All-American – News

‘We had each other’s backs’: Memories from volleyball’s perfect season

Aaron Morse — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 17:50:56 +0000

Thirty years ago last Monday, Nov. 11, at halftime of what would be a lopsided loss for the �ֲ��ý football team, an announcement came over the Garcelon Field PA speakers: Over at Alumni Gym, the undefeated volleyball team was about to begin its championship match in the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament.

“We never really had many fans,” recalls Laurie Plante Graumann ’90, a senior middle hitter on the 1989 team. But as word spread on campus after the halftime announcement, people flocked to Alumni in a scene ripped from a Hollywood screenplay.

“The gym was packed with people cheering for us!” Plante Graumann says.

The �ֲ��ý fans that day saw history in the making. Led by fifth-year coach , the Bobcats were 35-0 and hosting St. John Fisher for the ECAC title, during an era when the regional championship was the furthest a NESCAC team could advance.

The Bobcats won the match 3-0 (15-11, 15-9, 15-9) and completed an unprecedented perfect season: 36-0.

On Nov. 11, 1989, co-captains Michele Feroah ’90 (right) and Cathy Meoni Ringling ’90 celebrate �ֲ��ý’ victory in the ECAC championship match, capping a 36-0 season. (�ֲ��ý Communications)

“I never guessed at the beginning of the year that this would happen,” Graef said to . “We had a tougher schedule this year and thought we might drop a match here and there, especially at the Ithaca and Eastern Connecticut tourneys. But this team is the best that I have ever coached.”

And 30 years later, that year’s squad of 10 women still holds the best win-loss record in �ֲ��ý athletics history.

Graef came to �ֲ��ý in 1985 and started building the �ֲ��ý volleyball program into what the Student called “a quiet dynasty in our midst.” Jumping from a .500 record the year before to a 28-7 mark in ’85, volleyball soon became the school’s winningest team.

Watch how fifth-year head coach Melissa DeRan and the current Bobcats are reconnecting with the alumni who established a tradition of success.

“She was the most positive, energetic coach I’ve ever had,” outside hitter Emily Gabler ’87 says of Graef. One of the most admired coaches in the college’s history, Graef died in November 2015.

“Marsha not only motivated us as a team, she also customized her coaching to each individual player. So she was immediately effective.”

In an era when walk-on players could often make a big impact, Gabler played a key role in making the Bobcats the class of New England by “recruiting” a powerhouse outside hitter, Rachel Clayton ’90.

Clayton arrived on campus in 1986. Initially, she was focused on playing softball for Bobcat head coach Sherry Deschaine. She did that very well, . Her only volleyball experience was in high school in the ninth grade.

Nicole Bolduc Schmidt ’90 records a dig during the 1989 ECAC tournament. (Scott Pim ’93)

Gabler, meanwhile, was still on campus as an assistant coach on Graef’s volleyball staff. After seeing what Clayton did athletically on the softball diamond, there was no doubt in Gabler’s mind that the 5-foot-11 Clayton could succeed on the volleyball court.

“Everything fell into place once Rachel joined the team.”

Gabler “taught me how to play volleyball,” Clayton says. “During the summer of ’87, we worked at one of the gyms in my hometown, and I learned how to play. It was very difficult.”

The hard work paid off. Over the course of her career as an outside hitter, the �ֲ��ý volleyball program won 111 matches while only losing eight.

“Everything fell into place once Rachel joined the team,” Plante Graumann recalls. “Opponents were very afraid when she was hitting the ball. She brought so much power to our game and could put the ball away anywhere on the court.”

With athleticism and power, Rachel Clayton ’90 became the college’s first volleyball All-American. (Scott Pim ’93)

“Laurie keeps complimenting me but I don’t remember being that good,” Clayton says. “I could pick up sports fairly easily, but volleyball has such a specific skill set. I had to really work at it.”

“Michele had ridiculous hands. Just a phenomenal player.”

During the undefeated season, Clayton became the first All-American in the volleyball program’s history, tallying 346 kills.

Clayton was the team’s All-American, but across the board, the ’89 team credits setter and co-captain Michele Feroah ’90 for making the Bobcats a well-oiled machine.

“Michele had ridiculous hands, she could get to balls that no one else could, and she could back set on her knees,” Clayton said. “Just a phenomenal player.”

Michele Feroah ’90 delivers one of her signature back sets to Laurie Plante Graumann ’90 (Scott Pim ’93)

“The ball could be coming hard at her and she could control it and set it so it would just hang in the air and you could just go get it,” Plante Graumann said. “She was a joy to play with.”

Feroah’s success as a setter — she ranked fifth in the country in assists per game — was such that after the season she was featured in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd.”

