Hounds softball, field hockey Hall of Famer AMY ROMANO passes

Assumption College Alumni-Athletics Hall of Famer AMY ROMANO '88 unexpected passed away Thursday, January 11 at the age of 40.

One of the outstanding two-sport student-athletes in the history of women's sports at the College, Romano was a major part of the emergence of two sports to the regional level. As a field hockey midfielder, she was a regional all-star, while as a softball pitcher, she earned all-conference honors.

She twice led the Hounds in scoring from her midfield position for Coach Joyce LaBonte . . . finishing with 15 goals, 3 assists for 33 points in her career. She was a determining factor as the Hounds earned a state tournament bid after the 1987 season. She scored six goals (12 points) in 1985 and had five goals, one assist (11 points) as a senior.

In softball she posted a phenomenal 16-7 record erasing the Hounds' record book leading her team to a final 16-10 mark and fourth-place finish in the Northeast 10 Conference. The Hounds also played in the first of five post-season tournaments during her career. The team played in the MAIAW state tournament twice (1985, 87), the E.C.A.C. tournament (1987) and the Northeast-10 Conference playoffs (1986, 87) in her career.

She won 40 games in her star-studded career for Coaches Brian Kelly '83 and Kim Hoffman and pitched nearly 500 innings . . . she completed 52 of 67 games she started and posted a 1.97 earned run average. She was named the Most Valuable Player in both 1985 and 1988.

She received her double-major Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Education in May 1988 and her Masters in Reading/Language Art concentration from Eastern Connecticut State University in May 1997. She has been a teacher at Thomas G. Alcorn School since 1995.

She has been the varsity field hockey coach at Enrico Fermi High School in Enfield, CT since 1999. She also served as assistant coach at Western New England (1998), and Enrico Fermi (19988-97). She was the head softball coach at Granby, CT High (1990-92) and an assistant at Enfield High (1996). She was inducted into the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997.

A funeral procession will form on Monday, January 15, at 9 a.m. at the Leete-Stevens Enfield Chapels, 61 South Road. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. in Holy Family Church, Enfield. Burial will follow in St. PatrickÕs King Street Cemetery. The wake is scheduled for Sunday, January 14, from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. at the Leete-Stevens Enfield Chapels. The family asks that memorial donations may be made to The Amy Romano Memorial Alcorn School Fund, c/o Tobacco Valley Teachers Federal Credit Union, 182 South Road, Enfield, CT 06082