URI is celebrating two championships this week -- one unexpected, the other from a familiar source.

The women's tennis team won its first New England Championship Sunday, besting the eight-team field at Fairfield University. The golf team, a perennial contender and frequent winner of major regional tournaments, won the ECAC Championship Sunday in a 12-team field at the Shelter Harbor Golf Club in Westerly.

Rhode Island dominated the tennis tournament, winning five of six singles and all three doubles finals. Senior Lara Maurer , a transfer from the University of Kentucky, beat Pam Pillo of Sacred Heart, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 1 singles. Sophomore Valerie Chacon defeated Marissa Voloshin of Fairfield, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 2. Freshman Nyssa Peele downed Dana Postupack of Fairfield, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 3. Sophomore Grace Hedstrom beat Michaela Cerrone of Fairfield, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 4, and freshman Amanda Barletta rolled over Gabby Davila of Fairfield, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 5. Freshman Stefani Catanzano finished third at No. 6 singles. Alexis Accomando of Fairfield beat Providence freshman Jen Cusack for the title at No. 6.

In doubles, Maurer and Chacon prevailed at No. 1, Hedstrom and Peele at No. 2 and Barletta and Catanzano at No. 3. The Rams finished with 78 points. Fairfield was second with 61 and Providence third with 47. Sacred Heart, Montreal, Holy Cross, Stonehill and Hartford followed, in that order. The New England tournament does not attract top schools like Harvard, Brown, Dartmouth, UConn or UMass because the caliber of competition is not so strong as the Ivy League, Big East or Atlantic 10. But it is a perfect venue for a rising program like URI's to measure its progress.

URI has enjoyed a spectacular fall season. The Rams are 7-0 in dual matches and have won the ECAC Championships and URI Shootout as well as the New Englands. Rhody's next test will come this weekend, when Maurer and Chacon play at the ITA Eastern Regional, a gathering of the best No. 1 players in the East. Their final fall appearance will be Oct. 28-29 at the Dartmouth Invitational at Hanover, N.H.

Coach Sandy Wood has blended new players with his returning veterans and fostered a sense of team unity at the same time. The most valuable addition is Maurer, who posted a 71-58 record in three seasons at Kentucky, last year at No. 2 singles and doubles for the 17th-ranked Wildcats. She was second-team All-SEC.

Whatever possessed her to leave big-time tennis in the Southeastern Conference for URI and the Atlantic 10?

"She just was not enjoying college tennis at the most intense level and decided that she wanted something different," Wood said. Maurer had tired of training and practicing five or six hours a day, traveling around the country, missing classes and struggling to keep up academically. She had no life outside of tennis, which often is the case in Division I athletics.

Maurer compiled a list of about a dozen schools, but learned that most were as intense as Kentucky. Wood couldn't compete in terms of schedule or facilities, but he could offer a more low-key lifestyle at URI.

"She could play good tennis for two hours a day and go to class and have fun," he said.

Maurer is doing just that. She is 13-1 in singles and 9-1 with Chacon in doubles. She is taking six classes in the hope of finishing her degree requirements next summer. She is enjoying her teammates, and they her.

Concerned how his returning players would relate to the new faces on the team, Wood spent the first week of practice team-building. He had the players to his house in Jamestown for cookouts. He took them to the International Tennis Hall of Fame and The Breakers in Newport.

"That set the tone early," Wood said. When he finally allowed them to play matches, there was no animosity when new players won and earned four of the coveted six spots in the starting lineup. The reserves stayed with the team "and are playing better than they did last year. Emily Conant and Whitney Squires (Bristol) are playing good tennis right now," Wood said.

Determined to have his team continue to improve, Wood put together a demanding schedule for the spring. URI will play Brown, UMass, UConn and Quinnipiac. "We're ready to show we belong in that group. It will be fun," he said.

URI's golfers have demonstrated for some time that they belong in almost any group of collegians. The Rams won the ECAC title by 11 strokes over Boston College. Sacred Heart, Hartford, Central Connecticut, Fairfield, Connecticut, Harvard, Brown, Dartmouth, Iona and Boston University followed, in that order.

Senior Jeff Larson was the medalist with a four-over-par 146. Senior Ben Spitz tied for second with a 148. Senior Jason Pannone (East Greenwich) and sophomore Mark Stevens tied for 15th with 154s, and junior Jarryd Dillas tied for 26th with a 157.

The Rams will play in the New England Championships Oct. 22-24 in Brewster, Mass.

McElroy resignation Speculation continues to swirl about Tom McElroy 's resignation as director of athletics at URI last week "to pursue other interests." He had been on paid leave since last May.

Neither McElroy nor URI released the terms of his resignation. He was in the third year of a five-year contract at approximately $160,000 per year, so it is reasonable to conclude that lawyers for both parties worked out a financial settlement.

One of the stubborn rumors still making the rounds is that an athletics department staff member sued McElroy, and he filed a countersuit. In fact, a recent check with the Rhode Island Superior Court and the U.S. District Court turned up no record of a state or federal lawsuit involving McElroy.

Salve-RW showdown Top-seeded and three-time defending champion Salve Regina (11-1) and third-seeded Roger Williams (10-3) will play for the Commonwealth Coast Conference women's tennis championship tomorrow at Salve. The Hawks last won the title in 2002, beating Salve Regina in the final.

Salve routed fourth-seeded Gordon, 7-2, in the semifinal and avenged its only loss of the season. The Seahawks swept the three doubles matches, and Louis Taylor, Michelle and Kristina Kennedy and Aki Tokutake won in singles. Taylor beat the reigning CCC player of the year, Diana Anderson , 0-6, 6-2, 6-2, and is the CCC player of the week.

Roger Williams defeated second-seeded Colby-Sawyer, 6-3, in the semifinals. Caitlyn Leone, Jess Manners, Joanna Nettelfield, Kim Spencer and Kelsey Parente won in singles and Megan Connell and Nettelfield in doubles.

Salve defeated Roger Williams, 5-4, last month.

In the Little East Conference, Rhode Island College buried UMass-Dartmouth, 8-1, Saturday and finished the regular season 13-1, 7-0 in the LEC. The regular-season title was the fourth in a row for the Anchorwomen, who have won 29 consecutive LEC regular-season matches.

RIC will be trying for its third LEC title in four years when the LEC Tournament gets underway this weekend at UMass-Dartmouth. The winners of the CCC and LEC tournaments will earn automatic bids to the NCAA Division III Championship next spring.

Freshman Julie Bannon (Narragansett) was undefeated at No. 6 singles (14-0) and lost only twice in 16 doubles matches. She is the LEC rookie of the week. Senior Tara Marchant (North Scituate) played her last home match and won at No. 2 doubles.

RIC unofficial titlist Rhode Island College won the unofficial state championship in Division III women's volleyball by beating Johnson & Wales, 3-1, in the final. Both teams were 2-1. Junior Madison Greene (Cranston) had 18 kills, 6 digs and 2 blocks against the Wildcats. Salve and Roger Williams finished with 1-2 records.

RIC will honor seniors Erin Miga (Cranston), Stephanie Wojciechowski (North Kingstown), Julie Seitsinger (North Kingstown) and Kara Carcione before their final home match tonight against Suffolk.

mszostak@projo.com/ (401) 277-7340