December 2007 sports briefs

Head Football Coach Eric Hamilton ’75 is a finalist for the 2007 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award, which honors the college football coaches who best exemplify responsibility and excellence on and off the field of play. You can vote for Eric by clicking here.

If Eric wins, TCNJ's Alumni Association will receive $20,000 in scholarship money. As his prize, Eric will receive $50,000 toward the charity of his choosing, and he will be recognized in the permanent Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year display at the National Football Foundation’s College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, IN.

The winners will be announced December 29, 2007, on an ABC special presentation hosted by Hall of Fame Sportscaster Keith Jackson and Analyst Kirk Herbstreit at 5:30 p.m. (ET). The special award presentation will re-air January 8, 2008, on ESPN2 at 2 p.m. (ET).

The Department of Athletics was recognized on November 27 for winning the second New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Blood Drive Challenge, sponsored by the American Red Cross.

Members of the American Red Cross Staff were on hand to present Interim Athletic Director John Castaldo ’82 with a trophy for winning the event at halftime of the Lions’ women’s basketball game with Moravian College. Over the course of the 2006–07 academic year, members of TCNJ’s community donated 497 units of blood, top amongst the six NJAC schools that participated in the blood drives last year. That is enough blood to save as many as 1,491 hospital patients.

Castaldo said. “Winning the NJAC Challenge two years in row is a rewarding feeling; however the ultimate goal of this program was simply to help others in need. TCNJ’s athletics department and the campus community are proud to have played a positive role in this venture.”

With the release of the 2007 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American College Division Team, TCNJ’s football team has produced an honoree, as senior Andrew Larkin was amongst the players cited for academic and athletic excellence as he was named to the National Second Team. Larkin becomes TCNJ’s 48th CoSIDA Academic All-American and the third Lion football player to be cited since the program was started.

Larkin, a 2007 team co-captain for the Lions, was also named to the 2007 NJAC All-Star First Team for his efforts as a defensive back. A starter in 12 games on the season, he helped TCNJ earn the NJAC’s automatic bid to the 2007 NCAA Championships

Over the course of the 2007 season, Larkin added several big plays this fall for the Lions with his athletic ability. He returned an interception against Buffalo State in the third quarter 91 yards for a TD. That marked his second interception return for a touchdown this fall. The 91-yard return for a score was just eight yards shy of tying TCNJ's school record for an interception return for a TD. He also had an 82-yard interception return in the Lions’ 10-7 road win over then No. 17 ranked Rowan. He also added an interception in the waning minutes of the third quarter against RPI in the first round of the 2007 NCAAs as TCNJ posted a 17-14 road win. On the year, Larkin finished with 65 tackles with a team-leading seven interceptions for 179 yards with six pass breakups. Those seven interceptions were tops in the NJAC, while his 0.58 per game average was second. He was also third in the league with his 13 passes defended. He ranks in a tie for 35th in Division III with 0.6 interceptions per game as of November 27.

On his career, Larkin played in 32 games for the Lions and racked up has 170 career tackles with 16 career pass breakups and 11 career interceptions for 252 return yards.

With the release of the second standings in the race for the 2007–08 U.S. Sports Academy Directors’ Cup, TCNJ currently stands in ninth place. The final fall standings will be released on December 20.

The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame welcomed its 50th class on November 10 in a special ceremony held at The Grand Lodge in Hunt Valley, MD, and among the inductees was Sharon Pfluger ’82. Pfluger has gone 318-26 in 21 seasons at TCNJ, setting a NCAA record with a career winning percentage of 92.4. Her teams have won 11 NCAA Division III championships and won an NCAA-record 102 consecutive games from 1991 to 1997. She has twice been selected the IWLCA Division III National Coach of the Year and she has also led TCNJ’s field hockey team to seven NCAA championships and nearly 400 victories since 1985. As a player, she was a two-time All-American at the school. Pfluger had previously been inducted into the US Lacrosse New Jersey Chapter Hall of Fame.

