RCC Sophomore Shines; Nyack College Volunteers

Huskies hope to change course on road

The Northeastern University hockey team, coming of a 7-1 loss to Boston College in the opening round of the Beanpot, visits the University of New Hampshire tonight at the Whittemore Center in Durham, NH.

Game time is 7 p.m.

Justin Daniels of Suffern and Steve Quailer of Arvada, CO, lead the Huskies with six points against the Wildcats.

Northeastern--11-12-3 overall with a 7-11-2 mark in Hockey East--blanked UNH, 4-0, on Oct. 14, but the Wildcats (11-14-2) rebounded with a 5-2 win on Oct. 29.

The Huskies, who have not win in their last five trips to New Hampshire, are eighth in the league standings just one point behind Providence and UNH.

RCC hoop standout honored

Rockland Community College sophomore Jacin Vera was named Mid-Hudson Conference athlete of the week after he shot 27-of-53 from the field in three Region XV contests.  His 68 points helped the Hawks to a 2-1 record including a Mid-Hudson Conference road victory over Dutchess CC. 

The Staten Island native and Curtis HS graduate is averaging 12.9 points and 2.7 assists per game this season. 

RCC (6-19) visits Kingsborough CC on Saturday, and then travels to Valhalla on Feb. 14 to meet Westchester CC.

Dugan named to preseason all-MAAC team

Manhattan College senior captain Elizabeth Dugan of Stony Point was named to the preseason all-MAAC women’s lacrosse team, and the Lady Jaspers were picked to finish tied with Niagara for sixth in a poll of  the league’s seven head coaches.

Defending MAAC champion Canisius was voted to repeat this spring.

Dugan, a midfielder, was the lone representative for Coach Diane Haddeland, who will lead a team that returns 10 players and nine newcomers.

The season is set to start on Feb. 15, when Manhattan travels to Stony Brook.

Besides Dugan, other returnees include senior defenseman Samantha Nardo of Mahopac, senior midielder Chrissy Gutenberger of Stony Point, and sophomore attack/midfielder Kelsey Rehain of Suffern.

Two newcomers, both at attack, are Kaleigh Howe of Pearl River and Carly Cappello of New City and Albertus Magnus.

On the baseball diamond, the defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion Jaspers were selected to finish third according to the coaches’ poll, and three players made the preseason all-MAAC team: junior co-captains Ramon Ortega of Miami, FL, Nick Camastro of Lagrangeville, and John Soldinger of Bay Shore.

First-year coach Jim Duffy returns 26 letter winners, including five starters.

The Jaspers have brought in right-handed pitcher Mike Scarinci of Nanuet, who graduated from Pearl River, and he will be joined on the staff by, among others, Connor Bacalles of New City and Clarkstown South, Mike Giordano of Bedford and Fox Lane, and Jared Hirschberg of Katonah.

Bonnies’ streak on the line

The St. Bonaventure University women’s basketball team aims for its record-extending 13^th straight victory on Saturday in a crucial Atlantic-10 matchup at Dayton.

The Flyers, who have already had their bye week, own an 8-1 A-10 record and were picked – along with Temple – to win the league title. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.

The Bonnies (23-2, 10-0 A-10) set  regular-season program records for consecutive victories, A-10 wins and road triumphs with a 69-54 decision over host Massachusetts (6-18, 1-8 A-10) at the Mullins Center.

The win was St. Bonaventure’s 12th straight, breaking the record set by the 2009-10 squad, and its fourth-straight win over UMass added to a nation-best 11-0 road mark as it remained one of only three unbeatens on the road in the country.

Nyack partnership

The Nyack College men’s team has partnered with the Nyack-Valley Cottage Little League in a restoration project on the baseball field behind Liberty Elementary.

The project focused on the main problem areas of the field, which included leveling out the warning track so that it was even with the outfield grass and laying a foundation of clay bricks beneath the mound and home plate areas.

After an hour and a half, 240 clay bricks were put in and 10 bags of clay mixture were used on top of the mound and home plate.

“It’s amazing to me how much 30 people can accomplish in 90 minutes,” head coach Matt Cornacchione said on the Warriors website. “This team continues to impress me with their work ethic, selflessness, and how they can make any task enjoyable.”

The Warriors head to a new home field of their own this spring in Provident Bank Park, a newly built $38 million stadium that is home to the Rockland Boulders of the Can-Am league.

Mortarboard musings

• Dominican College pitcher Justin Moore of Wantagh was named to the preseason NCBWA all-East Region second team. Moore, a senior right-hander, finished the 2011 season with an 8-1 record and a 1.67 ERA. The Chargers open with three straight games at rival St. Thomas Aquinas College on Feb. 28, Feb. 29 and March 1. Starting time for each game is 6 p.m.

• The St. Thomas Aquinas College baseball team hosts its third annual Pasta Dinner Night on Saturday when former Spartan Brian Flynn will be honored, and special recognition will go to Doug Cinnella and John Sottile. The dinner will be held in the STAC Romano Center in Sparkill begnning at 7 p.m. The Spartans are scheduled to open on Feb. 25 with a noon doubleheader against Nyack at Provident Bank Park in Pomona.

• Spurred by a career-high 28 points from Kelly Slattery of Somers, CT, the Springfield College women’s basketball team defeated the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 56-47, at Merriman Gym in New London, CT. Sophomore Tamara Tribble of White Plains scored four points in 10 minutes for the Pride, who raised their record to 12-10 before hosting MIT (9-12) on Saturday at 3 p.m. Freshman forward Michelle Battipaglia of Katonah had made one start at MIT, and is averaging 3.3 points per game.

• On senior day at the Siena Swim Center in Loudonville, the Saints dropped a 175-78 decision to Saint Francis, PA, and finished their fifth straight winning season with a 9-7 record. Senior Kristen Lange of Pearl River closed out her final regular season by taking sixth in the 100-yard backstroke (1:06.93) and seventh in the 100 freestyle (1:00.39). Lange, who also led off Siena’s ‘C’ 400 medley relay team that placed fifth, returns to action at the MAAC Championships in Buffalo, starting on Feb. 16.

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The 'College Sports Notebook' is published each Friday. Please send items of interest—including local athletes competing at out-of-town colleges—to marcmaturo@aol.com.