WEEKLY SPORTS UPDATE: Tennis Teams Ready For NE-10 Tournament This Week
April 21, 2008
Bryant Sports News Update
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MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TENNIS CAPTURES NE-10 TITLES
The Bryant men's and women's tennis teams captured the
Northeast-10 Conference tournament regular season titles this past
week with wins over Bentley College marking the first time in 20
years that two school's shared the conference regular season
titles. Springfield men and women both won their respective
titles in 1988. For the Bryant women, this is the first
regular season title since 2005 though the Bulldogs will be looking
for their fifth-consecutive NE-10 tournament title. For the
Bryant men, this is the team's first regular season title since
1996. Bryant last won the conference tournament title in
1994.
BULLDOG WEEKLY ROUNDUP ...
BASEBALL (30-15, 18-5 NE-10, 1st)
The Bryant baseball team over took first place in the
conference standings and are currently ranked No.1 in the
region. Last week, the Bulldogs also cracked the Top-25
national poll coming in at No. 25. The Bulldogs swept a
weekend series against Merrimack. The team will get a taste of
Division I baseball Monday when Bulldogs will travel to Brown for a
non-league game Monday with the Bears. Bryant will also visit
Northeastern on April 28 and host Brown on April 30. The
Bulldogs will host AIC Saturday for senior day. In addition to
honoring this year's senior class, the Bulldogs will recognize
former standout Mike Rocco (Tewksbury, MA) who set
the NCAA Division II record for career putouts with 2,013 from
2004-07.
SOFTBALL (20-10, 17-3 NE-10, 2nd)
The Bryant softball team went 1-3 over the weekend
including a double-header sweep at the hands of first-place Le
Moyne Sunday in Syracuse. The team will host Saint Anselm
Tuesday, Assumption Saturday and Saint Michael's Sunday for Senior
Day. Janine Enos (Wareham, MA) tossed a no-hitter
in the first game against Lowell Thursday.
MEN'S LACROSSE (11-3, 8-1 NE-10, 2nd)
Men's lacrosse stretched it's win streak to eight games
with two dominating performances last week. The Bulldogs put up 19
goals in a 19-2 thumping of Assumption Wednesday night and downed
Saint Anselm 19-5 Saturday. Bryant trailed Saint Anselm 5-2
after one but out-scored the Hawks 17-2 over the final three
quarters. Sophomore face-off specialist Andrew Hennessey
(Wading River, NY) had an incredible week, winning 42 of
47 face-offs and scored his first goal of the season against
Assumption seconds after winning yet another face-off against the
Greyhounds. The Bulldogs host Southern New Hampshire Saturday at 1
p.m.
WOMEN'S LACROSSE (8-6, 6-3 NE-10, 4th)
The Bryant women's lacrosse team dropped two games last
week, falling to ninth-ranked New Haven 16-12 Monday and
10th-ranked Southern NH 23-10 Saturday. Allison Faiola
(Billerica, MA) had six goals against New Haven. The junior leads
the team with 49 goals this season. The team hosts Saint Anselm
Tuesday night.
MEN'S TENNIS (17-3, 10-0 NE-10, 1st)
Ranked No. 45 nationally and third in the East Region, the
Bryant men's tennis team captured the 2008 Northeast-10 Conference
regular-season title with a 9-0 win over Bentley College Wednesday.
The Bulldogs held on for a 5-4 win over Mercy College Sunday in a
crucial regional match. Bryant will host Le Moyne Tuesday in
a Northeast-10 Conference quarterfinal match. The semifinals will
take place Thursday with the championship scheduled for Sunday at
Stonehill College (11 a.m.).
WOMEN'S TENNIS (19-2, 12-0 NE-10, 1st)
Ranked No. 3 in the East Region, the Bryant women's tennis
team ran its win streak to 11 matches with wins over Bentley
College and Dowling last week. The 8-1 win over Bentley clinched
the conference regular season title for the Bulldogs.
Katharine Francazio (Cranston, RI / La Salle) is
currently 19-1 this season with the lone loss coming against URI
last fall. She is a perfect 14-0 at No. 4 singles.
Michelle Burke (Barrington, RI) is 15-6 (10-5 at
No. 3 singles). The Bulldogs will host Assumption Wednesday
afternoon in a NE-10 quarterfinal match starting at 2 p.m. The
semifinals will take place Friday with the conference championship
scheduled for Sunday at Stonehill College.
TRACK & FIELD
The Bryant University men's and women's track and field
teams competed at the MIT Spring Invitational April 18 and 19 at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Junior Steph
Montagano (Wakefield, Mass.) took first place in the 400
meter dash in a time of 58.31, and was joined in top finishes by
Nicole Radzik (Sutton, Mass.) and the men's 4x400
relay team. Radzik took first in the 3000 meter steeplechase with a
time of 11:32, while the men took the top spot in the relay with a
3:22.36 mark. Other top finishers on the day
were freshman Thomas O'Connor (Westwood, Mass.),
who took fourth in the 200 meter dash (22.24) and Alexander
Engel (Spencer, Mass.), who took second in the 400 meter
dash (49.22).
MEN'S GOLF
Led by a ninth-place finish from sophomore Jason
Thresher (West Suffield, Conn.), the Bryant University
golf team took third of 18 teams at this weekend's Mount Saint
Mary's Spring Invitational. Thresher's three-round total of
217 tied him for ninth, while senior Scott Congdon
(Foxboro, Mass.) carded a 218 (T-12), as the pair led
Bryant to a tournament total of 891, good for third place.
Thresher shot 73s in the first and third rounds with a 71 in
Round Two, while Congdon shot four over par in Round One (76) and
one under in the next two. Eric Tankanow (Worcester,
Mass.) finished next for the Bulldogs, tied for 28th.
Bryant next hits the course April 21-22, when they travel to AIC
for the American International Invitational.
BULLDOG NOTES ...
KEY DATES:
May 1 -
Athletic Awards Dinner
May 3 - NE-10 Track
Championships @ Bryant
July 30 - Black &
Gold Golf Tournament
BULLDOG BLACK & GOLD GOLF TOURNAMENT
This year's annual Black & Gold Golf Outing will be
held July 30, 2008 at the Crystal Lake Golf Club in Burrillville,
RI. Last year's successful outing was also held at Crystal Lake.
The Black & Gold Club Golf Outing is held to raise money for
the school's Black & Gold Club. The Black & Gold Club is
the Athletics department's main fundraising arm, and goes to
supporting student-athletes and coaches through scholarships and
capital projects. The format of the event will be Texas Scramble.
The cost is $150 per golfer or $600 per foursome. Please contact
Ruth Nicastro at (401) 232-6071 or rnicastr@bryant.edu to register.






