PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Rhode Island Speaker of the House K. Joseph Shekerchi and the Rhode Island House of Representatives recognized student-athletes from each of the state's public institutes of higher learning with the Scholar-Athlete Awards ceremony Monday afternoon.

For URI, the 10 student-athletes honored were Andre DePina-Gray (football); Nicole Jones (rowing); Erynn Field (track & field); Elena Gonzalez (softball); Faith Hutchins (soccer); Michael Tavares (softball); Collin Ochs (track & field); Sophie Phillips (basketball) Bryson Richards (golf) and Sean Sposato (baseball). In addition, former Rhody softball player Carol Morris ('81) received the Athletic Alumna Award, and longtime Providence Journal sports writer Paul Kenyon was URI's choice for the K. Joseph Shekarchi Award for contributions to the school. 

Below is a list of accomplishments for each of the honorees. 

Athletic Alumna Award: Carol Morris '81
Morris helped URI win 90 games over her four seasons as a pitcher in softball. A member of the Rhode Island Athletics Hall of Fame, Morris had a personal record of 49-21 while also leading the Rams to four straight Rhode Island State Tournament titles from 1978-81. Her passion for animal care was clear when she began her career as a veterinary nurse in 1981, and after a decade of providing hands-on veterinary care, she moved into the veterinary pharmaceutical industry in 1993.

K. Joseph Shekarchi Award: Paul Kenyon
Starting at the Providence Journal in 1977, Paul Kenyon was a legend on the sports scene in New England, covering every major professional sports team, as well as golf and the lo- cal colleges. He was the Rhode Island basketball beat writer during the program's memorable runs to the 1998 Elite Eight, which was a part of a run of three-straight NCAA Championship appearances. A member of the Rhode Island Golf Hall of Fame, Paul was named the 2014 Rhode Island Sportswriter of the Year.

STUDENT-ATHLETES
Andre DePina-Gray – Football

• A native of Pawtucket, DePina-Gray has a 3.98 grade-point average as a double major in Sports Media and Film Studies
• He initially made the football team as a walk-on who has since earned a scholarship
• He played in all 11 games in 2023, helping the Rams to their fourth straight winning season
• Andre has been a member of the CAA Commissioner's Honor Roll every possible semester of his career

Nicole Jones – Women's Rowing

• Jones has a 3.64 grade-point average in Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Data Sciences
• She is a two-time Atlantic 10 Championship, helping the Rams win titles and advance to the NCAA Championship in both 2021 and 2022
• Nicole was an All Atlantic 10 Second Team selection in 2023 and also is a College Rowing Coaches Association Scholar Athlete honoree

 
Erynn Field – Women's Track & Field

• Field graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 3.80 grade-point average in Kinesiology and is currently pursuing a master's degree in the same field
• She is a two-time New England champion, winning the 2024 Indoor weight throw and the 2021 Outdoor hammer throw
• She is a two-time captain for the women's track and field team

Elena Gonzalez – Softball

• A two-time team captain, Gonzalez has a 3.84 grade-point average as a graduate student pursuing her master's in Business as well as a graduate certificate in Geo Info Systems
• She was named to the 2023 Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference Team and will likely earn the honor again this season
• In just two seasons with the program, she ranks fifth in program history with 30 career stolen bases and is just the second woman to have at least 15 stolen bases in multiple years
• In 2023, she led the Rams to the Atlantic 10 postseason for the first time in 21 years

Faith Hutchins – Women's Soccer

• A native of South Kingstown, Hutchins has a 3.68 grade-point average in Kinesiology with a minor in Business
• A team captain, she has played 57 games as the team's goalie over the last four seasons
• This fall, had seven shutouts in goal, matching the total from the three previous seasons combined
• Helped the team reach the Atlantic 10 postseason in 2021

Michael Tavares – Men's Soccer

• A native of Portsmouth, Tavares has a 3.74 grade-point average as a double major in Environmental Science and Management as well as Wildlife Conservation Biology
• A member of the team for four years, Michael has appeared in 17 matches for the Rams as a midfielder
• In 2021, he helped Rhode Island reach the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Championship

 Collin Ochs – Men's Track & Field

• Ochs graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering and a minor in Mathematics, and now he is pursuing his master's degree in Business
• He is a five-time individual Atlantic 10 Individual Champion and seven-time individual New England Champion
• He holds URI program records in the Indoor 800 meters, Indoor 1000 meters and the Indoor Distance Medley Relay and the four-by-800 relay
• A team captain, Collin has led team to seven Atlantic 10 team championships and five New England team championships

Sophie Phillips – Women's Basketball

• Phillips will graduate in May in just three years with a 3.92 grade-point average in Communications with a minor in Sports Media
• She will begin the accelerated bachelor's to master's program in Communications next fall
• This season she set the single-season program record by making 89 3-point baskets, and she already ranks fourth in program history with 168
• She led the team to its first-ever Atlantic 10 regular season title in 2023, and she has been a part of two WNIT postseason appearances, doing so in 2022 and 2023

Bryson Richards – Men's Golf

• Richards graduated Cum Laude with a 3.42 grade-point average in Communication Studies and is currently pursuing a master's degree in Public Relations
• He holds the Rhode Island record with six individual tournament titles, most ever during the tournament era
• He is the first player in program history to be a four-time Golf Scholar All-American
• He is a two-time All Atlantic 10 selection and is likely to earn the honor again this Spring

 Sean Sposato – Baseball

• A native of Ashaway, Sposato is a Communications major with a 3.1 grade-point average
• A member of the baseball team for the last five seasons, he has battled back from injuries to be a starter for the Rams for the last three years
• He has appeared in 44 games, striking out 136 batters over 173 innings in his career
• Off the field, he is an intern with URI's Sports Information office, taking fans behind the scenes with his blog for GoRhody.com