Nashawtuc tourney no washout for charity
Though flooding wiped out the 2006 Bank of America Championship at Nashawtuc Country Club last June, the PGA Champions Tour and Nashawtuc Charities are still donating $418,000 to more than 50 area charitable organizations. The donations will bring to $4.5 million the amount disbursed over the tournament's 26-year history. Separate from the total is $5,000 donated by Champions Tour players to The First Tee of Massachusetts for its golf programs for area youth, which the players have been supporting since 2002.
Bob Gallery, president of Bank of America Massachusetts, and Walter Lankau, president of Nashawtuc Charities, said the donations underscore the bank, tournament, Champions Tour, and players' commitments to giving back to the community. Among the local charities to receive funds are Emerson Hospital, Hanscom Air Force Base -- Project Concern, Boys and Girls Club of Assabet Valley, the Genesis Fund, Concord-Carlisle Athletic Boosters, Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund, Greater Waltham Association for Retarded Citizens, Lincoln-Sudbury Athletic Boosters, and others in Greater Boston .
Merrimack's Murphy
now coach of the year
Merrimack College football coach Jim Murphy is the Northeastern-10 Conference Coach of the Year in voting by his peers. Murphy, former Reading and Northeastern University quarterback, led Merrimack to a 7-3 record and a share of its first NE-10 title. Since taking over the reins in 2003, Murphy and Merrimack have gone 25-14, including a school-best 8-2 in 2004. Merrimack finished this season with six straight wins after losing three of its first four games.
Among other major award winners was Bentley senior Andrew Ruggiero, who shared defensive lineman of the year honors with Casey Larson of St. Anselm. After 10 games, Ruggiero had 49 tackles -- 11 of them for a loss -- four sacks, four pass breakups, and a forced fumble. First-team All-NE-10 Conference picks included, in addition to Ruggiero, Bentley defensive back Sean Smith of Andover and Bentley punter Derrick Marsan of Methuen. Merrimack was represented on the first team by tight end Ryan Salter of Bridgewater, return specialist and defensive back Andrew Jackson of New Britain, Conn., and linebacker Matt Mikaitis of Chicago.
Scholastic
odds 'n' ends
Top-seeded and undefeated North Andover (21-0-2) brought home the Division 1 North field hockey title with a pulsating 1-0 win over Acton-Boxborough in overtime. The game's only goal came less than three minutes into OT when junior Katie Boringa took a pass from Liz Day and rifled the ball into the corner past A-B goalie Kaitlyn Curtis. Alison McCarthy had seven saves to post the shutout. . . . No. 1 Tewksbury wasn't as fortunate in its quest for the Division 2 field hockey crown. It fell to perennial power Watertown, 3-2, in overtime. The sectional title was the 15th in the past 21 years for Watertown.
It was just another day at the office for Andover's girls' swim team, which crushed the field to win its eighth straight Division 1 North championship. Andover, with 320 points, got winning performances from Tiffany Petzold in the 200 individual medley and 100 freestyle, and was a whopping 109.5 points better than runner-up Acton-Boxborough. In the meet, Methuen's Laura Moriarty set a state record in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1 minute 5.79 seconds.
Campus corner
University of Massachusetts at Lowell field hockey seniors Sara Hohenberger of Windham, N.H., Kim Villare of Chelmsford, Lauren Jones of West Brookfield, and Nicole Staiti of Barre are in Winston-Salem, N.C., this weekend playing in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division 2 North/South All-Star game. . . . University of Massachusetts at Boston senior sweeper Mike Reda and sophomore center midfielder Romeo Zeqo, both of Medford, earned first-team berths on the All-Little East Conference men's soccer team. Reda led league defenders with a career-high eight goals and 19 points, while Zeqo led the team with 10 goals and 23 points. . . . Merrimack's athletic training education program has been awarded accreditation through 2010-2011 by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education. The commission found the program to be in "substantial compliance" with the nationally recognized Standards for Entry-Level Athletic Training Education. . . . Northeastern junior Stephanie Casper of Andover posted career highs of 10 goals and 25 points this season. Both marks led the Huskies field hockey team.
Lowell Devils
Today -- Worcester, 4 p.m.; Wednesday -- at Hershey, 7 p.m.; Friday -- Portland, 7 p.m.; Saturday -- Albany, 7 p.m. Home games at Tsongas Arena.
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