Top Coach

Phil Stern – W. Basketball

Picked fifth in the preseason coach’s polls, the women’s basketball team, led by Phil Stern, won the regular season championship with a 13-3 record against America East opponents. This season the women’s basketball team had their best season in their Division I history, as for the first time ever, not only did they win a regular season championship, but they had a winning record against Division I opponents.

Male Freshman of the Winter

Johan Rohtla – M. Swimming and Diving

At the end of a stellar first season Johan Rohtla stepped up even more at the America east championship meet. Rohtla was named the conference’s Outstanding Male Rookie after medaling four time while breaking and re-breaking a school record in the 200-yard backstroke.

Female Freshman of the Winter

Kirsten Jones – W. Track and Field

There was not really one particular female freshman that completely stood out but Kirsten Jones definitely had the best season. At the Gulden Relays, the indoor track and field team’s second meet of the season, Jones won the 500-meter dash and then later won two bronze medals in the 200-meter and 400-meter dash, respectively. The bronze in the 400-meter dash came at the America East championships.

Best Male Performance

Justin Fry gets 20-20 on senior night

Justin Fry could not have had a better performance to go out on in his last game at the RAC. There is a lot of emotion that goes into a players senior day but instead of letting that emotion get to him and making him play uncontrollably, he settled down and became the first Retriever ever to grab 20 rebounds in the same game he scored 20 points.

Best Female Performance

McKenney wins five at AE Championships

How can winning five gold medals to lead your team to a conference championship not be the best performance of the year? Abbey McKenney was absolutely unstoppable, winning 50-yard free, 100-yard free, and 200-yard free individually while anchoring the winning 200-yard and 400-yard free relay teams.

Best Moment

Swimming sweeps America East championships

Maybe it is just expected at this point that the swimming and diving teams are going to win the championships but every time they do it is more and more impressive. The America East conference has really improved since UMBC joined and the competition is getting so much tougher, so the fact that this dynasty is so strong makes it so impressive and having the women’s team join them makes it so much sweeter.

Most Improved Male Athlete

Steve Gallagher – M. Swimming and Diving

For the first two years of his career Steve Gallagher showed some decent potential but as a junior he stepped up and became the team’s top short-distance freestyle swimmer behind all-time great Eric Jones but what made him so much better was that he completely redefined his role and became one of the team’s top relay swimmers.

Most Improved Female Athlete

Tope Obajolu – W. Basketball

Two years in a row Tope Obajolu has earned this award, and for good reason. Last year she became a full-time starter as a sophomore after barely seeing the floor her freshman year and became a key piece in the team’s success but this year she took her game to a whole new level and after averaging 10.6 points and 4.3 rebounds she was a third-team all-conference player and one of the league’s top defenders. More importantly though the team really ran through her, when they won, she was on the top of her game and when they lost, she was disappointing and this year, the team had way more wins than losses.

Unsung Male Athlete

Bakari Smith – M. Basketball

With the men’s basketball team’s record as bad as it was and Bakari Smith not putting up sexy numbers, he really didn’t get the respect that he deserved. Smith was not the reason the team lost. No, he didn’t score much, but he wasn’t supposed to. His job was to play defense, and he was one of the best on the team, and move the ball around as a second point guard on the floor next to Chris De La Rosa, which he also did very well.

Unsung Female Athlete

Michele Brokans and Meghan Colabella – W. Basketball

I can’t pick between the two. Both of these players were simply amazing in terms of their mindset of the game. Neither one cared about stats, they just wanted to win. Michele Brokans was not much of a scorer but if she was she would have been at Tennessee playing for Pat Summit because the rest of what she did was that good. She was a great defender, great leader, and great point guard, constantly putting her teammates in the best position to succeed. Colabella on the other hand had plenty of offensive ability but care more about her rebounding numbers than her scoring totals. Colabella also took on one of the team’s top offensive players each and every night and did all of the dirty work that most players don’t exactly like to do.

Fan’s Choice Male Athlete of the Winter

Chris De La Rosa – M. Basketball

Plain and simple, Chris De La Rosa was fun to watch and probably should have been the Player of the Year because he was that good. The team’s record kept that dream from coming a reality but a league high 6.0 assists, second-most 15.5 points per game, and 3.9 rebounds per game show just how impressive he was.

Fan’s Choice Female Athlete of the Winter

Michelle Kurowski – W. Basketball

What’s not to like about Michelle Kurowski? Stepping in to fill a role of one of the best scorers in conference history is hard to do but Kurowski looked natural doing the job and the first-team all-conference guard averaged a team-high 14.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.9 steals, and 1.3 three-pointers per game as she led the women’s basketball team to their first-ever regular season championship.

