June 7, 2007

Garden City, N.Y. - The 2006-07 season saw great success for the Adelphi University. The Panthers garnered six conference tournament titles and three regular season titles. In addition, Adelphi sent five teams and one individual competitor to post-season play, including men's soccer making its first Division I appearance since 1992.

Fall Highlights

Cross-Country (East Coast Conference Champions)
For the first time since 2001 the men and women's cross-country teams captured the East Coast Conference Championship. The women outdistanced the field by 21 points, while the men scored 36 points, tying with C.W. Post for the overall title.

In total 12 Adelphi runners received all conference honors, led by senior Jaime Julia-Perez, juniors Matt Dispensa and Danielle Connor and sophomore Ify Anene who all earned first-team honors. Juniors Melissa Coelho, Mike Dorman and Aaron Warner along with sophomores Lindsay Lafleur, Margaret Penner, Sean Harte, Carlos Techera and freshmen Heather Troutman were second-team all-conference honorees.

The Panthers also posted their best showing in five years at the NCAA Division II Regional, with the men taking home fourth overall and the women placing fifth. Julia-Perez placed 11th overall, earning all-region honors. Julia-Perez also closed out his senior season by capturing the IC4A Crown, becoming the first Panther runner to do so.

Men's Soccer (11-7-1, 5-0-1 Atlantic Soccer Conference) ASC Champions/NCAA Participant
Men's Soccer returned to the NCAA Division I tournament after a 13-year hiatus, earning a trip courtesy of the automatic berth that accompanied their ASC Tournament title. The Panthers also captured their first ASC regular season crown, finishing undefeated in conference play at 5-0-1.

All-Region selection, Marlon Bennett.

Adelphi placed six players on the ASC all-conference team, led by first-team selections Marlon Bennett and Michael Hurley, both graduate students, sophomore Patrick Figueiredo and freshman Val Charalambous. Senior Ron Forman and junior Oliver Skelding earned second-team honors while head coach Bob Montgomery was named ASC Coach of the Year.

Bennett and Figueiredo were each named to the NSCAA All-Region first-team, while Hurley earned second-team honors and Skelding was a third-team selection. In addition Hurley and Skelding were both named to the 2006 NSCAA/adidas Men's College Scholar All-East Region second-team and teammate Georgio Liasi was an honorable mention honoree.

The Panthers faced Brown University in the first round of the NCAA Division I Tournament, after topping Florida Atlantic for the ASC Tournament title. Adelphi fell to Brown by the score of 4-1.

Women's Soccer (12-1-6, 7-1-4 East Coast Conference)
Adelphi started the season with a 1-1 tie versus East Stroudsburg, which would prove to be an omen for things to come. The Panthers posted a school record six ties during the season, which would be their ultimate demise. Despite just one loss and an East Coast Conference (ECC) Tournament Title, Adelphi was overlooked for post-season play.

Seven players received all-conference honors led by senior Catherine Wyndham and junior Denise Auer who were both named to the first-team. Seniors Lauren Lopez and Diana Lopez along with junior Christine Conway earned second-team honors. Senior Michelle Giovanniello was a third-team pick.

Wyndham was also named the ECC Tournament MVP and was the lone player to earn All-North Region honors when she was named a second-team selection. The Panthers excelled academically as well. Four players were named to the CoSida Academic All-District teams. Auer was a first-team selection, the team's first since 1997. Wyndham and the Lopez sisters were named to the third team. As a team, they were recognized by the NSCAA for its team academic excellence. Adelphi posted a team gpa of 3.51, and have been honored by the NSCAA every year since 1995. They were one of just 23 teams in the nation with a team gpa of 3.50 or higher.

Women's Tennis (4-6, 4-2 East Coast Conference)
Women's tennis struggled early, dropping four of their first five games, but rebounded, closing out the regular season with three straight wins to earn a spot in the East Coast Conference playoffs. The Panthers took on Concordia in the first round, falling, 5-0.

Senior Amanda Anaboli was an ECC Champion at 5th flight singles.

Senior Amanda Aniboli captured her first ECC individual title on October 15 when she defeated Amy Boyd of Concordia, 6-4, 6-4 to claim the fifth flight singles championship. Aniboli's title was the first for women's tennis since 2002. Senior Leah Moore also had a solid season, posting an overall record of 6-4 and a conference mark of 4-2, earning second-team all-conference honors.

Volleyball (14-13, 5-4 East Coast Conference) ECAC Participant
Women's volleyball opened the season on a tear, winning five straight and nine of their first 11, including capturing the Adelphi University Tournament title with three consecutive wins. Ultimately the Panthers would cool, finishing with a record of 14-11 overall, claiming the fifth seed in the ECC Tournament.

