Blue Devil Athletics - Fall Review and Spring Preview
FALL REVIEW
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY: Head coach and Fredonia alum Tom Wilson was named SUNYAC Coach of the Year after leading the Blue Devils to a second-place finish, the team’s best since 1998. It was the first time a Fredonia men’s XC coach won the award… The ALL-SUNYAC scoring five were senior Kyle Collins (Suffern, N.Y.), senior Collin Mulcahy (Batavia, N.Y.), junior Cody Martini (Palmyra, N.Y.), freshman Joe Northup (Waterloo, N.Y.) and sophomore Merlin Joseph Jr. (Binghamton, N.Y.). Collins finished fourth and Mulcahy 10th to earn All-SUNYAC honors. In addition, Collins was placed in the SUNYAC Cross Country Hall of Fame… At the Atlantic Regional, Mulcahy finished eighth and Collins ninth; both qualified for the NCAA championship race. It was the first time since 1992 — when the Blue Devils finished 10th nationally — that Fredonia sent more than one man to the NCAA race… At the Oct. 17 Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble, Collins and Mulcahy ran faster than Bob Carroll’s 1979 school-record 8,000-meter time.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY: In her first season of college cross country, senior Laura Morrison (Wethersfield, Conn.) became the fifth Fredonia woman to get to the NCAA championship race, where she finished 61st in a field of 280. Morrison was 10th at the Atlantic Regional to qualify for nationals. Her sixth-place finish at the SUNYAC meet earned her Second Team honors… The Blue Devils were fourth at SUNYAC’s. In addition to Morrison, the scoring five consisted of senior Lauren Kotas (Lancaster, N.Y.) junior Bonnie Binggeli (Walworth, N.Y.), freshman Hannah Kurbs (Lockport, N.Y.) and junior Julia Johnson (Baldwinsville, N.Y.)… During the Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble on Oct. 17, Morrison and Kotas each surpassed while Binggeli was one second shy of Kim Foltz’s previous school 6,000-meter record set in 2013.
MEN’S SOCCER: Sophomore defender Hunter Critchlow (Fairport, N.Y.) was Second Team All-SUNYAC … Junior forward Parker Healy (East Aurora, N.Y.) was the scoring leader with 12 points (5 goals/
2 assists).
WOMEN’S SOCCER: Placed three on the 2015 All-SUNYAC Team. Junior forward Alexis Moreland (Newfane, N.Y.) made First Team. Junior midfielder Kristie Kleine (Cazenovia, N.Y.) and sophomore defender Audrey Yokopovich (Webster, N.Y.) were Third Team selections… Moreland (8-5 / 21) was third in SUNYAC scoring; Kleine (7–2 /16) was sixth.
WOMEN’S TENNIS: Olivia Miller (Springwater, N.Y.) emerged as the team’s No. 1 singles player. She had a team-best 7-5 singles record as a freshman… Sophomore Chloe Karnisky (Canandaigua, N.Y.) was 6-4 in singles, and junior Chloe Cohen (West Hempstead, N.Y.) was 6-6… Cohen and doubles partner, junior Halee Dickinson (Brockport, N.Y.), won a SUNYAC Tournament match and were 4-5 as partners.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL: A 22-12 won-loss record and SUNYAC Tournament appearance helped land post-season awards for three four-year players. Middle blocker Jessica DiChristopher (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) was Second Team All-SUNYAC/First Team AVCA Northeast Region/Honorable Mention AVCA All America. Senior opposite Paulina Rein (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) made Third Team All-SUNYAC. Senior setter Kelly Edinger (Rochester, N.Y.) was selected CoSIDA Academic All-District in New York District 3… Edinger graduates as Fredonia’s all-time No. 1 assist maker (see separate story)... DiChristopher, Rein, and senior libero Lauren Hokaj (Lancaster, N.Y.) also finished their collegiate careers among Fredonia’s all-time leaders in a variety of categories. Among them, Hokaj is No. 2 in digs and No. 3 in service aces, DiChristopher No. 3 in blocks and No. 6 in kills, and Rein No. 9 in kills and No. 6 in digs.
WINTER MID-SEASON REPORTS
MEN’S BASKETBALL: Reigning SUNYAC Rookie of the Year Ian Helps (Bronx, N.Y.) has picked up where he left off in 2014-15. He is averaging 14.9 points and 8.3 rebounds through the first eight games of the season. Both figures lead the team. In addition, he had four double-doubles – ranked No. 34 in D-III.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Off to a 6-2 start heading into Dec. 30 home date vs. Pitt-Bradford… Three players averaging in double figures with senior Sabrina Macaulay (Newark, N.Y.) at 16.5, freshman Jenna Einink (Mayville, N.Y.) at 14.4, and junior Alexis Cheatham
(Lockport, N.Y.) at 10.9… Macaulay is among D-III leaders in FG percentage while Einink is listed among the leaders in blocked shots, and Cheatham among top 3-point shooters… Won-loss mark through eight games includes 4-1 at home, 2-0 in SUNYAC.