Male Athlete of the Winter

Eric Jones – M. Swimming and Diving

Having a year better than Eric Jones is impossible because he did not have a blemish on his record. Erin Jones was undefeated in the 200-yard freestyle his senior season. Jones went 11-0 in dual meets and won the event at the America East championships.

Female Athlete of the Winter

Abbey McKenney – W. Swimming and Diving

Five gold medals in the America East championships to lead the team to their first title in three years says it all. McKenney not only won five medals though, she broke four records that weekend and broke six records this season, four of which were as a member of a relay team.

*The photos in the post were taken by either me, Harish Trivedi, or UMBC Athletics

Topé Obajolu should have a much bigger role this season and has All-Conference potential.

The Carlee Cassidy era is officially over in Catonsville. Phil Stern’s Retrievers will have to move on from their time where they had one of the conference’s most prolific scorers who was the AEC’s scoring champion twice. But what better way to end that era than to begin the era of Michelle Kurowski, the AEC’s second active leading scorer after playing just two seasons.

Kurowski establisher herself as a dangerous scorer her freshman season and continued on that last year when she averaged 12.9 points per game. But adding to what makes her so good is her ability to crash the boards. Last season Kurowski not only finished second on the team in points while shooting 42 percent from the floor, but she led UMBC in rebounds, averaging 5.9 per game. She is also a solid three-point shooter, hitting 77 in two years, which is 31.7 percent of her attempts.

The Retriever’s star junior won’t be alone this year; a big of a loss as Cassidy (13.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg) may be, she was the teams only graduate last year. The Retrievers did lose Katie Brooks (8.3 ppg) and Chrissy Robinson (0.7 ppg) from last year’s squad as Brooks transferred to Belmont and Robinson left the team, but they still return a bevy of talent, and add one transfer and a loaded freshman class.

Topé Obajolu (7.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg) showed the potential that she could be one of the league’s top centers last year with her athleticism and strong defensive ability. With an extra year of development Obajolu has the potential to turn into an All-Conference player and double-digit point scorer. With Cassidy and Brooks no longer on the team to shoot the ball from outside, Stern said he will be looking to get the ball inside more often than last season, which just speaks to the talent that Obajolu has.

It also speaks to what Meghan Colabella (6.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg), who graduated early but is attending grad school this year. Through her career Colabella has been one of those players that hasn’t been a game breaker, but has done everything a team can ask. She scores a solid amount of points per game, rebounds the ball, defends well, and has impeccable timing that leads to a fair number of blocks.

Kim Browning (1.0 ppg, 0.6 rpg) did not play much last season but had a knack for timely rebounding.

But as always, UMBC is going to be a guard oriented team. With Kurowski (12.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg) as the team’s go-to-scorer she very well may contend to a scoring title at this point in her career, since she’ll get the ball on every single possession this year.

Adding to the depth in the backcourt however are four experienced guards and two highly touted freshmen. Michele Brokans is back for her fourth year as the team’s starting point guard. Brokans is not much of a scoring threat, to say the least, but she is definitely the team’s defensive ace, and a very good floor leader.

The interesting thing to watch is who will be the fifth starter: Erin Brown (6.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg) or Kristin Coles (2.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg @ American). Brown wasn’t as productive last season as she was a freshman; however, a cyst in her foot limited her effectiveness and time as she started just five games.

Michele Brokans is entering her fourth year as the team's starting point guard.

Coles is entering her first official season with the Retrievers after sitting out last season as a transfer from American University. While she did not play much in her freshman season she is incredibly athletic and has strong offensive ability. Both should see significant time and both should make major impacts this season. Chelsea Barker (3.2 ppg) had the best year of her career last season and showed solid offensive skills.

Phil Stern brought in three talented freshmen this season. Raven Gerald scored 16.3 ppg with 4.2 rpg, 98 assists, 90 steals, and 67 three-pointers as a senior in high school. Amirah Tucker scored over 1,000 career points in high school and Center Dana Lewis scored 15.8 ppg with 9.0 rpg, and 1.7 bpg as a senior.

Projected Starters:

C- Topé Obajolu (7.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg)
F- Meghan Colabella (6.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg)
G- Kristin Coles (2.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg @ American)
G- Michelle Kurowski (12.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg)
G- Michele Brokans (1.2 ppg, 2.3 apg)

Key Reserves:

C- Dana Lewis (Freshman)
F- Kim Browning (1.0 ppg, 0.6 rpg)
G/F- Erin Brown (6.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
G- Chelsea Barker (3.2 ppg, 1.5 rpg)
G- Amirah Tucker (Freshman)
G- Raven Gerald (Freshman)

Media Day is where the coaches of both the men’s and women’s basketball teams release their preseason polls and preseason All-Conference team. So before they actually announce everything I’m going to take a crack at where I think they all think teams will finish.

