Fairfield University Athletics has received national honors from the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) for its #LucasOnTheLoose campaign. Fairfield was awarded the gold medal in the “Revenue-Generating Idea” category in Group II, which encompasses all of the traditional ‘mid-major’ conferences in NCAA Division I athletics.
The honor was a part of the ‘Best Of’ Awards, held in Dallas, Texas on Wednesday evening as a part of the 25th annual NACMA Convention. Fairfield was a finalist for the award alongside Illinois State University and Seton Hall University, who claimed silver and bronze distinctions, respectively.
“We are proud to share this award with the Fairfield University Administration, Marketing and Communications Department, Department of Athletics, Fairfield University Media Center and everybody else that contributed to the success of the #LucasOnTheLoose campaign,” said Zach Dayton, Associate Director of Athletics for Marketing and Communications.
“We would also like to extend our thanks to our students, alumni and fans whose passion for Fairfield athletics helped to turn our vision into a success.”
The #LucasOnTheLoose campaign was a collaborative effort throughout the Fairfield campus sparked by the redesign of the University’s mascot, Lucas the Stag. Prior to Lucas’ unveiling to the Class of 2019 this past September, the campaign included a series of videos produced by the Fairfield University Media Center as well as a Snapchat geofilter featuring an animated version of Lucas.
Fairfield also distributed 1,000 Lucas the Stag bobbleheads, which were delivered across campus and to prominent media members and alumni. Notably, Lucas has been spotted on the desk of ESPN’s Mike & Mike, a daily sports-talk radio show that is simulcast live on the ESPN family of networks.
The unveiling of Lucas the Stag culminated with a trip to New York City, which included a stop at the Today Show and visits to alumni at IEX, Deloittte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, Buzzfeed and Ceros. The day concluded with Lucas taking the mound at Citi Field in front of 25,000 fans – including more than 700 Fairfield students, staff, faculty, alumni and friends – to throw out the ceremonial first pitch on Fairfield University Night.
The second annual Fairfield University Night at Citi Field is slated for Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016.
The #LucasOnTheLoose campaign also included an appearance in an ESPN commercial, which premiered nationally during the network’s Monday Night Football broadcast on Dec. 21, 2015. The commercial aired nearly 500 times during ESPN programming including NBA games on Christmas Day and the College Football Playoff.
In the months since the #LucasOnTheLoose campaign, regular public appearances have become a staple of the community relations strategy of Fairfield’s marketing and communications department as well as the development of a new revenue stream.
“Lucas is a unique and beloved figure that continues to grow alongside our identity as a University,” said Jennifer Anderson, Vice President for Marketing and Communications. “His presence at Fairfield and in our community has increased the pride and engagement of both alumni and current students alike.”
“With the tremendous support we have received from our University and fanbase, we look forward to continuing the momentum of the #LucasOnTheLoose campaign as we move into the 2016-17 school year,” added Dayton.
Fairfield University basketball will present three award-winning sports commentators – the legendary Bob Wolff, and
ESPN standouts Len Elmore and Jackie MacMullan
– with the Third Annual “Stags Lifetime Achievement Award: Leader of the Herd” for long and meritorious service on Tuesday night, November 10, at the Manhattan Club (@ Rosie O’Grady’s/800 Seventh Avenue) in New York City, it was announced today by Director of Athletics Eugene Doris.
The Basketball Tip-Off event will begin with cocktail hour from 6:00 PM, followed by three-course dinner and award presentations from 7:00-9:00 PM. Tickets are priced at$150 per person. Online registration will be available shortly. For tickets and sponsorship information contact Zach Dayton at 203-254-4000x3457 zdayton@fairfield.edu.
Elmore, in his 27th year broadcasting college basketball, first at CBS and presently at ESPN, is one of the most accomplished basketball players in history. He is a former high school All-American at Power Memorial Academy in New York, and a former collegiate All-American and three-time all-ACC team at the University of Maryland. Elmore, is a former ABA and NBA standout – he notched over 3,000 points and 3,000 rebounds during his NBA career – an attorney with a Law degree from Harvard University, and a professor at Columbia University. A pioneer and innovator, Elmore’s professional experience spans a rich athletic career, several prestigious law firms, television commentary, college teacher, and significant business and public interest endeavors.
Wolff, enshrined in the media wing of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as recipient of the Curt Gowdy Award, has been on the airwaves for an astounding 75 years. The Duke product is now working in his ninth decade, and is the world’s longest-running TV and radio sportscaster at age 93. He did play-by-play for the Holiday Festival for 29 years, the National Invitation Tournament for 25 years, and was the television voice of both New York Knicks NBA championships in 1969-73 and ’72-73, all on MSG Network. Wolff’s call of Yankees pitcher Don Larsen’s perfect game, the only one in World Series history, is one for the ages.
MacMullan, inducted into the media wing of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010 with the Curt Gowdy Award, is a columnist for ESPNBoston.com and commentator on ESPN as a regular panelist on the popular program “Around the Horn.” Mac Mullan is a cum laude graduate of University of New Hampshire, where she led the team in scoring as a sophomore and was team captain as a senior. She is regarded as one of this country’s preeminent sports writers. From 2002 to 2007, she was a columnist and associate editor of the Boston Globe, and from 1995-2000 she was s senior writer at Sports Illustrated. MacMullan began her career at the Globe in 1982, covering a wide variety of sports including four Final Four tournaments, the World Series, Stanley Cup Finals, Olympic Games and NBA Finals.
Said Doris: “We are delighted to honor the accomplishments and careers of Len Elmore, Jackie MacMullan, and Bob Wolff. This triumvirate has served its profession in exemplary fashion with style and grace. They have conducted themselves with great professionalism on the highest level, which is a model for both aspiring sports commentators of the future, and all student-athletes as they prepare for their post-college careers.”
Doris will be joined by head men’s basketball coach Sydney Johnson, and head women’s basketball coach Joe Frager, and special guests in presenting the awards for“distinguished service and lifetime achievement with accuracy and journalistic integrity, while keeping the efforts of the student-athletes at the forefront.”
Two college basketball media giants – longtime New York Daily News columnist Dick “Hoops” Weiss and Associated Press National College writer Jim “OC” O’Connell– were the inaugural recipients of the award. The legendary writers have both received the Curt Gowdy Award to enshrinement in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and have a combined 80 years of award-winning coverage of college basketball including a total of 77 NCAA championships!
A pair of iconic college basketball broadcasters – CBS Sports play-by-play announcer Verne Lundquist and his longtime partner at CBS, NCAA analyst Bill Raftery, also the lead analyst for FOX Sports college basketball game coverage – were the recipients of the second annual “Leader of the Herd” award in 2014, while two notable Fairfield alumni, Mark Beckwith (’80) and Diane Oakley (’75), were the inaugural “Stags Distinguished Service Award: Leader of the Herd” recipients in recognition of their unwavering support of Fairfield Athletics.
WFAN Radio update reporter Bob Heussler, the longtime “Voice of the Stags,” will serve as Master of Ceremonies at Fairfield’s Basketball Tip-Off Dinner.
FAIRFIELD ATHLETICS NAMES JOHN CIRILLO AND CIRILLO WORLD PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MARKETING CONSULTANT
***Prominent New York PR Executive is former Knicks, MSG Vice President***
Fairfield University Athletics is pleased to announce that it has signed a multi-year agreement with prominent New York public relations executive John Cirillo, President of Cirillo World, to serve as public relations, marketing and special athletics events consultant for the Stags. The announcement was made today by Fairfield Athletic Director Eugene P. Doris.
Cirillo is the former award-winning New York Knicks and Madison Square Garden Vice President (1984-97), who founded New York City-based Cirillo World in 1997.
"We are delighted that we have been able to enlist one of the top sports publicists in the country as a member of the Fairfield Athletics team," said Fairfield President Rev. Jeffrey P. von Arx, S.J. "John's expertise and relationships in the media will be invaluable as we continue the mission to raise Fairfield Athletics to the highest level, and broaden our awareness."
“We are thrilled at the opportunity to work with one of the most respected public relations specialists in sports,” said Doris. “John and his staff bring savvy, creative marketing, and strong relationships in the New York and national media to Fairfield, which will go a long way in enhancing Stags athletics.”
Significant clients in collegiate athletics also include the Atlantic 10 Conference, and the A-10 Conference Championship at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. During a 30-year career in the public relations industry, Cirillo has worked with many notables including Patrick Ewing, Pat Riley, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy, Dave DeBusschere, Walt Frazier, Willis Reed, Red Holzman and Earl Monroe during his 13 seasons with the Knicks, and since launching Cirillo World such top names as Bob Costas, Gary Carter, Oscar De La Hoya, Wladimir Klitschko, Vin Scully, Willie Randolph, Ron Swoboda and Tim Rooney.
“It’s a privilege to work with such an outstanding Jesuit institution as Fairfield,” said Cirillo. “Its great success on the fields of play and commitment to its student-athletes in the classroom is a tremendous combination for success. We are looking forward to the relationship.”
Cirillo World had previously served as Fordham University Athletics media consultant since 1997. The company is retained by Fordham’s powerful public radio station, WFUV Radio, for the Vin Scully Lifetime Achievement Award in Sports Broadcasting since its inception in 2006. In addition, Cirillo launched the career of WFUV alumnus Spero Dedes, currently the Radio Voice of the New York Knicks, serving as his agent for the first seven years of his career.
Fairfield University Women's Soccer Standout Brenna Brown Named To CoSida Academic All-District First Team
***Fourth Player in Program History to Receive Honor***
Fairfield University's 28th Annual Fairfield Awards Dinner, "Celebrating a Tradition of Opportunity," will be held on Thursday, March 31, 2016, at the Grand Hyatt New York in New York City from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
The Fairfield Awards Dinner benefits the Fairfield University’s Multicultural Scholarship Fund and other scholarships that expand access to higher education to students from a variety of social and economic backgrounds. Held annually since 1989, the Fairfield Awards Dinner has raised more than $15 million for the endowed Fairfield University Multicultural Scholarship Fund and other scholarships, providing support to hundreds of students.
Fairfield Awards Dinner Co-Chairs are Douglas W. Hammond ’86 chairman/CEO at NFP who resides in Cold Spring Harbor, New York and William A. Malloy ’80, P’17,’11 of New York, New York who serves as partner at Aquiline Capital Partners LLC.
The Fairfield Awards Dinner will also recognize alumni, parents, faculty, and staff for the highest levels of professional achievement, outstanding leadership, academic excellence, and meritorious service. The 2016 dinner honorees are:
Alumni Professional Achievement Award: Patricia E. Glassford ’85 is vice president & chief financial officer at GE Energy Management. Previously, she held a number of finance leadership roles including EVP and CFO NBC Universal Film and Parks, SVP and CFO NBC TV Stations and NBC West Coast, manager, Finance GE Plastics Commercial and Manufacturing, and executive audit manager. Glassford graduated from Fairfield University with a B.S. in Finance in 1985 and GE's Financial Management Program (FMP) in 1988. She lives in Stamford, Connecticut.
Alumni Service Award: Andrew M. Davis ’89, Matthew McLaughlin ’89 and Joseph Solimine, Jr. ’89, are three friends who created the Michael R. Andrews ’89 Scholarship in May of 2005 to commemorate their fellow alumnus whose life was tragically taken during the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. To date, a remarkable amount of nearly $500,000 has been raised in Mike’s honor at an annual golf outing and other signature events stewarded by the trio. Andrew M. Davis '89 is a commercial finance manager at PA Consulting Group and lives in Fanwood, New Jersey; Matthew McLaughlin ’89 is a vice president/general sales manager at Fox Stations Sales and lives in Ridgewood, New Jersey; and Joseph Solimine, Jr. ’89 is chief executive officer at Meridian Risk Management and lives in Pelham, New York.
Distinguished Faculty/Administrator Award: Carole Ann Maxwell P’02, director of Choral Music at Fairfield University since 1980, is an award-winning conductor of collegiate, community and professional choral ensembles. She also serves as the artistic director and conductor of the Mendelssohn Choir of Connecticut and the chorus master for Connecticut Grand Opera and Orchestra. A current resident of Trumbull, Connecticut, she was inducted into the prestigious Jesuit Honor Society, Alpha Sigma Nu in 2012.
Parent Leadership Award: William and Margaret Atwell P ’08 are the parents of Christopher Atwell ’08, a business major and lacrosse player, whose education they believe was transformative. Since their son’s time on campus, they have both been actively involved in the vision for Fairfield’s future. Together, they created the Margaret M. Atwell Scholarship dedicated to female students at the Dolan School of Business. William, managing director at Atwell Partners LLC, served as the chairman of the Board of Trustees from 2012-2015. They are residents of Darien, Connecticut.
Honorary Alumnus Award: George E. Diffley P’97, ’96 served as vice president of Fairfield’s Advancement Division for 30 years until his retirement in 2006. Diffley was appointed to head the division in 1975 and lead the institution through its first two capital campaigns among many endeavors that allowed Fairfield remarkable success in fundraising. A recipient of the Rev. Barry M. McGannon, S.J. Award from the Jesuit Advancement Administrators, Diffley currently serves as special assistant to University President Jeffrey P. von Arx, S. J. Diffley is a longtime Fairfield, Connecticut resident.
Fairfield’s Matt Turner Named MAAC Defensive Player of the Week
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Sam Kramer, Erika Schlosser, and Nicole Bus have all signed their National Letters of Intent to join the Stags next season, Head Coach Joe Frager announced today. The trio will bring added experience for each position on the court, as they become the Fairfield Class of 2020.
“We are very pleased to welcome these three new student-athletes into our program,” Coach Frager said. “They are not only unselfish and talented players, but they are all also outstanding students.”
Sam Kramer (Gill St. Bernard’s High School; New Jersey)
Kramer is coming off a career year for Gill St. Bernard’s High School, as she averaged 13.6 points and 5.5 assists per game in her junior season as she led the Knights to a top-20 state ranking. Throughout her career, she has been named to the All-Conference First Team, All-State Third Team, and All-Area Honorable Mention. Kramer is a point guard who was described by her coach as a “3-point shooter who can play off the ball and can create points by her shot or by getting to the basket.”
“Sam is a very skilled player who brings true combo guard skills to our program in that she is equally capable of playing both the off guard and point for us,” Frager said. “She can shoot it, handle it, and is an adept passer.”
Erika Schlosser (Eastview Senior High; Minnesota)
A 5-9 guard out of Minnesota, Schlosser earned an ESPN Hoopgurlz Scouts Grade of 89 and a 3-star recruit. A 2014 All-Conference Honorable Mention, Schlosser was voted as the team’s “Best Passer” after leading the squad with 85 assists that season. She helped the Lightning to a 31-1 record and a Class 4A Minnesota State High School League Championship.
“Erika will contribute size and shooting ability at the wing for us,” Frager said. “Both her high school and AAU programs play styles similar to ours, so we feel she can adapt quickly.”
Nicole Bus (Sarnia North Collegiate Institute, Ontario)
Bus will join fellow Canadian Samantha Cooper (Sudbury, Ontario) and former Stag Brittany MacFarlane (Hamilton, Ontario) representing the country north of the US border. The 6-0 forward helped the London Ramblers, part of JUEL prep, to win gold in 2010 and was named the Player of the Year. Most recently, Bus helped Juel Prep to the 2014 Provincial Championship.
“Nicole will be a post player for us. She is a true stretch 4 in that she shoots the three very well,” Frager said. “Nicole will also add a physical presence for us inside.”
The three players will develop under Joe Frager, the only coach in league history to have eight-straight winning conference seasons to begin a career.
Fairfield University women’s lacrosse assistant coach Erin Slifer was drafted 20th overall by the Boston Storm in the inaugural United Women’s Lacrosse League (UWLX) Draft last Wednesday.
“It is truly an honor to be a part of the inaugural UWLX draft and have the opportunity to play for the Boston Storm,” said Slifer. “This is a historic moment in women’s lacrosse and I am excited to play with some of the best lacrosse players in the nation.”
Slifer was a four-year letterwinner at Princeton University, earning All-America honors as a co-captain of the Tigers in 2015. In addition to All-America laurels, she claimed her second consecutive First Team All-Ivy League nod and was named the league’s Midfielder of the Year in 2015. The midfielder rounded out her decorated senior campaign with First Team All-ECAC and IWLCA First Team All-Mid-Atlantic laurels. Slifer led Princeton in scoring with 71 points – 41 goals and 30 assists – as the Tigers won the Ivy League Championship. Princeton would advance to the NCAA Championship Quarterfinals, finishing that season ranked No. 9 in the nation by the IWLCA.
The inaugural season of the UWLX is slated to begin on Saturday, May 28th at the US Lacrosse National Tournament in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The two month season will conclude with a championship game on July 30th.
PERRY, N.Y. – The Fairfield University men’s lacrosse team is receiving votes in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Stags enter the upcoming 2016 campaign as the defending regular season champions of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).
Fairfield posted a 9-6 record last spring with a 4-1 conference mark en route to the CAA regular season crown. Head Coach Andy Copelan was tabbed as the CAA Coach of the Year in the Stags’ first season as a member of the nationally-prominent conference, and faceoff specialist Will Fox was named CAA Rookie of the Year to headline a rundown of 11 Stags to earn All-CAA laurels.
The Stags climbed as high as No. 19 in the USILA poll last spring (and No. 18 in the Lacrosse Magazine Weekly Rankings) and have been a part of the national ledger in each of the last four seasons. Fairfield also defeated a nationally-ranked opponent – then-No. 20 Villanova – for the seventh consecutive campaign.
Fairfield’s 2016 schedule includes five ranked teams (No. 9 Yale, No. 13 Georgetown, No. 16 Towson, No. 19 Villanova and No. 20 Stony Brook) as well as five clubs that join the Stags in the “also receiving votes” category (Colgate, Hofstra, Bucknell, Richmond, Massachusetts).
In other preseason projections, the Stags have been selected to finish second in the CAA in the Inside Lacrosse Preseason Coaches’ Poll and by Sean Burns of Lacrosse Magazine. Additionally, Inside Lacrosse tabbed senior co-captain TJ Neubauer as a Preseason All-America Honorable Mention.
The Stags open the 2016 campaign on Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 13 with the first-ever meeting with Richmond. The noon contest is the front-end of a doubleheader that will also feature reigning MAAC Champion Fairfield women’s lacrosse beginning its 2016 season against LIU Brooklyn.
Fairfield Wins 2015 MAAC Championship, led by Hopewell Junction's Megan Theiller, Named Most Outstanding Player
The 2015-16 Fairfield University men’s basketball schedule was completed on Monday morning as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) announced the conference dates for the 2015-16 season. The Stags will host 10 games against MAAC opponents, beginning with the Rider University Broncs on December 4th.
Fairfield officially starts conference play on December 1st when it travels to New Rochelle, N.Y for a match up with Iona College. It’s the first time that the two teams opened MAAC play against one another since the 2002-03 campaign with the Stags posting an 83-78 overtime victory in Bridgeport. The Stags will finish up the MAAC opening weekend against Rider, marking the first time that these two schools will meet in the first weekend of conference play since the 1998-99 campaign.
The Stags will return to non-conference play for the rest of December before opening up the 2016 calendar year at Manhattan College on January 2nd. The match up with be the first of three straight MAAC road games for Fairfield, interrupted only by a non-conference home game against Dartmouth on January 4th. Fairfield will head to Siena College on January 7th and conclude the Rider season series on January 9th in Lawrenceville, N.J.
Head Coach Sydney Johnson will bring his team back home for three consecutive dates which also starts a stretch of six home contests over a seven-game stretch. The run begins with Monmouth University on January 11th and also includes Niagara University on January 15th and Saint Peter’s on January 19th.
After a quick trip to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. for a January 22th game with Marist College, Fairfield returns to the Nutmeg State for home games with Iona onJanuary 24th, Canisius College on January 29th, and Quinnipiac University on February 1st.
The remaining eight-game slate is slightly unbalanced with Fairfield playing five road games, beginning with its February 5th meeting with Monmouth.
The Stags welcome Manhattan on February 7th before heading to Quinnipiac on February 13th. Two days later, Marist completes its season series with the Stags. Fairfield heads to upstate New York for its annual trek to the Buffalo/Niagara area, taking on Canisius on February 18th and Niagara on February 20th.
The Stags play their final home game of the season by hosting Siena College on February 24th, setting up the regular-season finale on February 27th at Saint Peter’s University.
The 2016 MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship takes place in Albany, N.Y. between March 3-7. The event will be hosted by the Times Union Center.
The Fairfield University men’s basketball schedule is as follows:
2015-16 Fairfield University Men’s Basketball Schedule
Friday, November 13 Yale University (Connecticut 6 Classic)
Sunday, November 15 at University of North Carolina, CBE Hall of Fame Classic
Wednesday, November 18 at Northwestern University, CBE Hall of Fame Classic
Saturday, November 21 Sacred Heart University
Tuesday, November 24 at University of Maryland-Eastern Shore
Friday, November 27 Columbia University
Tuesday, December 1 at Iona College*
Friday, December 4 Rider University*
Friday, December 18 Wagner University
Tuesday, December 22 Loyola University (Md.)
Sunday, December 27 at Bucknell University
Saturday, January 2 at Manhattan College*
Monday, January 4 Dartmouth College
Thursday, January 7 at Siena College*
Saturday, January 9 at Rider University*
Monday, January 11 Monmouth University*
Friday, January 15 Niagara University*
Tuesday, January 19 Saint Peter’s University*
Friday, January 22 at Marist College*
Sunday, January 24 Iona College*
Friday, January 29 Canisius College
Monday, February 1 Quinnipiac University*
Friday, February 5 at Monmouth University*
Sunday, February 7 Manhattan College*
Saturday, February 13 at Quinnipiac University*
Monday, February 15 Marist College*
Thursday, February 18 at Canisius College*
Saturday, February 20 at Niagara University*
Wednesday, February 24 Siena College*
Saturday, February 27 at Saint Peter’s College*
Home Games in Bold
Connecticut 6 Classic hosted by Central Connecticut State University
* - MAAC Game
New York—Fairfield University basketball will present three award-winning sports commentators – ESPN standouts Len Elmore andJackie MacMullan, and the legendary MSG Network broadcast icon Bob Wolff – with the Third Annual “Stags Lifetime Achievement Award: Leader of the Herd” for long and meritorious service on Tuesday night, November 10, at the Manhattan Club (@ Rosie O’Grady’s/800 Seventh Avenue) in New York City, it was announced today by Director of Athletics Eugene Doris.
The Basketball Tip-Off event will begin with cocktail hour from 6:00 PM, followed by three-course dinner and award presentations from7:00-9:00 PM. Tickets are priced at $150 per person. Online registration will be available shortly. For tickets and sponsorship information contact Zach Dayton at 203-254-4000x3457 zdayton@fairfield.edu. Elmore, in his 27th year broadcasting college basketball, first at CBS and presently at ESPN, is one of the most accomplished basketball players in history. He is a former high school All-American at Power Memorial Academy in New York, and a former collegiate All-American and three-time all-ACC team at the University of Maryland. Elmore, is a former ABA and NBA standout – he notched over 3,000 points and 3,000 rebounds during his NBA career – an attorney with a Law degree from Harvard University, and a professor at Columbia University. A pioneer and innovator, Elmore’s professional experience spans a rich athletic career, several prestigious law firms, television commentary, college teacher, and significant business and public interest endeavors.
Wolff, enshrined in the media wing of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as recipient of the Curt Gowdy Award, has been on the airwaves for an astounding 75 years. The Duke product is now working in his ninth decade, and is the world’s longest-running TV and radio sportscaster at age 93. He did play-by-play for the Holiday Festival for 29 years, the National Invitation Tournament for 25 years, and was the television voice of both New York Knicks NBA championships in 1969-73 and ’72-73, all on MSG Network. Wolff’s call of Yankees pitcher Don Larsen’s perfect game, the only one in World Series history, is one for the ages.
MacMullan, inducted into the media wing of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010 with the Curt Gowdy Award, is a columnist for ESPNBoston.com and commentator on ESPN as a regular panelist on the popular program “Around the Horn.” Mac Mullan is a cum laude graduate of University of New Hampshire, where she led the team in scoring as a sophomore and was team captain as a senior. She is regarded as one of this country’s preeminent sports writers. From 2002 to 2007, she was a columnist and associate editor of the Boston Globe, and from 1995-2000 she was s senior writer at Sports Illustrated. MacMullan began her career at the Globe in 1982, covering a wide variety of sports including four Final Four tournaments, the World Series, Stanley Cup Finals, Olympic Games and NBA Finals.
Said Doris: “We are delighted to honor the accomplishments and careers of Len Elmore, Jackie MacMullan, and Bob Wolff. This triumvirate has served its profession in exemplary fashion with style and grace. They have conducted themselves with great professionalism on the highest level, which is a model for both aspiring sports commentators of the future, and all student-athletes as they prepare for their post-college careers.”
Doris will be joined by head men’s basketball coach Sydney Johnson, and head women’s basketball coach Joe Frager, and special guests in presenting the awards for “distinguished service and lifetime achievement with accuracy and journalistic integrity, while keeping the efforts of the student-athletes at the forefront.”
Two college basketball media giants – longtime New York Daily News columnist Dick “Hoops” Weiss and Associated Press National College writer Jim “OC” O’Connell – were the inaugural recipients of the award. The legendary writers have both received the Curt Gowdy Award to enshrinement in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and have a combined 80 years of award-winning coverage of college basketball including a total of 77 NCA championships!
