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The 2005-06 NYU Sports Season in Review

05/30/06

The 2005-06 sports season was another triumphant one for New York University. Whether it was a team or individual performance, the Violets were constant qualifiers for the various NCAA Tournaments. Along the way, NYU achieved some of its best finishes ever at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships, while some of the varsity programs progressed to the upper echelons of their respective sports.

The success of the Violets once again began with the women’s volleyball team, as they made their fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament’s “Sweet Sixteen” and reached the “Elite Eight” for the third straight season. In 2005, the Violets finished with a 35-8 record, 8-4 in the UAA, and compiled a 20-match winning streak. Head coach Ed Caesar was named New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association (NYSWCAA) Coach of the Year and American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III New York Region Coach of the Year.

Senior Katya Khmelnitskaya earned AVCA First Team All-America, AVCA All-New York Region, and First Team All-UAA honors. Fellow senior Jennifer Gardikas, who established a new NYU record for service aces (115) in a season, was selected AVCA Third Team All-American, AVCA All-New York Region and Second Team All-UAA. Junior Elena Drinka was selected as an AVCA First Team All-American, and earned AVCA All-New York Region, Second Team All-UAA and NYWSCAA Player of the Year honors. In October, she was featured in Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd.

The wrestling team captured the UAA Championship for the first time since 2000. The “grapplers” finished with 16 wins (16-2-2), the most in a season since the 1999-2000 squad registered 19. For their efforts at the UAA Championship, head coach Bruce Haberli and his assistants were named UAA Coaching Staff of the Year. Senior Stephen Hult (149 lbs.) was named UAA Most Outstanding Wrestler, while freshman Joe Ranzenbach (125 lbs.), junior Gene Kobilansky (141 lbs.), and sophomores Takafumi Hashimoto (157 lbs.) and Nick Coleman (184 lbs.) earned All-UAA honors. Kobilansky and Hult won their respective weight classes at the Metropolitan Championships and qualified for the NCAA Championships. Kobilansky finished the season with a 28-7 record, while Hult closed out with a 20-2 mark.

The men’s swimming & diving team posted a near-perfect 8-1 record en route to one of the top seasons in Violet history. A total of 14 school records were set, while there were 13 NCAA All-America honors earned. The Violets also dominated the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships, besting 10 other schools and defending their title. NYU also recorded a best-ever second-place finish at the UAA Championships, as eight team members earned Second Team All-UAA honors (including senior David Osborne in both the one- and three-meter dives), and 13 earned Third Team All-UAA honors. For their efforts, head coach Bob Sorensen and his assistants earned ECAC and UAA Coaching Staff of the Year honors. NYU’s 19th-place national finish at the NCAA Championships was spearheaded by the All-American performance of the 400-yard freestyle relay team of freshman Andrew Lardiere, sophomore Brad Thornton, and seniors John Keyes and Daniel Curiale. The 800-yard freestyle relay team of Thornton, Lardiere, Curiale, and freshman Paul Hogan earned Honorable Mention accolades. Also earning Honorable Mentions were Thornton, freshman Eric Wang, Lardiere, and Keyes in both the 200-yard and 400-yard medley relays. Individually, Hogan earned Honorable Mention status by placing 11th in the 1,650-yard freestyle.

The women’s swimming & diving team was successful once again under second-year coach Lauren Smith. The Violets finished with a perfect 8-0 record, won the ECAC Championships, produced two NCAA All-Americans, and established several new team records. Senior Erika Norris, who won four individual events and was a member of four winning relay teams at the ECAC’s, was named Swimmer of the Meet, while Smith and her assistant Kate Sweeney repeated as ECAC Championships Coaching Staff of the Meet. Also at the ECAC’s, junior diver Abigal Penn won the three-meter dive. At the UAA Championships, the Violets posted a best-ever second-place finish. Norris was a two-time UAA Champion, while senior Taylor Bayless and freshman Samantha Ashby earned Second Team All-UAA honors. Additionally, the Violets earned Second Team All-UAA honors in the 200-yard medley relay and Third Team All-UAA honors in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Both Norris and Bayless qualified for the NCAA Championships and earned All-America honors. Norris also captured Honorable Mention All-America accolades.

The women’s basketball team recorded a winning season for the 22nd straight year. The Violets posted a record of 18-7 and made their 12th trip to the NCAA Tournament. Head coach Janice Quinn added to her accomplishments by becoming the first coach in NYU team history to reach 400 wins. She reached that plateau on December 6 when the Violets posted a 55-49 win over Mt. St. Mary College. Quinn’s career record of 412-111 gives her a winning percentage of .788, best in NYU history and ninth best in Division III women’s basketball history. Awards were plentiful for the players, as junior Karen Bachman and senior Katie Higier were each named Second Team All-UAA. Bachman was also named ECAC Second Team Metro All-Star and First Team All-Metropolitan, while juniors Stephanie Ryba, Adrienne Rochetti and Sara Rabinovitch earned Honorable Mention All-UAA accolades.

