Boston Globe writer Allen Lesells spoke with former University of Massachusetts field hockey midfielder Nicole Phelan recently. Phelan, who now goes by the married last name Sabatier, lives in Oregon and spoke highly of the sport she started playing in eighth grade as well as her experiences at UMass.
The 2015 Major League Lacrosse season concluded with the championship game at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Ga., Saturday, Aug. 8. A group of UMass men's lacrosse alumni competed or coaches in the league during 2015. Below is a short overview of how each performed.
Jim Connolly - Had three goals and an assist for four points during two games played with the Boston Cannons ... Now owns 37 career goals with seven assists for 44 points in 25 games played.
Brett Garber - Florida Launch & Boston Cannons Attackman: Spent time on the rosters of the Florida Launch and Boston Cannons in 2015 but did not make an appearance ... Currently owns 43 points (26 goals, 14 assists) during 44 appearances since the 2007 MLL season.
Diogo Godoi - Boston Cannons Close Defenseman: Spent time on the Boston Cannons roster but did not make an appearance in 2015 ... Owns 29 career games played, during which he has picked up 36 groundballs.
Ryan Hollenbaugh - Boston Cannons Close Defenseman: Saw action in four games for the Boston Cannons but did not record statistics.
Ryan Izzo - Ohio Short-Stick Defensive Midfielder: Spent the season on the collegiate inactive list and did not make an appearance for the Machine.
Will Manny - Boston Cannons Attackman: Tied for the 10th-most points across MLL with 44 on 28 goals (one two-pointer) and 15 assists in 12 appearances ... Assisted Boston in reaching the 2015 MLL playoffs, where the team fell to eventual-champion New York in the semifinals ... Owns 126 career points (78 goals, 47 assists) over three completed professional seasons.
Jack Reid - Boston Cannons Close Defenseman: Started the season with the Boston Cannons but did not make an appearance ... Has 157 groundballs with 13 points (eight goals, five assists) over 92 career appearances.
Kyle Smith - Boston Cannons Attackman: Made one appearance in 2015 but did not record statistics.
Tim Soudan - Rochester Rattlers Head Coach: Led his team to an 8-6 regular season finish and an appearance in the 2015 MLL Championship Game. Soudan guided the team to wins in four of its final five games entering the championship appearance, including a 12-8 comeback win over Ohio in the playoff semifinals.
Journal News reporter Adrian Szkolar spoke to University of Massachusetts field hockey freshman goalkeeper Alex Halpin recently regarding her scholastic success in field hockey and her commitment to continue competing as an NCAA Division I student-athlete at UMass. Read about Halpin's experiences in field hockey, a sport she picked up in high school:
Mohegan Lake's Alex Halpin quickly rises to nation's elite | Adrian Szkolar, Journal News
University of Massachusetts alumna Tamara Tatham and the Canadian National Team won each of their opening four games at the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship and claimed the top spot in Group A as a result. They defeated Puerto Rico, 94-57 on Aug. 9, followed with a 93-36 victory over Chile the next day and added dominant wins over the Dominican Republic, 111-36 and Cuba, 92-43, on Aug. 11 and 12, respectively.
Tatham has been productive through four games and averages 9.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per appearance. She is shooting an efficient 52.2 percent from the floor (12-of-23) and nearly automatic at the foul line (10-of-12; 83.3 percent). Canada faces Brazil in the semifinals on Saturday, Aug. 15.
Box Score: Canada 94, Puerto Rico 57
Recap: Canada Opens FIBA Americas With 94-57 Win Over Puerto Rico
Box Score: Canada 93, Chile 36
Recap: Back-To-Back Wins As Canada Beats Chile, 93-36
Box Score: Canada 111, Dominican Republic 36
Recap: Women's National Team Moves To 3-0 With 111-36 Win Over Dominican Republic
Box Score: Canada 92, Cuba 43
Recap: Canada Improves To 4-0, Captures Group A By Dominating Cuba, 92-43
Tatham's FIBA Bio Page
2015 FIBA Americas Championship Statistics
Canada women cagers easily dispatch Puerto Rico | Hamilton Scores
Canada hammers Chile at FIBA Americas Women's Championship | Jeremy Freeborn, Examiner
Nurse, Achonwa, Tatham score 14 each as Canada routs Chile at FIBA Americas | Shane Jones, The Brandon Sun
Canada the class of FIBA Americas Championship | SportsNet
To cap off the day, a crowd of Minutemen and Minutewomen from the football, women's basketball, rowing and men's soccer programs took part in the final leg of the torch lighting procession through Southwest with the Olympians and police officers, joining in the celebration as the Olympians lit their torch.
