"Today's Student Athletes...Tomorrow's Leaders"
The 2006-07 academic year was
another successful one for the Division of Athletics at the
University of Connecticut. UConn student-athletes enjoyed great
achievements not only on the playing fields and venues, but also in
the classrooms and laboratories of UConn and in local communities
around the state.
UConn advanced to NCAA Championship
play in four team sports last year, as the field hockey team
advanced to the NCAA national semifinals and the women’s basketball
team made its way to the Elite Eight. The men’s and women’s soccer
teams also took part in NCAA action.
The Huskies were also represented by
individual performers at the NCAA men’s and women’s cross country
and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field championships.
UConn won BIG EAST Championships
during the regular season in women’s basketball and the field hockey
tournament title.
A total of six Husky
student-athletes earned All-America honors this past year while two
were Academic All-American. The All-Americans were Meagan Hoffmann,
Lizzy Peijs and Jennifer Kleinhans in field hockey, Jillian Sullivan
in women’s cross country, Micah Truax in softball and Julius James
in men’s soccer – for the second year in a row.
Sullivan picked up the rare honor of
being an All-American and Academic All-American while men’s swimmer
Tristan Jones was also named an Academic All-American.
The following is an alphabetical
sport-by-sport recap of the 2006-07 academic year.
Baseball
* UConn
advanced to the championship game of the BIG EAST tournament as the
Huskies made an incredible run through the bracket. The Huskies
qualified for the event on the last day of the regular season as the
No. 8 seed, lost their first round game, but won four-straight in
the tournament to reach the final.
* The
BIG EAST final was televised live by ESPN and also heard throughout
the East Coast on WTIC Radio.
* Seniors
Dennis Donovan and Brendan McGinn and junior Matt Karl were named
first team All-New England and played in the annual New England
Collegiate All-Star Game at Fenway Park. Donovan was also named
second team All-Northeast.
* Junior
Mike Tarsi was picked by the Minnesota Twins in the 12th round
of the Major
League Baseball First-Year Player Draft while senior Larry Day was
selected by the New York Yankees.
Men’s Basketball
* UConn
won the championship of the three-game Hispanic College Fund Classic
at the Hartford Civic Center in mid-November.
* Sophomore
Jeff Adrien was named second team All-BIG EAST, while freshmen
Jerome Dyson and Hasheem Thabeet were named to the All-Rookie squad.
* UConn
head coach Jim Calhoun won his 750th career game – February 21 at
Rutgers – and his 500th at UConn – February 5 vs. Syracuse.
* Husky
assistant coach George Blaney received the Saint Francis Award at
the 22nd Annual Franciscan Sports Banquet by the Franciscan Life
Center in Meriden, Conn.
Women’s Basketball
* UConn advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Championship for the 13th time
in school history.
* The
Huskies had an overall record of 32-4 and went undefeated in BIG
EAST play at 16-0 to win the BIG EAST regular season championship.
* Tina Charles
was named the National Freshman of the Year by the United States
Basketball Writers Association and the BIG EAST Freshman of the
Year.
* Sophomore
Renee Montgomery was a first team All-BIG EAST pick, while Charles
was named to the second team along with sophomore Kalana Greene.
* Freshman
Kaili McLaren was named to the BIG EAST All-Rookie team.
* Juniors
Chardé Houston and Mel Thomas played for the United States in the
Pan American Games.
Field Hockey
* The
Huskies had an overall record of 21-4 and advanced to the semifinal
of the NCAA Championship. UConn also won the BIG EAST tournament
championship.
* Sophomore
Jennifer Kleinhans and junior Lizzy Peijs were both named first team
All-Americans while senior Meagan Hoffmann was a third team pick.
* Those three were also All-Region selections along with junior Lauren Aird,
senior Kristen Galuski and sophomore Meghan Wheeler.
* Kleinhans
was named the BIG EAST
Defensive
Player of the Year and was joined on the first team All-BIG EAST
team by Peijs and Aird. Hoffmann was a third team All-League
selection.
* Peijs
was named as one of four finalists for the Honda Sports Award, given
to the top player in the nation.