In the first round Adelphi faced C.W. Post, falling 3-1. With an overall mark of 14-12 the Panthers were invited to participate in the ECAC Championships, where they faced St. Vincent's (PA), falling 3-0.

Both senior Brittany Addeo and Lauren Flanagan appeared on the Adelphi University All-Tournament team, with Addeo collecting MVP honors. Addeo and Flanagan were also named to the Millersville Tournament All-Tournament team. In addition Flanagan was an All-ECC second-team selection, while sophomore Samantha Johnston was a third-team pick.

Winter Highlights

All-Met Selection, Kimani Blaize

Men's Basketball (18-13, 12-8 East Coast Conference) NCAA Regional Participant
For the second season in a row the Panthers captured the East Coast Conference tournament title, picking up a 61-58 win over Bridgeport in the final. Adelphi earned the sixth seed in the NCAA Division II Northeast Regional, falling to third seeded Bryant, 77-55, in the first round.

Senior Kimani Blaize continued to accumulate more accolades in 2006-07, earning first-team All-MET honors, second-team All-ECC honors and ECC Tournament MVP status. Fellow senior Mike Mosby was a first-team All-ECC selection and a second-team All-MET award winner.

Women's Basketball (16-14, 14-6 East Coast Conference)
The Panthers posted a respectable season, finishing 14-6 in East Coast Conference play. Adelphi entered the ECC Tournament as the No.4 seed, advancing to the semi-final round for the first time in three years. They qualified for post-season play at the ECAC Tournament, but fell to Dominican College, 67-54, in the semi-finals.

Junior Gianna Smith led the team in both points (16.6) and rebounds (7.1) and was named a first-team All-ECC selection. Junior Mary Lepore earned third-team honors. Smith also notched her 1000th career point, becoming the 17th Adelphi player to do so. She was also named the All-Met Div. II women's college player of the year by the National Invitation Tournament and the Met Basketball Writers Assn.

Swimming
The Adelphi swim team continued its trend of success in 2006-07. The men posted a dual meet record of 6-1, while the women compiled a mark of 5-2 overall. Both teams improved on their Metropolitan Championships showings from a year ago. The men captured seventh, while the women took home eighth. The men posted ten top-ten finishes at METS, including a fourth place showing by senior Matt Jordan in the 50-yard freestyle (21.57). Jordan also swam fast enough to post a Division II NCAA "B" qualifying time in the 50-yard freestyle. The women captured nine top-tens, including two fourth place showings from senior Jerri Lester in the 100 and 200-yard backstroke. Lester managed to achieve the ECAC "B" standard in both backstroke events.

In addition Jordan was honored by the Nassau County Sports Commission as the Male College Athlete of the Year.

Women's Bowling (33-43)
The women's bowling team made quite a splash in their first season of NCAA competition. The Panthers posted an overall record of 33-43 and earned the program's first national ranking, checking in at #16 in the National Tenpin Coaches Association February poll.

The Panthers also posted an impressive fifth place finish at the ECAC Championship. During the course of the season Adelphi picked up several wins against highly ranked opponents, including #2 Vanderbilt, #3 NJCU and #12 Southern University.

Spring Highlights

Baseball (35-17, 22-7 East Coast Conference) NCAA Regional Participant
The Adelphi University baseball team took a significant step toward establishing themselves as an elite program in the Northeast Region in 2007. The Panthers topped the 20-win mark for the third season in a row and tied the school record for wins in a season with 35.

For the first time since 1999, Adelphi captured the East Coast Conference regular season crown, posting a conference mark of 22-7 and earning the top seed in the ECC tournament. Adelphi also earned the second seed in the NCAA Division II Northeast Regional, making their second trip in three years.

ECC Player of the Year, Mike Testani.

The Panthers placed six players on the all-conference team, including junior Mike Testani, who was ECC Player of the Year and senior Mike Myers, who was ECC Pitcher of the Year. In addition, both Testani and Myers were first-team all-conference selections, while Myers is also the Daktronics and NCBWA Northeast Region Pitcher of the Year. Junior and ECC Tournament MVP, Ryan Boelsen and sophomore Bobby Lanigan appeared on the all-conference team as second-team selections, while sophomore Rob Paccione and junior Mike McLasky earned third-team recognition.

Testani also earned ABCA/Rawlings all-region first-team honors along with Myers, while Boelsen and Lanigan received second-team accolades. In addition, Testani was named to the Northeast Regional all-tournament team along with sophomore Mike Colonna.

Scala also passed a career milestone in 2007, picking up his 100th win on May 18 when Adelphi blanked Caldwell, 4-0, in the second round of the NCAA Division II Northeast Regional.