Men’s Preseason Standings:

Stony Brook- Tommy Brenton hasn’t officially been ruled out for the year, and could return for conference play. Nevertheless, Stony Brook returns and incredibly talented now junior class.

Boston University- They lost a load of good players that never quite lived up to being picked first, but they reload with a bunch of talented transfers.

New Hampshire- Alvin Abreu, Dan DiLiegro, and Tyrone Conley have to put it together this time around.

Maine- They lost one significant player from last year, unfortunately it was the point guard that was the heart and soul of the team last year.

Albany- They went into a complete youth movement half way through last season, it very well could pay off this season.

Vermont- No Blakely, no Young, no Veir. Rebuild.

Hartford- How many years of eligibility does Joe Zeglinski have exactly?

UMBC- Three defensive minded grad students should really help, but they are still very young.

Binghamton- Personally I think they’re a dangerous team but you never know where coaches will put a team that has self-imposed sanctions like they did.

All-Conference Team:

John Holland, Boston U (19.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg, .362 3PT%)

Gerald McLemore, Maine (14.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg, .402 3PT%)

Greer Wright, Binghamton (!15.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.2 apg)

Bryan Dougher, Stony Brook (13.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 42.3 3PT%)

Joe Zeglinski, Hartford (16.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 34.9 3PT%)

Women’s Standings:

Boston U- Chantell Alford was hands down the best players in the league last year, and she was just a rookie on a very young team.

Binghamton- Andrea Holmes has really developed into a top of the line point guard and has a lot of talent returning around her.

Hartford- Jenn Rizzoti always has her teams in contention no matter what she’s lost.

Vermont- Sure they lost the best guard duo in the conference but they Catamounts were nationally ranked last season and earned an at large bid for more reasons than just them.

UMBC- Cassidy is gone and Brooks is gone.  They pretty much return everybody else.

Stony Brook- They could sneak up higher since they return a lot of their top players from last season.

Albany- Had mild success with a very young team, should be better.

Maine- Cindy Bloggett has a ways to go before her team is near the top.

New Hampshire- Finished in last place last season and lost their super star.

All-Conference Team:

Chantell Alford, Boston U (14.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.8 apg)

Erica Carter, Binghamton (13.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 46.7 3PT%)

Andrea Holmes, Binghamton (13.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4.7 apg)

Kirsten Jeter, Stony Brook (14.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.9 apg)

Michelle Kurowski, UMBC (12.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 32.8 3PT%)

Meghan Colabella graduated magna cum laude from UMBC in just three years.

It’s on thing to be a good athlete, it’s another thing to be a good student, but it’s simply incredibly to have a team of 11 basketball players who combined for the third highest grade-point-average in the nation among N.C.A.A. Division I team in the 2009-10 academic year.

The team had an average G.P.A. of 3.578, which was third in Division I to Utah State (3.630) and South Dakota State (3.622). Between all five divisions in women’s college basketball, UMBC ranked 13th. Division II Michigan Tech topped all of the women’s basketball teams with a team G.P.A. of 3.732.

UMBC’s mark and ranking are the highest by any America East Conference School since the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association began recognizing the top 25 in 1998. The previous high in G.P.A. belonged to Binghamton University, who has a 3.412 mark, and the previous high ranking belonged to University of Maine in 1999-2000 and BU in 2001-2002 when the both ranked seventh in the nation.

Of the team’s 11 players, three of them posted a 4.0. Michele Brokans had a 4.0 in both the fall and spring semesters while Carlee Cassidy and Meghan Colabella, who both graduated in May, also earned a 4.0. Cassidy was the team’s lone senior last year while Colabella, who graduated magna cum laude, will attend graduate school during the 2010-2011 season while playing her final season for the Retrievers.

“We’re extremely proud of the women’s basketball team members,” UMBC director of athletics Dr. Charles Brown said in a press release. “It’s a great honor to be ranked third nationally among all Division I schools in team G.P.A., and it’s a testimony for how hard this team has worked both on the court and in the classroom.”

