Rutgers Roundup

Aaron Brookhart, a three-year letter winner on the varsity lightweight/heavyweight crew teams and a member of Rutgers class of 2001, died suddenly on May 9.

Brookhart was an accomplished oarsman whowas a key performer at Rutgers. He was undefeated and Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (EARC) champion as a freshman heavyweight, and grand finalist at the EARC Sprints as a second varsity heavyweight as a sophomore. In his junior and senior years he was a member of the Varsity Lightweight 8 and competed at the Royal Henley Regatta in England in 2000.

Brookhart came to Rutgers after competing for the crew team at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio. Following his graduation from Rutgers, Brookhart rowed for the U.S. National Development Team in the lightweight category and coached for Westerville Crew, a high school rowing team serving communities in the northeast Columbus, Ohio, area. Most recently, he was finishing a dual MBA-law degree at Capital University, Ohio.

Relatives and friends are invited to Aaron's memorial Mass at noon Sunday, June 1, at St. Mary's Chapel of St. Ignatius High School, 1911 West 30th St., Cleveland. Memorial contributions may be made to the Aaron J. Brookhart Scholarship Fund, Charter One Bank, 34601 Ridge Road, Unit 9, Willoughby, OH 44094.

Rutgers freshman first baseman Jaren Matthews earned All-Big East Third Team honors, it was announced at the league's annual postseason awards banquet in Clearwater Florida on Monday evening. The All-Big East accolades are determined by the league's 12 head coaches, who are not permitted to vote for representatives from their own team.

Matthews was one of two Scarlet Knights to start every game in 2008, finishing the season with a team-best 10 home runs and 54 RBI. He hit .294 overall with a team-best 63 hits, including 11 doubles and two triples. The true freshman also posted 21 walks and was successful in eight of his nine stolen base attempts this season. Matthews' RBI total was tied for seventh-most in the Big East, while his home run total was tied for ninth-most in the conference. In league play, the freshman was tied for the Big East lead with 30 RBI. He tied for second in the league with seven home runs and ranked 11th with a .570 slugging percentage during conference action. Matthews was named the Big East Player of the Week on March 31 after hitting .412 with a .882 slugging percentage in five games. He collected three doubles, a triple and a home run, while scoring 10 runs during the span.

Rutgers completed its 2008 season 23-29-1 overall and 11-16 in the Big East to finish ninth in the conference.