The Assumption Ice Hockey program amassed one of their best seasons in recent memory. The Hounds finished the season with a 15–10–2 record for their best win percentage (.592) in a season since the team went 19–8 back in 1993–94. Assumption earned the No. 3 seed in the NE10 Tournament and fell in the semifinals to St. Michael’s, losing 6–5 in overtime. The team boasted three of the top five scorers in the conference in Cam Laughlin ’18, Tommy Mahoney ’18, and Brian Farrell ’18, all three of whom earned NE10 Player of the Week honors at least once during the season. Laughlin was honored as the NE10 Player of the Year at the conclusion of the season, while Dante Tomassini ’19 was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year. Head Coach Lance Brady was also honored as the NE10 Coach of the Year while Mahoney earned Second-Team All-Conference honors and John Chamberlain ’21 was named to the All-Rookie Team.
The Assumption Women’s Track & Field team had many impressive showings in the 2017–18 season. Throughout the season many individuals were honored by the NE10 as Athlete or Rookie of the Week, and at each meet numerous school records seemed to fall. At the 2018 NE10 Indoor Track & Field Championship at Smith College February 17–18, the team attained its highest finish in program history, placing fourth out of 12 teams. Between those two days there were numerous medal winners and new school records set. Antonia Pagliuca ’18 earned two gold medals in the 5K and the 3K, and ran a new school record of 10:09.28 in the 3K. Courtney Fisher ’18 received silver in the 5K. Abby Jones ’19, meanwhile, was named the NE10 Co-Field Athlete of the Meet after winning the pentathlon with a school-record 3,597 points, while also earning top-four finishes in the high jump, long jump, and 4×400 relay.
The Assumption Men’s Track & Field team put up spectacular marks in the 2017–18 season. Many team members rewrote their own school records while breaking longstanding marks as well. Kevin Hack ’20 shattered his own school record in the high jump, clearing a height of 6’11”, an NCAA provisional mark, during the season while a pair of freshmen set new records in the 400 meters and 60-meter hurdles. Max Michaud ’20 broke one of the oldest school records, a 39-year-old mark in the 1,000-meter run, coming in at a time of 2:28.74. At the NE10 Championships, the team was picked seventh in the pre-championship poll, but used a number of impressive performances to take fifth, the best finish in program history. Cameron Donoghue ’21 took second in the heptathlon with a school-record point total of 4,614, while three more school records were set on the final day of competition.
On February 10, the Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams hosted the Third Annual Hounds4CRS fundraiser to raise money for and increase awareness of the humanitarian work of Catholic Relief Services (CRS). As part of the event, game admission fees were waived in lieu of a donation. Assumption, which is one of only 12 college campuses nationwide with the CRS Global Campus designation, has raised more than $10,000 for CRS in the last two years of the partnership.
In January, the men took down New York Institute of Technology at the Barclays Center in NYC, home of the Brooklyn Nets. Matthew Kelly ’21 was selected twice this season as the Worcester Area College Basketball Association Rookie of the Week and as the NE10 Rookie of the Week. Other prominent players for the Hounds were guard Branislav Vujadinovic ’20, leading the team with an average of 14.6 points per game, and forward Joe Sullivan ’20, who averaged 10.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.
The Women’s Swimming & Diving team completed yet another successful season filled with many wins and accolades, wrapping up the stellar 2017–18 season with a second-place finish at the NE10 Championships. Shannon Quirk ’19 and Colleen Kurtz ’20 each won individual gold medals at the NE10 Championships and were two of many podium finishers for the squad. During the season, Isabelle Roberts ’21 received NE10 Rookie of the Week honors. In addition, the team was recognized as one of five in the Northeast-10 Conference to earn the Scholar All-America designation for its performance with an impressive 3.38 GPA in the classroom during the Fall 2017 semester, making it the 21st consecutive semester the Hounds have been named to the list. In September, the women once again participated in the annual Swim Across America event in Narragansett, RI. The team raised $7,200, the second-highest mark in program history (Assumption raised the top amount last year with $7,660), benefiting the Oncology Research Center in Providence.
