Volleyball getting ready for big match against Endicott!

Goals: Have the best hitting percentage, service aces percentage, blocks, and most digs in the conference. Be 1st place in the conference. Host the TCCC Championship match at RWU so that we can have home court advantage and all the support from our super-fans. Win the TCCC Championship and advance to the NCAA’s and make it past the first round.

Since day one we have been focused on each individual day in order to get better and meet our goals for the end of the season. In the past few weeks we have been focusing on a wide spectrum of skills. We have been improving our serve to be one of the top serving teams in the conference along with trying to improve our blocking percentage and defensive digs. We try to think of every day as a championship and intend to work as hard as we can every day of the week. Coach videotapes some of our practices so that a few days out of the week we can all watch and review ourselves. This is helpful and contributes to our success by letting us see what we are doing wrong and how we can improve individually, but also as a team.

We are always coming up with new ways to pump ourselves up before games because it is very important to have energy and concentration. Marilu spent a few hours coming up with a rap called “Volleyball Swag” which we all know the words to and sing it before every game. You might just see us walking through campus and hear some volleyball swag words being sung, so feel free to join in. Little things like this make our team connected and creates chemistry on and off the court. We are very focused and know what we want to accomplish this year during our season.

We have significantly improved our serving and currently are 3rd out of 12 teams, which last year we were at the bottom of the list. We are leading the conference in hitting percentage along with number of kills and assists. We still need to improve our blocking as we currently hold the 8th spot out of 12. We are 3rd in the conference with service aces and 5th in digs. Our current record is 13-3 and 2-0 in the conference.

On away games our families are very united and this past weekend at Trinity we were provided with a great lunch given by our parents. Our parents brought cold cuts, fruit and so many yummy desserts such as homemade whoopee pies! We are lucky to have such great support which is something we greatly appreciate. Our fan base has significantly increased and it makes us extremely happy to hear our friends cheering us on in the stands. It gives us the confidence we need to crush our opponent, so we want to say thank you and we would love to see more and more fans!

There is still a lot of improvement to be done, but we are definitely heading in the right direction to win the TCCC Championship again this year. We play Endicott on Wednesday the 29th at 7:00 and are hoping to see a lot of support in the stands! We have been working hard in practice the past few days preparing for this huge game. We are extremely pumped and can’t wait to play! Annihilation mode!

Fast Fact: We killed Endicott once during the regular season 3-0 and then in the semi-finals killed them again 3-0 and advanced to win the TCCC Championship.

- Jill Hurd

RWU Equestrian Riding to the Top!

The RWU Equestrian team is back in the saddle and settling into the new barn. With lessons in full swing, the riders are getting to know the horses and facilities and everything is going very smoothly. Ted Torrey, the Glen Farm manager, and all of the other patrons of the Glen have been so welcoming in helping the riders get comfortable with the new changes.

This weekend the season will be kicked off at the home of the URI Rams, where all members of the team will get a chance to ride. URI is one of the “teams to beat” within the region, so let’s take the blue on their own turf!

With a new region, new riders, and new horses, the Equestrian team is the strongest it’s been in years. There is so much anticipation for the start of the season and the team is really beginning to mesh. All of the coaches and riders are pumped for the start of the season and are ready to dominate the region! Let’s go Hawks!

- Cara McSoley

Determined to defend our title of 10-time Conference Champs

Since day one, Coach has continuously reminded us that in order to defend our title, we’ll have to be willing to do the little things that will ultimately get each one of us to running our best races. After a long & exhausting week long preseason full of an extensive amount of miles on our feet, Coach told us we had just survived the toughest preseason in all of his years coaching here. All of the sweat, long runs every day after 8-hour work days & hard training all summer, I personally felt confident it was going to be a successful season.