A pair of iconic college basketball broadcasters – CBS Sports play-by-play announcer Verne Lundquist and his longtime partner at CBS, NCAA analyst Bill Raftery, also the lead analyst for FOX Sports college basketball game coverage – were the recipients of the second annual “Leader of the Herd” award in 2014, while two notable Fairfield alumni, Mark Beckwith (’80) and Diane Oakley (’75), were the inaugural “Stags Distinguished Service Award: Leader of the Herd” recipients in recognition of their unwavering support of Fairfield Athletics.
WFAN Radio update reporter Bob Heussler, the longtime “Voice of the Stags,” will serve as Master of Ceremonies at Fairfield’s Basketball Tip-Off Dinner.
Fairfield Announces Men’s Lacrosse Will Join Colonial Athletic Association
Carly Beyar of Hempstead, Sayville’s Shannon Fay and Alanna Locast of Wantagh are three Long Island soccer products who have seen their twitter handle SoccerGirlProblems (@SoccerGrlProbs) hit the roof since its start-up in 2011. In excess of 180,000 twitter followers, and still growing, the Fairfield women’s trio has been surprised by the cavalcade of tweets – more than the Manti Te’o girlfriend hoax and the Lance Armstrong doping scandal, and that’s a lot. It sure says something big about the popularity of this unique twitter handle.
When they started SoccerGirlProblems (@SoccerGrlProbs) in 2011, the Stags threesome could not envision how big it would become. All the teammates did know was that they had plenty in common with most other women’s soccer players on the collegiate level. And so, Beyar and Fay, both seniors at Fairfield, and Locast, a 2011 graduate, started tweeting out the little things they believed would somehow resonate with other girls who loved the game. Such topics as complaints about practice, social plans being interfered with by soccer, and the bond players have with teammates.
Soccer Girl Problems has taken on a life of its own, to say the least. Through the power of today’s social media, combined with their humorous take, the girls have amassed an unexpected, six-figure twitter followers. Now approaching 200,000 followers, @SoccerGrlProbs has expanded from an experiment to a business. Beyar, Fay and Locast have developed it into a brand, selling Soccer Girl Problems merchandise through their website, SoccerGrlProbs.com. It didn’t stop there. Fans of the group pitched the idea of posting videos, and Soccer Girl Problems has responded with its own YouTube channel where the group acts out short comedy bits revolving around the life of a soccer player.
Says Locast: “While the main focus is humor, it’s become a unifying thing among all ages of soccer players.”
As seniors Beyar and Fay get ready to graduate from Fairfield this spring after a successful season with the Stags that saw the team finish second in the MAAC conference, the group looks forward to not only growing Soccer Girl Problems as a business, but being able to stay connected to the soccer world that they love.
Fairfield University Athletics Lucas on the Loose Campaign Receives Gold-Medal
Fairfield Swim Coach Commentator on ESPN Caribbean Olympic Coverage
The Fairfield University men’s basketball team will host its annual exhibition game with the University of Bridgeport this year, but there will be a couple twists to this season’s edition. In addition to giving area college basketball fans their first look at the Stags and the Purple Knights, the exhibition game will also pay tribute to former Fairfield University Men’s Basketball Coach George Bisacca.
The event is scheduled for Friday, November 6th at Alumni Hall, a location change from its usual home at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport. Game time is slated for 7 pm. This game will represent the 10th meeting between Bridgeport and Fairfield in this exhibition game series.
“It’s with great enthusiasm that I announce our celebration of George Bisacca’s career at Fairfield University,” Director of Athletics Gene Doris said. “His time as the head men’s basketball coach is considered one of the most successful eras in the history of our program. While his contributions toward the basketball team are well known, I think it sometimes gets lost that he was also the Director of Athletics at Fairfield University. In that role, he had a profound impact on so many student-athletes at this University, and it is that influence that we will celebrate on November 6th.”
As part of the evening, there will be a Friends of Basketball Reception that will start the night. Prior to the game, the Fairfield University community will recognize Coach Bisacca’s contributions to the basketball program, which included bringing the Stags into the Division I ranks. And, the Fairfield University men’s basketball team will wear uniforms that recognize the era in which Coach Bisacca led the program. The first 500 Fairfield students in attendance will receive a commemorative t-shirt that match the uniform the team will be wearing. Additionally, fans are invited to wear their favorite throwback Fairfield apparel to the game with the best outfits recognized during the second half.
General admission tickets for the Bridgeport exhibition game are $8.00 and seniors are $5.00. Children 12 and under will be free for the game. To purchase tickets online please visit www.fairfieldstags.com/tix.
A “Grand” finale vaulted the Fairfield University baseball team (29-24, 17-7 MAAC) to its first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season title since 1983, and the top-seed in the MAAC Championship tournament beginning Wednesday. Appropriately on “Senior Day,” it was second baseman Brendan Tracy, playing in his final home game at Alumni Field, who launched a game-ending grand slam to guarantee the Stags the top-seed with an 8-4 victory over Quinnipiac last Friday.
The Stags, picked eighth in the MAAC Preseason polls, will begin their quest for the tournament Championship on Wednesday, May 25 at 7:00 pm against the lower-seeded winner of the two earlier games. The MAAC Tournament will be contested at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, New York.
“I stood there and watched because I knew I got all of it,” said the Rumford, Rhode Island native. “Once I started running around first base I was like, ‘Wow that just happened.’ That doesn’t happen to often and I’m glad it happened on my Senior Day.”
“I think any coach wants his senior to go out by getting a no-hitter, getting the winning hit, scoring the winning run,” Head Coach Bill Currier said. “It’s a picture moment for him, and it’s something he’s going to remember for the rest of his life.”
Tracy’s heroics came in the first pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning after the Stags (29-24, 17-7 MAAC) came within an out of winning the game in the top half of the inning. Two errors opened the door for Quinnipiac to tie the score, but Mike Bonaiuto closed the door, leaving the potential go-ahead run at third.
With one out in the ninth, the Stags recorded three consecutive hits to set the stage for the Tracy blast, his first career grand slam in his final home game. It was a Hollywood script ending for the ages.
Throughout the season, the Stags have relied heavily on Mac Crispino to come through with clutch hits, and the switch-hitting junior did so twice in the clincher. The “Mac Attack” knotted the game at one with a single to center in the sixth; the junior captain then stroked a two-run single in the eighth to deadlock the contest again at 3-3. A pair of doubles by Kevin Radziewicz figured prominently in both rallies. Crispino’s three hits and three ribbies lifted his average to .302, and his 32 RBI are second on the team.
I think it shows that we are a championship caliber team,” said Tracy commenting on the see-saw battle. “No matter what happens, we believe we’re going to win and we stay after it. That’s not easy to come by.”
The MAAC tournament which begins on Wednesday will continue through Saturday, May 28.
Fairfield Among Most-Improved Teams in Division I; Stags Try for 7th Straight Win Saturday
Fairfield University inducted six new members into its Athletics Hall of Fame on Monday, May 2 at the historic Brooklawn Country Club. The class featured Ben Andrews ’11 (men’s rowing), James Brown ’69 (men’s basketball), Michael Bocklet ’07 (men’s lacrosse), Amy Hanson Ostella ’97 (women’s tennis), Paul Sheehy ’85 (men’s rugby) and Sabra Wrice ’08 (women’s basketball).
The Hall of Fame ceremony was part of the 2016 Fairfield Athletics Hall of Fame Golf Outing.
For the second straight year, proceeds from the event will be directed toward the Fairfield Athletics Sports Performance program. Contributions will enhance the strength center within the Thomas J. Walsh Jr. Athletic Center to maximize student-athlete performance in athletic competition.
“We are excited to continue our focus on the Fairfield Athletics Sports Performance program to benefit our student-athletes,” remarked Director of Athletics Gene Doris. “The support we achieve from this outing will enhance the facilities for our student-athletes and positively impact the recruiting efforts of our coaches.”
Here are profiles of the six from the "Class of 2016" who will be enshrined in the Fairfield Athletics pantheon:
Ben Andrews
A cornerstone in the history of Fairfield men’s rowing, Ben Andrews ‘11 arrived on campus as the program was elevated to varsity status and was the team’s first four-year varsity oarsman. He has won the most individual medals in program history, rowing in both the lightweight and open-weight divisions and in both sweep and scull races.
In his freshman season, Andrews was a part of the team that won the first-ever varsity medal for Fairfield at the Knecht Cup and the Stags’ first MAAC Championship gold, both in the lightweight four. He also helped propel Fairfield to gold at the Spring Metropolitan Regatta, New England Rowing Championships and the Murphy Cup.
In the next two seasons, the formidable team of Andrews and James Jessup ’10 collected a pair of MAAC Championship gold medals and also earned hardware at the Spring Metropolitan Regatta and Knecht Cup. Most notably, the duo also won bronze medals at the Dad Vail National Championship in both of those campaigns. Andrews and Jessup are the only two oarsmen in program history with two Dad Vail medals to their names.
Though inclement weather cancelled the MAAC Championship in Andrews’ senior campaign – robbing him of a chance to earn four gold medals at the event – he paired with a new partner in Matt McNeill ’13 to reach a grand final at the Dad Vail National Championship Regatta for the third time, something no other Fairfield rower has done.
Since graduating from Fairfield, Andrews has coached at the Saugatuck Rowing Club, St. Andrew Rowing Club and Atlanta Juniors Rowing Association.
Michael Bocklet
A starting attackman for four years for Fairfield men’s lacrosse, Michael Bocklet ’07 is one of the most potent offensive threats in program history. His 147 career points are the fourth-most all-time and the most by any player to have taken the field for the Stags since 2000. He ranks sixth all-time with 95 career goals and eighth in program annals with 52 assists.
Bocklet began his career as a Second Team All-Great Western Lacrosse League pick in 2004, where he was edged out as GWLL Rookie of the Year by his teammate and classmate – and now fellow Fairfield Athletics Hall of Famer – Greg Downing ’07. He followed up with a career-best 40 points as a sophomore in 2005, helping guide the Stags to a GWLL Championship and the second NCAA postseason appearance in Fairfield men’s lacrosse history. Bocklet was an All-NEILA and Second Team All-GWLL selection as a part of that historic season.
A consistent performer throughout his career, Bocklet was the Stags’ leading scorer as both a junior and senior with 37 and 39 points, respectively, in the 2006 and 2007 seasons. He capped his career with his second All-NEILA selection.
Bocklet was selected by the Long Island Lizards in the 2008 Major League Lacrosse Supplemental Draft, but did not play in the MLL until 2015, where he racked up 32 goals and 16 assists for the Denver Outlaws en route to MLL First-Year Player of the Year honors from Inside Lacrosse.
Bocklet is currently the head men’s lacrosse coach at Purchase College, which will begin its first season of NCAA Div. III competition next spring. He has previously coached at Dartmouth, SUNY Cortland and his high school alma mater, John Jay High School in Cross River, N.Y.
James Brown
James Brown ’69 scored 1,199 points in his career with Fairfield men’s basketball. He needed just 71 games to rack up his point total – not only playing during an era in which freshmen were ineligible but also taking two years off before his senior year to serve in the military.
Brown was an All-State performer out of New Haven’s Hillhouse High School and continued to wow the Connecticut crowds when he donned the Fairfield red. In his sophomore season of 1964-65, he nearly averaged a double-double with 20.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per game en route to All-Catholic honors. Brown’s first year with the Stags included scoring a then-program record 39 points in a win over Southern Connecticut State. He followed up as a junior with 17.4 points per contest for Head Coach George Bisacca in the 1965-66 campaign.
After two years of military service, Brown returned to the court as one of the leading scorers on first-year head coach James Lynam’s squad with 13.7 points per game. This run included Brown becoming just the 10th Stag to eclipse the 1,000-point mark for his career.
Amy Hanson (Ostella)
The most decorated women’s tennis player in program history, Amy Hanson (Ostella) ’97 led the Stags to the MAAC Championship in each of her four seasons, winning an individual conference title in each season along the way.
Hanson teamed with Athletics Hall of Famer Melissa Gassler ’95 in 1993 and 1994 to win her first two MAAC crowns then followed up with a singles title in 1995. She capped her career with her third doubles title in 1996, this time teaming up with Nancy Searle ’00.
After leading Fairfield to one of its most successful four-year stretches , Hanson was the recipient of the Arthur Ashe Award, presented by the University to the tennis student-athlete who best epitomized the sportsmanship and quality of play exhibited by the award’s namesake.
Hanson later returned to Fairfield as an assistant coach for two seasons.
Paul Sheehy
Paul Sheehy ’85 was one of the key contributors to two of the finest seasons in the history of Fairfield rugby. Playing as a wing and fullback, he helped guide Fairfield to a total of the 23 wins over those two campaigns. He was the side’s leading scorer as a senior in 1985.
After graduation, Sheehy joined the highly-touted Washington RFC. He had a seven-year career with the club in the highly competitive Potomac Rugby Union, primarily as a first team player for Washington. In 1991, Sheehy was named the Most Valuable Back of the National Club Championship as his squad reached the championship game of the national tournament. Sheehy also played 20 matches representing Eastern Rugby Union, an all-star team comprised of the top players from throughout the entire Eastern seaboard and spanning nearly as far west as the Mississippi River.
Sheehy was named a United States Eagle seven times. He earned four caps representing the United States in international competition, including games in the 1991 World Cup. He also merited five caps as a member of three seven-a-side tournaments as a United States Eagle.
Today, Sheehy is a coach at Gonzaga High School in Washington, D.C., where his sons have been standout players.
Sabra Wrice
The seventh all-time leading scorer in Fairfield women’s basketball history, Sabra Wrice ’08 scored 1,577 points in her career with the Stags. She also ranks fourth all-time in steals (221) and ninth in points per game (13.3). Wrice holds the program’s single-game scoring record, coming off the bench to net 36 points against Siena on Feb. 19, 2007.
As a senior in 2008, Wrice became the 11th (and most recent) Stag to score 500 points in a single season, netting 501 tallies (16.2 points per game) to go along with 4.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists per outing. Fairfield finished that 22-9 campaign – the team’s best record in seven years – with a trip to the MAAC Championship Semifinals.
Wrice was an All-MAAC honoree in each of her four seasons with the Stags, garnering All-Rookie laurels in 2005, a Second Team selection in 2006 and back-to-back First Team All-MAAC honors to cap her career in 2007 and 2008. She was also a Second Team All-Met pick in her senior campaign as well as Fairfield’s Female Athlete of the Year.
After graduation, Wrice played professionally for the City of Sheffield Hatters in Sheffield, England. She returned to Fairfield as an assistant coach for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 campaigns before resuming her playing career in the United Kingdom.
Fairfield university yields graduation success rate of 97 percent for student Athletes
New York, October 29—Fairfield University has the highest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) among varsity student athletes of all 11 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) colleges and universities, and ranks 12th in the nation at 97 percent, according to the latest data released by the NCAA (2003-06).
The men’s and women’s basketball programs, led by head coaches Sydney Johnson and Joe Frager, respectively, were among 15 of 19 Fairfield varsity teams with a 100 percent success rate during the 2003-06 period; in addition, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis, field hockey, women’s lacrosse, softball, men’s swimming & diving, and volleyball were on the 100 percent list.
Gene Doris, Director of Athletics at Fairfield, said: “Fairfield University and its athletics program take great pride in the recently released NCAA Graduation Success Rate report. This speaks to the values that Fairfield embraces, including a commitment to the whole person — body, mind, and spirit. We recruit outstanding quality scholar-athletes to our program and, once here, the faculty, staff and administration are strongly committed to the success of these young men and women, on the court, in the classroom and beyond.”
The top 12 is as follows: Brown University (Ivy League, 99 percent); Dartmouth College (Ivy League, 99 percent); University of Notre Dame (American Athletic Conference, 99 percent); Bucknell University (Patriot League, 98 percent); Colgate University (Patriot League, 98 percent); Davidson College (Southern Conference, 98 percent); Duke University (Atlantic Coast Conference, 98 percent); Harvard University (Ivy League, 98 percent); College of the Holy Cross (Patriot League, 98 percent); Lafayette College (Patriot League, 98 percent); Yale University (Ivy League, 98 percent); and Fairfield University (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Overall, 97 percent). Nationally, the GSR reached 81 percent for all student-athletes, a new high for Division I and one point higher than the last four-year average. All 11 MAAC schools had a GSR at or above the national average, with four, including Fairfield, above 90 percent. Siena College had a GSR of 93 percent while Manhattan College and Rider University each had a GSR of 92 percent. Brown University, Dartmouth College, and the University of Notre Dame were that national leaders with a GSR of 99 percent. Eight schools, including Yale University, Harvard University, and the College of the Holy Cross, had a GSR of 98 percent.
The NCAA began compiling data with the entering freshman class of 1995 and developed the GSR in order to more accurately assess the academic success of student-athletes. The GSR includes transfer students and student-athletes who leave in good academic standing. The GSR measures graduation over six years from initial college enrollment.
Fairfield also had a Federal Graduation Rate (FGR) of 79 percent for the 2003-06 time period. The FGR assesses only first-time, full-time freshmen and only counts them as academic successes if they graduate from their institution of initial enrollment within a six-year period. The figure does not account for transfers into or out of an institution. Nationally, the FGR for all student-athletes was 65 percent.
For more information about the NCAA Graduation Success Rate and the Federal Graduation Rate, and a searchable database,click here.
Growing up in the household with a notable sports broadcaster as his father, it came as no surprise that Fairfield University first baseman Mac Crispino was captivated by the world of home runs and strikeouts, fast breaks and three-pointers, touchdowns and field goals.
“Since he was very young he came to the Garden when I was working Knicks and Rangers, we’d go to the Mets and Yankees games when MSG Network had those broadcasts, and he’d come to the booth when I was doing the Bridgeport Bluefish,” recalls Mike Crispino, now the radio voice of the Knicks on ESPN NY Radio and Liberty play-by-play man on MSG.
A switch-hitting, slick-fielding first-sacker, Mac has helped the Stags to clinch a MAAC playoff berth with the hope of securing the regular season conference title in a crucial three-game series against Quinnipiac this week. Yesterday, Mac slammed his first career home run to pace Fairfield to a 4-2 non-conference win over UMASS.
“My dad never pressured me into playing sports, the first sport we actually played together was golf,” says the junior Crispino. “But having his presence in the household definitely geared me in the direction of sports, and it has geared me to what I want to do.”
Mac, a communications major, is not only kept busy as a starter on the baseball team and with his studies. Following in his dad’s footsteps, he also hosts a sports talk show on Fairfield’s WVOF Radio (88.5 FM). “It’s called the ‘Zac and Mac Show,’ says Crispino. “We’re on Tuesday nights from 8:00-9:00 PM, and my co-host is my buddy Zac Candeleria, the nephew of John Candelaria, who pitched in the majors for 18 years.”
“When we first started the show, dad would call in,” adds Mac. “We’d do an interview so we would get used to talking someone on the air. He’d text us advice during the show. We’ve had (MSG’s) Kenny Albert, Brendan Brown and Clyde Frazier on the show. It gets a little hectic between baseball, school and the program. I have missed a few radio shows. We have a decent following, and have a good time with it.”
The elder Crispino has delighted in giving Mac and Zac tips on developing their show and styles, little tidbits such as “how to get in and out of breaks, how to do your homework, being prepared, being informative and educated, and presenting a listenable radio show,” says the five-time Emmy Award winner. “They are very good at taking the hints.”
Mac is very good at baseball, too. A key factor in the Fairfield starting line-up, Crispino is hitting .287 while driving in 28 runs, fourth in both categories, as a force in the Stags 27-23 record, and 12-6 in the conference for head coach Bill Currier. Great with the glove, Crispino has made only two errors in 478 chances for a nifty .996 fielding percentage.
“I had a taste of starting last year,” says Mac. “But this year there’s an increased leadership role, leading by example, and it feels good to be out there every day. Being in a groove, and if things aren’t go well, you know that your coach has confidence in you. It’s been a fun year.”
Despite Mike Crispino’s busy schedule, particularly traveling when the Knicks are in season, he makes sure to find time to get to the park to watch son play.
“I love it,” says the Knicks voice. “It’s one of the beauties for us living near Fairfield, most of the games are of driving distance. I travel to watch him, St. Peter’s, Monmouth, and of course the home games. I even saw him at North Carolina and UNC Charlotte. Whenever I can fit it in because those are special times.”
The elder Crispino marvels at the performance of the Division I student athletes: “It’s a major commitment to do what these guys do in Division I,” he says. “To play games travel study, it is a major commitment, and you have to sacrifice.”
Mac likes having his father around. He says: “It feels good, he’s at a lot of games, it’s definitely cool. He’s laid back if I have a bad day; he knows all the guys.”
When did Mac become Mac? “He’s Michael Anthony Crispino, Jr. We called him ‘Mac’ from when he was very young.”
So now, Fairfield has a “Big ‘Mac’ Attack in the MAAC,” and Mike Crispino may have a chip off the old block in the sports broadcasting business. “You just want your kids to be happy, pursue something your passionate about. I’m all for it. There are a lot of ups and downs in broadcasting, but you have to be happy, and passionate.”
Passionate is the watchword in the Crispino household, indeed. Just look at the results.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Only two freshmen across the Division I landscape can say that they won a NSCAA National Player of the Week award this season, one of that select duo is Fairfield University’s Jenny Jacobs.
After becoming the first Stag in seven years to record a hat trick, Jacobs has received the rare honor of being named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) National Player of the Week.
Jacobs is the first Stag ever to receive this award, and the first player in the MAAC since at least 2006. She is also the reigning MAAC Rookie of the Week.
“It’s unreal,” Jacobs said. “I worked so hard to get where I am now and it’s really nice to be acknowledged for that hard work.”
“This honor is tremendous for both Jenny and our program,” Head Coach Jim O’Brien said. “To be considered to have had such a strong offensive performance speaks volumes about Jenny’s production against Saint Peter’s.”
In the match that will define her freshman season, Jacobs scored three goals in a 29-minute span starting with a score in the second minute that would end up being her first career game-winner. The rookie became the first Stag since 1996 to notch a hat trick in a single half.
“It does mean a lot to me,” Jacobs said. “I think it’s funny that the last one to do it in a single half was from the year I was born, so it’s kind of coincidental.”
These numbers and this award just show the final results. But there has been a lot of hard work behind the scenes for Jacobs. In her first 10 games, Jacobs was having trouble finishing in front of the goal, attempting 26 shots but not tallying a goal.
“After every practice I would stay after with Ross Sride and Coach Stuart Dick.” Jacobs said. “Stuart would videotape me shooting and show me exactly where I was hitting it wrong and how to do it better. We worked with the wall even to just try and get better. It paid off.”
Did it ever.
In the nine games after, Jacobs has scored all six of her goals, leading the team in that category. All six of her scores have come in conference play, tying her for second in the MAAC for conference goals.
“In the beginning of the year I was over thinking a lot,” Jacobs said. “I was like ‘oh my gosh, I’m finally in the game, I’m so nervous.’ Once I finally got one in, it was a lot easier and less frantic every time I got the ball.”
The freshman is now having her talent recognized among the nation’s best. Of the previous 13-players to receive this weekly honor, four played for teams currently ranked in the top-25. Jacobs also becomes just the third player on the East Coast to win this weekly award this season (joining Boston College’s McKenzie Meehan and Rutgers’ Casey Murphy). The highlight among previous award winners is Sydney Leroux who won the award in 2010 while playing at UCLA.
That is the company that Jacobs is now part of.
“In the game I definitely got better at being more confident and taking players on,” Jacobs said. “Also I learned that sometimes that even no matter how hard you work, some stuff just don’t fall in your favor but you just have to keep working no matter what.”
And when it does fall in your favor, the results start to show.
FAIRFIELD BEATS NORTHEASTERN 64-60 TO HALT EIGHT GAME LOSING STREAK
BRIDGEPORT, CT– Marcus Gilbert scored a game-high 23 points while local product Maurice Barrow (Queens/Christ the King) added 20 points to help the Fairfield University men’s basketball team post a 64-60 win over Northeastern University Sunday, December 15, at Webster Bank Arena. The win halted the Stags’ eight-game losing streak and gave the team a 2-8 overall record.
Northeastern held an early lead at 5-4 but a three-point field goal by Barrow put the Stags in front at 7-5 with14:57 remaining in the opening half. The Huskies would tie the game on their next possession but Gilbert’s back-to-back three pointers regained the lead at 13-7 with 12 minutes remaining. The Stags’ lead would reach as many as 14 in the first half, holding a 31-17 advantage after a free throw from Gilbert at the 2:05 mark. The Huskies would finish the half with a 6-2 spurt that would bring them within 10 points by intermission, 33-23.
Fairfield built upon its lead at the start of the second half by scoring five of the first six points to make it a 38-24 advantage with 18:08 on the clock. Gilbert started the run with a three-point shot on the team’s first possession of the half. The Huskies would use a 16-0 run over the six minutes to take their first lead since the opening five minutes, pulling into the lead at 40-38. During that run, Scott Eatherton tallied eight points, including six from the free throw line.
The Stags tied the game on their next possession courtesy of a layup from Amadou Sidibe to make it a 40-40 game. Northeastern took the lead three more times and Fairfield would rally to tie the game, the last of which came at 50-50 following a layup from Barrow. Reggie Spencer recaptured the lead for Northeaster with a transition dunk with5:07 on the clock. Barrow erased the deficit and nudged Fairfield in the lead with his second three pointer of the game, giving the home team a 53-52 advantage.
