Department News

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

NATIONAL CHAMPION RUNNER JEN TOOMEY, TOP TUFTS ATHLETES FROM 2007-08 TO BE HONORED AT HOMECOMING

MEDFORD -- USA National Champion runner Jennifer Toomey, a 1994 Tufts University graduate, will receive the 2008 Distinguished Achievement Award from the Tufts University Athletics Department at its Annual Awards Ceremony on Friday, September 26. The event, to be held at Cohen Auditorium beginning at 7:30 pm, will kick off Homecoming weekend at Tufts.

2008 Distinguished Achievement Award recipient Jennifer Toomey

Toomey joins an outstanding list of Distinguished Achievement Award (DAA) recipients. Boston Celtics legend Red Auerbach was the first to receive the honor in 1987. New England Patriots and Revolution owner Robert Kraft, Olympic medalists Joan Benoit-Samuelson, Nancy Kerrigan and Ben Smith, and National Football League Hall of Famer John Hannah have also been honored. The award was established to recognize individuals with Tufts and/or New England identities who have made extraordinary contributions to sports.

Ironically, Toomey was an NCAA qualifier in diving at Tufts. Originally from Branford, Connecticut, she had some experience in track at the high school level, but did not begin training for the sport seriously until she was 25 years old. By 2000, she was running at the U.S. Olympic Trials and over the next five years would become an international success among middle-distance competitors.

In 2004, Toomey became the first US athlete, male or female, to win the 800- and 1,500-meter indoor national titles in the same year. She also set the American record in the 1,000 meters (2:34.19) that year. She qualified for the 2004 Olympic Trials in the 800 and 1,500, finishing as the runner-up in the 1,500m. A member of three world championship teams, she took fourth in the 800m at the 2004 Indoor World's. Toomey won the US 1,500 indoor title again in 2005 and was the US Outdoor 1,500 runner-up. From 2001-05, she was among the top three in the US for the 800 and/or 1,500m.

Prior to giving Toomey the 2008 DAA at the Annual Awards Ceremony, Tufts Athletics will hand out its annual awards to eight of the top student performers from the 2007-08 academic year. Kendall Swett, who won NCAA diving titles off the 1-meter and 3-meter boards last March, will receive the Hester L. Sargent Award as top female athlete. Steve Ragonese, the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Player of the Year in baseball this past spring, is the Clarence "Pop" Houston Award recipient as top male athlete.

Swett is a Sargent Award recipient for the second straight year after sharing the honor a year ago. She graduated last May as the most successful diver in Tufts history. Last March, Swett closed her collegiate career in spectacular fashion, breaking her own NCAA Championships record to win the NCAA 3-meter competition and also winning her first NCAA 1-meter title. The victories give Swett three NCAA championships in her career. She had transferred to Tufts in 2006 from Lake Forest College, where she won the 3-meter event as a sophomore in 2006. Swett's NCAA performances in 2008 gave her six All-American honors overall. She won the 1- and 3-meter NESCAC diving titles in both of her seasons at Tufts.

Ragonese was the NESCAC Player of the Year for 2008 after putting together an impressive season offensively and defensively for the Jumbo baseball team. He produced 47 RBI in 32 games for the Jumbos, an average of 1.47 RBI per game that ranked among the top 20 in the NCAA Statistics. His .776 slugging percentage, powered by 14 doubles, three triples and nine home runs, led NESCAC. He hit four home runs with 16 RBI and 14 runs scored in 12 NESCAC East Division games. He was also on the All-NESCAC First Team for the second straight year. Ragonese also played a major role defensively for Tufts. Making 15 starts at second, 12 at first and five in the outfield, he handled 189 out of 199 total chances for an excellent .950 fielding percentage.

The Rudolph J. Fobert Awards are given annually to the top multi-sport athletes. Cross country/track runners Cat Beck and Katy O'Brien are the female recipients, and football/baseball player Alex Perry is the male honoree.

Teammates O'Brien and Beck concluded equally outstanding cross country and track & field careers for the Jumbos last year. Together they combined to earn 16 All-American honors for the Tufts cross country and track & field teams. Last fall, O'Brien was 16th and Beck was 21st at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Those finishes earned the second All-America honors for each in cross country. During the indoor track season, O'Brien and Beck ran the third and fourth legs, respectively, for the Tufts distance medley relay team that won the NCAA championship race. On that same day at the NCAA meet, Beck was third and O'Brien was fifth in the mile run for All-American finishes as well. At the 2008 NCAA outdoor meet, Beck was the runner-up in both the 1,500 and 5,000 meter races to finish her career with 11 All-American awards. O'Brien was 10th in the 1,500 meters at NCAA outdoors to complete her outstanding career that included five All-American awards. Their list of accomplishments also includes numerous school records and top regional performances.

In his sophomore season last year, Perry was a stand-out in the defensive backfield for the football team and was named a New England All-Star as a catcher for the baseball team. He was one of the leaders on the football team with 24 solo tackles and four passes broken up last fall when the Jumbos challenged for the NESCAC title until the final game. In his first season as the starting catcher for baseball, Perry did not make an error on 154 total chances. He also threw out 13 of the 23 runners trying to steal on him, and excellent 56.6 percent. He also provided punch offensively with a .330 average, 21 RBI, 21 runs scored and 15 walks for a .422 on-base percentage. Perry was one of two catchers on the All-New England Second Team, therefore recognizing him as one of the three best receivers in the region.

Football's Adam Arsenault and Soccer's Rebecca Abbott will be presented the annual Murray Kenney Awards for positive attitude and persistence.

Arsenault returned from a devastating lower leg and ankle injury in 2005 to play for the football team last fall. His football career was put in jeopardy in the fifth game of the season at Williams College on October 22, 2005. Moving in to make a play, his foot got stuck and he fractured and dislocated his ankle. The serious injury required major surgery, with a plate and screws inserted in his leg. The recovery process was filled with complications, prolonging his rehabilitation to almost two full years. With perseverance inspired by his love of playing football, Arsenault returned to play in the season-opener against Hamilton last fall. His misfortune continued with a knee injury in that game, but again he worked hard and made it back onto the field for the last two games of the season.

Abbott dealt with injury and adversity for her entire Tufts career. As a freshman, she tore her ACL at the end of the JV season. She rehabbed for a year and was ready to try out for varsity her sophomore year, but tore the other ACL in August prior to pre-season. She had a great chance of making the team that fall, but had to rehab for yet another year. Finally healthy as a junior, she was a leader for the Jumbos at center midfield for two seasons. Coach Martha Whiting said that Abbott is one of the smartest players she has ever coached. A New Orleans native, Abbott was also dealing with the Hurricane Katrina tragedy during this time. Her family lost their home and Rebecca worked two jobs on campus to help support her family back home. The family is still not in their home and she continues to help support them.

The Timothy J. Horgan Award, presented annually to the best student sportswriter on campus, will go to Sapna Bansil from the Tufts Daily. She was the beat writer for the successful Tufts field hockey, women's basketball and softball teams, along with playing a key editorial role for the Daily's sports pages.

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