Running for a 10-time Conference winning program is somewhat intimidating, and puts a feeling of pressure on each one of us, as we all want to continue the success of the program and proud fully keep the title here at RWU. Graduating around 5 scorers from last season, I think everyone was unsure who would be stepping up to fill the big shoes that left. Returning this year are senior captains Sam Buechner, Michelle Needham and Leah Sayer, as well as valuable members Lauren Ashby, Katie Crowley, Nina Groseclose, Katie O’Koren, Lauren Riccardi, Katie Wilson and All-TCCC top runner Lily Rutler. 7 New Runners: juniors myself (Jess Kraiza) & Alex Honkala, sophomore Marissa Jambor, and freshman Vanessa Camiolo, Annie Cassidy, Kristen St. Pierre, and Hailey Wolfe.

Meet #1: Bryant University Invitational. To sum it up: day of Hurricane Earl Warnings, competing after the men’s race in the pouring rain, on what’s known to be a “hilly” course against all Division 1 teams. New to Cross Country, it was my first collegiate race ever, and weighing in all the factors of the day, I was beyond nervous (I know Alex & all the freshmen were too!). Coach prepared us well, and I’d say we showed some of the Division One runners what RWU was all about. Out of the 55 runners, Lily had a strong first performance placing 18th with 21:14, alongside an impressive first performance from our freshman Kristen St. Pierre (25th) & Vanessa Camiolo (28th). Happy with my first performance, I came in next placing 30th. Rounding out the top 7 on the day, Lauren Ashby ( 34th), Sam Beuchner ( 27th),and Alex Honkala ( 38th).

Meet #2 Roger Williams Invitational. Previously winning our home meet last year, we weren’t completely satisfied with our 3rd place finish out of 7 teams, as Coach instilled in our minds that we should look to perform better on a personal level in each meet looking back to our last season. On a positive note, every girl on the team improved their times from Bryant, which is promising looking to the future. Top 7 runners of the day: leading the way Lily, who placed 7th out of 87 runners finished in 20:04, followed by Vanessa (14th), Kristen (17th), Alex (18th), myself ( 20th), Katie O’Koren (28th), and Lauren Ashby (31st).

Meet #3 UMass-Dartmouth Invitational. Continuing to improve, we had some great times on Dartmouth’s 5k, faster paced course. At the starting line there were 290 runners in the varsity race, all taking off at the same time. At the shot of the gun, a stampede took off full of extremely aggressive girls fighting for the front of the pack. Racing strong and setting an RWU time record & named TCCC Runner of the Week two times this season, Lily Rutler placed 33rd with an outstanding time of 19:17. Following with personal best records this season, Vanessa 73rd almost breaking sub-20 with 20:03, Alex placing 115th at 20:36, myself in 126th at 20:44, and Sam finishing up the scoring for our team, placing 131 with a time of 20:51. Also, Katie Crowley had an all-time personal best in the sub-varsity race with a 20:30 race time! Everyone yet again has continued to improve their times since the first race. I really think if we keep it up, and continue to practice hard, we will have another shot to win conference.

We have this next weekend off & the following weekend at Gordon. The next two weeks full of long runs (Coach mentioned around 10 miles Sunday morning practice!!) and speed workouts will be tough, but in the long run looking toward our season goals, will be worth it. We have a great, supportive group of girls, who have a lot of talent, hawk pride, and heart. I definitely think we can do this.

-Jess Kraiza

Leave it all on the court

Women’s Tennis for RWU is off to a good start for our season with a 3-1 conference record. We came out of pre-season ready to work, ready for a new year. Being a freshman on the team, I was welcomed into a hard-working atmosphere and a team who knows how to work together towards one goal. After flying through our first 3 conference matches, after a tough non-conference opener against Babson, we knew that the hard work should not stop there.

Family and friends have been extremely supportive, especially during our “family weekend” match this past Saturday against Eastern Nazarene College on our home courts. Never-ending support from our coaches has made us the players we are today. We have been striving to become better as individuals and as a whole which is our main focus.

Getting pumped for our Nichols match last week, we came into some frustration with the match, letting them get the best of us. But today is a new day; we will not falter in our attitude towards working for the betterment of the team. Our challenge to us is our mentality, since everyone has the skill to win any match. Getting the mindset we need for each match ahead of us, I know we can kick butt for the rest of our season!

