The world is our arena Raider
ROUNDUP Savannah Butterfield, Rookie of the Year
By JOANNE MERRILL
This year, close to 200 Raider studentathletes represented Rivier University—not only in New England, but also throughout the world. The women’s soccer team kicked it off in mid-August with a trip to Paris, Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, and Prague. The women had the opportunity to compete against teams in Germany and Austria. Over the winter break, the men’s basketball team competed in the Tournament of Heroes in Staten Island, N.Y., and the women’s team headed to warmer climes for a tournament in Daytona, Fla. Spring break found the softball team in South Carolina, the baseball team busing it through Maryland and Virginia, and the men’s volleyball team on the west coast competing against the Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz. Riv Raiders are everywhere!
Individual year-end honors for the Raiders At the year-end Awards Ceremony, several Rivier studentathletes were recognized for their 2013-2014 achievements. Cassandra Brown (Somersworth, N.H.), women’s soccer and Jim Varela (Merrimack, N.H.), men’s lacrosse were recognized as the 2014 Scholar-Athletes of the Year. Both had the highest cumulative GPA for a female and male student-athlete with at least sophomore status and are criminal justice majors. Earning Rookie of the Year honors were Tyler Blank (Rochester, N.Y.), men’s volleyball and Savannah Butterfield (Londonderry, N.H.), women’s basketball. Both were also named Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Rookie of the Year in their respective sports. Blank became the third Rivier men's volleyball student-athlete to be named the GNAC Rookie of the Year. The 6-0 setter accounted for 1,054 assists and a 10.23 assists per set average in his first year. Blank also helped on the defensive side of the game with 69 total blocks, 18 solo blocks, and 119 digs. Butterfield was only the second Raider to be named a GNAC Women’s Basketball Rookie of the Year. She averaged 10.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game to rank second on the Raiders squad in each category. The rookie forward also added 47 assists, 40 blocks, and 32 steals. Butterfield posted 14 double-digit scoring contests and three double-doubles on the year. Seniors Christina Parent (Loudon, N.H.), women’s soccer and Nick Walch (Dedham, Mass.), men’s basketball earned the 2014 Rivier Sportsmanship Awards. Both athletes played at Rivier for four years and were role models on and off the field and court. Photos by Jodie Andruskevich and Grant Klene SPRING 2014 21