Whats happening in sports this semester?
Mens hockey has a top-five national ranking and will appear on ESPNs ultra-high-broadband ESPN360 service this weekend against Boston College. The mens and womens basketball teams continue to draw crowds to Patrick. Mens and womens alpine skiers performed well in a recent pre-season competition, and will begin the regular season on Jan. 20 at Colby College looking to better last years runner-up finish at the NCAA championship. And, of course, other spring sports are waiting in the wings: Baseball, softball, lacrosse, track and field, swimming
How about the bigger picture?
UVM teams are strong and getting stronger. The varsity winning percentage rose by over 100 points from the previous season in 2004-05, improving from .358 in 2003-04 to .488 last year. Seven teams improved on their conference standings in 2004-05 and Vermont had five teams with at least a .500 record overall. The momentum continued through the fall, when the men's and women's soccer and field hockey teams all earned a berth to the America East Championships for their respective sports. This is the first time in the history of the athletic program that all three teams made the conference post-season tournament in the same year. The men's hockey team was the most improved team in the country with a +12 turnaround in the win column.
Are the academics holding up?
Yes. UVM won the America East Academic Cup for the 2004-05 season. Vermont student-athletes posted a 3.14 grade-point average, the highest GPA in the 10-year history of the award, breaking the mark of 3.12 set by the University of Maine in 2003-04. UVM, winners of the inaugural America East Academic Cup in 1995-96, is the third school to win the award twice. The Catamounts had finished second in the academic cup standings in each of the past three seasons. The momentum is continuing in the current 2005-6 season: Two student-athletes were named to the ESPN The Magazine academic all-America teams in mens and womens soccer this past fall. In general, students participating in varsity sports posted a 3.0 GPA or higher for the sixth straight semester and outperformed the general student body again. Thirty-four student-athletes from fall teams earned recognition in America East Commissioners Honor Roll by achieving a 3.50 GPA or higher.
What about athletic facilities?
UVM unveiled the Moulton Winder Field and the Vermont Strength & Conditioning Center located in Patrick Gymnasium during the fall semester.
Moulton Winder Field is a new state-of-the-art turf field that serves as the home field of the Vermont field hockey and men's and women's lacrosse teams and is named in honor of Reynolds E. "Rey" Moulton, Jr. and Betsy Winder of Manchester, Massachusetts, whose $1 million gift to Vermont athletics financed a major portion of the construction. Winder is the mother of UVM sophomore and field hockey team member Stirling Winder and was herself a standout in field hockey during her student years at Lehigh University. Funding for the $2.6 million project is being provided entirely through private donors to the university's ongoing comprehensive campaign. Future planned improvements to the Archie Post Athletic Complex include construction of a stadium for soccer with permanent seating for 4,000 spectators, a track-and-field complex, and space for concessions, picnicking and restrooms.
The new strength and conditioning center is located in Patrick Gymnasium. The Catamounts moved from a 1,200-square foot facility in Gutterson Fieldhouse to the new 11,000-square foot center, giving UVM one of the largest strength and conditioning centers in the Northeast. The state-of-the-art facility includes eight Olympic platforms, 19 working stations and features a 30-yard turf sprint track as well as ample room for core strengthening activities. The center is the primary workout facility for all 20 varsity sports.
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view, a new occasional feature, offers short briefings on institutional topics in question-and-answer format. Athletic Communications contributed the information for this report.
