Alumni Pictures

Athletics Wrap-Up

Photos: 2006 Alumni Baseball Day (Fall)

Spring 2006 Alumni Newsletter - The men?s and women?s rowing season is in full swing...

Franklin Pierce Announces Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2007
Bruce Kirsh, director of athletics and vice president, and Peter Brodie, alumni relations director, announced jointly the selection of the Franklin Pierce Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2007 to be inducted at the Athletic Banquet in May 2007. This is the first time the class will be inducted during the athletic banquet instead of during alumni and reunion weekend as has been the tradition. We are very excited about this class of inductees and look forward to welcoming them to the prestigious hall of fame.

1991 Men?s Soccer Team
Donald Anderson (benefactor)
Jeffrey Burstein ?98 *
Paul Read ?94
Nathalie Geeris ?95
Kari Hunt ?99

Further details on the ceremony and profiles of the members of the class will be posted in the near future. Congratulations to all scholar-athletes.

Fall 2005
December 21, 2005 (Rindge, NH), - The Fall 2005 sports season started what we hope to be a banner year for the inter-collegiate athletics program at Franklin Pierce College. We are very proud of our scholar-athletes and hope that you enjoy reading about their successes.

If you want to remain more current on athletics or track our winter sports programs, please stop by the athletics web page at www.franklinpierce.edu /athletics .

Men?s Soccer
What started out looking like perhaps a down year, turned into a season of unprecedented success for the Franklin Pierce men?s soccer team (16-6-5, 10-1-2 NE-10). The Ravens rebounded from a 1-3-1 start and claimed the Northeast-10 Conference regular season championship, its first Conference title of any kind since 1995, before earning the 11th NCAA Tournament berth in program history.

Franklin Pierce continued to hit its stride in the NCAA Tournament, hosting the first two weekends of matches at Sodexho Field, advancing to the Division II Final Four for just the second time in program history ? the first since 1991. The Ravens got a late goal to defeat No. 4-ranked SIU-Edwardsville in the semifinal in Wichita Falls, Texas, before dropping a tough 3-1 decision to top-ranked Fort Lewis (Colo.) College in its first National Championship match ? televised live across the country on College Sports Television.

Grad student and team captain Christopher Joyce (Jarrow, England) enjoyed a record-setting season as he led all of Division II with a school-record matching 29 goals and 67 points to go with a Conference-best nine assists. His eight match-winning goals broke a school record and in two seasons, he netted nine goals in NCAA Tournament play to set a new Division II mark. He was rewarded with first team All-America honors for the second-straight year and was voted the Northeast-10 Player of the Year.

Sophomore goalkeeper James Thorpe (East Longmeadow, Mass.) collected All-America honors for the first time after being named NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Year for the second-straight season. Junior back Peter Petropanagos (Mississauga, Ontario) earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors ? the program?s first Academic All-American since Seamus Donnelly in 1996.

Check out the men?s soccer team on the web at http://www.franklinpierce.edu /pages/Athletics/MensSoccer/msoccmain.htm

Women?s Soccer
Franklin Pierce?s women?s soccer team (19-2-2, 12-1-1 NE-10) again proved to be one of the top teams in the country as the Ravens advanced to the NCAA Division II Final Four for the 13th time in 14 seasons after a one-year absence. The Ravens also captured the NE-10 regular season and tournament championships for the fifth-straight year, winning the tournament title a record sixth time overall.

While the Ravens season came to a disappointing end with a 2-1 setback to eventual National Champions University of Nebraska-Omaha in the semifinals, their season was not without its share of highlights. Seniors Laura Hislop (Belfast, Northern Ireland) and Sonya Hughes (Balbriggan, Ireland) led the offensive attack and collected All-America honors along with junior back Alex Scavo (Toronto, Ontario). Senior midfielder Elizabeth Allen (Durham, N.H.) earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors ? the program?s third in the last two years.

Hislop, just the fourth three-time first team All-America honoree in program history, became just the second player in school history to reach 200 career points, doing so in just three seasons. The two-time NE-10 Player of the Year finished her career ranked seventh in NCAA Division II history with 222 career points on 86 goals (12th) and 50 assists (ninth).

Hughes, one of just nine two-time All-America honorees in program history, finished her three-year career ranked ninth all-time at the College with 103 career points, finishing with 32 goals and 39 assists.

