Blue Devils' Athletics Spring Review
BASEBALL
Qualified for the SUNYAC Tournament … won inaugural I-90 Cup over Penn State Behrend … junior catcher Dan Cecilia (Utica, N.Y.) made First Team All SUNYAC, and senior right fielder Kenny Johnston (Buffalo, N.Y.) made Second Team … senior first baseman Ricky Mendiola (Williamsville, N.Y.) was SUNYAC Player of Week (April 13).
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Junior center Sabrina Macaulay (Newark, N.Y.) was All-SUNYAC Third Team as well as SUNYAC Player of the Week (Feb. 2).
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Following his first weekend of regular-season games, freshman forward Ian Helps (Bronx, N.Y.) was selected SUNYAC Player of the Week (Nov.17). His initial success carried through the season as Helps went on to be named SUNYAC Rookie of the Year, D3Hoops.com All East Rookie of the Year, and Fredonia Athletics Male Rookie of the Year.
MEN’S AND WOMEN’S DIVING
Sent four divers to NCAA D-III Championship meet in Shenandoah, Texas, including sophomores Meghan Bartlett (Johnston, N.Y.), Jeff Matter (East Aurora, N.Y.) and Arron Carlson (LeRoy, N.Y.) … Bartlett earned two All-Americas: sixth in the 3-meter and seventh in the 1-meter … Matter finished fourth in the 3-meter, the best 3-meter finish ever by a Fredonia male, to earn All-America status … Carlson was ninth in the 3-meter and in the 1-meter, earning Honorable Mention All-America status, as did Matter with a 16th place finish in the 1-meter … Heather Colby (Owego, N.Y.), the lone senior, earned Honorable Mention All-America for finishing ninth in the 1-meter … on the conference level, Matter and Bartlett were each named SUNYAC Diver of the Year in their gender … Bartlett won both boards at the SUNYAC championship and NCAA zone qualifying meets. Her dual success at the SUNYAC meet earned her Women’s Diver of the Meet honors — the 10th straight year a Fredonia woman has won the award. She was also SUNYAC Women’s Diver of the Week four times … Matter, in the 1-meter, finished fourth at the SUNYAC meet and first at NCAA zone qualifier. He was also SUNYAC Men’s Diver of the Week four times … Carlson, second off both SUNYAC boards, and junior Rafael Santiago (Middletown, N.Y.), third off both, made Second Team All SUNYAC … Colby was twice the SUNYAC Women’s Diver of the Week … first-year diving coach Ryan Fuller, a past Blue Devil champ, was the inaugural recipient of the SUNYAC Diving Coach of the Year Award.
MEN’S ICE HOCKEY
Pink The Rink raised over $8,000, to up the all-time total to over $60,000. Proceeds benefit The American Cancer Society … junior Jeff Flagler (Owen Sound, Ont.) was named SUNYAC Goaltender of the Week (Dec. 15).
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
Qualified for the NCAA D-III Tournament for the second straight year and the third time in four years … advanced to quarterfinal round with wins over Denison at home and Washington & Lee at neutral site. Regional host Franklin & Marshall eliminated the Blue Devils, who were appearing in the quarterfinals for the first time … finished the season with a 17-4 mark, a program record for most wins … ranked No. 11 in the final NCAA D-III poll by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association. The Blue Devils were in the Top 20 all season … defeated Geneseo in the SUNYAC Tournament semifinals, earning the program’s first SUNYAC Championship appearance. Lost title game to host Cortland, the eventual NCAA champ … senior midfielder Katie Kleine (Cazenovia, N.Y.) and senior attacker Marissa Cussins (Corning, N.Y.) made IWLCA All-American Second Team, the first time two Fredonia teammates were selected together. Kleine and Cussins were also named IWLCA Empire Region First Team. It was fourth straight year for Kleine and the third straight for Cussins … Kleine became the first Blue Devil named First Team All-SUNYAC all four years. She graduated as Fredonia’s career leader in points, assists, draw controls, and caused turnovers … First-Teamer Cussins also earned her fourth all-conference award (2 Firsts, 2 Seconds). She set a single-season scoring record in 2015 and finished third all-time in points and first in games played … sophomore midfielder Kristie Kleine (Cazenovia, N.Y.) and freshman goalkeeper Nicole Burrows (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) made Third Team All-SUNYAC. Burrows also gained distinction by being named SUNYAC Defensive Player of the Week three times … Katie Kleine twice was SUNYAC Offensive Player of the Week; Cussins was chosen once … the Kleines and sophomore attacker Emily Polizzi (Rushville, N.Y.) made the 2015 SUNYAC All-Tournament Team … at the annual Fredonia Athletics Award Gala, Katie Kleine was named Female Athlete of the Year and freshman defender Audrey Yokopovich (Webster, N.Y.) Female Rookie of the Year.