Lets break down the 2009-2010 athletic season: one championship (Swimming and Diving), four second place finished (Women’s Lacrosse, Men’s Soccer, Men’s Tennis, and Women’s Swimming and Diving), and a bevy of all-conference players. It is really easy to say it was a down season for UMBC, but that is just because the marquee sports struggled. Men’s Lacrosse took a step back after being one of the most dominating teams in the conference for several years; men’s Basketball went from back-to-back finals appearances to just a 4-26 record; women’s Basketball took nationally ranked Virginia to the brink in the season opener but failed to move up from where they were last year despite so much returning talent; baseball had their second-straight nine win season; women’s soccer finished in last place again, and softball wasted a hot start to the season and missed the conference tournament. But there are plenty of other sports that had a lot of success. Men’s Soccer was picked to finished dead last this season, but proved to have one of the most dominating offenses in the nation, led by the N.C.A.A.’s two top scorers and finished in the America East Conference finals. Women’s lacrosse finally got into the AEC tournament, but upset the goliath University at Albany in the semi-finals and lost by just one to Boston University in the finals. Swimming and Diving? Well they just proved to be absolutely dominating once again. The men’ won their 13th straight league championship while the women finished right near the top again. Men’s tennis proved to be one of the most consistent teams at UMBC and made a trip back to the AEC finals, coming up just short of a championship, but showed significant improvement. Track and Field also had some absolutely dominating athletes across the board. Victor Gilreath and Keith Onto were untouchable in their events, while Sara Parkinson was an all-conference player in all three season. A lot of good things happened for UMBC this year, and they set the school up for a phenomenal year in 2010-2011. So without further adieu, here are the yearly UMBC Sports Blog Awards for the 2009-2010 athletic year:

Top Coach

Pete Caringi, Men’s Soccer

While Chad Cradock brought home UMBC’s only championship, it’s hard not to give the award to Caringi. His team was picked to finish in eighth place in an eight team conference with 14 freshmen and sophomores, an unproven goalie, and only one player returning with more than three goals in 2008. But right away, the Caringi-lead team showed that it really was a new season. The team started 9-0, were nationally ranked during the season, and got to the finals for the first time in nine years, and finished with 14 wins, the most since the 2000 season.

Male Freshman of the Year

Phil Saunders, Men’s Soccer

This ear the soccer team was about a very high scoring offense, but Phil Saunders was still phenomenal in goal. First, goalie very well may the toughest position on a soccer field. He not only has to stop a ball being hit at him at 70 m.p.h., but he also has to set up everybody’s position on the field. He’s the leader of the team, the quarterback. But Saunders excelled at the position. He shut out six teams and allowed an average of just one goal per game.

Female Freshman of the Year

Jamie Fahey, Women’s Lacrosse

The list of accomplishments and awards for Jamie Fahey this year is just remarkable. After her freshman season Fahey was honored with and All-Rookie selection, Rookie of the Year, Second team All-AEC, Mid-Atlantic Second Team honors by the Women’s Lacrosse Coaches’ Association, and All-Rookie team honors by womenslacrosse.com. While Fahey was a defender, her speed and ball handling ability made her a threat to score every time she touched the ball. She is certainly one of the cornerstones of the team that will contend for a championship next year.

Best Male Performance

Courtesy www.umbcxctf.wordpress.com

Keith Onto, Men’s Track and Field, 7,239 points in Decathlon at AEC Championships

Winning one event is a big feat, but winning six events in order to do that is just amazing. Keith Onto broke an AEC Championship record with 7,239 points in the heptathlon as he won the 400-meter dash, 110-meter hurdles, long jump, high jump, javelin, and Discus, while coming in second in the 100-meter dash and shot put, and third in the 1,500-meter run and pole vault. Onto finished with 577 points more than the second place finisher.

Best Female Performance

Carlee Cassidy, Women’s Basketball, Leads the team to a 23-points comeback over Boston University on her senior day

In her final game at RAC arena Carlee Cassidy scored 25 points with nine rebounds and three assists. But 16 of those points came in the second half during a 23-point comeback. UMBC fell into a big hole early to Boston University and trailed by 23 points early in the second half. But Carlee Cassidy got hot after that and led her team to a miraculous comeback, sending her out on top.

Best Moment

Courtesy www.umbcretrievers.com

Men’s Swimming and Diving wins 13th straight league title

After a 12-year period of dominance the men’s swimming and diving team was supposed to finally be overthrown as AEC Champions by a heavily favored Boston U team. Boston U returned every key contributor from the year before while UMBC lost some key swimmers. But as always, people stepped up and the reign of dominance was not ended after a dozen victories. The team came together, guys stepped up, others overachieved, and the team won their 13th straight league title and 7th straight AEC title.

