Men’s Skiing Reaches USCSA Championships
The UMF men’s ski team reached the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association National Championships for the fourth consecutive season in March. This year’s competition was held at Winter Park and Devil’s Thumb Ranch in Colorado. The Beavers qualified as a four-way team, competing in alpine and Nordic disciplines. The bid was a result of the team’s efforts at the Eastern Collegiate Ski Conference Championships at Waterville Valley in New Hampshire in February.



UMF’s top finish in five events at Nationals was 12th out of 21 teams in the slalom. Skiers competing for the Beavers included seniors Nate Dumais and Kendall Ricker (pictured competing at the USCSA Nationals in Winter Park), juniors Jon Dennett and Corey White, sophomore Pat Pozzetti and freshman Scott Hilton. Unattached from the team, freshman Katie Keough took part in the women’s snowboard competition, placing 19th overall in four events, including fifth in the giant slalom. During the regular season, the Beavers compete in the Reynolds Division, which includes Bates College’s ‘B’ team, UMaine, UMaine-Fort Kent and UMaine-Presque Isle. The Reynolds Division schedule is composed entirely of Maine venues. Economically and academically, the Reynolds Division allows for more Maine colleges and universities to field competitive ski teams than any other available option.

Women’s Basketball Reaches Semifinals
The UMF women’s basketball team placed second in the North Atlantic Conference during the regular season and advanced to the NAC semifinals. The Beavers’ season ended on Feb. 27 with a 61-59 overtime loss to NAC champion Castleton State College in the conference semifinals at Husson. Junior forward Caitlyn Laflin garnered all-conference accolades for the third straight season and earned All-NAC First Team honors. Laflin, who scored her 1,000th career point during the season, was also named All-State First Team by the Maine Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. Senior guard Erin Porter was named to the All-NAC Second Team, while senior guard Amanda Byrne was an NAC Honorable Mention selection. The team will lose seniors Byrne, Porter and Samantha Wiley. “Finishing 15-11 this year speaks highly of our seniors’ leadership,” says head coach Jamie Beaudoin ’97. “Highlights include a win at Maine Maritime that stopped a losing skid, a come-from-behind victory over Colby and hitting an NCAA-best 19 of 19 free throws at Lyndon State.”


Men’s Basketball Makes NAC Final Four
The UMF men’s basketball team finished third in the NAC and reached the conference semifinals. “I thought we had an outstanding year,” says head coach Dick Meader. “We won our last 10 out of 14. We battled through a tough non-conference schedule to fare well in the conference. I thought our guys were committed to defense, very unselfish and competitive.” The Beavers fell to eventual champ Husson, 67-65, in the NAC semifinals at Thomas College on Feb. 27. UMF lost on a tip-in at the buzzer at the end of regulation. Junior center Josh Tanguay was recognized on the All-NAC First Team with sophomore forward Eric Taylor receiving NAC Honorable Mention recognition. The team graduates Pat Howell, David Kerschner and Ted Neil.

Cullenberg resigns, Wagner to run men’s XC
After nine seasons, UMF men’s cross country coach Arvid Cullenberg resigned in January to spend more time with his family. Women’s cross country coach Ryan Wagner has agreed to become the head coach for both the men’s and women’s programs. The seven-time conference coach of the year, Cullenberg enjoyed considerable success, including six team-conference championships, 28 individual all-conference selections, five conference runners-of-the-year awards, four individual qualifiers for Nationals and two Academic All-Americans. Last season, the Beavers placed second in the NAC. Wagner, who became the women’s cross country head coach in 2008, led Farmington to an NAC title and shared NAC Coach of the Year honors. The Beavers’ women’s cross country team has won four of the last five NAC championships.

Fall student-athletes feted for academics
Fifteen UMF student-athletes were honored in February as NAC All-Academic selections. The Beavers’ honored student-athlete count was the highest total for any school in the conference—a distinction UMF has held since 2000. To be honored, a student-athlete must have reached junior academic standing and competed at least two years in his/her sport with a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.5. Also in February, UMF announced the fall semester Dean’s List, which included 54 student-athletes.

Field hockey receives national honors
The UMF field hockey team was honored by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association for having a team grade-point average of 3.0 or higher in March. This is the sixth consecutive season that the Beavers have received the NFHCA Division III National Academic Award. Ten players were also named to the NFHCA Division III National Academic Squad. The group was headlined by senior Samantha Kenison, a four-time award-winner.

By Marc Meyers