August 2008

 

Women’s Basketball Coach Nicholas DiOrio Appointed and Nominated for three WBCA Committees


Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach Nicholas DiOrio, a member of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) since 2006, has been appointed the WBCA State Farms Coaches’ All American Committee as well as the Russell Athletics/WBCA National Coach of the Year Committee. His responsibilities will be to represent the Junior College Region 1, which is comprised of all the New England States. Coach DiOrio replaces former CCRI Lady Knights’ Head Coach Marcus Reilly. Coach DiOrio was elected to the Assistant Coaches Committee by his colleagues at the Junior College level.

Coach DiOrio said regarding his new positions “I look forward to representing the Community College of Rhode Island on these WBCA Committees. I take these positions very seriously and want to thank the WBCA for giving me the opportunity to represent our school.”

 

Joe Pavone selected as Director of Athletics at CCRI

Joe Pavone of Cranston has officially been named Director of Athletics and Physical Education Department Chair at the Community College of Rhode Island. Pavone has served in multiple capacities in the athletic department since 1981 including Interim Director of Athletics since July 2007.

After an extensive search Pavone was selected from three finalists. A member of the CCRI Director of Athletics Search Committee said they chose Pavone because “…Joe was clearly the best candidate his presentation and vision for the program was head and shoulders above the other candidates.”

Under the guidance of Pavone in the 2007-08 academic year the Knights and Lady Knights athletics teams posted an impressive 142-80-3 aggregate record. The year was filled with many highlights, including wins at six Region XXI Championships and participation in seven District Championships. Individually, CCRI’s student-athletes achieved 40 All-Region XXI selections, seven All-District selections, 10 NJCAA/Coaches Association All-Americans and one All-Tournament Team selection. Six teams participated in national tournaments, including: cross country, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, indoor track, track and field and women’s basketball. In addition, more than 30 student-athletes transferred to four-year colleges and universities, with three of them receiving full-scholarships to play intercollegiate athletics at the Division I and II levels.

A Providence native, Pavone is a 1970 graduate of Mt. Pleasant High School where he played baseball. He earned an associate degree in general studies in 1972 from CCRI, at that time called Rhode Island Junior College. Later at Rhode Island College he earned dual certification with B.S. degrees in health and physical education. Three years later, also at RIC, he completed a Master’s in Health Education. Pavone has continued post-graduate course work in administration and education.

At CCRI, Pavone has moved up the ranks in the athletic department holding positions in every facet during his 27 year career. Most recently he held the position of Associate Athletic Director, responsible for the day-to-day functions of both physical education and athletics on the Lincoln and Warwick campuses.

As tennis coach from 2000-2003, he led teams to win three New England Championships and attend four national tournaments, ranking as high as ninth nationally in Division III junior college competition. Pavone stated “I would like to thank the CCRI Administration, Staff and Students for supporting me in the leadership of this prestigious and nationally recognized athletic program.”

Pavone has a daughter, Stephanie, a teacher in the Cranston school system; a son, Joe III; and granddaughter Allyson.

 

CCRI Lady Knights Women’s Basketball Coaching Staff Complete

The Community College of Rhode Island Women’s Basketball Coaching Staff is now complete.
Head Coach Kevin Monagle has made the transfer from Assistant Men’s Coach for his first season with the Lady Knights. Coach Monagle comes into the Head Coaching position with 15 years of coaching experience at the NJCAA, post-graduate and high school level. Coach Monagle spent the last two seasons as the Assistant Coach for the CCRI Knights men’s basketball team under Rick Harris, helping the Knights win two Region XXI Championships, one Northeast District Championship which led them to an appearance at the NJCAA Division II National Championship. Prior to his tenure at CCRI Monagle spent two seasons as Assistant Coach at Naval Academy Preparatory School (NAPS) in Newport, RI and six seasons as the Varsity Boys Basketball Coach at East Providence High School. Under his leadership, East Providence had two 18+ win seasons, went to the State quarter-finals twice, semi-finals once and lost in the finals in 2003. He was RIBCA Division 1AA Coach of the Year in 2001. In addition to his duties as teacher and coach, Coach Monagle is a Commander in the United States Naval Reserves. Coach Monagle was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Villanova University and a Masters in Education from Old Dominion University. Coach Monagle lives in Rumford, R.I with his wife Marthe-Anne and their four children. He is a Mathematics teacher at East Providence High School.

