When Elizabeth Ferry graduated from Winslow High School and began playing basketball at the University of Maine at Farmington, she didn’t know that a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee existed, let alone what it did.
Less than two years later, Ferry is a junior at UMF and the president of the North Atlantic Conference’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). She was elected in April and officially began her one-year term July 1.
Ferry’s election came at the NAC SAAC meeting in York Harbor. She was one of nine candidates for the presidency. The NAC SAAC gives student-athletes a voice in things like conference and NCAA legislation, as well as bringing together the individual SAACs from each of the schools in the conference.
“There were eight males and me that ran,” she said. “I’ve always kind of been interested in having as many leadership opportunities as possible. I hope that I can provide a voice to the schools in the conference. I want all the people to know what SAAC is and have pride in it.
According to a press release from UMF, she’ll preside over at least two SAAC meetings, and be a voice of the conference’s student-athletes at meetings of “athletic directors and other stakeholder groups.” Ferry will be eligible to run for re-election next year.
Ferry was so excited to get going that she e-mailed NAC commissioner Julie Muller on her first official day as SAAC president, asking Muller if there was anything she needed done.
“I did some logistical stuff so far,” Ferry said. “I’m trying to create a group on Facebook or some universal network for (student-athletes) to communicate through.”
In January, Ferry will also be at the 2015 NCAA Convention in Washington, D.C.
“I’ll be meeting the bigwigs from all the institutions,” she said. “I’ll be able to promote Winslow — my hometown, Farmington — my school, and Maine — my state. There’s a lot of weight on my shoulders, but I’m very excited.”
Ferry started 23 games for the Beavers last season, and averaged 8.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. As a 5-foot-11 forward, she was also second on UMF in assists per game.
This year will be busier, in many ways.
“I hope we can look back and say, ‘Hey, the NAC SAAC did a good job, and had an impact not only on our campuses, but in our communities,'” Ferry said.
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Thomas recently announced the hiring of two new head coaches, and both are familiar names to central Maine high school fans.
The new women’s tennis coach for the Terriers is Jill Cristan, who has coached the Waterville girls tennis team the last four years. The Purple Panthers have won the Eastern B title in each of Cristan’s four seasons at the helm.
While girls tennis is a spring sport at the high school level in Maine, the Thomas women’s tennis team plays in the fall. It begins its season Sept. 4 with a match at the University of Southern Maine. Cristan was an assistant last season under head coach Lauren Bickford, as the Terriers finished 5-6, including a 3-1 record in the North Eastern Athletic Conference.
The other new head coach at Thomas is men’s lacrosse coach Tom Sheridan, who recently completed his 20th season as boys lacrosse coach at Messalonskee. Sheridan was the head coach at Thomas from 2004-10, then served in the same position at UMaine-Farmington the past two seasons. Thomas and UMF each finished 4-4 in the NAC last season.
Both of Sheridan’s teams compete in the spring, but it’s not an all-season problem. Sheridan will certainly have his hands full for a few weeks, but this spring, for example, Thomas’ last regular season game was on April 21, and Messalonskee’s first regular season game was on April 30.
Thomas also announced recently that Kurtis Bixby will be an assistant on the men’s basketball team. Bixby played at Lawrence High School and Anna Maria College. He joins Tim Goodearle and former Thomas player Marquis Pollard as assistants under new head coach Geoff Hensley. The Terriers finished 11-7 in the North Atlantic Conference last season.
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Former Skowhegan and Bryant University standout MaKayla Hancock will be a volunteer assistant at Providence College this fall, and will also be helping out as a coach at Bryant.
At Providence, Skowhegan grad and 2013 Miss Maine Field Hockey Allie Lancaster is a freshman. On the Bryant roster are two Skowhegan grads: MaKayla’s triplet sister Megan (who red-shirted as a freshman) and Mikayla Fitzmaurice, as well as freshman Bethany Winkin of Winslow. The University of Maine hosts Bryant on Sept. 20, and Providence six days later.
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Arreonte Lee, one of the big stars on the UMaine-Augusta women’s basketball team last season, was hoping to move on to a Division I school. Lee has done just that, as she transferred to Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla., with the intention of playing basketball for the Wildcats. Bethune-Cookman finished 12-18 last winter.
Lee averaged 20.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game for the Moose last season, helping UMA to a spot in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Division II tournament. Despite playing only two seasons in Augusta, she scored 1,063 points in her career.
Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243
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