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Spring Teams Compete At NCAAs

The University of Rhode Island had two teams make the NCAA Tournament this year with the men’s golf team earning its 14th-straight NCAA Regional appearance and the baseball team taking its first trip to the NCAAs. The men’s and women’s outdoor track & field teams also had athletes compete in the NCAA Regionals.

The Baseball Team

The Baseball Team won its third-straight Atlantic 10 East Division title and its second-consecutive A-10 regular-season crown, and the Rams also won their first Atlantic 10 tournament championship to earn Rhody’s first berth in the NCAA Tournament. Rhode Island faced two nationally ranked teams in the Long Beach Regional, but almost pulled off the upset of Pepperdine before losing 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning. Rhode Island finished the season with a 34-21 record and an 18-6 mark in Atlantic 10 play. Over the past three years, the Rams are 54-18 in conference play. Junior pitcher Zack Zuercher was drafted in the ninth round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals and will forgo his senior year to play professionally. Fellow teammates Mike Rainville and Mick Lefort, both of whom have graduated, signed professional contracts, giving the Rhody baseball program six players to ink professional contracts in the last three years. Rainville joined the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Lefort signed with the Chicago Cubs.

Kenneth Fahey

The Men’s Golf Team

The Men’s Golf Team continued to dominate play in the Northeast, winning its seventh-straight New England Division I Championship this spring and making its 14th straight NCAA Regional appearance. It was the 10th consecutive year that the Rams were the top seed from the Northeast, earning them a spot in the NCAA East Regional in Nashville, Tenn. The Rams did not duplicate their success from the 2004 East Regional, when Rhody finished 8th to earn a spot in the NCAA National Championship, but three of the players on this year’s team were sophomores: Jason Pannone, Ben Spitz, and Devon Quigley. Senior Chad Spencer was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Team after finishing fifth at the Atlantic 10 Championships and senior Kenneth Fahey was an Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference selection for the second-straight year. Fahey also earned his second Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar award. Spencer, Spitz, and Pannone were named first-team All-New England by the New England Golf Coaches Association, while Fahey and Quigley earned second team honors. Fraser Hunt, Fahey, Pannone, Spencer, and Spitz were named to the PING All-New England Region team.

André Reid

The Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Team

The Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Team, which won its third-straight New England Championship and unprecedented fifth-straight Atlantic 10 title, had three athletes compete at the NCAA East Regional: Senior André Reid finished seventh in the shot put, while sophomore Ashhad Agyapong competed in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes and sophomore LaeJon Brooks participated in the 400 intermediate hurdles.

The Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Team

The Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Team, which won its 4th -straight Atlantic 10 title, sent two athletes to the NCAA East Regional: Senior Heidi Westerling ran in the 5,000-meter run and freshman Sarah Thornton competed in the discus.