* Head
coach Nancy Stevens was named the Mideast Region Coach of the Year.
Football
* Freshman
tailback Donald Brown and senior defensive tackle Rhema Fuller were
both named second team All-BIG EAST. Brown was the only freshman
selection on the first two BIG EAST All-Star teams.
* Fuller
was named a finalist for the Draddy Trophy and was also UConn’s
first-ever recipient of a National Scholar-Athlete Award by the
National Football Foundation.
* UConn
faced a challenging schedule that was rated the sixth-toughest in
the country by the NCAA.
* The
Huskies played before four sellout crowds at Rentschler Field.
* Senior Deon Anderson was a sixth-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in the 2007
NFL Draft.
Men’s Golf
* UConn
finished in a tie for fourth place at the Yale Spring Open and tied
for third in the MacDonald Cup in New Haven to highlight the fall.
* Senior
Jason Parajeckas won medalist honors at the Yale event for his fifth
career individual title. He also won medalist honors at the Rutgers
Invitational in the fall.
* Head
coach Ron Dubois, who led the team for the past five years and has
been a Division of Athletics staff member since 1978, announced his
retirement in June.
Men’s Ice Hockey
* The
Huskies won 16 games – the most the squad has posted since
1999-2000. UConn’s 15 Atlantic Hockey wins set a school record for
conference victories.
* UConn
advanced to the semifinals of the Atlantic Hockey tournament and was
the No. 3 seed in that event – its highest ever.
* Senior
forward Matt Scherer was a second team All-Atlantic Hockey pick
while sophomore Sean Erickson was a third team pick.
* Senior
Trevor Stewart was named the
winner of the Atlantic Hockey Best Defensive Forward Award.
Women’s Ice Hockey
* UConn
advanced to the semifinals of the Hockey East tournament and during
the season was ranked as high as No. 8 in the country – the best
mark in program history.
* This
year the Huskies beat or tied three teams that were ranked eighth in
the country or higher.
* Senior
Natalie Vibert and sophomore Brittany Wilson were first team
All-Hockey East picks, while junior Jaclyn Hawkins was named second
team. Freshman Dominique Thibault was named to the All-Rookie team.
* Wilson
earned All-New England honors.
Women’s Lacrosse
* First-year
head coach and UConn graduate Megan Cersosimo led the Huskies to a
successful season as the team won five of its last seven games.
* Senior
Shannon Burke was a second team All-America pick and was also the
BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year.
* Senior
Kristin Link was a second team All-BIG EAST selection along with
Burke.
* Burke,
Link and senior Clare Schwan were All-Northeast picks.
Women’s Rowing
* Junior
Olga Solovyova was named second team All-New England.
* The
UConn novice eight boat finished third at the Dad Vail Regatta in
Philadelphia and at the BIG EAST Championship.
* Head
coach Jennifer Sanford-Wendry
was named the Collegiate Coach of the Year by the Dad Vail Regatta.
* UConn
finished tied for second at the Yankee Cup.
Men’s Soccer
* UConn
advanced to NCAA Championship play for the ninth-straight year under
head coach Ray Reid and for the 27th time in school history. The
Huskies had an 8-2-1 record in BIG EAST play to finish second in
their division.
* Junior
Julius James earned All-America honors for the second time in his
career and was also named the BIG EAST Defender of the Year, while
freshman Toni Stahl was named the BIG EAST Rookie of the year.
* James
was one of 15 semifinalists for the Hermann Trophy, honoring the top
college player in the nation.
* James
and sophomore O’Brian White were named first team All-BIG EAST while
sophomore Akeem Priestley was second team and junior Karl Schilling
and Stahl were third team.
* Senior
Kevin Burns was selected in the fourth round of the MLS Supplemental
Draft by the Columbus Crew.
Women’s Soccer
* UConn
posted a 7-3-1 record in BIG EAST Conference play and once again
advanced to the NCAA Championship. The Huskies are just one of two
squads nationally to play in every NCAA tournament since the event
began in 1982.
* The Huskies advanced to the second round of this year’s tournament with a
first round victory over Columbia.
