CALHOUN PASSES BALL TO OLLIE: Hall of Fame Coach Jim Calhoun stepped down as head coach of men’s basketball and former Husky Kevin Ollie ’95 (CLAS) started the season by leading the Huskies to an upset win over No. 14 Michigan State in Germany. With no postseason possibilities due to NCAA penalties, the Huskies responded with a 20-10 season.                          (Peter Morenus/UConn)

With only the final series of the regular baseball season left this weekend and then postseason possibilities for baseball, men’s and women’s track and field and for the rowing team, the close of the academic year will send Huskymania on hiatus after this posting. Here’s a look back at some of the highlights of the 2012-2013 season:

THE END OF THE BIG EAST AS WE KNOW IT: The realignment of the Big East culminated in the announcement that UConn will compete next year in the American Athletic Conference. Mike Aresco ’76 JD, commissioner of the current Big East, said the American Athletic Conference will consist of the University of Central Florida, the University of Cincinnati, UConn, East Carolina University, the University of Houston, the University of Memphis, Southern Methodist University, the University of South Florida, Temple University, Tulane University and the University of Tulsa. The U.S. Naval Academy will become a football-only member in 2015.

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BANNER YEAR FOR WXC: The women’s cross country team moved into the national rankings and made its first appearance in the NCAA Championships under head coach Andrea Grove-McDonough, finishing in eighth place. (Steve Slade ’89 (SFA) for UConn)

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MXC TOP FINISHES: Junior Ryan McGuire ’14 (CLAS) led the way for the men’s cross country team, which had five Top 10 finishes in the fall season, including at the IC4A Championships and the Big East Championships.

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DREAM COMES TRUE: All-American Carlos Alvarez ’13 (CLAS) led the men’s soccer team to the NCAA Tournament in his final season as a Husky before fulfilling a lifelong dream of playing in the MLS, when he was drafted by Chivas USA.

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MORE HUSKIES TO NFL: Five Huskies were selected in the 2013 NFL Draft, the highest number of draft selections since four UConn football players were selected in 2009. UConn has now had 19 players drafted since 2007. Dwayne Gratz ’13 (CLAS) was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars as the third pick in the third round of the draft, 64^th overall. Two selections later, linebacker Sio Moore ’13 (CLAS) was drafted by the Oakland Raiders, followed by cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson ’13 (CLAS), who was selected by the Tennessee Titans as the eight pick in the third round.

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FIELD HOCKEY WINS BIG EAST TITLE: Hall of Fame coach Nancy Stevens led the field hockey team to a 19-3 record, the Big East Championship and the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.  Goalkeeper Sarah Mansfield ’14 (CLAS) was named a First Team All-American by the Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association, graduate student back Louisa Boddy was a Second Team selection, while junior forward Marie Elena Bolles ’14 (NUR) and sophomore forward Chloe Hunnable ’15 (CLAS) were Third Team selections.

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500 WINS FOR LEN: Women’s head soccer coach Len Tsantiris ’77 (ED), center, earned his 500th career win at UConn on Oct. 12, 2012, with a 3-1 win over Rutgers at Morrone Stadium. (Ken Best/UConn)

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VOLLEYBALL RETURNS TO POSTSEASON: Head coach Holly Strauss-O’Brien was co-Big East Coach of the Year in leading the Huskies to the Big East Championships for the first time since 2009 with a 19-12 overall record and 10-5 in the conference. Senior Mattison Quayle ’13 (CLAS) was a First Team All-Big East selection.

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CECCO FINISHES AT NCAA: Senior diver Danielle Cecco ’13 (CLAS) ended her collegiate career at the NCAA Championship in Indianapolis. She participated in the NCAA Championships for three years and was the Big East Diver of the Year as a junior.

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BIG EAST HONORS IN THE POOL: Freshman diver John Brice ’16 (CLAS) and sophomore swimmer Sawyer Franz ’15 (CLAS) each earned All-Big East recognition for the men’s swimming and diving team. Brice was honored in the 3 meter dive and Franz in the 400m individual medley.

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MARSHALL LEAVES, CAVANAUGH TAKES OVER MEN’S HOCKEY: Long-time Boston College assistant Mike Cavanaugh, who helped lead the Eagles to four NCAA Frozen Four Championships, was named the Huskies’ fourth men’s ice hockey coach after assistant coach Dave Berard took over for veteran head coach Bruce Marshall ’85 (ED), who resigned following a medical leave of absence earlier in the season.

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MACKENZIE SUCCEEDS LINSTAD: Chris MacKenzie, an assistant coach at Ohio State and former head coach at Niagara, was named women’s ice hockey head coach following the resignation of Heather Linstad, who stepped down after 12 seasons.