Student beat reporter Peter Carr ’91 had a court-side seat for every home match.

“Michele could set a ball from anywhere on the court,” Carr said. “No disrespect to Rachel, but she owes a lot of credit for her season to Michele. Michele made that team run.”

Michele Feroah ’90 was featured in the Jan. 22, 1990, edition of Sports Illustrated‘s “Faces in the Crowd.”

Carr worked diligently to get the word out about the volleyball team’s success via The �ֲ��ý Student and the �ֲ��ý sports information office.

But at first, the only people with him at the matches were paid to be there.

“I remember early in the season there was no one at the matches besides my roommates who called lines,” Carr said. “I became very close with the players, so when the rest of the campus started to get excited about the team and what they were doing, that was great and well-deserved.”

Julie Roche Simplicio ’91 spikes the ball while All-American Rachel Clayton ’90 (No. 16) looks on. (Scott Pim ’93)

As the 1989 season rolled along, �ֲ��ý racked up wins at tournaments throughout the Northeast.

The players embraced a trip to upstate New York in October, where �ֲ��ý was actually an underdog.

“What stands out for me is the Ithaca College tournament when we went up against Cortland State,” middle hitter Julie Roche Simplicio ’91 said. “They were a powerhouse in the New York system and we were this small liberal arts school in Maine.

“We traveled 10 hours in a van and, sure enough, we took the win. That was the pivotal point in the season.”

The win over No. 10 nationally ranked Cortland State propelled �ֲ��ý into the national rankings themselves. An undefeated season became a possibility.

Rosters, game programs, and statistics from the 1989 volleyball season.

1989 ECAC Championships program

1989 ECAC Championships bracket

1989 �ֲ��ý volleyball statistics

1989 �ֲ��ý volleyball roster

“I don’t remember any nerves at all,” Clayton said. “It never hit us during the season that going undefeated was a thing.”

The possibility then became reality, though for Clayton it seems like a dream.

“Sometimes I think to myself, ‘36-0? Did we really do that?’”

From 1988 to 1990, the �ֲ��ý volleyball team won 51 consecutive matches. But NESCAC rules prevented �ֲ��ý from competing in the NCAA Championships.

“We were all really disappointed that teams we beat were going to nationals and we couldn’t,” Plante Graumann says. “My dad talked to Marsha about that, and she said to him, ‘Mr. Plante, you sent your daughter to �ֲ��ý to get an education, and that is the No. 1 priority. And that is why we end after ECACs.’

“And he said: ‘All right, fair enough.’”

Marsha Graef, seen in 2006, amassed 416 wins in her 14 years as head volleyball coach. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College).

Washington University won the national title in 1989 with a record of 39-6. �ֲ��ý finished its undefeated campaign ranked 10th in the country. Only two women’s volleyball teams that have won an NCAA Division III championship have also recorded undefeated seasons.

In 1993, the NESCAC dropped its NCAA ban and �ֲ��ý promptly went 41-9, advancing to the regional semifinals.

“It would have been great to see how far we could have advanced with the talent we had in 1989,” Roche Simplicio says. “We had so many great players, and as we grew together as friends off the court, that translated onto the court. We had each other’s backs.”

Graef led the volleyball program for 14 seasons and the women’s basketball team for seven. Her players felt comfortable talking to her and, after the team’s 1989 ECAC win, Graef showed she knew how to have fun as well.

In 2009, members of the undefeated 1989 volleyball team and their coach, Marsha Graef (right), enjoyed a recognition ceremony in Alumni Gym during Homecoming Weekend. From left, Rachel Clayton ’90, Cathy Meoni Ringling ’90, Laurie Plante Graumann ’90, Julie Roche Simplicio ’91, Cindy Simonides Farina ’93, Allyson Reynolds Wachtel ’93, and Graef. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

“We had a keg,” Plante Graumann recalls. “And Coach did a keg stand! Seeing Coach do that was just crazy. But she was happy right along with us, she was as much a part of that season, if not more, than we were.”

In 1998, Graef moved from coaching to athletics administration as coordinator of physical education and club sports. Appropriately enough, her final season at the helm of the volleyball team netted yet another ECAC North championship. She retired in 2013, and died at age 61 after a three-year battle with pancreatic cancer.

Even while battling cancer, Graef still went above and beyond for her former players.

“I remember when I was inducted into the in 2015, she was in the middle of one of her chemo sessions,” Clayton says. “And she came up [to �ֲ��ý] from wherever she was and presented the award to me.

“She was an amazing woman.”

