State of UNH Athletics 2009-10

Dear Friends of UNH,

The 2009-10 academic year was again one of fabulous accomplishment. Many of our programs maintained a level of excellence that has now become an annual expecta-tion, while our student-athletes out-did themselves in the classroom. All the while we have worked hard to extend our resources to support the programs during these tough economic times. If UNH had a reputation for working hard prior to the re-cession, I assure you that those efforts have been doubled because of this challenge. Such efforts have been passed down to our student-athletes, who are also expected to embrace the challenge.

Our single greatest accomplishment this year was the announcement by the NCAA that our GSR (Graduate Success Rate) of 97% ranked second in the nation among all public institutions, trailing only the U.S. Naval Academy. While UNH annually is among the nation’s leaders academically, this accomplishment is quite extraordinary. To achieve such a standard takes a dedication of doing “all the right things.” From our Admissions Department to our academic deans; the faculty to the academic ad-visors; to our coaches and, lastly, the student-athletes—everyone deserves a hearty congratulations. UNH is as proud of this achievement as we would be a league cham-pionship or an NCAA bid.

Competitively, our programs have continued their successful trajectory of the last decade. We once again had a plethora of teams compete in NCAA postseason play, while a number of individuals competed in NCAA events, and UNH is again among the best Division I institutions in the Learfield NACDA Directors’ Cup. Within this report you will find team-by-team results and many interesting stories. Most of all, we are exceedingly proud to wear the blue and white with UNH emblazoned on our chests as we venture out nationally.

We thank you for your support and loyalty to our programs. On behalf of all of our staff, coaches, and student-athletes…thank you!

Sincerely,

Marty Scarano Athletics Director

ACADEMICSThe University of New Hampshire ranks highest in the America East Conference, the Colonial Athletic As-sociation and second nationally among all public institutions, for the Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of its student-athletes at 97 percent. Posting 100 percent GSRs for New Hampshire were men’s basketball, men’s ice hockey, men’s skiing, men’s soccer, women’s cross country and track & field, field hockey, women’s gym-nastics, women’s lacrosse, women’s skiing, women’s soccer, women’s swimming and women’s volleyball. Also performing well among its peers was football with a 95 percent mark.

Five teams were honored by the NCAA for multiyear Academic Progress Rates (APRs) in the top 10 percent of all teams in their respective sports. UNH had the second most teams honored in the America East Con-ference: men’s soccer, men’s and women’s outdoor track & field, women’s indoor track & field and women’s gymnastics.

New Hampshire surpassed the league record for highest GPA (3.16) and finished second in the America East Academic Cup for the 2009-10 academic year. UNH, which also finished second in the 2007-08 Academic Cup, had the highest number of representatives on the 2009 America East Fall Academic Honor Roll with 86 representatives. The women’s cross country team tied for the highest number of women on the honor roll at 23.

The men’s soccer team tied for the highest number of males on the honor roll at 16. New Hampshire’s men’s soccer team won the ‘09 America East regular-season title and also recorded the highest GPA in that sport with a mark of 3.15. UNH’s other sport winners were women’s indoor track and field (3.36) and women’s out-door track and field (3.41).

Two senior women received prestigious University Awards. Alpine ski co-captain Veronique Archambault-Leger received the Dean Williamson Award for outstanding accomplishments in athletics, academics and service to the community. In addition, she was also one of just 15 student-athletes to be named to the 2010 ESPN The Magazine All-America Women’s At-Large (University Division) Second Team. Laura LaPlante from women’s track received the UNH Award of Excellence for her leadership, scholarship and citizenship.

A total of five UNH student-athletes received College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-American honors for their superb efforts in the classroom. Senior kicker Tom Manning of the football team was named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team. Manning, a Business Ad-ministration/Marketing major, posted a grade point average of 3.45 through the spring semester.

Archambault-Leger of the ski team was one of 15 student-athletes named to the 2010 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Women’s At-Large (University Division) Second Team. Archambault-Leger was eli-gible for this national accolade after being selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District First Team, Women’s At-Large Division in May.

For the women’s outdoor track & field team, juniors Kaitlyn Dugan and Megan Donohue were both named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country Team. Dugan, a chemistry major with a near-perfect 3.98 GPA, was selected to the All-District First Team. Donohue, a double major in secondary math education and Spanish with a 3.93 GPA, garnered Second Team honors.

