Cardinal Teams Race for the Rotary

(From the desk of Stephanie Dutton, Asst. Sports Information Director)

As part of the Battle of Plattsburgh commemoration this past weekend, the Rotary Club of Plattsburgh hosted the Inaugural Bed Races. Cardinal student-athletes came out in large numbers to support the event and even engaged in a bit of friendly competition.

Crowds gathered on Margaret St. in downtown Plattsburgh watched the Plattsburgh State men’s hockey team battle men’s lacrosse in the final round of the event. In a close race, men’s hockey took home first place, which included a $500 cash prize and the Golden Bedpan.

The men’s lacrosse team, which brought numerous teams to the competition, finished in second and third place.

Men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s hockey and baseball also participated in the event.

Throughout the season our student-athletes will engage in many battles on the field, on the court and on the ice. The Bed Races served as a different type of competition. Rarely are we given an opportunity to see members of Cardinal teams square off against each other. Although a champion had to be crowned, in an event that was fun and exciting for all involved, it was evident just how large the impact of Plattsburgh’s student-athletes are on our campus and within the greater Plattsburgh community.

The Cardinals’ community involvement continues with a number of events scheduled throughout the semester. Be sure to visit our website or find us on Facebook to see the Cards in action, both on and off the field.

Fall Sports Starting Soon

(From the desk of Stephanie Dutton, Asst. Sports Information Director)

Although the summer is beginning to wind down, this is always an exciting time at SUNY Plattsburgh. With classes starting on August 30th, the campus will welcome back students next weekend. In preparation of the fall season, athletes began arriving on-campus this week and are gearing up for their preseason workouts.

Some early-season highlights:

* Men's Soccer will host their Cardinal Classic on September 3 and 4. The tournament will feature Plattsburgh, Skidmore, Southern Maine and Lehman.

* Cross Country will host their 29th Annual Cardinal Classic Invitational on September 4. The women's team will kick-off the event at 11am. This is the only opportunity to catch the Cross Country team at home this season!

* Women's Tennis will host Johnson State on September 8 in the first of their three home matches this season.

* Women's Soccer will face Castleton State in their home opener on September 18 at 7 p.m. The game will be the only time the women are home during the month of September.

* Volleyball will welcome Clarkson to town for their home opener on September 14. The Cardinal Classic tournament is scheduled for September 17 and 18, featuring Plattsburgh, Keuka College, Norwich and SUNY Cobleskill.

Complete schedules for fall and winter sports are now available on our website. Remember, you can also find the latest news and information on our Facebook page.

Be sure to check back for more updates throughout the season!

Top Moments of the (Half-) Decade

The New Year is well under way. Classes for the spring semester begin on Monday and residence halls open at 11 a.m. Saturday, so campus will be buzzing again this weekend for the first time since early last month.

However, student-athletes from our winter sports teams have been back for the most part since the first week of January.

Here's a brief recap...

...No. 3-ranked Men's Hockey won the Cardinal Classic (Jan. 1-2) by a combined score 17-1. The team is 3-1-2 this month and resumes the SUNYAC schedule this weekend at Geneseo and Brockport. The Cardinals are in second place behind conference leader and No. 1 Oswego by only three points.

...No. 4 Women's Hockey continues to roll over the competition by going 3-1-1 so far in 2010, with the only blemishes being a 2-1 loss to defending national champion Amherst (Jan. 3) and a 3-3 tie at Utica (Jan. 9). But, more importantly, the Cardinals pace the ECAC West with 17 points heading into this weekend's key conference series with Rochester Tech at home. Plattsburgh has already swept second-place Elmira (13 points) and could be in prime position to host the tournament depending on the results against the third-place Tigers (12 points).

...Men's Basketball is fighting for positioning in the SUNYAC standings. The Cardinals are tied for third place with Buffalo State and Cortland (but, currently, would lose head-to-head tiebreaker to both teams) going into a tough Brockport-Geneseo road trip this weekend. They have lost four of five games in January, but the results have been close--by an average margin of six points. Plus, all but one game has been played on the road.

...Women's Basketball continues to battle injuries and finding an identity. The team's Achilles' heal all year has been shooting. In two wins, the Cardinals are shooting 44 percent from the field. But in 10 losses, they are only 33 percent. Taylor Amarando is almost averaging a double-double with 15.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.