Check out some of the highlights from the day below that were shared on Twitter via @UMassAthletics.
.@UMassWSoccer among many of our student-athletes assisting with @SpOlympicsMA today! pic.twitter.com/5bZkuFCdQd
-- UMass Athletics (@UMassAthletics) August 8, 2015 The Minutewomen got some extra preseason lifting in today at @SpOlympicsMA move in #WeWinTogether pic.twitter.com/lnp01u4ABK
-- UMass Athletics (@UMassAthletics) August 8, 2015 .@UMassRowing and @UMassWBB were lending a hand at @SpOlympicsMA move in today as well! pic.twitter.com/lBAKBmZqfg
-- UMass Athletics (@UMassAthletics) August 8, 2015 .@UMassFootball was at Hampshire DC helping out with @SpOlympicsMA today #UMassProud pic.twitter.com/YfCEKfemvg
-- UMass Athletics (@UMassAthletics) August 8, 2015 So many Minutemen & Minutewomen were on hand to help the @SpOlympicsMA Olympians light the torch tonight! #UMassProud pic.twitter.com/6TxiLeIt08
-- UMass Athletics (@UMassAthletics) August 9, 2015 University of Massachusetts men's lacrosse alumnus Tim Soudan will lead the Rochester Rattlers in the Major League Lacrosse Championship Game for the second consecutive year when the Rattlers face the New York Lizards Saturday, Aug. 8. Inside Lacrosse's Chris Rosenthall previews the contest from the perspective of how Rochester can win:
Rosenthall: MLL Championship Preview, Part II -- Why the Rattlers Will Win | Inside Lacrosse
William Sheehan of Wicked Local News North of Boston spoke with University of Massachusetts incoming freshman rower Olivia Monroe for a short feature on her excitement at continuing her athletic career at the collegiate level. Read the full story through the link below:
University of Massachusetts women's basketball incoming freshman Stephanie Foukaris is currently competing for her home country, Cyprus, at the FIBA U18 European Championships. Through four games, Foukaris is averaging 13.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game with double-doubles against Finland (11 points, 11 rebounds) and Germany (23 points, 10 rebounds).
More information on the championship, including box scores from each game, is available through links to FIBA's website below:
Box Score: Cyprus vs. Ukraine
Box Score: Cyprus vs. Finland
Box Score: Cyprus vs. Slovak Republic
Box Score: Cyprus vs. Germany
2015 FIBA U18 Euro Championship Schedule
Foukaris' FIBA Player Profile
FIBA
Foukaris is back in action with Cyprus in Bucharest, Romania, at the Arena de Baschet on Aug. 5.
University of Massachusetts men's lacrosse alumni Will Manny and Tim Soudan reached the MLL playoffs with their respective teams, the Boston Cannons and Rochester Rattlers, Saturday. Manny and the Cannons fell to the New York Lizards in overtime, 16-15, while Soudan, the head coach of Rochester, guided the Rattlers to a 12-8 comeback win over the Ohio Machine.
Manny tallied a goal, assist and groundball in the loss while Soudan brought Rochester to the championship game for the second consecutive season with the win. Soudan and the Rattlers play for the league title versus New York at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8. Read coverage of each game below.
Box Score: Rochester 12, Ohio 8 | Major League Lacrosse
Box Score: New York 16, Boston 15 (OT) | Major League Lacrosse
MLL Highlights: Lizards, Rattlers to Meet in Championship Sunday | Inside Lacrosse
Gibson's OT Strike Sends New York to MLL Final | Lacrosse Magazine
Galloway, Rice Pace Rochester to MLL Finals | Brett Amadon, Lacrosse Magazine