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ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR STILL RUNS THROUGH STORRS: Freshman Breanna Stewart ’13 (CLAS) scored 23 points against Louisville in New Orleans and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2013 NCAA Championship in leading the women’s basketball team to its eighth NCAA title. The 93-60 victory was the largest winning margin in a women’s national championship game. With the victory, Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma tied the championship record of former Tennessee coach Pat Summitt. Above: Stefanie Dolson ’14 (CLAS) holds the championship trophy during a parade through the Storrs campus. (Peter Morenus/UConn)

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LANDMARK LACROSSE SEASON: Third-year head coach Katie Woods was named Big East Coach of the Year after taking the unheralded Huskies to a national ranking, a best-ever 13-5 season and the lacrosse program’s first appearance in the postseason in the Big East and the NCAA Tournament. Following Big East recognition as Midfielder of the Year, junior Lauren Kahn ’14 (CLAS) was named to the All-Northeast Region First Team by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association. Freshman goalkeeper Shannon Nee ’16 (CLAS) was also named to the First Team while junior midfielder Kacey Pippitt ’14 (CLAS) was selected to the Second Team.

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ZABACK TAKES TWO IN GOLF: Freshman Zach Zaback ’16 (CLAS), who won two tournaments in his first collegiate golf season, was named to the 2013 All-Big East Men’s Golf Team. His first place finish in the 2013 New England D-1 Championships led the Huskies to the team championship under head coach Dave Pezzino.

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BIG EAST HONORS IN SOFTBALL: Outfielder Kim Silva ’13 (CLAS) and utility fielder Marissa Guches ’13 (CLAS) were named to the All-Big East Second Team in softball during the 30^th season of head coach Karen Mullins ’79 (ED), ’80 MA.

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WOMEN’S TRACK ON TOP: All-American Victoria Flowers ’13 (ED) led the way all year in the hammer throw and shot put as the women’s track and field team won the Amory Invite, Great Dane Classic, New England Indoor Championships, ECAC Indoor Championships, ECAC Outdoor Championships and took second place in the Big East Outdoor Championships. (Steve Slade ’89 (SFA) for UConn)

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MEN’S TRACK SWEEPS BIG EAST: The men’s track and field team won the Great Dane Classic in New York, UConn Classic, IC4A Indoor Championships and the New England Indoor Championships. The Huskies swept the Big East Indoor and Big East Outdoor Championships this year, the third time they have won (2002 and 2011). Head coach Greg Roy and his coaching staff won the Outdoor Men’s Coaching Staff of the Year Award for the fourth time after winning the indoor title in the same year.

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POSTSEASON BASEBALL: As the baseball team heads to the Big East Tournament next week, senior second baseman LJ Mazzilli ’13 (CLAS) continues to lead the team in hitting with a .348 batting average on the year, among the Top 10 in the Big East. The Huskies’ top pitcher is sophomore Carson Cross ’15 (CLAS) with a 7-4 record and a 2.52 ERA.

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TOP 10 BOATS: The rowing team’s boats had Top 10 finishes in the Head of the Riverfront in Hartford, Head of the Charles in Boston, Murphy Cup in Philadelphia and the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia.

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NEW LOOK: A new Husky logo and team uniforms were introduced in April. (Peter Morenus/UConn)

All-American Victoria Flowers ’13 (ED) won her first outdoor gold medals in the ECAC, taking first place in both the hammer throw and shot put, in leading the Huskies to the title. Flowers previously swept the same events in the ECAC Indoor Championship. Junior All-American Natasha McLaren ’14 (CLAS) was the only other Husky who took a first, winning the high jump.

Other members of the team who earned points toward the overall team title included All-American Ilva Bikanova ’14 (CLAS), who finished fourth in the high jump; All-American Brigitte Mania ’13 (CANR), who earned a second in the 800m run; Celina Emerson ’14 (CLAS), who took third in the 400m dash; Shauna McNiff ’13 (CLAS), who was sixth in the 5,000m run, and Saija Bikanova ’15 (CANR), who captured third in the heptathlon. Husky relay teams also scored points as the 4x400m and 4x800m teams each took third place.

The Huskies will compete in the NCAA East Regionals, which begin on Thursday, May 23, in Greensboro, N.C.

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Sophomore Selwyn Maxwell ’15 (CLAS) was the only Husky to win an individual medal in the IC4A Outdoor Championships in Princeton, N.J., taking third place in the 110m hurdles, as the Huskies finished in seventh place overall. The 4x800m relay team also took a bronze.

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The baseball team could only manage one run over the weekend, as No. 10 Louisville (42-10, 17-4 Big East) swept the three-game series (6-0, 8-0, 3-1) at J.O. Christian Field. However the Huskies (28-24, 9-15 BE) qualified for the Big East Tournament, which will take place May 22-26 in Clearwater, Fla.

UConn continues the regular season with a non-conference game tomorrow against Rhode Island starting at 11:30 a.m. at Dodd Stadium in Norwich.

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The most successful season ever for the Huskies lacrosse team ended on Friday when the No. 19/18 Huskies fell to No. 15/8 UMass, 14-10, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

It was the first appearance in NCAA Tournament for the Huskies, who finished the season with a 13-5 record, the best season in program history under third-year head coach Katie Woods.

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Freshman Zach Zaback ’16 (CLAS), who won two tournaments in his first collegiate golf season, was named to the 2013 All-Big East Men’s Golf Team. His first place finish in the 2013 New England D-1 Championships led the Huskies to the team championship under head coach Dave Pezzino.

