During the earlier years of the athletic program on the then SMTI campus, cross-country and track coach Bob Dowd was building a competitive program from scratch. With some success during the late 1960’s, Dowd says the turning point for the cross-country program came with the arrival of Glen Nieuwenhuis in 1969. “He was one of the greatest contributors to building our cross country and track programs," said Dowd. " He was a quality runner, a true team player and a leader throughout his outstanding career.” In four years of competition for SMTI and later SMU, Nieuwenhuis was a three-year captain in both cross country and track and was the first four-year letter winner in cross country. He held the home cross country record for several years and helped establish the Corsairs as one of the top cross country and track programs in New England following his 1973 graduation.

 

Matt Quinn – SMU ’87

When Matt Quinn arrived on the SMU campus in the mid 1980’s there was no football program. One year after his 1987 graduation, the club football team he and a core group of students had helped form was elevated to varsity football status. Quinn is being inducted into the Corsair Hall Fame in the Founder category because he is representative of a group of athletes who were part of the earliest efforts to build a football program on the campus. As a junior in 1986, Matt Quinn played quarterback and free safety for the SMU club team, which posted a 6-2 record to share the NEFC title with defending national champion Providence College. As a senior the following year, Quinn co-captained SMU to a second NEFC championship and an appearance in the national tournament against St. John Fisher. Quinn finished the season as the top ranked passer in the conference and was twice named NEFC Player of the Week.

 

When the current UMass Dartmouth diving coach gives advice to her athletes, she is speaking with plenty of experience. Long before she was a coach, Danielle Petrone-Morley was one of the most accomplished collegiate divers of her era.  A three-time NCAA Division III Diving Championship qualifier, she twice was named the New England Div. 2-3 Diving Championship Diver of the Meet. She captured three Little East Conference championships and held the LEC one-meter diving record until last year. She held both team and UMass Dartmouth pool records in both the one- and three-meter diving events and currently holds the team record in one-meter diving with 251.45 points. Following an outstanding athletic career, she has already distinguished herself as a coach, earning Coach of the Year honors at the 2010 New England Div. 2-3 Diving Championships.

 
Robin (Dziedzic) Drew- UMD “07

 
One of two 2012 inductees elected in her first year of eligibility, Robin (Dziedzic) Drew was an award-winning field hockey player who was a true example of the NCAA Division III model of student-athlete. She was a dominant athlete on the field and an outstanding student in the classroom. Her accomplishments in her senior season of 2006 were legendary. She was the 2006-07 UMass Dartmouth recipient of the ECAC Robbins Female Scholar Athlete of the Year Award; in the same season she became only the second Corsair to achieve NCAA Division III All-America honors in field hockey.  Her accomplishments for the Fall 2006 also include a Chancellor’s List designation and serving as team captain, LEC Player of the Year, LEC First Team All-Star, and first team honors from the All New England West Team selected by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association, as well as Second Team ECAC Div. III honors.

 

During the four years she played women’s lacrosse at UMass Dartmouth Katelyn (Elliott) Griffin was one of the top Division III players in New England.  When she played her last game in 2007, Elliott left her mark on the Corsair record book, owning every offensive record in the young program’s history while often the top target for the opposition. She made an impression early in her career, earing Women’s Lacrosse Div. III All-America honors following her freshman season in 2004 while also earning Little East Conference Rookie of the Year honors. She was the LEC Offensive Player of the Year as a senior, breaking the single season scoring record held by Corsair Hall of Famer Emily Valorz by a total of 52 points. She also earned ECAC All-New England honors that season.  She finished with 219 goals and 56 assists for 275 points and was selected for induction into the Corsair Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility.

UMD 2000-01 Men’s Basketball

 The UMass Dartmouth men's basketball team returned to the national stage of NCAA Division III basketball during the 2000-2001 season as Coach Brian Baptiste's team led the nation in victories following a 25-3 season.  Ranked as high as #2 in some national polls during the season, the Corsairs finished with a Little East Conference regular season and tournament championship.  In the post season, the Corsairs added an impressive second round NCAA Tournament victory and a berth in the Sweet 16.  The Corsairs were the top-ranked team in New England after defeating Salem State, 86-64, in an NCAA tournament game before Carthage College eliminated UMass Dartmouth from the tournament. Baptiste was named the LEC Coach of the Year and the NABC Chevrolet Northeast District Coach of the Year as UMass Dartmouth captured its 10^th LEC championship with a thrilling 99-89 overtime victory over Keene State. Corsair sophomore forward Brian Cagle was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player and senior co captain Marques Houtman joined him on the All-Tournament team. A First Team All-LEC and ECAC New England Division III selection, Houtman led the Corsairs in scoring (18.8 pts/game), connecting on 42% from the floor and from three-point range (63-151).  Senior center and co-captain Nick Cecilio (Centerville, MA), also a First Team All-LEC selection, averaged 16.6 points (9^th in LEC) and a team-high 9.6 rebounds per game. A Third Team All-ECAC choice, Cecilio was the leading rebounder in the LEC and finished fourth in field goal percentage by shooting 53.4% (171 of 320).  Cagle was the Corsairs' third player in double figures with 14.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.