What a week for Erin Zach and the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers.
Just days after winning the NCAA Division III women’s hockey championship, RIT has announced it is moving its women’s hockey team to Division I, and has been accepted as a full member of the College Hockey America conference, effective for the 2012-13 season.
CHA commissioner Bob DeGregorio said the move to admit RIT immediately was due to Niagara dropping its women’s hockey program, announced Monday. The original plan had been for RIT to play an independent schedule next season before joining the CHA in 2013-14.
Zach, who played locally at WCI and Elmira District Secondary School, had a strong game on Saturday evening, as the RIT women’s hockey team (28-1-1) scored three third-period goals to defeat defending National Champion Norwich University (27-3-1) 4-1 in front of 1,195 fans at Ritter Arena in Rochester, N.Y.
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Grand River grad Teddi Firmi also had a great weekend, leading the University of Ottawa Gees Gees to the semifinal round of the CIS women's basketball championship this past weekend in Calgary.
After graduating from Grand River, she played basketball for three years at Queen's University before "retiring" from the sport in her fourth year because of knee issues.
She worked at RIM for more than a year before returning for a fifth year of university in the sports management program at Ottawa.
She was named co-captain by her teammates and earned a starting spot at the off-guard position. Her role on this team is that of a defensive stopper, often drawing the opposing team's best player.
Firmi's athletic prowess isn't limited to the hardwood -- she's also a skilled rugby player and suited up for Canada's under-19 and under-23 teams.
