Athletics

As part of Bentley's PreparedU Project, Barbara Stevens, Hall of Fame coach of the Bentley women's basketball team, shares how the principles for success on the court translate to success on the job. 

Sports are a great platform. And they help teach students and prepare them for the world that awaits upon graduation. What you learn on the basketball court, for example, extends far beyond the X’s and O’s. So, as a coach, my mission is to give my players all they need to be successful in their future careers.

When it comes to mixing business and pleasure, Justin Obey and Brian Shaw have a can’t-miss brew for Beantown. The 2006 graduates are founders of Social Boston Sports, a company that brings together young professionals for fun and friend-making in an organized setting.

The idea surfaced during an informal chat among Obey, Shaw and two other friends. Reflecting on the difficulty of meeting new people outside a bar setting, the foursome decided to craft a solution themselves.

Love of the Game

Seth Cohen ’07 has always been a team player, with rugby his sport of choice.

Cohen joined the club-level team at Bentley in 2003, as a freshman. The Connecticut native helped the Falcons go undefeated during his junior and senior years, winning consecutive Division III national championships under coaches Josh Smith and Jeff Parks. He also contributed off the field, serving as club recruiting chair, match secretary and vice president.

Growing up, Scott Lowell hated it when people cheated, whether the arena was sports or board games. Today, he fights scofflaws professionally as a doping control officer (DCO) for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

USADA agents make unannounced visits to test for banned substances among amateur and professional athletes competing in Olympic, Paralympic and Pan American sports. In 2008, Lowell and 69 other DCOs nationwide conducted more than 8,500 sample collections for drug testing; banned substances were found in only 24 cases.

Senior Boots His Way into the Record Books

With a new head coach on the sidelines and a new quarterback taking the snaps, this may be viewed as a transition year for Bentley football. But the 2009 team has one constant in kicker Tyler McNamara ’10. His powerful and steady right leg should help the Falcons field one of the best special-teams units in the Northeast-10.

Erik Peterson is fast on the ice. The speed at which the sophomore left-winger made an impact on the Bentley hockey program was even faster.

Peterson established himself as one of the top players in the Atlantic Hockey Association in his first season, scoring 16 goals in 35 games – tops among AHA freshmen and sixth overall in the league. He ended 2007-2008 as the first-ever Bentley player to be named Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Year, and just the fourth Falcon to earn league All-Rookie team status.

Many Falcons embody the term “scholar athlete,” but few do it better than Alex Hitchcock ’09, a shortstop on the softball team.

The Corporate Finance and Accounting major has earned President’s List honors in the classroom. She is also a two-time selection to the Northeast-10 All-Academic Team and a 2008 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District second team selection by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

It’s not often that a college football team has the same quarterback for several years running. But Bentley head coach Thom Boerman and his Falcons are counting experience on their side as graduate student Bryant Johnson leads the offense for a third straight season.

Like many a Midwestern son, Kevin Bower ’80 has basketball in his blood. The former star forward for Bentley is now on the senior management team of his hometown NBA franchise: the Indiana Pacers. His love of the game and dedication to the local community make the current post a dream job.

“Basketball has always been an important part of my life,” says Bower, whose success on the high school court netted him a scholarship at Bentley. He credits his run as a Falcon for “teaching me how to win and lose gracefully, sacrifice for the good of the team, and manage my time.”

What a season. The 2011-2012 Bentley women’s basketball team tallied 31 wins and came within one victory of the Division II National Championship game, falling in the semifinals to Ashland (Ohio) University. It was a second consecutive appearance in the Division II Elite Eight for the squad and coach Barbara Stevens – and the program’s best finish since 2002-2003.