B.M.C Durfee High SchoolFall River Public Schools Job Fair
Class of 2012
DINA (TERCEIRA) SWANSON, Class of 1995
Cut from the smiling assassin cloth, Swanson played field hockey, basketball and softball with full-speed enthusiasm and a tremendous competitive attitude. In field hockey, she was best known for her powerful free hits, heavy blasts that threatened the structural integrity of any shinbones in their path. In basketball, she had fine shooting range. But it was on the softball diamond where she shone the brightest. A catcher and two-time Big 3 Conference all-star, she helped the Hilltoppers to claim Big 3 Conference titles in 1993 and 1994 and earn trips to the Division 1 South finals in her sophomore and senior years. Following her Durfee years, Swanson took her softball skills to Wheaton College in Norton where she was named the New Eight conference Rookie of the Year. She next earned all-conference honors for the next three seasons. In the Division 3 All-American balloting, Swanson was third team her sophomore year, second team her junior year, and first team her senior season. During that fabulous senior year, Swanson was also named the New Eight conference Player of the Year and selected as an Academic All-American. An attorney practicing in Raynham, Swanson lives in Somerset with husband Scott and daughters Reese and Tatum.
JEFF CARON, Class of 1994
A three-year starter on some of the best Durfee basketball teams in the last 20 years, Caron joined Chris Herren to form what some would contend is the best backcourt in the school’s glorious history. A three-time Herald News all star, Caron was named to the Boston Herald and Boston Globe all-star teams after his junior and senior seasons. Team co-MVP in 1994, Caron was the winner of the Dave Cowens award and he played in the Massachusetts Baksteball Coaches all-star game and was named to that organization’s all-Academic Team. During his years at Durfee, the basketball team posted a 74-18 record with two trips to the Division 1 South final and another trip to the semifinals. Caron 18.6 points and 18.3 points per game for his last two seasons and he graduated with 1,198 career points, fourth all-time at Durfee. He earned a hoops scholarship to Division 2 Merrimack College where, in 1999, he was the Northeast 10 Conference 3-point leader (3.5 per game) in 1999 and the ECAC Tournament MVP the same year. Caron taught and coached at Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School and then served as Director of Athletics and varsity basketball coach at Durfee before taking his current position as Director of Health, Physical Education and Athletics at Dartmouth High School. He lives in Fall River with his wife Becky, daughter Landry and son Charlie.
KATHERINE ATTAR, Class of 1994
Attar maxed out in terms of earning varsity letters at Durfee. She graduated with 12 as she played varsity volleyball, basketball and softball for four years each. A humble and soft-spoken leader, Attar captained all three teams. In volleyball, she often ruled at the net, leading the Hilltoppers in hitting and blocking and was a three-time Herald News All Scholastic. In basketball, her rebounding, shot blocking and scoring helped Durfee advance to the Division 1 South finals in her junior year. In softball, she was a marvelous defensive first baseman with her size and agility. She also hit for average and power and helped carry the Hilltoppers to the state tournament all four seasons. Durfee’s Female Athlete of the Year in 1994, Attar was also a superb student and she attended Holy Cross where she was a volleyball standout, making the Patriot League all-star team her junior and senior years. She graduated with school records in hitting and blocking. Attar lives in Silver Springs, Md. with husband David Lipschutz and daughter Sarah, 3. She is expecting a son at the end of May.
KRAIG KUPIEC, Class of 1991
A three-sports athlete, Kupiec was best known for his accomplishments on the baseball field. He batted .344 as a sophomore, .343 as a junior and a sizzling .448 as a senior when he was named team MVP. A two-time Herald News all scholastic, Kupiec, son of Durfee Hall of Famer Stan Kupiec, was a Boston Globe all-scholastic and Boston Herald all state outfielder his senior year. That same year he was a finalist for the U.S. Olympic Festival. In June of 1991, he was a 54th-round draft pick of the Houston Astros but opted to take a scholarship to Division 1 Wake Forest University where he started for two years. He also played a season for the Wareham Gateman in the Cape Cod League. For three years Kupiec also competed for the cross-country and winter track and field teams at Durfee and set a freshman record in the high jump. Author of a book on hitting, Kupiec was an assistant coach for UMass Boston when it reached the 2010 Division 3 College World Series and he has been head coach at Newbury College in Brookline for the past two seasons and was voted the New England Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year in 2011. At Newbury, he is also Assistant Sports Information Director, Athletic Recruiting Director and Student-Athlete Academic Program Coordinator. Kupiec lives in Lakeville with wife Melissa daughter Maya, 1.