For the men’s soccer team, junior back Joe Corsello was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-American First Team for District 1. Corsello is an environmental engineering major with a cumulative GPA of 3.76 at UNH.

Men’s soccer continued to pile on the achievements this year, as Colin O’Donnell, a junior on the squad, was named the men’s soccer recipient of the America East Scholar-Athlete award.

The America East Scholar-Athlete award is given annually to one student-athlete in each of the six fall cham-pionship sports who demonstrates excellence both on the field and in the classroom. To be considered for the honor, each recipient must be a starter or a prominent reserve and carry a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.20. O’Donnell, an occupational therapy major with a 3.36 grade point average, was named to the NSCAA Scholar All-East Region First Team in January.

A total of 247 student-athletes out of 525 UNH student-athletes were named to the America East Winter/Spring Academic Honor Roll. Furthermore, 139 of those Wildcats received distinction on the Commissioner’s Honor Roll.

STUDENT-ATHLETE DEVELOPMENT The office of Student Athlete Development exists to assist UNH student-athletes in learning and perfecting skills necessary to be successful in the classroom, on the playing field, in the University and seacoast commu-nity, and in life-long endeavors.

Activities and Events: • Collective team involvement plus individual team activity exceeds 4000 community service hours.• Chameleon Connection: student-athletes serve as Big Brothers/ Big Sisters in a mentoring program with the Newmarket, N.H. Community Center. • Read Across America: groups of student-athletes visit local elementary and middle schools to read and fa-cilitate discussion on the importance of education and staying in school. • Holiday Food and Toy Drives: cases of food delivered to the UNH food pantry and boxes of toys delivered to Toys for Tots. • Career Planning Night: for juniors and seniors to meet former alumni and business people. The evening was a series of workshops, discussion and networking. • Alternative Spring Break: student-athletes traveled to New Orleans and West Virginia to assist in commu-nity rebuilding. • Hosts for a Seventh grade field trip: student-athletes conducted tours, discussions, games and contests for 90 youngsters visiting the Field House and the Whittemore Center.

FALL HIGHLIGHTSThe field hockey team finished with the highest win total (12) since 2002. UNH boasted the America East Offensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, as Meg Shea took home the honors for the Wildcats. In total, six Wildcats received conference honors. Three of those student-athletes went on to garner regional All-America ac-colades and one was further feted as an All-America Third Team selection.

The UNH football team finished ranked No. 7 in the nation with a 10-3 overall record, advancing to the NCAA FCS quarterfinals for the fifth time in six straight NCAA appearances. In addition, UNH defeated its fifth consecutive FBS opponent in Ball State, and won its second consecutive CAA North Division title. Senior tight end Scott Sicko was named to the 2009 AFCA Football Championship Subdivision Coaches’ All-America Team, as well as the New England Football Writers’ Football Championship Subdivision All-Star Team, while also taking home first-team All-CAA and All-New England honors. In total, eight Wildcats garnered CAA All-Conference honors, including four student-athletes that were also named to the All-New England First Team. In addition, UNH had 13 student-athletes earn CAA Academic All-Conference honors for their outstanding efforts in the classroom.

Men’s soccer student-athlete Colin O’Donnell was named to the All-Conference First Team and was selected as the conference’s Goalkeeper of the Year. Including O’Donnell, seven student-athletes earned America East All-Con-ference honors, while Rob Thompson and his assistant Ewan Seabrook were selected as the Coaching Staff of the Year.

Women’s soccer garnered a handful of end-of-the-year conference awards, highlighted by senior Shaunna Kaplan, sophomore Kelly Mooney and freshman Monique Lamotte being named to the All-Conference Second Team. La-motte was also honored with an All-Rookie Team selection

Volleyball’s Sara Heldman was named the America East Co-Defensive Specialist of the Year and was one of three All-Conference selections. The volleyball team went to the America East semifinals, where senior Kate Uitti was named to the America East All-Championship team.

The men’s cross country team raced to a second-place finish at the America East Championships, while also placing the highest among all America East schools at New England Championships, taking fourth place out of 47 squads. The women’s side had similar success, earning fourth place at the America East Championships and fifth place at the 49-team New England Championships, finishing ahead of all America East participants.

WINTER HIGHLIGHTSThe women’s ice hockey team advanced to the NCAA tournament for the fifth consecutive season. Two ‘Cats were honored as All-Americans, one of whom was also the Hockey East co-Player of the Year and a Top 3 Fi-nalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award (most outstanding women’s college hockey player). UNH alum Kacey Bellamy (’09) won a silver medal as a member of the U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey Olympic Team.