T.J. Williams made one of two charity tosses on the Huskies’ next possession but Barrow answered with back-to-back layups to give Fairfield a four-point advantage at 57-53 with 2:05 remaining.
Northeastern rallied to come with a point after a basket from David Walker and a free throw from Spencer, but it quickly became a two-possession game when Gilbert made a three-point field goal with 40 seconds left for a 60-56 lead. Northeastern came within a pair of points at 60-58 and 62-60, but Gilbert netted two free throws with four seconds remaining to ice the game at 64-60.
Eatherton registered a double-double with 22 points and 14 rebounds, making 12 of 18 free throws. Spencer contributed 17 points to the Huskies’ offense with six field goals in nine attempts and five free throws.
Fairfield’s next game is slated for Saturday, December 21 at Wisconsin-Green Bay with a tip-time of 1 pm CST.Fairfield University goalkeeper Matt Turner earned the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week for his performance last week. The senior helped the Stags post a 1-0-1 record over the two-game run.
Turner turned in a pair of shutouts in his two starts last week, making three saves to keep Siena off the scoreboard on Wednesday night and tallying eight saves in a 0-0 draw with MAAC leader Monmouth University. The goalkeeper has not allowed a goal at home in more than 360 minutes dating back to the Army game on September 22nd.
For the season, Turner owns a 0.98 goals against average and a .803 save percentage. He has yielded just three goals in MAAC play which has resulted in a 0.48 goals against average against conference opponents.
The Fairfield University men’s soccer team, under Head Coach Carl Rees, enters this week’s action with a 4-4-5 overall record and a 3-2-1 MAAC mark. The Stags will travel to Quinnipiac University on Wednesday for a 2 pm match before hosting Rider University on Saturday night at 7 pm.
Four Fairfield University Student-Athletes Named to MAAC 35th Anniversary Team
***Stags Michalsin, Callaghan, Coleman, Santos Honored***
Fairfield University announced on Tuesday (June 18) that the men’s lacrosse program will join the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) as an associate member. The Stags will begin CAA competition in 2015 with the University of Delaware, Drexel University, Hofstra University, the University of Massachusetts, St. Joseph’s University, and Towson University.
DorisPrudence
Fairfield University goalkeeper Matt Turner (Park Ridge, N.J.) earned a roster spot on the 2016 New England Revolution of Major League Soccer (MLS). The senior signed with the franchise after receiving an invitation to the preseason camp as a trialist.
“I am very happy for Matt as he continues his playing career in the MLS,” Fairfield University Head Coach Carl Rees said. “His work ethic and skill level that he exhibited as a member of our program carried over to the professional ranks and will ensure his success as a member of the New England Revolution. I am grateful for the role that Coach Javier Decima plays in developing our goalkeepers and in particular preparing Matt for the next level.”
The goalkeeper spent the last two seasons as the Stags’ starting goalkeeper, getting the nod in 37 of the team’s 38 games played during that stretch. He played in all 18 games in 2015 and recorded a .793 save percentage with a 0.98 goals against average. Turner collected seven shutouts in just over 1750 minutes of action, playing every minute of the season. He earned a berth to the All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) second team.
As a junior, Turner led the nation in save percentage by stopping 89 percent of the shots he faced in 2014 (78 saves, 10 goals allowed) and helped the Stags lead the nation in shutout percentage by not allowing a goal in 72 percent of the games in which he played. He ended his season with a 0.50 goals against average. He earned two MAAC defensive player of the week awards and was named to the MAAC All-Tournament team after helping the Stags reach the championship game.
Turner was also a member of the Jersey Express of the Premier Development League (PDL) for the last two seasons. He helped the team reach the League’s semifinal game in 2014 and advance to the League’s Eastern Conference championship game in 2015.
Fairfield University (18-11, 12-7 MAAC), scoring the first eight points in the second half, registered a critical MAAC victory for a third place tie in the conference standings, defeating Siena College (19-11, 12-7 MAAC), 76-69, at Webster Bank Arena on Wednesday night.
It was Fairfield's sixth straight victory, the longest current winning streak in the MAAC, on Senior Night in Bridgeport. The Stags clinched a first-round bye in the MAAC tournament. Both Fairfield and Siena both have one game remaining in the regular season.
The Stags try to make it seven in a row Saturday afternoon at St. Peter's, with tip off at 2:00 pm in Jersey City. That's the regular season finale for both teams.
Sophomore Tyler Nelson iced the game, hitting two free throws to give Fairfield an eight point lead, 69-61, with 1:03 remaining. Nelson, 88 percent from the foul line this season to lead the MAAC, hit another pair in the final seconds to seal the deal. Nelson had 16 points to lead the Stags with freshman Matija Milin, also with 16 points, including two key free throws with less than a minute to go in the contest.
Coleman Johnson blocked five shots to spark the defense for Fairfield.
The Stags scored the first 10 points of the game, and never relinquished the lead. The Saints cut the lead to one in the first half, but Fairfield regained a 10 point bulge, and led 39-32 at the intermission.
Siena staged a late rally, cutting a Fairfield 17-point second half lead to three, but was unable to get any closer.
Fairfield continues to move up the Most Improved list as it improved to 18-11 overall this year following its 76-59 win against Siena. The Stags, which won seven games a year ago, are now tied for third at +11 in the win column from last year to this season, tied with Ball state (7 wins to 18 wins). Tennessee State at +14 (5 wins to 19 wins), and Arkansas-Little Rock (13 wins to 25 wins) at +12 wins are currently ahead of the Stags. After Fairfield, St. Joseph’s (13 wins to 23 wins) places next with +10 , followed by Southern Illinois (12 wins to 21 wins) at +9.
Fairfield was without two key players and its top freshmen: Curtis Cobb sat out with an ankle injury, and Jerry Johnson, Jr., who missed his third straight due to the death of his father in Memphis.
Fairfield has won nine of its last 11.
Fairfield evened the season’s series against Siena, avenging the Saints 91-76 win in Albany on January 7.
Fairfield registered an earlier statement victory over perennial MAAC conference standout Iona on January 24. Marcus Gilbert was the catalyst in the wire-to-wire victory with 32 points on the strength of seven three-pointers, in his third 30-plus point performance of the season.
According to the NCAA, Fairfield became the only team in the nation to put together a run of 20 or more straight points in a game this season when the Stags put together a lengthy run of points that turned a tied game into a win. Fairfield was tied with Niagara at 10-10 before netting 20 straight points to take command at 30-10 midway through the first half. The Stags went on to win the game by a 71-59 count. Earlier this season, the Stags scored 23 straight points against Maryland Eastern Shore that changed a 14-12 Fairfield lead into a 37-12 advantage. Indiana (28-point run), Coastal Carolina (25 point run), Virginia (23 point run), Western Kentucky (21 point run), and Kentucky (20 point run) are the other teams with one scoring streak.
Goalkeeper Matt Turner Earns Roster Spot With New England Revolution
Magical Day for Stags Senior Guard: Fairfield’s Kristin Schatzlein Tallies 1,000th Point In Thrilling Win Over Canisius
Two iconic college basketball broadcasters – CBS Sports play-by-play announcer Verne Lundquist and his longtime partner at CBS, NCAA analyst Bill Raftery, also the lead analyst for FOX Sports college basketball game coverage – will be the recipients of the second annual Fairfield University Basketball “Stags Lifetime Achievement Award: Leader of the Herd” for long and meritorious service on Wednesday night, October 22, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City, it was announced today by Fairfield Athletic Director Gene Doris.
Two notable Fairfield alumni, Mark Beckwith (’80) and Diane Oakley (’75), will be the inaugural “Stags Distinguished Service Award: Leader of the Herd” recipients in recognition of their unwavering support of Fairfield Athletics.
New York Daily News columnist Dick “Hoops” Weiss and Associated Press National College writer Jim “OC” O’Connell were last year’s inaugural “Stags Lifetime Achievement Award: Leader of the Herd” recipients.
The Basketball Tip Off event will begin with a reception at 6:00 pm, followed by dinner and awards presentation at 7:00 PM.Tickets are priced at $175. For tickets and more information please visit http://www.fairfieldstags.com/friends or contact the Office of Special Events via email at ose@fairfield.edu or by calling (203) 254-4000, ext. 2661.
Doris will be joined by head men’s basketball coach Sydney Johnson, women’s coach Joe Frager, and special guests in presenting the awards for “distinguished service and lifetime achievement with accuracy and journalistic integrity, while keeping the efforts of the student-athletes at the forefront.” Fairfield President Rev. Jeffrey von Arx, S.J. will be in attendance for the presentation ceremonies.
Bill Raftery is in his 30th season as an analyst for CBS Sports' college basketball coverage, while also serving as lead analyst for college basketball on FOX Sports, and an analyst for CBS Radio/Westwood One's coverage of the NCAA Men's Final Four.
Verne Lundquist first joined CBS Sports in 1982, during his tenure he has broadcast over 20 different sports for the Network. Currently, Lundquist serves as the lead play-by-play announcer for CBS Sports' coverage of college football, alongside analyst Gary Danielson. In addition he serves as a play-by-play announcer for the Network's coverage of NCAA Basketball, including the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. He provides commentary for the Masters, the PGA Championship, among other PGA TOUR events.
The “Leader of the Herd” plaques will be permanently displayed both in the Fairfield Athletics office, and at the Fairfield Stags Club in the Webster Bank Arena, “Home of the Stags,” in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
WFAN Radio update reporter Bob Heussler, the “Voice of the Stags on WICC Radio,” will serve as Master of Ceremonies at Fairfield’s Basketball Tip-Off Dinner.
“We are delighted to honor the accomplishments and careers of Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery, legendary broadcasters known for their enlightening commentary on college basketball,” said Doris. “Verne and Bill have furthered college basketball and the student athletes during distinguished careers, and truly have served both the sport and their profession in exemplary fashion with style and grace that is a model for aspiring broadcasters and for student-athletes as they prepare for their post-college careers.”
Fairfield University Soccer Standout Jenny Jacobs Named NSCAA National Player of the Week
William and Margaret Atwell to Receive Parent Leadership Award from Fairfield University on March 31
Fairfield University Women’s Basketball Announces
2015-16 Schedule; Stags Begin Season November 13th vs. LaSalle, MAAC opener vs. Iona December 2nd
Fairfield Freshman Burke named CAA Rookie of Year, Co-Player of Year; Behring, Neubauer Tabbed First Team All-CAA
Fairfield Basketball Season Tickets, Stags Club Memberships Go on Sale
***Court Layout Showcase on September 22 at Webster Bank Arena***
Season tickets for the 2015-16 Fairfield University men’s and women’s basketball seasons are now available for purchase. Stags fans will once again be able to purchase tickets for either team or a combo pack that includes a ticket to every home Fairfield basketball game throughout the regular season. A special event showcasing the new basketball court layout will be held at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, CT. on Tuesday, September 22nd.
The Fairfield men's team is coached by Sydney Johnson, and play their home games at Webster Bank; the women's head coach is Joe Frager, and the ladies play a majority of home game at Alumni Hall on the Fairfield campus, as well as several at Webster Bank as part of men's and women's doubleheaders.
Fairfield has also announced the first of many new initiatives designed to improve the game day experience for all Stags basketball fans. Beginning this season, the basketball court at Webster Bank Arena has been adjusted to create a formal student section at the baseline closest to the Stags Club.
All current season ticket holders are entitled to either renew their seats from this past season, or they may change to any other available seat at Webster Bank Arena. Those interested in purchasing season tickets are invited to Webster Bank on Tuesday, September 22nd to see the new court layout. Additional details regarding this event will be available shortly on FairfieldStags.com.
For assistance in purchasing season tickets or for more information, please contact Helen Smaldone, Fairfield’s Athletics Ticket Manager, during normal business hours at (203) 254-4136 or via e-mail at hsmaldone@fairfield.edu.
In addition, 2015-16 Stags Club memberships are now available at the price of $99 per person, with discounts available for young alumni (2005-15 graduates) and Fairfield Basketball alumni. This one-time fee includes a game day meal in the suite, a gift from Fairfield Basketball, pregame chalk talk with a member of the men’s basketball coaching staff and appearances from Fairfield University administration, staff and faculty throughout the season. The Stags Club includes a cash bar featuring signature Fairfield Stags drinks.
The complete Fairfield Men’s and Women’s Basketball schedules will be announced during the month of September on FairfieldStags.com. Additional game day enhancements will be introduced prior to the 2015-16 season.
Fairfield University head men's lacrosse coach Andy Copelin has plenty of bug spray. His star junior Colin McLinden suffers from arachnaphobia, but his “deathly” fear of spiders is superseded only by his ability as a playmaker, leading the ECAC in assists with 24. The Stags are on an eight-of-nine roll (a seven game winning streak was snapped). The junior has the Stags positioned as number 15 in the nation.
Fortunately, the eight-legged arthropods are not tending the opponents’ nets otherwise McLinden might be running in the other direction. Instead, Colin is weaving a tangled web on goalies throughout the country from Long Island to Massachusetts to Michigan.
A native of Madison, NJ, McLinden scored two goals and added another two assists to his dossier on Tuesday, moving into third all-time at Fairfield in career assists (64), as Fairfield routed Quinnipiac in a 15-10 victory, improving the Stags to a 10-3 overall mark.The (10-3; 2-1 ECAC) Stags close out the regular season on April 26 when they host Ohio State at Fairfield’s Lessing Field at 1:00 pm.Lacrosse is not the only sport McLinden follows. He keeps his eye on college football, too, so much so that he says: “I would love to have dinner with Johnny Manziel. I believe he is one of the best college football players ever. He will be the first pick in the NFL Draft. He knows when to work hard, when he can have fun, when he has to put his head in a book. I think it would be interesting and I would want to sit down and have dinner with him. LeBron James would have been a second choice.”
Colin McLinden is a proud native of New Jersey, so his affinity for the Jersey Shore makes the summer season almost as enjoyable as lacrosse season. “I love going down to the shore,” he says. “I go every summer, every Memorial Day weekend with my friends. Madison is a tight knit community. I have had the same friends since I was in 4th grade. We like to hang out and have fun.”
Still a lot of lacrosse left before heading to the shore.
McLinden Quotables
On how he has become such a great set up man
Fairfield soccer players Shannon Fay of Sayville, left, Carly Beyar of South Hempstead and Alanna Locast of Wantagh have seen their twitter handle (@SoccerGrlProbs) gain popularity since its start-up in 2011. It boasts more than 180,000 followers.
With soccer training, comes complaining.
And no gripes can match the sometimes sarcastic, often funny @SoccerGrlProbs Twitter grievances of three college players from Long Island.
New York, November 5 — John Starks, the former Knicks All-Star, Christopher Russo, the popular SiriusXM Radio personality, and Connecticut Post sports writer Chris Elsberry – all longtime Connecticut residents – will receive the inaugural Stags Award in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the local community in regard to Service, Teamwork, Achievement and Giving through Sports. The awards will be presented by Fairfield University Athletics and benefit the American Cancer Society. The ceremony and dinner will take place on Wednesday night, November 19, at the Harbor Club in Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, CT. The event begins at 6:30 pm.
Tickets for the Stags Service Awards are $80, and include a buffet dinner, a weekend pass to the six Coaches vs. Cancer Classic games, and a donation to the American Cancer Society. For tickets, please visit www.fairfieldstags.com or call the Fairfield University athletic ticket office at (203) 254-4136.
The Stags Awards will be part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic which will be hosted by Fairfield University Athletics on November 21-23 at Webster Bank Arena. The Classic will include three men’s basketball doubleheaders, featuring Sam Houston State University, University of South Dakota, Wofford University, and host Fairfield University. The Stags Service Award reception will benefit the American Cancer Society.
“The Stags Awards are a way for Fairfield University to recognize individuals in the greater Connecticut area for their work in their communities,” Director of Athletics Gene Doris said. “As a Jesuit institution, Fairfield University emphasizes the importance of making a difference in our community by giving of oneself for the benefit of others. I believe John Starks, Chris Russo, and Chris Elsberry epitomize the essence of the Stags Service Awards.”
A longtime Stamford, CT, resident, Starks played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the New York Knicks for eight seasons. He earned a spot in the 1994 All-Star Game, joining Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley as New York’s three representatives. Starks was a member of the Knicks 1994 Eastern Conference Championship team, and was named Sixth Man of the Year in 1997. He finished his career with over 10,000 points and 3,000 assists and holds the New York Knicks record for most career three pointers. The Tulsa, Oklahoma native founded the John Starks Foundation in 1994, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing financial assistance to high school seniors in the form of academic scholarships. In addition, the Foundation provides community programs focused on furthering the educational, recreational, and career development of children and their families. Each year, the John Starks Foundation awards academic scholarships to students from various Tulsa and New York/Tri-State area high schools. Scholarship recipients are selected based upon financial need, exemplary academic achievement, and a commitment to community service.
Sirius XM Radio’s Russo has called Connecticut home for nearly two decades since 1996. He has provided insight and commentary on college and professional sports for three decades, beginning with his stint in Orlando on WKIS. He worked two years at WMCA in New York before joining WFAN in 1988. Russo teamed up with Mike Francesa to form the exceedingly popular “Mike and the Mad Dog” program in September, 1989. He left WFAN to join Sirius/XM in 2008 where he anchored Mad Dog Unleashed. He also has a show on the MLB Network entitled High Heat which is also simulcast on MLB Network Radio. Russo remains active in the community through his work with youth and local sports programs. He has done work and made appearances for many local charitable organizations and has been honored by several charities for his efforts in making a difference in people’s lives. Chris, his wife Jeanne, and their four children Timothy, Patrick, Colin and Kiera reside in New Canaan.
Elsberry has provided insight to the local, regional, and national sports scene since joining the Bridgeport Post-Telegram/Connecticut Post in 1984. He had covered practically every professional championship game including the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA Championship, and the Stanley Cup. He has wrote about every professional sports team in the region and been a regular at most of the area’s college athletic teams. But more importantly, Elsberry has championed the cause of so many organizations, helping them reach out to the community through his stories and features. His ability to capture the essence of all that is good in sports, regardless of amateur or professional makes him an invaluable member of the Bridgeport community.
John Starks, Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo, Chris Elsberry To Receive Inaugural Stags Awards on Wednesday, November 19th; Connecticut Trio To Be Honored For Commitment To Community Service at Coaches vs. Cancer Benefit at Webster Bank Arena
Colin McLinden is a proud native of Madison, New Jersey, so while he may long for the summertime at the Jersey Shore during these wintry days, that desire is superseded only by his abilities as senior playmaker on Fairfield University men’s lacrosse team, where he led the ECAC in assists last year with 29, and helped the Stags to a 12-4 record as a junior.
His league-leading assists last year brought his career total to 67, placing him 3rd all time in Fairfield annals. He was also positioned 14th in the nation with 1.93 assists per game. McLinden didn’t only dish the ball but found the back of the net 22 times, which totaled 51 points for the season, leading the Stags. Colin has also been chosen by Inside Lacrosse as a Preseason All-American Honorable Mention, as well as being named part of the Preseason All-CAA team and the NEILA Second Team.
The Stags will kick off their season at home, hosting Holy Cross this Saturday, February 14th at 12 noon. They will be looking to have another great season this year. Fairfield was ranked 3rd in the preseason Coaches’ Poll for the CAA, a conference that the Stags have joined this year.
McLinden doesn’t mind scoring goals either. “I rank the two about even, but I do love setting my teammates,” he says. “The important thing is scoring. No matter who scores, even if I don’t get an assist or score, we are all pumped and huddle together.”
Colin has played lacrosse since he was a little tyke, so he is experienced beyond his years. “I got my first stick when I was 3 years old. My big brother was a big influence on me ever since I was 5 years old. He played at Virginia and won a national championship and I always wanted to follow in his footsteps. “
Lacrosse is not the only sport McLinden follows. He keeps his eye on college football, too, so much so that he says: “I would love to have dinner with Johnny Manziel. I believe he was one of the best college football players ever. He knows when to work hard, when he can have fun, when he has to put his head in a book. I think it would be interesting and I would want to sit down and have dinner with him. LeBron James would have been a second choice.”
Colin McLinden is a proud native of New Jersey, so his affinity for the Jersey Shore makes the summer season almost as enjoyable as lacrosse season. “I love going down to the shore,” he says. “I go every summer, every Memorial Day weekend with my friends. Madison is a tight knit community. I have had the same friends since I was in 4th grade. We like to hang out and have fun.”
Still a lot of lacrosse left before heading to the shore.
McLinden Quotables
On how he has become such a great set up man
"I played with some great players my freshman year. (Brent) Adams and (Sam) Snow paved the path for me. I would play off them."
"Now I play with some big time shooters. TJ Neubauer is a big shooter."
"Also helps that coach switched me from middle to attack. I can see the field more, see more cuts and where to pass the ball. Coach gives me the freedom to play on the field, trusts me to make the right play."
Madison, NJ’s McLinden Enjoys Jersey Shore, but Loves Assisting on Lacrosse Goals as a Senior at Fairfield
Fairfield University freshman guard Tyler Nelson (Bradford, Mass.) earned the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Men’s Basketball Rookie of the Week award after averaging 14 points per game in the three-game Coaches vs. Cancer Classic last weekend. Nelson scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Fairfield men's basketball team to an 80-72 overtime win over South Dakota, the final game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. He was the Stags' overall leading scorer in the three-game tournament, netting 42 points. He shot 65 percent from the floor in the three games (13 of 20) and 62 percent from three-point range (8 of 13). Nelson was perfect from the free throw line by making all eight attempts.
On the season, Nelson ranks second among his teammates with 11.3 points per game, one of two Fairfield student-athletes scoring in double figures through five games. He has appeared in four of the team’s five games so far, earning his first collegiate start against South Dakota. He logged 41 minutes in the overtime victory against the Coyotes, averaging 22 minutes per contest. Nelson is the leading scorer among all newcomers on the 2014-15 Stags roster.
The Fairfield University men’s basketball team, under fourth-year Head Coach Sydney Johnson, owns a 2-3 overall record. The Stags will return to action against Northeastern University on November 29. Game time is 1 pm. Fairfield plays its next home game on December 1 when it hosts Bucknell at Webster Bank Arena. The game will tip off at 7 pm. For tickets to the Bucknell game and all Fairfield University basketball contests, please visit the Webster Bank Arena box office or purchase online at www.ticketmaster.com..
FAIRFIELD'S TYLER NELSON NAMED MAAC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Fairfield guard Tyler Nelson (Central Catholic/Bradford, Mass.) earned his second Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) “Rookie of the Week,” with a hot hand from three point range to average 14.7 ppg for three games. The Stags freshman also won the award on November 24.
Nelson reached double figures in all three contests, beginning with a 15-point effort at Iona. He scored all 15 points from behind the line off a personal-best five three pointers in 10 attempts.
Nelson led the way in the 60-54 conference win against Marist on Friday night, logging 39 minutes, and pouring in 14 points while adding two assists and a steal. Against Monmouth on Sunday, Nelson duplicated his Iona performance with a career-high five three-pointers for 15 points, as he continued his excellence from downtown.
For the week, Nelson shot 43 percent from the field and 48 percent from three point range. He picked up four assists, four rebounds, and two steals.
Nelson is among the conference leaders in three-point field goal percentage and three-point field goals made per game. The guard has connected on 43.2 percent of his three-point attempts which ranks fourth in the conference. He is also averaging 1.9 three pointers per game which places sixth in the MAAC.
The Fairfield University men's basketball team, under Head Coach Sydney Johnson, plays a pair of games this week, beginning with a home game against Canisius College on Thursday night. The game tips off at 8 pm at Webster Bank Arena. On January 25, Fairfield will head to Marist College for its final regular-season match up with the Red Foxes.
FAIRFIELD GUARD TYLER NELSON NAMED MAAC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK; STAGS HOST CANISIUS ON THURSDAY NIGHT AT WEBSTER BANK ARENA
Fairfield freshman guard Tyler Nelson was a unanimous selection to the MAAC All-Rookie team, which was chosen by the conferences 11 head coaches. The Stags second leading scorer is joined by Kassius Robertson from Canisius College, Schadrac Casimir of Iona, Niagara University’s Dominique Reid, and Ayron Hutton of Quinnipiac University.
One of these five players will be named the 2014-15 MAAC Rookie of the Year, also selected by the head coaches of the league. The winner will be announced on Friday at 5:00 p.m. at the Postseason Awards Show located at the Swyer Theater at the Egg. The show will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
Nelson, a 6-foot-3, freshman guard from Bradford, Mass., was a unanimous selection to the All-Rookie Team. He averaged 10.3 points per game and 1.4 assists per game this season. Nelson shot a team best 84.9 percent from the charity stripe while being named MAAC Rookie of the Week twice during the season.
Fairfield’s leading scorer, forward Marcus Gilbert, was selected to the All-MAAC Third Team. The junior averaged 16.5 ppg, and led the Stags in scoring in 22 of Fairfield’s 30 regular-season contests.
Fairfield enters MAAC tournament play Thursday night (March 5th) as the 10th seed, on the heels of a disappointing 7-23 season. The Stags will face seventh-seed St. Peter's in Albany, New York, at the Times Union Center. Tip-off is at 7:00 pm. Nelson injured his ankle in the season finale on Sunday and will be a game-time decision in the opening round of the MAAC.