...Indoor Track and Field is at the Saint Lawrence Invitational on Saturday. This season is full of promise for the Cardinals, who expect to score more points at the SUNYAC and ECAC meets with better team depth. Coach John Lynch has launched a new team blog giving visitors a closer connection to the program:
http://gocardinalsxctrack.blogspot.com/

As promised in the previous edition of this blog, I was going to reveal the Top 5 Moments in Cardinal Sports of the last(-half) decade. The reason for that point of reference--since 2005--is because that's when I arrived here and I don't think I can give justice to a Top 10 list that includes 2000-04. But you can! Please give me (stewarpa@plattsburgh.edu, with Top 10 as the Subject Line) your Top 10 Burghy Sports Moments of 2000, then I'll rank 'em and publish the results on this blog.

Back to the Top Moments...
#5: Men's Basketball won its third SUNYAC championship in a row and made its third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament during 2007-08 season, reaching the Sweet Sixteen. The Cardinals set a conference record for most wins in an undefeated regular-season at 16-0, plus won all three conference tournament games. The squad went 27-3 overall, leading the nation in winning percentage (.900) while being the only Division III team to go unbeaten during in-region play at 20-0. The Cardinals set a school record for overall wins and tied another with 20 consecutive victories. They also set program firsts in the national rankings: peaking at No. 7, 16 consecutive weeks in the Top 25 poll, final ranking of No. 13 and 450 poll points (with one first-place vote) during Week 14. Consensus All-American Anthony Williams became the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,734points, appeared on ESPNU while playing in the Collegiate Basketball Invitational All-Star Game and was a finalist for the Josten's Player of the Year and the V-Foundation Jim Valano Comeback Person of the Year.

#4: The 2007 softball team appearing in its first College World Series, finishing fourth in the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinals, who went 37-14 overall and 16-4 SUNYAC/2nd Place, were also fourth in the NFCA Top 25 coaches' poll for their highest-ranking ever. The team set a plethora of records, including 16 straight weeks (actually stretching from 2006-08 seasons) in the NCAA national rankings. Plattsburgh crushed SUNYAC champion and regional host Cortland in the Northeast Finals, earning its first regional crown while defeating three Top 25 squads along the way. SUNYAC Pitcher of the Year and All-American Stephanie Zweig was profiled on the NCAA Spring Championships Show by CBS, and the coaching staff was voted the best for the Northeast Region as well as second runner-up for national honors.

#3: Women's Cross Country finishing as the runner-up at the 2007 NCAA Championships. The team featured three All-Americans in Allison Busby, Alyssa Recny and Toni Wiszowaty. The Cardinals were nationally ranked wire-to-wire for the first time in program history, debuting at No. 20 and finishing a record-high fifth in the coaches' poll. The team finished third at SUNYACs but won the NCAA Atlantic Regional for the first time a week later. Plattsburgh also led the nation for all NCAA institutions with three academic All-Americans (the same three names as above) on the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Cross Country/Track Team.

#2: Women's Hockey attendance of 1,736 fans at the Stafford Ice Arena on Feb. 8, 2006, setting an NCAA Division III record for a regular-season game. The inaugural Stuff Stafford promotion featured prize giveaways and a 4-1 win by the Cardinals over the two-time national champions Middlebury Panthers. The game generated a lot of media attention from the three area broadcast news stations, plus NCAA.com.

#1: The 2007 women's hockey team winning its first national title, becoming just the second sport at Plattsburgh to do that. Even more remarkable was the fact that the Cardinals became the first NCAA women's hockey champion to go undefeated at 27-0-2 (three men's champions have gone undefeated), setting or tying Division III records for winning percentage (.966), home wins (18) and overall victories. Plattsburgh had as many as 10 freshmen in the lineup, plus only two seniors. The Cardinals also broke a school record for consecutive weeks (13) ranked No. 1 in the USCHO.com poll. The team was so dominant that season that it trailed for only 71 minutes and 5 seconds--an equivalent of a full-length game, plus half another period.

Now, it's your turn. I look forward to receiving your Top 10 lists for 2000 in Burghy Sports for tabulation and future publication: stewarpa@plattsburgh.edu

A Look Back at 2009

With the first Monday of 2010 on the calendar, I thought I would use this installment of Cardinals Corner to reflect on 2009….

Baseball won its first-ever postseason game with an 8-6 come-from-behind victory to eliminate second-seeded Fredonia in the SUNYAC Tournament in May. Kris Doorey earned coach of the year honors for the second time, guiding the team from 15-21 in 2008 to a 24-17 mark a season ago. Graduate student Kyle Kowalowski wrapped up his career with a slew of accolades, including the first ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team Cardinal baseball player, three-time all-SUNYAC winner and two-time all-region. Freshman pitcher Matt O'Leary was selected both the SUNYAC and ECAC Upstate Rookie of the Year after tying the school record for wins in a season.