Most Improved Male Athlete

Courtesy www.umbcxctf.wordpress.com

Camal Pugh, Men’s Track and Field

Good but never great- that was Camal Pugh’s reputation as an athlete on the track and field team for three years. But in his senior year he changed that. Pugh went from a guy who would contribute to his teams total every once in a while to one of the best runners on the team. During the indoor season he won two golds, three silvers, and a spot in the I.C.4.A. Championships. During the outdoor season, he remained the teams top hurdler every time out, and won a gold at the AEC Championship meet, and once again, qualified for the I.C.4.A. Championships.

Most Improved Female Athlete

Erika Braerman, Women’s Lacrosse

Last season Erika Braerman just had to pass the ball inside to the teams big guns. But this year, she was one of them. As a freshman Braerman scored just nine goals and had 11 assists but this year she led the team with 54 points off a team high 22 assists, and 32 goals, which ranked second on the team. Braerman learned her new role fast, and really excelled at it, making her another cornerstone of the women’s lacrosse team’s future success.

Unsung Male Hero

Mike Camardo, Men’s Lacrosse

It is really stunning to see that with everything Mike Camardo has done in his career, he has only been named to the AEC Second-team just two times in his career. He’s never been a first-team player or All-American. But when watching Mike Camardo you can tell he was always the best player on the field for both sides. His job was not to score, or set up the offense. It was to shut down the opposing offense and he did just that. In 13 games Camardo caused 36 turnovers (2.76 per game) and scooped up 54 ground balls (4.15 per game). As a long stick midfielder he was never the spotlight of the team, but he was usually up against the teams top offensive player, and usually won the battle.

Unsung Female Athlete

Kira Giles, Volleyball

When you’re a setter in Volleyball it is only natural for you to get overlooked. The credit always went to Ashley Oscars, Alyssa Lang, and Naomi Bush for smacking the ball down for kills, and for good reason. But Kira Giles was iatrical in all of that happening. As the setter she not only had to lob the ball up for them to hit, but she had to do it in the right place, which she did 633 times during the season. But she also contributed everywhere else on the floor, tying for second with 16 service aces, finished fourth with 171 digs, and fifth with 28 blocks.

Fan’s Choice Male Athlete of the Year

Andrew Bulls, Men’s soccer

Andrew Bulls ran away with the fan vote, more than doubling the second place finisher. With 15 goals and 11 assists, Bulls finished the regular season as the nations leading scorer and earned the AEC Striker of the Year award. It didn’t take long to see that Bulls was headed for a spectacular season. He scored four goals and had five assists after the first week of games and was named Player of the Week by collegesoccernews.com. He started the season with a score in 11 straight games, tying Giuliano Celenza’s streak set in 2000. He became the faster Retriever to score eight goals (six games) in their D-I history and finished second in the nation with 26 points, only behind his teammate Levi Houapeu.

Fan’s Choice Female Athlete of the Year

Fan’s just could not pick between the two seniors as they both finished with the same number of votes.

Carlee Cassidy, Women’s Basketball

Carlee Cassidy is certainly one of UMBC’s greatest scorers and continued to prove it as a senior with 13.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.3 three-pointers, and a 36.1 FG% and 32.0 3-pt%.

Amanda Fefel, Softball

Fefel is also arguably one of the best players in the softball team’s history. This year she not only dominated at the plate, totaling 53 hits, 13 home runs, 35 RBIs, 101 total bases, a .631 slugging percentage, and 40% on-base percentage. She also dominated on the mound with a team-best 2.64 ERA and four saves. She eventually moved back into the starting rotation as the season wore on. This year she also became UMBC’s all-time leader in home runs as she hit her 41st career home run. She finished the season with her fourth-straight first-team All-AEC selection, and also earned an ECAC all-star selection.

Male Athlete of the Year

Levi Houapeu, Men’s Soccer

When you’re the nation’s leading scorer and ECAC Offensive Player of the Year it’s hard not to be the UMBC Sports Blog Player of the Year. The fact is, Levi Houapeu was just absolutely dominate this year and was a huge reason the team was really successful. His speed and scoring ability opened up the other offensive players, but was also just too good for his opponents to stop. He finished the season with 28 points off 15 goals and 13 assists. He recorded two hat tricks this season, becoming the first to do so since Derek McElligott in 2001. After being injured as a sophomore, he came back and helped lead the team to their first AEC finals since 2000, and put them back on the map for next year.