Fairfield’s Tyler Nelson Named to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference 2014-15 MAAC All-Rookie Team, selected by the league’s 11 head coaches; Stags play St. Peter's in first round of MAAC Championship on Thursday
Fairfield University Hosts Official Dedication of Rafferty Stadium with Lacrosse Doubleheader on Saturday, March 21st
Fairfield University will host the official dedication of Rafferty Stadium - its brand-new, state-of-the-art lacrosse venue - on Saturday, March 21st. The Stags will play a doubleheader with the women's team facing Manhattan at 2:00 p.m., while the men take on Villanova at 5:30 p.m.
The multi-million dollar stadium, first unveiled in regular season competition on February 14, is the result of the dedication and generosity of Fairfield alumni, parents and friends. The stadium is named in recognition of the principal leadership gift by Larry Rafferty (1964), his daughter, Kathleen Rafferty Hay (2003), and his son Michael Rafferty. The field will be named for Tim Conway (1976) and his family for his contribution.
“The ultimate goal for the Fairfield University men’s lacrosse team is simple – to win an NCAA Championship – and that is attainable. I believe that the men’s lacrosse program is on track to be in the top 10 annually,” said Eugene Doris, Fairfield's Director of Athletics.
"Fairfield University is showing a clear commitment to the lacrosse programs," said head men's lacrosse coach Andy Copelan, "and this only helps to solidify our place amongst the elite in our sport. College lacrosse is ever changing, but my belief in our future remains constant. We have much to be excited about and Rafferty Stadium will be at the core of it all."
The 3,500 seat stadium with grandstands along both sidelines features a beautiful FieldTurf playing surface along with a state-of-the-art lighting system. A Daktronics high-definition video scoreboard has also been installed, along with two team rooms, food, beverage and apparel concessions, restrooms, a box office and an entry plaza all on the ground floor. Rafferty Stadium also features a terrace level with a completely enclosed press box which includes a large media suite, two VIP suites and a production suite to support live streaming as well as the video capabilities of the scoreboard.
The 2015 Men’s Lacrosse team features a pair of Preseason All-America Honorable Mentions by Inside Lacrosse - Colin McLinden (Madison, NJ) and TJ Neubauer (Glen Arm, MD) - a duo joined by Max Buchanan (Wyckoff, NJ) in receiving Preseason All-CAA distinctions.
The Stags are competing in their first season in the CAA on the heels of a 2014 campaign which saw them tie the record for most wins in school history (12). Fairfield was ranked as high as 11th nationally last spring.
The women's team looks to continue its excellent play in the MAAC under the tutelage of head coach Mike Waldvogel. After capturing a share of the MAAC Regular Season Championship in 2014, they are ranked 3rd in the preseason MAAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Meghan Reda (Pleasantville, NY) and Chelsey Sidarass (Mastic Beach, NY) received Preseason All-MAAC honors this spring after earning First Team All-MAAC laurels in 2014.
The Fairfield women had a great debut in their first game in Rafferty Stadium, taking convincing victory over Sacred Heart by a margin of 11-2.
Fairfield lacrosse season ticket packages and individual game tickets are available now. For more information and for group rates, please contact the athletics ticket office at StagsTickets@fairfield.edu or (203) 254-4136 or visit FairfieldStags.com/tix.
Fueled by 16 saves from goalkeeper Tyler Behring, the Fairfield University men’s lacrosse team earned an 11-4 win over No. 20 Villanova on Dedication Day at Rafferty Stadium. TJ Neubauer led the Stags’ offense with four goals in the victory, which was broadcast live to a nationwide audience on ESPN3 and SNY.
With its third consecutive victory, Fairfield (5-4) has now defeated at least one ranked opponent (in the USILA Coaches’ Poll) in each of Head Coach Andy Copelan’s seven seasons at the helm.
Behring’s 16 saves mark a career high as well as the most by a Fairfield goalkeeper since Jack Murphy turned away 17 UMBC offerings on March 2, 2013. The sophomore netminder also collected three ground balls. After falling behind 2-0 early in the first quarter, Behring and the Stags’ defense kept Villanova (5-3) off the board until two minutes into the fourth frame – a span of 40:43 of game time. Matt Borda led the unit in front of Behring with a career-best nine ground balls to go along with two caused turnovers.
Neubauer’s four goals extended his team-leading total to 19 on the season. Tristan Sperry, who leads the Stags with 30 points, scored two goals and distributed two assists this evening while gathering four ground balls Charlie Schnider added three points with a goal and two helpers.
Seven Stags scored in total in the contest with Drew Federico,Colin McLinden, Jake Knostman and Joe Rodrigues each adding single tallies in the win.
Villanova’s first two goals came within the first 6:17 of play as the Wildcats grabbed a 2-0 lead with 8:43 left in the opening frame. The Stags responded with Schnider goal that started the team on what amounted to a run of eight consecutive markers. Fairfield carried a 5-2 lead into the half and an 8-2 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Jack Curran finally ended the drought for Villanova with a goal at 13:00 in the fourth quarter, but the Stags’ defense remained on point and the 8-3 advantage held through the midway point of the stanza. Neubauer completed his hat trick at 6:54 and, after the Wildcats snuck one more through, Neubauer and Rodrigues capped the effort with two goals in a span of 32 seconds to round out the 11-4 final score.
The Stags were outshot by the visitors, 40-28. Fairfield held a 27-21 advantage in ground balls and committed 15 turnovers while pressuring the Wildcats into 11 miscues.
The day began with a 12-3 win for Fairfield women’s lacrosse over Manhattan in the Stags’ 2015 MAAC opener. The official blessing and dedication of Rafferty Stadium – a new state-of-the-art facility at the University – was held in between ends of the doubleheader.
Up next, Fairfield begins CAA Lacrosse play for the first time next Saturday, March 28 at defending champion Drexel. The Stags will also play at Massachusetts on Saturday, April 4 before beginning a three-game, regular-season-ending homestand against CAA Lacosse foes with a visit from Towson on Saturday, April 11th.
The Alternate Routes, a band formed by Fairfield University alumni, are proof that hard work, dedication, and Stag pride can create worldwide success. The band is performing at the Fairfield Awards Dinner – celebrating a Tradition of Opportunity – on Thursday, March 26th, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel New York City. The event, which benefits The Multicultural Scholarship Fund, recognizes alumni, faculty and staff for the highest professional achievement, outstanding leadership, academic excellence, and meritorious service.
The honorees include Brian P. Hull, Elner L. Morrell, and Mark C. Reed. Both Hull and Reed have close ties to Fairfield Athletics. Hull is a former Stags lacrosse star, trustee and major donor to athletics; while Reed, the senior vice president and chief of staff at Fairfield, where he has overseen athletics for over a decade working closely with Athletic Director Eugene Doris.
Since 1960, Fairfield University has recognized its most accomplished alumni, faculty and staff for professional and personal achievements. We celebrate these individuals at the Fairfield Awards Dinner, which has raised more than $15 million dollars for scholarships to expand access to higher education for students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Individual tickets are priced at $500; and the price for 2005-14 graduates is $250. For additional information about the 2015 Awards Dinner, please contact Carla Supersano Sullivan '88 or Cindy Russo in the Office of Corporate Relations, or call (203) 254-4000, ext. 2927.
The Alternate Routes are a perfect fit to help celebrate. “To be recognized by such a community is an honor,” said Tim Warren ’03. “I hope our collective ability to dream dominates the spirit of the night.”
Eric Donnelly ’01 echoes the sentiment. “Whenever someone recognizes what you do, it’s appreciated, especially by the institution where it all started.” The Alternate Routes was formed in 2002 while Donnelly and Warren were undergraduate students at Fairfield University. Warren, a member of the Glee Club, was in need of a guitarist for a group he was forming.
“I originally hired Eric for a few gigs at a local club I was putting together,” said Warren. “We began writing songs the following summer and never looked back. We’ve stayed together this long because we’re both willing to bet our lives on our ability to succeed in a very hard business environment. I’ve only met one person in my life like that, and I started a band with him.”
Young alumnus, Kurt Leon ’07, was introduced to Donnelly by renowned bassist Brian Torff, professor of music at Fairfield. Leon and Donnelly played a few jazz shows together, and he officially joined the band as their drummer after his graduation from Fairfield University. “After a few gigs, I quickly realized that Tim and Eric were serious musicians who wanted to take their music as far as possible,” said Leon. “As a young drummer, those were exactly the type of musicians I wanted to surround myself with.”
The Alternate Routes’ worldwide hit single, “Nothing More,” was written after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The song commemorates their loved ones and, they say, celebrates human goodness and unity.
“Our goal was to stay positive, stay focused on the message,”Donnelly said. “A topic like what happened in Sandy Hook can be very difficult to think about, let alone write about. For me, more than anything, ‘Nothing More’ is about taking responsibility. Love, hate, war, and peace are not abstract concepts that happen to us, they are things that we collectively create everyday.”
“Nothing More” was played in the closing ceremonies of the 2014 Olympics, and the band has performed the song on several national television shows including The Oprah Winfrey Show and Live! With Kelly and Michael.
While their achievements can be celebrated in terms of names and numbers, these alumni are also hardworking and self motivated. They have remained work partners and loyal friends since their inception and the release of their first album in 2005.
“We’ve come upon many closed roads in our day,” said Warren. “And the willingness to continue, and to create new paths, has always been the main ingredient.”
When asked how the band feels about their success, Warren credits his experience at Fairfield University, and he anticipates many others at the Fairfield Awards Dinner will feel the same.
“Success, in my experience, is so closely related to our ability to reflect honestly and with gratitude. I think the Jesuits gave me that somehow, and I suspect many people in attendance will have a similar tale to tell.”
Fairfield Awards Dinner Young Alumni (2005-2014) tickets are half price and corporate sponsorships are available if you and your company would like to further support the cause. Fairfield's Alumni Association will be hosting an after-party that features our special guests The Alternate Routes in the ballroom right next to the dinner.
After securing the outright regular season title in the Colonial Athletic Association, the Fairfield University men’s lacrosse team will be the top seed and host for the upcoming CAA Championship. The semifinal rounds will be held on Thursday, April 30th, at Rafferty Stadium, followed by the CAA Championship Game on Saturday, May 2nd, at the new, state-of-the-art facility on the Fairfield campus.
Last Friday night, the Stags scored the first five goals of the regular season finale against visiting Hofstra, and the Fairfield defense made the early run stand up in a 5-4 win on Senior Night at Rafferty. With the victory, Fairfield clinched at least a share of the CAA regular season title. Fairfield (9-5, 4-1 CAA) then won the outright regular season crown and earn the right to host the CAA title games when Towson lost at Drexel last Saturday afternoon.
The Stags’ semifinal opponent on April 30th will be fourth-seeded UMASS at 7:00 PM. Fairfield topped the Minutemen, 10-9, on April 4 in Amherst. Towson and Drexel will meet again in the first semifinal matchup at 4:00 PM. The Dragons hosted and topped the Tigers, 11-10, last Saturday to complete the CAA regular season. Both games will air live on CAA.tv.
The advancing teams will meet on May 2nd in the 2015 CAA Championship Game at 1 p.m. The contest will air live on the American Sports Network (ASN).
Tickets
Adults: $10.00
Children (13 and under): $5.00
Students of participating schools are admitted free with valid school ID. All tickets are for general admission seating.
More information will be available throughout the week on FairfieldStags.com and CAASports.com.
Last Friday against Hofstra, five different Stags scored as Fairfield jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the first quarter. Tristan’s unassisted tally at 13:00 started the scoring followed by a Jake Knostman goal assisted by Drew Federico. Joe Rodrigues added a goal off a Sperry assist, TJ Neubauer sent home his team-leading 29th goal from a Colin McLinden feed, and Dave Fleming added an unassisted goal with 42 seconds left in the period to account for the 5-0 lead
Though the Stags would not score again, Fairfield’s defense put forth one of its strongest efforts of the season, including two scoreless quarters.
Reigning CAA Rookie of the Week Will Fox turned in another strong showing at the faceoff ‘X’. Fox went 7-for-11 with six ground balls. Rounding out the effort was Joe DeLasho, who won one of his two draws attempted.
This year, the Stags’ marked their second consecutive regular season title; Fairfield won the 2014 ECAC Lacrosse League regular season crown in the league’s final year of existence. The victory is also the third game in which the Stags allowed a season-low four goals, the eighth (and fourth consecutive) game of the season decided by one goal and the lowest-scoring performance in a victory since defeating Air Force, 4-3, in 2010.
Fairfield Men's Lacrosse Earns Top Seed; Stags Host CAA Championship at Rafferty Stadium April 30th and May 2nd
Fairfield vs. UMASS, Drexel vs. Towson in Semi-Finals
Sports collectors can bid on memorabilia signed by the likes of New York Giants football legend Harry Carson, Masters champions Arnold Palmer and Phil Mickelson, and baseball All-Stars Dellin Betances and Daniel Murphy, as well as a variety of fantasy packages, in support Fairfield University Athletics by visiting http://fairfield.edu/athletics/golfouting (click Visit Our Live Auction Page) at the "Hall of Fame Golf Outing Auction" through Sunday, May 10th.
Silent auction donations are welcome (please e-mail OSE@fairfield.edu with any questions).
The Fairfield Athletics Hall of Fame Golf Outing and HOF Inductions on Monday, May 11th, at The Patterson Club in Fairfield, Connecticut, includes lunch, a day of golf, and concludes with the Hall of Fame induction ceremony dinner. This event is a fundraiser for Fairfield Sports Performance, which will impact all of the Stags varsity student-athletes, as well as the Fairfield Rugby Club.
Here is the list of items available in the on-line auction:
- New York Yankees Dellin Betances signed baseball
- New York Mets Daniel Murphy signed baseball
- Former New York Yankee/Philadelphia Phillie Jim Kaat signed baseball
- New York Yankees Brett Gardner signed baseball
- New York football Giants Harry Carson and Antrel Rolle signed football, both are Super Bowl champions
- New York football Giants Steve Weatherford, Howard Cross, Chris Canty, and Karl Nelson signed football – all are Super Bowl champions
- Arnold Palmer signed photograph (framed)
- Phil Mickelson signed Masters Flag
- New York Knicks John Starks signed basketball
- Brooklyn Nets Mason Plumlee signed sneakers
- New York Rangers Rick Nash signed puck or New York Rangers Ryan McDonagh signed puck
- Four box seats to a 2015 New York Mets Home Game at Citi Field (game subject to availability).
- Two tickets to the Coca-Cola Suite at Fenway Park
- Golf Foursome at THE COURSE AT YALE
FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS ON LINE AUCTION THROUGH MAY 10th INCLUDES ARNOLD PALMER AND HARRY CARSON MEMORABILIA, AND SIGNED BASEBALLS BY BETANCES, GARDNER, MURPHY AND KAAT
The Fairfield University athletic community will induct five former student-athletes into the Athletic Hall of Fame on Monday, May 11th, at The Patterson Club in Fairfield. Kate Abromovitch ’93 (Women’s Basketball), Dani Brown ’03 (Field Hockey), Doug Ciacci ‘65 (Men’s Rugby), Page Driscoll Syron ’98 (Women’s Basketball), and Kelly Steele Aldrich ’05 (Women’s Swimming) will comprise the Class of 2015, which is the 33rdHall of Fame induction class.
The event is part of the 2015 Athletic Hall of Fame Golf Outing presented by USI Insurance Services. Golfer check-in begins at 11 a.m. and, following 18 holes on the course, the reception and induction dinner will take place at The Patterson Club beginning at 6 p.m.
Abromovitch finished her career as one of the program’s top scorers and still remains among the top 20 in scoring with 1,494 points. She emerged as one of the program’s first three-point scoring threats, netting 159 three pointers in 114 career games. Over her last three years with Stags, she averaged 1.6 three-point field goals per game. Abromovitch was an excellent passer as well, dishing off 212 assists during her career. She capped her four-year stat by earning All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) first team honors as a senior.
Brown had a knack for scoring when the team needed it most, establishing the school record with nine career game-winning goals. She remains in the top five in most scoring categories at Fairfield, including fourth in both career points (81) and career goals (35). Brown netted 34 goals over her final three seasons, posting 12 goals and five game-winning goals in her senior season. Brown was a two-time All-Patriot League first teamer and received a berth to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-Region team as a senior. She also earned the Fairfield University William Wallin Award for her demonstration of the highest levels of sportsmanship, character, and leadership on and off the field.
Ciacci was a co-founder of the Fairfield University Rugby Football Club in the Fall of 1963. He was named the team captain in his senior year, serving as the team leader and “on field” coach in that role. Under his guidance, the team reached the championship game of the New York’s Sevens, the nation’s most prominent seven-a-side tournament. He was the team’s top scorer during his two seasons with the team. The program named the team most valuable player trophy after him in tribute for his contribution and role in the development of rugby on the Fairfield University campus.
Driscoll Syron averaged 11.0 points per game over career which resulted in over 1,100 career points. She currently ranks 16th all-time in career scoring average and 19th all-time in career scoring. The forward earned the MAAC Tournament Most Valuable Player award after helping the Stags collect the 1998 conference title and bid to the NCAA tournament. Driscoll Syron earned All-MAAC First Team accolades and was a member of the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) team in her senior season and All-MAAC second team honors as a junior.
Steele Aldrich was a two-time captain for the women’s swimming and diving team, serving in that role for the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. Over her career, she placed in the top six at 20 events during the MAAC championships which included seven individual events and 13 relays. Upon her graduation, Steele Aldrich was the individual record holder in the 100-yard free and the 200-meter freestyle. She also was a member of seven record-setting relay teams in the 200 medley, the 400-yard and meter free relays, the 800-yard and meter free relays, and the 200-yard and meter relays. Steele Aldrich was a three-time MAAC All-Academic selection.
Reservations for the golf outing and the Hall of Fame dinner can be made online at http://fairfield.edu/athletics/golfouting. A silent auction will be held during the event with online bidding starting on April 17.
FIVE TO BE INDUCTED INTO FAIRFIELD ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME ON MONDAY, MAY 11th; GOLF OUTING AT THE PATTERSON CLUB
The Fairfield University women’s lacrosse team will meet No. 11 Princeton on Friday, May 8 at 7 p.m. in the NCAA Championship First Round. The MAAC Champion Stags and Ivy League Champion Tigers will play in Stony Brook, N.Y., with the winner advance to play host and sixth-seeded Stony Brook on Sunday, May 10 at noon.
The Stags advance to their first NCAA postseason since 2009 following this afternoon’s 9-7 win at top-seeded Canisius in the 2015 MAAC Championship Game.
FairfieldStags.com will announce additional details as they become available throughout the week.
Yesterday’s win marked the Stags’ third MAAC Championship (2001, 2009, 2015) overall and the second during the tenure of Head Coach Mike Waldvogel. Junior goalkeeper Chelsey Sidaras was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament and was joined on the All-Championship Team by Courtney Chmil, Alex Fehmel, Meghan Reda and Colleen Reynolds.
MAAC Champion Stags Draw No. 11 Princeton in NCAA First Round
A pair of wins this afternoon led to a good news, bad news scenario for the Fairfield University softball team. By virtue of its 4-3 and 7-1 wins over Manhattan Collegeon Sunday afternoon, the Stags earned a piece of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular-season title, tying Canisius College with a 15-5 conference record. The bad news is that two of Fairfield’s five losses were against the Golden Griffs, giving Canisius the right to host next week’s MAAC tournament in Buffalo.
Still, the two victories completed a strong regular-season finish for the Stags. After winning one of its first four MAAC games, Fairfield won 14 of its last 16 conference match ups. And, today’s sweep allowed the Stags to hit the .500 mark for the first time this season at 21-21, quite the accomplishment since the squad started the year with a 1-9 mark.
It was appropriate that today was Senior Day at Alumni Softball Field as the team’s three seniors all figured into the sweep. Sam Frungillo drove home three runs in the second game, including the first two of the game which proved to be all the team would need in its 7-1 win. Frungillo also picked up a hit and an RBI in the opener. Sammy Ruffolo picked up a pair of hits with a run scored and an RBI, while Brianna Levick also had a hit and scored a run in the twin bill.
In the first game, both teams would score all of their runs in one at-bat, beginning with a four-run fifth inning that started with a walk by Nicole Capra. After being sacrificed to second, Molly Roche ripped a single to right field that brought Capra home with the first run. Lauren Filicia followed with a triple to make it 2-0, and then scored off Ruffolo’s sacrifice fly. Tori Reed started things up again with a single and promptly stole second to reach scoring position. Frungillo sent a single up the middle for the Stags’ final run.
The fourth run was key because Manhattan would score three runs in the top of the seventh, earning three walks to start the rally. Briana Matazinski brought home the first Jasper run, while the second crossed the plate despite a brilliant turn of a double play by Kristen Ball. The last run scored off a pinch-hit single from Andi Stallard. Nicole Gardon, who came in after the three walks, closed out the game with a grounder for the 4-3 win.
In the second game, Frungillo gave Fairfield a fast start with a two-run double to left-center field that made it 2-0 after an inning. The Stags tacked on a run in the third inning as Frungillo walked and Ball tripled her home. Manhattan put a run on the board in the fourth inning to close the gap to 3-1.
Fairfield broke the game open with three runs in the fifth inning, courtesy of a three-run pinch-hit home run from Roche. Destinee Pallotto went the distance to earn her ninth win of the season, yielding five hits and a walk against eight strikeouts.
The Stags will play their first MAAC tournament gameon Thursday when it plays the winner of the game between the three seed and the six seed. The game time will be determined later. Check back on www.fairfieldstags.com for more MAAC Softball Tournament updates.
Stags Sweep Manhattan To Earn Piece Of MAAC Regular-Season Title
Fairfield University star pitcher Mike Wallace, recently drafted 907th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 30th round of the MLB Draft, dreams of someday joining the likes of famous late-round success stories like as Yankees World Series champion hurler Andy Pettitte (22nd round), and Mets’ legends and All-Stars Keith Hernandez(42nd round), and Mike Piazza (62nd round).
“It’s always been my dream to be a professional baseball player and I can say that I am now living my dream right now,” Wallace said.
Wallace, from nearby Madison, New Jersey, was a First-Team All-MAAC Pitcher this season, became an innings machine for the Stags, tying for the conference lead and fourth nationally with six complete games. He ranks second in Stags’ history in walks allowed per nine innings, with a staggering 1.87 walks per nine innings.
“It’s a great tribute to his hard work and everything he has put in over three years,” Head Coach Bill Currier said. “We saw his ability and his potential and witnessed the way he works, so it’s very rewarding to see his hard work getting recognized.”
Wallace is the 13th player in program history to be drafted and the first since Mark Bordonaro was selected in the 25th round to the Seattle Mariners in 2012.
Piazza, Keith, Pettitte Were Memorable Later-Round Picks
FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY PITCHER MIKE WALLACE SELECTED IN 30th ROUND (907th OVERALL) BY PITTSBURGH PIRATES HOPING TO LIVE THE DREAM
Curtis Cobb (Fall River, Mass.), Jerry Johnson Jr. (Memphis, Tenn.), Jonathan Kasibabu (Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo), Scott King, Jr. (Derry, N.H.) and Thomas Nolan (Fairfield, Conn.) will join the Fairfield University men’s basketball team for the 2015-16 season. Cobb, Johnson Jr., Kasibabu, and King Jr. signed National Letters of Intent to enroll and play at Fairfield University last week, while Nolan verbally committed in the fall of 2014.
Cobb, a 6-4, 175-pound guard, comes to Fairfield as a highly-rated player who is ranked sixth in Massachusetts (Class of 2015) by ESPN. He is listed as a three-star recruit by several recruiting services including Scout, Rivals, Yahoo Sports, and 24/7 Composite. He earned First Team All-NEPSAC honors as a member of Wilbraham & Monson Academy and was a 2015 McDonald’s All-America nominee.
“Curtis is incredibly skilled,” Head Coach Sydney Johnsons aid. “He can pass, dribble and shoot at a high level. Our system demands that we have skilled players so we spend a lot of time developing these three fundamentals with our team. Skill wise, Curtis arrives with a head start relative to most incoming freshmen. We’re excited to welcome Curtis and his mother Grace Alves to our program and look forward to his further development on and off the court.”
Johnson Jr., a 6-2, 200-pound guard, joins the Stags’ program after prepping at Notre Dame Preparatory School in Fitchburg, Mass. He previously attended Houston High School in Tennessee. Johnson was ranked 13th in Massachusetts (Class of 2015) and 48th overall in New England by New England Recruiting Report (NERR). He was listed as a two-star recruit by VerbalCommits.com and was picked as an All-Metro player in Memphis following the 2013-14 campaign. His versatile scoring and high basketball IQ helped Notre Dame Prep qualify for the prestigious 2015 National Prep Championship tournament.
“Over the course of the year, Jerry went from a high school senior from Memphis who many people in the Northeast had not known to one of the best postgrad players in the competitive arena of East Coast prep school basketball,” Coach Johnson said. “Jerry made his name through his standout skills as a shooter, finisher, passer and ball handler for the Notre Dame Prep basketball team. We expect Jerry to thrive in the classroom and on the basketball court and are pleased to welcome Jerry, his parents Pamela and Jerry Sr., and younger brother Jorr’don, to our program.”
