November 13, 1998

PROVIDENCE, RI - Friars Travel to Bud Walton Arena, Monday, November 16, 1998 for an 8:00 pm tipoff (Est.)

THE FRIARS AT A GLANCE: The Providence Friars open their regular season this evening against #18 Arkansas. The Friars recorded a 2-0 record in the preseason defeating the Nor'Easter Storm team, 81-61 and the Lithuania National Team, 83-79. Providence is coming off a 10-17 season a year ago and a 6-12 mark in the BIG EAST.

THE PC-ARKANSAS SERIES: Arkansas leads the series, 2-0 against the Friars. The first meeting was on March 20, 1987 in the WNIT when the Razorbacks defeated PC, 101-91. Last season, Arkansas visited Providence, RI and went home with a 93-82 victory. Check out the boxscore from this contest on the third page of this release. PROVIDENCE IN SEASON OPENERS: The Friars are 17-6 overall in season openers. The last season opening win was last season against URI, 97-73. The last Providence season opening loss was the year before in 1996 when the Friars fell to Ohio State, 83-78.

PROBABLE STARTERS

G 3 Chrissy Vozab 5-7 Fr Amenia, NY

G 20 Jennifer Gombotz 6-0 So Southington, CT

C 45 Dani Trippany 6-5 So Massena, NY

F 44 Dana Simonelli 6-1 Sr Toms River, NJ

G 10 Farrah Thomas 5-8 Jr Newport, AK (Trans)

OFF THE BENCH

F 14 Meghan Hinds 5-10 Jr Perrysburg, OH

C 15 Monika Roberts 6-2 So Antioch, CA

F 22 Amy Drechsler 6-2 So Rochester, NY

G 31 Sheree Thornton 5-7 So Jackson, MS

F 32 Andrea Crooks 6-1 Jr Norman, OK (Trans)

F 33 Kerri Sullivan 6-1 Sr Walpole, MA

F 41 C. Hawley-Stewart 6-0 Fr West Haven, CT

F 50 Zahra Williams 6-0 Jr Hyattsville, MD

INJURED

G 12 Abby Charbonneau 5-7 So Webster, MA

A RECAP OF 1997-98: The Friars finished the 1997-98 season ranked fourth in the BIG EAST 7 Division with an overall record of 10-17. The Friars graduated three seniors who combined for 31% of the scoring and 21% of the rebounding. The top two scorers from a year ago, Jen Gombotz and Meghan Hinds, return to the lineup this season. Gombotz, as only a rookie, was named the team most valuable player and was named to the BIG EAST All-Rookie squad.

INJURY UPDATE: Sophomore Abby Charbonneau is still recovering from two offseason knee surgeries. She is listed day to day but is not expected to dress this evening.

TOUGH SCHEDULE: The Friars LOVE competition...that is why the coaching staff set up such a tough 1998-99 schedule. On the 26-game regular season schedule ....EIGHT teams are currently in the nation's Top 20. Providence will face #3 Connecticut, #5 Purdue, #9 Alabama (DePaul Tournament - possible opponent), #12 Rutgers (twice), #17 Notre Dame (twice) and tonight faces #18 Arkansas.

THE ADDITION OF FOUR...The Friars welcomed four newcomers to the program this season. Freshman point guard Chrissy Vozab will see starting duty at the point guard position while forward Catrina Hawyley-Stewart will be a top reserve off the bench. Junior transfer Farrah Thomas has earned starting duty vs. Arkansas with her tenacious defense and speed and junior transfer Andrea Crooks will see plenty of time in the post with her aggressive style of play.

TWO SENIOR REGULARS...Two key members to the 1998-99 Friars are the two seniors - Dana Simonelli and Kerri Sullivan. Both have seen starting duty on and off throughout their career. Simonelli will see starting action tonight vs. Arkansas while Sullivan will give the squad a boost from the bench. Simonelli was one of the tops on the squad in field goals percentage a year ago with a 47.7%. Sullivan earned the team's most improved player award while averaging 5.4 points per game.

HINDS LED FRIARS SEVEN TIMES LAST SEASON: Junior co-captain Meghan Hinds started 18 of 26 games last season including the final 16 games. She led the team in scoring seven times which was a team best. She tallied a career best of 27 points against Georgetown on January 18 and scored 24 points twice - URI, WVU. She was voted a co-captain by her teammates and coaches.

VOZAB FITS IN NICELY: Freshman point guard Chrissy Vozab started both exhibition games and is schedule to start tonight vs. #18 Arkansas. In the second exhibition, Vozab tallied a team high 16 points and eight assists while playing 35 minutes of action - which was also tops on the squad.

GOMBOTZ STOLE THE SHOW: Sophomore Jen Gombotz finished her rookie season leading the team in four categories. She was first on the team in points with 318 scored for a 11.8 scoring mark. She was also first in steals (45), rebounds (138, 5.1 avg), and field goals attempted (294). She started all 26 games and was one of only two players to do so. She tallied 12 games in double-digits and was named to the 1998 BIG EAST All-Rookie Team.

ONE DIVISION FORMAT...The BIG EAST returns to a one division format this season doing away with the BIG EAST 7 and BIG EAST 6 Divisions. Teams will be ranked from 1-13 for the 18-game regular season schedule. This will also be the final year that the BIG EAST plays an 18-game league schedule. A 16-game schedule will be in place for the 1999-2000 season.

CAPTAINS: Serving as 1998-99 captains are senior Kerri Sullivan and junior Meghan Hinds.

GTE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA CANDIDATE: Sophomore Meghan Hinds carries a 3.3 overall grade point average and will be Providence's nominee for GTE Academic All-America honors.