MEN’S HOCKEY: Scoring is up through the first 12 games this season compared to last year. The Blue Devils scored 44 goals during the first dozen games, compared to 31 in 2014-15. The improvement has been most marked against SUNYAC competition. The Blue Devils have 27 goals through nine SUNYAC games compared to 17 in the first nine conference games of 2014-15… Several players have already surpassed their 2014-15 season totals, including junior winger Marcus Ortiz (Richardson, Texas), who leads the team at semester break with 13 points… Among the 10 second-semester home games is Pink The Rink on Feb. 6 vs. SUNY Canton.
SWIMMING and DIVING: Long the class of the conference, Blue Devil divers are back at it in 2015-16. Through the first semester, Fredonia earned eight SUNYAC Diver of the Week awards in the first semester — four by junior Meghan Bartlett (Johnstown, N.Y), three by junior Arron Carlson (LeRoy, N.Y.), one by senior Rafael Santiago (Middletown, N.Y.). In addition, senior Sam Rokos (Delanson, N.Y.) was cited one time as SUNYAC Female Swimmer of the Week… The SUNYAC Championship Meet is Feb 17-20 at the Flickinger Center in Buffalo, N.Y. Bartlett will look to defend both women’s 1-meter and 3-meter springboard diving titles and extend Fredonia’s string of SUNYAC Female Diver of the Meet awards to 11 straight, a distinction she earned last year. On the men’s side, junior Adam Clouthier (Fairport, N.Y.) will be out to defend his SUNYAC 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke titles… Zone diving is last weekend of February at Cortland.
SPRING PREVIEWS
BASEBALL: Looks to return to SUNYAC Tournament for the third time in four years, including 2015. Senior catcher Dan Cecilia (Utica, N.Y.) is the lone returning 2015 All-SUNYAC recipient… Road trips in March to Myrtle Beach, S.C. for the Ripken Experience, and to Central Florida for the RussMatt Invitational… Florida trip will include a three-game SUNYAC series with Oswego State set for March 21-22… First of eight home dates is March 30 vs. Penn State Behrend at Ludwig Field
WOMEN’S LACROSSE: Coming off winningest season (17-4) in program history, including a trip to the quarterfinals of NCAA Tournament and first-ever SUNYAC championship game appearance… Ranked No. 11 in final 2015 IWLCA D-III poll… Graduation claimed All-SUNYAC/All Region/All American players Katie Kleine (Cazenovia, N.Y.) and Marissa Cussins (Corning, N.Y.). Kleine became the program’s all-time scoring leader last season — overtaking current head coach Amy Simon. Cussins set a new single-season scoring record and moved to No. 3 on the all-time points list. They are among the catalysts resulting in three NCAA appearances over four years… Among the returning players, sophomore goalkeeper Nicole Burrows (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) was 2015 Third Team All-SUNYAC… 2016 opening weekend is Feb. 27-28 at Montclair, N.J., followed by March 6 home opener vs. Denison, a rematch of 2015 NCAA Second Round game won by Fredonia, 10-5… Spring Fling starts March 18 at Bradenton, Fla.
SOFTBALL: Three all-conference players return from last spring’s 13-18 campaign, which ended in the program’s fourth SUNYAC Tournament appearance. In addition to being First Team All-SUNYAC, senior infielder Lindsey Forness (Allegany, N.Y.) was NFCA Third Team Northeast Region. SUNYAC coaches last season also cited senior infielder Alyssa Morgan (Homer, N.Y.) and senior designated player Madeline Medina (Hamburg, N.Y.) as Second Team recipients… Games in Clermont, Fla., in mid-March kick off the 2016 season. A doubleheader March 27 against Allegheny is the first play date up north and the first of seven straight home doubleheaders.
TRACK AND FIELD: Two meets during December were the first taste of collegiate track and field for 26 freshmen on the two rosters. The indoor season culminates with the conference championship meet Feb. 6-7 at Brockport. Laura Morrison (Wethersfield, N.J.) is the defending SUNYAC 800-meter indoor champ as well as a 2015 NCAA indoor participant… The outdoor season has seven meets prior to conference championships May 6-7 at Oneonta where the women’s 4-by-400 relay team will look to defend its crown.
