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American Assists oecsathlete.com
 (11 September 2001) - Eighteen months ago, Dominic Johnson and Terry Finisterre founded oecsathlete.com, a web site devoted to helping Caribbean athletes source athletic scholarships. The site has helped secure over ten scholarships, worth several hundred thousand dollars. With support from American Airlines, 20-year-old volleyballer Samantha Mann (photo) recently enrolled at Robert Morris College in Chicago as a freshman pursuing a degree in Business Administration. She will also be joining the RMC Eagles as a middle hitter, a role she has enjoyed with St. Lucian national champions Le Club volleyball. The support of American Airlines has been key. According to oecsathlete.com, the airline provided Mann a substantially discounted ticket to Chicago, a huge boost to the operations of this small, non-profit organization. The organization has expressed its gratitude to American Airlines. Support and assistance has also come from the Volleyball Association and the Football Association in effecting recent enrolments, including Mann's to RMC. RMC plays in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Last year a very young Eagles team finished 12-29, their all-time best record. Head coach Chris Pruitt is starting her third year in charge. A 1985 graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Pruitt starred in volleyball and basketball at NCAA Division I. Samantha, a former Minvielle and Chastanet employee, is likely to start fairly quickly, as the Eagles try to improve on their performance from last season.
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Women Footballers On Schol
(5 September 2001) - Two more St. Lucian student athletes have taken advantage of recruiting service oecsathlete.com to find scholarships in the United States. Footballers Tia Clarke and Lisa Vidal will play for Belhaven College in Mississippi this fall, while pursuing their undergraduate degrees. Tia is an 18-year-old striker who scored seven times for St. Lucia in 2000, as they finished second at the inaugural Caribbean Football Union Women's Championships. Lisa was the team captain during that Championship campaign. She's a 23-year-old midfielder with a nose for goal. The two young ladies left for the US this week, and they are expected to be big contributors for the Belhaven Blazers this season. Head coach David Dixon is hoping that Balhaven can contend for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics women's title this year. Acquiring Tia and Lisa could be a major step in achieving that goal. The season is already underway. Aside from oecsathlete.com, the two young ladies have received assistance and support from the St. Lucia Football Association. Tia and Lisa are the first women footballers from St. Lucia to take up US scholarships.
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Zeph Leads UNF Early
 (3 September 2001) - University of North Florida's men's team ended sixth overall at Friday's Mountaineer Open Invitational collegiate cross-country meet. The meet was hosted in Boone, North Carolina by Appalachian State University. The course measured 8000m (5 miles) at an altitude of 3300 feet. UNF was the only Division II school out of 12 teams in the race. 2001 Division II track and field All-American Zepherinus Joseph (photo) led UNF at the Mountaineer Open. The 26-year-old St. Lucian senior finished eighteenth overall, just under forty seconds behind Wake Forest's Garick Hill, who won the race. Zepherinus is a former junior college national champion. Last year he was an individual qualifier for DII nationals. This season, behind Zepherinus, UNF has pretty high hopes for its cross-country programme. Their men are ranked third in the NCAA South Region, behind Harding and Kennesaw State.
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Lottie Starts Well
(26 August 2001) - Lottie Philip had a solid start to her volleyball career at Saint Leo University in west central Florida this past weekend. Though the Lions failed to capture the Saint Leo Showdown, they ran up a 4-1 record in the tournament. Lottie, a 6'1" junior middle blocker from Castries, St. Lucia, was among the team leaders in blocks and kills. Saint Leo beat C.W. Post University (3-0) Clarion University (3-2) Bellarmine College (3-0) and Mount Olive (3-1) but fell to Rollins (3-0) in the title match. In the game against North Carolina's Mount Olive, Lottie was joint second in kills with 7, to go with a 40.0 attack percentage, 2 solo blocks, and 4 block assists. She recorded 8 kills, a 41.7 attack percentage, 2 blocks and 4 block assists to lead the team in the championship decider. The Lions are a Division I NCAA-affiliated school, and they play in the Sunshine State Conference.
