McHugh, Cross head 6 UM sports hall choices

Former University of Maine men’s hockey player Mike McHugh and former men’s basketball star Jeff Cross highlight a list of six inductees into the university’s Sports Hall of Fame.

Other inductees are Charlie Broomhall, Archer Grover, Sara Jewett, and Jack Small. They will be inducted the weekend of Oct. 20-22.

McHugh played hockey for the Black Bears from 1984 to 1988, earning All-America honors in 1988. That same season, he was the first player in the program’s history to be named New England player of the year.

McHugh captained the Bears his junior and senior seasons, leading Maine to its first NCAA Tournament and Frozen Four appearances. His 152 career points ranks 12th all-time in program history.

McHugh played in 20 career NHL games over four years with the Minnesota North Stars and San Jose Sharks. His pro career, which lasted 11 seasons, ended in 1997-98.

Cross is the only Maine men’s basketball player to win conference player of the year honors. Cross, who played from 1980 to 1984, ranks eighth on the Black Bears’ all-time scoring list with 1,337 points and third in rebounding with 894 boards. His 209 blocked shots ranks second all-time. The 6-foot-11 Cross was drafted in the third round of the 1984 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks and played for the Los Angeles Clippers during the 1985-86 season.

Broomhall graduated in 1950 and was captain of the ski team for three years. His greatest career accomplishment was placing 12th in the Nordic combined at the 1947 U.S. Olympic Trials. He placed 19th in that same event in the 1951 Olympic Trials.

Grover, a track and field standout, held school records in six events: discus, shot put, hammer, 100-yard dash, 120-yard hurdles and long jump. He was New England champion in the discus in 1899 and 1900.

Jewett was an ECAC Division I and America East player of the year for the softball team in 2000, to go with first-team all-conference selections in 1998 and 1999. She holds eight school records, including most home runs, runs scored, and RBIs in a season and career. She also tied the NCAA mark with three homers in one game.

Small was a letterwinner in football in 1953, 1954 and 1955, serving as captain in his final season. He is one of seven players in Maine history to have been named All-Maine twice and to the All-Yankee Conference team twice.

Reiss hired as assistant

Meghann Reiss has been hired as an assistant softball coach at the University of Maine, head coach Stacey Sullivan announced Thursday.

Reiss, a 2005 University of Wisconsin graduate, comes to UMaine from Mudd-Scripps College in Claremont, Calif. She worked with the pitchers and catchers while at Mudd-Scripps.

Bowdoin hires Farrell

Heather Farrell has been hired as the interim women’s ice hockey coach at Bowdoin College, replacing Michele Amidon, who accepted a position at USA Hockey last month.

Farrell, who had been an assistant at Bowdoin the last two seasons, graduated in 2003 from Ohio State, where she had 29 goals and 32 assists in 132 career games.