Andover rower aids US championship
Victoria Brophey of Pepperell was a member of the US JuniorWomen's National Development Team that won a gold medal in the recentUS Rowing National Championships in Indianapolis. Brophey, who entersher junior year at Phillips Academy in Andover next month, rowed onthe Girls' Junior B (16 and under) eights. At Andover, Brophey, 16,rowed on the varsity eight, which won the Lowell Invitational meet onthe Merrimack. Andover finished the season at 22-2 and won a silvermedal at the New England Interscholastic Racing Association Regattaon Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester. Following the season, Brophey wasone of 21 rowers nation wide invited to the four-week US Rowingtraining program at the US Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn.That program culminated in the US National Championships.
Devils open season Oct. 7 vs. Albany
The Lowell Devils open their 2006-07 season Oct. 7 against theAlbany River Rats at Tsongas Arena. The Devils, formerly the LockMonsters, are the American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL NewJersey Devils. The schedule features 80 games, 40 of which will beplayed at Tsongas. Thirty-one of the 40 home games will be played ona Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. The bulk of the games, 58 in all, areagainst teams in the Atlantic Division, and the remaining 22 areagainst East Division clubs. Manchester, Providence, and Worcestervisit Tsongas five times each. Following the opener Oct. 7, theDevils are off a week before hosting a weekend set against HartfordOct. 14 and Worcester Oct. 15. Before the AHL opener, the Devils willhost the NHL Boston Bruins in a pre season game Sept. 17.
7 from area feature in NU's grid plans
Here's a sure sign that summer is dwindling down: The NortheasternUniversity football media guide arrived in the mailbag last week.Seven NorthWest area athletes are on the roster. They include 6-foot-7, 345-pound senior offensive tackle Tim Avery of Westford, seniordefensive end Paul Preston (6-3, 265) of Arlington, juniorlinebacker John Swenson (6-1, 210) of Chelmsford, junior safetyBarry Jeanson (5-10, 200) of Acton, sophomore defensive end Wil Colon (6-2, 275) of Lowell, sophomore offensive lineman Josh Belko (6-2, 290) of North Andover, and redshirt freshman defensive endChris Byrne (6-2, 255) of Tewksbury. Avery is the Huskies' biggestplayer and hopes to rebound after a foot injury and subsequentsurgery that limited his action to four games last season. Jeansonwas moved from running back to safety last season and did a crediblejob with 27 tackles, 22 of them unassisted, one forced fumble, andone interception.
Northeastern has one of the toughest schedules in the Atlantic-10. It opens its season Sept. 2 at Virginia Tech and then plays atHoly Cross, at North Dakota State, at James Madison, and at Richmond,before making its home debut Oct. 7 against Delaware.
Here and there
NorthWest area junior golfers were head and shoulders above thecompetition in recent New England PGA tournaments. On the Junior Tourstop at Andover Country Club, Garnett Arnold of Concord fired a 2-over-par 74 to win by two strokes over Peter Hemme of North Reading,Michael Kasper of North Andover, and Wyatt Sparks of Rhode Island.On the NEPGA Titleist Tour at Billerica CC, area juniors swept everydivision. Winners in the 9-hole competition included Rick Giovino ofMedford (1-over par 35) in the boys 16-17; Steven McLean (36) ofBurlington in the boys 14-15; Dan Murphy (36) of Dracut in the boys12-13; Jeffrey Lang (34) of Lexington in the boys 11 and under;Kelly Sullivan (41) of Bedford in the girls 14-17; and MarissaTansino (52) of Billerica in the girls 13. . . .
Central Catholic has lost its top boys basketball assistant coach.Leaving after four years is Roberto German , who has accepted aposition as director of multicultural affairs and community outreachat St. John's Prep. German had been a top candidate to replaceretired coach Dick Licare , but the position went to Rick Nault . . .. The Bay State Brats went 9-3 to finish fifth in the recent NationalSoftball Association World Series in Columbus, Ohio. Among members ofthe team were pitchers Hannah Everson of Methuen and Chelsea Dursoof Salem, N.H., and fielders Casey Stoodley and Brenna Morrissey .Morrissey was the Brats top batter, with 15 hits in 33 at bats. . . .
The eighth annual David L. DeBenedetto Memorial SoftballTournament in Lawrence is Aug. 26-27. Deadline for entering thedouble-elimination tournament is Aug. 21. Call Bob DeBenedetto at 978-975-3494 for more details. . . . Steve Plouffe of Methuen was thewinner of the Yankee Homecoming 5K in Newburyport. Plouffe, whoenters his senior year at the University of Massachusetts at Lowellnext month, was clocked in 16 minutes, 12 seconds. . . . NewHampshire beat Vermont, 24-7, in the 53d annual Shrine Maple SugarBowl played in Plymouth, N.H. Salem's Pat Halligan rushed for 58yards on eight carries. Pinkerton Academy's John Sughrue , who rushedfor 1,458 his senior season and is headed to Curry College, wasutilized as a blocking back on offense and as a linebacker ondefense. He was credited with four tackles and with opening up somehuge holes for Souhegan running back Sean Jellison , who rushed for agame-high 128 yards. The win gave New Hampshire a 38-13-2 edge in theseries. . . .
The fifth annual Winchester Recreation and Community EducationGolf Tournament will be staged Sept. 25 at Hillview CC in NorthReading. It's a scramble format, and proceeds benefit the Recreationand Community Education program, which annually awards more than$5,000 in scholarships. Call 781-721-7125 for more information.
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