November Sports Briefs

• TCNJ’s women’s soccer team captured the 2006 New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship and, with it, the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships. The Lions had a first round bye in the tournament and collected an impressive 10-1 win over Villa Julie College on November 12 to advance in the tournament. TCNJ has been selected to serve as a host site for the NCAA Division III Sectionals, which will take place in TCNJ’s Soccer Complex, Saturday and Sunday, November 18-19. The sectionals will feature the host Lions taking on Middlebury College in one contest, while Amherst College will face Endicott College in the other contest on Saturday. The two winners from Saturday’s action will meet on Sunday, with the winner advancing to the Final Four in Orlando, FL, on November 24-25. Tickets for the event are $6 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens.
  
• The women’s soccer team had a host of players cited for their efforts by the NJAC. Junior Courtney Krol was a double winner as the 2006 Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season an All-NJAC First Team. Three other Lions were named All-NJAC First Team, as junior Dana DiBruno earned a spot on the team for the second straight year, while senior Christine Mullin and junior Kristen Cubicciotti were each named to the team for the first time. Two more TCNJ players were tabbed to All-NJAC Second Team, as sophomore defender Laura Delaney and freshman goalkeeper Jessica Clarke earned the honor.  In addition to excelling on the field, two TCNJ women’s soccer players were honored for their efforts in the classroom. Senior Christine Mullin and junior Courtney Krol were named to the CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District District II Second Team.
• TCNJ’s field hockey team also won the NJAC Championship this fall, after a perfect 6-0 mark in conference play, and earned a spot in the 2006 NCAA Division III Championships. With the 2006 appearance in the NCAA Division III Field Hockey championships, only TCNJ has appeared in all 26 tournaments. The Lions opened the tournament with a 5-0 win over Elizabethtown College on November 10. The victory marked the 400th collegiate win for TCNJ head coach Sharon Pfluger. Now in her 24th season as a collegiate coach, including the last 22 at TCNJ, Pfluger has a career record of 400-70-9. TCNJ’s season came to an end in the regional championship contest, as Messiah College collected the 2-1 win over the Lions. TCNJ finishes the year with a 17-3 record.
  
  
• TCNJ’s field hockey team has earned several post-season awards with the release of the 2006 NJAC All-Star Team. TCNJ senior midfielder Jess Berkowitz was named the NJAC Midfielder of the Year. She is a three-time NJAC all-conference selection. Lion senior back Meg Hess was named the NJAC Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. Freshman midfielder Jessica Falcone was named the NJAC Rookie of the Year. Lion head coach Sharon Pfluger was selected as the NJAC Coach of the Year by her peers. Junior defender Sheri Grondki was named to the First Team for her efforts this season and was joined on the NJAC All-Star First Team by senior Allison Greene. Sophomore midfielder Melissa Buttray earned a spot on the NJAC Honorable Mention Team in field hockey, as did sophomore Jenny Lubin. Greene is also a candidate for the NCAA’s Top Eight Award recognizing outstanding student-athletes.
• TCNJ’s men’s and women’s cross country teams have had a very busy month. Both teams earned NJAC championships on October 28.  For the Lion women, the 2006 title marks the program’s 12th-straight crown and the 23rd overall NJAC championship. TCNJ’s men’s team has now won 13 straight NJAC championships and 18 overall. TCNJ sophomores Megan O’Leary and Christopher Guerriero won the women’s and men’s races, respectively, and were named the 2006 NJAC Female and Male Runners of the Year. TCNJ coach Phil Jennings was named the 2006 NJAC Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year. Freshman  Valerie Bonczek wqas named the NJAC Female Rookie of the Year, while Mike Fonder earned an 11th-place finish in 26:48.06 and was tapped as the NJAC’s Male Rookie Runner of the Year. The following week, TCNJ’s runners posted an impressive showing as the Lion men took second at the 2006 Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships, and the women finished in fifth place.  TCNJ’s junior Anthony Arnold finished in second place overall for the 8,000 meter race and earned All-ECAC honors after posting his time of 26:18 for the event. Also earning All-ECAC honors after taking 14th place in 26:52 was TCNJ junior Steve Kinney. The Lion women team finished in second place at the 2006 NCAA Division III Atlantic Regionals in upstate New York. With their effort, the Lion women have earned a spot in the 2006 NCAA Division III Championships at Wilmington College (OH) on November 18. TCNJ’s men’s team finished in fourth place at the same race and earned one of 16 at-large bids to the 2006 NCAA Division III Championships.
• The captain of TCNJ's football team, Ryan Ross, has been named one of the 148 semifinalists for The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) 2006 Draddy Trophy and is a candidate for the NFF’s 2006 National Scholar-Athlete Awards. The Draddy Trophy recognizes an individual as the absolute best in the country for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary community leadership.
• TCNJ’s wrestling team has earned a national ranking in the NWCA Division III preseason poll and opened the season by repeating as the Ithaca College Invitational Champions. TCNJ is ranked No. 19 in the poll and is coming off a 19th place finish at the 2006 NCAA Division III Championships.
• TCNJ’s men’s soccer team had one player named to the 2006 New Jersey Athletic Conference All-Star First Team, senior forward Matt Luber, while five others were named to the Second Team and Honorable Mention Teams. Luber is a repeat first team selection He netted one selection this season as the NJAC’s and ECAC’s Offensive Player of the Week and was a candidate for the 2006 ESPN The Magazine CoSIDA Academic All-America Team.
• Earning a spot on the 2006 NJAC All-Star Second Team was junior midfielder Joe McGinley. Seniors Tim Dudek and Michael Ferber, as well as juniors Frank Fiorilli and Craig Langan, earned a spot on the 2006 Honorable Mention Team.