FOOTBALL

9-3, 6-1 NJAC (NJAC Co-Champions), NCAA participant

The football team earned the program’s fifth NCAA Tournament appearance after capturing the NJAC’s automatic bid. TCNJ advanced to the second round of the 2007 NCAA Playoffs before falling to two-time NCAA Division III Champions and top-seeded Mount Union College on the road. TCNJ shared the NJAC Championship with SUNY Cortland (6-1), but in the head-to-head match-up won the league’s automatic bid after beating Cortland 30-0 this season. TCNJ set a school record earlier this season stringing together eight straight wins, before falling in the 2007 NJAC finale to Kean University 37-27 on the road.

The Lions finished the season with an impressive 9-3 record, marking the third time in program history that the Lions have advanced to the second round of action in the NCAA Championships. TCNJ’s nine wins marks the fourth time TCNJ has achieved nine or more wins in the history of the team.

Sophomore quarterback Chris James had a record-setting season for the Lions under center. By year’s end, James and TCNJ’s other two players who worked as a quarterback, sophomore Bill Picatagi and junior Zach Rinaldi, had surpassed the record for most passes attempted and completed in a season as a team (331 and 161).  James finished his second year with the Lions having completed 154 of 321 pass attempts for 1,865 yards with 15 TDs, 155.4 yards passing per game and 185.1 yards per game of total offense. His career best toss this fall was a 72-yard pass in the Cortland game, while also connecting for a 63-yard TD pass in the same game. James also set records for both post-and regular-season performances having made 46 pass attempts (40, Steve Mortellite vs. Ithaca, 11/17/90) and 24 passes completed (23, Bob Schurtz vs. Delaware Valley, 11/22/03). He also added his name to the record for most pass attempts and completions in a season.

Defensively, the Lions found several leaders as well. Senior lineman Joe King capped his stellar career earning the NJAC’s Defensive Player of the Year award. His final game was shortened by an injury, but not before he managed to add his final career sack. The injury prevented King from accepting an invitation to compete in the AFCA’s Aztec Bowl. King earned NJAC Defensive Player of the Week honors three times in 2007 as well as capturing ECAC Defensive Player of the Week honors once. He caps his stellar athletic career having excelled on the gridiron.  On the 2007 season, he finished the season with 71 tackles with a team and league leading 28 tackles for a loss (-173 yards), while also adding 15 sacks (-125 yards). On his career, King racked up 148 career tackles with 56.5 tackles for a loss (-337 yards), while adding 34.5 sacks (-269 yards), with 14 pass break ups, four blocks and four fumbles in 39 games played. As of November 27, he was ranked fifth in Division III in sacks per game (1.3), while ranking third as well in tackles for a loss (2.3).

Senior co-captain Andrew Larkin added several big plays this fall for the Lions with his athletic ability. (See related story above.)

Senior linebacker Nick Steffner finished the 2007 campaign as the Lions’ tackle leader after netting 11 tackles in his final contest at Mount Union. He finished with a career-best 74 stops on 33 solo stops with 41 assisted tackles. He added 10 tackles for a loss (-38 yards) with 3.5 sacks (-22 yards), with an interception and five breakups. Steffner was tapped for the 2007 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District College Division team for his accomplishments on and off the playing field. With his performance against MUC (4 UT, 7 AT), he now has 111 career tackles for the Lions in 29 games played.

Junior linebacker Marc Fabiano added 68 tackles this year. He added 32 solo stops with 36 assisted tackles and averaged 5.7 tackles per game. Fabiano was also tapped for the 2007 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District College Division team.

Senior kicker Matt Dalessio finished the season with four-game winning performances to his credit. His latest effort came as TCNJ knocked off RPI with Dalessio’s 27-yard field goal with 12.8 seconds left in the game. The leading scorer this year, he added 88 career points as a Lion. Dalessio ranked third in the NJAC with his 0.92 FG per game, while ranking third in the league in kick scoring leaders with a 5.0 ppg average as he finished with a team-best 60 points this fall. He also was the NJAC’s seventh overall leading scorer and as of November 27, he ranked in a tie for 33rd in Division III with his 0.9 FG per game average. He also added his named to TCNJ’s record book having added a 26 field goal attempts in 2007.

