May 26, 2004
Garden City, N.Y. -
Adelphi Athletics had an outstanding year in 2003-04. The Panthers posted solid results in the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference (NYCAC), posting top five finishes in 10 conference sports. Adelphi also took home NYCAC championships in women's soccer and women's basketball.
The Panthers also had success on the national level, sending three teams to the NCAA tournament. In the fall women's soccer won the Northeast Regional for the second consecutive season, while the women's basketball team competed in the NCAA tournament for the second time in three years. Closing the year on a high note the women's lacrosse team won their first national title with a 12-11 win over West Chester.
FALL HIGHLIGHTS
Men/Women's Cross-Country
The men's cross-country team had a solid year, placing third at the NYCAC Championships for the second consecutive year. The men also claimed first place at the Wagner Cross-Country Invitational and improved two spots at the NCAA New England Regional, finishing ninth.
The women had a much more difficult year. The Panthers lost key members of last year's squad and had to fight through numerous injuries. The women finished fifth at the NYCAC Championships and 15th at the New England Regional.
Individually, Katie DiPietro claimed first place at the Wagner Cross-Country Invitational and received first-team all-conference honors for her sixth place finish at the conference championships. DiPietro, along with senior Dave Harvey, were each named the conference cross-country female and male scholar-athletes. On the men's side Harvey and Ryan Soltan claimed all conference honors at the conference meet, finishing seventh and ninth, respectively.
Men's Soccer (8-6-3)
The men's soccer team posted their first winning season since 2000, going 8-6-3. The Panthers also finished third in the Atlantic Soccer Conference (ASC) with a mark of 2-2-1. Adelphi's season included strong wins over Syracuse (2-1, 2OT), Manhattan (3-0) and Howard (1-0).
Seniors Gary Sullivan and Joe Afful were first-team All-ASC selections, was sophomore Padraig Drew was a second-team selection. Sullivan was also selected to the NSCAA All-New York team for the third consecutive year and was selected by the Colorado Rapids in the fifth round of the Major League Soccer (MLS) Super Dreft.
Junior Tal Sheinfeld and sophomore Tal Lahav were honored with selection to the Verizon Academic All-District team. Senior goalkeeper Tom Cunningham had a breakout year and was named the Nassau County Sports Commission Conde Naste Male Athlete of the Year for his efforts.
Women's Soccer (18-2-1)
The Panthers repeated as NCAA Northeast Regional Championship and captured their third straight NYCAC title along the way. Adelphi's conference win streak now stands at 31-0-1 dating back to the 2001 season. Ranked as high as fourth in the nation, Adelphi finished the 2003 season ranked sixth overall. After starting the season with a tie and a loss, the Panthers racked up 18 straight wins, including 13 consecutive shutouts to finish 18-2-1. This tied the school record for most wins in a season.
Head Coach Rich Ilsley was named NYCAC Coach of the Year, while Josephine Coiro, Marissa Cotilletta, Luciana Pace, Josefa Pace, Andrea Fasano, Monica Miller and Hillary Horn were each named All-NYCAC. Coiro, the team's leading scorer for the third consecutive year, was named a NSCAA third-team All-America. Coiro, along with Fasano and Luciana and Josefa Pace were each selected to the NSCAA All-Northeast Region Team.
The team also excelled in the classroom, earning the NSCAA Academic Team award for the ninth straight year. Fasano was named a NSCAA scholar-athlete, while Horn was selected as the NYCAC Women's soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Women's Tennis (5-5)
The women's tennis team finished the season 5-5 overall and 5-3 in conference action. The Panthers advanced to their second consecutive NYCAC team championship as the fourth seed, falling to Queens in the first round. Rebecca Gnessin, Melissa Kutner, Leigh Fennessey and Geisha Rodriguez all advanced to the semi-finals in the NYCAC Individual Tournament.
Volleyball (8-17)
Adelphi finished the season ninth in the NYCAC, just one place out of the final spot in the conference tournament. The Panthers accomplished this with a roster made up of five freshman, six sophomores and one junior.
Freshman Rachel Cornick led the Panthers in kills (271), total attacks (927) and digs (301). Her average of 3.08 kills per game places her fifth on the all-time season's best list. Cornick was also named NYCAC Rookie of the Week on November 3, 2003 and was the only Panther to receive weekly conference honors this season.
WINTER HIGHLIGHTS
Men's Basketball (15-13)
With just two seniors and no juniors on the roster a very young Panther team fell in the first round of the conference tournament, failing to defend their tournament title from last season. The squad also missed a bid to the NCAA Northeast Regional for the first time in a decade.
Freshmen Kimani Blaize and Mike Mosby were each named NYCAC Rookie of the Week on two occasions. Senior Thomas McCormack was a second-team all-conference selection and a second-team All-MET selection. Jamaal Wagner led the Panthers in points per game (12.3) and three-point field goals made (51).
Women's Basketball (20-11)
The Adelphi Panthers won the second NYCAC Championship in three years and earned a trip to the NCAA Northeast Regionals. The Panthers entered the NYCAC Tournament as the No. 4 seed and rolled through its opponents with an average 11-point margin of victory. Melanie Mangone was named the NYCAC Tournament MVP. Adelphi was the only NYCAC women's team to advance to the NCAA Regionals, facing top-seeded Merrimack in the first round.