Kasibabu attended Westtown School (Pa.) where he earned First Team All-Friends School League honors. The 6-8 forward also gained attention when he was labeled a “Player to Watch” at the Chick-Fil-A Classic earlier in the season. He was voted team captain by his teammates and helped the team post a 25-8 record en route to the 2015 Friends School League title. Before his time in the United States, Kasibabu was selected to the Euroleague Nike International Junior Tournament All-Tournament team in 2014 and was one of 12 players who were designated Top Prospect that showed best potential at the same tournament.
“Alongside his physical gifts of size and strength, Jonathan is comfortable playing at different spots on the floor and continues to expand his game accordingly,” Johnson said. “We expect Jonathan to be an impact player with his special blend of intelligence, hard work and passion. As importantly, Jonathan is an outstanding individual off the court and will be a great contributor to the Fairfield University community. We have many people to thank and welcome to the Fairfield University community in regards to Jonathan, namely his father Christian Kasibabu, his mother Germaine Iombe, stepmother Yvonne Ndua, family members Benedicte, Tony, Camile and Joel. We also thank Jonathan’s host family in Spain – Jose Javier Martin Vega, Cecilia Barber and Diego Martin and the entire Westtown School community.”
Nolan, a 6-3, 180-pound guard, stays close to home as a graduate of Fairfield Preparatory School. He was a First Team All-State selection (Class LL) in 2015 after securing Second Team All-State accolades as a junior. He is a two-time Connecticut Post All-Star and also collected two berths to the New Haven Register All-Star teams in 2014 and 2015. He secured the SCC Tournament Most Valuable Player Award in 2014. With his play, Fairfield Prep posted a 25-2 record and captured their first Class LL State Championship since 1997.
“Tom is a fierce competitor with a well-rounded skill set,” Johnson said. “He was a standout player with a relentless approach to the game under the tutelage of Fairfield Prep coach Leo Redgate. We are pleased to welcome Tom, his mother Rita, his father Dan and older brothers Ryan and Eamonn to our University and program.”
King Jr., a 6-10, 230-pound forward, transfers to Fairfield after spending three seasons at Stony Brook University. After a redshirt year in 2011-12, the New Hampshire native contributed to 71 wins in three seasons with the Seawolves. He ranked second on the team in three-point field goal percentage and fourth in three-pointers made as a sophomore and junior at Stony Brook. Overall, King shot 36 percent from three-point range and 74 percent from the free throw line over his Seawolves career. He graduated from Holderness School before enrolling at Stony Brook.
“Although Scott is a newcomer to our program, I have known him for many years and have always appreciated his work ethic, skill level, and passion for the game,” Johnson said. “Scott played for the same AAU program, MASS Rivals, that Tyler Nelson and Curtis Cobb played for. He was a valued player and honor roll student at Stony Brook and will earn his master’s degree in business psychology at Fairfield. He has great height, impressive athleticism, and deep range to the three-point line. We are grateful to welcome Scott, his parents Scott Sr. and Lisa and his sister Kelcey to our program.”
Cobb, Johnson Jr., Kasibabu, King Jr. and Nolan Will Join Fairfield University Men’s Basketball in 2015-16
While the victorious World Cup Champion U.S. Women's Soccer Team has received the most-deserved global attention recently, another group of leading ladies was also basking in the sun-glow of international victory last Sunday. Helena Orts, power forward for the Fairfield University Women’s Basketball Team, had been safely running with the Stags this past year, not “running with the bulls” in her native Spain like thousands of thrill-seekers annually.
But this summer, the 18-year-old has done plenty of running and enjoyed plenty of thrills as a member of the Spanish National Team in the FIBA Under-20 Euro Basketball Championship. Orts helped Spain to gore France in a 66-47 victory in the final on July 12, finishing a nine game run to the title. It was Spain’s fourth championship in five years.
The 6-2 Barcelona native completed her first college season this year at Fairfield before heading overseas to participate in the Euro Championship. Orts was joined by seven other American collegiates who were on the squad.
“It is an awesome feeling,” Orts said. “Being selected from thousands of people to represent my country, there are no words.”
In the nine games played throughout the tournament in Europe, Orts did a different kind of goring, as a catalyst on the inside, averaging 8.7 ppg and 4.8 rpg. The “Spanish Stag” registered double-digit scoring on four occasions, including a personal high of 18 points against the Czech Republic. Helena was a major contributor in the final with eight points and five boards, as Spain pulled away to the championship. Orts was second among all players competing in the tournament in two-point field goal percentage with 55.9 percent accuracy. Her consistency inside was vital to Spain’s victory.
In her freshman year, Orts played in 31 games, 12 as a starter. The Institut Secretari Coloma High School product averaged 4.4 ppg and 3.3 rebounds in 14.5 minutes a game during a building block rookie season.
“I personally think that I have improved a lot since the end of last year,” Orts said. “My teammates and the staff have taught me many things. I have become stronger and smarter and have learned how to adapt myself in a new environment.”
Along with Orts, the seven other American collegiate players on the Championship Spanish team include: Laia Flores (University of South Florida), Yaiza Rodriguez (Boise St.), Marina Lizarazu (Iona College), Leticia Romero (Florida St. University), Laura Quevedo (Played for University of Miami in 2014-15 Season), Judith Sole -- (Duquesne University), and Sara Zaragoza (University of Portland).
The experience of playing overseas as a team mate and against other high caliber players in a tournament of this magnitude is sure to help Helena grow as a player and major contributor in the Stags’ lineup.
Happy that she’s not running with the bulls in her native land, and elated and more experienced with the international competition, Orts is now poised to run with the Stags for bigger and better things under Fairfield head women's coach Joe Frager. The coach has to be singing Tito Puente's hit made famous by Santana, Oye Como Va; and it is going just fine, thank you very much! Frager likes the rhythm of this song very much indeed.
Fairfield Forward, Barcelona's Helena Orts, Runs with Stags, Not Bulls; Gores Way to FIBA U20 European Championship with Spanish National Team
Growing up in Ardsley, Fairfield women’s basketball shooting star Casey Foley heard the word “basketball” quite a few times. Hoops was essentially a family tradition. Her brother Tommy and sister Kristen both played the sport atArdsley High School. Her aunts also grew up with the love of the game (one played collegiately at Catholic University). And her father, Tom, was a Division I basketball athlete, coincidentally at one of Fairfield’s MAAC rivals – Iona College.
“Sports are big in my family,” Foley said. “Basketball was one that I really liked so I just stuck with it.”
Although she will be entering her first year of college, a big transition for any collegiate athlete, Foley will be playing in a conference that her family is quite familiar with. Her dad appeared in 44 career games for Iona, during the first-ever Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) season in 1981-82. During his collegiate career, the Gaels appeared in both the NIT and the NCAA Tournament, losing to Virginia by a single point in 1984.
Despite the fact that his daughter will now be competing against his alma mater on the women’s side, Foley says that her father is excited about the chance for her to play at Fairfield.
“He was actually real excited and wanted me to play at Fairfield,” Foley said. “He was the person pushing me the most. He thinks it’s a great place and is real excited that his daughter is attending Fairfield.”
Casey grew up with the family’s passion for basketball and found unparalleled success at Ardsley High School, where she was a shooting star. She was named the Class B Player of the Year, and poured in a team-high 22 points to bring the Panthers into the Class B finals. She says that the basketball lessons she has learned from her family, especially her dad has helped improve her game.
“I was taught to always work hard and stay focused,” Foley said. “Never lose your mind in the game.”
Foley will begin her first season for the Stags this coming season. Regarded as one of the area’s top point guards, and an athlete who understands the importance of defense, Foley will fit well into Fairfield head coach Joe Frager’s system.
And her family will love to watch her play basketball.
All In The Family…
Fairfield’s Casey Foley Continues Family Basketball Tradition
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – For the third time in the last four seasons, the Fairfield University women’s soccer team was picked to finish second in the MAAC Preseason Poll. The Stags have reached the MAAC Championship Match in two-straight seasons, and were picked just one spot behind Monmouth College, the defending MAAC Regular Season Champions.
It’s the fourth consecutive year, Fairfield has been chosen in the top two spots in the poll, after being selected to win it all in 2013. Local Connecticut products, senior Karolyn Collins (Norwalk HS)
and junior Anna Borea (New Canaan HS), both were selected to the Preseason squad, representing the defensive backs.
“I think it’s appropriate as Monmouth is a solid program,” Head Coach Jim O’Brien said. “In my opinion they deserve the number one ranking. It is continuing to be a great rivalry and we look forward to hopefully proving the rest of the league wrong.”
The Stags have been chosen in the top two spots in each of the last four seasons, but this year showed just how much respect the league coaches have for the program. Fairfield graduated six starters and nine contributing athletes, including their First-Team All-MAAC goalkeeper, the 2013 MAAC Defensive Player of the Year, their All-Conference central midfielder, and their second leading scorer. Despite those losses and a new team that will include 13 newcomers, the Stags were still thought highly enough to be chosen second.
“It’s a great honor to have the respect of my peers,” Coach O’Brien said. “I think it also proves that we are able to put forth a consistent product. Even though we lost so many significant players, that we have the ability to regroup very quickly.”
The Stags were helped last year by a variety of players including Collins and Borea. Collins, a co-captain of the team, had a monstrous end of the season notching two goals and two assists in the final four games. Collins, who is arguably one of the most athletic players in the conference, had her success playing out wide and scored the game-tying goal in the MAAC Championship Match. Borea has developed into one of the best defenders in the conference, playing almost every minute last season. Borea helped the Stags to a 0.82 goals against average, which ranked second in the conference.
“Karolyn is growing and developing into one of the top players in the league,” O’Brien said. “She had an outstanding year last year in particular within our conference. She’s definitely highly thought of among the coaches in the MAAC. And Anna is, in my opinion, arguably the best defender in our league.”
Monmouth racked up 117 points to garner the top spot, as the Hawks return seven of their nine All-MAAC selections. Fairfield tallied 105 points, edging out the defending champions Rider who had 103. Niagara (78), Siena (71), Manhattan (54), Iona (52), Canisius (49), Quinnipiac (44), Marist (37), and Saint Peter’s (16) rounded out the rest of the selections.
The reigning MAAC Offensive Player of the Year, Rider’s Tara Ballay, was chosen as the Preseason Player of the Year.
The Stags begin their season on Friday, August 21, as they travel to participate in the Maine Black Bears Tournament, starting with a match against the host squad Maine at 7:00 pm.
Fairfield Women’s Soccer Picked Second In MAAC Preseason Poll;
Local CT. Products Karolyn Collins, Anna Borea Selected on MAAC Preseason Team; Stags Debut on August 21 at Maine Black Bears Tournament
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Her mom always told her, “You have to find what you love.” So Kendra Landy did it all: Gymnastics, soccer, swimming, track, softball, and basketball. The Fairfield University incoming freshman has had her taste with nearly every sport before her high school days, giving her a wide range of experiences.
“I get bored easily so it’s nice to have something to do,” Landy said. “I was excited to play basketball every time it came around because it was one of my favorites.”
Basketball might have been one of Landy’s favorites growing up, but it was not the sport she always focused on. At Mercy High School, Landy was one of the best soccer players in the area, being named a three-time All-State selection for the Tigers. During her career, she would tally over 50 points with 18 goals and 15 assists as a midfielder.
“I always like to play more than one thing because it keeps your head off pressure,” Landy said. “If I just played basketball I would be under constant pressure with myself to get better. Soccer was always a stress reliever.”
It was not until her sophomore year that Landy thought basketball could be the sport she would play in college, being helped by her coach Tim Kohs.
“I never really thought about playing college basketball, it was always just soccer,” Landy said. “My coach kind of pulled me over to the side and said ‘you could play it’ and behind my back he was calling coaches.”
Landy was starting to get noticed by the college basketball coaches. After all, she was a point guard with “great vision” and an “excellent on the ball defender” as coach Kohs describes her. Those were the skill sets that made Fairfield interested in the crafty point guard.
Right from the start Landy felt at home at Fairfield, not just because of the distance away from her hometown of Durham, Conn., but because the coaching staff gave her a sense of familiarity.
“The coaches reminded me a lot of my high school coach who is the one who made me fall in love with basketball in the first place,” Landy said. “So the playing style, the coaches, and the school in general are the reasons I chose Fairfield.”
Landy will now have the ability to focus on a single sport for the first time in her life.
Although she might not be able to compete on the soccer pitch in college, like
she thought she would for the longest time, Landy has used all her experiences
through sports to find what she loves. And she chose basketball.
Her mom might have been right after all.
Fairfield’s Kendra Landy Loves Hoops, Makes Transition from Soccer Field to Hardcourt
On Wednesday, September 16, Fairfield mascot Lucas the Stag — featuring a "maker over" with a slicker, sportier look — invites alumni, faculty, staff, students and fans to attend Fairfield University Night at Citi Field as the New York Mets take on the Miami Marlins.
The first pitch is at 7 p.m. and will be delivered by none other than Lucas himself. Lucas will also be available throughout the game to take pictures and sign autographs.
A limited number of seats have been put on hold for the Fairfield University community to purchase. Each ticket is $33.00 on the field level of the first base side. The last day to purchase tickets at this group rate is August 24.
To purchase tickets through the Fairfield University group rate, please click here https://groupmatics.events/#/event/fairfield. Those attending should meet at the Citi Field “Apple” for exclusive Stag giveaways. All are encouraged to proudly wear Fairfield University colors during the events.
This event is part of an unveiling of a new and improved Lucas the Stag, from August 31 through September 16. Throughout that period, Lucas will make appearances at student and Fairfield community events, as well as spend a full day in New York City on September 16.
In addition, 1,000 Lucas the Stag bobble head dolls will be distributed to the Fairfield University community through the first week of September to celebrate Lucas’ new look. Lucas, accompanied by student-athletes, will hand deliver bobble heads to offices across campus and the first 300 students to attend the September 4 women’s soccer game at 7 p.m. will also receive the commemorative item. Lastly, a social media scavenger hunt will give clues to bobble heads hidden throughout campus. Visit FairfieldStags.com and follow @FairfieldStags on Twitter for more details as they are finalized.
Fairfield University Night at Citi Field on September 16 to Unveil Lucas with Mr. Met Welcome
Fairfield University fabulous freshman Colin Burke put a cherry atop the Stags men's lacrosse regular season sundae by taking home honors as both Colonial Athletic Association Co-Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, and was joined by teammates TJ Neubauer and Tyler Behring as First Team All-CAA.
The Lloyd Harbor, Long Island-product becomes the CAA’s first-ever freshman to be named Player of the Year which he shares this spring with Ryan Drenner of No. 12 Towson. Burke’s Rookie of the Year laurels come on the heels of seven CAA Rookie of the Week selection this, including four during the five weeks of CAA play.
Burke is the leading scorer in the CAA with 41 goals and 55 total points. The Stags’ attackman leads all freshmen in goals per game (13th overall) nationally, and is third among rookies (34th overall) in points per game. Burke has scored at least one goal in all 15 games of his rookie campaign and totaled three or more points in 12 contests (80 percent).
“I am proud of our All-CAA honorees, our coaching staff and our entire team for overcoming a slow start to the season to win our third consecutive regular season title,” says head coach Andy Copelan, in his eighth year at the helm of the Stags. “The guys receiving individual honors would be the first to tell you that these are team awards, and that’s what I am most proud of. This is a special group of young men.”
Burke becomes the highest scoring freshman in Fairfield lacrosse history in both goals and points. He has tallied the first 40-goal season and the first 55-point season by a Stag since 1999 when Spencer Steele ’00 scored program-record 48 goals and matched Matt Callaghan ’98 with a program-best 75 points.
Also a two-time ECAC Rookie of the Week during the regular season, Burke, who was also a two-time ECAC Rookie of the Week during the regular season, is Fairfield’s third straight Rookie of the Year at the conference level. Will Fox was the CAA Rookie of the Year in 2015, and Dave Fleming was tabbed as the ECAC Lacrosse League Rookie of the Year in 2014.
Burke rounds out his treasure-trove of All-CAA honors as a First Team selection and a member of the CAA All-Rookie Team.
Senior midfielder TJ Neubauer joins Burke on the First Team All-CAA is. Now a two-time member of the All-CAA First Team. The product of Glen Arm, Maryland, ranks second in the conference behind his teammate with 2.15 goals per game and is eighth in the CAA with 2.38 points per game. He also ranks second in the CAA – first among non-faceoff specialists – with 3.92 ground balls per game.
Neubauer has scored 28 goals with three assists this spring. He has totaled 119 career points and shares third place with J.T. Groarke (1999) on the Stags’ all-time goals list with 106. The two-year co-captain of the Stags, who was a fourth round draft pick by the Rochester Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse, is one point shy of joining Fairfield’s all-time top 10 in total points. He would tie Travis Nelson (2008), who amassed 120 career points from 2005-08.
During a stellar Stags career, Neubauer is a two-time First Team All-New England selection and was named First Team All-ECAC in 2014.
Junior goalkeeper Tyler Behring completes the Stags trio that were tabbed for First Team All-CAA laurels. The Little Silver, New Jersey, native is the CAA and ranks eighth in the nation with 11.60 saves per game. His .559 save percentage slots him second in the CAA (12th nationally), while his 9.63 goals-against average is fourth in the CAA and 26th in the country.
Behring, who garners his second career All-CAA distinction after a Second Team nod in 2015, was named the USILA Defensive Player of the Week after making 19 saves in an 8-6 CAA win over UMass on April 16. His 19 saves is the most by a CAA goalkeeper this season aside from Behring’s own 23-save showing against Bucknell on Feb. 20.
Senior co-captain Charlie Schnider was selected Second Team All-CAA as a midfielder for the second straight year. Schnider is the CAA’s leader and ranks 17th nationally with 1.93 assists per game. With 29 assists and 10 goals, he also slots fourth in the Association with 2.60 points per contest.
Schnider is four assists shy of the Fairfield single-season record of 33 helpers established by Groarke in 1997 and matched by Callaghan in 1998. Groarke and Callaghan are the only Stags to have ever reached the 30-assist mark in a season; each Fairfield Athletics Hall of Famer did so twice in their respective careers.
Sophomore faceoff specialist Will Fox is now also a two-time Second Team All-CAA honoree after earning the distinction in addition to CAA Rookie of the Year laurels last spring. The Mullica, New Jersey, product ranks second in the CAA with a .556 win percentage (134-of-241) as the Stags’ primary faceoff man. He also ranks second on the team behind Neubauer with 47 ground balls. Fox won a career-best 20 draws (on 25 attempts) in the win over UMass Lowell on March 1.
Fox ranks sixth on Fairfield’s all-time list with 134 faceoff wins this season and slots eighth with his .556 winning percentage. He has taken 444 draws in his two seasons to date, ranking fifth in program history with 253 wins and second all-time with a .570 winning percentage.
Rounding out the Stags’ Second Team All-CAA selections is junior defenseman Andrew Eidenshink, who started all 15 games. A native of Wyncote, Pa., Eidenshink, collected 15 ground balls with five caused turnovers. The Fairfield defense has allowed 9.8 goals per game and with the man-down unit ranking second in the CAA and 17th nationally with a .690 success rate.The defensive specialist has been charged with marking the opposition’s top attackman, with performances including limiting Hofstra’s Sam Llinares to one goal (man-up) and shutting out Cole Shafer of Drexel. Llinares and Shafer were both Second Team All-CAA honorees this year.
In addition to its All-CAA teams, the Association also released its 2016 All-Academic Team. Among the honoree’s was Fairfield junior co-captain Jake Knostman. An Accounting major with a 3.99 cumulative grade-point average, the Bainbridge Island, Washington-bred Knostman has scored 13 goals with two assists this spring to go along with 10 ground balls in the Stags’ midfield.
After claiming a share of the CAA regular season title, Fairfield has earned the No. 2 seed in the CAA postseason. The Stags will challenge third-seeded Hofstra on Thursday, May 5 at 7 p.m. in the semifinal round. The 2016 CAA Championship is being held at top-seeded Towson’s Johnny Unitas Stadium.
FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Fairfield University freshman Curtis Cobb (Fall River, Mass.) earned the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Rookie of the Week award after scoring a career-high 25 points in the Stags' 84-77 win over Canisius College in men's basketball last Friday. It was Fairfield's third straight victory.
The guard made nine of his 18 attempts from the floor including four of nine from three-point range. He also added a career-high five assists plus three steals. Cobb was equally effective from three point range, making four of nine shots. It was Cobb’s second 20-point performance in the last three games.
Cobb is tied for the MAAC lead for steals per game in conference play, averaging 1.9 per game. Overall, Cobb is tied for 11th in the MAAC for steals per game with 1.3 along with teammate Tyler Nelson. He is also tied for 15th in the MAAC for overall three-point field goal percentage at .375.
Cobb is the top scoring freshman for the Stags, averaging 10.1 points per game. He is one of five freshmen in the MAAC to have a double-digit scoring average. The guard has reached double figures in five of the last six games, averaging 15.5 points per game during the six-game stretch. He posted 20 or more points in two of his last three games.
Cobb becomes the third Fairfield freshmen to garner the MAAC Rookie of the Week award, joining Jonathan Kasibabu (November 23) and Jerry Johnson Jr. (December 28).
The Fairfield University men's basketball team, under Head Coach Sydney Johnson, will play three games this week beginning with tonight's match up with Quinnipiac University. The week continues with a road game at Monmouth University on February 5 and a home game on February 7 against Manhattan.
Stags Lock Down No. 20 Villanova for 11-4 Win on Dedication Day at Rafferty Stadium
Fairfield Baseball Coach Bill Currier Named MAAC Coach of the Year
FAIRFIELD, Conn — Mark the date January 28, 2016 in the history books. Fairfield University women’s basketball program reached the 600-victory milestone in the school’s Division I history with a 63-56 victory over Rider University. The Stags achieved the plateau in front of the home crowd at Alumni Hall on George Bisacca Court on the university campus. Head coach Joe Frager has piloted Fairfield to 166 of the 600 wins.
“I made it a point after the game to mention that to them,” Frager said. “They gave a really loud cheer. They were really proud of that fact.”
When the final buzzer sounded, Kristine Miller looked at her teammates and said: “Girls, congratulations on the 600th win.” The entire team celebrated on the court having contributed to an important piece of Fairfield history. Kelsey Carey led the way for the Stags with 20 points, the fifth time in her career. “First ‘Schatz” gets 1,000 points, now we are at 600 wins. It’s great to be a part of that especially with this group of girls and coaches.”
Carey was referring the Kristin Shatzlein reaching the 1,000 point plateau of her career on Sunday (January 24). The Stags are back at the .500 mark at 10-10, winning four of their last five games as they head into the final month of the season.
“I think we’re really moving in the right direction,” Miller said. “I think this is really a confidence boost for us and I think this is just a big confidence builder. I think this is huge and we just want to keep going and put W’s in the win column.”
Fairfield will hit the road for their only away game in an eight-game span when they take on Monmouth Saturday (February 1) at 4:00 PM on ESPN3.
FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY SOCCER FORWARD JENNY JACOBS NAMED MAAC CONFERENCE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Fairfield's Curtis Cobb Named MAAC Rookie of Week
Fairfield University senior forward Marcus Gilbert earned a berth to the 2016 All-Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA), as the organization announced its annual postseason awards. Gilbert received a spot on the MBWA third team and was one of five Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) student-athletes to earn recognition from the association.
Gilbert received his accolades after averaging 16.7 points per game which ranked fifth among the MAAC scoring leaders. The forward netted 1,661 points during his career which ranks fourth all-time in Fairfield basketball annals. He places second in the Fairfield record book for career three-point field goals, registering just over 240 long-range jumpers.
This season, the forward netted 20 or more points in 12 games including three contests that exceeded the 30-point mark. He posted three double-doubles this season, highlighted by his 32 points and 10 rebounds against Iona. Gilbert capped his senior season as a member of the All-MAAC first team after being named All-MAAC third team selection in 2015.
The Fairfield University men's basketball team, under Head Coach Sydney Johnson, finished the 2015-16 campaign with a 19-14 overall record and a 12-8 MAAC mark. The Stags advanced to the MAAC Tournament semifinals and earned a berth to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT).
Fairfield Star signs in Lithuania
Derek Needham will play with BC Siauliai
The dream of playing professionally is one shared by everyone who picks up a basketball. For Derek Needham, it is a dream that has come true. After a career full of shining moments at Fairfield University, Needham has signed a one year deal
with BC Siauliai to play professional basketball in Lithuania.
Needham, a native of Dolton, Illinois and product of De La Salle high school, enjoyed four years as a Fairfield Stag that were full of accolades. Needham was named MAAC Rookie of the Year as a freshman in 2009-10 and went on to become an All-MAAC honoree each of his four years at Fairfield from 2009-13. He finished his Fairfield career ranked third in school history in both points (1,875) and assists (535) and is the all-time leader in three pointers with 277. By any measure, he is one of the greatest players Fairfield has ever seen.
Needham caught the eyes of scouts with his performances earlier this summer in China. Needham was named to the NetScouts.com US All-Star team that played a nine game schedule. His inspired play during the tour, which included a tournament best 24 points in a win over China, played a big role in convincing scouts that he was ready to play
professionally.
Needham will join BC Siauliai of the Lithuanian league. He follows in the footsteps of former teammates Rakim Sanders who signed in Israel, and Ryan Olander who signed in Lithuania, as he becomes the third Fairfield player in the last two years to sign a contract overseas. The Stags and head coach Sydney Johnson have a program that can help great players realize that dream of playing professional basketball. It might not be at the Garden or Barclays Center, but Derek Needham's dream has come true.
