Drennan Inducted into GCAA Hall of Fame|Football|Academic Honors|Second Annual Pink Out|Men’s & Women’s Indoor Track & Field|Three Rams Selected in Major League Soccer Draft|
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Tom Drennan with the URI golf team and right, with golf legend Arnold Palmer. |
Drennan Inducted into GCAA Hall of Fame
Throughout his life—including his 20-year career at the University of Rhode Island—Tom Drennan, M.A. ’80, has accumulated a lengthy list of titles: husband, father, grandfather, coach, and champion.
You can add one more title to his crowded résumé: Hall of Famer.
On Jan. 14, the long-time Rhody mentor was inducted into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame (along with Jack Jensen of Guilford and Virginia Tech’s Jay Hardwick) in an awards ceremony held at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Fla.
“When I first got the call, we were not playing very well—struggling a bit. My cell phone buzzed, and I didn’t recognize the number, so I debated whether to take it or not,“ Drennan recalled. “It was Richard Sykes (head coach at N.C. State) and I thought it was GCAA business. He informed me that I was nominated and selected for this year’s Hall of Fame class. I thought my knees were going to buckle. Lo and behold, after the phone call, we started to play better.”
Indeed they did. The Rams picked up their play, capturing their 10th New England championship in the last 11 years.
“He is so well-liked by his players and his peers,” said Jim Salinetti, who starred for the Rams from 1996-2000. “When I play in tournaments and say I’m from the University of Rhode Island, players always ask about Coach Drennan.”
Under Drennan’s guidance, URI has served as the flagship for men’s intercollegiate golf in the Northeast. In addition to the string of New England championships, the Rams have a streak of 16 consecutive appearances at the NCAA Regionals, as well as five Atlantic 10 team titles. Drennan has been named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year twice and Eaton Golf Pride New England Region Coach of the Year nine times (1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2007).
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Football
The University of Rhode Island 2008 football recruiting class was ranked No. 10 amongst all Football Championship Subdivision schools by Rivals.com recruiting service. The Rams’ 20-man class (plus three transfers) placed them in a three-way tie with Northern Colorado and Chattanooga for 10th in the FCS and No. 129 overall amongst both BCS and FCS schools.
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Academic Honors
Eighty-two Rhode Island student-athletes were named to the Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll for the fall 2007 semester. In order to be recognized, student-athletes must have a semester grade point average of 3.5 or better.
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Second Annual Pink Out
URI’s Second Annual Pink Out was held at the men’s basketball game vs. Xavier on Feb. 18. The event—which was planned and run primarily by Athletics Department interns and members of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council—featured a sell-out crowd and over 2,000 fans clad in official Pink Out T-shirts that were sold on campus in the days leading up to the game. In all, over $9,000 was raised for the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation, bringing the Rams’ two-year donation total to nearly $20,000.
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Men’s & Women’s Indoor Track & Field
The Rhode Island men’s indoor track & field team placed second while the women finished third at the 2008 Atlantic 10 Championships on February 16. The event was held at Mackal Field House. The men, who dominated the field events, were led by senior Yudehwheh Gbaa, who took first in the triple jump and second in the 55m hurdles to earn the Most Outstanding Field Performer award. On the women’s side, senior Sarah Thornton set a Mackal Field House weight throw record en route to earning Most Outstanding Field Performer honors. A total of 12 other Rams earned All-Conference honors at the A-10 Championship.
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Three Rams Selected in Major League Soccer Draft
Three Rhode Island men’s soccer players were selected by Major League Soccer teams in the 2008 Draft. Midfielder Geoffrey Cameron (Attleboro, Mass.) was taken in the third round (42nd overall), going to the reigning MLS Champion Houston Dynamo. Danleigh Borman (Cape Town, South Africa) and Lukasz Tumicz (Bisztynek, Poland) were picked up a week later in the MLS’ Supplemental Draft, with Borman going seventh overall to the New York Red Bulls and Tumicz picked 34th by the Columbus Crew. At press time, both Cameron and Borman were still training with their MLS teams while Tumicz was playing professionally in his native Poland.