Staying on the Lady Knights’ staff is Assistant Coach Nick DiOrio who has been with the Lady Knights for the last two seasons. DiOrio will continue to service a variety of vital roles for the women’s basketball program and the athletic department. DiOrio came to CCRI after four years as a student assistant to the men’s basketball program at Western New England College. He was involved in recruiting, scouting, and skill workouts in addition to other duties. DiOrio graduated from Western New England College in May of 2006 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and a concentration in Sports Management. He also serves as an assistant to the Sports Information Director at CCRI. Nick resides in Cranston, RI. Coach Monagle commented, “Nick has been and will continue to be an essential part of the success of CCRI Women’s Basketball. He has a great knowledge of local players, a great rapport with coaches and a great mind for the game.”
Kathryn Lynch, a recent graduate of Southern Connecticut State University has also joined the staff as Assistant Coach. Lynch completed a highly successful playing career as Captain of Southern Connecticut where she was awarded as two-time Division II First Team All- American, Northeast Regional Player of the Year, Northeast 10 Conference Player of the year and also the 2007 NCAA Division II Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player where she lead her team to the National Championship, playing along side former Lady Knights hoop star Babette Noah. Lynch graduates from Southern Connecticut as the all-time leading scorer and hold single season records for points scored, free-throw percentage and most points in a season. Lynch graduated from LaSalle Academy in Providence, and played for Coach Sean Reddy. During here time at LaSalle she helped her team win three consecutive State Championships. “Kate comes to us with an outstanding resume as a player. She provides a great example of the quality of player that is being produced from the state of Rhode Island. Our players here at CCRI will absolutely benefit from her knowledge and her abilities. She is already establishing herself as an outstanding basketball instructor. We are lucky to have her on board,” commented Coach Monagle.
The final member of the Lady Knights staff is Sue Pacheco. Sue is an instructor at CCRI and a member of the Sports Medicine Program. Coach Sue will continue as an Assistant Coach, primarily responsible for Strength and Conditioning in addition to her duties as Athletic Trainer. Coach Sue is a graduate of Plymouth State University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Athletic Training and is currently working on her Masters in Exercise Science and Health Promotion with a concentration in Performance Enhancement and Injury Prevention. Monagle added “Sue is an unbelievable asset to our program. She is extremely knowledgeable and is well respected by coaches and student-athletes. She is the perfect piece to complete the staff.”

 

 

Baseball meeting set for 2008-2009

The first meeting for the 2008-2009 season will take place Wednesday September 3, 2008 at the baseball field on the Knight Campus at 3:00 pm.

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#10 ranked Lady Knights Soccer Team names Torres and Barbosa Co-Captains

CCRI Women’s Soccer Head Coach Dennis Grassini and Associate Coach Kathy Bannan name 2008 team captains: Amy Torres (Warwick, RI) and Taylor Barbosa (Fall River, MA).

Torres, is a sophomore midfielder and Barbosa, also a sophomore, is a defender. “As coaches we are very pleased to have Amy and Taylor as this year’s team captains. They bring a wealth of experience and their leadership capabilities are outstanding,” said Head Coach Dennis Grassini. “With twelve freshmen on this year’s squad the captains will play a huge role in assisting the coaches and leading their peers both on and off the field.”

Torres is a CCRI Presidential Scholarship Award recipient and was also named to the 2007 All-New England Region XXI Team. Both Barbosa and Torres played big parts in leading last year’s team (15-2) to a top ten national ranking in both the 2007 NJCAA and the NSCAA final regular season polls! This year the Lady Knights are ranked 10th in the NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Association of America) Pre-Season Division I Women’s Soccer poll.

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Lady Knights Volleyball Team Ranked #23 in Pre-Season Poll!

The CCRI Lady Knights Volleyball team is ranked #23 in the NJCAA Division II Pre-Season Poll. The Lady Knights are coming off another record breaking year where they finished 27-18. The Lady Knights have won four straight Region XXI titles and will look to win their first District title this year but to do so they will have to take down the defending District Champions and #16 ranked Genesee CC who finished last year with a 34-14 record. They will begin their season Thursday August 28th when they will host Anna Maria College JV at 7:00pm at the CCRI Flanagan Campus in Lincoln. To view the full poll click on the link below:

http://www.njcaa.org/sports.cfm?sid=33&divid=2&gender=w&slid=17&menu=2

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Men's Soccer announces tryouts

The Men's Soccer team will have tryouts on Thursday, August 7th & Friday August 8th and Monday, August 11th thru Friday August 15th.  Contact coach Gaspar at vgaspar@ccri.edu