Junior infielder Tom Verdi ’14 (CLAS) takes batting practice in the baseball team’s indoor practice facility during the rainstorm on Thursday morning. (Ken Best for UConn)

With this weekend’s home series against No. 10 Louisville (39-10, 14-4 Big East), the baseball team (28-21, 9-12 BE) is hoping to end its conference skid and get back on track to compete for the Big East Tournament Championship.

The Huskies have done well all season after establishing an early lead — with a 23-4 record when leading after six innings — but have struggled when having to come from behind, especially in Big East play where their record is 1-16 when trailing.

“We don’t score a lot of runs. That’s been the case throughout the entire year,” says head coach Jim Penders ’94 (CLAS), ’98 MA. “We don’t have a lot of innings where we have a crooked number on the board. If we get two, we rarely get three. We have to get ahead and hold on in a lot of these games.”

The Huskies sit in seventh place in the conference standings, with only the top eight teams heading to Clearwater, Fla., on May 22 for the Big East Tournament. St. John’s (19-29, 7-11 BE) is in eighth place, with Georgetown (25-21, 5-13) just behind. Penders says he is focusing his team on a return to improved play.

“We’ve lost eight of nine Big East games. I don’t know when the last time was that we did that,” he says, noting the results of the last three weeks in conference action. “I’m more concerned about us playing good baseball this weekend. Louisville is going to be difficult to beat even when you are playing good baseball.”

The Big East has been extremely competitive this year, with six teams — including UConn — in the Top 100 of the Division I RPI ranking. With just out of conference games against Rhode Island and George Mason remaining after the Louisville series, the only possibility for the Huskies to reach the NCAA Tournament is to win the Big East Tournament.

“If we’re playing like we have the last three weekends, that’s not going to happen,” Penders says “I’m more concerned with us playing good UConn baseball. If we do that I like our chances of making the tournament. Then if you get in, who knows what happens once you’re in.”

A time change for the Louisville series has been announced due to weather issues. Saturday’s double-header will begin at noon and the Senior Day game on Sunday, which will honor graduating seniors prior to the first pitch, will begin at 11 a.m. Games can be heard on WHUS 91.7 or online at whus.org.

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When the three freshmen from the Huskies’ 2013 NCAA Championship squad — Breanna Stewart ’16 (CLAS), Morgan Tuck ’16 (CLAS) and Moriah Jefferson ’16 (CLAS)– head to Colorado for the USA Basketball U19 World Championship Team trials next week they will not have to look too far to find two more teammates if they decide to play a pickup game.

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis ’15 (CLAS) and Bria Hartley ’14 (CLAS) will also be at USA Basketball headquarters looking to participate in the 2013 USA Basketball Women’s World University Games. Both student-athletes also have extensive USA Basketball experience, with Mosqueda-Lewis having won three gold medals representing the U.S. and Hartley winning two gold medals in recent years.

Junior Lauren Kahn ’14 (CLAS) is the leading scorer for the lacrosse team as it heads to the NCAA Tournament on Friday. (Steve Slade ’89 (SFA) for UConn)

It is the newness of it all, for everyone connected to the Huskies lacrosse team. The wins piling up, a national ranking, going into the conference postseason, and now going to the NCAA Tournament on Friday against UMass in College Park, Pa. On top of it all, this is finals week in the classroom.

“It factors into the preparation more than the actual game,” says head coach Katie Woods, who has transformed the lacrosse program in her third year leading the team. “Once we hit the road, we’ll be able to focus on us and the game. This is good. I’m excited to be one of the 26 teams in the tournament.”

The No. 18/19 Huskies (13-4) and No. 15/8 Massachusetts (17-2) have only one common opponent in 2013 — each defeated New Hampshire early in the season – and are among the Top 20 in RPI ranking, with UMass at No. 8 and UConn at No. 17. The last time the two teams met was in 2010 when the Huskies won 18-8, but overall the Minutewomen lead their historic competition, 5-3.

 
UMass is led in scoring by junior attacks Katie Ferris, who has scored 70 points on 47 goals and 23 assists, and Sam Rush, who has scored 69 points on 61 goals and 8 assists.  Two sophomore goalkeepers, Rachel Vallarelli and Jamie Schiloski, have a combined goals against average of 9.66.

“I think UMass is a good rival,” Woods says. “A lot of the girls have friends on the team. I think our kids are excited to play someone who is a little bit of a rival but not on our schedule this year.”

Woods says playing its last four games against nationally ranked teams will help the Huskies this weekend, including the loss to No. 5/5 Syracuse in the Big East semifinals last Friday which provided the team with the experience of playing in a postseason environment.  She expects her team to focus on the task at hand in Pennsylvania.

“There’s going to be some nerves, but once they settle in it’s just like any other game,” Woods says. “It’s an opportunity only 26 teams have. We want to enjoy the moment. That’s when we play our best lacrosse.”

However the Huskies fare in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, Woods says the lacrosse program has crossed into new ground.

“We want to win. We want to be a top-level program.  It’s helped that our girls have gotten recognition. It’s really great for the younger players and our recruits,” she says. “We’re creating a standard with our 2013 season.”