Jake the Quake Earth-Shaking at Plate:
Fairfield University Senior Salpietro Named Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week; Leads Stags to NCAA Regional in Lubbock
FAIRFIELD MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH SYDNEY JOHNSON NAMED FINALIST FOR PROSSER MAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
Fairfield Salutes “Voice of the Stags” on WICC (600 am) and WFAN Radio Personality Bob Heussler Bobblehead Day on Saturday, February 15, 2014 Benefits Fairfield University School of Nursing
***Remembers his Loving Wife Marcia***
Join the Fairfield University basketball family in celebrating Bob Heussler's 25th anniversary as the play-by-play broadcaster for Stags basketball!
Bob Heussler will be celebrating 25 years of broadcasting Fairfield University men’s basketball games this year. To recognize his contribution to Fairfield University, the Department of Athletics will commemorate this anniversary with Bob Heussler Bobblehead Day on February 15 against Rider. The bobblehead is sponsored by the Connecticut Sun, with whom Bob has served as play-by-play announcer since the team's arrival in 2003. Bob has also been a WFAN Radio (660 AM/101/9 FM) personality and update man since 1993, and has been known as “Mr. Met” for more than a decade, dubbed so by the FAN’s Mike Francesa and Mike’s former co-host Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo.FAIRFIELD'S MAURICE BARROW NAMED MAAC SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR
***Queens Product from Christ the King H.S.***
Incoming Fairfield University freshman swimmer Ore Cherebin of St. George, Grenada, will represent her country in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.
The future Stag amphibian has already qualified, and will compete for the first time in the Olympics, garnering the Grenadian colors at the Commonwealth Games in 2014, the FINA World Championships in 2013 and 2015, and the 2015 Pan American games.
Cherebin will be competing in the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke events.
“Being an Olympian is a huge honor and means more than words can describe,” says the butterfly and breaststroke artist. “I almost can't believe it. It's a dream come true to be able to be part of team Grenada in Rio.”
The 2016 Summer Olympics will get underway on August 5th in Rio.
And speaking of swimmers from the Caribbean, Fairfield University Swimming and Diving Head Coach Janelle Atkinson-Wignall will serve as an ESPN Caribbean Commentator for the Olympic Games, so the Stags will be well represented in Rio.
The two-time Olympian and seven-time Jamaican "Swimmer of the Year" is the first woman to coach both the men's and women's swimming and diving teams in school history. A native of Kingston, Jamaica, Janelle's Jamaican roots are very important to her. “I am proud of my culture and heritage.”
More on Atkinson-Wignall: She is yet another Kingston super star, like fellow Jamaican Patrick Ewing, the Knicks Hall of Famer. Janelle says that she “has never met Ewing, but that would be pretty cool. The Caribbean islands overall admire all the people that come from there, they band together.”
The former UConn assistant coach competed successfully in two Olympiads, first in the 2000 Sydney Games and then the 2004 Athens Games. She finished fourth in the 400-meter freestyle, very close to obtaining a medal, and ninth in the 800-meter freestyle in Sydney. She also swam in the 200 and 400-meter freestyle during the games in Athens.
“Looking back (at the Olympic experience), it was an amazing achievement,” she says. “Olympics are stressful. You start off the sport for yourself, you compete for yourself. Once in the Olympics, you are competing for your family, your friends, a whole country. You are representing them. There is a lot of pressure there. It can be overwhelming.”
Reflecting on her fourth place finish in 2004, and her near-miss for a medal, she says:
“I just wanted to be in the final race. That was my goal. I started off tenth overall, and when I saw that after the prelims I was ranked third, I was mad because I did not want to race in the middle lanes; I wanted one of the outer lanes. I thought I would be embarrassed and finish last. Before the race, I decided that it didn’t matter what would happen and took the pressure off myself. I could see the 1st and 2nd lane and saw that they were still behind me. I had no idea what position I was in until the end. I only knew that I wasn’t last.”
Atkinson-Wignall was however a medalist at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England, the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia, and the 1999 Pan-American Games in Winnipeg, Canada.
In addition, she is a seven-time recipient of the Jamaican Swimmer of the Year award and a six-time nominee for the Jamaican Sportswoman of the Year.
“Swimming is not a highly publicized and supported sport in Jamaica, but it is great to be considered and nominated for the Athlete of the Year award among the track and field athletes and other more publicized sports.”
Amadou Sidibe named Men's Basketball Captain
FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Forward Amadou Sidibe (Bronx, N.Y.) was named team captain for the 2013-14 Fairfield University men's basketball season. The announcement was made by Head Coach Sydney Johnson. Sidibe, who attended Cardinal Hayes High School before enrolling at Fairfield, will enter his sophomore season in 2013-14.
"Amadou exemplifies everything that we want our student-athletes to stand for at Fairfield University," Coach Johnson said. "I expected a lot from Amadou as a freshman, and he exceeded our expectations."
Sidibe capped his inaugural season with the Stags by earning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Co-Rookie of the Year as well as a spot on the conference's All-Rookie team. He finished his freshman campaign by averaging 5.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. He played in all but one regular-season game in 2012-13, starting 28 of his 34 appearances in his rookie season.The forward posted two double-doubles during the season - 11 points and 11 rebounds against DePaul and 12 points and 11 rebounds versus Loyola. He secured a career-high 13 rebounds against Manhattan on February 12, a mark which he tied against Saint Peter's in the MAAC tournament first round. He earned the MAAC Rookie of the Week on January 25 after he averaged 9.3 points and nine rebounds in a 2-1 week for the Stags.
"He is an extremely tough and a competitive player on the court," Johnson said. "Amadou is always working to become a better player. After inserting Amadou in the starting line-up in our fifth game of the season, he went on to lead our team in rebounding."Sidibe also excelled in the classroom this year, earning a spot on the University's honor roll in the fall and is on course to receive the same recognition in the spring."
With all of Amadou's promise and accomplishments, he remains a humble young man and is well respected by his fellow teammates and coaching staff," Johnson said. "Amadou has a bright future ahead of him at Fairfield University and I am pleased that he will represent our team as a captain."
Colin Burke continued his scoring wizardry with four goals to lead the Fairfield University men’s lacrosse team to a 10-5 win at Delaware, as the Stags clinched a share of its second consecutive Colonial Athletic Association regular season title on Friday night (April 29).
Burke, a six-time CAA Rookie of the Week, established two program records in what has been an awesome rookie campaign.
Fairfield (8-7, 4-1 CAA) shared the CAA regular season crown with No. 12 Towson, as the Tigers beat Hofstra at on Long Island Saturday afternoon. Towson will host the tournament at the Johnny Unitas Stadium.
Including the ECAC Lacrosse League regular season title in 2014, the Stags have won a third straight regular season championship under head coach Andy Copelan.
The CAA Championship Semifinals are set to be played on Thursday, May 5 with the CAA Championship Game slated for Saturday, May 7. FairfieldStags.com will have updated information regarding the postseason as details are finalized and announced by the CAA.
With his four goals Friday night, Burke vaulted himself to the top of a two of all-time lists in program history. His 41 goals this season surpass the Fairfield freshman record of 38 established by Spencer Steele ’00. The Long Island native’s 55 points this spring eclipse the freshman record of 53 set by J.T. Groarke ’99. Steele and Groarke are both members of the Fairfield Athletics Hall of Fame.
In the overall Fairfield record book, Burke has tallied the first 40-goal season and the first 55-point season by a Stag since Steele set his program records of 48 goals and 75 points in 1999.
Nico Panepinto also racked up four points with two goals and two assists. Charlie Schnider and Joe Rodrigues each added a goal and an assist, and Conor Dalton handed out two helpers.
Rounding out the scoring Friday night were TJ Neubauer and Jake Knostman with one goal apiece and Charlie Horning with one assist. Neubauer’s goal marked the 106th of his career, tying Groarke for third on Fairfield’s all-time scoring list.
Defensively, Tyler Behring made 12 saves, including seven in the fourth quarter as the Stags pulled away to a victory. In unit in front of Behring was led by four ground balls and three caused turnovers by Matt Borda.
Delaware sees its 2016 season come to an end at 5-10 overall and 2-3 in the CAA.
After making 19 saves to lead the Fairfield University men’s lacrosse team to an 8-6 win over UMass this past Saturday, Tyler Behring has been tabbed by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) as the USILA/Lids Team Sports Division I Defensive Player of the Week.
Behring’s 19 saves came off of 25 shots on goal from the Minutemen, as the junior turned away 76 percent of the tries on target from the visitors. After Fairfield fell behind 1-0 just 30 seconds into the game, Behring saved the next 14 shots on goal, keeping UMass off the board for 37:34 of game time to facilitate a 6-0 Stags run. He also collected four ground balls as the club improved to 7-6 overall and 3-0 in the Colonial Athletic Association.
Nineteen saves marked the most by a CAA goalkeeper this season aside from Behring’s own 23-save showing against Bucknell on Feb. 20.
For the season, Behring leads the CAA and ranks seventh in the nation with 12.23 saves per game. His .556 save percentage slots him second in the CAA and eighth nationally, while his 9.59 goals-against average is third in the CAA and 27th in the nation.
Also on the national landscape, Behring is a nominee for the Inside Lacrosse StringKing Player of the Week. Voting for the award will close later on Wednesday.
Last spring, Behring was named CAA Player of the Week, Inside Lacrosse Player of the Week and NCAA.com Division I Defensive Player of the Week after stopping 16 shots with four goals allowed in a win over then-No. 20 Villanova.
Fairfield returns to action this Saturday, April 23 with a trip to No. 10 Towson.
Fairfield Stars Hope to Shine in Lone Star State; Stags Face Texas Tech in NCAA Regional Friday
George Bisacca To Be Honored At Fairfield University-University of Bridgeport Men’s Basketball Exhibition Game Set For November 6 At Alumni Hall
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – A superb 3.97 grade point average as a math and finance major has positioned Fairfield University women’s soccer star Brenna Brown to be recognized as one of the more accomplished student athletes in the country. The junior forward became the fourth player in the history of the program to be named to the CoSida Academic All-District team, and the first since 2008.
“It is a tremendous honor to have been recognized by this organization,” Brown said. “I have always taken pride in my academic success and it is very important to me to be a competitor both on the field and in the classroom.”
“I’m very happy for Brenna,” Head Coach Jim O’Brien said. “She is an outstanding student-athlete. She excels in the classroom consistently and she is one of our brightest student-athletes I have coached here in my career. "
Brown has maintained a 3.97 grade point average during her four semesters at Fairfield, and has earned a perfect 4.0 in two semesters. As a Math and Finance major, Brown has been named to the MAAC Academic Honor Roll every year she was eligible.
“Although I hold myself to a very high standard, I am also greatly encouraged by my parents and coaches to work hard in school,” Brown said.
“Like all of our student-athletes, we place a high value on the academics and in the recruiting process with Brenna we knew that she was an outstanding student,” O’Brien added. “She takes a great deal of pride in doing well academically and she continues to prove.”
On the pitch, Brown led the team with 14 points, tying for the team lead with four assists, and tallying five goals, one shy of a team-high. In her career, Brown has notched 12 career goals, second among active players.
“Because of my competitive nature, balancing school and sports has always been my main focus,” Brown said. “I am proud that my hard work has paid off.”
“It’s great for all our student-athlete to place a priority on their success on the field and in the classroom,” O’Brien said. “She is truly one of those people who exemplifies on how we place a high emphasis on that.”
The Academic All-District™ teams include the student-athletes listed on the following pages and are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada. This is the fifth year of the expanded Academic All-America® program as CoSIDA moved from recognizing a University Division (Division I) and a College Division (all non-Division I) and has doubled the number of scholar-athletes honored. The expanded teams include NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III participants, while the College Division Academic All-America® Team combines NAIA, Canadian and two-year schools.
First-team Academic All-District™ honorees advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.
For more information about the Academic All-District™ and Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit www.cosida.com
FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL TO HONOR LEN ELMORE, JACKIE MACMULLAN AND BOB WOLFF WITH THIRD ANNUAL LEADER OF THE HERD AWARDS ON NOVEMBER 10 IN NYC
Fairfield’s Kelsey Carey Named College Sports Madness MAAC Player of the Week
NEWTON, Mass. – Fairfield University men’s lacrosse standouts – senior TJ Neubauer and freshman Colin Burke – been recognized by the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association as All-NEILA selections. Neubauer was slotted as First Team All-New England for the third time in his career, while Burke caps his rookie season with a Second Team nod.
A First Team All-CAA honoree for the second straight year, Neubauer netted 31 goals with three assists as senior co-captain of the Stags in 2016. He is the third player in program history with three 30-goal seasons to his name, joining Fairfield Athletics Hall of Famers Spencer Steele ’00 and Matt Callaghan ’98. He also ranked third the CAA – first among non-faceoff specialists – with 55 ground balls.
Neubauer ranks third all-time at Fairfield (behind Steele and Callaghan) with 109 goals during a stellar career. His 122 total points scored for the Stags rank 10th all-time in program history.
Prior to the start of his senior campaign, Neubauer was selected as the 34th overall pick in the Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft by the Rochester Rattlers. Neubauer is the 18th Stag to be drafted or signed into the MLL ranks – the ninth to have played for Head Coach Andy Copelan at Fairfield.
Burke adds Second Team All-New England laurels to a standout freshman campaign with the Stags. The first-ever freshman voted CAA Player of the Year, Burke split that award with Towson junior Ryan Drenner this spring, and also earned CAA Rookie of the Year honors. The seven-time CAA Rookie of the Week during the 2016 season, Burke set Fairfield freshman records and led the CAA with 46 goals and 63 total points.
Burke’s 46 goals rank second all-time in a single season, and his 63 points are the sixth-most in program history. Both totals are the highest by a Stag since Steele scored a program-record 48 goals en route to tying the program mark of 75 points in 1999.
The only Stag to record a point in every game this spring, Burke currently leads the nation in goals by a freshman with 2.71 markers per game (15th overall) and slots second among freshmen (28th overall) with 3.71 points per game.
Fairfield men’s lacrosse won its third consecutive regular season title in 2016, wrapping up the spring in the CAA Championship Game. The Stags finished at 9-8 to clinch their fifth consecutive winning season and their seventh in eight campaigns under Coach Copelan.
New York, November 20 — Fairfield University head volleyball coach Todd Kress, who led the Stags to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season championship on the strength of a 19-9 record, has been named the Lids Team Sports MAAC Coach of the Year. It is the fourth time that Kress has received MAAC Coach of the Year accolades.
Additional MAAC honors go to Skyler Day and Megan O’Sullivan, who have been named First Team All-MAAC, and Oyinkansola Akinola, tabbed for the MAAC All-Rookie Team. O’Sullivan, sophomore Megan Theiller and sophomore Sydney Buckley were also recognized as members of the MAAC All-Academic Team. Eligible student-athletes must have completed at least two semesters at their current institution and hold a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or higher.
Skyler Day is the only sophomore and the only conference newcomer to earn First Team All-MAAC honors in 2015. The outside hitter, who spent her freshman campaign with the University at Buffalo, ranks third in the MAAC in kills with a team-leading 3.67 per set and adds 2.90 digs per set en route to 16 double-doubles. Day has filled out the statsheet this with 31 service aces, 28 blocks and 23 assists.
A native of Minooka, Illinois, Day’s statistics improved further during the 18-match MAAC slate. The sophomore posted 3.82 kills and 3.16 digs per set against conference foes.
Junior co-captain Megan O’Sullivan collects her first-ever All-MAAC honor as a member of the First Team. O’Sullivan hit .309 while averaging 2.70 kills per set on the offensive end and was the driving force behind Fairfield’s defensive effort with 0.97 blocks per stanza. The most recent MAAC Player of the Week, O’Sullivan hit .500 this past week in three Fairfield victories as the Stags locked up the regular season crown and top seed in this weekend’s MAAC Championship.
O’Sullivan, who hails from Phoenix, Arizona, had a MAAC-leading .350 hitting percentage during conference play with 3.08 kills, 1.00 digs and 0.94 blocks per frame.
The Stags have now had at least one First Team All-MAAC honoree in five consecutive seasons – tying Siena for the longest active streak in the conference – with multiples student-athletes earning a First Team slot in three of those campaigns.
MAAC All-Rookie Team selection Oyinkansola Akinola has stepped into the Stags’ starting lineup for 17 matches – appearing in a total of 26 contests to date – during her freshman season. Akinola sent home 1.59 kills per set and had a hand in 83 Fairfield blocks (0.87/set).
Against MAAC competition, the right-side hitter from Schaumburg, Illinois ranked ninth in the conference with a .255 hitting percentage while sending home 1.70 kills per set. Akinola also ranked ninth at the net during the MAAC slate with 0.89 blocks per contest.
Kress collects MAAC Coach of the Year honors for the fourth time in his career. He won the award in three straight seasons from 1996-98 as a part of his first tenure with the Stags, also claiming 1998 AVCA District II Coach of the Year laurels after guiding Fairfield to a program-best 35-2 final record. The 20-year Division I head coaching veteran, who returned to the Fairfield sidelines in 2014, has led a club featuring nine freshmen and 10 total newcomers to a 14-4 MAAC record as a part of a 19-9 overall tally this season.
Kress, who was also the 2001 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year as the head coach at Northern Illinois, is Fairfield’s all-time leader in wins (132) and matches coached (198) while ranking second all-time in win percentage (.667). The youngest coach in NCAA history to reach 200 career wins when he attained the milestone as head coach at Florida State in 2004, Kress holds an all-time head coaching record of 366-261.
As the top seed in the MAAC Championship, which is set for Nov. 20-22 at Siena’s Alumni Recreation Center, the Stags have earned a bye to Saturday’s semifinal round. Fairfield will play the winner of the matchup between fourth-seeded Manhattan and fifth-seeded Rider.
FAIRFIELD, Conn—Fairfield University women’s soccer forward Jenny Jacobs could not have ended her first collegiate season in a better way. In her final game of her freshman season, Jacobs became the first Stag in seven years to record a “hat trick” with three goals against St. Peter’s, and has been named the MAAC conference Rookie of the Week for her efforts.
It is the first weekly award in the collegiate career of Jacobs.
“I am happy that Jenny has been acknowledged as the top freshman I the final week of the season,” Head Coach Jim O’Brien said. “Jenny has worked hard all year long and her solid finish bodes well for her future.”
Jacobs, a product of Connecticut’s Tolland High School, tallied the goal which would end up being her first collegiate game-winner just two minutes into the match, and the striker later would give the Stags some breathing room. She scored in the 28th and the 32nd minute, marking the only Stag to notch a hat trick in a single half since 1996.
She also became the first Fairfield rookie to tally three goals since Nicole Cavallaro accomplished the feat in 2007.
“She has so much potential and we have merely scratched the surface on her development,” O’Brien said. “With a rigorous spring season, Jenny will improve dramatically in preparation for the fall of 2016.”
The weekly rookie honors is the first by a Stag since 2012 when Veronica Saez won the award in four different weeks.
BEFORE FAIRFIELD: Jacobs comes to Fairfield from Tolland High School where she was an All-Conference, All-State, and All-New England during her senior season. The three-time All-State selection holds the school's career goals (60) and assists (42) record. Jacobs was also an excellent student while with Tolland, as a member of the National Honor Society and achieving high honor roll every semester of high school. She was also a CIAC Female Scholar Athlete...Jacobs was also an integral member of the Tolland track squad who won the State Open this season, the first in program history. Jacobs was the long jumper and finished first with a personal best 17-feet, 3.25 inches in the Class M Championship as the Eagles repeated as champions.
PERSONAL: Born to Steven and Marcia Jacobs on December 21, 1996...Has a sister Katherine...Major is Behavorial Neuroscience.
O'BRIEN ON JACOBS: "Jenny will provide depth in the attack. Another great athlete with outstanding speed and has a great knack to be productive whether it's pitching in with goals or assists."
Fairfield's Marcus Gilbert Named Third Team Selection by Metropolitan Basketball Writers
FAIRFIELD PITCHER JOHN SIGNORE IS THE MAAC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
The Fairfield University baseball team has turned up the heat with the dawn of springtime weather finally arriving in the Northeast. The Stags have caught fire and put together a 10-game MAAC conference winning streak, the longest in program history and second longest in the country this season. Only Alabama’s 18 triumphs in a row is better than the Fairfield skein of victories.
The roll has put the Stags atop of the MAAC with a 10-2 record (19-18 overall) after being selected to finished 8th in the preseason poll. Only two other teams have been selected lower and finished with more wins, Iona in 2010 and Quinnipiac in 2014.
Fairfield has found its form behind the trio of rightfielder Jake Salpietro, shortstop Michael Conti and first baseman Mac Crispino. Jake and Michael are both hitting well over the .300 mark. Salpietro has had an incredible bounce back year in his senior season, batting a blistering .345 with 28 RBI, leading the club in both categories after hitting a meager .203 last year. He also shares the conference lead in home runs with seven. Conti has been hitting the laces off the ball, as well, batting .333 for the year, second on the team, while knocking in 19 RBI. Crispino is second in both RBI with 20 and hits with 35 for the Stags. The slick fielding Mac has yet to make an error in 340 chances, with 317 putouts and 23 assists.
Starting pitchers Gavin Wallace (5-2), Kyle Dube (4-2) and Aaron Howell (4-2) have combined for 13 victories, almost 70 percent of the Stags total triumphs. Wallace and Dube have been the work horses with over 55 innings apiece. John Signore has been the hard luck hurler in the rotation with a 1-2 mark, but is second in the country in strikeouts-to-walk ratio and walks per nine innings, allowing only three bases on balls in 48.2 innings. He also leads the team with a tidy 2.77 ERA, and has struck out 40 batters so far. Mike Bonaiuto has led the bullpen corps with two saves and a 2.13 ERA.
The Stags winning streak began on April 2 against Rider, and they look to continue their roll on Saturday (twinbill noon and 3pm) and Sunday (12 noon)) at Manhattan in a three game series at Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls, NY. In the interim, Fairfield hosts non conference games vs. Sacred Heart (today, Tuesday April 26) and Stony Brook (tomorrow, April 27).
Fairfield’s Burke sets Rookie Records as Stags Clinch Share of CAA Lacrosse title; CAA Championship Begins Thursday
Fairfield Women's Basketball Reach 600-Win Milestone in Division I Program History January 28 against Rider
Fairfield University Athletic Director Gene Doris, Former Stepinac HS Basketball Coach Among ECAC Hall of Fame Class of 2016 Inductees
Hoops isn't the only sport that UNC excels at! Gene Doris, Fairfield University Athletic Director and chair of NCAA Division I lacrosse committee, is in center of "May Madness," presenting University of North Carolina captains and squad with the championship trophy after the Tar Heels stirring 14-13 OT victory over # 1 seed Maryland on May 30 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
The first unseeded team to win the title, North Carolina became the first school since Princeton in '94 to capture both the men's and women's championships in same year.
The Tar Heels also win the championship on the 25th anniversary of their last title in 1991. Doris is in his fourth year on the lacrosse committee, his first year as chair.
Oh, and Fairfield's performance in men's lacrosse is not too shabby either. The Stags captured the CAA regular season title this season, their third straight regular season championship, before falling to #11 nationally ranked Towson in the CAA tourney. Doris has been the Stags AD for 22 years.
Stags Receiving Votes in USILA Preseason Coaches’ Poll
Fairfield's 2016 Slate Includes 10 Teams Represented on the National Ledger
FAIRFIELD STAGS ANNOUNCE MEN’S BASKETBALL MAAC CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Fairfield University freshman hurler John Signore leads the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) with a stingy 2.77 ERA this season, and his best effort of the season earned the Wallingford, Conn. native MAAC Rookie of the Week for the first time. The rookie is also the nation’s leader in strikeout-to-walk ratio and fewest walks per nine innings.
Signore allowed a lone first inning run over nine innings in his only start of the week against Manhattan at Wappingers Falls, NY on Friday, Apr 29.
“He’s very deserving of this award,” Head Coach Bill Currier said. “He mixed three pitches for strikes, and got better as the game went on. He certainly kept the hitters off stride. He has the make-up. He loves to compete and we are excited that he is having such a great freshman year.”
Signore became the first MAAC freshman of the season to throw nine innings in a no-decision against Manhattan. Signore allowed one run in the first inning and then retired 10-straight Jaspers, allowing just one hit over the next seven innings. Signore also fanned six batters during the outing.
Signore moved his strikeout-to-walk ratio to 15.33-to-1, which is tops in the country. In his collegiate career, Signore has walked just three batters in his 57 innings of work.
Signore will be on the mound when the Stags host Canisius this weekend, starting with a noon doubleheader on Saturday.