-Sam Curran

Sailing heading to NY for Nevin's Trophy

The weekend of the Nevin's Trophy started off with a bit of a slump, as myself, Alec Anderson, Josh Saltmarsh, Alyssa Seifert, Alex, Cameron Pimental, and Colin (COACH) packed ourselves and our soaking wet gear into one of the smaller athletic vans which the school had to offer. After having an always delicious dinner from the commons, we found ourselves on a four-hour drive down to Amityville, NY. Mr. and Mrs. Rom were waiting for us at their house with brownies and cookies to warm us up before bed. Colin made sure to remind everyone several times that we would be getting up at 7 AM, in order to be on the road at 7:30.

Saturday morning we were awoken by the smell of bacon, scrambled eggs, muffins, toast and fresh coffee as we arose from our beds. When we arrived at King's Point, there was a small breeze on the water so we all rigged up our boats and got out onto the water for the first race at 9:45. A somewhat steady wind from a northern direction held for about 5 races, but by the sixth began to die down drastically. By the 7th race everyone was moving very slowly. Only A division was able to complete 7 races on Saturday, while B Division, and the laser division had their 7th races called because there was no wind. We were sent in for a postponement on shore, which quickly turned to "no more sailing today". After a nice dinner with the Rom’s and their dog, Princess, we were all just about ready for bed (except for Colin, who gets really excited after a long day on the water).

Sunday morning we awoke to a delightful breakfast of French toast and other yummy food. Unfortunately, Alec had gotten his crew–namely me –sick with his cold-like symptoms, and so we were a little unsure of the day ahead. When we got to the venue, there was the faintest hint of breeze on the water. We rigged up and got ready to sail, and then were told there was a fifteen minute postponement ashore. This turned into about 45 minutes, after which we were told to head out to the course. The race committee got about 2 minutes and 17 seconds into the first start of the day, for lasers, and that was the last whistle to be heard on the water at King's Point. The postponement flag went up, as everyone waited for the breeze to come back on. But it never came. We waited for about two hours and then were told to head in for postponement ashore. About 45 minutes into this, we were told to head home, the wind wasn't coming, and so we would not be sailing.

After a long and at times frustrating weekend, Cameron ended up with a 7th in the laser division (his first ever full-rig regatta)! Alyssa and Josh ended up with a 19th in B division, and Alec and I finished the weekend in fourth (one point behind third and second!). Overall we finished 12th at the Nevin's Trophy in Kings Point, NY.

Also, congrats to Haley Powell and Bianca Rom, who finished fourth at the Mrs. Hurst Bowel at Dartmouth. They were just a few points shy of third!

Another congrats to Tucker Blagden and Kathleen Keaveney, for their fourth place finish in B division at the Hatch Brown Trophy at MIT. They were also just a point away from second and third!

Thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Rom for being such great hosts for the sailors who traveled to the Nevin's Trophy!

- Sophie Bellacosa

Men's Cross Country back on the course

The men’s cross country team is still riding off of the first place finish in last fall’s Conference Championship. The Roger Williams Hawks pulled off the win by 3 points, and they were a well deserved three points. As the 2009-2010 school year finished up the men’s Cross Country Team had to say good-bye to 6 seniors; Tim Eynatian, Todd Massari, Chris Disciullo, Michael Russo, and Stephen Leonetti. The will be missed but we wish them the best of luck.

It is now the 2010 season for the Men’s Cross Country team and we welcome 9 new hawks to the team; Jamie Goodwick (Jr.), Kyle DeMarche (Fr.), Matt Duggan (Fr.), John Ferguson (Fr.), David Fitol (Fr.), Dan Herbein (Fr.), Jeremy Kacher (Fr.), Henry Loughlin (Fr.), and Chase Osgood (Fr.). They all are very strong and have adapted well to college training as well as the races.

Just a real quick run through of how the scoring works in Cross Country, the top 5 runners places for each team are added together and, like golf, the lowest scoring team, wins. If there is a tie then the 6th and 7th runner is added to the score to determine the winner.

