Sports Roundup
Men’s and Women’s Soccer
Seniors Geoffrey Cameron and Lukasz Tumicz, a native of Poland, participated in the 2008 Adidas MLS Player Combine, which took place Jan. 11-15 at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The Rhody standouts were two of just 54 Division I college seniors to be invited to the Combine, which was attended by the coaching and management staffs of all 14 major league soccer teams scouting for talent. Cameron also picked up the Atlantic 10’s inaugural Midfielder of the Year award and was named to the A-10 All-Championship squad. Both Rams earned First Team All-Conference and First Team All-Mid Atlantic Region honors.
Women’s soccer senior Deb Nelson and junior Dora Larusdottir, who is from Iceland, were named to the NSCAA/Adidas All-Northeast Region First Team while four student-athletes from the men’s team picked up All-Mid Atlantic Region accolades. Seniors Geoffrey Cameron and Lukasz Tumicz were named to the First Team while senior Callum Bissett, who is from Scotland, and junior Adam Howarth from England earned Second Team honors.
Men’s and Women’s Basketball
Women’s basketball senior Safi Mojidi, a Nigerian native, and men’s basketball senior Parfait Bitee, who is from the Republic of Cameroon, represented their respective nations at the 2007 FIBA African Championship. The championship teams earned a spot in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Mojidi helped the Nigerian team post victories over DR Congo (69-56) and Kenya (73-70) before the squad was defeated by Mozambique (69-61) in the quarterfinals. Bitee and the Cameroonian team took down Tunisia (75-70), Côte d’Ivoire (76-56), and Egypt (58-52), but fell to Angola (86-72) in the championship game.
Awards and Honors
For the second-consecutive season, football senior Damien Gresko was named to the 2007 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Second Team. Gresko was the only student-athlete from a CAA institution named to the Academic All-America squad. Senior Bryan Giannecchini also was recognized for his academic achievements, earning spots on the 2007 Division I Football Championship Subdivision Athletic Directors Association Academic All-Star Team and the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District I First Team. Additionally, the Rhody punter was selected to the New England Football Writers Championship Subdivision All-Star Team and was a CAA All-Conference First Team selection.
Basketball senior Will Daniels is in line for several prominent national awards. The 6 ft. 8 in. forward is one of just 33 players nationally to be named to the Naismith Award Preseason Watch list. The Naismith Award is presented annually to the top collegiate player of the year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. Daniels is also among 30 exceptional seniors who were named as official candidates for the 2007-08 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award presented annually to the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete of the Year. The winners will be announced during the men’s and women’s NCAA Final Four weekends.