Female Athlete of the Year

Courtesy www.umbcxctf.wordpress.com

Sara Parkinson, Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field

While she did not win the award for any particular season, it is hard to break her success down into just on because, well, she competed in three seasons. Parkinson was always her team’s top performer and that showed with her awards at the end of those seasons. She received all-conference three times in the 2009-2010 athletic year, which to say the least, is impressive. Being named All-AEC for one sport is a big accomplishment, but to carry that level of success into three seasons is very tough to do.

You may consider it to have been a down winter but there was plenty of action going on. This season’s sports were men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s track and field, women’s track and field, men’s swimming and diving, and women’s swimming and diving. The men’s swimming and diving team certainly had a lot of success getting their 123th straight league title. But to the awards:

Top Coach:

Chad Cradock, Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving

Most coaches have their hands full coaching 20 players on one team, but Chad Cradock coaches both the men’s and women’s winning and diving teams which total 63 student athletes. But the success he has with the team puts him up top. It doesn’t matter what the men’s swimming and diving team loses, he always finds a guy to step up and that has gotten the team their 13th straight league title and seventh straight conference title. The women’s team finished just short of the conference title for the second straight year, but were still incredibly impressive.

Male Freshman of the Winter

Adrian Satchell, Men’s Basketball

Power forward may be the most demanding position on the basketball court because you not only have to force your way inside to score, but you usually go up against your opponents top interior scorer. Adrian Satchell is a natural small forward but because of the lack of height on the team he was forced to play inside and started every game. Even though the team struggled he showed signs of being a very good player. He averaged 6.3 ppg and 5.1 rpg. He had had 10 points and 10 rebounds in an upset against Maine and 14 points and 12 rebounds in the opening round game of the America East Conference Tournament.

Female Freshman of the Winter

Tara Morrissette, Women’s Swimming and Diving

Tara Morrissette looks like she’ll be one of the next great swimmers on the team. She walked away from the America East Conference Championship meet with two bronze medals and school record, and most outstanding female rookie honors.

Best Male Performance:

Dominic Devaud, Men’s Track and Field

Senior Dominc Devaud claimed the top spot in the Heptathlon at the America East Conference Championship by totaling 5,216 points. In the seven events he won the 55-meter hurdle in 7.70 and finished second in the 55-meter dash in 6.78 and Pole Vault with a 4.65-meter vault.

Best Female Performance

Carlee Cassidy scored 26 in 23-point comeback on her senior day

Senior Carlee Cassidy did not want her last game in the RAC to be a loss, a blow out loss much less. Early in the second half the women’s basketball team was down 23 points to Boston U and was looking to be on the wrong end of a route, but Cassidy made sure she wouldn’t end on a sour note. She hit three three’s and had 16 second half points in her 25 point effort to get the team the 58-57 victory.

Best Moment

Men’s swimming and diving make it 13 straight

This season the men’s swimming and diving run of championships was supposed to end at the hands of a heavily favored Boston University team with the majority of their contributors from last year’s second place team back. But the men’s team did not let that stand in the way of history as they claimed their 12th straight league title and seventh straight America East Conference title.

Most Improved Male Athlete

Camal Pugh, Men’s Track and Field

Camal Pugh has always been a solid member of the track and field team but for the first three years he was overshadowed my some talented teammates, this year however Pugh was the top hurdler for the team and really stepped up to fit the job as he won two gold, three silvers, and earned a spot in the IC4A championships.

Most Improved Female Athlete

Topé Obajolu, Women’s Basketball

Last season Topé Obajolu was used on a very limited basis as she learned the game during her freshman season as she averaged just 3.5 points and 3.1 rebounds. But this season she started every game at center and developed into one of the top post players in the conference as she averaged 7.5 points and 3.7 rebounds. But she really signed in conference play, averaging 9.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest.

Unsung Male Athlete

Matt Spadafora, Men’s Basketball

It is hard to say that an unsung hero can come from a four win team, but in the winter it is hard to pick a winner from swimming and diving and track and field as they are team sports but also individual sports at the same time. But that does not mean that Matt Spadafora is not very deserving of this award. For being the lone senior on the youngest team in the conference he was great. Some say he should have scored more points, he only averaged 6.3 per game, but that wasn’t his game. He did all the dirty work and did it well. He averaged 4.3 rebounds per game, dished out assists, and got steals while also going up against the opposing team’s top scorer on the defensive end every game.

Unsung Female Athlete

Michele Brokans, Women’s Basketball

You don’t get more unsung that Michele Brokans who averaged 1.2 points per game, 2.3 assists, and 2.3 rebounds. But her presence on the court was big enough to get her the hero tag attached. She started the season on the bench after being the team’s starting point guard for two seasons, but was soon put back in the lineup and started 21 of the team’s 30 games this year. She was not much of a scorer but she was very good at everything you need a point guard to do, passing, defense, and leadership.