The men’s and women’s ski team, buoyed by two All-America efforts, placed ninth at the NCAA champion-ships for the second consecutive year. Nine UNH skiers competed at the NCAAs, which marked the highest number of representatives since 2003. Four of those nine student-athletes received All-East accolades.

A trio of men’s basketball athletes earned awards at the annual America East banquet. Junior Alvin Abreu was named to the All-Conference Second Team, while freshman Ferg Myrick garnered All-Rookie Team honors.

Senior Ashlee Lathrop of the women’s indoor track and field team won her second consecutive America East indoor title in the hammer throw, while senior Brice Paey on the men’s side garnered his second straight America East indoor shot put title.

Amy Simpson and Candace Williams of the women’s basketball team both surpassed the career 1,000-point mark, capping off a pair of remarkable careers at UNH. Simpson became the program’s all-time leader in 3-point field goals made with 193 and also tied the single-season assists record with 155. As for Williams, she earned America East All-Conference Second Team honors for the second year in a row while becoming just the eighth Wildcat all-time to tally at least 1,000 points and 600 rebounds in program history.

The UNH women’s swimming and diving team took first place in eight of 18 events, earning third place at the America East Swimming and Diving Championships. New Hampshire’s eight first-place finishes were the most by any America East team at the championships. The Wildcats broke eight school and seven conference records on the weekend, while also qualifying for NCAA provisional time standards in six swims. Amy Per-rault captured three individual titles on the weekend, earning the Women’s Most Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet award. UNH also earned America East Coaching Staff of the Year for the 10th time in Josh Willman’s 17-year tenure as New Hampshire’s head coach. Including Perrault, a total of eight student-athletes earned America East All-Conference Team honors.

Men’s hockey captured a convincing 6-2 win over Cornell University at the NCAA East Regionals in Albany, N.Y., and advanced to the regional finals for the second straight season. Senior Bobby Butler put together one of the finest seasons in program history, as he became just the second player in program history to be a Hobey Baker “Hat Trick” finalist. Butler collected his fair share of hardware on the season, earning the 2010 Hockey East Player of the Year award, 2010 Walter Brown Award, Leonard Fowle Award (NE MVP), Herb Gallagher (NE Best Forward), Hockey East All-Star First Team honors, Hockey East Scoring Champion and Hockey East Three Stars Award. Perhaps Butler’s most prized accolade was being named a Hockey Humanitarian Nominee, as he was among a group of just 18 players in all of college hockey in the running for the award that honors college hockey’s finest citizen, someone who gives back to his or her community.

The women’s gymnastics team completed the regular season with a 12-3 record and earned a bid to the NCAA Regional Championships for the 28th time during the 31-year UNH career of head coach Gail Good-speed. The Wildcats went into the NCAAs ranked No. 35 and placed fourth at the NCAA University Park Regional, finishing the season ranked 30th in the country. The Wildcats also were the host of the eight-team EAGL Championship. In total, eight student-athletes were honored on the EAGL All-Tournament team and five were named to the All-EAGL squad for their overall efforts throughout the season.

SPRING HIGHLIGHTS The women’s lacrosse team extended its America East conference record of consecutive tournament appear-ances to 13 under the leadership of first-year head coach Michael Daly. The team’s 4-0 start was the best by UNH since 1989 and the team finished in double-digit victories (10) for the sixth time in seven years. A total of nine Wildcats were named to an America East All-Conference team.

Senior Ashlee Lathrop of the women’s outdoor track and field squad became the first Wildcat since 2008 to advance to the NCAA Championships with an 11th-place finish in the hammer throw at the Northeast Re-gional. Classmate Rita Ciambra captured all three major outdoor pole vault titles at ECACs, New Englands and at the America East Championships, where she set the conference championship record. Ciambra now owns both the indoor and outdoor America East Championships pole vault records. Most recently, she placed 15th in the country at NCAAs. On the men’s side, senior Brice Paey and junior Michael Simon each captured their third straight America East outdoor titles in the shot put and javelin, respectively.

FINANCIAL CHALLENGESMoving forward, the Athletic Department must not only continue to operate as efficiently as possible, but in order to maintain its current level of success, it must also generate external revenues. While the Department has not yet been able to consistently generate this additional external revenue and significantly struggles to minimize its debt, one area that is expected to provide additional budget relief in the future is athletics devel-opment.

