03/16/2009
2008-09 Men's Basketball Season Recap

Despite a challenging season, the Clark University mens basketball team had several highlights during the 2009 campaign. The Cougars secured the New England Womens and Mens Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Rookie of the Year, boasted a pair of 1,000-point scorers and beat nationally ranked WPI.

Brian Vayda 12 started in every game and led the team in rebounds (7.4) en route to Clarks first Rookie of the Year honor since Dave McNamara 04 in 2001. "I didn't expect to have the season that I had coming in as a freshman," said Vayda, who ranked third in scoring (12.4) on the team. "It feels great to be recognized, but I know that I still have a lot of work to do. I have three seasons ahead of me, so hopefully our team can improve and make a strong run to get back to the NCAA Tournament."

It marked just the Universitys second rookie of the year award since joining the NEWMAC in 1998.

Mark Alexander 10 and Peter Normandin 09 became the 24th and 25th Clark mens basketball players, respectively, to join the 1,000-point club. Alexander moved into 20th on the schools all-time points list with 1,151 points, while Normandin capped his career with 1,000 total points. Alexander was selected a NEWMAC Second-Team All-Star for the third consecutive year. David Opp 11 represented the mens basketball squad on the NEWMAC All-Academic squad.

Prepping for its NEWMAC slate, Clark played in a pair of highly-competitive tournaments early in the season. The Cougars advanced to the championship game of the Bridgewater State College Tip-Off Classic, where they came close to knocking off the eventual NCAA Division III Tournament Sweet 16 hosts. Clark then swept its first three opponents in conference play and went on to post a mid-season victory over cross-town rival WPI - finishing the year as the only team in the league to beat the then number one team in New England and 20th ranked Engineers.

Clark concluded its season at 10-16 overall and 4-8 in league play.