Local roundup: New fitness room at Dracut High named after former wrestling coach Bob Rudolph

On Tuesday, former Dracut High School wrestling coach Bob Rudolph received quite the honor.

Surrounded by current Dracut wrestlers, Rudolph posed for a picture after the new fitness room at DHS was named after him.

Rudolph, a 34-year head coach, left quite a legacy at Dracut. He’s best known for coaching wrestling at the school in the rough-and-tumble Merrimack Valley Conference.

He led he Middies to 354 wins. He coached three New England champions and 13 state champs during an outstanding career. He also was an assistant football coach, JV baseball coach and served as the school’s athletic director.

Rudolph was named the Division 2 Coach of the Year in Massachusetts in 2004 and was honored several times by The Sun. He was a three-sport athlete during his days at the University of New Hampshire.

Swimming

Pelham impresses: The Pelham Pythons had several noteworthy performances when the team competed at the Icebreaker Invitational at UNH.

Two athletes qualified for NHIAA Division 2 states. Josef Tenczar swam 1:12.42 in the 100 butterfly and James Burke covered the 100 backstroke in 1:12.16.

College basketball

UML wins: Redshirt-senior Sydney Watkins (Indianapolis, Ind.) recorded her first career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, as the UMass Lowell women earned a 49-38 win versus Iona (2-7) on Tuesday evening in Lowell.

Along with her double-double, Watkins led the team (2-8) in steals with five, adding three assists and one block. Sophomore Rayne Durant (New Haven, Conn.) followed with 12 points, five rebounds and one block. Sophomore Maddie Rice (Charlottesville, Va.) had a team and career best of 15 rebounds, also contributing with nine points, one assist, one block and one steal.

“I’m really excited for our team today,” said UML head coach Denise King. “November was tough for us, and we were tested. Highlights for me today would be Sydney’s double-double, which was really phenomenal, along with Maddie’s team high of 15 rebounds was super great for us. The points in the paint were huge for us too. I think our inside game and our paint touches were key for us today.”

Stonehill rolls: The Stonehill College women buried 11 three-pointers, connecting on 50 percent for the night as part of 51.8% shooting overall, and never trailed in cruising to a 75-43 victory over Dartmouth College in a non-conference women’s basketball matchup in Easton.

Sophomore Brooke Paquette (Hudson, N.H./Bishop Guertin) added 15 points, four rebounds, four assists, a blocked shot and steal.