Women’s Basketball (12-14 overall) made the SUNYAC Tournament for the first time since 2005 as a No. 6 seed and gave third-seeded Oneonta a scare in a 46-39 loss. Sophomore forward Taylor Amarando (2nd team) and freshman guard Erin Silberberg (honorable mention) were All-SUNYAC. Amarando was also chosen to the Basketball Coaches Association of New York All-College Team, leading the SUNYAC in field goal percentage and averaging 13.2 points. The Cardinals had their best season since 2003.

Men’s Basketball suffered through an 8-16 campaign after losing five starters and three all-conference players from the previous season. Sophomore guard Chris Ruiz led a young squad that still played competitively, earning first-team All-SUNYAC accolades. He averaged 18.2 points as one of the conference’s top scorers.

Men’s Cross Country just missed a possible at-large entry into the NCAA Championships with a sixth-place showing out of 38 schools at the Atlantic Regional in November. The Cardinals, however, were nationally ranked for most the season. Junior Mike Heymann earned All-America status for the second straight year, finishing ninth in the nation for a personal best. Heymann and Bobby Grim made the all-region team.

Women’s Cross Country finished in third place at the SUNYAC Championships and sixth among 33 entries at the Atlantic Regional. Senior Jenny Schaffhouser and sophomore Stefanie Braun represented the team at the NCAA Championships held in Cleveland, Ohio. Both women secured first-team all-region nods. And like their male counterparts, just missed the cut for at-large consideration to the national meet despite being in the Top 35 for a good portion of the season.

Women’s Hockey (22-5-2) appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth consecutive year, reaching the quarterfinals. Center Danielle Blanchard became the first Cardinal in any sport to be a four-year All-American. Stephanie Moberg joined her on the AHCA All-America First Team. In addition to Blanchard and Moberg, Ainsley Brien, Claire O'Connor and Danielle Beattie made the All-ECAC West Team. The Cardinals also had a school-best seven academic all-conference selections. Plattsburgh played in the conference championship game for the eighth time in as many season.

Men’s Hockey (24-2-2) was ranked No. 1 in the nation on Jan. 5, 2009, and stayed that way for the rest of the season – the first time in school history that Plattsburgh was the year-end poll winner by USCHO.com. The Cardinals ran their school-record streak to 15 weeks atop the national rankings until Nov. 9. The program captured both SUNYAC regular-season and tournament championships for the second year in a row. A trio of Cardinals – Nick Rolls (1st team), Dylan Clarke (1st team) and Joey Wilson (2nd team) – were named AHCA All-Americans. Plattsburgh dominated the All-SUNYAC Team that was headlined by goaltender Bryan Hince as player of the year and Bob Emery as coach of the year. Ryan Corry joined Clarke, Hince, Rolls and Wilson on the first team – the first time in SUNYAC history that a school had five players on that list.

Men’s Lacrosse qualified for the postseason for the first time ever when the Cardinals reached the SUNYAC Semifinals against top-seeded and nationally ranked Geneseo. Luke Weidlein, Kyle Norchi and Matt Maes made All-SUNYAC, tying a school record with three all-conference selections. In just his third season, Weidlein became the program’s all-time leader in total points (175) and assists (82). Norchi became the first Cardinal to earn all-region honors from the ECAC and was also listed on the New York state coaches’ all-star team. P.J. Kavanagh became the team’s winningest coach with the Cardinals’ 16-8 victory at Brockport in the regular-season finale on April 25, clinching a postseason berth. By finishing 9-8, a school record was tied (2007) for wins in a season.

Women’s Soccer (10-6-3) received a surprise but well-deserved NCAA Tournament at-large bid. The Cardinals didn’t qualify for their own conference tournament, but impressed the national selection committee with their 3-1-1 record against the Top 25. Plattsburgh also was nationally ranked as high as No. 11 by D3soccer.com and 17th in the coaches’ poll. Senior defender Kaitlin Collica was NSCAA All-East Region Third Team, SUNYAC Fall Chancellor's Scholar-Athlete for Women’s Soccer, All-SUNYAC Second Team and ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA All-District First Team. Emily Riley also was tabbed to the all-conference team. The Cardinals captured the RPI Classic with wins over the host Red Hawks and Union, and received the NSCAA Team Academic Award.

Men’s Soccer (13-3-6) won the SUNYAC regular-season title with a 7-1-1 conference mark and hosted the conference tournament final four. The Cardinals advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round for the first time since the 2005 Final Four squad. Defender Bart Misiak had a banner year as a first-team All-America selection (second overall), NSCAA All-East Region First Team, SUNYAC Player of the Year, ECAC Upstate Defensive Player of the Year and first-team all-conference. Chris Taylor joined Misiak on the all-region NSCAA first team. For the first time in the program's history, three players were named to the ECAC All-Upstate Team (Misiak, Taylor, John LoGuirato). David Hickman and Mike Pinamonti joined Taylor, Misiak and LoGuirato on the SUNYAC all-star team. The Cardinals also extended a 17-year streak in the NCAA rankings, debuting at No. 22 on Oct. 27.