Fan’s Choice Male Athlete of the Winter

Chris De La Rosa, Men’s Basketball

In a surprising upset Chris De La Rosa overtook teammate Chauncey Gilliam for the fan’s choice player of the winter award by one vote. Jay Greene left big shoes to fill at point guard for De La Rosa but he quickly proved to be a perfect replacement for the UMBC legend. De La Rosa brought a similar yet different game. He was a pass first player, leading the America East Conference with 5.1 assists per game, but was also a very “streetballesk” type scorer that would crash the lane and make impressive shots as he finished second on the team averaging 11.7 points.

Fan’s Choice Female Athlete of the Winter

Carlee Cassidy, Women’s Basketball

Is it any surprise that one of the greatest scorers in UMBC women’s basketball history is the fan’s choice athlete of the winter? Cassidy started her senior year off a bit slow but quickly got things going and managed to average 13.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.3 three-pointers, and shot 36.1% from the field and 32.0% from three point range.

Male Athlete of the Winter

Eric Jones, Men’s Swimming and Diving

Eric Jones really slid under the radar this year because he did not set any records, but the best player’s don’t always set records, they are just dominate and consistent, which is what Jones was. He was a major reason the team was able to walk away with a 13th straight league title after winning two gold medals at the Championship meet. He totaled a team high 19 gold medals this season to go along with four silver medals and one bronze.

Female Athlete of the Winter

Sam Maccherola, Women’s Swimming and Diving

It is clear that the swimming and diving teams were very good this year once again and they are being rewarded for such. Sam Maccherola really shined in her senior season as she totaled 19 medals this year: 11 golds, seven silvers, and one bronze. She was an all-conference selection after earning a gold and silver in the AEC championship meet.

***all non-basketball photo’s courtesy UMBCdawgblog.wordpress.com

After beating Boston U twice during the season the Retrievers certainly had a disappointing outing against them in the tournament. Rushed shots, lack of a post presence, and poor passing just doomed UMBC as they lost 60-40 in the opening round of the America East tournament.

Pregame:

The women already know they will play Vermont in round two, but first thing is first, get past Boston U. While they have beaten Boston twice this season the Terriers lost by two points at home, and one at home. To be successful UMBC just has to play the same way they did in their previous two meeting. If they play a solid man-to-man to keep the ball inside, that could limit the three-point opportunities for Boston and force them to get the ball timed, were UMBC definitely has an advantage.

Starters:

#6 UMBC:
C- Tope Obajolu
F- Erin Brown
G- Michelle Kurowski
G- Carlee Cassidy
G- Michele Brokans

#3 Boston U:
C- Kerry Cashman
F- Caroline Stewart
G- Alex Young
G- Mo Moran
G- Chantell Alford

First Half:

15:48- 4-2 Boston U

Both teams are missing easy shots early on. They should settle down soon, Tope Obajolu has the two UMBC points so far.

11:56- 10-7 Boston U

Both teams are still missing simple shots. Michelle Kurowski got the last score after being opened up inside with a great screen by Meghan Colabella.

7:51- 17-12 Boston U

For two teams who don’t play defense very well this is certainly a low scoring game at this point. Boston U is shooting just 35% and UMBC is shooting only 33% from the field.

3:24- 20-18 Boston U

Neither team has been able to get into a rhythm shooting yet. For UMBC to only have 18 points and only be down 20 is very interesting, they have just cut out all inside options and forced Boston to shoot eight three-pointers. They’ve only made two.

Halftime: 28-18 Boston U

Boston U went on an 8-0 run over the last four minutes and put UMBC down by 10 points. UMBC showed they can come back from a 23 point second half deficit but in this tournament it is going to be a challenge. The only post player to see time in the game so far was Tope Obajolu, who did not see the floor outside of the first five minutes. She did not have any fouls and did not appear to be hurt, I doubt this will be the case in the second half. UMBC has to get a post player back in the game, they only managed three offensive rebounds and that really limited what the offense could do. They only shot 26.1% from the field while Boston U shot 42.9%.

Stats:

Boston U-
Alex Young- 11 points, 2 rebounds
Chantell Alford- 8 points, 6 rebounds
Mo Moran- 4 points, 3 assists
Caroline Stewart- 3 points, 6 rebounds
Kerry Cashman- 2 points, 2 rebounds

UMBC-
Michelle Kurowski- 9 points, 3 rebounds
Carlee Cassidy- 5 points, 4 rebounds
Erin Brown- 2 points, 4 rebounds
Tope Obajolu- 2 points
Meghan Colabella- 2 rebounds

Second Half:

15:49- 34-23 Boston U

UMBC just cannot get shoot the ball well. Only four players have scored and they are shooting just 26.7% after making only eight field goals.

