Rhode Island College will celebrate 30 years of women’s intercollegiate athletics with a special program Friday night at the John Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts.

“Saluting the Legends”, a panel discussion, will begin at 7 p.m. Wilma Briggs, former professional baseball player; Eleanor Lemaire, former athletics administrator at URI; G. Gail Davis, alumna and highly successful high-school and college coach; Gail Davis, administrator and coach, and Lauren Anderson, former coach and current administrator at URI will address the past, present and future of women’s athletics in Rhode Island.

The greatest moments and individuals in the history of women’s athletics at RIC will be recognized. They include the 1981 basketball team that was 16-10 and played in the first round of the AIAW Division III National Championship; the 1981 volleyball team that was 47-9, the best record in RIC history, and finished third in the Eastern AIAW Championships; Lois Testa Lynch, a 1957 alumna, who competed in the shot put at the 1956 Olympics at Melbourne, Australia; the 1984 softball team that was 13-10-1 and won RIC’s first ECAC New England Championship; the 1985 basketball team that finished 19-7 and third at the NCAA Division III Regional and the 1986 team that was 17-10 and ECAC champion; the 2007 softball team that set a school record for victories (41-7) and won the Little East and NCAA Regional Tournaments.

Also, Jo-Ann D’Alessandro, who led Division III in free-throw percentage in 1987 and remains second in scoring (1,426) and first in assists (430); Cathy Lanni, RIC’s career scoring (1,677) and rebounding (1,101) leader; Claudia DeFaria, who scored 1,048 points in two seasons after transferring from CCRI; Sue Paul, a three-time National Collegiate Gymnastics Association All-America and vault national champion in 1996; Caitlin Gavin, four-time Little East first-team all-conference center in lacrosse and Division III leader in goals per game (5.8) in 2005; Nicole Riley, All-America pitcher who won 43 consecutive games and was 29-5 in 2007.

Also, All-Americas Sajdah Ahmad, Amy Bright, Nicole Centazzo and Jenna Daum (gymnastics), Annmarie Gower Marino (cross country), Jeanne Berthasavage Lucey (track) and Kim Smith Rondeau (softball).

Tickets are $10 for RIC alumni and $20 for the general public. Contact the RIC athletics department at (401) 456-8260 for further details.

Fund-raising walk at URI tomorrow

URI’s department of athletics is sponsoring a “Walk to D’Feet ALS” tomorrow around the Quad on the Kingston campus to raise money for ALS (Lou Gherig’s Disease) research and patient services and to honor Yngve Ramstad, economics professor and former faculty athletics representative. A URI contingent dubbed Ramstad’s Rams will participate in a walk at the Confreda Sports Complex in Warwick Sunday at 11 a.m. Contact URI’s Barb Luebke at (401) 874-5490 or Gregg Burke at (401) 874-5278 for details.

RWU top seed in tennis finals

Roger Williams is the top seed for The Commonwealth Coast Conference women’s tennis championships that start today at campus sites. The Hawks (11-1, 10-0) will play eighth-seeded Curry (3-11, 3-7) at 2 p.m. at Bristol. They swept the Colonels, 9-0, on Sept. 25.

Salve Regina (7-4, 7-3) a perennial contender, is seeded fifth this year and will play fourth-seeded Western New England (10-4, 7-3) at Springfield. WNEC’s 8-1 victory over SRU on Sept. 13 broke the tie.

Second-seeded Endicott (12-4, 8-2) will host seventh-seeded Gordon (4-7, 4-6), and third-seeded Colby-Sawyer (12-3, 8-2) will play sixth-seeded Nichols (9-6, 5-5).

The semifinals are scheduled for Oct. 24 and the final Oct. 27 at the home of the higher seed.

CCRI soccer team near unbeatable

CCRI’s 4-0 romp over Mercer County CC on Sunday was the Knights’ ninth consecutive victory and eighth consecutive shutout, a record for the women’s soccer program. CCRI is 12-1 and ranked No. 11 in the NJCAA poll. CCRI has not allowed a goal since Sept. 23.

After CCRI got an “own goal” in the first half, the Knights scored three in the second half. Ashley Maisano (Bristol) and Jessica Collinson (West Kingston) twice found the back of the net.

CCRI will host Dean College tomorrow at 3:30 at Lincoln. A victory will give CCRI the Region 21 championship for the seventh consecutive year and 10th in the program’s 14-year history.

URI women N.E. champs in tennis

The University of Rhode Island women’s tennis team won its second consecutive New England Championship on Sunday at Fairfield University. The Rams were 8-1 in doubles and 17-1 in singles. Rhody players advanced to the finals in every singles and doubles flight.

Nyssa Peele won at No. 1, Amanda Barletta at No. 3, Christen Cadigan at No. 4, Brooke Hoover at No. 5 and Kristen Liu at No. 6. Liu defeated Kim Betzner of Providence College in the second round. Grace Hedstrom lost at No. 2. Barletta and Steff Catanzano took No. 2 doubles and Cadigan and Hoover No. 3 doubles. Peele and Hedstrom lost in the finals at No. 1. Cadigan and Hoover defeated Kate Lyons (Barrington) and Jen Cusack of Providence College, 8-1.

PC finished fourth. Lyons was third at No. 3 singles. Dara Hawkins-Hodgson third at No. 4 and Syushi Sinha third at No. 5.

Roundup

Brown goalie Steffi Yellin made 10 diving, acrobatic saves and shut out Harvard, 1-0, and is the Ivy League women’s soccer player of the week. Jamie Mize scored the goal. … URI defeated Providence College, 3-2, in volleyball Saturday. The Rams improved to 10-11 and he Friars dropped to 14-8. … Bryant’s fall record so far is 67-24-4, 48-8-3 in the Northeast-10. Ranked teams include football, women’s soccer and field hockey. The volleyball team (18-11, 9-0) will host Bentley, also undefeated in the conference, tomorrow night in a match for first place. … Johnson & Wales senior Michael Gliniecki scored four goals in a 7-0 soccer rout of Saint Joseph’s of Maine Saturday. Brian Sousa (Providence) scored one goal. The Wildcats are 7-4-3, 6-1-0 in the GNAC. … Wheaton is ranked No. 9 in the nation and No. 2 in New England in women’s soccer. The Lyons are 14-0-1, 6-0 in the NEWMAC. They blasted Coast Guard, 14-0, a week ago. … The Wheaton volleyball team (18-9, 2-4) has posted its highest victory total since 1998. … Max Smith finished sixth overall and the PC men eighth at the cross country Pre-national meet at Indiana State. Danette Doetzel paced the women. She finished sixth and the team ninth. The Friars will run at the Big East Championships on Oct. 27 at Louisville.

mszostak@projo.com