Senior punter Jeff Struble remained the NJAC’s punting leader as he finished the season having averaged 39.4 yards per punt on 68 punts for 2,681 yards. He added 17 punts inside the opponent's 20 yard line. Against Mount Union, he had a 74-yard punt to add his name to the Lions’ post-season record book, while adding 387 punting yards in the game, also a TCNJ post-season mark. The 74-yard punt was not only a season best for the senior, but a career best boot. As a first-year defensive back, he also contributed 25 tackles with three interceptions for 62 return yards and three pass breakups. The former quarterback also has 2,438 career passing yards to his credit as well. As of November 27, Struble is ranked 35th in Division III in punting with a 39.4 ypp average. As a punter, his career numbers include 96 punts for 2,778 yards, good enough for a 28.9 ypp average.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

21-1-1, 8-0-1 NJAC (NJAC Champions), NCAA Semifinalist

The women's soccer team went through NJAC play this fall with an unbeaten record, and along with that accomplishment came a host of individual honors. For the year, the team went 21-1-1 and appeared in the NCAA Division III Championships for the 17th straight year.

Several members of the Lions program received special awards, as head coach Joe Russo was voted as the 2007 NJAC Coach of the Year after guiding TCNJ to an unbeaten conference record during the regular season and then winning the conference tournament for the third straight year. He was also named the 2007 NSCAA Regional Coach of the Year as well after guiding the Lions to the National Semifinals.

Senior Courtney Krol was honored as the NJAC Defensive Player of the Year for the third straight season, while classmate Dana DiBruno added to her long list of honors being tabbed NJAC Midfielder of the Year.

Krol has contributed at both ends of the field scoring four goals and adding seven assists, while anchoring a defensive unit that has allowed only six goals in 23 games with 18 shutouts.

DiBruno, who was the 2004 NJAC Rookie of the Year and the 2005 NJAC Offensive Player of the Year, became the program’s all-time leading in her finals season with the Lions. She capped her senior season having tallied 14 goals with eight assists, elevating her career totals to 55 goals with 27 assists for 137 points. Now the College’s all-time total point leader, she finished her career ranking second in goals and fourth in assists. She was also tapped for the 2007 NCAA Division III All-Tournament Team.

Sophomore Jessica Clarke was selected as the NJAC Goalkeeper of the Year as she led the country in both GAA (0.24) and ranked 13th in save percentage (.891). She also collected 12 solo shutouts this season raising her career total to 24.

In addition to the individual honors, all three players were named to the All-NJAC First Team with Krol and DiBruno receiving that honor for the third straight season.

Junior Jamie Kunkel was the fourth Lion to be named All-NJAC First Team. Kunkel had a career-best year for TCNJ setting new high-water marks for herself with 17 goals and 40 points.

Sophomore Briann McDonough earned a spot on the 2007 NCAA Division III All-Tournament Team and was the team’s third leading scorer having added 10 goals with 12 assists.

As successful as TCNJ’s women’s soccer team was on the field this fall, two players were honored for their work in the classroom as well. Krol and McDonough received CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II College Division honors. Krol was selected to the All-District II Second Team with McDonough reeling in All-District II Third Team honors. Krol, a math/secondary education major with a grade-point-average of 3.56, was named to the All-District II Second Team for the second straight year.

FIELD HOCKEY

17-3, 6-0 NJAC (NJAC Champions), NCAA Regional Runner-up

TCNJ’s field hockey team saw its season come to a close in the NCAA Division III Regional Championship for the second straight year, as the Lions fell to 10th-ranked Middlebury College by the score of 2-1. The Lions advanced to the third round by defeating 12th-ranked William Smith College by the score of 5-1 the previous day.

