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RECREATIONAL SERVICES NEWS
WEEKEND SPORTING EVENTS
Women's Ice Hockey:
Friday, December 5th vs. Penn State at 7:00 p.m.at the Boss Ice Arena
$2.00 URI Students with ID, $5.00 General Admission.
Saturday, December 6th vs. Penn State at 7:00 p.m.at the Boss Ice Arena
$2.00 URI Students with ID, $5.00 General Admission.
Wrestling:
Sunday, December 7th Home Dual Match vs. University of New Haven, Vermont and Bryant,
11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., Keaney Gymnasium
GO RHODY!!!
URI Sailing Team Wins 11th Kennedy Cup
Media Contact: Shane Donaldson, 401-874-4894
Team will represent U.S. at 2009 Student Yachting World Cup in France
KINGSTON, R.I. – November 17, 2008 – The University of Rhode Island sailing club team continued its national dominance in the sport, winning the 2008 Kennedy Cup, hosted by the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland Nov. 7 through 9.
By winning the Kennedy Cup – the equivalent of a national championship for collegiate sailing – for the 11th time in school history, URI will represent the United States at the 2009 Student Yachting World Cup in France. It will be the second trip to the World Cup in three years. URI last went to the World Cup in 2007, when it finished seventh overall.
In the Kennedy Cup, teams sail a series of eight races, and team points are based on the order the boats finish each race. First place in each race earns one point, second place earns two points, and so on, with the lowest cumulative score winning the title.
After top-five finishes in each of the first seven races – including a pair of first-place finishes – Rhody held a slim 19-21 lead over defending-champion Navy entering the final race. That meant the Rams had to finish no worse than two spots behind Navy to clinch the title. After a slow start to the final race, URI found itself three boats behind Navy.
“We had a bad start, and Navy was making a good run,” said URI head coach Joey Mello, of Dartmouth, Mass. “The focus for our guys was to chip away at the lead. We stayed composed. It was a long race, and if we had been too wrapped up in the slow start, we wouldn’t have been able to catch Navy.”
URI was able to pass two boats and finish one spot behind Navy to clinch the title with 23 points. Navy finished with 24 points, well ahead of third-place U.S. Coast Guard (38). For Mello – a former team member now in his fourth season as coach – it marked the second Kennedy Cup for URI in three appearances. Because URI competed at the World Cup in 2007, it did not compete in last year’s Kennedy Cup.
The nine students competing for URI at the Kennedy Cup were Seniors Russell Miller (Annapolis, Md./pit) and Robbie Kane (Fairfield, Conn./trimmer); juniors Alex Baittinger (Saunderstown/floater-tactics), Jessie Fielding (North Kingstown/skipper), Carl Merrill (Hope, Maine/mast), Scott Millard (East Greenwich/trimmer) and Nat Tingley (Providence/alternate); and sophomores Weston Barlow (Wakefield/bow) and Jeremy Henry (Groton, Mass./trimmer). Those students represented the 63 members of the URI sailing club.
“What this group was able to do was represent the work of the URI sailing team as a whole,” said Mello, a 2004 graduate of URI. “We focus on the success as a program, so there were many students who played a role in this championship.”
Because of roster stipulations and other factors, the team that competed at the Kennedy Cup will differ from the one that goes to France next fall. In the World Cup, there are seven positions, and each team must include at least two women on the boat. Students also must decide whether they can miss two weeks of school for the World Cup. Though the dates have not been finalized yet, it likely will be held early next November.
“We are still in the transition phase of going from winning the K-Cup to preparing for the World Cup, so there is a lot of work to do,” said Mello, whose team will work with URI Recreation Services and the Department of Athletics to raise $40,000 to send the team to France.
Miller was the lone member of this year’s team that also competed at the 2007 World Cup. That team finished seventh in the world.
“That competition was a big eye opener for our program,” Mello said. “We want to improve on that finish, which we feel we’ll be able to do.”
URI last won the World Cup in 1990. It also finished second in 1992, 1993 and 2004, while taking third in 1988 and 1998.
“What we have done in the past few years pales in comparison to the overall history of success for the sailing team here,” Mello said. “There is a rich tradition of success at URI, and this team is just keeping that alive.”
Pictured above
KENNEDY CUP – The URI sailing team competes at the Kennedy Cup, hosted by the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland Nov. 7 through 9. Photoi by Jahn Tihansky
SAILING TEAM – The University of Rhode Island sailing team poses with the Kennedy Cup, which it won for the 11th time. First Row (l to r): Carl Merrill, Nat Tingley, Jesse Fielding, Robbie Kane, Westy Barlow. Second Row (l to r) Alex Baittinger, Jeremy Henry, Russell Miller. Blocked from view in the back row is Scott Millard. Photoi by Jahn Tihansky
URI Hockey Coach, Joe Augustine Wins 400th Career Game
Kingston, RI – University of Rhode Island Head Coach Joe Augustine achieved his 400th career win on Nov 14th by battling back from a 4-0 deficit to defeat NCAA Division III opponent Wesleyan University by the score of 6-4.
Joe Augustine is in his 20th season as Head Coach at the University of Rhode Island. He brings more than 25 years of experience to the Rhode Island Hockey program both as a player and as a coach. Under Augustine, Rhode Island has enjoyed a 400-174-34 record, 19 consecutive winning seasons and one ACHA National Championship in 2006. Augustine won back-to-back ACHA Men's Division I Coach of the Year honors in 2004-05 and 2005-06, and was the Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association Coach of the Year in 2003-04. He has acted as an assistant coach for Team USA at the 2006 World University Games in Turin, Italy. Coach Augustine was selected as the head coach for Team USA for the World University Games in Harbin, China from February 18-28, 2009.