Check out the women?s soccer team on the web at http://www.franklinpierce.edu /pages/Athletics/WomensSoccer/wsoccmain.htm

Volleyball
The Franklin Pierce volleyball team (14-14, 9-5 NE-10) saw vast improvements as first year head coach Michelle Kreeger guided the Ravens back into the postseason for the first time since 1999. The fifth-seeded Ravens advanced to the Northeast-10 Tournament semifinals with a 3-2 win over fourth-seeded UMass Lowell, while making its first NE-10 Tournament appearance since joining the Conference in 2000. The Ravens also received their first ECAC Division II Championship bid since 1993, earning a No. 3 seed.

Senior captain Tara Vece (Clinton, Conn.) emerged as one of the top defensive players in the Northeast-10, earning a spot as the third team All-Conference libero. The four-year letter-winner averaged 5.44 digs (3rd NE-10) per game, reaching the 1,500 dig milestone for her career.

Freshman middle-hitter Nicole Buchholz (Ashburn, Va.) averaged a team-high 3.29 kills and 1.05 blocks per game and was named to the All-Northeast-10 Conference third team. Classmate Karissa Hookstadt (Camarillo, Calif.) also played a significant role for the revitalized Ravens, averaging 8.59 assists, while also contributing 2.18 digs per game.

Check out the volleyball team on the web at
http://www.franklinpierce.edu /pages/Athletics/Volleyball/vbmain.htm

Field Hockey
The Franklin Pierce field hockey team (7-12, 6-11 NE-10) continued to show improvement in 2005, highlighted by a 3-2 overtime victory over No. 3-ranked Bentley College ? the 2004 NCAA Division II runners-up.

Junior Mary Beth Huszar (Greenville, N.H.) led the team with 20 points, on nine goals and two assists, good for third all time among the program?s single-season leaders, while her nine goals rank second. Senior Laura Blanchard (Rockport, Mass.) had another solid season for the Ravens, totaling eight points on three goals and two assists. The four year letterwinner was named to the 2005 Division II North Senior All-Star squad and participated in the North/South Senior All-Star game in Louisville, Ky., the site of the 2005 NCAA Division I Final Four.

Five players were named to the 2005 Northeast-10 All-Academic teams. Senior tri-captain Kara LaSalle (Gilford, N.H.), junior Angela Barone (Norwood, Pa.) and sophomore Elizabeth Ellis (Turner, Maine) earned first team honors, while senior tri-captain Amy McMullin (Belgrade, Maine) and junior Corinne Goulet (Biddeford, Maine) were named to the second team.

Check out the field hockey team on the web at
http://www.franklinpierce.edu /pages/Athletics/FieldHockey/fhockmain.htm

Rowing
Wet weather in the month of October nearly washed out the entire fall rowing season for Franklin Pierce, which debuted its new varsity eights for men and women.

After having their first two regattas of the fall cancelled or cut short because of the weather, the women?s varsity eight was forced to debut at the prestigious 41st Annual Head of the Charles. The Ravens performed well, posting a 27th-place finish (among 46 crews) finishing ahead of teams from the University of Colorado, Northwestern University and Georgia Tech.

The WV8 built off the solid performance in Boston the next weekend with a seventh-place showing (out of 46 crews) at the Head of the Schuylkill in Philadelphia. The crew completed the three-mile course in 14:54.38, finishing ahead of Bucknell, Holy Cross, Fordham and Temple. The women?s varsity four also placed seventh in its event at the regatta.

Check out the rowing teams on the web at
http://www.franklinpierce.edu /pages/Athletics/MWCrew/crewmain.htm

Men?s Golf
The Franklin Pierce men?s golf team is another program with a bright future, with a strong core of freshmen and sophomores. The Ravens placed second at the Saint Anselm Autumn Invitational and their overall team score average was well below their scores of previous years at the NE-10 and ECAC Championships.

Freshman Jacob Greene (Gardner, Mass.) finished the fall season with an 81.20 stroke average, while classmate Steve Balchunas (Brockton, Mass.) registered an average of 81.00 while competing in just half the events. Greene placed third overall, just one stroke behind the leaders at the Saint Anselm Invitational, while Balchunas finished just four shots out of the top ten at the ECAC Championship.

Check out the men?s golf team on the web at
http://www.franklinpierce.edu /pages/Athletics/MensGolf/mgolfmain.html

Women?s Golf
The rebuilding process for the women?s golf program continues, but a bright spot this fall was junior transfer Linda Economu (East Longmeadow, Mass.), who competed in three events as an individual. She showed steady improvement each event and capped the fall season with a ninth place finish at the Wellesley College Invitational.

