ORONO – University of Maine freshman quarterback Ron Whitcomb was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year Monday in voting conducted among the league’s coaches.

Whitcomb ended the season as the conference’s third-leading passer, averaging 220.7 yards a game to establish an Atlantic 10 freshman record. On the season, he was 186-for-329 with 22 touchdown passes.

Running back Marcus Williams and offensive lineman Pete Richardson were named Atlantic 10 first-team all-conference. Tight end David Fusco, Mike Leconte, Dennis Dorrin-Carter and Brandon McGown earned second-team honors, while Dan Joslyn, Pat Pa’u, Fred Lazon and Christian Pereira were named to the third team.

Superchi named All-American

GORHAM – University of Southern Maine senior goalkeeper Jessie Superchi became the seventh player in the school’s field hockey history to receive All-American honors Monday when the STX/NFHCA Division III All-America teams were announced.

Superchi was named to the Div. III All-American second team, becoming the first USM player since Meredith (Bradley) Bickford earned the honor in 1997.

Superchi, the 2003 Little East Conference Defensive Player of the Year, compiled a 0.97 goals against average by allowing 23 goals in 1,657 minutes of action. She made a school record 176 saves, had a 17-6 record and posted 10 shutouts.

Bulls fire Cartwright

CHICAGO (AP) – Chicago Bulls coach Bill Cartwright was fired Monday, a casualty of his team’s dismal start in a year that was supposed to bring marked improvement – maybe even a return to the playoffs.

Pete Myers will be the interim coach, and general manager John Paxson hopes to name a replacement within the next week. Paxson was meeting with the team in Dallas, where the Bulls (4-10) play the Mavericks on Tuesday night.

“The team is underperforming and we have to find ways to win, period,” Paxson said. “I am not satisfied with the team’s start this season and changes have to be made. This represents the first change, but not necessarily the last.”

Lemieux out indefinitely

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Mario Lemieux will be out indefinitely because of an injured left hip that already has sidelined him for more than three weeks.

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ star center will miss home games this week against Philadelphia and the New York Rangers, a road game at Carolina on Saturday and, possibly, many more.

This season, the Penguins (5-10-3-1) are 2-6-0-1 without Lemieux.

“Mario continues to rehab and continues the treatment, but unfortunately he’s going to be out indefinitely,” Penguins coach Eddie Olczyk said Monday.

Olczyk had been optimistic after Lemieux’s most recent evaluation Nov. 17 that Pittsburgh’s owner-captain would be able to return for Wednesday’s game against the Flyers.

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