Women�s Lacrosse Ranked 9th Nationally
Albany, ranked ninth in the latest Brine/IWLCA Div. II national poll, improved to 4-2 with a 18-6 victory over Division I Marist on April 2 at Varsity Field. Rafaela Nikas and Stacey Mayer each scored three times in the first half to lead the Great Dane attack.
Albany trailed 2-1 early in the opening period, but then tallied five unanswered goals to take control. Nikas, who had four goals on the afternoon, including her team-leading 23rd of the season, tied the contest on a shot off the right post.
Dawn DiMicco
Laura Walls hit the top left corner to put her club ahead, before Karen Karpus ended the outburst for an 6-2 advantage. Karpus beat goalkeeper Christy Uellendahl to the stick side following a face-off with 16:38 remaining in the period. Sophomore midfielder Dawn DiMicco, who has 13 goals and two assists through six games, found the top shelf with a free-position goal just before halftime to hand Albany a commanding 13-4 halftime advantage.
The Great Danes upended American International, 19-5, earlier in the week, and are home against Franklin Pierce on Friday (Apr. 10) at 4 p.m.
Men�s Lacrosse Loses a Thriller
Junior attackman Chris Asaro scored inside the left post with 18 seconds elapsed in overtime to lift LIU-Southampton to a thrilling 14-13 victory over Albany last Sunday in the Great Danes� home debut at Varsity Field.
Albany (2-2) forced the extra period with one second remaining in regulation, when Trevor Lisky pushed a loose ball in front past Southampton goalkeeper Larry Falkman on an extra-man opportunity. LIU-Southampton (4-2), which won a one-goal decision against the Great Danes in last year�s ECAC Div. II championship, trailed 11-10 early in the final stanza, but Mike Snak hit the net with back-to-back man-up shots to put his club ahead.
Albany tied the contest at 12 apiece on Peter Fries� unassisted goal with 8:39 left, but the Colonials regained the lead two minutes later as Charles Masterson scored in another extra-man situation.
Dan Small led the Danes with two goals and one assist, while Mike McCarthy, Carl Gravano and Lisky each scored twice.
Track & Field Shines in Connecticut
Xiomara Davila Diaz was a triple-winner in the women�s competition, and Jayson Vazquez won the men�s 100-hurdles and placed second in the 400-hurdles at the University of Connecticut Invitational on April 4.
Diaz, a senior from Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, won the 400-meter dash (1:00.14), 400-hurdles (1:03.17) and the triple jump as Albany finished four points behind the host school in the standings. Ellakisha Williamson set a facility record in winning the 100-hurdles in 13.96 seconds, and took a pair of seconds in the 100 and 200 dashes. Janna Johnston leaped 17-6.25 to capture first in the long jump.
Vazquez sprinted 15.01 seconds in his 100-hurdles victory as the Great Danes were second to UConn in the men�s team point totals. Halim Wise was first in the 400 in 48.29 � another facility standard. Luis Soto was UA�s third individual winner with a mark of 23-8 in the long jump. Ben Wright and Todd Weiss were third in the 1,500 meters and 3,000-steeplechase, respectively.
Two Field Hockey Stars are Academic All-Americas
Liz Peck and Jen Cordes of Albany women�s field hockey team have been selected to the GTE District I College Division Women�s Fall/Winter At-Large Academic All-America Team as chosen by the College Sports Information Director of America (CoSIDA).
Peck, a 1997 first-team Div. II All-America midfielder, is now in the Albany�s molecular biology doctoral program. She earned her B.S. last spring, posting a 3.68 grade point average. Cordes, a sophomore forward, boasts a 3.96 GPA in the school� s pre-law program, and has a major in sociology with a minor in history.
Both student-athletes move on to the national ballot, and that team will be announced on April 23.
Baseball Completes Long Road: 5-6
Shortstop Mike Negron drove in two runs and starting pitcher Mark Zacharczyk scattered three hits in leading Albany to a 3-1 victory over Stony Brook in the nightcap of a NECC doubleheader on April 4. The Seawolves won the first game, 9-8. Albany (5-6, NECC 3-1) has played its opening 11 contests on the road, but began a five-game homestand with Quinnipiac on Tuesday, Apr. 7.
Against Stony Brook, Zacharczyk took a no-hitter into the fifth inning. He struck out eight batters and walked two in improving to 2-1 overall. Heath Mullen came on to earn a save by forcing both hitters he faced to ground out with the bases loaded in the seventh. Negron had an RBI triple in the fourth and singled in another run in the sixth, while catcher Rob Ryan added a sacrifice fly.
In the first game, Albany�s Michael Oliva singled, doubled, and scored twice, while Tony Gregoli hit a fifth-inning three-run homer.
Poynton Pitcher-of-the-Week
Albany pitcher Kelly Poynton recorded two victories and allowed one unearned run over 12 innings in a NECC doubleheader sweep at Stony Brook on April 4, 6-1 and 3-0. Poynton, a junior right-hander, upped her record to 7-1 on the season, and has not given up an earned run in 35 consecutive innings. She fired a three-hitter in the first game, and posted 10 strikeouts. In the nightcap, she struck out five batters and walked two over five innings.
Freshman Anne Bink went 2-for-4 at the plate in the opener, while Kate Carnevale keyed a three-run sixth inning with an RBI single. Amy McGroty was the hitting hero in game two, as she collected two hits, two walks, and one RBI.
The Great Danes are 12-5 overall, and remain on top in the NECC standings with a 4-0 mark.