* Junior
Meghan Schnur was named the BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year while
sophomore Brittany Taylor was a first team All-BIG EAST selection.
Sophomore Elizabeth Eng was a second team All-BIG EAST pick while
senior Niki Cross and freshman Annie Yi were third team.
* Schnur
and Taylor took part in the United States Under-21 National Team
training camp in January.
Softball
* Sophomore
Micah Truax was a third team All-America pick and was named the BIG
EAST Player of the Year.
* Sophomore
Jillian Ortega was
named first team All-Northeast while Truax was a second team pick.
* UConn
qualified for play at the BIG EAST Championship for the first time
since 2001.
* The
Huskies started the year by winning the championship of the Elon
Tournament.
* Head
coach Karen Mullins earned her 700th collegiate career victory on
March 4 as UConn beat Santa Clara.
Men’s Swimming
& Diving
* Senior
Tristan Jones was a third team Academic All-America pick as he holds
two school individual records and five relay records.
* The
Huskies finished third at the Terrapin Cup in mid-November.
* Junior
Abed Kaaki was third in the 100-yard butterfly at the BIG EAST
Championship.
* Sophomore
Jon Wong competed for
Jamaica in the 200-meter freestyle at the Pan American Games held in
July in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Women’s Swimming & Diving
* The
team finished in fifth place at the Terrapin Cup in mid-November.
* Sophomore
Lisa Shelps had an NCAA ‘B’ cut qualifying time in the 200 IM while
sophomore Katie DeVinney had one in the 200-yard butterfly.
Men’s Tennis
* Sophomore
Ben Schueler represented UConn at the Intercollegiate Tennis
Association regional championship in the fall in singles.
* Schueler
teamed up with freshman Joe Goldstein in doubles at the regional
ITAs.
Women’s Tennis
* The
Huskies earned a spot in the
BIG EAST Championship for the second year in a row and advanced to
the quarterfinals.
* Senior
Christine Burek played in the ITA regional championships in the fall
in singles while sophomore Breann Cheung and freshman Kelley LoRusso
played in doubles and advanced to the second round.
Men’s Track and Field/Cross Country
* Senior
Max Feldman got the UConn season off to a successful start,
qualifying for the NCAA Championship in cross country after a 10th
place finish at the BIG EAST Championship.
* During
the indoor season, UConn was third at the BIG EAST Championship and
won its second-straight New England title as head coach Greg Roy was
named New England Coach of the Year.
* The
Huskies finished second at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championship and
nine individuals qualified for NCAA Regional competition.
* Senior Aaron Isaacs qualified for the NCAA Regionals in two different events –
the discus and the hammer throw.
Women’s Track and Field/Cross Country
* The
season began successfully for the Huskies as senior Jillian Sullivan
earned All-America honors in cross country. She also finished fourth
overall at the BIG EAST Championship. Sullivan was a third team
Academic All-America pick.
* UConn
had an outstanding indoor season as it won the New England and ECAC
Championships and finished third at the BIG EAST – its highest
finish in 20 years.
* Junior
Tamara Highsmith was named the New England Indoor Track and Field
Athlete of the Year while head coach Bill Morgan was named Coach of
the Year.
* Highsmith
qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championship in the pentathlon.
* UConn
finished fourth at the BIG
EAST Outdoor Championship and 11 student-athletes qualified for NCAA
Regional competition.
* The
Huskies were represented by three performers at the NCAA Outdoor
Championship – freshman Carin Knight in the high jump, sophomore
Jessi Foreman in the 100-meter dash and Sullivan in the
steeplechase.
* Distance
coach Kim McGreevy and assistant coach Clive Terrelonge were named
United States Emerging Elite Coaches and were selected to
participate in the United States Track and Field Elite Men’s and
Women’s event camps held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in
Chula Vista, Calif.
Volleyball
* The
Huskies qualified for the BIG EAST Championship for the first time
since 2002 and were the No. 7 seed in the event.
* Freshman
Bridget Denson-Dorman was a second team All-BIG EAST selection.
* The
Huskies won the Gonzaga Classic title and their own UConn Toyota
Classic. |
