UMass Magazine Online

Spring 2004

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The Wildest Place in Boston

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Setting the Record Straight

Great Sport

Sports Scoreboard

NO ROOKIE MISTAKE: FIRST-YEAR HOOPSTER Rashaun Freeman ’06 was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year. Freeman led the Minutemen with 15.3 points per game and 8.4 rebounds per game. He was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week seven times during the season, the fourth-most Rookie of the Week honors in Atlantic 10 history.

LADY SLUGGERS RULE: Despite losing five seniors from last year’s squad, veteran UMass softball coach Elaine Sortino fully expects her team to continue its reign as the powerhouse of the East this season. The Minutewomen have won nine consecutive A-10 titles and qualified for the NCAA post-season tournament every year since 1995.

This year’s squad returned from its annual late-winter trip to warmer, softball-friendly climates with a 9-12 record against some of the nation’s top teams. Their victories included an impressive win over #23 Notre Dame in the FAU Worth Invitational in Boca Raton and they took the championship trophy in the Blue and Gold Coca-Cola Classic in Miami. In that tournament, sophomore pitcher Jenna Busa notched her first career no-hitter against Virginia Tech to send the Minutewomen to the title game.

LAX TEAM REBUILDS: Coming off one of its most successful seasons last year, the 2004 men’s lacrosse team has struggled in the early going. Last spring the Minutemen lost three of the team’s all-time best players to graduation and Major League Lacrosse (Kevin Leveille ’03, Chris Fiore ’04, and Tom Fallon ’03) and have yet to replace their scoring punch. At press time, UMass owned a 2-4 record with tough games remaining against Hofstra, Rutgers and Syracuse. Senior Kevin Glenz has been one of the few bright spots in the early season for the Minutemen, scoring 10 points in the two victories over Stony Brook and Hartford.

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS: Freshman Ashley Maxfield led the women’s ski team to a third-place standing at the USCSA Nationals held in March in Carrabassett, Maine. Maxfield placed third out of 87 in the giant slalom, earning her the honors of top collegiate finisher in the race, and best finish of anyone in the Eastern Ski Conference. For her efforts she was named a first team All-America selection. Not to be outdone, the men’s team finished fourth. Freshman Rush Hawkins placed second out of 86 in the giant slalom and was also named to the All-America team.

MAKING A SPLASH: Our swimmers took the lead on the first day of the Atlantic 10 Conference meet and never looked back. Justin Zeimetz ’06 led the way, winning the 100-yard free with a time of 45.31 and anchoring the winning 400-yard free relay team. Other UMass victories were posted by Conner Townsend ’04 and Evan Swisher ’07. The men’s team captured its fourth straight conference championship, only the second team ever to do so. The Minutewomen finished fifth.

WINNING WAYS: The baseball team opened its 2004 season in New Jersey by sweeping a non-conference double header with a pair of wins over Rider. The 6-5 and 15-2 victories gave UMass head coach Mike Stone his 500th and 501st career wins, ranking him the winningest active Division I head coach in New England.

For all the recent sports scores check out: http://umassathletics.collegesports.com/index.html

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