Student Athlete Awards Ceremony celebrates successful 2022–23 academic year

05/10/2023

The Community College of Rhode Island Athletics department celebrated an outstanding academic year both on and off the playing field at the 2022–23 Student Athlete Awards Ceremony on Tuesday at the Warwick Campus.

Team MVPs, All-Region XXI certificates, and scholarships were awarded to more than three dozen student athletes who exemplified what it means to be a CCRI Knight. This year, CCRI is currently ranked among the top 30 schools in the nation in the prestigious Daktronics Cup, which is awarded annually by the National Alliance of Two-Year College Athletic Administrators (NATYCAA) to the junior and community colleges in the United States with the most success in collegiate athletics.

The Knights have enjoyed unparalleled success in 2022–23, including:

• Three Region XXI championships (volleyball, men’s soccer, and women’s basketball)
• Two NJCAA Division III National Tournament appearances (men’s soccer and women’s basketball)
• Two All-Americans
• 21 All-Region XXI selections
• Three Region XXI Coach of the Year recipients

CCRI men’s soccer team finished 7-8-1 and earned the program’s first trip to the NJCAAs as the tournament’s No. 8 seed. Led by NJCAA Region XXI Coach of the Year Gabe Toro, the Knights finished strong, winning five of their final seven games, including a six-day run in the Region XXI Tournament in which they defeated No. 2 seed Bunker Hill on the road in the semifinals – avenging last year’s loss to the Bulldogs in the regional championship – and beating Holyoke in the title game at their home field in Lincoln. Sophomore center Roy Barrios (Pawtucket, RI) earned NJCAA Second Team All-American honors after scoring 24 points (nine goals, six assists) in 15 starts.

This past winter, the women’s basketball team continued its success under head coach Doug Haynes, who earned his first NJCAA Region XXI Coach of the Year Award and led the Knights to a 22-8 finish that included back-to-back Region XXI Championships and a second consecutive trip to the NJCAAs. As the No. 6 seed, the Knights beat 11th-seeded Onondaga in the opening round and advanced to the quarterfinals. Sophomore center Maggie Schwab (Narragansett, RI) averaged a double-double in 2022-23; led the nation in field-goal percentage, shooting at an exceptional 59.2 percent clip; and earned NJCAA Second Team All-American honors.

Led by NJCAA Region XXI Coach of the Year Patrick Chin and sophomore co-captain Madison Capwell (Coventry, RI), who finished No. 1 in the nation in service aces per set, CCRI’s volleyball team finished with an 11-1 record and won its second consecutive Region XXI championship to advance to the NJCAA Northeast District Tournament.

CCRI baseball is the last team standing in the spring; after a 24-15 regular season, the Knights clinched the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Region XXI Tournament and host No. 3 seed Massasoit on Thursday at 3:30 pm at Whitey Fell Field.

Team MVPs were awarded to the following student athletes:

• Volleyball: Capwell
• Men’s soccer: Matt Gibeau (Warwick, RI) and Cam’ron Aldana (Providence, RI)
• Women’s soccer: Catherine Beazley (Kingston, RI)
• Women’s basketball: Schwab
• Men’s basketball: Richard “RJ” Pina (Rumford, RI)
• Softball: Lucie Willett and Ashley Klingberg (Coventry, RI)
• Baseball: Sam Laurie (Narraganset, RI) and Josh Lincourt (North Kingstown, RI)

Scholarship winners were as follows:

• Izzy Siperstein Award (For excellence in the classroom and on the athletic field): Gibeau
• Charlie Wilkes Award (For academic success, citizenship, and active involvement in the intercollegiate athletic program): Pina
• Mary O’Neill Award (For excellence in the classroom and on the athletic field): Capwell
• Joseph Andre Jr. Award (For academic success, citizenship, and active involvement in the intercollegiate athletic program): Beazley
• Anne Cullen Award (For academic success, citizenship, and active involvement in the intercollegiate athletic program): Schwab and Barrios
• Ralph Catugno Award (Male and female student athlete with the highest GPA): Schwab and Gibeau

Athletics also honored student workers TJ McEnaney and Comfort Akinyemi for their work behind the scenes in addition to last year’s NJCAA Baseball All-Region XXI recipients and Gold Glove Award winners.

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