The men’s cross country team had another successful season in 2005. The squad produced an All-American (sophomore Hany Abdallah) and finished among the top-three in all but one of their meets. And, NYU spent most of the season as one of the nation’s elite, beginning the campaign with a preseason ranking of #17 in the NCAA Division III Coaches’ Poll and climbing as high as #10 on October 25. At the UAA Championship, the Violets posted a best-ever third-place finish and Abdallah won the individual title. The Violets produced a third-place finish at the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship, one spot shy of qualifying for the NCAA Championship. However, Abdallah placed second overall, earned an individual spot at the NCAA’s, and went on to earn All-America honors with a ninth-place finish.

For the men’s and women’s fencing teams it was business as usual. Four fencers qualified for the NCAA Championships and the combined squad posted another top-20 finish (14th place) nationally. Head coach Steve Mormando led the men’s team to a 12-9 record, while the women finished 10-11. Senior Gabriel Sinkin posted a 34-7 foil record, leading the team in wins. He also earned Second Team All-American honors following his seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships. It was the third career All-America honor for Sinkin. Fellow senior Andrew Magee, who led the sabre squad with a 30-17 record, also qualified for the NCAA Championships. A cadre of upperclassmen also led the women’s team. Junior Lauren Willock’s 43-16 epee record gave her the team lead in wins, while seniors Jean Goto and Kristen Wentrcek each recorded 36 victories in epee and foil, respectively. Goto and Wentrcek represented NYU at the NCAA Championships, while Willock competed at the World Championships in Leipzig, Germany, as a member of the U.S. Senior Fencing Team.

The men’s golf team continued its excellence under the direction of new head coach Jay Donovan. The Violets’ winning tradition remained intact as the squad took home three tournament titles (the ECAC Metro Championship, the Violet Classic, the Neumann College Invitational), and qualified for the NCAA Championship for the third consecutive season. The Violets hosted the UAA Championship and finished in third place, as junior Matt Frame earned First Team All-UAA honors, while junior John Pharr and senior Kunal Rawal received Second Team honors. NYU also recorded two second-place finishes, and four third-place finishes during the season, including a third-place performance at the District I Shootout.

The men’s basketball team recorded its 21st winning season in the last 22 years, finishing with an 18-7 record. It was also a year filled with personal accomplishments. Head coach Joe Nesci recorded his 300th career victory on November 26 in an 81-40 win over Elmira College in the opening round of the NYU Thanksgiving Tournament. Senior captain Jared Kildare became the 22nd player in NYU history to record 1,000 career points, ending with 1,191 and tying him with NYU Hall of Famer Tom Sanders for 13th place on NYU’s all-time list. Kildare also set a NYU single-season record with 185 assists and now ranks second all-time in career assists with 414. Junior Jason Boone was named UAA Co-Player of the Year and D3Hoops.com All-East Player of the Year. He also earned First Team All-Metropolitan, ECAC Division III Metro Second Team All-Star, and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division III - East All-District Team honors. Junior Michael DeCorso and Kildare were both named Second Team All-UAA.

A national ranking highlighted the men’s soccer team’s season. As the Violets debuted on the NSCAA/Adidas (National Soccer Coaches’ Association of America) Division III Poll at #24 and at one point during the season were ranked as high as #8 in the nation. The Violets used an eight-game unbeaten streak, including four consecutive wins, to earn that #8 spot. During that stretch, NYU collected six shutouts and held opponents scoreless for 571:03. Overall, the Violets produced an 11-7-1 record, signifying the first time since 2002 (and for the third time in head coach Joe Behan’s tenure), that the Violets recorded at least 11 wins. Senior co-captain Jake Stolarski, who produced a four-goal game vs. FDU-Florham, led the team with 22 points (10G, 2A) and tied for first (along with sophomore co-captain Jerrit Thayer), in goals scored. Thayer was named Second Team All-UAA and NSCAA/Adidas All-Metro Second Team, while junior defender Nick Katsanos was a Second Team All-UAA and NSCAA/Adidas All-Metro Third Team honoree. Freshman goalkeeper Chris Wright posted a 0.97 goals against average and was named Second Team All-UAA.

