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By Patrick Maloney ’02 and Larry Napolitano ’97
From Aug. 14-24, the Holy Cross
men’s basketball team roamed the Emerald Isle, playing
five games against Irish professional teams. The Crusaders
dominated the competition for most of the five games, but
the experience gained by the squad and the camaraderie
that was instilled in the players will definitely benefit
the team in the upcoming season.
“
I knew that we had a very young team with only one senior
(Jave Meade) on the roster,” says Holy Cross head
coach Ralph Willard. “Having lost three starters
and our sixth man from a year ago, I knew that this would
be a trip that would give us an opportunity to improve
and establish an identity with some players who have not
played a lot of minutes.”
The Crusaders landed in Dublin at 6 a.m. on Friday, Aug.
15. The team could not check into the hotel till after
1 p.m., so a tired Holy Cross squad dropped its bags
off in the hotel and headed into the city to see some
of the
sights. After a brief tour of the city and a wonderful
dinner at Oliver St. John Gogarty, the team headed to
bed to prepare for its first game against the Tolka Rovers
the next day.
In its first game of the tour, Holy Cross saw six players
reach double figures as it posted a 99-69 win. The team
shot 60.0 percent from the floor and blocked seven shots
in the win. Nate Lufkin ’05 (Austin, Texas) and John
Hurley ’05 (South Boston, Mass.) led the way with
17 and 15 points, respectively. Hurley added 11 rebounds
to post the only double-double of the game.
The next day the Crusaders battled the Irish Partner
Saints, coming away with a 104-73 victory. Lufkin scored
22 points
while center Neil Fingleton ’04 (Durham, England)
added 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead the way. Michael
Smiley ’05 (Swampscott, Mass.) chipped in with
19 points. Holy Cross blocked 15 shots and held the Saints
to just 36.6 percent shooting from the floor.
In Waterford, the Crusaders had
a wonderful tour of the Waterford Crystal factory, where
Jave Meade ’04 (Queensbridge, N.Y.) and Greg Kinsey ’05
(Philadelphia, Pa.) did their best impersonations of glass
blowers. Lufkin and Hurley then tried their hand at cutting
glass before all the members of the Holy Cross party etched
their names into a piece of glass.
Later that night, Holy Cross defeated
the Crystal Institute 81-20, holding the Waterford team
to just six points
in the final 20 minutes of the contest. Smiley led the
scoring
effort with 15 points while Fingleton added 14 points
and 10 rebounds. 
After Waterford, Holy Cross headed to the southern city
of Cork, where the team battled the UCC Demons, the winners
of the Irish Superleague last season. Holy Cross had
six players reach double figures in scoring—led by Kevin
Hamilton ’06 (Queens Village, N.Y.) with 16 points—to
capture a 93-54 win.
For its final leg of the 10-day tour, Holy Cross headed
to the city of Limerick. In its final game of the trip,
the team again kept up the defensive pressure, holding
the BK Limerick squad to just 29.0 percent shooting
from the floor. The Crusaders again posted a 30-point win,
capturing a 79-49 victory. Hamilton and Kinsey led
the
scoring effort
with 15 points each to lead five players in double figures.
The next day, Holy Cross headed for Shannon Airport,
tired, but happy to have spent the time in Ireland.
“
This type of trip gives the guys an opportunity to bond,” says
Willard. “One of the things I was trying to develop
was some court leadership from some of the other players.
The best way to do that is by playing other teams. The
opportunity to have the guys practice and work on some
things that I thought we would be weak in, heading into
the year, was something that can really help us in the
future. The added benefit to heading abroad is that the
guys were able to experience another country and see Ireland.”
*
On Aug. 19, the Holy Cross women’s basketball team
arrived at Shannon Airport in Ireland for a six-day trip
throughout the country. The Crusaders were able to take
in a lot of the local flavor, as well as compete against
some of the better women’s basketball competition.
On their first evening in Limerick, the players celebrated
with a medieval banquet at Bunratty Castle. The team easily
adjusted to the Irish meals, enjoying its fill of a four-course
meal of soup, ribs, chicken and potatoes, and dessert.
During the meal, Coach Bill Gibbons made an appearance
in the banquet festivities. He was accused of treason and
taken prisoner in the dark dungeon. In order to be released,
Gibbons was forced to sing the Crusader fight song, “Chu-Chu-Rah-Rah.”
Following his short imprisonment, Gibbons led the Crusaders
into their first game of the trip against the University
of Limerick. Guard Maggie Fontana ’05 (Barrington,
Ill.), named “Patriot League Tournament Most Valuable
Player,” continued where she left off last season,
leading Holy Cross with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Forward
Patty Fitzgerald ’04 (Cranston, R.I.) added 15 points
and eight rebounds of her own. Guard Shannon Bush ’06
(Doylestown, Pa.) had 12 points off the bench, including
a pair of three-pointers, and the Crusaders wound up on
top by a final score of 86-61. 
The following day, the team was off to Dublin. During
the day, players visited Saint Patrick’s Cathedral and
saw the Book of Kells located at the Trinity College library.
That evening, the College took on the Sasha Meteors in
its second matchup. Lisa Andrews ’05 (Concord, Mass.)
had 18 points, 9 rebounds and 7 blocks while Jessica Conte ’06
(Scarsdale, N.Y.) added 17 points in the 89-47 win. Gibbons
was reunited with former player Eileen Bradley ’97,
who led the Meteors with 13 points and six rebounds.
After spending the night in Dublin, the Crusaders were
off to Waterford, Ireland’s oldest city. A walled
city of Viking origin, Waterford retains much of its medieval
character. The team toured the city and made a stop at
the Waterford Crystal Factory to explore the plant. That
evening, Holy Cross faced the Waterford Wildcats in its
third game of the trip. Everyone on the team played well,
and the Crusaders romped, 94-42. Conte continued to play
exceptionally, bettering her performance from the night
before, with a game-high 18 points.
Next, the players were off to Killarney, where they spent
the final days of their trip. Along the way, they stopped
in Cork to see the famous Blarney Castle. In their fourth
and final game, the Crusaders defeated St. Paul’s
team, 122-58. Holy Cross was firing on all cylinders once
again as seven Crusaders scored in double-digits. Andrews
paced the team with 22 points, with Sarah Placek ’06
(Alexandria, Va.) right behind her with 21 points.
The women’s team returned to Worcester with nothing
but great memories and high expectations for the upcoming
season.
Patriot League tops NCAA Graduation rate for fifth-straight year
For the fifth straight year, the Patriot League leads
all Division I athletic conferences in graduation rates,
according
to a report issued this week by the NCAA. In the national
survey, the Patriot League full-member institutions graduated
84 percent of its student-athletes, a more than 10 percent
higher graduation rate than any other NCAA Division I
conference. Holy Cross tied with Lafayette College to
rank 23rd nationally
in graduation rates, with an 82 percent rate.
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