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SPORTS HIGHLIGHTSWrestling
Senior co-captain Brian Dempsey is closing in on a milestone as a member of the Lion wrestling program. The senior has 96 career victories, putting him easily within reach of joining the 100-win club. Dempsey, who ranks among the top in the nation at 125 pounds, will have plenty of opportunities to add to his impressive win total with a healthy portion of the schedule remaining. Soccer The College of New Jersey women’s soccer team, which finished the 2005 season as the NCAA Division III runner-up, placed two players on the 2005 NSCAA/Adidas National All-America Team. Sophomore Dana DiBruno was a first team honoree, and senior Alissa Kacar was named to the second team. On Sunday, January 29, Kacar will be honored by the New Jersey Sportswriters Association as the Female Collegiate Goalkeeper of the Year. The College’s men’s soccer coach, George Nazario, was named the 2005 NSCAA/Adidas Division III Metro Regional Coach of the Year. Nazario, the 2005 NJAC Coach of the Year, guided the Lions to the 2005 NJAC championship and the NCAA Tournament. The Lions advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA championships before falling to the eventual NCAA champion, Messiah College. For the 2005 season, the Lions went 16-3-1. The men’s soccer team placed one of its players on the 2005 NSCAA/Adidas Division III All-America Team. Sophomore goalie Matt Kasperavicius was honored with a spot on the National Third Team, becoming an All-American for the first time in his career. A 2005 Metro Regional First Team and NJAC All-Star First Team honoree, he was also the recipient of the newly instituted Goalkeeper of the Year Award for the NJAC this past fall. Kasperavicius was a two-time NJAC and ECAC Defensive Player of the Week selection over the course of the season and ranked third in the conference in both goals against average (0.93) and save percentage (.829). Softball TCNJ’s softball team helped local youths celebrate the 2005 holiday season as the team "adopted" Hamilton Head Start program participants. The team and coaching staff spent an afternoon with 19 four- and five-year-old children from the Hamilton Head Start program and had a holiday party where each player "adopted" a child from the program, providing the child with clothes and toys for the holiday season. Head coach Sally Miller said of the experience, “It was such a wonderful time to share the afternoon with the children and was as fulfilling for TCNJ’s players as it was for the children in the program.” Athletics Blood Drive TCNJ’s student-athletes, coaches, staff, and the general campus community participated in the American Red Cross NJAC Blood Challenge during the fall semester. TCNJ, Richard Stockton College, Rowan University and Rutgers University-Camden have already donated 764 pints and have additional blood drives schedule for the spring. It’s not too late to join the challenge. Contact TCNJ’s athletic department to find out more about upcoming Blood Drive dates and helping TCNJ stake a claim not only as “The Best Team in the NJAC,” but the one who saves the most lives. |
The College of New Jersey will serve as the host site for the 2006 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships on March 3-4. The event will bring 160 competitors from across the nation to the campus as well as coaches, staff and fans for the event, which will take place in TCNJ’s Student Recreation Center. Advance tickets can be purchased by contacting TCNJ’s Athletic Department at 609.771.2230 or by visiting 
