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SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS
TCNJ’S BASEBALL TEAM DONATING EQUIPMENT FROM GLOBAL EQUIPMENT DRIVE TO GRACE PROJECT SCHOOL IN KENYA The College of New Jersey baseball team successfully initiated and collected used baseball/softball equipment as part of a global equipment drive last year. The equipment drive benefited developing baseball countries, where gear is either not available or is too costly for individuals to purchase. Last year, TCNJ’s baseball team targeted the Philippines. Most of the donations in the Philippines were distributed in the metropolitan Manila area. On April 21, TCNJ’s head baseball coach, Rick Dell, and The College of New Jersey’s baseball team made another donation from their global equipment drive to Joseph Matara, Gregory Farrell and his associates, who are in the process of developing the Grace Project School, which will be located in Kisii in southwestern Kenya. The school will provide educational opportunities to children who would otherwise not have an opportunity to obtain a high quality education and other services such as basic healthcare and shelter. With this donation from TCNJ, the Grace Project School will mark the beginning of baseball in Kenya. There are currently only two American private schools in Kenya that sponsor baseball and with the introduction of baseball to Grace Project School, the students at the GPC will gain incredible esteem by competing among the elite in Kenya. Matara’s goal is to start an elementary boarding school for children in Kenya, with the main focus being children from poor homes. Educational opportunities for poor children in Kenya are very limited, as they can only attend public schools where class sizes may be over 100 students. The Grace Project School’s goal is to start a privately funded school where tuition is based on family income. Poor children who do well on the entrance examination will be able to join the school even if they are orphans. A native of Kenya, Matara is very excited about this project, as it will provide a real chance for children to break the cycle of poverty for their families. For more information about The Grace Project School, please contact them at: www.graceproject.org On hand for the donation were TCNJ head baseball coachRick Dell, Joseph Matara, executive director of the Grace Project, Gregory Farrell, president of the Grace Project, and TCNJ baseball team member Chris Wilson. To make a donation simply contact the baseball office at 609.771.2374 or e-mail rdell@tcnj.edu. TCNJ’s players and staff are available to make pickups. The Global Equipment Drive is a community service program offered by the baseball team and endorsed by Major League Baseball. MLB has offered the use of their resources to contact and communicate with baseball administrators worldwide. TCNJ players will be actively involved with the collection, reconditioning, shipping, and tracking of equipment. Any donation will be appreciated and recognized.
TCNJ TO HOST 15TH ANNUAL LIONS CLUB GOLF OUTING The College of New Jersey Athletic Department will hold its 15th Annual Athletic Department Golf Outing on Friday, June 9, at the Mercer Oaks East Golf Course (West Windsor, NJ). The event will commence at 8 a.m. with registration/continental breakfast and a shotgun start at 9 a.m. in a scramble format with a lunch buffet at 2 p.m. The event, which is the cornerstone activity of the athletic department’s fund-raising efforts, will feature numerous prizes and opportunities for involvement with the Lions’ Athletic Department. Their will be a hole-in-one contest with the prize provided by Perrine, while additional prizes will be awarded for the overall men’s and women’s low gross/net, the co-ed low gross/net, the men’s and women’s accurate drive and the closest to the pin, and a hold the green raffle. Additionally, the event will feature a golf raffle, a prize raffle, and an auction raffle. For more information on the 15th Annual TCNJ Athletic Golf Outing, please contact John Castaldo at 609.771.2446 or via email at castaldo@tcnj.edu. Entry deadline for the event is June 2 and is limited to the first 144 paid golfers. Prize donations are generously accepted and there is a lunch-only option available for $40. The cost for an individual golfer is $140, which includes golf, cart, driving range, gift bag, Adidas golf shirt, continental breakfast, buffet, and beverages. Sponsorship packages are available at the following rates: "Title Sponsorship" for $2,500 includes individual golfer amenities for two foursomes, two exclusive hole signs, name attachment on golf shirts, event program and event signage. Additional packages include a “Platinum Sponsorship” for $1,250 that features individual golfers amenities for a foursome and exclusive hole sign, as well as sponsorship of lunch or dinner. The “Gold Sponsorship” for $600 provides for golf amenities for a foursome and a hole sign. The “Silver Sponsorship” for $200 allows for sponsorship of a TCNJ coach to play in the event and a hole sign. A “Bronze Sponsorship” for $75 includes a hole sign. In order to make a tax-deductable contribution or reserve a sponsorship opportunity, please make your checks payable to The College of New Jersey Foundation and mail to: TCNJ Athletics’ Golf Outing
In Brief: TCNJ’s head women’s lacrosse coach joined an exclusive club this month when her team defeated Colorado College on April 20. Now in her 20th year as head coach at TCNJ, Sharon Pfluger won her 300th career game win the women’s lacrosse team. She is now 300-23-1 and one of only three coaches in women's colllegiate history to garner 300 wins. William Smith College’s Pat Genovese currently has a career record of 325-118-1 and the University of Maryland’s Cindy Timchal is 334-83. TCNJ’s senior women’s lacrosse captain Lauren Dougher has been named one of 21 finalists for the 2006 Tewaaraton Award as the top collegiate women’s lacrosse players of the year. Dougher is the lone Division III representative among the finalists, and the selection the top five finalists for the 2006 award will take place on June 1. During the 2006 season, Dougher has already established herself in TCNJ’s record books. She currently ranks No. 3 all-time in career goals (209), No. 3 in career assists (78) and No. 1 in career points (287) through 11 games in 2006. She is just five goals shy of becoming all-time career goal scorer at TCNJ and only eight assists shy of career mark. TCNJ’s baseball team currently ranks No. 2 in Division III in the latest ABCA Division III poll released on April 18. TCNJ is now 26-4 on the 2006 season. TCNJ’s men’s tennis coach, Scott Dicheck, recorded his 50th career win in men’s tennis at TCNJ when his Lions beat Connecticut College, 7-0, on April 15. Dicheck is now 51-30 as men’s tennis coach at TCNJ in six seasons, while also sporting a 71-21 record as the head coach of TCNJ’s women’s tennis team during that same time frame. On April 30, TCNJ’s Department of Athletics will recognize 151 student-athletes in conjunction with the 19th Annual TCNJ Scholar-Athlete Brunch. Seniors Dan DeSerio of the men’s basketball team and Sarah Spilman of the women’s cross country team will be named the Dr. Harold W. Eickhoff Scholar-Athletes as the top senior scholar-athletes of the year. A record 151 student-athletes have achieved a 3.3 or high grade point average, while an additional 119 student-athletes have maintained a 3.0 to 3.29 grade point average. Additionally, 1989 graduate Felice Ginsburg will be recognized with the Distinguished Alumni Award. A former Lion women’s swimmer, Ginsberg received the top senior female scholar-athlete award herself in the spring of 1989 as a senior. On April 6, TCNJ’s softball team played its first games in Lions’ Park. TCNJ proceeded to post a pair of wins to celebrate “Opening Day.” Another first in the new facility was TCNJ’s first homerun in the park on April 13 as Kristin Boyer helped the Lions sweep Hunter College.
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