The Lions loss in the regional finals snapped TCNJ’s seven-game winning streak. During the course of the season, the team had two win streaks of seven games.

TCNJ went 6-3 against ranked teams this season with wins over Messiah College, Montclair State University, Rowan University, Johns Hopkins University, SUNY Cortland and William Smith, while falling to Ursinus College, Salisbury University, and Middlebury.

The Lions have gone undefeated in NJAC play in each of the last two seasons going 6-0 each year.

A pair of TCNJ field hockey players were named to the 2007 Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association All-American teams with one player being tabbed first team and another to third team.

Junior defender Kelly Mitchell was tabbed as a First Team All-American, while classmate Jenny Lubin was selected as a Third Team All-American as a forward.

Mitchell anchored TCNJ’s defense that allowed only one goal per game this season and recorded 11 shutouts. She was previously honored as the 2007 New Jersey Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year, All-NJAC First Team, and NFHCA South Atlantic Region First Team. Mitchell also chipped in with one goal and assist.

Lubin was also a NFHCA South Atlantic Region and All-NJAC first team honoree and was a major contributor at the offensive end of the field. Lubin finished with 11 goals and three assists with a team-leading four game-winning goals.

Jackie Gelinas and Sheri Grondski led the NJAC in assists with 12, and Katie Reuther ranked third with eight.

Caitlin Gregory finished her first season in goal for the Lions with a 17-3 record to go along with a 1.01 goals-against average and a .714 save percentage. She also collected nine solo shutouts and combined with Gina Quaranta for two more.

TCNJ has made 27 straight appearances in the championship event. The Lions, which have participated in every tournament since its inception in 1981, have won nine NCAA crowns (1981, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, and 1999) and have placed second four other times (1982, 1989, 1992, and 1994).

The Lions collected a trio of special awards as junior defender Kelly Mitchell was selected as the 2007 NJAC Defensive Player of the Year, while her younger sister Leigh Mitchell was tabbed as the 2007 NJAC Rookie of the Year. The special awards didn’t stop there, as veteran head coach Sharon Pfluger ’82 was voted as the 2007 NJAC Co-Coach of the Year. She shared the honor with Lindsay Bard from William Paterson University.

TCNJ had three other players named first-team all-conference: Grondski, Lubin, and Reuther.

Men’s Cross Country

NJAC Champions;  28th place at 2007 NCAA Championships

The Lions competed at the 2007 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships at St. Olaf College (MN) and capped the 2007 season in style. Junior Chris Guerriero earned All-America honors for the second time on his career as he finished in 23rd to pace the Lions. TCNJ’s men took home 28th place with a score of 577 points.

In the 8,000-meter championship race, Guerriero was the Lions’ lead runner as he finished in 23rd in 25:08. Senior captain Galen Johnson closed his cross country career with an impressive showing taking 105th in 26:03, while sophomore Mike Fonder was next for the Lions in 142nd in 26:18. Rookie TJ Bocchino placed 153rd in his first NCAA championship in 26:22, while senior Steve Kinney was right behind him in 154th in 26:22. Senior Anthony Arnold added a 194th place finish in his final race in 26:58, while sophomore Brandon Rodkewitz took home 209th in 27:29 to complete the Lions’ team efforts.

TCNJ captured the 2007 NJAC Championship for the 14th consecutive year, while garnering the program’s 19th title overall. Guerriero repeated at the NJAC men’s individual champion with a winning time of 25:25.48 in the 8k race. Guerriero’s victory was the 12th in a row by a TCNJ runner at the conference meet. The Lions placed six runners among the top 10 finishers. Guerriero also repeated as the NJAC Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Year. His teammate, freshman Tom Bocchino earned NJAC Men’s Cross Country Rookie of the Year honors with a third-place finish in 25:49.93.