Crisp-y at Plate, Behind Mic: Fairfield’s Big “Mac” Attack in MAAC
Giving Olympics a Stags Amphibian, Caribbean Flair:
Incoming Fairfield University Freshman Swimmer Ore Cherebin to Compete in ’16 Summer Olympics in Rio
Alternate Routes to Perform at Fairfield Awards Dinner March 26; Honorees Include Brian P. Hull, Elner L. Morrell and Mark C. Reed
***Worldwide Hit Single "Nothing More" Was Written After Sandy Hook School Tragedy, and Performed at 2014 Olympics Closing Ceremony***
Tyler Behring Named USILA Defensive Player of the Week
Junior made 19 saves in Fairfield’s 8-6 win over UMass on Saturday
Fairfield University Women’s Basketball Signs Three to National Letters of Intent
***Sam Kramer, Erika Schlosser, and Nicole Bus Commit to the Stags***
Cirillo World
Servicing Sports, Entertainment & Culinary public relations & management Clients since 1997
FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL TO HONOR BOB WOLFF, LEN ELMORE, JACKIE MACMULLAN WITH THIRD ANNUAL LEADER OF THE HERD AWARDS ON NOVEMBER 10 IN NYC
***Cited for Lifetime Achievement, Long and Meritorious Service***
Tracy Grand Slam Lifts Fairfield to MAAC Regular Season Title; Stags Are Top Seed in MAAC Tournament, Beginning Wednesday
Forward Maurice Barrow (Queens, N.Y.) was named the 2014 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) 6th Man of the Year, the second straight year that the senior has captured the award. The award was presented at the MAAC’s annual awards presentation at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Friday evening.
Barrow completed his senior season by averaging a team-best 14 points per game, and was the team’s leading or co-leading scorer in six of the last eight games. During the season, he was the top scorer in 17 games, highlighted by his career-high 26-point performance against Iona in December. He completed the double-double that night with 10 rebounds.
The forward finished his career with 1,309 points which places 15th all-time in school history, and added 709 rebounds throughout his career. He just missed the school record for career games as his 137 appearances was one shy of the mark.
FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY TO HONOR BROADCAST ICONS VERNE LUNDQUIST AND BILL RAFTERY WITH SECOND ANNUAL “STAGS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: LEADER OF THE HERD” FOR LONG & MERITORIOUS SERVICE TO COLLEGE BASKETBALL ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT, OCTOBER 22nd, AT GRAND HYATT HOTEL IN NEW YORK CITY
Michael McEvoy, a product of Fordham Prep and Fairfield University, is fighting for a great cause. The former high school track and lacrosse athlete and college rugby player has teamed up with friends from Connecticut and beyond to raise funds for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. McEvoy will be participating in the NYC Wall Street Decathlon (http://nyc.thedecathlon.org/competitors/357) with three friends. Five year participant and team captain, Jonathan O'Hanlon of Darien, Alex Bisset, of Fairfield, and Michigan product Kai Blache will be among those joining McEvoy in the fight against cancer.
The Decathlon will take place on Saturday, June 11, and Sunday, June 12, at St. John’s University, and Michael and "Team Dragonforce" will be competing during Saturday's team proceedings.
The fundraiser is attended by Wall Street firms large and small, and has raised over $6 million in the last seven years, a remarkable total.
The team has raised just over $15,000 to date, but they are looking to continue their fundraising efforts up until the competition. Total dollars raised by each team count toward 1/3rd of their final score.
Kai Blache is in remission from a recent battle with testicular cancer, completing his chemo last summer. He is in remission, but is still doing work to recuperate from some of the lingering effects of his treatments. The event has been a great motivator for him to get back to (or at least closer to) his days of being a Division I tennis player at Western Michigan.
“I know cancer of all kinds has affected everyone, either personally or someone close to them,” says McEvoy. ”It’s a disease that hospitals and research centers like MSKCC work tirelessly to eradicate.
“I am digging back to my days on the Fordham Prep track team and competing in the 400m and 800m sprints,” adds McEvoy. The 500m row, vertical jump, football distance throw, and NFL combine style shuttle run are also on his events list.
O’Hanlon, Bisset and McEvoy were colleagues at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in Manhattan. O’Hanlon now works at Wells Fargo in Charlotte, NC, Bisset at Barclays, and Blache is the CFO of Slyde and VP of Finance for Ticketsocket and Digitzs. Michael currently works for his family's Westchester based commercial real estate firm, Houlihan Parnes Realtors, and will begin full time studies as an MBA candidate at Fordham's Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center in the fall.
All donations will go directly to pediatric cancer treatment and research. You can reach Michael directly at mcevoy.michaelj@gmail.com and visit http://nyc.thedecathlon.org/competitors/357 to make a donation.
In addition to celebrating his anniversary, the University will donate part of the proceeds from the day to the Fairfield University School of Nursing in remembrance of his wife Marcia. Marcia served others as an operating room nurse at Yale-New Haven Hospital for 20 years, putting the needs of her patients before her own. She was a loving wife to Bob and devoted mother to their sons Steve and Gary. She passed too soon when she lost her battle with cancer in 2011.
How To Get A Bobblehead
Fans need to purchase a game ticket or a reception ticket through Ticketmaster in advance of the game. Upon selecting your $15 ticket, you will be able to select the bobblehead or reception voucher at checkout. Please make sure to select this option in order for a voucher to be prepared upon your arrival on February 15. Only one voucher per ticket purchased please!The game ticket and voucher can be picked up at will call the day of the game. Fans will then exchange their voucher at the promotions table on the Webster Bank Arena main concourse. Bobblehead vouchers will not be available on the day of the game.
A reception will be held prior to the men's game (1-2:30 pm) in the Stags Club, located on the suite level of Webster Bank Arena. Fans can join Bob and his family as well as members of the local/regional media and the Fairfield University community for a memorable day. The reception includes hot hors d'oeuvres, soft drinks, and bottled water. A cash bar will also be available. Cost for the reception is $30 and includes your game ticket and bobblehead.Ticket packages are as follows:
Game Ticket & Bobblehead $15 per person
Game Ticket, Bobblehead, and Bob Heussler Reception $30
Click here for ticket purchase
Direct Donations
If you cannot make it to the game, you can still receive a bobblehead by making a donation of $60 to the Fairfield University School Of Nursing by clicking here.
Donation Form Instructions:
1) Enter Amount
2) Under designation, select Other
3) Under honorary gift, enter Marcia Heussler
4) Under special instructions, enter School of Nursing
These steps must be filled out correctly to receive a bobblehead. Thank you for your support.
Fairfield University senior outfielder Jake Salpietro, the MVP of the just-completed MAAC Tournament, added to those laurels by taking a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week award from College Baseball News.
The Berkley, Massachusetts product, who led the Stags to their first MAAC Tournament championship in school annals, was also named the NEIBA Division I Player of the Week.
Salpietro continued his season-long assault on opposing MAAC pitchers, hitting a blistering .692on the strength of a 9-for-13 barrage in the three Fairfield tournament wins, which included three hits and three RBI in the finale.
Due in large part to Salpietro’s heroics, the Stags head to their first-ever NCAA Regional when they travel to Lubbock, Texas, to start their “Road to Omaha” with a game against No. 5 Texas Tech on Friday at 3 pm.
“Knowing this was my last tournament I just had that nothing to lose attitude,” Salpietro said. “I was able to get some good pitches, put some good swings on them, and did some damage.”
“It was great that he swung the bat so well at the end of the year,” Head Coach Bill Currier said. “He was our lightning rod when we needed him the most and it’s great that he played his best baseball in the tournament.”
“Jake the Quake,” elevated his game in post-season action. Along with the near-.700 batting average, Salpietro scored seven runs, knocked in five runs, and added an amazing 1.230 slugging percentage in his final MAAC tournament. It was the most consistent three game stretch of his career, recording three hits in each of Fairfield’s three wins in the tournament.
The biggest of the nine hits came in the bottom of the sixth inning in a 5-5 tie with Canisius on Friday, when Salpietro launched a solo shot over the left center field fence for the eventual game-winning run, vaulting the Stags to the championship round. The circuit blast was his 10th of the season, tying him for second in the program’s single season record book.
Four other players received the national honors with Mike Shawaryn (Maryland), Nick Banks (Texas A&M), Heath Donica (Sam Houston State), and Mike Triller (Clemson).
The “Eyes of Texas” will be on the Fairfield University baseball team as the Stags head to Lubbock for their first NCAA Regional in program history on Friday against host, fifth-ranked Texas Tech.
New Mexico, and Dallas Baptist complete the quartet of participants in the Lubbock Regional with Fairfield taking on the 41-16 Red Raiders to be televised on ESPN3 at 3:00 PM. The double elimination tournament winner advances to the Super Regionals to square off against the victor of the Charlottesville Regional.
“It’s very special to see our name up there,” said head coach Bill Currier after watching Monday’s Selection Show, when Fairfield University appeared on the screen for the first time. “It’s a special tournament and we have the ability to play teams that are not in our region. We are looking forward to the challenge. It’s a great experience for the players to have their first taste of a national postseason.”
Texas Tech comes off its first Big-12 regular season championship since 1997. It will be the first time in program history that these two teams have played each other. The Red Raiders are hitting close to .300 as a team, spearheaded by the Big-12 Player of the Year, senior first baseman Eric Gutierrez, who tops Texas Tech with 12 homers and 53 RBI. He became the first Texas Tech player in 19 years to win the conference Player of the Year award.
The Stags are no slouches either, fresh off their first-ever MAAC tournament championship, while equaling the program record with 32 victories this season.
The Fairfield offense is led by senior outfielder Jake Salpietro, the MVP of the just-completed MAAC Tournament, and a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week award winner from College Baseball News. The Berkley, Massachusetts product, who led the Stags to their first MAAC Tournament championship in school annals, was also named the NEIBA Division I Player of the Week.
Salpietro continued his season-long assault on opposing MAAC pitchers, hitting a blistering .692 on the strength of a 9-for-13 barrage in the three Fairfield wins, which included three hits and three RBI in the finale.
Due in large part to Salpietro’s heroics, the Stags head to their first-ever NCAA Regional when they travel to Lubbock, Texas to start their “Road to Omaha.”
The New Mexico Lobos travel into Texas after winning the Mountain West Conference for the sixth time in the nine years under Head Coach Ray Birmingham. The Lobos also can say they have the conference Player of the Year in Carl Stajduhar who was the Tony Gwynn Player of the Year after .348 with 18 homers and 66 RBI.
Dallas Baptist Patriots claimed the Missouri Valley Conference title after posting a 41-17 record. The Patriots roster featured the MVC Player of the Year Darick Hall who hit an even .300 with a team-high 18 homers and 68 RBI. Colin Poche was named the MVC Pitcher of the Year and claims an unblemished 9-0 record with a 2.02 ERA with hitters batting .209 against the southpaw.
Lubbock, Texas is the furthest west the MAAC Champions could have traveled. Head Coach Currier will skipper his first Regional game in his 27-year head coaching career and the first since he was a graduate assistant at Western Carolina in 1985.
More on the Stags: Catcher Kevin Radziewicz continued his torrid hitting with four hits and five RBI, and selection to the All-Tournament team with a .600 batting average. He was joined by freshman Jack Gethings (.500 average), Drew Arciuolo (.417 average and five runs scored), and Michael Conti (.333 average and four RBI).
The clutch-hitting captain Mac Crispino was riding a six-for-nine hot streak at the plate, and was Fairfield’s Mr. Clutch again against Manhattan on Wednesday, lining an RBI single to give Fairfield a 2-1 lead, and the Stags never looked back. Fairfield added to the lead in the seventh stanza when DH deluxe Troy Scocca launched his fifth home run of the season to put Fairfield in front, 3-1, en route to the 5-2 win in the opener. The Stags had played “Wally Ball” for the eighth time in that contest when sophomore hurler Gavin Wallace became the first Fairfield pitcher in 16 years to win eight games in a season, matching the program record. Brendan Tracy, who has had the flair for the dramatic the last week, launched his third homerun of the season to give Fairfield an 8-2 lead in the Siena slaughter.
“It certainly is a tremendous effort,” said Coach C. “We weren’t sure where the guys were going to improve to this year and they exceeded expectations. We knew we had this here but you never know how guys are going to improve. It shows the hard work they put in and our coaches put in by pushing them and everyone else, it really paid off.”
Salpietro and center fielder Drew Arciuolo wielded the hot bats, both stroking three hits, including a solo home run and two RBI apiece, in Fairfield’s 8-5 victory over Canisius College on Friday, setting the stage for Saturday’s fireworks. Relievers Aaron Howell and Mike Bonaiuto then slammed the door on the Golden Griffins bats after Canisius tied the game at 5-5 in the fifth inning. Bonaiuto, a junior southpaw, retired all six batters he faced to lift the Stags to the title round.
Salpietro’s circuit blast in the sixth proved to be the game winner. It was the Berkley, Massachusetts product’s second straight three-hit performance. Arciuolo, a Millford, Connecticut native, was a double short of hitting for the cycle.
Fairfield achieved its first MAAC Championship tournament victory after losing in the final series in both 1995 and 2000. Fairfield has three previous MAAC titles in 1983, 1991, and 1993. However, those latter two seasons there was not a tournament and Fairfield won the MAAC South Division.
Fordham Prep, Fairfield University Alum, Michael McEvoy, Fundraising for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; NYC Wall Street Decathlon June 11-12
LOUDONVILLE, NY - Hopewell Junction's Megan Theiller led the Fairfield University volleyball team to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship with a 3-1 win over Marist on Sunday (November 22nd) at Siena’s Alumni Recreation Center. Theiller was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Championship after racking up a career-high 22 kills this afternoon.
The MAAC Championship is the eighth for the Stags, who will also advance to the NCAA Championship for the eighth time in program history. The regular season champion of the MAAC, Fairfield enters the national postseason with a record of 21-9 and riding a 12-match winning streak.
The Stags won the match by set scores of 26-24, 25-19, 19-25 and 25-23. Fairfield erased a 21-16 deficit in the fourth set en route to the 2015 crown.
"I'm not sure that words can capture how proud I am of this team," said Head Coach Todd Kress, who was named the MAAC Coach of the Year this week for a conference-record fourth time. "At the beginning of October, people questioned if we would even qualify of the post season, and here we are seven weeks later as MAAC Champions.
"The entire season, this group has had championship potential," added Kress, who also led the Stags to the MAAC Championship in 1997 and 1998.
"But today they combined that potential with an unbelievable amount of heart and fight to accomplish their ultimate goal."
Theiller’s 22 kills today were a part of a double-double as she added 11 digs to the Fairfield defensive effort. First Team All-MAAC honorees Skyler Day and Megan O’Sullivan joined her on the MAAC All-Championship Team.
Day also posted a double-double – her ninth in a row – with 11 kills and 15 digs. O’Sullivan added 14 finishers with seven digs and three blocks in the middle.
Rounding out the offense was MAAC All-Rookie Team selection Oyinkansola Akinola with six kills to go along with five blocks. Chanel Cooper sent home five kills with five blocks, and Kaitlyn Fisher added one.
The offense was run through Sydney Buckley, who recorded a double-double with 55 assists and 13 digs from the setter position as well as a kill of her own.
Helming the defensive effort from the libero spot was Taylor Rudeen with 28 digs, while Mallory Bechtold notched 17. At the net, Akinola and Cooper were each a part of five of the Stags’ nine team blocks. O’Sullivan had a hand in three send-backs as the Fairfield defense limited Marist to a .176 hitting percentage.
Kelsey Lahey had a double-double with 16 kills and 12 digs for Marist (21-10), which wraps up its season in the MAAC Championship Match for the third straight sets. The Red Foxes also got a double-double from setter Amanda Schlegel with 47 assists and 10 digs. Kelsey Ediger and Lexi Millington paced the back row with 26 digs apiece.
Fairfield will return to the NCAA postseason for the first time since making back-to-back trips in 2012 and 2013. The Stags and the rest of Division I’s 64-team field will learn their initial tournament destination next Sunday, Nov. 29th at 9 p.m.
FAIRFIELD DEFEATS SACRED HEART IN OPENER SATURDAY AT WEBSTER BANK ARENA
Senior Maurice Barrow (Queens/Christ the King) scored 14 points, leading a balanced offensive attack as Fairfield bested Sacred Heart 67-54 on Saturday night (November 9) at Webster Bank Arena in the season opener for both schools.
Amadou Sidibe (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Hayes) started the game for the Stags and added nine points with a pair of rebounds despite falling into foul trouble.
Pittsburgh transfer Malcolm Gilbert had a dynamic debut setting the tone defensively with 11 rebounds and eight blocked shots.
Leading 22-20, the Stags put together a 13-3 run on en route to a 36-26 halftime lead. Fairfield stayed in control during the second half, leading by as many as 18. The Pioneers cut the lead to 10 with 4:33 remaining, but could not get closer.
Barrow also shared the team-high nine rebounds with Marcus Gilbert, who added 13 points. Eight players scored for Fairfield.
Sacred Heart made only 5-of-26 3-pointers and the Stags held a 46-31 rebounding advantage.
Considering his talents and achievements as a hoops coach, to say that Fairfield University women’s head basketball coach Joe Frager knows as much about boxing as he does about basketball is a strong statement, indeed.
The avid boxing fan can give you detailed history of the sweet science - from Willie Pep to Joe Louis to Sean O'Grady - not to mention present-day champions like GGG, and top contenders in virtually every division currently, the names flow from his lips like a finger roll layup off the backboard. Frager is a knockout in the women's college ranks, sort of the “Smokin’ Joe” of his division.
In his ninth season at the helm of the Stags, Frager has Fairfield’s opponents on the ropes! He is the only coach in the 35-year history of the MAAC to register eight consecutive winning season to begin a career. Averaging 19.5 wins a campaign under Frager's tutelage, Fairfield has vaulted to National post-season play in four of those seasons. His career 249-119 record and 67.7 % win percentage is championship-caliber.
And Frager's Stags have won two straight, downing Rider and Manhattan to put them right into the thick of the MAAC conference frey as the season gets into full throttle.
Here’s how Smokin’ Joe answered 10 Questions on the Sweet Science:
Q: How and when did you become a boxing fan? A: “My Dad, Joe Frager, always talked about the great fighters of the 40's and 50's. He spoke of Willie Pep, Sandy Saddler, Robinson, Basilio, Joe Louis, LaMotta, Al Gainer, among others. I became hooked with the TV fights of the 70's and 80's, especially the junior lightweight and lightweight brawls.”
Q: Did you ever put on the gloves in a gym or elsewhere? A: “I had the gloves on, mainly to hit a heavy bag and bag gloves for the speed bag. As a pitcher in high school and college, potentially damaging a hand was not a smart option.”
Q: Do you ever use boxing techniques in motivating or training your players? A: “We actually use the terminology of a ‘boxer's stance’ defensively. I use boxing references and analogies quite a bit.”
Q: Favorite all time boxer, why? A: “My all-time favorite boxer would be Sean O'Grady. ‘The Green Machine,’ ‘The Bubblegum Bomber.’ former WBA Lightweight Champ. Was involved in some great fights with Danny "Little Red" Lopez, Gonzallo Montellano, Jim Watt, Shig Fukuyama and Hilmer Kenty. Great boxing commentator also.”
Q: Best all time boxer, why? A: “Best of all time - "Sugar Ray" Robinson. He could box, he could punch, took a great shot, could do it all. He fought the best for a very long time.”
Q: Favorite current boxer, why? A: “My favorite current boxer is "Triple G" Gennady Golovkin. He's all business in the ring. Great puncher, vastly under-appreciated boxing skills. Fan of Canelo Alvarez and Demetrius Andrade too.”
Q: The best active boxer? A: Gennady Golovkin or Chocolatito Gonzalez
Q: What fight would you most like to see in 2016? A: Golovkin v. Canelo or Kell Brook v. Amir Khan
Q: If you could have dinner with one boxer in history, who would it be any why? A: “I'd pick the late Jerry Quarry to have dinner with. One of the best to never win the championship. He fought all the great heavyweights of the 60's and 70's- Patterson, Ali, Frazier, Norton, Shavers, Lyle, Ellis, Mac Foster and others. Archie Moore would be great to have dinner with too. The "Ol Mongoose" was forced to wait a long time for a shot at the title.”
Q: What would be the ultimate fight for a fantasy championship? A: “The ultimate fantasy fight- the welterweight version of "Sugar Ray" Robinson v. Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather wins the first 3-4 rounds, but Robinson wears him down for a 10th round TKO!”
Fairfield University Lax Standouts Neubauer and Burke Earn All-New England Honors
TJ tabbed for First Team; Rookie sensation named to Second Team
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) was established in 1980 and is celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2016. In honor of this milestone, the MAAC has compiled its“35th Anniversary Team” to showcase its best spring-sport athletes from the past three and a half decades. These 47 male and female individuals, divided into a first and second team, are the best student-athletes in conference history, and include four Fairfield University student-athletes: Joe Michalsin, Men’s Tennis; Matt Callaghan, Men’s Lacrosse; Kristen Coleman, Women’s Lacrosse; and Melissa Santos, Softball. Michalsin, Coleman, and Santos are all First Team selections.
Tennis standout Michalsin was MAAC Player of the Year in 2009 and 2010, and totaled seven All-MAAC honors during his Fairfield career. Callaghan made an impact on the MAAC and Fairfield lacrosse that ranks him among the all-time greats from 1996-98, scoring 118 goals and 87 assists for 205 points for the Stags. In just three seasons, Coleman dominated the record books as the all-time leading scorer in Fairfield and MAAC women’s lacrosse history. Santos finished her softball career as the all-time leader in wins (83), appearances (147), and strikeouts (1,156) at both Fairfield University and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Joe Michalsin:
The MAAC Player of the Year in 2009 and 2010, Joe Michalisin totaled seven All-MAAC honors in his Fairfield career. He was First Team All-MAAC singles in 2009, 2010 and 2012, First Team All-MAAC doubles in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and Second Team All-MAAC Doubles in 2009. Also the MAAC Rookie of the Year in 2009, Michalisin won a program-record 27 singles matches in that campaign (27-5, .844). His best doubles season came in 2010-11, when he was victorious 25 times as a part of a 25-6 (.806) mark. Michalisin was also a three-time MAAC All-Academic selection and a two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete. He helped lead the Stags to the final round of the MAAC Championship in all four of his seasons, culminating with a conference title in 2012 to stake Fairfield to its first-ever NCAA postseason berth.
Matt Callaghan:
Though he played just three of his four seasons in the MAAC, Matt Callaghan made an impact on the conference and on the Fairfield University men’s lacrosse program that ranks him among the all-time greats. From 1996-98, he racked up 118 goals and 87 assists for the Stags, totaling 205 points. Even disregarding his freshman season of 1995 – when Fairfield was a Division I independent – Callaghan would still rank second all-time in goals at the University, third in points and tied for second in assists in program history. Including his 1995 stats, he is Fairfield’s all-time leader in points (247) and ranks second in both goals (146) and assists (101). Callaghan was a two-time MAAC Player of the Year (1997 and 1998) and earned three consecutive First Team All-MAAC nods from 1996-98. His 75 points in 1997 established a program record that stands today (now tied with Spencer Steele), while his 45 goals in that season were a program record at the time and still rank second in Fairfield history. Additionally, his 30 assists in 1997 currently slot at third in program annals. Also in the single-season record books at Fairfield, Callaghan shares the program high with 33 assists in 1998, ranks third with 41 goals in 1996 (a program record at the time) and fourth with a pair of 65-point seasons in 1996 and 1998. A team captain of Fairfield’s 1998 squad, Callaghan was inducted into the Fairfield Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005. Callaghan’s play translated into team success for the Stags as well. Fairfield was a perfect 23-0 against MAAC competition from 1996-98 as a part of a 30-18 (.625) overall record in those seasons. The NCAA did not award automatic bids into the 12-team NCAA Championship field during that era, but Callaghan helped lead Fairfield to a postseason title with victories over Boston College and host Colgate to win the 1998 ECAC Tournament.
Kristin Coleman:
In just three seasons, Kristen Coleman dominated the record books as the all-time leading scorer in Fairfield and MAAC women’s lacrosse history. She compiled 257 career points fueled by 186 goals – also a Fairfield and MAAC record total – and also tops the Stags’ all-time list with 71 assists. She started her career as the MAAC Offensive Player and Rookie of the Year in 2008, scoring a Fairfield-record 68 goals – which stood as the MAAC record until 2016 – en route to the 90 points that also topped the MAAC ledger until this past spring. She repeated Offensive Player of the Year after an 88-pont campaign in 2009 and earned her third First Team All-MAAC nod in 2010 with 79 points. Coleman was a three-time IWLCA All-Northeast Region Second Team and MAAC All-Academic honoree. She was chosen by her teammates as a co-captain for the 2011 season, though she was out of action for the campaign due to injury. Coleman was the leading scorer on three straight MAAC Regular Season Champions from 2008-10, including the 2009 squad that won the MAAC Championship to advance to the NCAA postseason. In her three active years with the Stags, Fairfield went 18-0 in the MAAC as a part of a 47-10 (.825) overall record.
Melissa Santos:
Melissa Santos finished her softball career as the all-time leader in wins (83), appearances (147), and strikeouts (1,156) at both Fairfield University and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. She was a two-time MAAC Pitcher of the Year and also added a Co-Pitcher of the Year award during her four-year career. Santos earned three All-Region nods from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). She won at least 17 games in all four of her seasons with the Stags, highlighted by a 22-win season in 2001 and a personal-best 27-win campaign in 2002. She finished the 2002 season with a 0.95 ERA, aided by her 13 shutouts. She averaged better than a strikeout per inning pitched with 1,156 in 890.2 innings pitched.
Fairfield’s Smokin’ Joe Frager: 10 Boxing Questions with Heavyweight Women’s Coach
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Kelsey Carey’s 19 points and energy off the bench helped spark the Stags to a season opening 62-59 victory over La Salle, and now Carey has been recognized. Carey has been named the College Sports Madness MAAC Player of the Week after leading the Stags in points in their first game of the season, and shooting 9-for-14 from the floor.
