Champions Three

Women's golf, with their MAAC Championship banner, wait at Damien's in the Campus Center on April 24 to hear their spot in the NCAA regional. Left to right, they are Annika Espino, Helga Einarsdottir, Megan Henry, Caroline Julliat, Madison Walker and Pasqualina Tartaglione.

Cara Sherman, a senior, leads the 10,000 meter run in the America East championship on Friday. Sherman went on to victory in 35:56.70, becoming the first UAlbany woman to win the event. (Photo by Bill Ziskin)

ALBANY, N.Y. (May 9, 2019) — One championship streak began and two others, already at epic proportions, were extended recently as the women’s golf and men’s and women’s track & field programs took their conference titles.

Women’s track & field, with its victory at UAlbany’s University Field in the America East (AE) outdoor track & field championship last Thursday-Friday, ran its streak of conference victories to 11. In doing so, women’s Track & Field/Cross Country completed its first-ever AE triple crown, having won the cross country title in the fall and the indoor T&F championship this winter. Only two men’s teams, UAlbany (2011-12) and Northeastern (1988-89), have done this before.

“A triple crown is super significant,” said Roberto Vives, director of Track & Field/Cross Country. “Out of a nine-team conference, for one team to win all three seasons, especially in a conference that is so strong in the distance events, is phenomenal.”

The women left no doubt of the outcome, with their 254 points (117.5 ahead of UMass Lowell) breaking the all-time scoring record for the conference’s outdoor championship, which the Great Danes of 2012-13 held, at 245. Senior Venique Harris, who shattered the championship meet record in the discus by 18 feet with her 178 foot, 1-inch toss, was named the meet’s co-Outstanding Field Performer.

The women’s male counterparts stretched their America East streak to 15, with a dominating 214.5 to 132 points margin over second place UMass Lowell. Senior hurdler Walter Briggs was named the Most Outstanding Track performer with individual wins in the 110 and 400-meter hurdles and a spot on the winning 4x400-meter relay team.

Qualifying individuals in men’s and women’s track & field will compete in the ECAC Outdoor Championships this weekend at Princeton University in New Jersey.

Women’s Golf makes it Two in a Row

The MAAC champion women’s golf team competed this week in Opelika, Ala., this week, at the three-day Auburn Regional of the NCAA Tournament. Seeded 17th, the Great Danes finished 18th, with some outstanding performances that bode well for a squad potentially returning all its players next year.

The Great Danes got to the NCAAs by successfully defending their MAAC title at the Disney Magnolia Golf Course in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on April 20. It was the first back-to-back MAAC triumphs in the program’s history. UAlbany outdistanced runners-up Dayton and Qunnipiac by a whopping 23 strokes through high winds and rain delays. Junior Helga Einarsdottir finished second in the individual competition.

Coach Colleen Cashman-McSween, MAAC Coach of the Year, expressed her admiration for her players. “Wow,” she said. “Back to back. It’s unbelievable. I can’t even put into words how proud I am of these players for sticking to our process, achieving the goals we set at the beginning of the season and, most important, prevailing in these very difficult and exhausting windy conditions.”

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