The Rams are currently ranked No. 10 in the country with an overall record of 10-4-1. Joe Augustine will look to add to his career win total when URI plays Penn State University on Friday Nov. 21th at the Brad Boss Ice Arena.
Rhody men’s hockey trio selected for Winter World University Games
Media Contact: Dave Lavallee, 401-874-5862
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North Smithfield resident picked to represent U.S.KINGSTON, R.I. – November 5, 2008 – One player got the call from University of Rhode Island men’s hockey coach Joe Augustine on his way to Sunday breakfast.
Another player was lounging on Narragansett Beach when he got the news and the third was in his car driving home when he learned that his hockey fortunes would change dramatically in the coming year.
But Augustine wasn’t just calling as skipper of the Rams. He called in his capacity as head coach of the 2009 United States University Select Team, which will travel in February to Harbin, China for the Winter World University Games, which run from Feb. 18 through 28.
Jon Biliouris, a senior defenseman from North Smithfield, Devin Sheehan, a junior forward from Binghamton, N.Y. and sophomore forward Kyle Krannich of Randolph, N.J. were all told by Augustine to make sure they have passports so they can make the trip.
“My family was walking into the restaurant after church when I got the news from Coach Augustine,” Sheehan said. “My parents and sister talked about what a great opportunity this would be. How many times do you get to go to China and play against great competition?”
“I made the team two years ago, but I found the training camp to be much faster paced this time around,” said Biliouris, who played for the U.S. in Turin, Italy during the 2007 games. “Because this is my senior year, I wanted to go again. When I went to the games in Italy, they treated us like pros, and I understand the facilities in China are excellent.”
As the youngest of the URI three, Krannich said he was just trying to have a good showing so he would have a good shot to make the next team. “Being part of the team is exciting because you are going to represent your country and you’re wearing your country’s jersey. Luckily, I have two very good friends from my URI team making the trip.”
Fans who would like to see the three in action before they head to China, as well as the rest of the nationally ranked men’s ice hockey team, should go to http://www.uri.edu/athletics/recservices/clubsports/mihschedule.shtml.
Click on team info to get the schedule. Tickets at the Boss Arena are $2 for URI students with identification and children under 12, and $5 for adults.
The U.S. University Select Team is comprised of players from collegiate ice hockey teams affiliated with the American Collegiate Hockey Association, the umbrella organization for collegiate club hockey in the United States. URI plays at the Division I club level and won the national championship in 2006.
Biliouris, who attended Mount St. Charles Academy in Woonsocket for three years and who played junior hockey for the Connecticut Junior Whalers and the Bay State Breakers, is an accounting major. He graduated from East Catholic High School in Manchester, Conn.
Sheehan and Krannich will be part of the U.S. for the first time. A graduate of perennial upstate New York hockey champion, Chenango Forks High School who also played 12 years of travel hockey, Sheehan is an entrepreneurship management major. Krannich is a graduate of Randolph High School, where the boys’ hockey team won New Jersey’s public schools state hockey championships his junior and senior years. Krannich is a business management major.
Initially, 160 players were invited to try out for the U.S. team, and 80 were then chosen to participate in a three-day camp in Detroit in August. A panel of coaches and scouts evaluated the players during five separate ice sessions, three of them in actual game conditions.
While the three were in high school, they hoped to play Division I varsity hockey, but URI has met all of their expectations because Augustine runs his team like a varsity program.
“I had a year of playing junior hockey, and I applied to several D-I schools,” Biliouris said. “But as I faced reality and thought about it, URI just made sense both academically and athletically. We have a beautiful campus, and I have had a lot of fun playing hockey here.”
Sheehan agreed that URI was a great choice for him. “I started at Division III Elmira, but I was competing against all these guys from Canada. Even before I started looking at schools, I knew URI took its hockey seriously so transferring was an easy decision,” he said.
“Without a doubt, at URI, we are treated better than many Division II and Division III varsity programs and our level of hockey is excellent,” Krannich said. “The Boss Arena is much better than rinks at so many of our competitors. Add that to our beautiful campus, the nearby beaches and proximity to Providence, it’s tough to beat URI.”
The players credit Augustine with giving all URI players the opportunity to excel. “We were national champs my freshman year, and now anything less than that seems unacceptable,” Biliouris said.
Krannich said Augustine knows how to get to players and get the most out of them. “He can be an intimidating guy, but he gets what he wants. He gave us a shot to be part of a great program at URI, and I like that he treats everyone the same. If you work hard, you will get a shot.”
Sheehan said Augustine creates an environment that keeps players serious. “We hear about other teams’ lack of discipline off ice, and here that is unacceptable.”
Biliouris agreed adding, “Our whole team has responsibilities, taking care of school first, hockey second and then having fun.”
Now that the tension of tryouts has dissipated and the URI season is well under way, Biliouris, Sheehan and Krannich have to worry about raising money for travel to and from the tourney. Total costs for each player will be more than $2,800.
Biliouris said he and his mates will be running a few fund-raisers during the next several months. Those individuals or firms wishing to help the three student-athletes achieve their dream may contact Jon Biliouris at jbiliouris@mail.uri.edu or by phone at 401-744-2562.
Pictured above
READY FOR THE WORLD: The University of Rhode Island/s men's hockey will send four representatives to Harbin, China for the Winter World University Games, which run from Feb. 18 through 28. From left are Devin Sheehan, Jon Biliouris, Coach Joe Augustine, and Kyle Krannich. URI Department of Communications and Marketing Photo by Joe Giblin.
Mackal Cardio Center OPENS!
New Mackal Cardio Center Grand Opening Celebration! Opening Monday, October 27th at 4:00 p.m. at the Mackal Field House.
