January 24, 2008

WORDS UNLIMITED AWARD WINNERS FOR 2007

Words Unlimited, the statewide organization of sports writers, sportscasters and sports publicists, will hold its 62nd annual Sports Awards Banquet on 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.

            Following is a list of award recipients for the 2007 calendar year:

            Story of the Year, The Pressler family - Forced to resign amid false accusations of rape against his men's lacrosse team at Duke, Mike 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.

            Community Service Award, Special Olympics of Rhode Island - This organization provides year-round sports training and athletic competition for more than 2,500 children and adults with intellectual disabilities throughout the state.

           Hall of Fame inductee, Frank Carpano - WJAR-TV sports director Frank Carpano has been with the NBC 10 team since 1980. He's earned six Emmy nominations for best sportscaster and is an 11-time winner of the Sportscaster of the Year Award which is presented by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. Carpano won an Emmy for his series, "Getting Frank in Shape."

            Hall of Fame inductee, Ken Bell - The sports director at WLNE-TV since 1984, Ken Bell originally came to Rhode Island from the Denver area in the late 1970s as the backup to the legendary Chris Clark at WJAR-TV. Bell then moved to Milwaukee where he hosted a magazine show, P.M. Milwaukee, before returning to Rhode Island. He won an Emmy for his coverage of the Americas Cup.

            Amby Smith Award, Ray Dwyer - A member of 12 different Halls of Fame, and with a number of high school and college cross-country meets and races named after him, Ray Dwyer has served more than 50 years as a high school and college track coach and official. For more than four decades he's served as the secretary/treasurer of the Rhode Island Interscholastic League's Injury Fund.

            Frank Lanning Award, Reynolds Lillibridge - Reynolds Lillibridge put the finishing touches on a high school coaching career that spanned 41 years, including the last 28 as the Smithfield boys' head hockey coach. His teams captured six divisional state titles and also appeared in several state title series. The Sentinels won the Division II crown last season.

            Bill Cawley Award, Tom Carmody - Tom Carmody, the former head men's basketball coach at the University of Rhode Island and the former director of athletics at Johnson & Wales, will be honored posthumously. Carmody, who died in November at age 78, came to URI in 1968 after a five-year stint as an assistant coach with the legendary Vic Bubas at Duke. Carmody's Rams won the 1969 Yankee Conference championship. He joined Johnson & Wales in 1991 and served as the director of athletics from 1999-2001.

            Male Athlete of the Year, Jamie Silva - A former All-State selection at East Providence High, Jamie Silva earned First Team All-America honors as selected by the Associated Press while playing safety for Boston College. He was one of three finalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, which is presented to the nation's top defensive back. He also was voted First Team All-ACC.

            Men's Sports Coach of the Year, Jim Baron - The University of Rhode Island basketball team was picked to finish 11th in the Atlantic 10 Conference preseason coaches poll. But the Rams spent most of the season atop the standings and entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed. Jim Baron earned his third career A-10 Coach of the Year Award as the Rams came within one game of winning the conference tournament.

            Female Athlete of the Year, Alicia Sacramone - The 2007 ECAC Rookie of the Year, Brown University gymnast Alicia Sacramone set school records on the vault, floor exercise and in the all-around. She was the first gymnast in Ivy League history to finish first in every event and win the all-around at the Ivy Classic - where she set a record in the all around and tied the record on the vault.

            Co-Women's Sports Coaches of the Year, John & Phoebe Murphy, Marcus Reilly - Brown University's crew, under the direction of John Murphy, won its fifth NCAA Division I Rowing Championships. Each of Brown's three crews made it into the Grand Finals. Phoebe, John's wife, coached the novice eights and second varsity eights to undefeated records during the regular season plus the Grand Finals at the EAWRC Sprints.

            Marcus Reilly coached the CCRI women's basketball team to its first New England Championship last March. The Lady Knights also represented the Northeast in the NJCAA Tournament and reached the Elite Eight.

            Team of the Year, Rhode Island College men's basketball - The Anchormen posted a 27-4 overall record en route to their first Little East Conference Tournament championship, their second LEC regular-season title and their first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 28 years. RIC reached the Elite Eight, the farthest the team ever has advanced.

            Co-Small College Achievement Award, Rhode Island College softball, Robbie Norton - The Anchorwomen were 41-7 en route to the best season in school history. They won the Little East Conference Tournament for a second straight year, annexed the LEC regular-season title for the third year in a row and won the school's first-ever NCAA New England Region Championship.

            Salve Regina University junior Robbie Norton was named the 2007 Commonwealth Coast Conference Tennis Player of the Year for the second time in his career. A first-team all-conference pick in singles and doubles, Norton led the Seahawks to their first-ever appearance in the 41-team NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championships.

            Schoolboy Athlete of the Year, Ryan Westmoreland - Portsmouth High senior Ryan Westmoreland earned All-State honors in baseball and soccer. He was the Rhode Island Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year after his junior season in which he threw nine complete-game victories and posted a 0.68 ERA. Westmoreland batted .500 (47-94) with five homers while leading Portsmouth to the Division I championship series in its first season in the top division.

            Schoolgirl Athlete of the Year, Elizabeth Beisel - During her freshman year at North Kingstown, Elizabeth Beisel earned All-American honors in the 200-yard individual medley, the 100-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle. She also competed against some of the best swimmers in the world as a member of the U.S. National Team.

            Schoolboy Sports Coach of the Year, Andy Carr - South Kingstown tennis coach Andy Carr has guided the Rebels to near-unprecedented accomplishments for a public school. Last season the Rebels won a ninth consecutive Division I state championship, beating Wheeler in the finals. The triumph also marked the third year in a row that the Rebels beat a team in the finals that they lost to during the regular season.

            Co-Schoolgirl Sports Coach of the Year, Roy Borges, Dan Rocha - The Mount Hope girls' soccer coach, Roy Borges guided the Huskies to their first championship appearance in 10 years. The Huskies lost by five goals to La Salle just a week earlier but edged the Rams, 2-1 in a shootout, to secure their first state title since 1996 and only the second Division I state crown in the program's history.

            Second-year Moses Brown lacrosse coach Dan Rocha guided the Quakers to their second SENE Championship in four years after finishing as the league runner-up during the previous two seasons. After losing the first game of the season, the Quakers reeled off 13 straight wins while going 15-0-1 the rest of the season.