April Sports Briefs

The College of New Jersey’s department of athletics recognized 145 student-athletes on Sunday, April 15 at the 20th Annual Scholar-Athlete Luncheon. The event honors student-athletes who have achieved a 3.3 grade-point-average or better while competing as a member of a varsity team at TCNJ.  Since the first luncheon was held in May of 1988 where 34 student-athletes were recognized, the list of honorees has continued to grow, surpassing 140 for the second straight year. In addition, another 112 student-athletes attained a 3.0-3.29 grade point average this past year.

This year’s recipients of the Dr. Harold W. Eickhoff Outstanding Senior Scholar-Athlete Awards were senior baseball player Jeffrey Botti, and senior soccer player Christine Mullin, both OSRP students.  The senior scholar-athlete award was renamed in 2001 for former TCNJ President, Dr. Harold W. Eickhoff.  The award has since been known as the Dr. Harold W. Eickhoff Outstanding Senior Scholar-Athlete Award.

A three-year letter winner with the baseball team at TCNJ, Jeff Botti is enjoying a career-best campaign this season. The Lion’s starting left fielder this season, he leads the Lions at the plate with a .395 average, 34 hits, four sacrifice hits in 22 games. Botti earned a spot in the lineup last year, starting 22 of 36 games played and helped the Lions repeat as New Jersey Athletic Conference Champions in 2006, while earning an NCAA bid as well. Botti, has come along way since first playing in four games in 2005 and now has started 43 of 62 games played and has a .346 career batting average with 49 RBI’s, 10 doubles, four triples and five homeruns. He batted .299 in 2006 with six doubles, two triples, and four homeruns with .31 RBI’s. At TCNJ, he has also excelled in the classroom and is a criminology and justice studies major, while also minoring in psychology. He was inducted in the Criminal Justice Honor Society, Alpha Phi Sigma and has been active as a member of the American Criminal Justice Association (ACJA) the past four years. A four-year TCNJ Scholar-Athlete Honoree, Botti is also working on a joint degree in the accelerated Master’s Program and will receive his bachelor of arts degree from TCNJ this May in only three years, while also earning his Master’s degree from Rutgers University-Newark in December of 2007. 

Mullin has been a part of TCNJ’s women’s soccer program for the past four seasons and has been a key contributor ever since she stepped onto the field. The Lions have an impressive record of 76-10-4 in her four seasons, which have included three NJAC Championships and trips to the NCAA Division III Tournament each season, including back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division III Championship Game. Battling back from an injury during her sophomore year, Mullin saved her best for last scoring a career-high nine goals this fall with four of them being game winners. The forward capped her career with 17 goals and six assists for 40 points. Mullin’s success isn’t limited to the field as she is a TCNJ Scholar-Athlete and is a candidate for the 2006 ESPN The Magazine CoSIDA Academic All-American Team. This past fall she served as a team captain and was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of American Adidas Mid-Atlantic All-Region Second Team in addition to being an All-NJAC First Team selection.

In addition to the student-athletes who were recognized at the luncheon, TCNJ presented the annual Distinguished Alumni Award to 1977 graduate, Scott Puzia . A standout on the wrestling mat for the Lions, Puzia left his mark on the program as a two-time All-American competing at 118 pounds. He garnered those honors in 1976 and 1977 finishing fourth at the NCAA Division III Championships as a junior and second as a senior, helping the Lions to a 15th-place team finish. In his senior year, Puzia also qualified for the NCAA Division I Championships where he finished in the top 16. He capped his career on the mat with an overall mark of 110-20 with an impressive record of 47-7 in dual meets. During his tenure as a Lion, Puzia captured three Metropolitan Conference championships as well as numerous individual titles during the regular season. His effort on the mat and the classroom earned him several honors in his senior year as he received the Varsity-T Award as the College’s best scholar-athlete. Puzia also was presented the “Senior Award” at the 1977 Metropolitan Championships and was The Signal Athlete of the Year. As a Dean’s List student, he earned a bachelor of science degree in Business Administration. After graduation from TCNJ, he worked as a Sales Manager for Macys before serving as a sales representative for a couple years, which led to his joining DataType International as a Vice President in 1982. After ten years there he started his own company, Pharmaceutical Direct, Inc., a direct marketing company in the pharmaceutical industry.  He was inducted into TCNJ’s Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame in June of 2006.