Men's Lacrosse (5-8, 1-5 East Coast Conference)
Men's lacrosse played one of the toughest schedules in the country and were sitting at 5-3 on April 4 with five games to go. Unfortunately the Panthers stumbled down the stretch, dropping their last five games to finish outside the playoff picture at 5-8.

Freshman Ian Kuchta had a strong first season at Adelphi, leading the team in goals (26) and being named East Coast Conference Rookie of the Year. Senior Michael Gongas was a first-team All-ECC selection, while junior Jesse Corben was a second-team honoree.

After 13 years at the helm of the Adelphi University men's lacrosse program head coach Sandy Kapatos stepped down. Kapatos collected 115 wins while at Adelphi, won four NCAA Division II National titles and coached 61 All-Americans.

Women's Lacrosse (13-2, 5-1 East Coast Conference) Adelphi had a great season by most school's standards, posting 13 wins, however with two losses they were denied a fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Freshman Allison Tumulty was named ECC Rookie of the Year.

The Panthers finished second in the ECC and had seven players named to all-conference teams, led by Rookie of the Year, freshman Allison Tumulty. In addition to Tumulty, the first-team selections included seniors Lauren Giordano, Diana Lopez and Lauren Lopez along with junior Jennifer Fucich and sophomore Rachel Ray. Seniors Meghan Blume and Allyson Murphy received second-team honors.

The Lopez sisters, along with Giordano, Murphy, Ray and Tumulty were each recognized by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) as All-North Region selections. Lauren Lopez was later named an IWLCA First-team All-American, for the fourth time in her career. Giordano picked up her first All-America nod, while Diana Lopez and Ray were named second-team All-Americans.

Softball (39-13, 18-2 East Coast Conference) NCAA Regional Participant
The Panthers completed one of their most successful seasons in the school's Division II history. They set a new school record for most DII wins and won their first regular season East Coast Conference title since 2000 with an 18-2 regular season record. Adelphi entered in the NFCA Top 25 on April 18, 2007 and quickly shot up to a No.8 ranking, its highest DII spot to date. They finished the season ranked No. 16 in the nation.

First-Team All-Region selection, Diana DiPiano

Junior Julie Schaper and sophomores Diana DiPiano and Samantha Johnston were each named first-team all-conference selections. Senior Alana daSilva and sophomores Kristin Brennan and Jessica Vogt were named second-team picks.

Adelphi earned the No.4 seed in the NCAA DII Northeast Regional Tournament and had trouble in the first round, falling to Dominican College, 5-4. The Panthers rebounded and topped No.1 seed LeMoyne College, 9-3, but were eliminated by Bryant College, 5-2, in the next round. DiPiano was named to the Northeast Region All-Tournament Team.

Three members of the team were named to the Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Assocation All-Region team led by DiPiano and Johnston, who were each named to the first-team. Brennan picked up second-team honors.

Track and Field
The Adelphi track and field program continued progressing towards the top of the region in 2006-07. The women missed out on a podium spot at the indoor Collegiate Track Conference (CTC) Championship meet, placing fourth, while the men took home sixth. Combined the men and women took home 19 All-CTC award certificates.

At the outdoor CTC Championship meet the women placed sixth overall while the men placed seventh. In all the Panthers produced five All-CTC showings and two CTC individual titles, courtesy of senior Jaime Julia-Perez (1500-meter run, 5000-meter run).

Julia-Perez also represented Adelphi at the PENN Relays in the 10,000-meter Championship of America, becoming the first Adelphi individual runner to do so in at least the last 15 years. The men's 4x400 meter relay team also ran well at the PENN Relays, placing second in the CTC Championship race by less then one second.

Golf (NCAA Individual Regional Participant)
The Adelphi men's golf program returned to regional prominence as the Panthers sent junior Jantzen Vargas to the NCAA Super Regional. It was the university's first NCAA appearance in men's golf since 2003.

Adelphi also had three top-five finishes and seven top-ten showings in 16 tournaments during the 2006-07 season, highlighted by back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Long Island Intercollegiate Championship and the East Coast Conference championship. Vargas also showed well as an individual at the ECC Championship, claiming his first individual conference title and earning ECC Player of the Year honors.

The Panthers finished with a #12 ranking in the Northeast Region, an improvement of 15 spots over their ranking in 2005-06.

Men's Tennis (5-4, 1-4 East Coast Conference)
The men's tennis team had an up and down season, picking up an 8-1 win in their first game, then dropping three of their next four, followed by two straight wins. The Panthers would close out the season on a high note, topping Caldwell 8-1 to secure a winning record.

Junior Tomasz Walczak posted an overall record of 5-4 at top-flight singles and an identical mark at the first flight doubles. For his efforts Walczak was a second-team All-ECC honoree.