A dozen games into the 2023-24 season, the Salve Regina women’s hockey team is on pace for its first winning record in nearly a decade, with Cranston native Jillian Egan among the players taking to the ice for the Seahawks.

Suiting up for nine contests to date, the La Salle product has equaled her goal-scoring output from the previous two winters, lighting the lamp twice while also picking up an assist on a further tally for Salve.

Egan ensured that the Seahawks started the campaign on the right foot, scoring just before the midway point of the first period of the squad’s 4-1 season-opening triumph versus Johnson & Wales on Oct. 30.

With 10:25 left in the stanza, the senior forward took advantage of a Wildcat penalty and placed the puck past JWU goaltender Leah White for the first power play goal of her collegiate career, which stood up as the eventual game-winner.

After failing to record a shot in both ends of a home-and-home series with Suffolk, Egan returned to the scoresheet in a 4-0 blanking of Albertus Magnus on November 10, waiting until the last minute of play to fire home.

The ex-Ram’s marker put a bow on proceedings, beating the Falcons’ Christmas Johnson with 28 seconds remaining on the clock as the Seahawks notched their second shutout in the space of a week.

More recently, Egan played the role of provider, assisting on Fiona Simcox’s second goal of the season in the middle frame of Salve’s 4-0 defeat of Curry on Dec. 3, extending the team’s home unbeaten streak to six straight dating back to last season.

The Seahawks are in pursuit of something that has eluded them since the 2014-15 campaign, namely a finish above the .500 mark, and are currently in possession of a 7-2-3 overall record going into their midseason hiatus.

Salve return to play on Jan. 5, welcoming St. Catherine for the first of a pair of contests in an attempt to return to winning ways after failing to chalk up wins in their final two tilts before starting their break.

Endicott snapped the Seahawks’ five-game unbeaten run with a 5-2 decision on December 9, which was followed the very next day by a 1-1 stalemate with Anna Maria as Salve shared the spoils despite outshooting the Amcats by a 65-15 margin.

Cranston East graduate Samantha Sainristil’s start to the indoor track season for Rhode Island College has seen the former Thunderbolt pick up a trio of wins, a pair of which has come courtesy of the weight throw.

At the Springfield Season Opener on Dec. 2, Sainristil picked up top honors with a best effort of 15.89 meters, following up on Dec. 10 via a heave that traveled 14.76 meters that claimed first at the Beacons Season Opener in Boston.

The latter meet also saw the junior reach the top of the podium in the shot put, distancing herself from the pack with a throw of 10.46 meters, improving by 37 centimeters compared to her earlier performance in Springfield.

Sainristil will have to wait until the new year before returning to the throwing circle, as the next engagement on the Anchorwomen’s docket is the Tufts Invitational on Jan. 13, kicking off a run of four meets in as many weeks.

CCRI women continue to roll

From Staff Reports

For the CCRI women’s basketball team, which entered the week ranked No. 7 in the most recent NJCAA Division III poll, Thursday’s win was its 27th in a row against its Region XXI rivals, a streak dating back to the 2021–22 season. CCRI is now 6-2 overall and 5-0 in regional play.

The Knights are not only undefeated in the region, but they’ve also dominated every game from the opening tip; in its five regional victories this season, CCRI has outscored its opponents by an average of 49.0 points per game, which includes Thursday’s 65-point win and a 90-11 win in November against Springfield Tech.

Freshman Brianlys Simono (Warwick, RI) led the Knights in Thursday’s win with 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting and sophomore co-captain Alyissia O’Hagan (Woonsocket, RI) finished with 14 points and five rebounds. Sophomores Nysia Ortiz (Providence, RI) and Kelsey Hatch (Providence, RI) each finished with 12 points.