After making their eighth North Atlantic Conference tournament appearance in the last nine seasons, the Maine Maritime Academy men’s basketball team is looking to bat .900 with another appearance this season.

The big challenge for the Mariners this time around will be realizing that goal with a younger, more inexperienced squad. Three starters are gone and two of them leave particularly tough voids to fill: Leading rebounder Brandon Hall (1,000-plus career rebounds) and 950-plus career point scorer Marc McCorrison.

Head coach Chris Murphy, now in his 16th season, will also have to find a replacement for starting guard Todd Pelkey, who helped lead the Mariners to a 12-12 season ending with an NAC quarterfinal loss.

The cupboard isn’t completely bare for Murphy as junior point guard Derek DiFrederico of Millinocket returns to lead the attack along with senior forward Adam Haskell of Winslow. DiFrederico is one of the quickest players on the court and he has great shooting range as well, making him a key part of MMA’s lineup. The 6-foot-4 Haskell figures to become more of a scoring presence this year and is already a solid inside presence.

Another veteran who should make a difference is 6-6 senior forward Neil Stewart, who returns after a season of ineligibility. The Rangeley native should help offset the loss of Hall and McCorrison as he was MMA’s No. 2 scorer and top rebounder in 2005-06.

Other returning players who figure to vie for starting roles, or at least play significant regular minutes, are 6-3 sophomore forward Jarred Sternbergh of Jonesboro, who carved out some minutes for himself in his rookie season; Jarod Oldham, a 6-7 junior center from Peru who will try to help fill the shot-blocking and rebounding void left by Hall; 6-4 junior forward Jake Manner of Frankfort; and junior Tyler Deabay, a guard from Carmel who walked onto the team in the 2005-06 season and played 17 games as a freshman.

MMA’s incoming class is a bit thin in terms of numbers, but with 11 players back from last season, there wasn’t much room for new blood to begin with. It may not be a big freshman class, but it certainly appears talented.

New faces include 6-foot Michael Wharff of Sangerville, who starred at Piscataquis High School; 5-9 Bryant Ciomei, who helped lead Deer Isle-Stonington to a state championship; 6-footer Nate Frisbie of Thomaston; and 5-10 Jonathan Connick of Indian Township.

The Mariners are off to an 0-2 start after losing to Maritime College (New York) and California Maritime at last weekend’s Maritime College Classic. They’ll try to grab their first victory Nov. 27 on the road at Unity College.

NFCA honors UM’s Sullivan

University of Maine softball coach Stacey Sullivan will be presented with the Easton Victory Club Award by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) next week.

Sullivan, who has a career coaching record of 112-100, is being honored for reaching the 100-victory milestone last March. Since coming to Orono, Sullivan has compiled a 59-45 record in two seasons.

Sullivan will receive the award in Las Vegas next Thursday.

Bowdoin players on first team

Bowdoin College field hockey players Julia King of Yarmouth and Lindsay McNamara of Milton, Mass., have been named National Field Hockey Coaches Association first team All-Americans.

Senior Valerie Young of Concord, N.H., was named to the second team.

The Polar Bears’ trio led Bowdoin to the school’s first-ever NCAA Division III championship and a perfect (20-0) season.

McNamara set an NCAA Div. III Tournament record with nine goals, including three in the championship game. She set single-season NCAA and school records for goals (27) and points (61).

King set a school record for assists with an NCAA-leading 21 this season. She is tied for the school record with 31 career assists.

Young, who was third team All-American last year, helped lead Bowdoin to a scant 0.30 team goals-against average which was the best in the nation.