 |
Men’s and Women’s Soccer
Seniors Geoffrey Cameron and Lukasz Tumicz, a native of Poland, participated in the 2008 Adidas MLS Player Combine, which took place Jan. 11-15 at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The Rhody standouts were two of just 54 Division I college seniors to be invited to the Combine, which was attended by the coaching and management staffs of all 14 major league soccer teams scouting for talent. Cameron also picked up the Atlantic 10’s inaugural Midfielder of the Year award and was named to the A-10 All-Championship squad. Both Rams earned First Team All-Conference and First Team All-Mid Atlantic Region honors.
Women’s soccer senior Deb Nelson and junior Dora Larusdottir, who is from Iceland, were named to the NSCAA/Adidas All-Northeast Region First Team while four student-athletes from the men’s team picked up All-Mid Atlantic Region accolades. Seniors Geoffrey Cameron and Lukasz Tumicz were named to the First Team while senior Callum Bissett, who is from Scotland, and junior Adam Howarth from England earned Second Team honors.
Men’s and Women’s Basketball
Women’s basketball senior Safi Mojidi, a Nigerian native, and men’s basketball senior Parfait Bitee, who is from the Republic of Cameroon, represented their respective nations at the 2007 FIBA African Championship. The championship teams earned a spot in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Mojidi helped the Nigerian team post victories over DR Congo (69-56) and Kenya (73-70) before the squad was defeated by Mozambique (69-61) in the quarterfinals. Bitee and the Cameroonian team took down Tunisia (75-70), Côte d’Ivoire (76-56), and Egypt (58-52), but fell to Angola (86-72) in the championship game.
Awards and Honors
For the second-consecutive season, football senior Damien Gresko was named to the 2007 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Second Team. Gresko was the only student-athlete from a CAA institution named to the Academic All-America squad. Senior Bryan Giannecchini also was recognized for his academic achievements, earning spots on the 2007 Division I Football Championship Subdivision Athletic Directors Association Academic All-Star Team and the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District I First Team. Additionally, the Rhody punter was selected to the New England Football Writers Championship Subdivision All-Star Team and was a CAA All-Conference First Team selection.
Basketball senior Will Daniels is in line for several prominent national awards. The 6 ft. 8 in. forward is one of just 33 players nationally to be named to the Naismith Award Preseason Watch list. The Naismith Award is presented annually to the top collegiate player of the year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. Daniels is also among 30 exceptional seniors who were named as official candidates for the 2007-08 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award presented annually to the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete of the Year. The winners will be announced during the men’s and women’s NCAA Final Four weekends.
 |
Darren Rizzi Returns to Kingston
Upon being introduced as URI’s 18th head football coach, Darren Rizzi ’92 recalled his days wearing Keaney blue and white. Twenty years ago Rizzi was a walk-on who became an All-American tight end. “I remember talking to my teammates about getting into coaching, and I remember how passionate we were about it,” said Rizzi, who left his position as associate head coach at D-I powerhouse Rutgers to return to Kingston. “I’ve always dreamt about coming back to URI and building the football program into a championship program.”
The story is pure Hollywood—a player comes home to fulfill a lifelong dream of turning his former team around. While some might say that Rizzi is in over his head, he promises to change those perceptions. “Starting today, people’s assumptions about this football program are going to change,” said Rizzi. “There is no such thing as a quick fix; we’re going to lay a foundation for this program to be built on for the future, and when it is built, it will be indestructible.”
Rizzi knows what he’s talking about. He leaves behind a Rutgers football program that ranked amongst the worst in Division I prior to his arrival. He joined former University of Miami defensive coordinator Greg Schiano in the task of rebuilding the Scarlet Knights; the Rutgers team played its third consecutive bowl game on January 6. The Rams, meanwhile, stumbled to a 3-8 season while five of their conference foes advanced to the Football Championship Series playoffs.
“I think Rutgers and Rhode Island are a great parallel because of where Rutgers was seven years ago and where Rhode Island is today,” said Rizzi. “It will take a lot of hard work for the staff and I to get guys on campus, but I know I speak for all of the guys I played with when I say that this is a great place to play, a great place to go to school, and a great place to be socially and academically.”
The Rams have had just three winning seasons in 22 years, but Rizzi is confident that the enthusiasm and energy that carried him from a graduate assistantship at Rhode Island in 1993 all the way to Rutgers will make Rhode Island the powerhouse program Athletic Director Thorr Bjorn believes it can be.
“I remember coming in from the snowstorm after my interview, and my wife [the former Tracey A. Murphy ’92] asked me how it went,” Rizzi explained. “I told her that URI had finally made a step in the right direction. Thorr Bjorn’s energy, his enthusiasm, his vision, his goals, and his passion for the University are probably the No. 1 reason why I’m standing here today. I’ve entered into a partnership with him to turn this football program into a championship level football program.”
And then, Rizzi proclaimed to a crowd of URI faculty, staff, players, alumni, boosters, friends and family, “This program will win, will win consistently, and will win championships. I wouldn’t be standing at the podium if I didn’t feel that way.”
