BASEBALL – Pitcher Sean Larson (Angola, N.Y.) was named Fredonia Male Athlete of the Year after posting a 4-3 record with a SUNYAC-leading 1.14 earned run average, 11th best in NCAA D-III. Larson made SUNYAC First Team all-conference as did pitcher Kyle Grey (Frewsburg, N.Y.). Kyle Koslowski (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) made Second Team. All three were seniors. Grey earned his spot with a pair of saves and a 3.18 ERA in 11 appearances. Koslowski batted .277 overall and .306 in the conference.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE – Made the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years and recorded its first win. A goal by sophomore attack Juliana Kotas (Lancaster, N.Y.) with 3.3 seconds left gave Fredonia a 9-8 win over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at University Stadium. The team’s season came to an end a week later vs. eventual national semifinalist Trinity (Conn.). The Blue Devils finished No. 18 in the final Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) D-III poll, the highest season-ending rank in team history. Post-season IWLCA awards were given to midfielders Katie Kleine (Cazenovia, N.Y.) and Marissa Cussins (Elmira, N.Y.), and defender Mary Bruton (Palmyra, N.Y.). Kleine, a senior with one season of eligibility left, and Cussins, a junior, made Empire Region First Team; Bruton, a senior, made Second Team. All three were SUNYAC First Team selections. Cussins and freshman goalkeeper Jessica Zagari (Webster, N.Y.) made the SUNYAC all-tournament team. Head Coach Chris Case has stepped down to concentrate full time on women’s soccer. He compiled a 116-79 record over 12 seasons. His successor is Fredonia’s all-time leading scorer Amy Simon, who spent the past two seasons as Case’s graduate assistant.
SOFTBALL – SUNYAC vet Tony Ciccarello became Head Coach in January. His previous stops were New Paltz (2013) and Geneseo (2002-12). Junior outfielder Kate Nicholson (Heuvelton, N.Y.) led the Blue Devils with a .354 batting average and made the all-conference team. Two solid seasons on the field and in the classroom earned junior infielder Cherise Gunnell (Falconer, N.Y.) the 2014 SUNYAC Chancellor’s Award in softball.
TRACK AND FIELD – Sophomore sprinter Anna Dambacher (Divernon, Ill.) had record-setting seasons. She broke the 60-, 200- and 400-meter team records indoors and the 100- and 200-meter marks outdoors. Her spring times earned her entry into the NCAA D-III outdoor championship meet. Earlier, she was named SUNYAC’s Outstanding Female Track Athlete for winning the 100 and finishing second in the 200 at the outdoor championship meet. Three other school records fell. Kim Foltz (Elbridge, N.Y.), a senior with a season of eligibility left, set an 800-meter record indoors. Laura Morrison (Wethersfield, Conn.), a sophomore, set 400- and 800-meter marks outdoors. Sophomore Kayleigh Wasielewski (West Seneca, N.Y.) established program-best heptathlon marks in the high jump and javelin. Wasielewski, senior jumper Emily Cummiskey (Clarence, N.Y.), and junior thrower Nicole Desens (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) made Second Team All-SUNYAC following the outdoor season. The men had three All-SUNYAC honorees. Sophomore Collin Mulcahy (Batavia, N.Y.) won the 1,500 meters at the outdoor championships and earned First Team recognition. Senior pole vaulter Ben Goebel (Victor, N.Y.) made the Second Team outdoors, and sophomore sprinter-hurdler Eric Williams (Batavia, N.Y.) was a Second Team indoors. The quartet of Mulcahy, senior Steve Whittemore (Penfield, N.Y.), junior Jonmichael Knapp (Rochester, N.Y.), and junior Zakk Hess (Newark, N.Y.) ran the program’s second-fastest distance medley relay in January. Tyler Gajewski (Dunkirk, N.Y.), a sophomore, moved up to No. 1 in the heptathlon’s shot put list.