The honors for the Huskies continue to roll in. Following last week’s Big East recognition as Midfielder of the Year, on Tuesday junior Lauren Kahn ’14 (CLAS) was named to the All-Northeast Region First Team by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association. Freshman goalkeeper Shannon Nee ’16 (CLAS) was also named to the First Team while junior midfielder Kacey Pippitt ’14 (CLAS) was selected to the Second Team.

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When Breanna Stewart ’16 (CLAS), Morgan Tuck ’16 (CLAS) and Moriah Jefferson ’16 (CLAS) arrived in Storrs last year to join the women’s basketball team, they were heralded as among the most talented players in the nation.  Each of their resumes included a history with USA Basketball.

Fresh off helping the Huskies to win their eighth NCAA Championship, the trio has been invited next week to be among 34 top players to try out for the USA Basketball U19 World Championship Team in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Stewart, the Most Outstanding Player in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, has four gold medals from previous USA Basketball Team world championships and in 2011 was the USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year when she was the only high school player who was a member of the 2011 USA Pan American Games Team.

Tuck and Jefferson were members of the 2012 USA FIBA U18 National Team that won the championship, allowing the USA Team to play in this year’s competition.

Stewart and Tuck were members of the USA U19 team that won the gold at the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship.

The men’s track and field team won the 2013 Big East Outdoor Championship last weekend. (Big East for UConn)

Led by a win in the decathlon by Jesse Chapman ’14 (CLAS), the only first place victory along with 15 Top 5 finishes, the men’s track and field team won the 2013 Big East Outdoor Championship on Sunday at Rutgers. The Huskies won the 2013 Indoor title earlier this year, giving UConn a sweep of the conference track and field championships for the third time (2002 and 2011).

The win by the Huskies also earned head coach Greg Roy and his coaching staff the Outdoor Men’s Coaching Staff of the Year Award for the fourth time after winning the indoor title in the same year.

The decathlon event served as a microcosm of the championship, with the Huskies earning four of five places in the event. After Chapman’s first place finish, Jake Waruch ’13 (ED) earned second, Ben Waruch ’13 (ED) took fourth and Samuel Smith ’14 (CANR) placed fifth.

Other highlights of the championship included Chris Whyte ’13 (CLAS) a second in the 400m hurdles; Jesse Drinks ’13 (CLAS) a third in the 100m dash; a third place finish for the 4×800 relay team [James Agati ’15 (CLAS), Alvaro Chavez ’16 (CLAS), Tim Bennaton ’13 (CLAS), Alex Benntaton ’13 (CLAS);] Cory Duggan ’14 (CLAS) taking second in the pole vault; and Eric Masington ‘14 (CLAS) finishing second in the shot put and third in the discus.

The championship season continues for the Huskies next weekend when the team heads to Princeton, N.J., for the three-day IC4A Championships beginning on Friday.

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After entering its first-ever postseason in the Big East Championship last weekend, the No. 17/18 lacrosse team will continue the 2013 season in the NCAA Tournament later this week.

The Huskies (13-4) earned an at-large bid and will travel to College Park, Pa., to face UMass (17-2) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday. The winner will face either Penn State (12-6) or Canisius (14-4) next Sunday.

The bracket also includes Notre Dame (12-4), which will face Stanford (13-5) for the right to advance to the second round against the tournament’s No. 2 seed, Northwestern (17-2).

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All-American Victoria Flowers ’13 (ED) was named the 2013 Women’s Most Outstanding Field Performer in the 2013 Big East Outdoor Championship as the Huskies finished second to Notre Dame on Sunday at Rutgers.

Flowers won both the hammer throw and shot put as part of 16 Top 5 finishes by the Huskies. All-American Ilva Bikanova ’14 (CLAS) won the high jump, Saija Bikanova ’15 (CANR) took third in the heptathlon and Allison Lasnicki ’14 (CLAS) earned two medals, finishing second in the 10,000m run and third in the 5,000m run.

UConn will continue the championship season next weekend in Princeton, N.J., at the three-day ECAC Championships.

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After a 3-1 comeback win in the opening game on Friday, too many walks on Saturday and not enough help from the bullpen on Sunday resulted in the baseball team dropping a weekend series to Rutgers (9-4, 4-2 BE) but still holding onto seventh place in the Big East standings.

The Huskies dropped to 28-21 overall and 9-12 in the conference while the Scarlet Knights, in fifth place in the standings, moved to 22-25 and 10-8. Next weekend, the Huskies will host third place Louisville (37-10, 14-4 BE) for a three game series at J.O. Christian Field.

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The softball team dropped a 2-0 decision to DePaul in the regular season Big East finale on Sunday afternoon on Senior Day at Burrill Family Field. The Huskies finished one game out of qualifying for the conference tournament with an overall 26-27 record, 8-14 in the Big East.  DePaul finished fourth in the conference at 16-6 and 31-20 overall.

MacKenzie has served as a college coach for 11 years, lead both women’s and men’s teams.  He coached on the men’s side for his first eight seasons at UMass-Lowell, leading the team during three 20-win seasons. He led the Niagara women’s team for two years before the program was discontinued and spent the past season at Ohio State.