Softball was 19-23 overall and 12-8 for fifth place in SUNYAC. After graduating three starters and the top two pitchers in school history, the Cardinals had a respectable record in the face of what was arguably their toughest schedule ever. Amy Woo, Ashley Napear, Tanya Fedyshyn, Lauren Clark, Bri Allen and Erin Florkiewicz were part of a program-record six softball players recognized as girls got game/ NFCA All-America Scholar-Athletes. The pitching staff was third in SUNYAC earned-run average, strikeouts and opponents batting average. Woo made the all-region team as well as the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District squad. The team also had a 10-game win streak at one point.

Women’s Tennis had three players – Rachel Hodnett at No. 1, Victoria Germano at No. 3 and Jessica Paquette at No. 5 – advance to the semifinals of the SUNYAC Singles Tournament in October. As a team, the Cardinals had their best finish in two years.

Indoor Track and Field…Mike Heymann just missed All-America honors in the 5k with a 9th-place showing. Heymann also won the SUNYAC 3k and was all-conference first team. Seth Yernye was a mile-run runner-up in the SUNYAC. The men were 9th and women 34th at the ECAC Championships, and both teams were 7th at SUNYACs. The women landed three all-conference performers while the men’s side recorded numerous all-region standouts.

Outdoor Track and Field…Two athletes competed in three NCAA events. Mike Heymann was an automatic national qualifier in both the 10k and 5k runs. The women were 30th (out of 56) and men T-27th (out of 57) at the ECACs. Senior Jen Taft was the 2009 Semmler Award winner as the female student-athlete with the highest graduating GPA. She also set a school record in the steeplechase at a Division I-dominated event. Jenny Schaffhouser was a NCAA provisional qualifier in the 10k. The women had four all-conference honorees and established six personal bests.

Volleyball finished the fall with a record of 10-25, but ended the season Oct. 31 at the Skidmore Invitational on a good note by defeating Montclair State – which went undefeated in the New Jersey Athletic Conference that produced an NCAA Tournament team – in three sets. Setter Susan Bodkin concluded her four-year career ranked second on the school’s all-time assists list with 3,056.

In the next issue of this column, I’ll look back on the Top 10 Plattsburgh State Athletics memories of the (half-) decade. I’ll also invite readers to submit their Top 10 lists for publication for the best of the 2000s.

Changes Are Coming

First things first: From our Cardinal family to yours, we hope you are having a safe and enjoyable holiday season.

Welcome to the debut edition of Cardinals Corner, blogging about intercollegiate athletics at SUNY Plattsburgh. I hope to keep this updated as much as possible as time permits around hosting events, media and public relations, producing recruiting guides, writing press releases and so much more.

"Out with the old, In with the New." That adage is appropriate for the technological changes that have--and will--be taking place to affect our department for the better. That wise phrase is also the genesis for this blog.

Let me explain...

We will be rolling out a new athletics website for a scheduled release in February. The new URL will be gocardinalsports.com. This will greatly enhance our visibility to various audiences: the media, prospective student-athletes, alumni, current students, donors, parents and friends. Some of the new features may include audio/video, LiveStats, photo store, polls, online publications, easier navigation, a better experience for the user, etc.

This new project comes on the heels of two important ventures we have unveiled this academic year: a YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/CardinalsSportsInfo) and a Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Plattsburgh-NY/Plattsburgh-State-Athletics/151754779173).

You have probably also noticed in recent years that we added media guides online, LiveStats, photo galleries...to name a few.

Unfortunately for some followers, these new initiatives have resulted in the decision to eliminate printed media guides, effective for 2009-10. We understand that some will miss these traditional yearbooks that were treasured keepsakes of the teams you follow. Or that we may experience some media backlash because they don't have a hard-copy instrument of the teams they cover in print or on-air. However, we feel good about the decision because the move is a "green" one which will have less impact on the environment and we are re-allocating financial resources to support the new website. Our costs will be better spent. Furthermore, we are joining other institutions--from big NCAA Division I programs like Ohio State and Michigan to other New York-based schools to even fellow SUNYAC members--who have studied the benefits of increased online presence while relying less on printed collateral.

So with the calendar year coming to a close and 2010 ushering in this weekend, Out with the Old and In with the New!