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Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008
DIANA PEPIN JOINS PRO FASTPITCH LEAGUE AS HITTING COACH Eastern head coach fills summer coaching vacancy with NPF’s New England Riptide
Based in Lowell, Mass., the Riptide appointed Eastern Connecticut State University head softball coach Diana Pepin hitting coach two months into their three-month summer season after a coaching shakeup left the club in immediate need of an assistant coach. Pepin was recommended for the vacancy by former Eastern softball assistant coach Normand Pariseau, a first-year assistant coach at Quinnipiac University. Riptide head coach Germaine Fairchild, who serves as head coach at Quinnipiac during the collegiate season, then contacted New England general manager Joe Adlman, who phoned Pepin with the offer. The position is a part-time one and does not impact upon Pepin’s current status as Eastern’s head coach. “Norm recommended me. He said that I would really help with the hitting aspect, because I’ve worked with him so much and I’ve really brought Eastern along,” remembers Pepin, who was assisted by Pariseau for three seasons through the 2007 campaign. “Germaine said that she agreed and would love to have me work with the hitters.”
New England struggled offensively through the first half of the season, but managed to score a total of 14 runs in its recent four-game road series with Chicago. The Riptide were hitting .255 with four regular-season games remaining, with three hitters at .300 or better. “Some of the (Riptide) hitters have a plan and they know what they need to do, and you don’t have to tell them a lot,” said Pepin. “Some are really struggling and you have to work in the mental approach. When I showed them the (hitting) video, they really liked that and they continued to ask me questions about hitting and how they can get better, and what they need to do to perform.” The team entertains the defending playoff champion Washington Glory in its final regular-season series August 14-17, with the outcome to determine its post-season fate. The 2006 Cowles Cup champion, New England enters that final series tied with Akron for the fourth and final playoff spot in the six-team league. While 15 of the 17 players on the Riptide’s roster played for many of the Division I national powerhouse programs –Michigan, Arizona State and Northwestern among them -- Pepin said that her suggestions and teaching methods were well-received.when she arrived on the scene in July. “The majority of the players are very coachable and very receptive,” noted Pepin, who indicated that a six-day stretch of practice prior to the Illinois road trip was essential in helping her implement her theories. “They didn’t look at me as a Division III coach – they just looked at me as a hitting coach. Their reaction was that ‘she’s our coach, she’s going to work with us on hitting, and that’s what it is… and we’re happy to have her.’” “I felt very comfortable (with the Riptide) because of the season that we had (at Eastern),” added Pepin. “And I feel comfortable in what I’m teaching. The Warriors were among the most lethal offensive teams in Division III this past year, posting a team batting average of .344 and averaging nearly seven runs per game, smacking 29 home runs, and collecting nearly 600 total bases. They shared the Little East Conference regular-season championship and later knocked off the top seed in the NCAA regional tournament (Montclair State) en route to their winningest season in 14 years. Wednesday, June 18, 2008
EASTERN CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY 2007/08 ATHLETIC MAJOR AWARD-WINNERS VIEW BIOS OF THIS YEAR'S SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARD-WINNERS VIEW LISTING OF SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARD-WINNERS (1982-2008) Bonnie J. Edmondson Sr. Female SportsPerson-of-the-Year Stephanie Smith (Penacook, NH) Francis E. Geissler Sr. Male SportsPerson-of-the-Year Mykal Kuslis (Watertown)
Female Athlete-of-the-Year Ashley McFetridge (Canton) Male Athlete-of-the-Year Jay Barney (Mansfield)
Female Rookie-of-the-Year Karina Johnson (East Hartford) Male Rookie-of-the-Year Courtney Simmons (Middletown)
BONNIE J. EDMONDSON SENIOR FEMALE SPORTSPERSON-OF-THE-YEAR STEPHANIE SMITH Penacook, NH (Named in honor of the former Eastern track and field All-America and Eastern Hall of Famer and presented to a student-athlete who best demonstrates Dr. Edmondson’s qualities of teamwork, dedication, leadership, integrity and spirit.)
FRANCIS E. GEISSLER SENIOR MALE SPORTSPERSON-OF-THE-YEAR MYKAL KUSLIS Watertown (Named in honor of the former Eastern director of athletics and coach and presented to a student-athlete who best demonstrates Mr. Geissler’s qualities of teamwork, dedication, leadership, integrity and spirit.)