“Kelsey is a competitor and that rubs off on her teammates,” Head Coach Joe Frager said. “It’s nice that she has received this recognition.”
Carey’s 19-point performance was the most by a Stag in a season opening game since Shireyll Moore netted 20 points to kick off the 2008-09 campaign.
Carey was subbed into the game midway through the first quarter and immediately made her impact felt. She scored eight-straight points for the Stags, which extended the Fairfield lead to 11-2, a lead they would never relinquish. Carey netted 14 first half points, just one point fewer than the entire La Salle team.
“I thought Kelsey had a very strong game,” Coach Frager said. “She provided a big spark in the first half and brought great energy throughout the game.”
Carey and the Stags will look to move to 2-0 for the ninth time in program history and the fifth time in the last seven years when they travel to face former MAAC rival Loyola (Md.), for a Wednesday night game. Tip-off is at 7 pm.
Fairfield Volleyball Coach Todd Kress Named MAAC Coach of the Year
***Skyler Day and Megan O’Sullivan Earn First Team All-MAAC Honors; Oyinkansola Akinola collects All-Rookie nod***
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Swimming and Diving Head Coach Janelle Atkinson-Wignall, a native of Kingston, Jamaica, will serve as an ESPN Caribbean Commentator for the Olympic Games.
The 2016 Summer Olympics will get underway on August 5th in Rio.
The two-time Olympian and seven-time Jamaican "Swimmer of the Year" was named the first woman to coach both the men's and women's swimming and diving teams in Fairfield history in 2014. Janelle's Jamaican roots are very important to her. “I am proud of my culture and heritage.”
ESPN offers two English-language networks in the Caribbean including ESPN (offered in HD) and ESPN2. Both were launched in 2007, offering the best in world sport while also providing a Caribbean focus on what viewers in the region most want to see. ESPN’s Caribbean networks air in 32 countries and territories.
More on Atkinson-Wignall: She is yet another Kingston superstar, like fellow Jamaican Patrick Ewing, the Knicks Hall of Famer. Janelle says that she “has never met Ewing, but that would be pretty cool. The Caribbean islands overall admire all the people that come from there, they band together.”
The former UConn assistant coach competed successfully in two Olympiads, first in the 2000 Sydney Games and then the 2004 Athens Games. She finished fourth in the 400-meter freestyle, very close to obtaining a medal, and ninth in the 800-meter freestyle in Sydney. She also swam in the 200 and 400-meter freestyle during the games in Athens.
“Looking back (at the Olympic experience), it was an amazing achievement,” she says. “Olympics are stressful. You start off the sport for yourself, you compete for yourself. Once in the Olympics, you are competing for your family, your friends, a whole country. You are representing them. There is a lot of pressure there. It can be overwhelming.”
Reflecting on her fourth place finish in 2004, and her near-miss for a medal, she says: “I just wanted to be in the final race. That was my goal. I started off tenth overall, and when I saw that after the prelims I was ranked third, I was mad because I did not want to race in the middle lanes; I wanted one of the outer lanes. I thought I would be embarrassed and finish last. Before the race, I decided that it didn’t matter what would happen and took the pressure off myself. I could see the 1st and 2nd lane and saw that they were still behind me. I had no idea what position I was in until the end. I only knew that I wasn’t last.”
Atkinson-Wignall was however a medalist at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England, the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia, and the 1999 Pan-American Games in Winnipeg, Canada.
In addition, she is a seven-time recipient of the Jamaican Swimmer of the Year award and a six-time nominee for the Jamaican Sportswoman of the Year.
“Swimming is not a highly publicized and supported sport in Jamaica, but it is great to be considered and nominated for the Athlete of the Year award among the track and field athletes and other more publicized sports.”
Stags will be well-represented in Rio as incoming freshman swimmer Ore Cherebin of St. George, Grenada, will represent her country in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The future Stag amphibian has already qualified, and will compete for the first time in the Olympics, garnering the Grenadian colors at the Commonwealth Games in 2014, the FINA World Championships in 2013 and 2015, and the 2015 Pan American games.
Cherebin will be competing in the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke events.
“Being an Olympian is a huge honor and means more than words can describe,” says the butterfly and breaststroke artist. “I almost can't believe it. It's a dream come true to be able to be part of team Grenada in Rio.”
The former Stepinac H.S. head basketball coach and current Fairfield University Athletic Director Gene Doris, in his 22nd year as AD, Fordham Athletic Director-Emeritus Frank McLaughlin, who served 27 years as AD, and former Providence Friars star and NBA Rookie of the Year Ernie DiGregorio were among the inductees into the ECAC Hall of Fame at a gala on Friday night, April 15, in Danbury, CT.
Doris coached 11 season at Stepinac in White Plains, including the 1985 championship team. Both Doris and McLaughlin served as assistant coaches to Digger Phelps on the memorable 1971 Fordham team ranked ninth nationally. Doris served as Marist AD prior to arriving at Fairfield.
The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has announced the 2016 inductees to the ECAC Hall of Fame. The 2016 class represents a diverse group of former student-athletes, coaches, administrators, teams, officials and support staff from across decades. Honorees have been selected for outstanding achievements, service, dedication, commitment and contributions to the ECAC and its member institutions.
“We are excited to induct this group of people into the ECAC Hall of Fame,” said President & CEO Dr. Kevin T. McGinniss. “These individuals have been incredible assets to the ECAC over the years and will now be recognized for their exceptional accomplishments and influence on intercollegiate athletics."
The ECAC Hall of Fame Class of 2016:
Steve Bamford (Administrator)
Plymouth State College, ECAC
Ernie DiGregorio (Athlete)
Providence College
Gene Doris (Coach, Administrator)
Fairfield University, Marist College, Fordham University
Carolyn Femovich (Admin)
Patriot League, University of Pennsylvania
Abie Grossfeld (Coach)
Southern Connecticut State University, United States Olympic Men’s Gymnastics
Bob Hartwell (Administrator, Coach)
Adelphi University, Babson College
Mary Ann Hitchens (Coach, Administrator)
University of Delaware
Olav Kollevol (Administrator, Athlete, Coach)
Lafayette, Colgate, St. Lawrence
Ellie LeMaire (Official, Coach)
University of Bridgeport, University of Rhode Island
Frank McLaughlin (Athlete, Administrator)
Fordham University
Jack Powers (Athlete, Administrator, Coach)
Manhattan College
Jack Riley (Coach)
United States Military Academy
Dee Rowe (Coach)
University of Connecticut
Carl Ullrich (Coach, Administrator)
United States Military Academy, Cornell University, Boston University, United States Naval Academy, Patriot League
Dick Yoder (Coach, Administrator)
West Chester University
1972 West Chester State College Women’s Swimming & Diving Team
Gene Doris is the Director of Athletics at Fairfield University. Fairfield Athletics has flourished under the guidance of Eugene P. Doris, who is in his 22nd year as the Director of Athletics. His responsibilities include overseeing the varsity athletic program.
In 2010, Doris was named the Division I Athletics Director of the Year for the Northeast at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). He also received the Distinguished Service Award from the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association. Under his leadership, the varsity athletic program has undergone many changes, including increasing the number of varsity sports to 20 and the improvement of athletic facilities, a softball field, an artificial turf field and the construction of a multi-million dollar athletic facility. Doris has seen the Stags win the overall MAAC Commissioner's Cup twice, while the men have won the Cup twice and the women's teams an impressive five times. In 2004, Doris received the Constituent Supporter of the Year award from the Coastal Fairfield County Convention and Visitors Bureau for his role in bringing the 2004 NCAA Women's Basketball First and Second rounds to the Arena at Harbor Yard. Doris was also instrumental in securing the 2006 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Regionals, and the 2007 MAAC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments. Fairfield also hosted the 2008 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament First and Second rounds and played co-host the 2009 and 2011 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey East Regional.
Doris remains active off-campus, serving on both regional and national committees, as well as several MAAC committees. He has also served a term as president of the ECAC, the nation's largest athletic conference, and has sat on the Division I-AA Athletic Directors Football Committee. Prior to Fairfield, Doris was the athletics director at Marist College for five years, during which time Marist increased the number of its intercollegiate athletic teams from 14 to 20. He enjoyed a five-year stay at Fordham University where he started as an assistant athletic director before earning a promotion to associate athletic director. He was also an assistant basketball coach at Fordham under Richard "Digger" Phelps.
He coached basketball for 11 years at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, N.Y., where his team won the Division II New York Catholic High School Championship in 1985. He also coached baseball at Stepinac for eight seasons, as well as JV baseball at Archbishop Molloy High School in Jamaica, N.Y.
In 2007, Doris was inducted into the Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) Hall of Fame for his contribution to the New York City-based league. He is also a member of the Stepinac High School Athletic Hall of Fame as well as the school's Hardwood Hall of Fame.
ABOUT THE ECAC
In the 76 years since its inception, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has emerged as the nation's largest Conference. The ECAC has grown considerably from its charter membership of 58, boasting over 300 member schools in Divisions I, II and III, ranging in location from Maine to Georgia, and westerly to Missouri. In the 2015-16 academic year, the ECAC will host nearly 100 championships in 32 men’s and women's sports as the sponsors of over 5,800 varsity teams and 111,000 male and female Players. For more information, visit www.ecacsports.com.
STAY CONNECTED
Stay updated on the latest news, championships and more by connecting with the ECAC on Facebook (ECACSports), Twitter (@ECACSports) and Instagram (@ECACSports).
The Fairfield University baseball team received high marks both on the field and academically in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, as the MAAC announced its year-end honors.
Head Coach Bill Currier was cited with the well-deserved “Lids Team Sports MAAC Coach of the Year.”
Coach C. guided the Stags to their first regular season title in 33 years, the first since 1983 when Hall of Famer Don Cook was the skipper.
It was Currier’s second MAAC yearly award and fifth of his outstanding career.
In all, Fairfield was honored with five all-MAAC selections, the most ever in a single season. Here’s the lineup: Senior right fielder Jake Salpietro was selected to the All-MAAC First Team for the second time in his stay at Fairfield, while junior captain Mac Crispino, catcher Kevin Radziewicz, outfielder/DH Troy Scocca, and pitcher Kyle Dube were all selected to the Second Team for the first time in their careers.
“This team has had a lot of different hitters and pitchers step up throughout the season,” Coach Currier said. “It’s nice to see them go through the adversity that they faced. After losing a lot of seniors and Mike Wallace last season, it was not that surprising we were picked so low, but the coaches didn’t know how much better some of the current players got.”
Currier was the MAAC’s Coach of the Year in 2012, his first season at the helm of the Stags. Prior to his tenure at Fairfield, Currier was cited as Coach of the Year in the America East three times (2002, 2003, and 2006) while at Vermont.
Salpietro becomes the first Stag since Ryan Plourde (2013, 2014) to be named to the conference’s First Team in two separate seasons. Bouncing back from a tough season in 2015 (.203 average), the Massachusetts product worked hard in the offseason to produce the comeback campaign. Salpietro tied for the conference lead with nine home runs and is third in total bases (109), fourth in slugging percentage (.540), seventh in RBI (37), and ninth in batting average (.327).
The Stags leading hitter with runners in scoring position, Crispino was selected to his first All-MAAC team representing the utility spot on the Second Team. The reigning MAAC Player of the Week, hit .370 in RBI situations, including a 4-for-5 clip in the final week of the season. Crispino was a .302 hitter and finished second on the team with 32 RBI.
The underrated Radziewicz represented the league’s catchers on the Second Team. The Cromwell, CT. native hit a blistering .406 hitter in Fairfield wins this season, and a presence behind the plate, throwing out 15 potential base stealers. Radziewicz finished third on the team in three categories: average (.326), RBI (31), and slugging percentage (.402).
Scocca was selected as the Second Team’s designated hitter after leading the team with a .425 slugging percentage. The Syosett, NY, product was named the MAAC Player of the Week on March 1, after slugging .900 in his first three games against Delaware State. His two-run homer gave the Stags some breathing room in the playoff-clincher against Monmouth.
Leading the pitching staff for the past two seasons has been the junior right hander Dube, and he was rewarded with his first Second Team selection. Dube was a big part of the Stags’ success in conference game, as the Stags lost just two of the MAAC games he started, and finishing with a team-best 2.84 in conference games. Overall, his 3.38 ERA was eighth in the league and finished sixth in wins, and eighth in opponent’s batting average.
Drew Arciuolo, Drew Blake, Mike Bonaiuto, Kyle Dube, Brett Mikolajczyk, Ryan O'Connor, Gavin Wallace, Troy Scocca, and Mitch Williams all earned spots on the MAAC All-Academic team.
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – One thousand points is a “Magic Number” in college hoops circles, and Fairfield University women’s basketball star Kristin Schatzlein reached that magical milestone on a magical afternoon Sunday at Webster Bank Arena.
There couldn’t possibly have been a more fitting ending. With the Stags clinging to a two-point lead with under five seconds remaining, the senior guard hauled in the biggest defensive rebound of the game. Schatzlein then hit the two free throws that iced the narrow 52-48 victory for over Canisius, the cherry on the “Sunday” when she became the 28th Stag all-time to reach the 1,000-point club.
“I know the 1,000 points was important to her, it’s a great milestone,” Head Coach Joe Frager said. “As a coach I’m glad she got it early to get it out of her system a bit.”
Said the 6-0 backcourt player: “I was really happened it came at the beginning of the game. We could focus on winning the game afterward, so that was nice.”
Stags zealots in attendance at Webster bank had to wait just 1:29 into the game to witness history. With her first three-point attempt, Schatzlein hit nothing but net and brought her career total to 1,001. That long range field goal was also the 193rd of her career, which is good for fourth all-time in Fairfield history.
That troika helped settle in the Stags (9-10, 4-6 MAAC) as Fairfield scored 20 points during the opening 10 minutes.
“That was a big shot because we’ve hit those lulls this year,” Frager said. “Those doubts can start creeping into your head. Those are the things you have to fight off and anytime you can knock down a shot it allows them to breathe a little bit. We’re going to be okay.”
In the victory, the Stags swept the regular season series over Canisius for the sixth time in the last seven seasons.
“I’m really proud of them,” Frager said. “We have a lot of work to do but this was a big win for us.”
The Stags, winners of three of their last four, will close out a three-game home stand against Rider at Alumni Hall on the Fairfield campus Thursday (January 28) with tip off at 7 pm.
Fairfield Baseball 10 Straight Wins Second Longest Conference Streak in NCAA; Stags Try to continue roll at Manhattan Saturday and Sunday
Fairfield University Head Men’s Basketball Coach Sydney Johnson earned the attention of fans and colleagues following the Stags’ turnaround performance on the court in 2015-16. Johnson’s list of accolades grew once again when CollegeInsider.com named him among the finalists for the 2016 "Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award."
Named after the late Prosser, who died suddenly in 2007 while the head coach at Wake Forest, the award is presented annually to those who not only achieve success on the basketball court but who display moral integrity off of it, as well. Prosser posted a career record of 291-146 in 14 seasons as a head coach at Loyola, Xavier and Wake Forest. During his time at Wake, Prosser’s teams averaged 21 wins per season while playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Johnson led Fairfield to one of the best single-season turnarounds in Division I this year, ranking among the top five in the nation all season long. The Stags, who won seven games in 2014-15, posted a 19-14 record overall and a 12-8 mark in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). The team’s win improvement was as high as third in the nation at different points this season.
“I am indebted to Fairfield University not only for allowing me to lead our men's basketball program to success on the court but also for supporting me in my desire to serve our students in positive and impactful ways across our campus,” Johnson said.
The Prosser Award also recognizes a coach’s commitment to the community and his willingness to give back to individuals through his work off the court. Johnson was recently recognized for his efforts in the community by being named one of the recipients of Fairfield University’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Vision Award, presented to a faculty member, an administrator, a staff member or a student who demonstrate a commitment to the ideals and values of Dr. King.
Johnson helped mold the team’s success in 2015-16 by adding the top scoring freshmen class in the MAAC, a group that averaged just over 33 points per game, with a group of veterans which included Marcus Gilbert, who finished his career as the number four scorer in program history. With the infusion of new talent into an experienced team, Johnson was able to lead the Stags to 19 wins this year, only the 10th Fairfield squad in the last 50 years to win that many games.
The 2016 recipient of the Skip Prosser Award will be announced on Monday April 4 in Houston, site of the men's NCAA division I men's basketball championship.
Stags Face Sacred Heart at Webster Bank Arena…
FAIRFIELD TIPS OFF SEASON SATURDAY AGAINST SACRED HEART; JOINED BY CHARTER MACC CONFERENCE MEMBERS IONA AND MANHATTAN AT LUNCHEON IN NYC TO RENEW LOCAL RIVALRIES
Three original members of the MAAC conference – Fairfield, Iona and Manhattan – broke bread at O’Casey’s Restaurant in New York City earlier this week as they made their final preparations to tip off their seasons on Saturday night (November 9).
Hamburgers were the popular order of the day, but the three basketball programs are by no means chopped meat, more like prime. The Stags, Gaels and Jaspers all have much at stake during the 2013-2014 campaign: Fairfield has the most MAAC wins during the past decade, posting 109 victories, and tries to continue that excellence; Iona defends back-to-back MAAC championships en route to NCAA appearances in two straight seasons; and Manhattan was selected the MAAC’s top team in the pre-season coaches’ poll.
Head coaches Sydney Johnson of Fairfield, Iona’s Tim Cluess, and Steve Masiello of Manhattan look forward to the campaign with eager anticipation, particularly when renewing their local rivalries once the conference schedule gets underway in a few months.
But the matters at hand are Saturday night, when Fairfield plays host to its Connecticut rival Sacred Heart at Webster Bank Arena in nearby Bridgeport, while Iona and Manhattan hit the road to take on Cleveland State and LaSalle, respectively.
The five top local players who joined their coaches at the season’s preview were: Fairfield’s local duo of Amadou Sidibe (Bronx/Cardinal Hayes) and Maurice Barrow(Queens/Christ the King); Manhattan’s senior swingman George Beamon (Roslyn); and Iona’s pair of Sean Armand (Brooklyn) and David Laury (East Orange, NJ).
Here’s what the coaches had to say about the local rivalries and players:
Sydney Johnson
"I think it does a lot for the younger guys in high school, watching all these games and seeing the lore of it. They're seeing the intensity and the high level of play. So from a recruiting standpoint it helps get kids from this area excited about coming to Fairfield, Iona and Manhattan. I think that's tremendously important.
“I think it's just human nature that, on some level, you believe more in something that you can do if you see somebody who is like you doing it. That's just human nature. So when they see a kid from Christ the King, a kid from Cardinal Hayes and a kid from Wings Academy in Justin Jenkins take the plunge and come to Fairfield and they see them being successful, they start thinking 'Yea I could do that too.' Literally it's just modeling for young kids who might be excited about playing Division I basketball that they can come and realize those dreams at Fairfield.”
“I think road games in a way seem like home games for some of the players. I feel that way, too, because when we go 'on the road' to Iona or Manhattan or even St. Peter's that these guys are very well supported by their family and their friends and coaches. I think they really enjoy that. It's a lot of fun. It's great to play on TV and go to these exotic locations, some which we've done, but it's great to be able to play in your backyard."
Tim Cluess
"I think it's great to play the local teams. I think the rivalries that have been involved and all the people from the area who went to one of the local schools and the interest that it brings is a terrific thing for us to do. I wish more of the local teams played each other on a yearly basis."I think the history of Iona College both academically and athletically, and our style of play. The fact that we've had pros come out of the school and we've been to the NCAA tournament and we've led the country in scoring. I think those are all things that are very enticing to a young man who maybe wants some exposure and wants to play a fun style of basketball.
"I think it's very different when you go on the road because you're playing against different types of teams in different environments than what you see in our league. But I think it’s really good for us and for our guys to kind of get that exposure and have a taste of what’s out there in the world. It’s really a nice thing."
Steve Masiello
"It's very important for us as a program that plays in New York. I'm from New York and it's been a great thing for me to be able to come back and coach. I really want us to have exposure locally and to be known to kids in high school. I think playing being able to play locally is terrific.
"For us it’s more about how the kids act as professionals. I want kids who can remain humble and understand that they really have a terrific opportunity to play Division I basketball in New York. Everybody who comes here, their number one concern is for the team.
The Fairfield players discussed playing in their backyard and the goals for the season:
Playing Close to Home
Barrow: "Back when I was being recruited, that was one of the main things I was focusing on; not being too close to home, but not being too far away so that people could still come and see my games. Some people who are from New York and then go to school in Texas do not get as much family support as they should. Being close to college is really enjoyable. It makes all the games better for us. Half of the teams that we play are in the local area so even if its not a home game people can still come out."
Sidibe: "I feel the same way. When I was thinking about schools I wanted to be far away from home but not so far; where if I play a game my family could still come. Every game pretty much feels like a home game because my family and friends can always be there."
Goals for the upcoming season
Sidibe: "Obviously we want to try and win the MAAC Championship and go to the NCAA tournament. That’s our main goal every day when we go to practice. Every day we wake up and that is what is on our mind. My goal every day is to get better as a basketball player and as an individual. It is a team sport so my main focus right is now is helping my team. I want to do whatever I have to do to help my team win a MAAC Championship."
Barrow: "I feel that way too. I want to help the team in any way, in every game. I know that in order for us to go to the NCAA I have to do my part as an individual and that will help me get better."
The Fairfield University Women’s Basketball team today announced its 2015-16 schedule. On the heels of its eighth straight winning campaigns under Head Coach Joe Frager, the Stags will open up their season on Friday night, November 13th, against La Salle, hoping that Friday the 13th will be a lucky night. Fairfield will play its MAAC conference opener on Wednesday night, December 2nd, hosting Iona.
"Getting the MAAC schedule signifies one more step towards the 2015-16 season," said coach Frager. "It helps our staff with scouting preparation and both our players and coaches are excited about tackling the challenges ahead."
Following the December 2nd MAAC against the Gaels, conference foe Marist makes the trip to “Stags Country” on Sunday, December 6th.
The Stags will make their Western New York swing when they travel to Canisius and Niagara hits 2016 rings in. The January 2nd meeting with Canisius will be the earliest the Stags have made their annual Buffalo trip since 2011. After a day off, Fairfield will take on Niagara on January 4th.Those two contests will start a stretch of road games for the Fairfield, playing four of their first five games in the calendar year on the road.
Their only home game during that span falls on January 8th, when Fairfield welcomes Manhattan to campus.
Another road journey for the Stags begins the following week, with a three-game trip on the slate at Saint Peter’s (January 10th), at Rider (January 14th), and at Manhattan (January 16th).
The Stags will be at their friendly home court confines for seven of the next eight games, and will unquestionably look forward to the home cooking. Defending MAAC champion Quinnipiac visits Fairfield on January 22nd, followed by games against Canisius (January 24th) and Rider (January 28th).
Their lone road contest during that stretch comes when the Stags travel to West Long Branch, N.J., to take on Monmouth on January 30th.
Fairfield will then open up a four-game February home stand starting with a game against Niagara on February 5th.The Stags host Siena in the first game of a Super Bowl Sunday doubleheader with the men’s team on February 7th at Webster Bank Arena. Saint Peter’s will be the visitor on February 12th, and then the Stags celebrate Senior Night on Valentine’s Day, February 14th, against Monmouth.
The Stags will finish on the road for the last four games of the regular season at Siena (February 17th), at Marist (February 21st), at Iona (February 24th), and at Quinnipiac (February 26th).
Fairfield is coming off their eighth consecutive winning conference season under Frager who became the first coach in league history to have eight-straight winning conference records to begin a career. The Stags also advanced to the MAAC Semifinals last year.
Fairfield Inducts Six into Athletics Hall of Fame Monday, May 2; Ceremony Part of Hall of Fame Golf Outing
FAIRFIELD WOMEN'S LACROSSE ASSISTANT COACH ERIN SLIFER DRAFTED 20TH OVERALL BY BOSTON STORM
Fairfield Honors Dick "Hoops" weiss and Jim "OC" O'connell
Longtime college basketball columnist Dick "Hoops" Weiss and Associated Press college writer Jim "OC" O'Connell flank Fairfield University President Fr. Jeffrey von Arx, S.J. at the Stags Tip Off Reception Thursday night in midtown. The media icons were presented with the inaugural "Stags Lifetime Achievement Award: Leader of the Herd" for long and meritorious service to college basketball.
Together the duo has covered 77 NCAA basketball championships, and are both honored in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame with the Curt Gowdy Award.
A packed house of over one hundred friends, supporters, basketball aficionados, and players were on hand for the ceremonies including New York City hoops legend Howard Garfinkel, MSG's "Voice of the Knicks" Mike Breen, Fairfield men's head coach Sydney Johnson, Time Magazine's Sean Gregory (a teammate of Johnson's at Princeton), women's coach Joe Frager, Athletic Director Gene Doris, and WFAN Radio personalities Bob Heussler, Marc Malusis and Rich Ackerman. Weiss lauded Fairfield for its just-announced 97 percent graduation rate for student athletes, which ranks 12th in the country, as announced earlier in the day by the NCAA.
Fairfield men's and women's player at the reception rushed to the stage following the presentation to congratulate and say thank you personally to Weiss and O'Connell.
Weiss, who covers top college events for the Daily News, including the BCS national championship and the NCAA tournament, and writes columns for Basketball Times, coach George Raveling's web site and Blue Star media, and O’Connell were accompanied by their wives Joanie and Anne.