The new athletics annual fund, The Wildcat Fund, was launched on July 1, 2010, and it is anticipated that this will result in a significant increase in the number of alumni and friends supporting our teams and the total amount of current-use dollars. The Wildcat Fund is a unified annual fundraising strategy, which will enable our loyal supporters to make a gift to the area of their choice including any of the Friends groups (an impor-tant source of operational funding), athletics scholarships, or the athletic director’s priorities. All gifts make a difference and enable our student-athletes to honor our rich traditions, pursue excellence, and bring pride and honor to UNH. In addition to annual gifts, we must increase the number of endowed athletic scholar-ships funds that provide a critical source of income in perpetuity to help support the more than 330 student-athletes who receive some form of scholarship aid. Donor support is critical now more than ever and this year we have started to recognize our loyal supporters and their generous “gifts at work” in the Cat Tracker publication, with a distribution including all UNH athletic alumni and those who have made a gift to Athletics at any level.

Overall, an increase in fundraised dollars is an essential component of establishing a sustainable financial model and without the loyalty of our dedicated supporters the success of our student-athletes, both ath-letically and academically, would not be possible. In this past fiscal year, special projects such as the men’s hockey locker room renovation and the new scoreboard at Memorial Field, the home of the field hockey and women’s lacrosse teams, were only made possible by the generous financial support of donors. To learn more about how you can help support UNH Athletics at any level (annual giving, endowed funds, capital project or planned giving) or to make a gift online today please go to our new Athletics Development website: http://www.foundation.unh.edu/athletics-development.

LEARFIELD SPORTS NACDA DIRECTORS’ CUP STANDINGS The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics announced that the University of New Hamp-shire ranks 72nd out of more than 370 Division I schools in the Learfield Sports NACDA Directors’ Cup final standings. UNH’s 260.50 points are the most in program history, the best in America East and place the ‘Cats in the top five among Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) teams.

New Hampshire ranked behind only Villanova and three Ivy League schools (Princeton, Cornell and Harvard) in the FCS subdivision. In New England, the Wildcats finished fourth among all Division I programs behind only Boston College, Connecticut and Harvard. In addition, UNH stacks up well against schools it competes with, as well as others, in its geographical area. The Wildcats ranked second in the Colonial Athletic Associa-tion and third in Hockey East.

The Wildcats amassed 260.50 points, including the 200.50 points they tallied during the winter season. The ski team, which stands ninth overall, provided 63 points, while the men’s hockey team chipped in 60 points with its fifth-place finish; gymnastics added 52.5 points, while women’s hockey supplied 25 points by virtue of an eighth-place finish. In the fall, UNH earned 60 points for its sixth-place finish in football.

2009-10 COACH OF THE YEAR AWARDS • Rob Thompson and Ewan Seabrook – America East Coaching Staff of the Year (men’s soccer) • Dick Umile - Hockey East Co-Coach of the Year and Finalist for the Spencer Penrose National Coach of the Year award (men’s ice hockey)• Josh Willman, Jarrod Zwirko, Tory McKenna and Nicole Benson – America East Coaching Staff of the Year (women’s swimming and diving) • Ed Datti - East Atlantic Gymnastic League Assistant Coach of the Year

JIM URQUHART STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARDBobby Butler (Marlboro, Mass.) and Veronique Archambault-Leger (Verdun, Quebec) were named the 2010 recipients of the Jim Urquhart Student-Athlete of the Year by the University of New Hampshire athletic department. The award is named in memory of longtime UNH coach Jim Urquhart, who coached the New Hampshire men’s lacrosse team for 17 years and the wrestling team for 11 seasons before taking the position of Associate Athletic Director of Event Management in 1997. He passed away after suffering a heart attack on Jan. 14, 1998.

STATE OF ATHLETICS - APPENDICESMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

The men’s cross country team produced another solid season, as they were runner-ups at the America East Championships. At the New England Championships, the team was the highest America East finisher, plac-ing fourth out of 47 squads. They also finished third at the 24-team IC4As and 12th at the 36-team NCAA Northeast Regional.