A 2000 graduate of Niagara, where he still holds several records as a player, MacKenzie earned a master’s degree in psychology from UMass-Lowell in 2003.

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The No. 17/18 lacrosse team lost 19-6 to No. 5/5 Syracuse in the Big East semifinals on Thursday in Washington, D.C.

Syracuse took a 2-0 lead in the first half before the Huskies tied the game. However the Orange scored six consecutive goals before UConn could get on the board again with two more goals and at the half the Huskies trailed 11-4. Syracuse outscored UConn 8-2 in the second half.

The Huskies will await a possible at-large bid to the NCAA Championships next weekend.

The team’s accomplishments during the 2013 season were recognized before the tournament began by Big East coaches, who unanimously selected Lauren Kahn ’14 (CLAS) to the All-Big East First Team and named her as Midfielder of the Year, also placing midfielders Morgan O’Reilly ’13 (CLAS) and Kacey Pippitt ’14 (CLAS) and goalkeeper Shannon Nee ’16 (CLAS) on the All-Big East Second Team.

Head coach Katie Woods was named the Big East Coach of the Year for leading the Huskies to their first-ever postseason.

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The postseason for college baseball is almost three weeks away, but head baseball coach Jim Penders ’94 (CLAS), ’98 MA says the Huskies must view the remainder of the regular season as playoff time.

With just two Big East series left — this weekend’s road trip to Rutgers (20-24, 8-7 BE) and a home stand against Louisville (34-10, 11-4 BE) next weekend before out-of-conference games against Rhode Island and George Mason – the Huskies (27-19, 8-10 BE) hope to play well enough to at least hold on to seventh place in the conference standings and become one of the eight teams heading to Clearwater, Fla., on May 22 for the Big East Championship.

“We have some work to do,” Penders said yesterday while traveling with the team to New Jersey. “You can weather one sweep with another. If we win the series against Rutgers, we’ve still got to take care of business.”

The Huskies’ bats came alive earlier this week in wins over Sacred Heart and Holy Cross, particularly as leading hitter Billy Ferriter ’13 (CLAS) and LJ Mazzilli ’13 (CLAS) started making better contact at the plate.

“If we’re going to be good, those guys have to hit,” Penders said. “Billy especially has found the barrel more often and he’s driving in more runs. He’s more relaxed and more focused.”

The UConn pitching rotation is also rounding into form for the late season, as Jordan Tabakman ’15 (CLAS) has come out of the bullpen to notch a 5-0 record and will move into the rotation as the Sunday starter for the Rutgers series.

Freshman righty Max Slade ’16 (CLAS) picked up his first career win against Holy Cross on Wednesday, giving up just one hit and a walk in four innings before getting relief from Stephen Catalina ’13 (BUS), Pat Butler ’13 (CLAS) and Will Jolin ’13 (ENG). With the warmer weather now moving into the northeast, it seems the Husky arms are settling into form and Penders hopes his starters will be able to stay in longer.

“Some guys were hitting numbers on the radar gun they haven’t had all year,” said Penders. “I think the weather has something to do with it.”

The Rutgers series starts today at 3 p.m. and continues Saturday and Sunday, both games at 1 p.m. All games can be heard on WHUS 91.7 or online at whus.org.

NOTES:  Ferriter posted a career-high four RBIs against Holy Cross… Slade started for the first time at UConn and pitched to his high school teammate, catcher Connor David ’15 (CLAS).

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The softball team is also scrambling for one of the eight spots in the Big East Championship next week in Tampa, Fla. The ninth place Huskies (25-24, 7-12 BE) play a final three-game series against fourth place DePaul (28-19, 14-5 BE) at Burrill Family Field this weekend — a double-header on Saturday, starting at noon, and the final regular season game on Sunday also at noon.

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The Big East Outdoor Track and Field Championships for both men and women take place at Rutgers this weekend, starting today and continuing through Sunday.

The Huskies men’s team hopes to maintain their winning ways from the indoor season, when they won the Big East, New England and IC4A Championships.

Meanwhile, the women’s team, top squad in the NCAA Division I rankings, looks to extend its record from the indoor season, when the Huskies won the New England and ECAC Championships.

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The golf team finished in fifth place at the Big East Men’s Golf Championship, which was won by South Florida, in Runion, Fla., earlier this week.

Freshman John Flaherty ’16 (CLAS), 73-76-70-219, was the top UConn finisher in 17^th place with a 3-over 219, his fourth consecutive Top 20 finish and his fifth of the year. Sophomore Chris Wiatr ’15 (CLAS) tied for 18^th with a 75-70-75-220, 4-over, for his fourth Top 20 finish of the year. There were 60 players in the field for the individual medal, won by Cincinnati’s David Tepe, who shot an 8-under 208.

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Members of the Husky football, men’s and women’s ice hockey, men’s soccer, golf, women’s rowing and men’s tennis teams visited the George Hershey Robertson Elementary School in Coventry, Conn. to promote the Fuel Up to Play 60 program and ACES (All Children Exercise Simultaneously) on Wednesday.

