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Date: 4/17/2015
SPRINGFIELD – American International College (AIC) athletic teams are having an impressive year.
Last fall, the AIC football team won the NE-10 regular season title and hosted the league championship game for the second year in a row.
The men’s cross country team won the NCAA East Regional Championship, and, in doing so, qualified for the National Championships in Louisville, KY.
The field hockey team had one of their best seasons in program history, finishing with an overall record of 12-8 and making it to the NE-10 Tournament Semifinal game, where they lost to the No. 1 seed, LIU Post.
The AIC men’s basketball team had one of the best seasons in program history. Finishing with an overall record of 24-7, they won the Northeast 10 Conference Tournament and hosted the NCAA Division II East Region Championship in March. Head coach Andy Burkholder led the team to the NCAA for the first time in five seasons grabbing their first NCAA tournament victory in more than 20 years. Burkholder was named the NABC East District Coach of the Year.
AIC’s women’s basketball team was the fourth seed in the NE-10 Conference tournament and advanced to the NE-10 finals with a huge road win at New Haven.
The AIC men’s track and field team won its first NE-10 Indoor Championship in program history in February. Senior Michael Biwott, who hails from Kenya, was named the NE-10 Championship MVP and Indoor Track Athlete of the Year. Head coach Leo Mayo was named NE-10 and East Region Coach of the Year.
The women’s track and field team finished fourth at the NE-10 Indoor Conference Championship. Shaina Blamahsah and Tonique Sobah earned All-American status at the 2015 NCAA Division II National Championship in Birmingham, AL.
The AIC men’s rugby 15s team won their regular season title and traveled to Charlotte, NC, where they beat Bowling Green University to win the American Collegiate Rugby Championship (15’s). The team is ranked in the top 20 nationally.
The AIC men’s rugby 7s team traveled to Las Vegas to compete in the Las Vegas Invitational Championship, a qualifying event for the Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship. AIC advanced to the championship game of the tournament, ultimately losing to the No. 1 ranked team in the country. The team is ranked in the top 5 nationally.
The AIC women’s rugby 15s team finished the year ranked in the top 10 nationally with a record of 8-4. All four of their losses were to the No. 2 ranked team in the country, Norwich.
Traveling to Georgia in March, the AIC’s women’s rugby 7s team played in the Atlanta Sevens Tournament, their first sevens tournament in program history. AIC captured the tournament championship. The team has been invited to play in the Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship in Philadelphia on May 30 and 31. The event will be televised on NBC.
Finally, the AIC men’s ice hockey team saw two of its players nominated for the prestigious Hobey Baker Award: Senior Alexander MacMillan and Springfield native, sophomore Austin Orszulak.
In addition, AIC’s ice hockey team won the Atlantic Hockey Team Sportsmanship Award for the second year in a row.