KELLY MONTE, Class of 1991
Monte was an overcomer and achiever long before she stepped onto the Durfee campus. At three months, her hips had to be broken and re-set with pins and she was in a full body cast for the next six months. That early setback did nothing to dampen her enthusiasm for life and sports. At Durfee she was a three-sport (volleyball, basketball, softball) all-star. Monte earned four letters in softball where she was a three-time Big 3 Conference all-star. In her senior year, she posted a 10-0 pitching record with four no-hitters and a 1.33 ERA while batting .433 with five home runs. She was named to both Boston newspaper all-stat teams. On the basketball court, she lettered three times and was a two-time league all-star. In her senior year, she was the Dave Cowens Award nominee and received the school’s Brian Farquhar Memorial Award. In volleyball, Monte was named a Big 3 Conference all star her senior year. At Massasoit Community College, she was the first female to score 1,000 career points and was the school career rebound leader. At Green Mountain College, she was the school’s first female winner of the Pollack Award as athlete of the year. She graduated Cum Laude. A resident of Berkley, Monte teaches in the New Bedford School system where she was awarded the 2006 Excellence in Teaching award.
TONY REIS, Class of 1986
One of top soccer players in Durfee history, Reis played three fulltime seasons, and part of his freshman year, with the varsity. A midfielder with a booming shot, his greatest skill was playmaking. Reis scored 43 career goals and had 43 assists. His 21 assists in his senior season eclipsed the school record of 20, which he had set one season earlier. Following his career at Durfee (where he also played freshman basketball), Reis starred at Massasoit Community College in Brockton, helping the school to national junior college titles in 1986 and 1987. He led the team in scoring both years and is already a member of the MCC Athletics Hall of Fame. He next took his talents to California State University at Hayward where he made an NCAA Division II Final Four appearance in 1989. Reis played for one year with the San Francisco Bay Black Hawks in the professional Western Soccer League and was a standout locally in the Luso America Soccer Association (LASA). He started the girls’ varsity soccer program at Somerset High School, coaching there for six years. Reis also officiated with the Whaling City Association and owned the Soccer Express sporting goods store. A resident of Swansea and father of daughters Alexa, Madison and Makenna, Reis since 2001 has been a sales associate at Fall River Ford.
1995 BASEBALL TEAM, STATE CHAMPION
A generation removed from the school’s last state baseball championship (1971), the 1995 Hilltoppers’ stirring playoff run appeared to have stalled just short. They were down 4-3 with two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the ninth inning of the Division 1 state final against St. John’s of Shrewsbury. But Shaun Skeffington singled. Brian Nawrocki walked. And when Mike Silva’s fly ball to right field was lost in the sun at Fino Field in Milford and dropped safely, both runners scored for an incredible 5-4 win. The Hilltoppers finished the season 20-6, those final six wins in the playoffs, and they won the Big 3 Conference with a 5-1 record. Workhorse pitcher Tom Codega went 9-2 before being lost for the tail end of the season. Jon Camara (5-0) and Brent Medeiros (6-4) picked up the slack, throwing low strikes and letting a rock-solid defense do its job. Nawrocki batted .433, scored 42 runs and stole 29 bases. Silva batted .393 with three home runs and 30 RBI. Marc Coriaty also batted .393. Sure-handed first baseman Neil Dankievitch scored 26 runs and knocked in 25 while Brian Mauricio scored 23 runs. Head coach Ray Medeiros, a school Hall of Famer, was assisted by junior varsity coach Glenn Chatterton and Durfee High Hall of Famer Joe Andrews. The rest of the team included Eric Correia, Pat Davin, Jesse Eaton, Keith Henriques, Derek Medeiros, Ryan Mello, Brian Pacheco, Adam Roy, Ryan Sylvia, Jamie Mitchell, Adam Guilmette, and Mark Gendreau.
In the state playoffs, Durfee opened with a tough 7-6 win over Framingham before beating Norwood 16-7, Dennis-Yarmouth 4-0, Boston College High 11-5, and Arlington 7-4 to get to the state final.