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Popo, Vite On Scholarship
(25 August 2001) - Two of St. Lucia's premier female track and field competitors have secured athletics scholarships to American institutions. Both have been assisted by oecsathlete.com; the young ladies have already left for the United States and have enrolled at their new schools. Tamara Popo, who turned 21 in February, begins her freshman year at Danville Community College in Illinois.Last year she claimed the senior national record (40.83m) for the women's discus. Tamara embarks on a two-year course of study, with a scholarship valued at US$21,322. Jineill Vite, the 19-year-old national sprint champion from Soufriere, is now at Southwest Missouri State University. St. Lucian sprinters Michelle Baptiste and Verneta Lesporis attended SMSU, and Verneta still trains with Barbados-born SMSU head coach Ron Boyce. Boyce says Jineill has the potential to break the national 200m record – currently held by Verneta – and they'll be working on that beginning with the 2002 indoor season. Both Popo and Vite have been registered with recruiting service oecsathlete.com for several months. They are both anxious and eager to do well athletically and academically for their new schools.
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Charley Hits For Two
 (25 August 2001) - Boston United went second in England's Nationwide Football Conference as St. Lucian striker Ken Charlery (photo) struck his team-leading third and fourth goals for the Pilgrims on Saturday afternoon. Boston beat Forest Green Rovers 3-0 at home, their third win from four matches. They lie a single point adrift of league leaders Northwich Victoria. Charlery scored in the 8th and 36th minutes for the Pilgrims on Saturday, and Jamie Cook netted in the 69th to cap the scoring. Charlery, who led the team in scoring last season, has recorded four goals from four matches, more than any other Pilgrim. He is a 37-year-old St. Lucian international.
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WCFC Back On Top
(19 August 2001) - Vibe CT 105 W Connection regained the lead in Trinidad and Tobago's Professional Football League with a 3-1 Sunday win over Arima Fire at Manny Ramjohn Stadium. Connection holds the lead by goal-difference from Joe Public, who have a game in hand. Renaldo Viana opening the scoring in the 14th minute for the defending champion, and St. Lucian midfielder Elijah Joseph added a second after 28 minutes. For Fire, Oz Taylor dragged one back in the in the 37th, but St. Lucian skipper Earl Jean notched his league-leading 13th goal of the season in the 43rd minute to cap the scoring.
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Volleyball Season Ends
(19 August 2001) - The 2001 volleyball season closed in St. Lucia with two all-star games on Saturday evening at Vigie Multipurpose Sports Complex. Recently crowned Vita Malt men's national champions, Ciceron Seagulls United, defeated the men's all-star team 25-16, 25-27, 25-21, 25-21. Three Seagulls received special mention, Servin Mongroo as the best setter, Claude Richards as the best blocker and Kevin Jean as the best receiver. Yvan Zephirin of Combined Schools was named best server, and Jason Octave of losing finalists Tombstone was named best hitter and most valuable player. In the women's all-star game, champions Le Club Volleyball downed the all-stars 25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 26-24. Again, Seagulls took the majority of the individual honours. Donna Lyn Joseph was named as best setter and best server, Shana Aubrey best hitter and Cherry Ann Antoine best receiver. From Jetsetters, Sabina Gaston was named best blocker, and Joana Reynold of Le Club Volleyball copped the MVP trophy. The national association has named a men's team to begin training for regional engagements including the OECS championships. It's a fairly young team, with Mongroo and Jean joined by Seagulls teammates Hervan Brown and Errol Samuel. Tombstone 21-year-olds Jason and Neal Octave are called up. Dionus Augustus, Dayne Williams, Kendal Charlery, Allistor Sealy, Jeff Desir and Elvin Jermaine hail from a youthful Jetsetters club. John Calderon, Kendal Joseph, Alistair George and Benson Tertillien comprise the Le Club selectees. Teenagers Sunhil Tisson and Dennis Hippolyte make the squad.
See http://communities.msn.com/Lucianvolleyball for more photos.
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