Student-athletes interacted with students in the third, fourth and fifth grade and came up with ideas for exercise on a rainy day. They also participated in a question and answer period where they answered questions about what it is like being a student-athlete at UConn.

The game turned when the Pioneers knocked in four runs in the top half of the seventh inning to tie the game at 6-6. In the bottom of the inning the Husky bats made contact and drove in four runs to take the lead for good.

UConn improved to 26-19 overall, while the Pioneers fell to 20-21. The Huskies are back on the diamond this afternoon against Holy Cross, with the first pitch at 3 p.m.

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Kiki Saveriano ’13 (CLAS) struck out six to earn her 15^th win of the year as the softball team topped Boston College 6-4 at Burrill Family Field on Tuesday.

Saveriano recorded her 19^th complete game in 28 starts as the Huskies improved to 25-24 on the year and posted their sixth consecutive win at home. BC dropped to 13-43 on the season.

UConn is back in action Thursday against Boston University (20-23-1)  in Storrs. Game time has been pushed back to a 5 p.m. start.

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Claudio DelliCarpini ’14 (CLAS) was named Big East Track Athlete of the Week for the second time on Tuesday, thanks to his first place finish in the 110m hurdles at the Yale Invitational last weekend.

Harley Lacroix ’16 (CLAS) also took a first in the long jump at the Yale Invitational and David Kenney ’14 (CLAS) won the 100m dash in the event, among the Huskies’ 12 Top 5 finishes.

Several Huskies also competed in the Penn Relays last weekend and captured two Top 5 finishes.

Eric Masington ’14 (CLAS) took fifth place in the shot put and the 4x100m IC4A team [Selwyn Maxwell ’15 (CLAS), Jesse Drinks ’13 (CLAS), Kevin Smith’13 (CANR) and Robert Hovanec ’16 (CLAS)] also took a fifth.

The Huskies head to the Big East Championships this weekend at Rutgers in New Brunswick, N.J.

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Victoria Flowers ’13 (ED) continues to pile up honors with the women’s track and field team, as she earned her sixth Big East Field Athlete of the Week honor this season.  Flowers won the hammer throw at the Penn Relays last weekend and earned a fourth place finish in the shot put.

Meanwhile, for the Huskies competing at Brown, the team recorded seven first place finishes in Rhode Island, led by All-American Ilva Bikanova ’13 (CLAS), who took first in the high jump.

Other first place finishes included Melodee Riley ’16 (CLAS) in the triple jump and the long jump, and on the track Brigitte Mania ’13 (CANR) in the 400m, Brianna Allen ’15 (CLAS) in the 200m, Katherine Vodopia ’16 (CLAS) in the 800 and Chantal Scott ’14 (CANR) in the 100m hurdles.

The women’s team, ranked No. 1 in the Northeast Region, also heads to the Big East Championships this weekend.

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The lacrosse team will play in the postseason on Thursday in the Big East Championship for the first time since the start of the program in 1997. The No. 17/18 Huskies are the No. 4 seed in the tournament and will face No. 5/5 Syracuse, the top seed, at 5:30 p.m. in Washington, D.C. (BIGEAST.TV).

Co-captain Siobhan Wilcox ’13 (NUR) is among a group of 13 seniors who will end their UConn careers with a winning record.

“I think the change we have brought to UConn Lacrosse means more to us as a senior class,” she says. “We are leaving UConn with not only an overall winning record, but also helping to bring UConn Lacrosse to a Top 20 team for our last season. It is most rewarding knowing that as a class of 13 seniors we came together and made a difference for UConn Lacrosse and there is no better way to finish our careers.”

In the first round of racing on Saturday, the Huskies won four out of five races and in the second round, the novice eight and third varsity eight won again, while the rest of the UConn boats finished behind Bucknell.

“We have been trying to improve the speed of the varsity eight this week by changing line-ups and it appears that it worked,” said UConn head coach Jennifer Sanford-Wendry.  “It was also great to see the novice eight and third varsity eight win both races. The second varsity eight had a very impressive race against Bucknell. We can definitely take the results of the weekend and move forward.”

UConn returns to action on May 10-11 at the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia and then on May 19 at the Big East Championship in Mercer County, N.J.

***

Five Huskies were selected in the 2013 NFL Draft last week, the highest number of draft selections since four UConn football players were selected in 2009. UConn has now had 19 players drafted since 2007.

The first player to hear his name called was cornerback Dwayne Gratz ’13 (CLAS), who was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars as the third pick in the third round of the draft, 64^th overall. Two selections later, linebacker Sio Moore ’13 (CLAS) was drafted by the Oakland Raiders, followed by cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson ’13 (CLAS), who was selected by the Tennessee Titans as the eight pick in the third round.

Defensive end Trevardo Williams ’13 (CLAS) was selected in the fourth round by the Houston Texans, who also selected tight end Ryan Griffin ’13 (CLAS) in the fifth round.

After the draft was completed, Nick Williams ’13 (CLAS), a wide receiver/kick returner, signed a free agent contract with the Washington Redskin and Michael Smith ’13 (CLAS), also a wide receiver, signed with the Texans.

