Shannon named men's tennis player of the week for third time this season Boardman tabbed women's lacrosse freshman of the week for third time

RINDGE, N.H. (April 22, 2003) - Two Franklin Pierce student-athletes were recognized by the Northeast-10 Conference for their athletic achievements last week. Senior Art Shannon (Danvers, Mass./Danvers) was named the Northeast-10 Men's Tennis Player of the Week, while freshman Courtney Boardman (Buxton, Maine/Bonny Eagle) was tabbed the NE-10 Freshman of the Week for women's lacrosse.

Shannon earned his third Player of the Week selection of the year (fourth career) as he led the Ravens tennis team to a 3-0 week with a perfect record in both his singles and doubles matches. He opened the week with a 6-0, 6-1 win at #4 singles and an 8-4 win at #2 doubles with teammate Maciej Szpakowski (Cieszyn, Poland) in an 8-1 Franklin Pierce victory over Merrimack College. Shannon went on to post a two set win in his singles match and an 8-4 win in doubles to lift the Ravens past Bentley College, ranked ninth in the East Region. Shannon finished the week with a 6-0, 6-1 singles win and an 8-1 victory at doubles in a 9-0 shutout of Le Moyne College.

Shannon closed out the Conference regular season having won 15 consecutive singles matches and boasts the team's best singles record with a 20-2 combined clip. Shannon and Szpakowski also sport the team's best doubles record with a 15-5 overall record, 9-1 in the NE-10. Shannon has also been outstanding against ranked opponents, as he has clinched victories over six of the top ten teams in the East Region at #5 singles. In addition, he and Szpakowski have posted four doubles wins against regionally ranked teams.

The men's tennis team closed out the regular season with a 14-10 record overall, 9-2 in the NE-10. The team earned its third consecutive trip to the Conference tournament since joining the Northeast-10 in 2000 and is in search of a second-straight NCAA Tournament berth. The third-seeded Ravens will face sixth-seeded Stonehill College in the quarterfinal round on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

Boardman earns her third Freshman of the Week selection of the season (second straight) after totaling 15 points with 14 goals and an assist in a 2-1 week for Franklin Pierce. She totaled seven points with six goals and an assist to lead the Ravens to a 14-12 victory over Saint Anselm in the first lacrosse match of any kind played on the Rindge campus. Boardman netted a team-leading four goals against Bentley College on Thursday and in an 8-5 win over New England College on Saturday.

Boardman has now totaled a Northeast-10 Conference leading 38 goals, which currently ranks third in program history among all-time single-season leaders and is good for third on the career top ten chart. In addition to her goal totals, she has dished five assists, which is tied for fourth on the program's single-season list, for 43 points (2nd NE-10), which ranks second in program history.

The women's lacrosse team (4-7, 3-4 NE-10) is on the verge of earning its first ever postseason berth as it currently sits in sixth place in the Northeast-10 standings. The Ravens need just a split in their final two Conference game this week at Saint Michael's College (Wed.) and American International College (Thu.) to clinch the sixth and final playoff spot. Franklin Pierce also has a match scheduled this week at No. 3-ranked LIU-C.W. Post on Saturday.