We have competed in 2 invites already, and have done very well in both; our first meet was at Bryant College in Smithfield, RI. Mitch Leveille (22nd), Jack Ferguson (29th), Jon Ellis (36th), Tom Maybury (37th), Jeremy Kacher (54th), Henry Loughlin (56th), Andrew Gallant (57th), and Brian Ki (74th) were the top 8 finishers. Our second invitational was a home meet at Colt State Park, where the RWU Hawks took 3rd place; Mitch Leveille (7th), John Ferguson (10th), Jon Ellis (14th), Tom Maybury (16th), Henry Loughlin (19th), Andrew Gallant (20th), Jeremy Kacher (21st), and Chase Osgood (22nd) were our top 8 runners. Jamie Goodwick and Dan Herbein were not far behind Chase.

We are excited for the rest of the season to play out because we have a lot of young potential as well as a great deal of returning talent.

Women's Soccer looking good early on

We are 2-2 right now and 1-0 in the conference. We opened the season with a tough game vs. Wheaton. They always prove to be a very strong team and this year was no exception. We played much better than our 4-0 loss last season when we were still trying to work on our new formation. This year we scored first and held the game to 1-0 for the first half. The second half Wheaton was able to score 2 times while we were left with our lone goal from the first half. At the Springfield College Invitational we played the regionally ranked #5 Springfield and beat them 1-0. Freshman Hannah Noel earned her first goal by holding composure and lofting the ball right over the keeper’s hands. Also, Kelsey McGee, our starting goalkeeper, who transferred from LeMoyne, played strong in the goal for us. The next day at the Championship game of the tournament we fell short to Eastern Connecticut State. I would say this game we realized how important it is to play to feet and also to adjust to a different team's formation. Losing the game 3-1 was not the best way to leave our weekend in Springfield.

Our first conference game was against Curry this past Saturday, we won 3-2. Our next game will be our last out of conference game for almost a month. This game is Thursday at Brandeis. Since I have been a freshman our game against Brandeis has always been a fight and good game. In 2007 we lost, 2008 we won and 2009 we had a 0-0 tie. For my senior year I am looking to get the win and prove to be the better team this year. We know as a team we need to work hard through every play and not take one break with a team like Brandeis, who is also regionally ranked at #9. We need to beat them just like we beat Springfield and make people wonder why WE aren't ranked.

I am looking forward to the rest of this season. We have a great team with a lot of great returning players and the group of freshmen came in strong, as well. Our team goal is to end this season with the CCC Championship and to make it even further in the NCAAs than our 2008 season! GO HAWKS!

- Julie Moody

Volleyball off to a great start

The volleyball team is off to a great start as they are currently 8-1 in their season. Starting off playing Eastern Connecticut State University and defeating them in three games, the Hawks are on a roll with very high hopes for the season. Entering the Springfield tournament the Hawks came out strong defeating Lasell, Brandeis, and Westfield State.

In the championship match against Springfield, the Hawks took the first game but fell short the next three games, losing their first match of the season. Following the weekend in Springfield the Hawks traveled to Emmanuel during the week and swept them in three games bringing the Hawks record to 5-1.

Just this past weekend the Hawks hosted the RWU Invitational with UNE, Rivier, and NYU Polytechnic. They defeated all three teams therefore winning the invitational championship advancing their record to 8-1. Each person plays a huge role on the team which is why the Lady Hawks have been so successful thus far. They will continue to improve and focus on each day at a time so that when the end of the season comes, they will be ready to dominate in the CCC tournament.

- Jill Hurd

Equestrian back in the saddle!

The RWU Equestrian team is kicking off the 2010 season with six new riders and some exciting changes. The team is happy to welcome Rebecca Pettit, Charnele Bourque, Marielle Damato, Shelby Dumond, Rachael Asadorian, Chelsea Francis, and Lenny Carlucci to the RWU equestrian team roster. We are confident that they will all be a great addition to the team.

New and returning riders get the pleasure of training at the Glen Farm for the first time. The Glen is a beautiful, historic stable, located in Portsmouth. The team will be working closely with avid polo and equitation trainer, Ted Torrey, along with head coach Eliza Pyliotis, and assistant coach Michelle Greim. Another exciting change is that we have switched regions. We will now be riding with all Rhode Island and Southern Massachusetts schools. Come support your RWU equestrians on October 30 at the Glen farm. We hope to see you there!

- Cara McSoley