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRYThe women’s cross country team finished fourth at the America East Championships and fifth at the 49-team New England Championships, finishing ahead of all America East participants. The team, which had 10 of its members earn perfect 4.0 GPAs during the season, was also sixth at the 20-team ECAC Championships and 11th at the 35-team NCAA Northeast Regional. FIELD HOCKEY The UNH field hockey team advanced to the America East Championship tournament for the third consecu-tive year and finished the 2009 season with a 12-7 overall record to mark the highest win total by the Wildcats since the 2002 squad also recorded 12 victories. The 2009 team broke the program record for points in a sea-son (170) by tallying the second-highest totals in both goals (60) and assists (50).

Senior forward Meg Shea was honored as the America East Offensive Player of the Year to mark the second consecutive year a Wildcat was feted with that award. Shea, who was also named to the All-Conference First Team, went on to receive All-America Third Team, Northeast Region First Team and ECAC All-Star Second Team accolades. Shea ranked sixth in the nation in both goals per game and points per game, and she led the conference in both of those statistics. She had a school-record point-scoring streak of 18 games and both her goal and point totals rank #2 on UNH’s list of single-season superlatives.

Cally Cooke, Emma Erler, Claire Grogan and Katherine Nagengast were named to the NFHCA Division I All-Academic Squad; Cooke received this distinction all four years. Cooke and Nagengast were also selected to the America East Field Hockey All-Academic Team, and they were two of nine ‘Cats on the America East Academic Honor Roll. A total of five players were named to an All-Conference team with two selections to both the First and Second teams and another on the All-Rookie Team.

FOOTBALLThe UNH football team received an NCAA FCS playoff berth for the sixth consecutive year and advanced to the quarterfinals for the fifth time in that span. The Wildcats finished the 2009 season ranked No. 7 in the na-tion with a 10-3 overall record that included an unbeaten mark of 6-0 at Cowell Stadium.

Eight players were named to a CAA All-Conference team with two First Team selections, five Second Team honorees and one named to the Third Team. Of those ‘Cats, four were named to the All-New England First Team and one – tight end Scott Sicko – received All-America First Team accolades.

New Hampshire extended its winning streak versus FBS teams to five games with a 23-16 victory at Ball State. UNH also won the battle of the Wildcats against eventual national champion Villanova in front of 14,811 fans on Homecoming Weekend.

Tom Manning, who was named a CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American, broke the school records for longest field goal made (54 yards at Hofstra) and most consecutive field goals made (10; spanning five games).

MEN’S SOCCERThe UNH men’s soccer team wrapped up the season with a 6-0-1 mark in conference play, finishing the America East regular season with an unbeaten streak of seven games, while finishing the conference schedule undefeated. The Wildcats rounded out the year with their first regular-season crown since 1994 and their first outright title ever. It is the first time since 1997 that a team completed the conference schedule without a loss. It is also the Wildcats’ best conference record since also compiling a 6-0-1 mark in 1994. For the third consecutive year, the Wildcats received the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Team Academic Award and were additionally honored for the fourth straight year as a recipient of 2009-10 NCAA Public Rec-ognition Award for their efforts in the classroom.

WOMEN’S SOCCERThe women’s soccer team earned its ninth straight berth into the America East Championship, a streak that is currently the longest in the conference. The squad was honored with a trio of America East All-Conference Second Team members, as well as an All-Rookie Team honoree. Women’s soccer also received the NSCAA Team Academic Award for the third consecutive season after accumulating a team GPA of 3.20.

VOLLEYBALLThe UNH volleyball team won five of the final six regular-season matches to roll into the America East Cham-pionship as the second seed for the second time in the last three seasons, but was ousted by eventual cham-pion Binghamton in the semifinal round. Led by America East Defensive Specialist of the Year Sara Heldman, New Hampshire had a quartet of America East All-Conference honorees. Lindsay Fogarty was the team’s lone First Team selection, while Heldman and senior Kirsten Bates earned Second Team accolades. The Wildcats also went a perfect 3-0 en route to the title at the Providence Tournament. Kate Uitti was the tournament’s MVP and paced the ‘Cats to a perfect nine consecutive sets won over the weekend. The volleyball program had mirrored success in the classroom, placing nearly 80 percent of its athletes on the America East Academic Honor Roll, with five players earning the league’s top honor of America East Commissioner’s Honor Roll (3.5 GPA or higher).