Hall of  Fame field hockey coach Nancy Stevens received the Gold Key Award from the Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance on Sunday.

The Gold Key Award is the highest sports honor in Connecticut. Previous recipients include legendary baseball manager Connie Mack, boxing Hall of Famer Willie Pep and former President George H.W. Bush, who was a captain of the Yale baseball team.

***

Following two conference road losses over the weekend that ended the regular season — 9-6 to Georgetown and 13-7 to Loyola — the lacrosse team will head to the Big East Championship in Washington, D.C., later this week as the No. 4 seed.

The No. 17 Huskies finished the regular season with the program’s best record, 13-3 overall and 5-3 in the Big East, and will face No. 1 seed Syracuse (14-3, 8-0 BE), ranked No. 5 nationally, on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. No. 2 seed Georgetown (12-4, 6-2 BE), ranked No. 8 nationally, will square off against No. 3 seed Loyola (10-7, 6-2 BE), ranked No. 12 nationally, in the second semifinal match. The winners will play May 1 on the CBS Sports Network.

***

There were plenty of hits for the softball team in its three-game series at Seton Hall over the weekend, 40 in all, but it was not enough to take the series. The Huskies split a doubleheader on Saturday and then dropped the third game on Sunday in Orange, N.J.

Seton Hall took the first game on Saturday 11-10, but the Huskies bounced back with an 11-0 win in five innings in the second game. The Pirates took the final outing on Sunday 10-5.

The Huskies, 24-24 on the year and 7-12 in the Big East, are back at Burrill Family Field tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. for the first of two nonconference games, against Boston College on Tuesday and then against Boston University on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

***

Notre Dame dealt the Huskies baseball team its second consecutive Big East series sweep in South Bend, Ind., over the weekend.

The Fighting Irish  (26-16, 7-8 BE) earned wins of 12-2, 4-3 and 12-5, dropping the Huskies to 25-19 overall and 8-10 in the Big East. The losses pushed UConn from fifth to seventh place in the conference standings.

***

Geno Auriemma and Jim Calhoun were inducted into the Connecticut Hall of Fame last week, joining a prestigious group of historic Connecticut figures. (Bob Stowell ’70 (CLAS) for UConn)

Zach Zaback ’16 (CLAS) will lead the golf team into the Big East Tournament this weekend. (Steve Slade ’89 (SFA) for UConn)

College golf in the northeast is, well, a different kind of experience. Last week the Huskies traveled to Penn State, where there was rain and snow. This weekend they head to Florida for the Big East Championship.

“At Penn State I think we saw all four seasons in the tournament; there was rain, sun, snow and hail,” says head coach Dave Pezzino. “Packing for a road trip constitutes rain gear and winter gloves. This week we go to Florida and these guys will pack shorts and feel weird doing it. It’s cool by me. I like the fact my guys are tough. Just tell us when we need to be there; then see the scores.”

The scores this season for the Huskies have again been good, as they have been since Pezzino arrived in Storrs six years ago. Under Pezzino, UConn has 20 Big East Academic All-Stars, two All-Conference picks, five All-Northeast Regional selections, and four All-New England picks. This season each of the top five Husky golfers have had a Top 10 finish, led by freshman Zach Zaback, who won the New England D-1 Championship two weeks ago with a tournament low-round of 6-under 66.

“We’ve been able to upgrade our recruiting and our schedule,” Pizzino says. “It’s a marathon not a sprint. Our guys are all ready to compete. They’re not scared of stepping into the lineup.”

This year’s squad is very young. With the exception of junior Mike Masso ’14 (BUS), an honors scholar and finance major, the team is made up of three sophomores and five freshmen.  Pizzino says the Husky golfers in recent years have established a foundation of good play that has led to increasing success on the golf course.  And the Huskies are showing their mental toughness, perhaps the most important factor in playing golf.

“They’re tough, but they get along well,” Pezzino says. “Sometimes you want a team with creative tension. When guys weren’t playing well, nobody panicked.  It was ‘we’ve got to figure out who the best group is and then play.’”

Pezzino says Zaback is a case in point, describing him as a “quietly confident young man, who has a lot of game,” and is the type of student-athlete that fits his philosophy of recruiting golfers who are accomplished all-around athletes.  At Farmington High School (Conn.), Zaback played soccer for two years, including his junior season when the team won a state title.

“He was an elite soccer player and runner. He’s got a repeatable golf swing, becoming more multi-dimensional,” Pezzino says. “He can hit high to low or low to high shots. A lot of freshmen come in with one style. Zach will try anything. He takes a lot of responsibility and pride in his game. He’ll do what it takes to be ready. I don’t have to worry about him at all.”

Masso, who was a walk-on during the 2011-12 season, has emerged as the team’s leader, helping his younger teammates with their academics and leading by example on the course.

“He’s probably one of the brighter guys I’ve ever coached and he’s also a street smart kid,” Pezzino says. “If something is not working, he tries to play to his strength. I think that’s part of his academic wherewithal.  It’s a game that can change mid-round.

The Big East Championship will be contested at Reunion Resort in Reunion, Fla., on the course designed by major champion Tom Watson. It is a long par 72 layout, measuring 7,154 yards from the championship tees.

