December Sports Briefs

Lions Athletics Wins First-Ever NJAC Blood Drive Challenge

The College of New Jersey’s Athletic Department was recognized on December 6 for winning the first-ever New Jersey Athletic Conference Blood Drive Challenge, sponsored by the American Red Cross. Members of the American Red Cross staff were on hand to present athletic director, Kevin McHugh with a trophy for winning the event at halftime of the Lions’ men’s basketball game with Kean University.

Over the course of the 2005-2006 academic year, members of TCNJ’s community donated 523 units of blood, top amongst the four NJAC schools that participated in the blood drives last year. TCNJ, Rowan University, Rutgers University-Camden and Richard Stockton College all participated in the blood drive challenge and combined to donate 1,627 units of blood which conversely saved 488 different lives last year.

TCNJ’s athletic director Kevin McHugh said, “I am as pleased with the College's success in the NJAC Blood Drive Challenge, as I am with our athletic victories and I am equally proud of the student-athletes, coaches, staff and other members of the campus community who contributed to this effort.”

Efforts are already under way in the next NJAC Blood Drive Challenge for the 2006-2007 academic year as a pair of blood drives were held at TCNJ on November 28 and December 6.

• TCNJ’s women’s soccer team finished as the 2006 NCAA Division III National Runner-up after another banner season. Over the course of the year, the Lions compiled a record of 18-2-3. After their performance in the NCAA tournament this season, TCNJ now boasts the most tournament wins in the history of the Division III women’s soccer tournament. TCNJ moved into the all-time lead for victories in NCAA Division III Tournament play improving to 38-13-3 moving past the University of California-San Diego, which is now second with 37 wins.
• Among the Lion team members honored with a spot on the 2006 NCAA Division III All-Tournament Team were sophomore Laura Delaney (River Vale, NJ/Immaculate Heart Academy), junior Kristen Cubicciotti (North Haledon, NJ/Immaculate Heart Academy) and sophomore Jamie Kunkel (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape).
• TCNJ’s women’s soccer team had two players named to the 2006 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) adidas All-America Team this week. Junior defender Courtney Krol (Howell, NJ/Howell) and junior forward Dana DiBruno (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) were both named to the National Team for 2006 as Krol earned First Team honors and DiBruno was named to the Second Team. The pair becomes TCNJ’s 24th and 25th women’s soccer players named All-Americans, while DiBruno becomes the College’s fourth women’s soccer player to repeat as an All-American having earned First Team honors in 2005.
• Krol, who earned National First Team honors for the first time in her career, was also named the 2006 NJAC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season. She was also named to the All-NJAC First Team and the NSCAA Mid-Atlantic All-Region First Team this fall as well. The junior anchored a defensive unit that has posted 16 shutouts and has also been a key contributor offensively scoring a career-high 16 points on six goals and four assists. She was a 2005 NSCAA All-Region second team pick as a sophomore. She added three game-winning goals this fall, including back to back goals in the NCAA tournament. 
• DiBruno, who was a First Team All-Americans in 2005, repeated as an All-American. A 2006 NSCAA first team all-region pick as well, she once again lead the Lions with her scoring exploits. For the season, she netted 29 points on 12 goals with five assists and had five game-winning goals. A repeat NJAC All-Star First Team honoree as well, she now has 41 career goals and 19 assists for 101 career points and became just the fifth player in the program’s history to eclipse the 100 point mark earlier this fall. She has played in 66 games for TCNJ and now has 16 career game-winning goals to her credit. The 2005 NJAC Player of the Year, she also earned NCAA All-Tournament honors after helping the Lions to a runner-up finish at the NCAA Division III Championships in her sophomore season.
• Also named to the 2006 NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Regional First Team from TCNJ were Krol and DiBruno, while senior Christine Mullin (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) was tapped for the second team and Cubicciotti was named to the third team.
• TCNJ’s men’s and women’s cross country teams wrapped up another successful season. TCNJ’s men’s team posted an impressive eighth place finish at the 2006 NCAA Division III Championships, while the Lion women’s team took home 22nd place.  
• TCNJ’s junior Brian Kopnicki (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) and sophomore Christopher Guerriero (Saddle Brook, NJ/Saddle Brook) both earned All-America honors for their performance at the meet.
• TCNJ’s field hockey team produced three more All-Americans with the announcement of the 2006 National Field Hockey Coaches’ Association (NFHCA) All-America Team. Headlining the list of honorees for the Lions are seniors Jess Berkowitz (Cranford, NJ/Cranford), and Meg Hess (Morristown, NJ/Morristown) who earned a spot on the First Team, while senior Allison Greene (Atco, NJ/Hammonton) was named to the Second Team.
