The men’s basketball team pose for a picture during their Think Pink game to honor senior captain Kevin Collins on scoring his 1,000th career point.
This past year was the first time I was able to call myself an UMPI Owl, and what a year it was! When coming to the Presque Isle campus, I had many friends and acquaintances who were proud to call themselves UMPI Owl alums and they shared with me what their experience was like at UMPI. They spoke highly of the pride they had wearing the blue and gold and spoke dearly of the close-knit UMPI community and how supportive everyone was of their quest to be a collegiate student-athlete.
Soon after arriving on campus, I found all of their past experiences they shared to be still holding true today. Before going into some of the great athletic accomplishments that were made this past year, I first wanted to thank all involved in UMPI for all of their support and hard work throughout the year. It may be cliché but a saying was never more true: “it truly takes a village,” and for athletics to be successful we couldn’t do it without all of the UMPI staff, faculty and, most of all, the student-athletes.
Throughout the year our athletic teams and the department met new heights and set higher standards for years to come. In our first year where all of our teams were able to compete in a NCAA recognized conference, we had two teams advance to the conference championship game, earning runners-up in the American Collegiate Athletic Association for both men’s basketball and softball. Softball also made its third consecutive national appearance at the USCAA National Tournament.
At our end of the year banquet, we had the privilege of awarding 50 student-athletes the scholar award for their hard work done in the classroom! We also had 15 student-athletes earn All-Conference honors for their exceptional play, including the following Owls taking the top conference honors in their respective categories:
Anthony Chacho–Men’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Year.
DeAndre Duncombe–Men’s Basketball Rookie of the Year.
Jordi Legassie–Softball Defensive Player of the Year.
Sara Packard–Softball Pitcher of the Year.
Sara Shaw–Softball Coach of the Year.
Melanee Terry–Softball Offensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year (Terry was also named 1st Team NCAA All-American by Fastpitch News).
Miranda Washinawatok–Women’s Volleyball Rookie of the Year.
Some seniors also met major milestones this year and received special recognitions including women’s softball pitcher Sara Packard who surpassed the 500 career strikeouts plateau early in the season, only to top that later in the season by surpassing 600 strikeouts and finishing her career with an outstanding 610 strikeouts. Men’s basketball players Kevin Collins and Maurice Harris each reached the 1,000th point milestone for their careers, with Collins finishing sixth all-time on the men’s basketball scoring list and receiving all-conference and all-state honors. Saul Nunez, who had solid years for both the men’s cross country team and the baseball team, received a special honor of being named USCAA Baseball Athlete of the Year.
Many of our athletic teams had impressive wins over the season, including men’s soccer win over Fisher College, men’s basketball defeating Connecticut College on the road for their second year in a row of defeating a NESCAC opponent, as well as softball defeating future North Atlantic Conference opponents Thomas, Husson and Lyndon State. Another exciting time for UMPI athletics was when the men’s and women’s Nordic ski teams hosted the Maine State Ski Championships at the Nordic Heritage Center, which brought the best skiers in the state to compete for the Chummy Broomhall Cup.
Athletics also saw new programs compete this year and saw other teams greatly improve on previous years. Men’s and women’s outdoor track and field had a very successful first year competing at the varsity level, with the men’s team finishing tied for fifth in the NAC Championships. Men’s golf was also reinstated and completed the 2017 fall season after not fielding a team in 2016. Women’s volleyball won 11 matches, more than doubling its win total from the previous year.
As well as new and improved programs, we also saw new faces added to the UMPI coaching staffs including former UMPI golf coach Joseph Zubrick for his second stint with the Owls, New England Basketball Hall of Famer Gavin Kane taking the helm for women’s basketball and long-time baseball coach Roger Stinson. All three coaches joined UMPI athletics just prior to the season starting and did a great job helping stabilize and advance their programs.
Looking to this academic year, everyone in athletics is very excited for our move into the North Atlantic Conference as a full member. With the move our Owls will compete against old conference rivals such as Husson, Thomas and UMF for the right to compete in the NCAA National Tournament. We are excited not only for reviving old in-state rivalries, but also with the move into the NAC, UMPI Owls have increased their home events for next season by 36 percent. With the additional home games, we look forward to seeing all of you at our home events next season! Go Owls!