14:25- 39-24 Boston U

UMBC is just 14% from three-point range and nothing is even close to on target. They are either way too long or way too short. Hopefully UMBC can find a happy medium is they want to comeback.

11:44- 41-28 Boston U

UMBC has come back from bigger deficits but they just cannot buy a shot. They are shooting 29% to Boston U’s 41%. They are also being outrebounded 31-22.

7:52- 46-35 Boston U

Bad passing, poor shot selection, and lack of a post presence have just taken UMBC out of this game. They are shooting just 33%, being outrebounded by 10, and have 12 turnovers to their five assists.

4:18- 49-39 Boston U

UMBC can still easily go on a run to get the game tied back up, but they have to settle down and take better shots if they want any hope of it.

3:48- 52-41 Boston U

Carlee Cassidy had the ball on a break away but was slammed from behind and sent to the floor. However, there was no intentional foul called. She did make both of her attempts but Boston U came right back down and hit a well defended three-pointer.

2:50- 55-46 Boston U

Carlee Cassidy does not want to go out with a bad loss like this. She scored her 18th point to get the Retrievers within nine points, but somebody else has to step up to help her out on offense.

Final:

UMBC Just could not shoot the ball well at all. They shot just 32% from the field, 9% from three-point range, were outrebounded by nine, and turned the ball over 14 times.

Final Stats:

Boston U
Alex Young: 23 points, 2 rebounds
Chantell Alford:13 points, 11 rebounds
Mo Moran: 12 points, 5 assists
Caroline Stewart: 8 points, 15 rebounds
Kerry Cashman: 2 points, 2 rebounds
Aly Hinton: 2 points, 2 rebounds

UMBC:
Carlee Cassidy: 18 points, 8 rebounds
Michelle Kurowski: 13 points, 8 rebounds
Meghan Colabella: 9 points, 8 rebounds
Michele Brokans: 3 points, 3 assists
Erin Brown: 2 points, 6 rebounds
Tope Obajolu: 2 points
Chelsea Barker: 2 points

First Team:
Chantell Alford- Boston U
Erica Beverly- Hartford
Diana Delva- Hartford
May Kotsopoulos- Vermont
Courtnay Pilypaitis- Vermont

Second Team:
Erica Carter- Binghamton
Carlee Cassidy- UMBC
Andrea Holmes- Binghamton
Kirsten Jeter- Stony Brook
Candace Williams- New Hampshire

Third Team:
Charity Iromuanya- ALbany
Mo Moran- Boston U
Jackie Smith- Hartford
Samantha Wheeler- Maine
Alex Young- Boston U

All-Defensive Team:
Erica Beverly- Hartford
Diana Delva- Hartford
Charity Iromuanya- Albany
May Kotsopoulos- Vermont
Courtnay Pilypaitis- Vermont

All-Rookie Team:
Chantell Alford- Boston U
Ruthanne Dohery- Hartford
Julie Foster- Albany
Ebone Henry- Albany
Mo Moran- Boston U

All-Academic:
Kristin Baker- Maine
Carlee Cassidy- UMBC
May Kotsopoulos- Vermont
Mary Silvia- Hartford
Jackie Smith- Hartford

Coach of the Year:
Jenn Rizzotti- Hartford

Rookie of the Year:
Chantell Alford- Boston U

Defensive Player of the Year:
Erica Beverly

Player of the Year:
Diana Delva

Even I had a tough time putting Carlee Cassidy over Chantell Alford as a first team selection, so that pick does not surprise me. But It would have been nice to see Cassidy be named first team all-conference once in her great career. She led the league in scoring as a sophomore and junior and had another solid year this year. Three straight second-team selections is something to be proud of.

Cassidy was also an all-academic team selection after accumulating a 3.35 GPA as a Sociology and MCS double major.

But the fact that Michelle Kurowski is no where to be found on the list of post season awards bugs me a little. She had a fantastic season. Her 12.9 ppg ranked 10th in the conference and her 5.8 rpg was 13th, and her 42.1 FG% was 10th as well. Numbers like that should have been enough to get her a selection. Last year after leading all rookie in points, rebounds, field goal percentage, and steals, she was passed over for the Rookie of the Year award for a point guard with similar numbers, but it is hard to believe that there are 15 players better than her in the conference.