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This story appeared on Page A1 of The
Standard-Times on April 28, 2005
Dartmouth's championship team honored at
Statehouse
By ED COLLINS, Standard-Times staff writer
BOSTON -- New Bedford's Joseph Marshall celebrated
part of his 90th birthday yesterday with a cell
phone call from the Dartmouth High School girls
basketball team, which serenaded him with a
rendition of "Happy Birthday" as the team headed to
Boston to be honored as the Division 1 state
champions.
The call was placed by assistant coach Michelle
Alexander, Marshall's granddaughter, and it was a
nice start to what proved to be an enjoyable day at
the Statehouse.
State Rep. John F. Quinn greeted the team in the
Adams Hearing Room and handed out official citations
from the House of Representatives and the state
Senate.
"It's a rare occasion to win a Division 1 state
championship, and this group of girls was a classic
high school team. There were no stars. They went
eight or nine players deep, and everybody was
dedicated to helping the team win," said Rep. Quinn,
a graduate of Dartmouth High.
"It's good to be a part of this at the state level,
because this team deserves to be recognized for what
it accomplished," he added.
The team, along with head coach Jeff Hoyle,
assistant coach Scot Boudria, team manager Erika
DeFranco and a small media contingent, took a guided
tour of the Statehouse, and the Indians were
recognized on the floor of the House of
Representatives, which was in session working on
budget issues.
"It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we were
all honored to be congratulated by the state
Legislature. Everyone has been so nice to us since
we won the state championship," said junior guard
Amanda deSousa.
"It really hit me for the first time last week that
we actually won a state championship, and a day like
this magnifies just how big an accomplishment that
really was."
Senior guard Sara Gaspar, who missed the entire
regular season with a broken ankle but came back to
give the team a big lift in the state tournament,
got a jolt on the tour when the team entered the
Great Hall and the first town flag she saw was
Andover's -- the team that beat the Indians in the
state semifinals two years ago.
"I was a little surprised by that, and it was a
little creepy," said Ms. Gaspar. "Of all the flags
in that room, it had to be Andover. That brought
back some bad memories, but then I remembered why we
were at the Statehouse and I felt a lot better."
The loss to Andover wrapped up a 26-1 season by the
Indians, who took things a step further this year
with a 62-58 win over Springfield Central in the
state-championship game at the Mullins Center on the
campus of UMass Amherst to finish 25-3.
Part of the tour included a team picture on a flight
of stairs that was taken while a choir from Lowell
High School was singing on the next floor. The
Indians wrapped up their visit with a pizza and soda
lunch with Rep. Quinn back in the Adams Hearing
Room.
"It was a real honor to have Representative Quinn
take time out of his day and welcome us to the
Statehouse," said senior point guard Tricie Caslin,
who will attend Assumption College in the fall. "It
was a fun trip and it's always nice to be recognized
for your accomplishments."
Senior forward Lauren Goyette, who averaged over 20
points a game in the state tournament, said the trip
was fun and educational.
"It's an honor to be recognized like this. It makes
you feel good," said Ms. Goyette, who is headed to
Brandeis University. "We had a good tour guide and I
learned a lot about the state's history."
Since winning the state championship, the attention
hasn't stopped for the Indians, who were
congratulated at a school assembly and were the
subjects of a feature story entitled "Green is
Glory" that was put together by Comcast Channel 9
sportscasters Brian DiBello and Scott Fleishman.
The Indians will be the grand marshalls at this
year's Dartmouth Pride Parade and will be featured
in a special program that will be taped tonight with
sportscasters Jim Thompson and Rick Jalbert from
Dartmouth Community Television.
"An awful lot of people have been very kind to us
and we appreciate it," said Mr. Hoyle, who marked
his visit to the Statehouse by wearing a patriotic
flag tie some of his players gave him a couple of
years ago. "It was an honor to visit the Statehouse
and we can't thank Representative Quinn enough. I
love history and I really enjoyed the tour. It was
just a wonderful experience for all of us."
This story appeared on Page A1 of The
Standard-Times on April 28, 2005 |
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