UMass Lowell Athletics

Earning a department-wide GPA of 3.13 in the spring of 2022, River Hawk student-athletes have now recorded 19 straight semesters with a GPA over 3.0. The women's cross country (3.53 GPA) and men's hockey teams (3.60 GPA) earned the department's Bob Griffin Academic Awards for posting the highest team grade point average over the course of the academic year. 

"Our River Hawk student-athletes continue to shine in the classroom," said Director of Athletics Peter Casey. "They are just as resilient in and dedicated to their academic pursuits as they are to their athletic ones. I commend their commitment to excellence in all areas, and offer a special note of gratitude to our academic advisors and coaches for always putting academics at the forefront of everything we do."

ICE HOCKEY

The 2021-22 hockey season marked an incredible return to action for the River Hawks as they welcomed back fans to the Tsongas Center for the first time since 2019. 

The team posted a 21-11-3 (15-8-1 Hockey East) mark and clinched a Hockey East Tournament berth as well as the program’s 14th NCAA Tournament bid. 

The successes continued after the end of the season as four River Hawks—Lucas Condotta, Reid Stefanson, Owen Savory and Andre Lee—inked professional contracts with the Montreal Canadiens, LA Kings, Laval Rocket and Maine Mariners. 

A quartet of River Hawks also earned Hockey East All-Conference honors. 2022 Hobey Baker nominee and Mike Richter Award semifinalist Savory was named to the Hockey East All-Stars Second Team, Lee and Carl Berglund were tabbed to the Third Team and freshman Matt Crasa picked up All-Rookie Team nods after an electric rookie campaign.

BASEBALL

The UMass Lowell baseball made history in the 2022 campaign by reaching the program’s first America East Championship game. The team set the Division I record for most wins in a season with 28, finishing the year with a 28-30 overall record and a 15-15 conference mark. 

Freshman Jacob Humphrey (Standish, ME.) broke the program record and a 25-year-old America East record for stolen bases in a season with 46. Humphrey was second in the country in the category and third in stolen bases per game. Senior Robert Gallagher cracked the top-10 in both categories as well with 37 stolen bases on the season. 

The River Hawks knocked off #5 UMBC, #1 Maine and #3 NJIT in the America East Tournament to advance to the championship game against #2 Binghamton. Seniors Gerry Siracusa (Kinnelon, N.J.) and Joshua Becker (Burlington, Mass.) were named to the America East All-Conference First Team while the freshmen duo of Jacob Humphrey and LJ Keevan (Holden, Mass.) were named to the America East All-Conference Second Team. 

Freshman Brandon Fish (Londonderry, N.H.), Humphrey and Keevan were also named to the America East All-Rookie Team following stellar rookie campaigns. Gerry Siracusa also earned NEIBA All-New England First Team honors while Robert Gallagher and Jacob Humphrey were named to the All-New England Second Team. Jacob Humphrey also earned Collegiate Baseball Freshmen All-American honors.  

CROSS COUNTRY

The UMass Lowell cross country team ran back the tapes on the 2021 season as they turned in another outstanding season on the course in 2022. The River Hawks dominated on the course, collecting PRs and top times as they cruised to back-to-back America East titles on both the men’s and women’s sides. 

The River Hawks’ coaching crew led by Head Coach Gary Gardner was tabbed the Coaching Staff of the Year for both the men’s and women’s squads. Jake Velazquez earned Co-Most Outstanding Rookie honors for his standout efforts on the course, while Ben Drezek collected his fifth Elite 18 award as a top finisher with the highest GPA. 

The River Hawks saw eight student-athletes earn All-Conference First Team honors and five make their way onto the All-Conference Second Team.

WOMEN'S SOCCER

The UMass Lowell women’s soccer team finished the season with an 8-6-3 overall record and a 5-3-1 conference mark. Earned the #2 seed in the America East Championship, the third America semifinal game in four years for the River Hawks. Freshman Ioanna Papatheodorou (Nea Erithraia, Greece) led the conference in goals (10), points (20) and game-winning goals (6).

 Papatheodorou was the unanimous America East Rookie of the Year and was named America East Striker of the Year as well as US Soccer Coaches DI Atlantic Region Second Team honors. Senior Dunja Mostarac (Belgrade, Serbia) captained the squad and earned America East All-Conference First Team and All-Academic honors. 

Mostarac was also named the America East Defender of the Year on top of a NEWISA Senior Bowl invite, NEWISA All-New England First Team and US Soccer Coaches DI Atlantic Region First Team honors. Senior captain Emily Nelson (Peabody, Mass.) earned America East All-Conference First Team and All-Academic honors as well as a NEWISA Senior Bowl selection and NEWISA All-New England First Team selection. Graduate student Abigail Drezek (Cumberland, R.I.) was named to the America East All-Academic Team.

MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD

The River Hawks exceeded expectations early, kicking off the back half of the academic year with impressive individual and team performances across the board. 

The indoor campaign came to a storybook ending as the men’s team captured the 2022 America East Indoor title.

Derek Holmes helped lift the team to victory after smashing a 24-year-old conference record in the men’s 3,000 meters, crossing in 8:10.07. Graduate student Chris Alfond capped his collegiate career with the Coaches Award, given to the student-athlete with the most points across the two-day competition. 

The decorated men’s coaching staff also received recognition, winning the 2022 Coaching Staff of the Year award.

In October, the River Hawk Hall of Fame inducted its Class of 2021. The historic ceremony marked the first time the department ushered in an all-female class, comprised of Amber (Gagnon) Chouinard [03' Softball], Barbara (Ryder) Brennan ['76 Softball & Basketball], and the 2010 Division II National Championship Field Hockey team.

"To be able to come together for the first time in two years to celebrate the accomplishments of our student-athletes was special in and of itself, but to be able to welcome our first all-female Hall of Fame class almost exactly 50 years after the passage of Title IX was remarkable. I would like to thank the Hall of Fame Committee for making this event happen, in addition to all of the inductees for taking the time to join us tonight so that we could enshrine them among the best of the best here at UMass Lowell." 

- Director of Athletics, Peter Casey