“With three rounds on the Watson course you have to be patient and play your game,” says Pezzino, who previously coached and was a master instructor in Florida. “You need to hit it down the left side on a par four and don’t try to drive the green.”

Pezzino says today’s young players can all hit the ball far, but to succeed they need to learn to score by hitting their irons into the targets on the green. During the cold weather in Storrs, the Huskies worked inside the Mark R. Shenkman Training Center, setting up mats on the 20-yard line of the football field to practice hitting their shots into the goal line area 80-yards away before moving closer for shorter wedge shots.

“I was surprised with the maturity the young group brought together. We’ve hung around. We won a tournament,” Pezzino says. “The great thing is the golf ball doesn’t know anything about that. I’ll take my guys. We’ll play anybody, any time. I like that fact that we’re so young. The next couple of years it will be difficult to crack into our lineup.”

***

Five-time All-American Victoria Flowers ’13 (ED) continued her remarkable senior season on Thursday by winning first place in the hammer throw and taking fourth place in the shot put at the Penn Relays. Flowers’ hammer throw traveled 64.20m (210-7) and her shot put toss went 16.20m (53-1 3/4), to break her previous UConn record.

***

After posting double digit runs for the fifth time this season in an 11-6 non-conference win over Bryant on Wednesday, the baseball team opens a weekend Big East series this afternoon at No. 28 Notre Dame (23-16, 4-8 BE) starting at 5:30 p.m.

The Huskies (25-16, 8-7 Big East) continue the series on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.  All games will air on WHUS 91.7 and stream on whus.org.

***

Val Sadowl ’16 (CLAS) hit her first career home run as part of a six-run first inning as the softball team walked away with a 10-6 win over Albany at Burrill Family Field on Thursday. Freshman pitcher Alyson Ambler ’16 (CLAS) improved to 3-5 on the year as the Huskies moved to 23-22 on the season, 6-10 Big East.

The Huskies return to Big East action on Saturday at Seton Hall (16-25, 4-11 BE) for a three-game conference series this weekend with a doubleheader on Saturday and the finale on Sunday.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do this week to prepare for our last two regular season games but this has been a program-changing season and it’s due to our leadership, work ethic and cohesion as a team,” said Huskies head coach Katie Woods.  “This is something we’ve been working towards for the past three seasons.”

Goalkeeper Shannon Nee ’16 (CLAS) was named Defensive Player of the Week in the Big East on Monday, after holding opponents to 5.5 goals per game in an unbeaten week.  Senior midfielder Morgan O’Reilly ’13 (CLAS) was named to the Honor Roll after scoring four goals in the week.

The Huskies  (13-1, 5-1 Big East) will end the regular season on Friday when they travel to No. 7 Georgetown (11-3, 5-1 BE) and to No. 17 Loyola (Md.) on Sunday.

***

Head men’s basketball coach Kevin Ollie ’95 (CLAS) has named Ricky Moore ’99 (CLAS) as an assistant coach, replacing George Blaney, who after 12 years as associate head coach and assistant coach will now serve as a special assistant/advisor to Ollie.

Moore, who last season was assistant director of basketball administration, was a co-captain of the Huskies’ first NCAA Championship team and the National Defensive Player of the Year in 1998-99. In 2001 he was named to UConn’s All-Century Team. His 510 assists still rank sixth on UConn’s all-time list. Before joining Ollie’s staff last season, Moore served two years as an assistant coach at Dartmouth.

“When Ricky was here as a player, he epitomized what UConn stands for and I know he will do the same thing as a coach,” Ollie said. “I have a lot of faith in Ricky as a recruiter and a coach. I know the kind of strength and enthusiasm he has for the game and our program. I’ve already seen it in the role he had with us last year. Going into this new era of UConn basketball, I’m looking forward to having him on the road recruiting and using his coaching style to help us on and off the court.”

***

LJ Mazzilli ’13 (CLAS) sparked a 4-run rally in the bottom of the sixth inning to lead the baseball team to a 5-4 comeback over UMass at J.O. Christian Field on Tuesday afternoon.

The Huskies snapped a short, three-game slide to improve to 24-16, while the Minutemen fell to 9-22. It was the 159^th meeting between the two schools, dating back to an 8-2 win for Massachusetts State in 1900.  UConn has won 11 consecutive match-ups against UMass since 2007.

Stephen Catalina ’13 (BUS) earned the first win of his career in his 28^th career appearance, all out of the bullpen.  He pitched three innings and allowed one run on two hits and a walk, while striking out two.  Jordan Tabakman ’15 (CLAS) picked up his fifth save of the season in 1.1 innings to go with two strikeouts.

***

The softball team dropped two games on Tuesday at Notre Dame (35-10, 15-1 Big East) in a doubleheader. The Irish shut out the Huskies (22-22, 6-10 BE) in the first game with a score of 6-0 before an 11-1 win in five innings in the second game of the day.

The Huskies were originally scheduled to host a doubleheader on Thursday against Albany but now will play a single game at 4 p.m. at Burrill Family Field.