Spring Sports Lineup

BASEBALL –

Head coach Matt Palisin returns for his 10th season and again will take his team to the Gene Cusic Classic in Fort Myers, Fla., to open the season with a three-game set vs. Plattsburgh on March 14-15. The home schedule opens with a three-game set March 24-25 vs. Oneonta. Other home dates are April 1 vs. Hilbert (doubleheader), April 5 vs. Penn State Behrend, April 17 vs. Brockport (doubleheader), April 19 vs. Pitt-Bradford, and a three-game set April 27-28 vs. Oswego.

BASKETBALL, WOMEN and MEN –

The women began their season with a 5-5 record, while the men posted a 6-4 mark during the fall semester. Both have only SUNYAC doubleheaders left on their schedules. Remaining home games are Jan. 20 vs. Plattsburgh, Jan. 21 vs. Potsdam, Jan. 27 vs. Oneonta, Jan. 28 vs. New Paltz, Feb. 10 vs. Brockport, Feb. 11 vs. Geneseo and Feb. 14 vs. Buffalo State. Alumni games are scheduled for Jan. 28 (women) and Feb. 11 (men). Contact Women’s Head Coach Donna Wise, at 716-673-3120, or Men’s Head Coach Kevin Moore, at 716-673-3108, to register.

MEN’S HOCKEY –

The team earned a 6-5-3 record during the fall semester, and is gearing up to welcome fans back to campus with its annual “Pink the Rink” American Cancer Society fundraiser game on Jan. 27 – the first weekend after classes start. The Blue Devils will face
Morrisville at Steele Hall Ice Arena that night, one of seven home games on the spring schedule. The others include Jan. 10 vs. Elmira, Jan. 13 and Jan. 14 vs. Neumann, Jan. 20 vs. Brockport, Jan. 21 vs. Geneseo and Feb. 17 vs. Buffalo State.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE –

Head Coach Chris Case welcomes back senior attacker Amy Simon (Amherst, N.Y.), who enters the 2012 season as the top scorer in team history, a distinction she earned in 2011 when she was named to the First Team All-SUNYAC squad, along with senior defender Megan Mietelski (Fairport, N.Y.). Things get underway on March 1 with a home game vs. Allegheny, followed by a trip to West Palm Beach, Fla., for the Spring Fling tournament. Other home games are March 17 vs. Rochester Institute of Technology, April 7 vs. Oneonta, April 17 vs. Brockport, April 21 vs. Cortland, April 25 vs. Elmira, and April 28 vs. Oswego.

SOFTBALL –

First-year head coach Nicole Loudin inherits a veteran team from 2011 SUNYAC Coach of the Year Lorrie Corsi. The roster includes seven seniors and seven juniors, including All-SUNYAC players Lauren Larson (senior, Lakewood, N.Y.), Katie Bartkowiak (junior, Fredonia, N.Y.), Tina Schwartzmeyer (junior, West Seneca, N.Y.), and Alyssa Brognano (junior, New Paltz, N.Y.), who was the 2011 SUNYAC Rookie of the Year as a sophomore. The season begins March 10 against the University of Rochester, the first of 12 scheduled games in Clermont, Fla. The home opener is a doubleheader March 28 vs. Allegheny. Other home doubleheaders include March 30 vs. Potsdam, March 31 vs. Plattsburgh, April 6 vs. Cortland and April 7 vs. Oswego.

SWIMMING and DIVING –

The women finished the fall term with a 4-4 mark while the men struggled at 1-7. Three home meets are scheduled for the second semester: Jan. 14 vs. Ithaca and Nazareth, Jan. 20 vs. Edinboro and Jan. 28 vs. Cortland. The SUNYAC championship meet runs Feb. 8-11 at the Flickinger Center in Buffalo.

TRACK and FIELD –

Interim Head Coach Tom Wilson is back for his second season, following his selection as 2011 Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year, after overseeing now-graduated Nick Guarino’s final three of five NCAA titles. Pole vaulter Broncho Rollins (senior, Ithaca, N.Y.) and sprinter Webster Thomas (senior, Windsor, Conn.) are All-SUNYAC returners on the men’s side. Junior college transfer Peter Francia (junior, Rochester, N.Y.) joins the team off a trip to cross country nationals. Multi-eventer Spencer Lefort (junior, Java Center, N.Y.) nearly qualified for nationals in 2011, and then won the SUNYAC Chancellor’s Award for academic excellence. On the women’s side, top returners include multi-eventer Erin Parker (sophomore, Derby, N.Y.), pole vaulter Kelci Yousett (sophomore, Lockport, N.Y.), and middle-distance runner Kateri Walsh (junior, West Seneca, N.Y.). The SUNYAC championship meets are Feb. 26 at Geneva, N.Y. and May 5-6 at Oneonta.