Nick Pantages
@Nick_pantages22
In honor of the 25th anniversary of the NEWMAC, the conference released teams commemorating the best players to play each sport. Springfield had a total of 90 people named to these teams with athletes and coaches from 17 sports comprising the squads.
Men’s Cross Country- Anthony Salvucci and Ryan O’Connell. Salvucci ran a career best time of 26:14 at the New England Championships, and O’Connell holds three of the top 21 times at the Franklin Park Course, including a career best time 25:57, ranking him 11th in program history.
Football- AJ Smith, Christian Hutra, Jordan Wilcox, Marlowe Scott, Nick Bainter, Nick Giorgio and Tim Callahan. Scot and Smith were both standout defensive players, with each getting over 160 tackles in their careers. Hutra was an All American at kicker in 2022, and has the program record for field goals in a career. Wilcox was also an All-American at fullback 2017, rushing for 1786 yards and 21 touchdowns on the year. Bainter was a Division III All-American offensive lineman in 2018. Giorgio was a two time All-American at defensive end in 2017 and 2018, and he graduated as the Pride’s all time leader in sacks and tackles for loss. Callahan led the Pride in rushing his senior season in 2021.
Men’s Soccer- Luke Alvaro, Ryan Malone and Xavi Arroyo. Alvaro was a prolific goal scorer for Springfield, where in only three seasons he stepped away third in goals and second in points in school history. Malone’s 2013 season saw him end up tied for ninth in program history in single season goals with 14, and Arroyo was a three time all-NEWMAC midfielder who helped the Pride win the conference in 2017.
Men’s Basketball- Jake Ross and Michael Parker. Ross holds five school records for Springfield, and is the top all-time scorer for the Pride, while Parker is a little further down at 11th all time in scoring.
Men’s Swimming and Diving- Brian Sobel, Connor Pennington, Greg Pearsall, Howard Hinds, Jack Lewis, Kenny Pancoast, Louis Arruda, Mike Shaw and Roy Burch. Sobel, Shaw and Pennington were both three-time All-Americans in both the one and three meter dives, with Pennington holding every diving school record. Pearsall, Pancoast and Lewis all collected various All-American honors. Hinds picked up three All-American honors for his 2000 campaign, with his 100-meter freestyle record still holding. That 100-meter record is tied with Burch, who also holds the 50-meter freestyle record, and the 200-meter record is held by Arruda, who was a two-time All-American as well.
Men’s Lacrosse- Brendan Dooley, Bryce Serriello, Connor Eschmann, Connor Roberts, Connor Samuelson, Dom Abate, Dylan Sheehan, Jake Reynolds, Joe Hawley and Ryon Lynch. Dooley, Eschmann, Roberts and Hawley were all named All-Americans. Sheehan is third in program history for goals with 151, and Abate totaled 73 for his career. The 2014 season was special for Lynch and Serriello, as Lynch ended the season second in school history for single season assists and Serriello ended top 10 in single season goals. Reynolds was a great goalie, as his junior and senior seasons rank sixth and eighth respectively for saves, while Samuelson started 67 games on defense for the Pride.
Men’s Tennis- Alex Romaine and Court Honda. Romaine earned three all-conference nods, including two for doubles and one for singles. Honda was also a three-time all-conference, collecting the achievement in singles all three times and ending his career with 39 singles victories.
Men’s Track and Field- Adam Hughes, Anthony Salvucci, Damian Larkins, Kevin Coyle, Nickel Hay, Steve Headley and Tyler Hansen. Salvucci, a two-sport recipient of this honor, was a distance runner. Hughes is the school record holder for the 400-meter hurdles. Coyle and Hay were both a part of the school record holding 1600 meter relay team. They both ended up as multiple time All-Americans, with Coyle’s coming in the jumping events and Hay for the relays. Hansen and Larkins both also own school records and All-American honors, Larkins for throwing in the shot put with four nods and Hansen for sprinting in the 200-meter, with two recognitions. Headley holds a remarkable four school records for individual events, and received an incredible 10 All-American honors throughout his career.
Women’s Cross Country- Barbara Swallow, Marisa Clapp and Meg Young. The three Pride alumni named to this team all received All-American honors, with Swallow being thrice named to the teams, Clapp named twice and once for Young.
Field Hockey- Brittany Veazie, Jane Kelleher, Kelly Gallo, Kim Stevens and Melissa Rogers. Kelleher and Veazie are in a deadlock at third in program history in both career and season goals, with 63 and 23 apiece. Gallo was also a prolific scorer, ranking sixth in career goals and points. Stevens was named to the NFHCA All-American team in 2005, while Rogers’ 2001 season saw her establish the single season goals record with 28, which still stands today.