Check out the women?s golf team on the web at http://www.franklinpierce.edu /pages/Athletics/WomensGolf/wgolfmain.htm

Cross Country
Franklin Pierce?s women?s cross-country team saw improvements this season, recording four top five finishes. The Ravens team notched a first place victory in the Franklin Pierce Invitational while it also gained a second place finish at the Daniel Webster Invitational.

Junior Michelle Frazer (Braintree, Mass.) and freshman Courtney Garrity (Manchester, N.H.) led the women?s team, combining for four top ten finishes. Frazer placed third and fourth in the Franklin Pierce and Daniel Webster Invitationals, respectively, while Garrity placed second and sixth at the same events, respectively.

Junior captain Burkett Farquhar (Marlborough, Conn.) and sophomore Thomas Merkt (Enfield, Conn.) led the Ravens men?s cross-country team. Farquhar finished fourth in both the Daniel Webster and Franklin Pierce Invitationals, while Merkt placed second and ninth, respectively, at the same events.

Check out the cross country teams on the web at
http://www.franklinpierce.edu /pages/Athletics/MWCC/xcmain.htm

Franklin Pierce Athletic Council
The Franklin Pierce University
Athletic Council (FPCAC) was established by the Athletics Department and the Offices of Development and Alumni Relations to enhance the relationship between the College?s athletic programs and its alumni and friends. FPCAC is also charged with increasing the level of financial support for the College?s athletic programs.

By joining the FPCAC, you have an opportunity to support athletics in general and support the teams and programs of your choice. One quarter of your gift will automatically go to support Franklin Pierce athletics through the general Athletic Fund which was established for the enhancement of all student athletic programs. You can designate the remainder to specific teams and programs.

Becoming a member of the FPCAC is easy. Simply contact Ahmad Boura, Assistant Director of Development, at 603.899.4031 or ahmadb@franklinpierce.edu
.

Alumni baseball players fall short to FP
team
(See photos below)

October 1, 2005 (Rindge, NH), - It has turned into an annual fall classic of golf, fun and baseball for former and current Franklin Pierce Baseball players, families and friends. Golf activities started on a brisk morning at the Winchendon golf course for a best ball tournament, which featured all levels of play.

Coming in at 11 under par was a team led by starting junior shortstop Garrett Olsen. Olsen and his team ran away with things right from the start. Making headline news on the golf course for the alumni was Chris Schmidt ?92, capturing a closest to the pin award for the second year in a row.

At the conclusion of the golf tournament - players, family and friends headed to campus for lunch and a live auction hosted by Head Coach Jayson King. Coach King fired up the troops to bid on several high profile items including autographed Red Sox photos, autographed baseballs from Fred Lynn, Dontrell Willis, Doug Mirabelli, Kevin Youkalis and others. The most popular item that created several bidding jabs was the WWF Heavyweight Belt. Proceeds from the bidding were allocated to the Franklin Pierce Baseball Program. The Ravens have planned a February trip to South Carolina and will continue their annual spring training trip to Florida in March.

The group then headed to the much anticipated alumni baseball game at a spirited and jaw dropping scene at Pappas Field. The new 500-seat stadium was groomed to perfection. The alumni team was looking for revenge against the Ravens after suffering an 8-4 defeat in 2003. Field construction in 2004 kept the teams from participating in a game. The alumni team sent former pitcher, David Schmidt ?92 to the mound who gave up four runs, but only two earned. Unfortunately the hits and errors continued and the Ravens posted a 10-1 victory. Eric Cavers had some action behind the plate, (currently with the Houston Astros), and there were some impressive pitching performances from Justin Blood ?04 (formerly with the Seattle Mariners), Matt Weagle ?03 (currently with the St. Louis Cardinals) and Chris Shank (formerly with the Oakland Athletics and currently with the Worcester Tornados) and a surprising appearance on the mound by Dante Blancarte ?03 (formerly with the Minnesota Twins), but it wasn?t enough to help out the alumni team.

At the conclusion of the game we had a chance to catch up with Coach King, who had a message to all of the participants and fans of the days events:

?The alumni events have been improving at the rate of our baseball program on the diamond. The 2005 alumni events were a great time for everyone involved. The golf tournament, luncheon, auction and alumni game was a day full of fun. I?m looking forward to increased support and participation from out baseball alumni in the years to come.?

To donate to the Franklin Pierce University
Baseball Program contact Ahmad Boura at 603.899.4031 / ahmadb@franklinpierce.edu
or Head Coach Jayson King at 603.899.4084 /
kingj@franklinpierce.edu
. To follow all of the Ravens action log onto www.franklinpierce.edu /athletics .