The 1989 team poses with their ECAC championship trophy, held by co-captains Michele Feroah ’90 (left) and Cathy Meoni Ringling ’90. From left, head coach Marsha Graef, Cindy Simonides Farina ’93, Jennifer White Campbell ’91, Laurie Plante Graumann ’90, Rachel Clayton ’90, Julie Roche Simplicio ’91, Andrea Corradini ’92, Allyson Reynolds Wachtel ’93, Nicole Bolduc Schmidt ’90.

Allison Hill ’17 hurdles heartbreak to earn All-America honors

Aaron Morse — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 12:00:56 +0000

Allison Hill has never felt faster. Hill, a �ֲ��ý senior and the top-ranked 60-meter hurdler in the nation, explodes from the blocks. It’s the first, and the most anticipated, event for a �ֲ��ý athlete at the 2017 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships. She clears the first two hurdles with ease. In the stands at suburban Chicago’s North Central College, Hill’s teammates scream, “Let’s go, Alley!”

In her 60-meter hurdle preliminary race at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 10, Allison Hill ’17 clears the second hurdle before finding trouble at the third. (Photograph by d3photography.com)

One year ago, Hill finished ninth, just one-hundredth of a second from eighth place and All-America honors. The eight hurdlers who finished ahead of her all graduated, so the unspoken truth of this season is simple: Allison Hill has a very good shot at winning �ֲ��ý’ first-ever national championship in the hurdles. Hurdling requires perfect timing and Hill is going fast — maybe faster than ever before. Now approaching the third hurdle, she starts her takeoff too close to the hurdle, and her trail leg doesn’t get up in time. Her knee knocks the hurdle over, she falls, and suddenly everything has changed. It’s 1:30 p.m. on Friday, March 10, 2017 — the first day of the two-day championship meet — and the story of Hill’s quest for an indoor national title is over before you can say, “It’s a tough day to be a Bobcat.” But for Hill and her teammates, another story soon begins. This year, the �ֲ��ý women’s track and field team matched a program record by sending six athletes to the NCAA Indoor Championships. Fellow senior captains Jessica Wilson and Claire Markonic, plus junior Sally Ceesay and sophomores Ayden Eickhoff and Sarah Rothmann, join Hill. All together, �ֲ��ý is represented by a contingent of 15 athletes and coaches who made the more than 1,000-mile trip from Lewiston to Naperville. The men’s team qualified five athletes, including All-American weight thrower Adedire Fakorede of Newark, N.J., a junior who is the college’s student body president.

Hill’s very human moment in the 60-meter hurdles leaves everyone a little stunned, Hill most of all.

Fakorede is an impressive athlete who can throw a 35-pound weight more than 61 feet. Even he is in awe of Hill, a graceful, powerful, and tall (5-foot-9) sprinter who, in the fall, was a tenacious All-New England defender for the women’s soccer team. “Allison is not human,” said Fakorede, who finished fourth in the nation this year in the weight throw. “Let me say that again: Allison Hill is not human.” But Hill’s very human moment in the 60-meter hurdles leaves everyone a little stunned, Hill most of all.

Falling in the 60-meter preliminary was “one of the most surreal feelings I’ve ever felt,” said Allison Hill ’17. (Josh Kuckens/�ֲ��ý College)

“It’s one of the most surreal feelings I’ve ever felt,” Hill said later. “People might say, ‘Oh, she cracked under pressure,’ but I was so ready, I was so excited. I don’t want to know what I actually would have run if I could have finished because that probably will make me sad.” Hill does not have any time to be sad now because her next race, the 200-meter dash, is coming up in just a couple hours. The 200-meter dash was almost an afterthought entering the weekend. Now, the race takes center stage for Hill. “Before the season, we did not plan to have Alley run the 200-meter dash,” head coach Jay Hartshorn said. “But one meet at Boston University we gave her a week off from hurdles, she ran the 200-meter dash, and she qualified for nationals.” Hill’s parents traveled halfway across the country from the family’s home in Brunswick, Maine, to watch her run. But she does not talk to them or anyone else during the short break between the 60-meter hurdles and the 200-meter dash. It is time for Hill to mentally get off the ground. “I let some emotions out. Then I put all my energy and anger into the next event,” Hill said. “Everyone said I looked so mean running. I think it helped me to have a chip on my shoulder.” It works: Two hours after the biggest disappointment of her collegiate career, Hill sets a personal flat track record in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.27 seconds. After missing All-America honors in 2016 by a hundredth of a second, she qualifies for Saturday’s finals by the same slim margin. Fakorede was preparing for the weight throw in the same nearby gym where Hill warmed up for the 200-meter dash. “She was in the zone,” Fakorede said.