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

NJAC Champions; 22nd place at 2007 NCAA Championships

TCNJ’s women’scross country team won its 13th straight NJAC championship and 24th league crown in the 27 years that the NJAC has sponsored women’s cross country as a league sport. Junior Angelo Tecco won the women’s 6k race with a time of 23:48.94. The Lions had the top seven finishers in the race to post the lowest possible team score of 15 points. Tecco, an All-American in track and field who is in her first season of collegiate cross country, earned NJAC Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors with her 2007 race victory. She extended TCNJ’s streak of individual NJAC women’s champions to 12 years.

Head coach Phil Jennings was also tapped as the NJAC's women's cross country coach of the year for his leadership of the Lions.

Junior Stephanie Herrick was next taking second in 23:55.19 in extremely messy conditions. Junior Nicole Ullmeyer was right behind her in third place in 23:56.72, while junior Sara Best picked up fourth in 23:59.20. Senior co-captain Christine Nystrom picked up fifth in 24:02.19. Freshman Kristen Lewis added a sixth place in 24:05.38, and senior Erin Enderly completed the Lions’ sweep taking seventh in 24:05.38.

Competing in the final race of the season, TCNJ’s women’s team competed in the 2007 NCAA Division III Championships and finished in 22nd place for the second straight year after netting 564 points.

TCNJ’s top finisher was McGrath as she posted a time of 23:01 to finish in 70th place. Junior Herrick was next in 90th place in 23:10. Megan O’Leary was next for TCNJ in 23:18 to finish in 110th, while Best picked up 135th in 23:30.

Nystrom finished 159th in her final race as she had a time of 23:42. Running in her first season of cross country, Tecco added a 162nd place showing in 23:46, while Nicole Ullmeyer picked up 170th place as the Lions’ final runner.

Women’s Tennis

5-0, NJAC Champions

At the end of the fall women’s tennis season, Jackie Shtemberg was named the NJAC Women’s Tennis Player of the Year for the 2007 season. A two-time recipient of the award, Shtemberg posted perfect 4-0 records in both singles and doubles play during the Fall NJAC season. Shtemberg became the first student-athlete from the College to win the prestigious championship. Her road to the championship title went through the No. 1 seed, Siobhan Finicane of Pomona-Pitzer College. Shtemberg posted a 6-3, 6-4 win to become the 2007 ITA Division III Women’s Singles Champion. She then went into the Super Bowl Round, where she faced Armstrong Atlantic’s Johanna Dahlback and fell 6-2, 7-5 to bow from the action. Shtemberg is now 42-5 on her career in singles play, while teaming with senior Christina Contrafatto in doubles to produce a 37-10 record with one another over the last year and a half.

TCNJ’s Shtemberg and Contrafatto were also in action in the Division III Championships and finished with a seventh-place showing. On the tournament, they went 1-2 together and earned their second ITA All-America doubles citation together.

A year ago, Shtemberg finished in sixth in the singles championship to earn ITA All-American honors and teamed with Contrafatto to finish in fifth place in the doubles draw. As a sophomore, Contrafatto competed at the 2005 ITA Nationals and finished in seventh place in the singles championship to earn ITA All-American honors.

TCNJ’s rookie Amanda Berg was named the 2007 NJAC Rookie of the Year. Berg posted an 11-3 overall record in singles play during the fall season, including a perfect 5-0 mark in NJAC competition. An all-conference selection in both singles and doubles, she teamed with Stefanie Haar to post an 11-2 overall mark in doubles play during the fall season, including a perfect 4-0 record in NJAC competition.

TCNJ’s Scott Dicheck was selected as 2007 NJAC Co-Coach of the Year by his peers. Dicheck earned NJAC Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive year after continuing the Lions’ 25-season unbeaten streak in conference play which spans the entire history of women’s tennis in the NJAC. Since the inception of women’s tennis as a conference sport back in 1982, TCNJ has posted a 121-0 record in league competition, including a mark of 39-0 under Dicheck’s leadership. In eight seasons as the helm of the TCNJ women’s tennis program, Dicheck has guided the Lions to an overall mark of 77-20.