Second-year head coach Kelly guided the Panthers to a 20-11 record, just the second 20+ win season in school history. For her efforts, she was named the Nassau County Sports Commission Female College Coach of the Year and the All-Met Division II Women's Coach of the Year. In addition, the team was recognized with the NYCAC Sportsmanship Award for the second straight year. The award is voted on by area officials and presented to the team with the best sportsmanship. Senior Jamie Douglas was selected second-team All-NYCAC, the NYCAC All-Tournament Team and named a first-team All-Met selection. She leaves Adelphi ranked second in scoring with 1,383 points. Sophomore Carlyshia Hurdle earned second-team All-Met honors.
Swimming
The women's swim team had a very strong season, claiming first in six dual meets. The men's team, swimming with just three members claimed two first place finishes. Freshman Jerri Lester had an outstanding freshman campaign, qualifying for both the ECAC championships and the NCAA Championships.
Lester swam the 50 and 100 yard freestyle, and the 100 and 200 yard backstroke at the ECAC Championships. She placed placed 12th in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 1:01.21. Lester provisionally qualifed for the NCAA Championships in the 200 yard backstroke but did not compete.
Matt Jordan also qualifed for the ECAC Championships in the 50 and 100 yard freestyle, placing 22nd in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 22.02. Jordan is the first Adelphi male swimmer to qualify for the ECAC Championships in over a decade.
Senior Mark Smith was also honored at the Metropolitan Collegiate Swim meet with the Dick Krempecki award, which is given to the most outstanding male senior in the conference.
SPRING HIGHLIGHTS
Baseball (19-22)
The Adelphi baseball, under the direction of first year head coach Dom Scala returned from its Florida season opener with a winning record for the first time in team history. Adelphi more then doubled its win total from a year ago, winning 19 games this season, compared to seven last year and returned to the conference playoffs after an absence in 2003. The Panthers finished with a 10-10 mark in the NYCAC and faced-off against top-seeded New Haven in the playoffs, losing 7-3.
The Panthers also Senior Mike Joyce and junior Frank Alesia were each named to the NYCAC All-Conference team. Alesia lead the Panthers in almost every major statistical category including RBI (34), hits (51) and batting average (.375).
Golf
The golf team was ranked fourth in the Northeast Region and was selected to compete in the NCAA Super Regionals for the second consecutive season. The Panthers placed seventh at the Super Regional with Sean Cahalare placing 20th overall.
The Panthers also claimed third at the conference championships for the second consecutive season, John Seifert led the way for Adelphi with a sixth place finish. During the fall Adelphi placed a respectable fourth at the ECAC championships with Steve Terrana and Sean Cahalare tying for 12th to pace the Panthers.
Men's Lacrosse (7-4, 4-1 NYCAC)
The Panthers stumbled early dropping their first two games but bounced back to win four straight before falling to NYIT in overtime. Adelphi entered the inaugural conference tournament as the number two seed and was stunned by C. W. Post, 6-5, forcing an early end to the season for the Panthers.
Adelphi placed four players on the All-Conference team led by Kim Delfs and Frank Canizio were each named first-team All-Conference. Matt Schomburg and Brian Hahn were named to the second-team.
Women's Lacrosse (13-1)
The Panthers became the first women's program to win a national title, when they defeated West Chester, 12-11, in the final game of the NCAA Championships. No. 2 ranked Adelphi trailed 6-1 in the first half but clawed back with an 11-5 second half run to overtake the Golden Rams for the championship. Katherine Hock, the team's leading scorer, led the Panthers with six goals. Hock, along with Allyson Murphy, Tara Grodotzke, Melissa Demasi and Lauren Lopez were each named to the NCAA All-Tournament team.
Adelphi was 11-0 to start the season, its longest win streak and best start in its four-year history. The only blip was a 15-9 loss against C.W. Post in the regular season finale. The Panthers rallied back, defeating the Pioneers 11-10 in the NCAA semi-finals to advance.
Throughout the season, Adelphi held top statistical rankings, including scoring offense and defense and scoring margin. Several players were also ranked nationally, including Hock in goals and points per game and Murphy in goals against average and save percentage.
In addition, Hock, Demasi and Lauren Lopez were each named first-team All-Americans, while freshman Diana Lopez earned second-team honors. Head Coach Jill Lessne, who started the program just four year ago, was named the IWLCA Division II Coach of the Year.
Men's Tennis (7-8)
The men's tennis team started out the season on a high, after topping Division I Fordham 5-2. The win was the Panthers first victory over a Division I opponent in seven years. From there the season got tough, as the Panthers dropped seven of their next 11 matches, finishing the year 7-8 overall and 2-5 in conference action.
Softball (27-21)
Adelphi narrowly missed a NCAA bid, after losing in the semifinals of the NYCAC Championships. The No. 2 seed Panthers hosted the ECAC Championships, falling in the semifinal round to eventual winners, Mansfield College.
On the season, junior Theresa Kotulak led the team and the NYCAC in RBI and doubles. She moved into the Adelphi single season records lists in RBI, doubles and homeruns. Junior Ivy Klein led the team in batting average.
Sophomore pitcher Carla Buonviaggio tossed the first perfect game in Adelphi Division II history against Molloy on April 21, 2004. For her efforts she was named NYCAC Pitcher of the Week.
Six members of the Adelphi University Softball team were selected to the NYCAC All-Conference team. Junior outfielder Ivy Klein was selected first-team All-NYCAC, while juniors Theresa Kotulak and Tonia Trapani, along with sophomores Carla Buonviaggio, Beth Fletcher and Amy Delmore were named to the second-team.