SOFTBALL
A team-record five players made All SUNYAC after the Blue Devils appeared in the conference tournament for the first time since 2011. Senior pitcher Kelsey Gannett (Endwell, N.Y.), senior catcher Jess Lauck (Buffalo, N.Y.), and junior second baseman Lindsey Forness (Allegany, N.Y.) made First Team. Two juniors, shortstop Alyssa Morgan (Homer, N.Y.) and designated player Madeline Medina (Hamburg, N.Y.), made Second Team … Forness was chosen Third Team Northeast Region by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Her .446 batting average in 2015 was the second highest in program history … Gannett was SUNYAC Pitcher of the Week (April 6) … senior outfielder Kaitlyn Crossan (Dunkirk, N.Y.) earned two academic honors – the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence and Fredonia Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
MEN’S SWIMMING
Junior Adam Clouthier (Fairport, Pa.) won SUNYAC championships in the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke and set school records in both events … freshman Jake Hewitt (Duanesburg, N.Y.) won the SUNYAC 200-yard butterfly. He also set a school record in the event ... junior Will Baker (East Amherst, N.Y.) broke the 200-yard freestyle record … Clouthier and Hewitt made All SUNYAC First Team ... Hewitt was thrice the SUNYAC Swimmer of the Week.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING
SUNYAC First Teamer Larissa Dobson (Hamburg, N.Y.), a senior, won SUNYAC 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke titles, setting school records in both ... Dobson, senior Stephanie Rosa (Phillipsburg, N.J.), senior Rachel Morgano (West Islip, N.Y.), and senior Ellie Brion (Canandaigua, N.Y.) combined for the school record in the 200-yard medley … Rosa (Dec. 15) and junior Sam Rokos (Delanson, N.Y., Oct. 27) won SUNYAC Swimmer of the Week awards.
MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
Zakk Hess (Rose, N.Y.) was chosen Fredonia Male Athlete of the Year following appearances in the NCAA’s 2014 Cross Country and 2015 Indoor Track and Field championship meets. A senior, Hess won the SUNYAC 3,000-meter indoor title – the event for which he was a national qualifier and 14th-place finisher – and was second in the 5,000 meters. He was also SUNYAC Track Athlete of the Week on Dec. 1 … junior Collin Mulcahy (Batavia, N.Y.) was Second Team All-SUNYAC each season. He was second in the indoor mile and in the outdoor 1,500 meters … junior Kyle Collins (Suffern, N.Y.) was Second Team All-SUNYAC after finishing second in the 5,000 meters outdoors … school records set: Hess in the 3,000 meters; and the distance medley relay team of Hess, Mulcahy, senior Jonmichael Knapp (Rochester, N.Y.), and junior Nick Watson (Rochester, N.Y).
WOMEN’S TRACK and FIELD
Senior Nicole Desens (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) finished 13th in the discus at the NCAA D-III Outdoor Championship meet. She won two SUNYAC titles: the discus and the indoor shot put, setting school records in both. Desens was SUNYAC Field Athlete of the Week (April 27) … other SUNYAC titles: junior Laura Morrison (Wethersfield, Conn.) in the indoor 800 meters; and junior Lauren Kotas (Lancaster, N.Y.) in the indoor 3,000 meters … Morrison competed at nationals in the indoor 800 meters, one of three events in which she set school marks (the others: 800 meters outdoors, 600 meters indoors) … Olivia Kurbs (Lockport, N.Y.), a junior, set indoor and outdoor school pole vault records. Her outdoor mark is shared by two freshmen, Kristin Sawyer (Lockport, N.Y.) and Julia Schreier (Lockport, N.Y.) … other school records: freshman Brittany Feldman (Jamestown, N.Y.) in the 400 meters, indoor and outdoor; Kotas in the 3,000 meters indoors and the 3,000-meter steeplechase outdoors; and the 4-by-400 relay, indoors and outdoors. The indoor quartet consisted of Morrison, Feldman, junior Anna Dambacher (Divernon, Ill.), and sophomore Bonnie Binggeli (Walworth, N.Y.) … outdoors it was Dambacher, Feldman, Morrison, and senior Kim Foltz (Elbridge, N.Y.).