MEN’S BASKETBALLThe men’s basketball team put together another successful season after advancing to the conference semifi-nals for the second straight year. The squad has now appeared in three semifinal games in the last five years after appearing in just four during the previous 26 seasons. With its 13 wins on the season, men’s basketball has now also won 10-plus games four times in a five-year span for the first time in 36 seasons and has posted nine-plus wins in seven straight seasons for the first time in 83 years. The team posted the best home record and best non-conference record in 15 years, while also reaching attendance figures that have not been seen at Lundholm Gymnasium in that same span.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALLThe UNH women’s basketball team finished the 2009-10 season with a pair of wins over Atlantic-10 opponents for the first time since the 1989-90 campaign. The Wildcats earned a trip to the America East tournament as the No. 9 seed, defeating eighth-seeded University of Maine, 65-50, and advancing to the quarterfinals for the third year in a row. The Wildcats made their mark as one of conference’s best defensive teams, breaking the program’s single-season block record with 146 swats, while holding opponents to the fourth-best field goal percentage in the America East with a shooting clip of .380.

GYMNASTICSThe UNH gymnastics team capped an outstanding 2010 season with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Uni-versity Park Regional led by top-10 efforts by Katie Caliendo in the vault (tie, seventh place) and Chelsea Steinberg in the balance beam (tie, 10th); Steinberg took fourth place in the all-around. It marked the 28th time in 29 years that New Hampshire competed at an NCAA regional. The Wildcats also placed fourth at the EAGL conference championships following a 12-3 record during the season, which included a first-place fin-ish at the UNH Invitational by defeating Ball State, Utah State and Yale.

Five ‘Cats received a total of 10 All-EAGL team awards and that included four First Team selections. A total of eight Wildcats were named to an EAGL All-Tournament team while associate head coach Ed Datti was named Assistant Coach of the Year and senior associate director of athletics for compliance Carrie Doyle was selected as Administrator of the Year.

The gymnasts also excelled in the classroom. A total of 15 Wildcats were named to the EAGL All-Academic Team, with seniors Kelsey Alwin, Helena Diodati, Diane Grey and Keeley Smith receiving that distinction for the fourth consecutive year.

MEN’S ICE HOCKEYWith a convincing 6-2 win over Cornell, the men’s ice hockey team advanced to the regional final for the sec-ond straight season and were the only team in college hockey to play all four Frozen Four teams. The Wildcats captured their eighth Hockey East regular season title and third in the last four years. New Hampshire did so in convincing fashion, leading in the Hockey East standings for the final 16 weeks of the regular season. UNH continued its unbelievable streak of nine straight NCAA appearances, which is second in the nation behind only Michigan. UNH finished unbeaten at home in Hockey East play for the first time since 1999-00. The Wildcats were 9-0-4 at the Whitt against HE foes this season and were 7-0-5 in 1999-00. New Hampshire finished the 2000’s as the winningest program in Hockey East play and its .651 winning percentage ranked fifth nationally over the last 10 years.

Senior forward Bobby Butler had one of the finest seasons by a Wildcat in recent memory. Butler became just the second player in program history to be named a Hobey Baker “Hat Trick” finalist, as Darren Haydar was part of the first-ever “Hat Trick” in 2002. Butler collected his fair share of hardware on the year, as he garnered the 2010 Hockey East Player of the Year award, 2010 Walter Brown Award winner, Leonard Fowle Award (NE MVP), Herb Gallagher Award (NE Best Forward), Hockey East All-Star First Team honors, Hockey East Scor-ing Champion and Hockey East Three Stars Award. In addition, he was also named a Hockey Humanitarian Nominee for his efforts off the ice in the greater Durham community.

Butler was one of three All-Americans on the Wildcats as Brian Foster and Blake Kessel were also tabbed RBK/AHCA All-Americans. In addition, Butler, Foster and Kessel were Hockey East All-Star First Team hon-orees and New England All-Stars.

WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY The UNH women’s ice hockey team, which was ranked in the top five of the national polls 20 of 23 weeks, advanced to the NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey Championship tournament for the fifth consecutive year and ended the season with a 19-9-5 overall record. The Wildcats led the nation in power play percentage (27.5%) and ranked fifth in penalty kill (90.1%).

Senior forward and captain Kelly Paton was a 2010 Patty Kazmaier Memoral Award Top 3 Finalist (most outstanding women’s college hockey player) and was also named to the RBK/AHCA All-America First Team. Paton’s other accolades included New England Player of the Year and Hockey East co-Player of the Year. A Wildcat has been bestowed the league Player of the Year award five times in eight years. Paton ranked sixth in the nation in points per game as well as fourth in assists per game; she led the team in points, goals and plus/minus.

