URI Rams Soccer Coach Bob Schneck Named Co-Coach of the Year in the A-10

URI news release…

KINGSTON, R.I. – Rhode Island head coach Bob Schneck was named Co-Coach of the Year in the Atlantic 10 Conference, the league announced Thursday. Also earning Atlantic 10 postseason recognition for Rhode Island was senior Franki Darnold (first team), juniors Audrey Castro (second team), Callan Kinnan (second team) and Layne Self (second team) and senior Cate Seman (academic team).

With a combined four players on the first and second teams, Rhode Island ties regular-season champion Dayton for the most in the conference. It also marks Rhody’s most All-Conference awards in 30 years as URI has not had four all-conference performers since the 1985 Rams boasted a program-best five (one first team, two second team).

For Schneck, the A-10 Coach of the Year nod is the second of his career and first since 1995, when Rhode Island finished 30-8 overall. With a 19-8 record entering this weekend’s championship, Schneck’s 2015 Rams have won the program’s most games since 1999 when the team finished 19-9. The winningest active coach in the Atlantic 10, he picked up his 600th career victory last weekend at VCU. Schneck shares the Coach of the Year award with Dayton’s Tim Horsmon, who led his Flyers to a perfect 14-0 mark in conference play this year. 

One of seven players named to the A-10 First Team, Darnold is the first Ram to earn first-team honors in back-to-back seasons since URI Hall of Famer Jessica Salmans did so in both 1996 and 1997. Darnold finished the regular season ranked third in A-10 in kills per set (3.78) and – with 416 total for the year – has recorded 400+ in three consecutive seasons. Throughout her career, she has posted 36 double-doubles, has been named to nine all-tournament teams and has collected three tournament MVP awards. The San Clemente, Calif. native ranks third all-time at URI in kills (1,341), 18th in digs (804) and 26th in service aces (77).

Castro has had a breakout year for the Rams after converting from libero to outside hitter. The Long Beach, Calif. native has turned in 10 double-doubles this season while posting a career-high 23 kills twice (vs. Army, at VCU). Overall, she has recorded double-digit kills in 20 matches and has finished with double-digit digs 15 times. Against A-10 opponents, she averaged 3.66 kills per set, which ranked fifth in the league. She also was an all-tournament selection at Stony Brook’s Seawolves Invitational.

Kinnan finished the regular season ranked second in the conference in assists (1,176/10.69 per set) and fourth in service aces (42 total/0.38 per set). She posted 10 matches this year with 50+ assists and has topped 1,000 assists in each of her three seasons at URI. Currently, she ranks third all time at Rhody with 3,349 assists for her career. The Los Angeles native has 26 career double-doubles and has been named to seven different all-tournament teams. She also was a member of the 2013 A-10 All-Rookie squad.

Self posted the conference’s second-best hitting percentage during the regular season, at .362. She also ranks second on team in total blocks (99) and blocks per set (0.99) and is third in total kills (263) and kills per set (2.63). For her career, she sits sixth all-time at URI with 359 career blocks. A native of Hawthorn Woods, Ill., she collected all-tournament accolades at this year’s Yale Invitational and – like Kinnan – was a member of the A-10 All-Rookie Team in 2013.

A six-time member Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll and URI Dean’s List, Seman ranks among URI’s top 40 in nearly every statistical category, despite missing significant time with injuries throughout her career. She enters this weekend with 769 digs (20th), 79 aces (24th), 164 total blocks (24th), 75 assists (39th) and 488 kills (42nd). The Cranberry Township, Pa. native has been equally dedicated to her numerous off-court undertakings. In addition to traveling to New Orleans during her freshman year to help rebuild homes that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, she has participated in Habitat for Humanity 5K fundraiser races and was involved with Habitat’s nearby "all-woman" build, where she and her teammates worked with contractors to put insulation and windows into a house that was donated to a family in need. She also has spent time reading to students at local elementary schools and has prepared & served meals to underprivileged community members through The Salvation Army.

On campus, she has been a Civility Mentor since her freshman year, spreading awareness and teaching prevention on issues such as bullying, hazing and negative body image. She helped coordinate URI’s Blue Jeans Go Green drive – which collected unwanted jeans that would later be recycled and turned into insulation for houses – as well as a "How to Feel Good Naked" campaign, which helped promote positive body image and feeling comfortable in your own skin to both men and women. Additionally, she is a co-creator of The RAM Project (assisting student-athletes that face identity change resulting from injury or graduation), Injured Athletes Anonymous (support group for injured student-athletes) and URI’s Legacy Dinner, which connects current student-athletes with former Rams working in their respective fields of study. 

Seman owns a 3.76 cumulative GPA as a Business Administration major with an emphasis in Global Business Management. As such, she studied abroad in Naples, Italy between her freshman and sophomore years and spent this past summer as a Student Coordinator in URI’s International Summer Institute. In that role, she led a four week immersion program for Taiwanese exchange students, helping them adapt to American culture. As a full-time residential advisor for the program, she also assisted the students with their studies, provided cultural and social programming in the evenings and acted as a guide for weekend excursions. Seman also is a member of both the Phi Eta Sigma and Beta Gamma Sigma honor societies as well as the Society for Human Resource Management.

Dayton also won the A-10’s Player of the Year, Libero of the Year and Setter of the Year awards, which went to Alaina Tuener, Janna Krafka and Jane Emmenecker, respectively. Davidson’s Sabrina Shepherd and George Washington’s Kelsey Clark shared Rookie of the Year accolades. 

Major Award Winners
Player of the Year: Alaina Turner (Dayton)
Libero of the Year: Janna Krafka (Dayton)
Setter of the Year: Jane Emmenecker (Dayton)
Co-Rookies of the Year: Sabrina Shepherd (Davidson) and Kelsey Clark (George Washington)
Co-Coaches of the Year: Bob Schneck (Rhode Island) and Tim Horsmon (Dayton)

First-Team All-Conference
Jane Emmenecker (Dayton)
Amber Erhahon (Dayton)
Alaina Turner (Dayton)
Chidima Osuchukwu (George Washington)
Franki Darnold (Rhode Island)
Danielle Rygelski (Saint Louis)
Megan Gilbert (Saint Louis)

Second-Team All-Conference
Janna Krafka (Dayton)
Lacey Levers (Duquesne)
Maddy Doyle (George Washington)
Audrey Castro (Rhode Island)
Layne Self (Rhode Island) 
Callan Kinnan (Rhode Island)
Kalah Jones (VCU)

All-Rookie Team
Sabrina Shepherd (Davidson)
Margo Wolf (Dayton)
Kelsey Clark (George Washington)
Jensen Sharrits (La Salle)
Tori Baldwin (VCU)
Sahbria McLetchie (VCU)
Indigo Thompson (VCU)

Academic All-Conference Team
Morgan Shannon (Davidson)
Janna Krafka (Dayton)
Sammy Kline (Duquesne)
Brennan Delsing (Fordham) 
Chidima Osuchukwu (George Washington)
Maddy Doyle (George Washington)
Cate Seman (Rhode Island)
Danielle Rygelski (Saint Louis)