FEMALE ATHLETE-OF-THE-YEAR ASHLEY McFETRIDGE Jr. Canton Basketball
MALE ATHLETE-OF-THE-YEAR JAY BARNEY Sr. Mansfield Soccer
FEMALE ROOKIE-OF-THE-YEAR KARINA JOHNSON Fr. East Hartford Cross Country * Track & Field
competition, won the conference and alliance championships and earned All-New England recognition with a seventh-place finish in a field of 21 at the Division III Championships… at 800 meters indoors, also qualified for the New England Open and ECAC Division III meets, placing tenth in a field of 29 and 11th in a field of 14, respectively, in those competitions. At the Open, she broke the 800 meter record with a time of 2:16.00 in the preliminaries, and at that meet also helped the 4x400 meter relay to a program record time of 4:04.87… outdoors, repeated as the conference and alliance 800 meter champion and earned all-conference and all-alliance honors at 1500 meters… competed in the New England Division III and Open 800 meter events and in the ECAC Division III 400 meters… in cross country, finished first in her first collegiate race last September, finished second in the conference and fourth in the New England Alliance meets and was 13th in the very competitive New England championship…
MALE ROOKIE-OF-THE-YEAR COURTNEY SIMMONS Fr. Middletown Basketball
Spring, 2007-Spring 2008 Articles |
Pepin, who led the Warriors to a 28-14 record and a berth in the NCAA Division III tournament in her seventh season this past spring, joined New England more than halfway through its 40-game regular-season league schedule. Pepin joined the club July 19 in the final game of a four-game set with the visiting Akron Racers at Martin Softball Field in Lowell. Following a four-game series the next weekend against the visiting Chicago Bandits, Pepin recently accompanied the Riptide to Illinois for their final regular-season road trip – four games against the Rockford Thunder and four against the Bandits.
Physical Education major and four-year member of the indoor and outdoor track and field programs… second representative of the program to win the award in four years… two-year member of the student-trainer staff… two-year recipient of an Eastern/E-Club Outstanding Scholar-Athlete Award… nominated as a CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America… praised by head track and field coach Frank Poulin for his contributions both on the track (having competed in 13 different individual events and six relays in his career) and off the track… said Poulin: “Mykal is one of the most well-rounded individuals that I have ever met, and has been extremely dedicated to the program since his first day at Eastern. He is always looking for way to help the team. He has organized fundraising drives, hosted recruits, and offered his time to teammates as a tutor.” … five-time all-conference and all-alliance performer in the relays, hurdles and long jump… member of the 4x220 yard relay which garnered All-ECAC honors indoors with an eighth-place finish…
Led the Warriors to their first conference tournament championship in more than ten years and 11th NCAA tournament, earning conference Player-of-the-Year and conference tournament MVP laurels... became the program’s fifth conference Player-of-the-Year selection and repeated first-team all-conference honors and All-Defensive Team honors and was named to the WBCA All-Northeast Region team, which certified her as an honorable mention All-America… led the conference in blocked shots (46), field goal percentage (.530), and scoring (15.4), and was third in rebounding (8.5)… recorded nine double-double and reached double digits in scoring 24 times, totalling at least 20 points six times… in three conference tournament games, totaled 54 points, 25 rebounds and six blocked shots, was 19-for-38 from the floor (50.0 per cent) and 12-for-17 from the foul line (70.6)… was recognized with a weekly honor by the conference seven times… becomes the program’s sixth Female Athlete-of-the-Year (third different individual)… scored 19 points (9-for-14) in the NCAA tournament game to leave her with her highest scoring average during the season… 
Becomes either program’s first such honoree for this award… lettered in cross country, indoor, and outdoor track… nominated as Little East Conference outdoor track Rookie-of-the-Year (recipient not yet selected)…in track both indoors and outdoors, set program records at 800 meters and with the 4x400 meter relay and also broke the program record in the mile indoors… at 800 meters indoors, also qualified provisionally for national 
Becomes program’s first such honoree… despite being a first-year player, was the team’s starting point guard throughout the entire season, starting all 26 games, and eventually earning a spot on the conference’s All-Rookie Team… became the first ‘true’ freshman to start all of the team’s game in 21 years (since Alan Janes in 1986/87)… team finished 13-13, 6-8 in the Little East Conference this year… named conference Rookie-of-the-Week four times… second on the team by averaging over 30 minutes per game (30.2) and was one of the team’s three double-figure scorers (10.7)… led all players on the team in assists (105/4.0), a total which ranked him third in the conference… led or shared the team lead in assists 15 times… three times scored at least 20 points, including a season-high 24 in an LEC game vs. Southern Maine Jan. 12… handed out a season-high 12 assists against Green Mountain Jan. 17 and recorded a season-high six steals vs. Mitchell Dec. 10…
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