What a full and incredibly memorable weekend for the Anna Maria community! To skip to the photo gallery, scroll down.
The weekend kicked off on Friday night with a well-attended Alumni Reception at O’Connor’s Restaurant and Bar, where many stories and laughter were shared. Early Saturday morning, the Anna Maria women’s basketball teamheld the second annual 5K Fun Run/Walk in memory of Chief Bob Mortell. At 8:30 a.m. both runners and walkers began the race through the streets, escorted by Paxton P.D.’s Officer Noone and Sergeant Thorpe. Caleb Cimini ’21 finished first, followed by his good friend Josh Wozniak ’21. Emily Capstick ’17, ‘18G and alumna of the women’s basketball team was the first woman to finish.
It was Senior Day for the women’s and men’s soccer and both teams played home games against Lasell. At 10:00 a.m., the women’s team faced tough opponents but the AMCAT defense played well; however, in the end it was the visiting team who walked away with the win. The men’s team played at 5:30 p.m. and with the stands still full, beat Lasell with a score of 2-1. Congratulations to the senior players from both teams!
Before the start of the 1:30 p.m. football game, longtime associate athletic trainer Ray LaBoeuf was celebrated at mid-field for his wonderful career with Anna Maria. After working for 35 years with AMCAT athletes, Ray retired earlier this year. In addition to Ray, Anna Maria’s 75th anniversary co-chairs, Kay Flick and Alice Lambert joined the captains from both teams at mid-field for the celebrated coin-toss. Both Kay and Alice have organized many special events and programs for the Anna Maria community during this anniversary year.
In keeping with the Anna Maria mission, the AMCAT football partnered with Be The Match, a global leader in connecting patients with donors for life-saving marrow or blood stem cell transplants. For this year’s homecoming game, the football team invited six-year old Bryce to join them as they marched through tailgating and onto the field. Bryce is a patient on the waiting list, but watching him smile among the towering AMCATS, you’d never know he is a patient awaiting his match. To learn more about Be The Match, or to register to help, visit the link and enter Bryce’s code #brothersforbryce.
Did you see how packed the tailgating sections were? Maybe it was because there were a couple of tailgating contests with participants competing for the ultimate bragging rights as prizes. This year, a chili cookoff was held and the winner of the contest (his second entry and second win in as many years) was Tom Marrone, father of Vincent Marrone, a senior studying Exercise Science. In addition to food, two additional competitions were held: 1) tailgaters showing the most Anna Maria spirit and 2) the best tailgating set up overall. The winners were announced at half time and brought to mid-field to receive their prizes. Congratulations to the McCarthy family of Maryland (for most school spirit) and the Marrone/Pappas families of New Jersey (for best overall). Also during half time, Anna Maria’s Cheerleaders and Pep Band performed, and MAC – the coziest AMCAT of them all, had a race across the field with kids.
While the football team went on to win their fifth game in a row, beating Dean with a score of 45-32, young fans visited the Kids’ Zone, which had something for everyone including pumpkin and face painting, a bouncy house with fairytale characters, and balloon art with Ella. For the older fans, AMCAT Way featured a variety of food and beverage options, including:
Coffee Cabin Coffee Truck, sponsored by Student Affairs
Polar Seltzers, sponsored by Polar Beverages
Fall Dessert Table – sponsored by the Alumni Association
Three Food Trucks
Uncle E’s Barbeque Express
Grill Daddy
Dylan & Pete’s Ice Cream Truck
An outdoor beer garden featuring wine, spirits, and the Milk Room Brewing Company’s “Anna Maria Maple”, a beer brewed especially for the College, was open to alumni. A reception was held there to honor the members of the 1996 Anna Maria College Men’s Basketball team that went to the Sweet Sixteen NCAA tournament. The team was joined by coaches Paul Phillips and Mike Burlas.
In addition to the variety of food and beverages, AMCAT Way also featured information tables including:
Alumni Information Tent
Athletics table – 3 gift basket raffles
Recruiting/Coaches table– athletic recruits on campus
Be A Match table
Nursing Students – collected socks and monetary donations to purchase socks for Veteran’s Inc. in Worcester
Molly Bish Center – distributed safe guard kits for children
During Saturday afternoon, members of the Class of 1971 came back to campus to celebrate their 50th college reunion, enjoy a personal campus tour, a class luncheon and the Reunion Mass followed by the Induction into the Saint Anne Society. It was wonderful to welcome them back to Anna Maria!
The following morning, October 24th, the Alumni Field Hockey Game was held at Caparso field, followed by a luncheon reception – and that’s always a lot of fun!
Many thanks to the Anna Maria community for coming out to celebrate with one another. This was a wonderful weekend because of YOU.
