February 11, 2008

BASKETBALL SENIOR WEEK IS HERE; BULLDOGS HOST SAINT MICHAEL'S WEDNESDAY AND SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT SATURDAY; BASEBALL BEGINS SATURDAY

Feb. 11, 2008

Bryant Sports News Update
Download Full Release with Spring Schedules (PDF)

BASKETBALL SENIOR WEEK IS HERE; BULLDOGS HOST SAINT MICHAEL'S WEDNESDAY AND SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT SATURDAY; BASEBALL BEGINS SATURDAY
The Bryant men's and women's basketball teams will host Saint Michael's Wednesday and Southern Connecticut this Saturday at the Chace Athletic Center.  Saturday's games against the Owls will be "Senior Day" as the Bulldogs will honor the senior class prior to tip-off. The men's game will be broadcast on COX-3 in Rhode Island and will air Sunday afternoon.  Over the weekend, Bryant welcomed six new members into the Athletics Hall of Fame. 

BULLDOG WEEKLY ROUNDUP ...

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S SWIMMING
The Bryant swim teams were idle last week in preparation for the upcoming New England Championships.  The men's team will swim at the New England Division II-III Championships at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI Feb. 22-24 while the women's team will take part in the New England's this weekend at UMass Dartmouth starting on Friday, Feb. 15 and concluding this Sunday, Feb. 17.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (14-9, 9-9 NE-10)
The Bryant women's basketball dropped a pair of tough contests last week, falling to No. 23 Franklin Pierce on Tuesday before returning home Saturday only to come up short to visiting American International, 76-74 in double overtime.  Lynne-Ann Kokoski (Hatfield, MA) nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer to force the second over time. Freshman Siamone Bennett (Newburgh, NY) had a huge game for the Bulldogs, scoring 23 points on 8 of 9 shooting and grabbing 15 rebounds - including 10 offensive boards.  Kokoski, Bryant's only senior, will be honored prior to the start of Saturday's game against Southern Connecticut. 

MEN'S BASKETBALL (14-9, 10-8 NE-10)
Sophomore guard Chris Birrell (Scituate, RI) recorded 15 assists to help lead the Bryant men's basketball team to a pair of wins last week and sole possession of fifth-place in the Northeast-10 Conference standings.  The Bulldogs are a game behind Stonehill in the loss column for fourth place and a first round bye in the conference tournament.  The Bulldogs visit Stonehill next week (Feb. 19).  Birrell had a game-high 16 points plus eight assists in a road win at Franklin Pierce Tuesday while senior Jon Ezeokoli (South Orange, NJ) scored 19 points Saturday in the team's 65-54 win over AIC at home. 

INDOOR TRACK
The Bryant University men's and women's indoor track & field teams competed at the Boston University Valentine Invitational Saturday afternoon.  Leading the way for the women was junior standout Stephanie Montagano (Wakefield, MA) who took 45th in the women's 200 meters in 26.32 seconds and later added a 30th place finish in the women's 400 meters in 58.87 seconds. In the field events, Amber Torrey (Plainfield, NH) placed 38th in the women's shot put with a mark of 34 feet, 9.5 inches and later took 22nd in the women's weight throw at 45-3. On the men's side, freshman Thomas O'Connor (Westwood, MA) was 50th overall in the prelims of the 55 meter dash in 6.81 seconds.  He would also add a 44th place finish in the 200 meters in 22.53.  Sophomore teammate Alex Engel (Spencer, MA) was 55th in the 200m in 22.63.  Engel ran well later in the 400m, taking 57th overall in 50.62.  Freshman Mike DiBella (Upper Saddle River, NJ) was 24th in the 500m in 1:06.45.  In the field events, Connor Richardson (Attleboro Falls, MA)was 27th in the triple jump in 40-7.5.

BULLDOG NOTES ...

PRESSLER FAMILY TO BE HONORED BY WORDS UNLIMITED SUNDAY
Words Unlimited, the statewide organization of sports writers, sportscasters and sports publicists, will hold its 62nd annual Sports Awards Banquet this Sunday, Feb. 17, at The Radisson on Post Road in Warwick. The reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. and dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m.  Tickets are priced at $35 each and may be obtained by contacting Johnson & Wales University director of athletics John Parente at (401) 598-1604, or any Words Unlimited member.  Among the various honors and awards handed out during the evening will be the 2007 Story of the Year which will go to Bryant men's lacrosse coach Mike Pressler and family.  Forced to resign amid false accusations of rape against his men's lacrosse team at Duke, Pressler was named head coach at Bryant University in August of 2006. Pressler and his family uprooted to Rhode Island to start anew at Bryant. He continued to stay involved with the support of the three Duke players throughout the winter months leading up to all charges being dropped. He led the Bulldogs to their first conference regular season title and No. 1 regional ranking in 2007.

HALL OF FAME CLASS INDUCTED SATURDAY BEFORE PACKED HOUSE
Bryant welcomed six new inductees into its Athletics Hall of Fame this past Saturday evening, bringing the total number of members in the Hall of Fame to 78. This year's class features five former student-athletes and one contributor: Bishop Feehan and Medway, MA native Jeff Renga '03 (Baseball); Ron Renaud '81 (Contributor); Heather Lopes '96 (women's basketball); Marcie Monaco '99 (volleyball); Philip Goss '81 (cross country); and Ray Lyons '97 (men's golf). 

SPRING SPORTS TEAMS READY TO OPEN SEASON
The Bryant spring sports team have been hard at work practicing indoors and outside on the turf field in preparation for the 2008 seasons.  Baseball kicks this off this weekend when the Bulldogs travel to Florida where they will face Bentley College and Rollins College, coached by former Bryant coach Jon Sjogren.  Bryant is scheduled for six games in three days before returning back to Rhode Island.  Men's tennis will also get back in the swing of things traveling to Concordia on Saturday for an 8 p.m. game.  Men's lacrosse will open the 2008 season next Saturday (Feb. 23) hosting Adelphi at 1 pm.

 

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