’s ’05 all-time mark of 1,032.
“The goal of the volleyball program every year is to continue to grow stronger from the
previous y ear,” Letourneau said. “We have a strong nucleus returning mixed in with a solid
recruiting class. I expect to be in contention for the LEC cr own.”
Chartier to Lead Women’s Soccer
The Rhode Island College women’s soccer team will be under new leadership in 2006
as D enis Chartier becomes just the third
coach in the program’s history.
The former long-time Brown assistant
coach will have a veteran-laden club to work
with as the team posted a 10-8 record last season, which tied the program high-mark for
wins in a season.
Assistant Coach Jessica
Knobel said, “This upcoming seas on has some high
expectations with a ne w head
coach and our biggest
recruiting class of freshmen
and transfers. Since w e hav e
Caitlin Gavin
had a "young" team the past
two y ears, we hav e gained
experience in the LEC and
are ready to get some wins
under our belt.”
Senior stopper Caitlin
Gavin, who will be counted
upon to control the middle
K rista MacK innon and back, is coming off a
season that saw her play virtually every minute
of every game.
Junior 1st Team All-LEC midfielder
K rista MacKinnon led the team in assists and
points last fall and should be among the top
play ers in the conference once again.
Men’s & Women’s
Cross Country Charge Into ‘06
The Rhode Island College men’s and
women’s cross country teams head into the
2006 campaign looking to climb up the Little
East standings under Head Coach Kevin
Jackson.
“We’re hoping both programs take a
step up this fall,” Coach Jackson said. “ The
veterans have another year of experience and
coupled with the addition of some key new comers, I hope to have a great year that will
ser ve as a springboar d into the indoor and
outdoor track seasons.”
Senior
Eric
Lonergan was the men’s
top runner at ev ery meet
in ’05 and was named the
team’s MVP. He earned
All-ECAC and AllAlliance/Little East honors for the first time in
his career and should
once again be one of the
top runners in New
England.
Eric Lonergan
The women’s team
will be a young squad with a lot of newcomers and they should get better with each invitational.
Women’s Tennis Looks
to Keep it Rollin’!
The Rhode Island
College women’s tennis
team has been a dominant force in the Little
East Conference for o ver
a decade, but the 2006
team will have something new to strive for
this fall: a bid to the
NCAA Div. III Women’s
Meg Funk
Tennis Championships.
The NCAA s are
held in the spring, so
unlike RIC teams of the
past, the Anchorwomen
will play some matches
in the spring as well. RIC
is coming off its third
consecutive Little East
Conference
Regular
Season Title and its sixth
Tara Marchant
LEC
Tournament
Championship, so the
Anchorwom en
look
poised to make a run at
the National Stage.
“T his
year's
women's tennis team
will have a lot of new
faces, but they are a talented group of tennis
players,” said Head
Kseniya Gurvich
Coach Kelly Chartier .
“With their hard wor k and dedication, we hope to
have another championship season.”
Chartier will have LEC Champions Meg
Funk, Kseniya Gurvich and Tara Marchant to lead
the team and she hopes the additions of newcomers Sasha D oonan and Julie Bannon will play critical roles.
The Anchorwoman come into the season having lost only one regular season match o ver the past
two seasons for a combined 24-1 record.
2
Endless Summer Beach Party Wrap-Up
1st Annual Endless Summer Beach Party a Success!
Close to 100 people attended the first annual Endless Summer Beach Party at the North Beach Clubhouse
in Narragansett, Rhode Island on Friday, July 14. Everyone enjoyed the scenery, host bar and music and an
outstanding Surf & Turf dinner.
Chairpersons John and Pat ’61 Maciel, Tom ’73 and Maryann ’70 Dolan, Charlie ’64 and Carolyn ’66
Wilkes did an outstanding job assisting in the planning of this first-time event. Special thanks to Bob Mantia
’66 and Narragansett Bay Lobster for their sponsorship of this event.
The Second Annual Endless Summer Beach Party will be held on July 13, 2007, so stay tuned to The
Anchor Notes and What’s News for details!.
Bob Mantia ’66 enjoys the
lobster and steak dinner!
Vice President for Development
Dr. Marguer ite Brown and her husband
Al Nixon tear up the dance floor.
President John Nazarian holds court
during dinner!
Homecoming 2006 Athletic Schedule of Events
Saturday, Sept. 30
9 a.m.
• Presentation of the 2006 All-Little East Conference Softball Awar ds
• The Softball team will face Franklin Pier ce, St. Anselm’s and Stonehill
at the Dayna A Bazar S oftball Complex throughout the day.
