Kent Interview | Wetmore Interview

Vanessa Kent, a senior from Charlton, Mass., was named the recipient of the Laurie A. Mann Award while Riley Wetmore, a senior from Swanton, Vt., received the David J. Boutin Award for UMass Lowell's female and male student-athletes of the year Monday night at the Athletic Department Annual Senior Salute at the Inn and Conference Center.

Wetmore, captain of the ice hockey team, repeated the honor from last year while Kent, a senior on the field hockey team, was presented the award after being named a finalist last year.

Wetmore and Kent received the awards based on their excellence and leadership in their sports and academics, as well as their volunteer efforts and service to the University and City of Lowell communities.

Kent led UMass Lowell's field hockey team to another magnificent season which saw it capture the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament championship for the third straight year; and advance to the NCAA Championship match for the sixth straight time.

Wetmore helped lead the ice hockey team to a season for the ages. The River Hawks captured both the Hockey East regular season and tournament titles as well as the NCAA Tournament Northeast Region championship en route to their first-ever appearance in the Frozen Four.

The awards are named after Laurie Mann, a member of the UMass Lowell women's basketball team from 1993-95, who passed away in 1998 after a long battle with cancer; and David J. Boutin, a member of the baseball team from 1988-90 who also lost his life to cancer.
 
Vanessa Kent: 'Born leader'
 
A finalist for the Laurie Mann Award in 2012, Vanessa Kent can now add 'recipient' to her resume, which leaves folks wondering how she balanced the rigors of Division II athletics with her academic commitments, and did so exceptionally.

The captain of the team, Kent quietly led the field hockey team to a 19-4 record, the NE-10 tournament title as well as the NCAA Tournament championship match this season, scoring two of the team's biggest goals this season.

She scored the lone goal in UMass Lowell's 1-0 victory at Merrimack in the NE-10 Championship, then scored the first goal in a 2-0 win over the Warriors in the NCAA Tournament semifinal. She was named to both the NE10 and NCAA All-Championship teams as a result.

Kent has maintained a 3.43 cumulative grade point average as a business administration major. She earned a spot on the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) National Academic Squad for the fourth straight year.

“I couldn't think of a more deserving person for this special award, said head coach Shannon Hlebichuk, who was named the Laurie Mann Award recipient as a senior in 1998. “We are very proud of her.”

As she thrived on the field hockey pitch, she approached her coursework and her involvement with the University's Manning School of Business with the same aplomb.

She served as president of the Manning School Dean's Student Advisory Board as well as the vice president of UMass Lowell's Accounting Society. Additionally, she was a member of the Department of Athletics Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was a member of the Student-Alumni Ambassador Program.

Additionally, Kent is also a member of both the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants as well as the American institute of CPAs.

Academic honors were plentiful for Kent, who was a Dean's Scholarship recipient all four years and named in Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. She was also inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa academic fraternity.

“Vanessa truly embodies the term student-athlete,” Hlebichuk added. “She is a born leader. She is committed to ensuring that she got the most of her college experience by getting involved within various organizations on campus and rising into leadership positions in many of them. She has amazing time management skills and she is very passionate in everything she does.”

Kent is the daughter of William and Karen Kent of Charlton, Mass.
 
Riley Wetmore: 'A great representative'
 
The success of the UMass Lowell hockey team this season – the Hockey East regular season and tournament champion, NCAA Tournament Northeast Region champion, Frozen Four – was well documented. But somewhat under the radar was the play and the leadership of Riley Wetmore, the team captain.

Wetmore was named to the Hockey East All-Conference Second Team and compiled 16 goals, 13 assists (29 points) and a +9 rating. He ranked tied for seventh among Hockey East goalscorers and tied for 10^th in power play goals (five).

But perhaps the most impressive statistic on Wetmore is the face that he played in all 152 games in his career, which has seen him suffer broken bones in his wrist and a separated shoulder among other injuries.

He is the sole player in UMass Lowell's 29-year Division I history to captain the River Hawks to consecutive NCAA tournaments.

“Riley is a great representative for UMass Lowell,” said head coach Norm Bazin. “He strives for excellence in the classroom and the community as much as he does on the ice. At the end of the day, his leadership was a big reason why our group was able to accomplishment new firsts for the University. We wish him well with his future pursuits.”

Wetmore's endeavors include playing professionally, which he has already done. Shortly after the end of the season, Wetmore signed with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers for the final three games of the season and the 2013-14 season.

As Bazin states, Wetmore embodied the term 'representative.' He maintained a 2.979 grade point average in business administration while maintaining the commitments of a Division I athlete in a sport which is the longest on the NCAA calendar.

All the while, Wetmore found time to serve as a guest instructor at Billerica and Chelmsford youth hockey practices on three occasions as well as visit local elementary schools to read to the students several times over the winter.

Wetmore is the son of Rick Wetmore of Portsmouth, N.H. and Kim Barkyoumb of Queensbury, N.Y.