Junior defenseman Courtney Birchard was selected to the RBK/AHCA All-America Second Team. She and senior forward Micaela Long joined Paton on both the All-New England Team and Hockey East All-Star First Team. Kristina Lavoie received the Hockey East Rookie of the Year award; she is the fourth UNH recipient of that honor. Lavoie’s 11-game goal-scoring streak was the longest by a ‘Cat since Karyn Bye in the 1991 sea-son.

The UNH Wildcats once again had a global impact in 2009-10 as Kacey Bellamy (‘09) won a silver medal as a member of the U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey Olympic Team.

MEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELDThe men’s indoor track and field team finished third at the New England Championships, one week after plac-ing fourth at the America East Championships.

WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELDThe women’s indoor track and field team placed third at the America East Championships, fourth at the New England Championships and eighth at the ECAC Championships. Their finish at ECACs was the highest in the history of the program, as well as the only top-10 finish. Most recently, Rosie Read finished eighth overall in the women’s hammer throw at the 2010 USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships held in Des Moines, Iowa. MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SKIING The UNH men’s and women’s ski team finished ninth at the NCAA Skiing Championships for the second consecutive year. Veronique Archambault-Leger raced to her fifth career All-America finish with an eighth place showing in the women’s slalom at the NCAAs. It was the second All-America accolade for the Wildcats in 2010, as Dylan McGuffin finished in 10th place in the men’s 10K classic race. A total of nine UNH skiers competed at the NCAAs, marking the highest number of UNH representatives since 2003 (10).

Archambault-Leger and McGuffin were two of four ‘Cats to receive All-East honors. Paul Atkinson and Ai-leen Farrell, both alpine skiers, were also feted.

A total of 12 skiers were named to the 2010 EISA All-Academic Intercollegiate Ski Team. Archambault-Leger was honored for the fourth consecutive year, while fellow seniors Willie Ford and Michael Lessard received this distinction for the third time in as many years.

WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVINGThe UNH women’s swimming and diving team took first place in eight of 18 events, earning third place at the America East Swimming and Diving Championships. The Wildcats’ eight first-place finishes were the most by any America East team at the championships. On the weekend the ‘Cats broke eight school and seven conference records, while also qualifying for NCAA provisional time standards in six swims. A total of eight student-athletes were selected to the America East All-Conference Team, leading the Wildcats to an 8-1 mark in the regular season, kicking off the year with four straight victories.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE The UNH women’s lacrosse team, under the direction of first year head coach Michael Daly, extended its league record for consecutive appearances in the America East Championship tournament to 13. In addition, the Wildcats ended the year with 10 wins to mark the sixth time in seven years they recorded double digits in victories.

UNH compiled 100 assists on the season, a total only exceeded by the 1993 squad (113). The ‘Cats opened the season at 4-0, marking the program’s best start since the 1989 campaign, when the team also recorded four consecutive wins at the start of the year. In his first game at the helm, Daly led New Hampshire to a 10-4 win against Holy Cross. He then led the Wildcats to the team’s first win against intrastate rival Dartmouth since 1991.

A total of nine Wildcats were named to an America East All-Conference team, and that included three First Team selections – Allie Duclos, Shaunna Kaplan and Kate Keagins. Kaplan tallied 187 career points (108 goals, 79 assists); on UNH’s career leaderboards, she ranks third in assists and sixth in points.

MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELDThe men’s outdoor track and field team finished third at the America East Championships, which were hosted by UNH, before placing fourth at the New England Championships one week later. Seniors Brice Paey and Paul DeTurk dominated the throwing events for the Wildcats, winning five titles in nine meets in the shot put and hammer throw, respectively. Paey won his third straight conference title and submitted runner-up performances at New England’s and IC4A’s, while DeTurk captured his first America East title and was second at New England’s.

WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELDThe women’s outdoor track and field team placed second at the New England Championships just one week-end after a third-place finish at the America East Championships, which were hosted by UNH. Senior Ashlee Lathrop began the season by winning a pair of events in three straight meets. Overall, Lathrop won five ham-mer throw titles in her eight meets, including the second straight America East Championship of her career. Lathrop was 11th at the NCAA Northeast Regional as she became the first Wildcat since 2008 to advance to the NCAA Championships. Meanwhile, Rita Ciambra, the lastest Wildcat to compete in the NCAA Champi-onships, won six pole vault titles in the eight meets, including at the America East, New England and ECAC Championships. Ciambra set a pair of school records and also re-wrote the conference championship mark. Most recently, she placed 15th in the country at NCAA’s in Eugene, Oregon.