Women’s Soccer- Jackie Moscardelli, Lauren Peltier and Vickie DiNatale. Moscardelli won NEWMAC Player of the Year and reached the conference championship game her senior year, Peltier was a clutch goal scorer, ending her career second in school history with 13 game winning goals, while DiNatale was the first two-time All-American in 20 years while leading the Pride to back-to-back NEWMAC championships.
Women’s Volleyball- Alesia Vaccari, Kelsey McGayhey, Lauren Holt, Lauren Torvi, Robin Chase, Sarah Lang-Rodean and Tessa Smolinski. Vaccari’s name is still atop the all-time assists and service aces record, while Holt, a dominant middle blocker, has the two best single seasons in every blocking statistic, and is 171 total blocks ahead of number two on the career list. Torvi is third on that career blocks list, and also top 10 in kills. Chase is the all time leader in points, second in digs and third in kills, and Smolinski is close behind her on those lists, at third in points and fourth in kills. McGayhey and Lang-Rodean were both standout attackers, and McGayhey ranks top 10 in program history for attacking percentage.
Women’s Basketball- Alex Goslin and Sam Hourihan. Goslin is sixth in program history in scoring, while being tops in free throw percentage. Hourihan is top ten in program history in points in just three years, with her shot against Ithaca to send the Pride to the Sweet Sixteen being one of the most memorable moments in program history.
Women’s Swimming- Alison Mellage, Callie Phillips, Delaney Dyjak, Emily Medeiros, Jennifer Thompson, Kellie Pennington, Lindsay Moore, Mary Boiczyk, Megan Skinner and Moira Price. On the swimming side, Pennington, Price, Phillips and Dyjak all received various All-American honors for a wide variety of events, with 18, 11, six and four respectively. Medeiros was a three-time All-American in the 100 meter breaststroke, while Boiczyk achieved the All-American threepeat in both the 100 and 200 meter fly, while Skinner got the honor in all four years in the 200 meter backstroke. On the diving side, all were All-Americans for all four years, with Mellage and Thompson achieving the honor in the one meter dive, and Moore nabbing the honor in the three meter.
Women’s Lacrosse- Andie Stone, Anne Versprille, Heather Raniolo, Holly Carmody, Jackie Moscardelli, Kate Sarnacki and Shelby Corsano. The Pride’s all-time goals list is dominated by players on this list, with Corsano, Carmody and Moscardelli top three on the list. Sarnacki and Raniolo were also prolific scorers, with Sarnacki’s 2019 season as the top in points for a season, and Raniolo collected 93 career goals. Stone was a gritty player who is third in program history for both ground balls and caused turnovers, while between the pipes Versprille has two of the seven best single seasons in goals against average and ranks third in saves.
Softball- Ali Gerrish, Breann Joyce, Denise Fumicello, Kirsten Drobiak and Michelle Wlosek. Wlosek and Gerrish dominate the all time categories, with Gerrish leading the all time tally in runs batted in, batting average and hits, with Wlosek leading in home runs. Joyce leads the single season home run tally, with her 2012 total of 10 long balls. Fumicello was a prolific base stealer, leading the team all four seasons and ending as the best in program history. Drobiak led the Pride in almost every offensive category her junior and senior seasons, with her junior season RBI tally as the top in school history.
Women’s Track and Field- Kelly Curtis, Marisa Clapp and Nikki Hay. Before her Olympic bobsledding career, Curtis was an All-American in both the pentathlon and heptathlon her senior year in 2012. Clapp was a three-time All-American in the 1500-meter race, collecting two in the outdoor season and one in the indoor season. Hay was a phenomenal jumper, winning the national championship in 2010 in the triple jump.
Coaches- Kristen Mullady (women’s lacrosse), Keith Bugbee (men’s lacrosse), John Taffe (women’s swimming), Pete Avdoulos (men’s and women’s diving), Joel Dearing (women’s volleyball) and John Gibson (women’s soccer). Mullady’s 13 year tenure consisted of six NCAA Tournament appearances and coaching nine NEWMAC players of the year. Her counterpart on the men’s side is Bugbee, who is entering his 40th season in the role, and has coached in 24 NCAA Tournaments, with the highlight being winning the National Championship in 1994.
The duo of Taffe and Avdoulos were named as the swimming and diving coaches on the women’s side, with the latter also being named as the men’s diving coach. Taffe enters his 34th season this year, having coached four Olympians, and Avdoulos is going into his 38th. Dearing is regarded as one of the best Division III volleyball coaches of all time, winning NEWMAC coach of the year three times. Gibson guided the Pride to eight National Championship Tournaments in 22 seasons, winning NEWMAC coach of the year six times.
Photo courtesy of NEWMAC