Weight thrower Adedire Fakorede ’18 of Newark, N.J., who earned All-America honors at the NCAA meet, saw Hill warming up for the 200-meter dash following her disappointment in the hurdles. “She was in the zone.” (Photograph by d3photography.com)

He saw Hill as she harnessed her emotions and began to refocus. The result: “She was killing her warm-ups. She was so into what she was doing. I’m not surprised that she set a P.R.” Then Fakorede makes a prediction: “It’s just the beginning because tomorrow she’s definitely going to do something amazing. Because as I said earlier, Allison is not human.” A day that could not have started any worse for the �ֲ��ý women ends on a high note. Along with Hill’s performance in the 200, the distance medley relay team — which runs legs of 1,200, 400, 800, and 1,600 meters — finishes fourth in the final. It is the best DMR finish at nationals in �ֲ��ý history, good for All-America honors for team members Rothmann, Markonic, Eickhoff, and Wilson.

The All-America distance medley team of Sarah Rothmann ’19, Jessica Wilson ’17, Ayden Eickhoff ’19, and Claire Markonic ’17 pose with their fourth-place trophies at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships on March 10. (Photograph by d3photography.com)

It is now Saturday, day two of the meet. Eight runners are in the 200-meter final, and since the top eight will earn All-America honors, Hill only needs to avoid a false start to win the coveted award. A teammate jokes that Hill should just take a victory lap, do some cartwheels, maybe run backwards. After all, the hard part — qualifying for the finals — is over. Hill does not false-start. Nor does she do a victory lap. Instead, she breaks her own school record, again. This time she runs to the finish in 25.22 seconds, good for fifth in the nation. Hill is now the only Bobcat in program history to earn All-America honors in the 200-meter dash. Sally Ceesay, a native of the Bronx, N.Y., is among the Bobcats who are impressed, but not necessarily surprised, by Hill’s comeback. Ceesay finished seventh in the triple jump for her second career indoor All-America finish earlier in the day. “Alley is just a rock star,” said Ceesay, framing her admiration with a bit of slang: “She is my senior year goals.” Next year, she added, “I just want to get out there and go after it the way she does every single meet.”

Triple jumper Sally Ceesay ’18 of Bronx, N.Y., earned All-America honors at the meet. Hill, she says, “is just a rock star.” (Photograph by d3photography.com)

Everyone gets to watch Hill run in the finals except for Cumberland, Maine, native Jessica Wilson, who is preparing for her individual event, the 3,000-meter run. Like Hill, Wilson is a Mainer and senior captain, majoring in environmental studies. But the similarities end there. Standing 5-foot-6, Wilson is a middle-distance runner, a grinder who, in the fall, led the women’s cross country team to an NCAA championships appearance for the fourth time in program history. In the winter and spring, she is a track star in her own right, twice earning All-America honors with the DMR team. What really stands out about Wilson is that every time you speak to her about her sport, you come away feeling that you learned something. She is cool, calm and very analytical. Wilson makes it look easy in the 3,000-meter run, coming in fifth place, good for another All-America finish. But it was not easy, not easy at all. The previous day, Wilson anchored the DMR team’s All-America finish by running the final 1,600 meters. Tack on an additional 3,000 meters less than 24 hours later and her fifth-place finish becomes even more impressive. “I’m exhausted,” Wilson said. “It hurt, it really hurt. About halfway through you come to the realization how much it’s physically and mentally hurting you. But you just have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. It’s less than 10 minutes of running and you can do anything for 10 minutes.”

Jessica Wilson ’17 (No. 5) competes in the 3,000-meter run en route to a fifth-place finish. “It hurt, it really hurt,” she said. “But you just have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.” (Photograph by Lynda Kelley / d3photography.com)

Wilson learns after her race that Hill finished fifth in the 200 meters and her face lights up. Wilson’s voice goes up an octave in happiness: “That’s amazing, I’m going to cry! I didn’t know Alley got fifth, I am so proud of her!” Reflecting on what transpired the day before, Wilson says that “the whole team really felt for Alley, and we really wanted her to do well. She, out of anyone, deserves to be an All-American and she, out of anyone, deserves to be happy. She’s worked so hard for this.” Her teammates’ support is not lost on Hill. “The fact that my teammates were emotional that I was emotional after my race, it really meant a lot,” Hill said. “We care so much for each other because we see how hard we all work in practice, everything we put on the table and everything we do every day. I was cheering for Jess when I was cooling down in there, and to see both of us get fifth as captains and as Mainers is awesome.”

