The UNH outdoor track teams will be at Binghamton University on Saturday and Sunday for the America East championships. The Wildcats finished second last year in both the men’s and women’s competitions and were picked in the pre-season to finish second again. Albany is favored on the men’s side, Boston University on the women’s. . . . “Albany has people everywhere, quality people,” said UNH coach Jim Boulanger of the men’s competition. . . . The Wildcat men will be looking for a bunch of points from their throwers, led by Jeff Kaste, out of Timberlane Regional, Dover’s Reed Liset and Brice Paey, out of St. Thomas. . . . Former Coe-Brown standout Sarah Hall in the 200 meters and Pinkerton Academy’s Camille Quarles in the triple jump are among the leaders for the women.
Coach Sean McDonnell and the Wildcat football program will host a bone marrow testing drive at Holloway Commons on Monday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. . . . “It’s a great cause and a great opportunity,” said McDonnell in a UNH release. “It’s an easy way to give back.” . . . The test is simple and only requires donors to provide a sample of a cheek swab, with no needles required. Including registration time, the process takes less than 20 minutes for each individual. . . . UNH is a host of the campaign for the second year and joins more than two dozen other college football programs throughout the country in a quest to identify potential donors for the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry. Last year’s drive brought in over 350 potential donors from the Seacoast and UNH communities. . . . Thousands of patients suffering from leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening conditions are especially dependent on the Registry to the find a match. . . . More information may be obtained by contacting Bob Callahan in the UNH football office at (603) 862-5098 or rwc1@unh.edu.
The UNH football team has six spring football sessions remaining, starting tomorrow afternoon. The Wildcats practice Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Next week, they go on Tuesday and Thursday and then close out the spring with a Blue-White game on Saturday at 12:30. . . . “We’re probably right on track with other springs we’ve had,” said UNH coach Sean McDonnell today. “We’ve had some pretty good practices. The offense has caught up a little with the defense the last couple of prasctices. We’ve been doing some good things. It’s fun to see some young kids who we knew had potential start making some plays.”
Dino Vasso, who will be a junior in the fall, has spent the last couple of UNH spring football sessions working out at the free safety position. He has started at cornerback the last two seasons for the Wildcats. . . . “It’s the same thing we did last year with John Clements,” said defensive coordinator Sean McGowan. “We’re trying to put our best 11 guys on the field.” . . . Last year’s move worked out well. . . . Vasso led the Wildcats with 99 tackles last season and shared the team lead with five interceptions. Senior-to-be Ryan Hinds, the other starting cornerback, also had five picks. . . . Kyle Flemings, who will be a sophomore, and junior Anthony Gorrell are vying for the cornerback spot opposite Hinds and redshirt freshman Tyler Sargent is in the mix, too, McGowan said. . . . UNH has six spring sessions left, leading to the Blue-White game on May 9.
The UNH women’s lacrosse team will draw either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed for the America East tournament, which begins Thursday at Boston University. The Wildcats are 10-6 overall and 3-2 in the league and conclude the regular season with a game at Binghamton tomorrow. . . . The only game that has a bearing on where UNH finishes in the standings is UMBC at BU tomorrow. If UMBC wins, the Wildcats will finish fourth. If BU wins, the Wildcats will be third. . . . If they finish fourth, the Wildcats will play top-ranked BU on Thursday at 1 in a semifinal. If they finish third, they will play No. 2 Albany on Thursday at 3:30 in a semifinal. . . . UNH lost to both BU and Albany in overtime in the regular season. The championship game is at 1 on Saturday, also at BU.
Rony Tchatchoua, the 6-foot-6 power forward who announced this week that he is transferring out of the UNH basketball program, plans to play at Grand Canyon University, a Div. 2 school in Phoenix, Ariz., next fall. A native of Cameroon, Tchatchoua has connections with Russ Pennell, the new coach at Grand Canyon, and said he is leaving UNH for personal reasons. . . . A sophomore this past season, Tchatchoua averaged 4 points and 3.2 rebounds in 15.5 minutes game and showed flashes of great athleticism _ he had some monster dunks _ and promise. . . . In 17.7 minutes a game as a freshman, he scored 4.7 points and had 3.1 rebounds. . . . With his departure, playing time at the position opens up for Brian Benson, a 6-foot-9 freshman last season. Benson averaged 2.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in 12.7 minutes a game. . . . Radar Onguetou, who will be a junior, started 23 games at power forward and averaged 24.3 minutes a game last season.
Wide receiver Kevon Mason, who will be a junior in the fall, is making a case for playing time during UNH’s spring football sessions. Mason is 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds and made a few nice catches _ including a diving grab down the sideline _ in a scrimmage on Saturday. . . . “You saw that, that was a great catch by Kevon,” said quarterback R.J. Toman. . . . The Wildcats are looking for a few good wide receivers. Head coach Sean McDonnell also cited the way Chris Chandler, who has played little because of leg injuries, caught the ball. . . . Mason had four catches as a true freshman and caught six passes last season.
The women’s lacrosse teams from UNH and Vermont, both eyeing a spot in the America East tournament, play Saturday at 1 on Senior Day in Durham. The teams are currently tied for the fourth and final playoff spot with 2-2 records with a pair of games remaining. Boston University is in first at 4-0 and Albany and UMBC are tied for second at 3-2. . . . After Vermont, UNH closes out the regular season at Binghamton next Saturday. . . . Six UNH seniors _ including midfielder Ashley Durepo of Concord and defenseman Beth Stankus of Derry and Pinkerton Academy _ will be honored on Saturday. . . . The America East tournament begins April 30 with semifinals at the site of the No 1 seed. . . . UNH’s two league losses have both come in overtime, 16-15 to Albany and 9-8 to BU.
The UNH men’s hockey team finished No. 6 in the final USA Today/U.S. Hockey Magazine poll and No. 8 in the Inside College Hockey rankings released this week. . . . Boston University, which won its fifth national championship and first since 1995 last weekend, was No. 1 atop both polls. . . . Four Hockey East teams made the Top 15 in the USA Today rankings and six were in the INCH Top 20. Vermont, which advanced to its first Frozen Four since 1996 before losing to BU, was No. 3 in both rankings. Northeastern was at No. 11 in the USA Today poll and No. 13 in the INCH. UMass-Lowell was No. 18 and Boston College No. 20 in the INCH rankings.
Ball State, UNH’s Football Bowl Subdivision opponent in the fall, will go into camp in August with redshirt freshman Kelly Page as its starting quarterback. . . . The Cardinals wrapped up their spring football sessions on Saturday with a scrimmage. They did not report statistics from the contest. . . . “Kelly Page has earned the right to be our No. 1 quarterback heading into fall camp,” said coach Stan Parrish on the school’s web site. “He is continuing to improve, which was good to see this spring, but he still has a lot to learn. He has many strengths at the quarterback position, and he can give us a lot of things. Aaron Mershman got a lot of good reps this spring. That is invaluable for a kid who graduated high school in December and joined us in January. Tanner Justice is the glue at that position and is as important as anybody in that quarterback room.” . . . The Cardinals need to replace quarterback Nate Davis, who led Ball State to a 12-2 record while passing for 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions in the fall. Davis left early for the NFL draft. . . . UNH plays at Ball State on Sept. 12.