• Meg Hess (Morristown, NJ/Morristown) has been named the Division III Field Hockey Player of the Year in the 2006-2007 Honda Sports Awards in the race for the Collegiate Women Sports Award. Hess, a senior defender, becomes the sixth player from the Lion field hockey program chosen as the Division III honoree and will now be a candidate for the overall field hockey candidate competing against individuals from Division I and Division II institutions.
• TCNJ’s wrestling team has vaulted into the No. 9 spot in the newest NWCA Division III poll and is now 3-0 on the season in dual meet competition. On November 29, TCNJ defeated King’s College, 26-15. The victory marked the 450th career win for TCNJ’s head coach David Icenhower, Sr. who is now 450-76-3 in 31 seasons with the Lions.  
• Junior defensive lineman Joe King (Mountainside, NJ/Governor Livingston) headlines the 2006 The College of New Jersey football players recognized by the New Jersey Athletic Conference football coaches with a selection to the all-star team. King was named to the First Team on defense, while two players were named to the Second Team and three others earned Honorable Mention status for their play in 2006. Earning second team honor on offense for the Lions was senior running back Cory Schoonover (Toms River, NJ/Manchester), while senior linebacker Derek Tranchina (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway) picked up second team honors on defense after a stellar campaign that saw him finish as the Lions’ tackles leader. TCNJ’s graduate captain Ryan Ross (Pompton Lakes, NJ/Pompton Lakes) earned a spot on the honorable mention team as a wide receiver, while junior tight end Chris Opdyke (Lambertville, NJ/Hunterdon Central) was tapped for the Honorable Mention team after a breakthrough season for the Lions.  Junior safety Andy Larkin (Hamilton Square, NJ/Notre Dame) also had a banner campaign and finished third on the team with his 50 tackles and was named to the Honorable Mention Team as a safety.
• TCNJ’s men’s and women’s swimming teams wrapped action at the 2006 Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III Championships at the Nassau County Aquatic Center after three days of competition. The Lion men finished in second place in the race for the team title, while the Lion women finished in third place at the meet.
• Junior Ava Kiss (North Brunswick, NJ/Stuart Country Day) was named the Female Swimmer of the Meet, while sophomore diver Greg Lloyd (Ringoes, NJ/Hunterdon Central) was named the Diver of the Meet. Head men’s swimming coach Brian Bishop was tapped as the men’s coach of the meet, and diving coach Candace Gottlieb was named the co-diving coach of the meet. For the meet, TCNJ’s men’s squad took second place behind New York University as the Violets had 770.5 points to the Lions’ 759.0 points in a field of 14 teams. NYU also captured the women’s team title with an impressive score of 811.50, while Gettysburg College took second with 460.5 points and the Lion women took third with 428.0 points in a competition of 13 teams. 
• Kiss set a meet record and posted an NCAA automatic qualifying time in the 100 butterfly in 57.28. She also won the 200 individual medley in 2:11.93 and was part of the Lions’ second place 400 freestyle relay team and the second place 400 medley relay team. She also finished in second place in the 200 freestyle in 1:55.13, an NCAA provisional qualifying time. She also won the 200 butterfly with her NCAA provisional time of 2:08.51, a TCNJ school record surpassing the old mark of 2:09.15 set in 2002 by Allyson Hafner. She was also named the ECAC Division III Swimmer of the Week for December 5.
• Sophomore Emily Reichard (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional) captured second in the 200 breaststroke in 2:28.83, besting her own school record time of 2:29.43. She also captured third in the 100 breaststroke in 1:08.823, while also taking eighth place in the 200 individual medley in 2:17.30.
• Led by coach Brian Bishop, now in his 18th season at TCNJ, the men’s team finished in second place and Bishop was tapped as the men’s coach of the meet.
• Lloyd won the one and three meter events to earn Diver of the Meet honors after posting a score of 397.25 to win the three meter event and a score of 440.75 to win the one meet event. In the one meter diving event he posted a score of 440.75, almost 70 points ahead of the second place finisher who had a score of 371.10.
• Junior captain Liam Gallagher (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) scored 51 points at the meet, the second most of all competitors at the meet and guided the Lions to a second place team finish.
• TCNJ’s senior wrestler Mike Guenther (Ewing, NJ/Brick Memorial) knocked off two ranked opponents and was named the most outstanding wrestler as he won the 165-pound weight class at the Spartan Invitational hosted by York College.  As a team, the Lions finished fourth out of 11 teams scoring 64.5 points.
• TCNJ’s athletic department currently stands in fifth place in the first release of the fall standings of the 2006-2007 U.S.S.A. Directors’ Cup.  The Lions are locked in fifth for the second straight time, tallying 256 points.  TCNJ finished runner-up in women’s soccer, fifth in field hockey, eighth in men’s cross country and 22nd in women’s cross country. Calvin College (MI) currently holds the lead with 322 points.  The final fall standings will be released on December 21.