9:30-10:30 a.m. in The Murray Center
• Student-Athlete Parents’ Breakfast.
Vin Cullen ’55 was inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Directors of
Athletics (NA CDA) Hall of Fame at NACDA’s annual convention held in Ne w Orleans
in June. Also pictured ar e Rhode Island College Director of Athletics Don Tencher (left)
and Jack Doyle(right), a fello w NACDA HOF inductee and former Director of A thletics
at the University of South Dakota.
10 a.m.
• Women’s S occer Alumni Game at the Varsity Soccer Stadium.
• Baseball Alumni Game at Anchorman Field.
•Volleyball Alumni Game at The Murray Center
11 a.m.
• Women’s Tennis squares off against Bridge water State.
12:30 p.m. in The Murray Center
• Women’s Volleyball battles Framingham S tate
1 p.m.
• Women’s S occer battles UMass Dartmouth
Registration is encouraged for alumni athletic events. To register, or for
additional information, please contact:
Art Pontarelli (401) 456-8863 or Jeff Verklan (401) 456-8260.
Rhode Island College Director of Athletics D on Tencher (center) was r ecognized as the
GeneralSports TURF Systems Division III Northeast Region AD of the Year b y the
National Association Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) for the second time in his
career at the organization’s annual convention held in New Orleans in June. Also pictured
are NACDA President Tim Curley of Penn State and Doug Whitmer of GeneralSports
TURF Systems.
3
2006 Anchor Club Golf Day
I’d like to take a moment to r ecognize all of the participants and sponsors who took part in the sixth annual Anchor Club G olf Day, which was
held at Pawtucket Country Club on July 17.
It was a great day that saw over 100 golfers take to the links. This ev ent continues to grow and be more successful each year. Hats off to our golf
committee: Matt Gill ’70, Rick Chagnon, Bob Mantia ’66, Tony Rainone ’73, Jim Wade ’69 and Charlie Wilkes ’64. Great job guys!
This event wouldn’t be possible without our many sponsors (see list below). Special thanks to Presenting S ponsor The Hudson Companies, and
its Chief Operating Officer Fran O’Brien, for contributing in so many different ways.
All of the proceeds from this year’s event benefit our student-athlete development programs. Mark your calendar for next year’s golf day, which
is on Monday, July 16, 2007, back at Pawtucket Country Club. See y ou there!
Don Tencher
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, Intramurals and Recr eation
2006 Anchor Club
Golf D ay Sponsors:
The Day at a Glance
Presenting Sponsor
The Hudson Companies
Major Sponsors
Bourget and Associates
Dominion Diagnostics
Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation
John Nazarian ’54, President
RIGHT Charitable Foundation
Sovereign Bank
Corporate Sponsors
H inckley Allen Snyder, LLP
Med Care Ambulance
Starkweather & Shepley Insurance
Thrifty Car Rental Rhode Island
Turfer Athletics
Tee Sponsors
Amica Mutual Insurance Company
Phil and Betty Ayoub
Charlie O’s Tav ern on the Point
Coca Cola
Community College of Rhode Island
Contender, Inc.
Dunkin D onuts
Elmwood Sports
Attorney Edward Gomes ’69
Tom Hanley, Attorney at Law
Horan and Golden Company, CPA
Joyal ’s Liquors
Narragansett B ay Lobsters, Inc.
Nikolas Pizza
Providence Marriott
McGeough’s Turf Management
Q uiznos
Rhode Island College Alumni Association
Rhode Island Baseball Academy
Rhode Island College Foundation
South County Orthopedics and PT, Inc.
World Trophies Co., Inc.
Patrons
Belmont Market
Custom Color, Inc.
David R. Fallon
Rober t Fuoroli ’68
4
“The Anchorman”, Rhode Island College’s athletic
mascot made his first official public appearance
at the 2006 Anchor Club Golf Tournament.
Charlie Wilkes ’64 runs the always-popular Golf
Day Raffle after dinner with a little help
from his friends.
Jon Duffy, President John Nazarian ’54 and RIC Head Men’s Golf Coach
Greg Gammell were part of the foursome that posted the low score on the day.
D ave S tenhouse (left) and Tina Tencher ’ 01
(right) recorded the longest drives for a man and a
woman, respectively, at the tourney!
Holly Courtemanche (left) and RIC Head Men’s
Golf Coach Greg Gammell (right) posted the low
scores for a woman and a man, respectively.
www.ric.edu/athletics