• TCNJ’s athletic department stands in The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) has released the final winter standings for the United States Sports Academy Directors’ Cup race for Division III for the 2006-2007 academic year. The College of New Jersey is currently in eighth place with 491 points, while William College (MA) is currently the leader with 704.5 points.
• TCNJ’s graduate captain of the football team, Ryan Ross (Pompton Lakes, NJ/Pompton Lakes) has been named the 2006 recipient Earl H. Dean Scholar-Athlete Award as selected by the Delaware Valley Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame and was recognized on April 15 at the annual banquet. Ross was also recently named an All-American by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
• The Lions scored their points this winter after posting a fifth place showing in wrestling, a 16th place finish in men’s swimming and diving, a 34th place finish in men’s track and field, a 39th place finish in women’s track and field and a 43rd finish in women’s swimming and diving.
• TCNJ’s baseball team currently ranks 11th in Division III in the most recent ABCA poll, released on April 10.   
• TCNJ’s women’s tennis team currently ranks 28th in Division III and is enjoying a highly successful season. TCNJ just beat Vassar College last week, which ranked 16th in Division III and is looking to move up in the polls when the new poll is released later this week. Individually, TCNJ’s rookie Jackie Shtemberg (Franklin Lakes, NJ/Ramapo) holds a No. 9 regional ranking in singles and is currently (23-3) overall in singles play, while holding a (11-0) dual meet singles record. 
• TCNJ’s Shtemberg and junior Christina Contrafatto (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) are ranked No. 3 regionally in doubles play this spring. The pair, which earned ITA All-America honors this past fall, are now (21-4) overall and (10-1) in dual meet action this season. 
• The success being enjoyed by the women’s tennis team has also rubbed off onto the Lion men’s tennis players as well. The Lion men are (8-1) on the season.
• Leading the way for the team is juniors Michael Klimchak (Clark, NJ/Johnson) and Roger Mosteller (Medford Lakes, NJ/Shawnee). At No. 1 singles, Klimchak holds at No. 15 national ranking and is now (14-2) overall and is ranked fourth in the Northeast region. He is now (54-10) on his singles career.
• Mosteller is now (13-3) at No. 2 singles and has teamed with Klimchak to earn a No. 10 in the Northeast region in doubles. The Lion duo sports a(15-2) overall record together, while going (9-0) in dual action this season. The pair has played their matches together since last year and are now (30-5) together, while boasting an (18-0) dual record with one another.
• TCNJ’s women’s lacrosse team currently ranks fifth in Division III and had their 19-game win streak snapped on April 6 at the hands of Gettysburg College in double overtime. The Lions are currently (7-1) on the season and are looking to earn the program’s 23rd consecutive NCAA Division III Tournament appearance, while looking to defend the team’s back-to-back NCAA Division III Championship crowns.

• TCNJ’s women’s track and field team has received acclaim from both the NJAC and the ECAC.  Earning honors thus far on the spring have been Angela Tecco (Wildwood Crest, NJ/Lower Cape May), NJAC Track Athlete of the Week, 3/26/07; Meghan Miller (Sayreville, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial), NJAC Rookie of the Week, 3/26/07; Jessica Bonelli (Sewell, NJ/Gloucester Catholic), NJAC Track Athlete of the Week, 4/2/07; Kristen Tricocci (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson), NJAC Rookie of the Week, 4/2/07; Stephanie Herrick (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley), NJAC and ECAC Track Athlete of the Week, 4/9/07.

• TCNJ’s baseball players that have already earned honors this spring are Brian Kraus (Feasterville, PA/Neshaminy) as he was the NJAC and NJCBA Pitcher of the Week, on March 12, while Blake Ortiz (Swedesboro, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) was the NJCBA Pitcher of the Week on March 19, and Bob Buskett (Trenton, NJ/Notre Dame), was named the NJAC, ECAC, and NJCBA Pitcher of the Week on March 19.
• Buskett was also named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association National Pitcher of the Week on April 12.
• For the Lion softball team, Julianne Lajiness (Monroe Twp., NJ/Notre Dame) was named the NJAC’s Pitcher of the Week on March 19.
• In women’s lacrosse, Caitlin Gregory (Winslow, NJ/Eastern) was tapped as the ECAC Metro Goaltender of the Week on March 28.
• Mark your calendars for Tuesday, June 12, when TCNJ’s Department of Athletics will hold their 16th Annual Lions’ Club Golf Outing at nearby Mercer Oaks Golf Course. The event will commence at 8:00 a.m. on June 12 with registration/continental breakfast and a shotgun start at 10:30 a.m. in a scramble format with a lunch awards buffet at 2:00 p.m.  For more information please contact Scott Dicheck at 609.771.3021 or via email at dicheck@tcnj.edu.