Jim Urquhart Student-Athlete of the Year Award

Bobby ButlerBobby Butler of the men’s ice hockey team was UNH’s first Hobey Baker “Hat Trick” finalist since Darren Haydar in 2001 and collected his fair share of hardware as he was the 2010 Hockey East Player of the Year, 2010 Walter Brown Award winner, All-America First Team selection, Hockey East All-Star First Team, Hockey East Scoring Champion and Hockey East Three Stars Award winner. Butler enjoyed not only his best season as a Wildcat, but also arguably the greatest season by any Wildcat forward in recent history. Butler ranked first in the nation in goals with 29 and tied for second in points with 53. He also finished second in goals per game (0.74), fifth in points per game (1.36 ppg), 10th in short-handed goals (2) and 19th in game winners (4). The co-captain, as voted by his teammates, was even better among Hockey East’s elite, where he ranked first overall in goals, third in points, seventh in power-play goals, second in shorthanded goals and third in game-winning tallies. In conference play, Butler finished first in points (41), goals (21), and sixth in assists (20). He became the first player in Hockey East to register 20 goals and 20 assists in league

play since Krog. Butler was one of just six male position players selected to represent the East Squad at the 2010 NCAA Frozen Four Skills Challenge. Perhaps Butler’s most prized accolade is being named a Hockey Humanitarian Nominee. Butler was among a group of 18 players in all of college hockey in the running for the award that honors college hockey’s finest citizen, someone who gives back to his or her community. Butler was nominated for his work with a local middle school as well as several other meaningful projects in and around the Durham community. Butler also did not just skate by in the classroom, graduating with a degree in Health Management and Policy with a 3.12 grade point average. He is a two-time Hockey East All-Academic Team member. Butler’s stellar season is a fitting cap to his sparkling career. Butler became just the 67th player in program history to register 100 career points, doing so in extremely balanced fashion with 61 goals and 60 assists for 121 points. Butler’s 121 points is tied with Chris Winnes for 49th on the all-time scoring list at New Hampshire. Butler recently inked a two-year free-agent contract with the Ottawa Senators.

Veronique Archambault-LegerVeronique Archambault-Leger of the women’s ski team truly epitomized the word student-ath-lete by excelling both in the classroom and on the ski slopes all four years as a UNH Wildcat. In her career, Archambault-Leger was a five-time All-American, four-time NCAA All-Academic Ski Team honoree and four time All-East selection who recorded 31 top-five finishes, including nine victories, in the Eastern carnival circuit. In addition, she was also one of just 15 student-ath-letes to be named to the 2010 ESPN The Magazine All-America Women’s At-Large (University Division) Second Team. Archambault-Leger was eligible for this national accolade after being selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District First Team, Women’s At-Large Divi-sion in May. Last year, she was also an Academic All-District First Team honoree and went on to garner Academic All-America Third Team recognition. She served as captain in both her junior and senior seasons. Archambault-Leger’s other career accolades included 2007 EISA Rookie of the Year, EISA slalom points champion in both ‘07 and ‘08 as well as giant slalom points champion

in ‘07. She finished with seven top-10 finishes during the 2010 EISA season, including first place in the slalom and third place in the giant slalom at the Eastern championships, and was UNH’s top skier in five races. Archambault-Leger was particularly strong in the slalom, in which she raced to third place at both the Dartmouth and Vermont carnivals and did not finish lower than seventh at any carnival. She then raced to eighth place in the slalom at the NCAA championships to garner All-America accolades in her final race as a collegian. And she accomplished all that despite incurring three injuries during the year – a sprained thumb in the pre-season, a dislocated shoulder in the second week of the carnival season – she competed the following week and raced to third place in the slalom and ninth in the giant slalom – and a broken hand one week prior to the Eastern Championships. Archambault-Leger graduates with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. She has a 3.92 cumulative grade-point-average, which is the highest in her class within her major, and that includes three semesters with a perfect 4.0 and no semester lower than a 3.81. Archambault-Leger was the recipient of four academic excellence awards in chemical engineering and also received a UNH Presidential Scholarship.