SWIMMING AND DIVING – An dual meet win over Cortland, the first in Head Coach Arthur Wang’s 11 seasons, was a sign of things to come for the men, who finished second at the SUNYAC championship meet. Freshmen Adam Clouthier (Fairport, N.Y.) and Jeff Matter (East Aurora, N.Y.) won individual titles – Clouthier in the 200-yard breast stroke, Matter in the 3-meter springboard. Matter was also second in the 1-meter and SUNYAC Male Diver of the Meet. John Estanislau (East Longmeadow, Mass.) received the James Fulton Award, given to the top male senior who has received SUNYAC honors, shown improvement and excelled in the classroom. Fittingly, his final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, resulted in a team record. At the same meet senior Adrian Van Hall (Owego, N.Y.) broke a 27-year-old 200-yard freestyle record previously held by James Healy. Estanislau, Matter, Van Hall, and senior Eric Jordan (Lancaster, N.Y.) made the all-conference team, and Van Hall was the SUNYAC Chancellor’s Award winner for excellence in his sport and the classroom. Freshman diver Arron Carlson (LeRoy, N.Y.) won the 3-meter and was third in the 1-meter at the regional zone meet and qualified for the NCAA Championships. He earned honorable mention All-American honors after finishing 13th off the 1-meter board. He was named Fredonia Male Rookie of the Year. For the women, the stellar career of Ashley Keller (Lockport, N.Y.) drew to a close with two more honorable mention All-American certificates, giving her four. She finished 11th in both 1-meter and 3-meter springboard diving at the NCAA meet. She also was a double-winner at the SUNYACs and NCAA regionals. Keller won her second straight SUNYAC Female Diver of the Meet – the ninth straight by a Blue Devil woman – and was First Team All-SUNYAC. Katelyn Haley (Canandaigua, N.Y.), a senior, qualified for the NCAA meet for the first time and placed 12th in the 1-meter, also earning honorable mention All-American status. Haley, senior Larissa Dobson (Hamburg, N.Y.), and junior Heather Colby (Oswego, N.Y.) were Second Team All SUNYAC.
MEN’S HOCKEY – The Blue Devils opened the season by upsetting No. 8 ranked Oswego, 3-2 (OT), on the Lakers’ home ice. A rematch in the opening round of the SUNYAC Tournament resulted in a season-ending 3-2 win by Oswego, which was No. 12 at the time. In between, the Blue Devils celebrated their annual Pink the Rink game with a 5-2 win over Morrisville and raised over $9,000 for breast cancer research. Head Coach Jeff Meredith received a Coach of the Year Award from the American Cancer Society.
MEN’S BASKETBALL – There must be something in the water at Elmira Free Academy. That’s where Tyrone Clark (Elmira, N.Y.), a 2013-14 senior, attended high school. It’s also the alma mater of Blue Devil Hall of Fame member Chris Hughey.
On Jan. 24 vs. Potsdam, Clark scored 45 points in an 87-61 win. It tied Hughey’s single-game school record in 1985. Clark averaged 22.1 points per game, second-best in the conference, and was named Third Team All-SUNYAC.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL – A season of milestones ended with a rim-out. A desperation three-point shot by senior guard Becky Hebert (Hilton, N.Y.)
rattled in and out as the Blue Devils fell at Geneseo, 55-52, in the first round of the SUNYAC Tournament. Hebert was a likely choice to take the final shot. She won her third straight SUNYAC scoring title by averaging 22.4 points per game, ninth best in NCAA D-III. She scored a school-record 1,604 career points, including 44 on Feb. 1 vs. Oswego to set a single-game school mark. She was named All-SUNYAC for the third straight year and was Fredonia Female Athlete of the Year, Honorable Mention All-American, CoSIDA Academic All-American, and a national Jostens Award finalist. Senior Jaimie Warren (Lake View, N.Y.), became the eighth Blue Devil to reach 1,000 points, finishing with 1,124, seventh all-time. She finished tied for third on the school’s all-time rebounding list and earned her second All-SUNYAC award. Freshman Alexis Cheatham (Lockport, N.Y.) was named SUNYAC Rookie of the Year and Fredonia Female Rookie of the Year.
Hall of Fame adds 5
Fredonia will proudly induct five new members into its Hall of Fame during a Homecoming Weekend dinner and ceremony, Oct. 18.
The induction Class of 2014 will consist of Danielle Bleecker, ’08, women’s soccer; Matt Clark, ’06, baseball; Heather (Martin) McIntosh, ’05, women’s volleyball; Heather Mercer, ’04, softball; and Eric Preston, ’97, hockey.
In addition, members of Fredonia’s two consecutive men’s hockey Frozen Four teams — 1993-94 and 1994-95 — will be recognized during the Cranston Marché ceremony. Call 716-673-3101 to purchase tickets.