Allison Hill competes in the finals of the 200-meter dash, in which she posted a surprise fifth-place finish on March 11 at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. (Photograph by d3photography.com)

Hill’s sudden failure in the 60-meter hurdles could have been overwhelming for both her and the team. But it didn’t overwhelm either. In fact, it inspired them to do even better. “I think Alley’s ability to overcome helped motivate everyone to make the most of the meet,” said Hartshorn. The women finished the two-day event with 15 points and a tie for 11th place out of 70 scoring teams and 112 participating schools. Their seven All-Americans are the most in program history, and the team’s 11th-place finish is their best since 2006. The indoor season is now over, and the outdoor season quickly approaches. Last year, Hill finished seventh in the 100-meter hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Already an outdoor All-American in that event, she wants more for the final chapter of her college career. “Once I got my composure back after the 60-meter hurdles, I immediately thought: ‘Time for outdoors,’” Hill said. “The NCAA Championships actually conflict with graduation. But after what happened here, there is no way I’m not going to nationals. When it’s right there, you just want to take it.” For Hill and her teammates, another story soon begins.

Press Herald columnist spotlights All-American story 'that begins in sorrow'

Jay Burns — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 14:45:57 +0000

Portland Press Herald sports columnist Steve Solloway writes about �ֲ��ý’ three new track and field All-Americans: David Pless ’13, Ethan Waldman ’11 and Chris Murtagh ’11.

Pless is the new NCAA Division III indoor champion in the shot put. Waldman placed sixth at the national meet in that event. Murtagh was sixth in the 35-pound weight throw.

Solloway notes that “their story could end” with their athletic achievement, but the three throwers “have a back story that begins in sorrow.” That involves the late Joe Woodhead, the legendary �ֲ��ý throwing coach who died in October from a heart attack at age 76.

“He cared about the athlete,” said Pless. “If you respected him, you got the respect back. I could feel him [at the national meet in Columbus, Ohio]. When I stood in the circle, he was the wind beneath my feet.”

A Force to be Reckoned With

�ֲ��ý News — Fri, 01 May 2009 15:15:08 +0000

Senior Ben Stein ’09, seen here, and partner Amrit Rupasinghe ’10 defeated Bowdoin for the 2009 NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Doubles Championship at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

Rich McNeil '10

�ֲ��ý News — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:58:34 +0000

�ֲ��ý junior Rich McNeil (Lawrence, Mass.) won three throwing events last weekend at the Colby Invitational, helping the Bobcats claim first place out of four teams, including their first regular-season win over MIT in 14 years.

McNeil, a five-time All-NESCAC performer, one-time All-American and the 2007 NESCAC Most Outstanding Rookie Performer placed first in the hammer throw, the discus throw and the shot put (45-04.25). His tosses in the discus (145-02) and the hammer (174-10) were both season bests.

McNeil was named the NESCAC Field Performer of the Week, the New England Small College Athletic Conference announced on Monday.

Vantiel Elizabeth Duncan '10

�ֲ��ý News — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:23:33 +0000

Bobcat fans have come to expect great things from two-time All-American thrower Vantiel Elizabeth Duncan (Topsham, Maine), but her performance at Saturday’s Snowflake Classic at Tufts still stands out.

In the first outdoor meet of the year, Duncan threw the hammer in competition for the first time since last May, and took first place among collegiate competitors at the meet with a personal-best mark of 173-08, meeting the automatic qualifying mark for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships.

Duncan was also fourth in the discus throw (112-04) and third in the shot put (39-07.75), and was a big factor in the Bobcats placing third out of 16 teams at the meet. Her performance led to her being named NESCAC Women’s Field Performer of the Week.

A trip to an ER, then back to the pool

�ֲ��ý News — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:22:14 +0000

The Portland Press Herald chronicled the high drama surrounding senior diver Kelsey Lamdin’s final performance at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships, held at the University of Minnesota in March. During a warmup dive, she struck the board. Head and hands bleeding, she departed for a hospital, where she got stitched up (without anesthesia) and returned to compete. She finished 10th, securing All-America honors. “”I couldn’t imagine a more amazing sequence of events,” said �ֲ��ý head coach Peter Casares. “It was a phenomenal display of courage.”

�ֲ��ý plays host to the NCAA Skiing Championships, March 11-14

Jay Burns — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:36:44 +0000

Welcoming the best collegiate skiers in the nation, �ֲ��ý College plays host to the 2009 NCAA Skiing Championships March 11-14 at its two home venues: Sunday River in Bethel, Maine (alpine) and Black Mountain in Rumford, Maine (Nordic). [More…]

Here are guides to the alpine and Nordic events at Sunday River and Black Mountain, respectively:

How to watch the Alpine events at Sunday River.
How to watch the Nordic events at Black Mountain.