The men’s tennis team produced another solid season with an overall 10-7 record, a second-place finish at the ECAC North Open Championship and a fourth-place finish at the UAA Championship. Sophomore Mikhail Gurevich, who emerged as the team’s #1 player, won the individual singles title at the Wilson/International Tennis Association Championship and teamed with junior Ian Corn to win the doubles title. Gurevich led the team with 19 singles wins, while the duo of freshman Calvin Chou and senior Chris Chang racked up a team-best 18 doubles wins. In his final season, senior Kolby Loft posted a 14-3 singles record and produced the team’s best winning percentage (82.3).

The women’s tennis team finished with another winning record under the guidance of veteran coach Horace Choy. The Violets produced a 9-5 record, which included a five-match winning streak, “rallied” for a fifth-place finish at the UAA Championship, and posted an eighth-place finish at the NYSWCAA Championships. Sophomore Hayley McLaughlin won a team-high 14 matches (14-6), while sophomore Jaclyn Manning (11-8), freshman Stephanie Tu (11-9), and juniors Katie Lee (8-2) and Bianca Nicoletti (5-3) posted winning records for the Violets. McLaughlin also became the first player in NYU team history to earn a singles title (#5) at the NYSWCAA Championship, while Manning reached the #6 singles final. Choy recorded the 100th win of his coaching career (vs. Haverford College) on April 2.

The men’s volleyball team finished the season ranked #2 in the CSTV(College Sports Television)/AVCA NCAA Division III Poll. The Violets posted an 11-14 overall record (7-3 vs. Division III teams), and placed second at the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Division III Championship Tournament. Individually, senior Chris Schmidt became the first NYU men’s volleyball player to be named AVCA Division III Men’s National Player of the Year. He was also selected AVCA First Team All-American for the third straight season, a feat that had never been accomplished before. Schmidt was also a First Team EIVA Division III All-Star. Junior Macnair Sillick earned AVCA Second Team All-America honors and was selected First Team EIVA Division III All-Star, while sophomore Jon Wintermeyer was a Second Team EIVA Division III All-Star.

Both the men’s and women’s track & field teams experienced a great deal of success in 2005-06. At the UAA Indoor Championships, junior Jon Phillips won the 3,000 meters, while the distance medley relay team of junior James McCarthy, freshman Geoff McGrane, sophomore Spenser Popeson, and junior Daniel Napiecek were also victorious. McCarthy also earned Second Team All-UAA honors in the mile. The 4x400-meter relay team of Napiecek, sophomore Nile Nahar-Brown, and freshmen Bernier Lauredan and Maciej Szelazek earned Third Team All-UAA honors. At the UAA Outdoor Championships, NYU finished fifth, as Nahar-Brown and McCarthy earned individual championships in the 400 meters and 1,500 meters, respectively. McCarthy also represented NYU in the 1,500 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

On the women’s side, senior Crystal Winter completed her four-year career as the UAA Outdoor 400-Meter Hurdles Champion. She also earned Third Team All-UAA honors in the outdoor 100-meter dash. At the UAA Indoor Championships, Winter earned Second Team honors in the 55-meter dash, the 55-meter hurdles and in the 200 meters. She also established several new NYU records, setting indoor marks in both the 55-meter dash (7.32) and the 200 meters (25.91), while also etching her name in the outdoor record book in the 100-meter dash (12.41) and the 400-meter hurdles (1:04.13).

The NYU women’s cross country team finished among the top-three in four meets during the season. They opened the season with a second-place finish at Vassar, and produced another second-place finish at the Wellesley College Invitational. The Violets won the William Paterson Invitational and claimed each of the top-five spots in the race. Sophomore Amanda Ghanie (20:09) and senior Shannon Sodano (20:31) led the way, while sophomore Alison Maringo (20:48), junior Sara Blake (20:50), and sophomore Heather Kite (21:04) rounded out the top-five. The Violets recorded a third-place finish at the James Early Invitational at Westfield State College. Individually, Sodano was NYU’s top finisher at the UAA Championship (29th), New York State CTC Championship (32nd) and at the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship (37th). NYU finished seventh out of 17 teams at the CTC and ninth out of 28 teams at the NCAA. For her efforts, Sodano twice earned UAA Athlete of the Week honors.

The women’s soccer team saw some younger players emerge as potential stars of the future. Chief among them was sophomore goaltender Katie Barnes, who recorded a trio of shutouts and posted an overall record of 7-8-1 (the team went 7-9-1). Barnes allowed just 1.14 goals per game, recorded an .808 save percentage, and was selected Second Team All-UAA. Junior midfielder Whitney Dipollina finished second on the team with four goals, including game-winners against FDU-Florham and William Paterson. She joined Barnes as a Second Team All-UAA selection.