Junior Cyril Langevine pulls downs a rebound in Brooklyn during the Atlantic Ten Championship tournament. Photo by Mitchell Leff.
by Nick Cardi and Will Pipicelli.
Men’s Basketball MVP: Cyril Langevine
Cyril Langevine has been named the Cigar Sports MVP for the 2018-2019 Men’s Basketball team. Langevine had an outstanding year as one of the most dominant big men in the entire Atlantic Ten, and helped the Rams reach the semifinals of the A-10 Tournament.
Langevine was named to the All-Conference second team and also named to the All-Defensive team as well. The New Jersey native also showed out in the A-10 Tournament as he put averaged 15.7 points and 10 rebounds which was good enough to be named to the All-Tournament team.
It was a historic season as well for Langevine as he became just the seventh Ram in program history to record 300 rebounds. The last Ram to do so was Lamar Odom, who pulled down 302 in the 1998-1999 season. Langevine finished the year with a total of 324 boards this year, which is fifth all-time for a single season.
In addition to rebounding, Langevine was able to get it done on the offensive side of the floor as well. The junior was able to record his 17th double-double on the year. The 17 double-doubles for Langevine are the most by a Rhode Island player since Odom had 19 in 1998-99. Coming into this season Langevine had only six double-doubles in his career at Rhody.
Langevine came into the year having started just five times at the collegiate level. Langevine exploded this past year as he averaged 14.6 points per game and game up just short of a double-double with 9.8 rebounds per game.
Along with dominating on the offensive side of the court, Langevine was a menace on the defensive end as he was the top rim protector for the Rams this season. Langevine ranked fifth in the A-10 in blocks as he averaged 1.4 blocks per contest. He also tied Kahiem Seawright for seventh place in team history with 110 blocks in his career.
Lastly, Langevine was able to set a career high in every category. He posted a career in points, 26, and was a major reason URI was able to upset the Dayton Flyers in early February. He also pulled down a career high 18 boards against the Fordham Rams.
Langevine will be back next year as a senior and has a chance of catching Art Stephenson career all-time rebounding record. Langevine is just 388 rebounds shy of the all-time mark.
Women’s Basketball MVP: Elemy Colome
Elemy Colome has been named the Cigar Sports 2018-2019 women’s basketball MVP. Colome lead the Rams in scoring as she averaged 14.3 points per game which ranked seventh in the Atlantic Ten.
Colome, a redshirt junior guard, was able to put together 21 double-digit scoring efforts in the 28 games she played this season. She finished the season strong as she recorded double-digits in four of the last six games.
The Lawrence, Massachusetts native turned in her best performance at home on Jan. 30 as she put up a career high 26 points against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies. Unfortunately the Rams fell in that one, but it was Colome lighting it up from downtown as she connected on four three pointers. She also went a perfect six for six from the free throw line.
Colome was also a sure handed free throw shooter as she shot a terrific 77 percent from the charity stripe. That was good enough for 12th in the A-10.
Colome was a major reason for a couple milestones in the women’s basketball program history. Her 16 points against St. Louis in early January led the Rams to their first ever win in the Chaifetz Arena, home of the Billikens. In addition to that, she was able to lead the Rams to consecutive road wins against Robert Morris and Vermont for the first time since the 2016-17 season. Colome put up a combined 25 points in those two games.
As well as being a natural scorer, Colome has terrific court vision as she dished out 71 total assists, which was second on the team. She also averaged 2.4 assists per contest. Colome had a season high seven assists against Clemson as well.
Colome came to URI after transferring from James Madison University. Colome finished with 14.3 points per game, 2.4 assists and also added 3.8 rebounds per game as well.
Hockey: Jake Salisbury
Even though the University of Rhode Island men’s hockey team season ended in disappointment with a 6-1 loss to Delaware in the ESCHL playoffs, the team still had a great season. They finished with an overall record of 20-14, which was the
The junior forward continued to elevate his game this season, scoring a combined 48 goals and assists for the Rams on the year. Salisbury finished with 17 goals and his 31 assists were the most by anyone on the team. His 48 points was an increase of 11 from his sophomore season when he contributed 37 points. In the league, the native of Cumberland, Rhode Island finished fifth in the ESCHL in points registered, and finished 15 points behind the leader, Michael Nisky of Liberty University.
Salisbury’s favorite opponents to pick on was Towson University. In three games against the Tigers, he finished with four goals and seven assists, including a hat trick in the second game of the season. The forward also scored three game-winning goals this year, which placed second on the team behind Jonathan Alsfeld. Jake Salisbury filled up the box sheet on many nights, rightly earning him the award for team MVP.
Swimming & Diving: Nicole Petta
As the University of Rhode Island continues to make waves in the community and beyond, the Tootell Aquatic Center housed the biggest ones this season, courtesy of the URI swimming and diving team. Rhody went 9-2 on the season in what was a historic season for the program.
Junior Diver Katy Evans competed in NCAA qualifiers this past season for the first time ever, placing 58 out of 64 competitors in the single meter dive. The Atlantic 10 Championships saw every swim the team had but three as a seasonal best for the swimmers competing in the events. URI’s success can be attributed to the leadership from the four seniors on the team in Eliza Anderson, Caitlyn Blake, Grace Kneller and Nicole Petta, who together brought the team to new heights.
What sets Petta apart from her teammates, and why she is this season’s MVP, was her dominance in the pool. She won 24 events this year ranging from events such as the individual medley and the 100-yard
Men’s Track and Field: Anthony Delasanta
The defending indoor track champions in the A-10 came close to snapping up their second consecutive trophy this winter as the Rams ran circles around their competition. Unfortunately for URI, the team fell just short, finishing in second place to host George Mason University. The team won two events at the championships, as senior thrower Thomas Vadis won his first A-10 postseason event in weight throwing. The other event, the 400-meter dash, was championed by redshirt sophomore Anthony Delasanta, the men’s indoor track and field team MVP.
The sprinter from Franklin, Massachusetts asserted himself immensely on the track this past season. He finished first in the Beantown Challenge for the 200-meter dash, and placed second in the 500-meter at the same event. His showing at the Husky Invitational, where he won the 400-meter dash in a time of 49.76 seconds, earned him A-10 Track Performer of the Week. When it came time for the IC4A National Championships, the sprinter did not disappoint, finishing third in the 400-meter dash. The run capped off an incredible season for Delasanta, a deservingly choice as team MVP.
Women’s Track and Field: Molly Botts
The URI Women’s track and field team set new records this season as the team competed all over the East Coast. Junior Lotte Black set a school record that was held for 36 years in the mile, clocking in at 4:48:46 seconds that beat Kristen O’Connell’s mark by 2.5 seconds. Nicole Valdez earned the team’s second A-10 Field Performer of the Week award with a personal best weight throw of 15.96 meter (52′ 4.5″) in the Brown Invitational. However, the team’s MVP was their other A-10 winner, sophomore Molly Botts.
The thrower from Cranston won the award two times this season due to her efforts. She first won it in December due to her performance in the Alden Invitational, where she finished atop the leaderboard with a throw of 16.38 meters (53′ 9″). Botts earned her second accolade from the conference later in the season because of her throw at the URI Coaches Tribute held at Mackal Field House. At the time of her 16.93 throw, it was the the second best throw in the entire conference. Molly Botts threw herself into the headlines this season, and is this year’s choice for team MVP.