SPORTS TALK

 Men's Basketball
    Brian Ehlers had 26 points and Tyson Whitfield added 22, as Lafayette won its seventh straight with a 90-70 victory over Albany on Monday, Feb. 7 at Kirby Sports Center.
    Lafayette (15-5) led 48-44 with 14:19 remaining, but then scored nine straight points to seize control.  Ehlers, who had 16 first-half points, scored two baskets in that stretch. Albany (10-14) closed within 59-54 on a three-pointer by Matthew Haggarty, who had 12 points. 
    The Leopards, who have lost just once at home this season, regrouped with an 11-2 run to put the game away.  Brian Burke, who scored all 11 of his points from the free throw line, sank seven foul shots in that span.  Stefan Ciosici had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Leopards, who shot 52 percent from the field, including 11-of-18 from three-point range. 
    “We played an excellent team, an NCAA caliber team,” Albany coach Scott Hicks said.  “They have good shooters, and hurt us with their offensive rebounding.  We had our chances early in the second half, but missed some free throws and wide-open looks.” 
    Todd Cetnar had 26 points to lead the Great Danes, who had their winning streak halted at six straight.  Albany had posted a 67-53 victory over Stony Brook two days earlier before the largest home crowd (4,017) at the Recreation and Convocation Center since March 1994.
    In addition, Cetnar scored eight of his 23 points in overtime to lift Albany past Yale, 77-69, in the first-ever meeting between the schools on January 31.  Cetnar canned a three-pointer in the extra period to give his team the lead for good at 64-63.  Yale is coached by former Albany player and assistant coach James Jones.
MEN'S NOTES:  Matthew Haggarty became the 23rd 1,000-point scorer in school history against Army on February 2, and has 1,036 points overall ... Haggarty needs seven 3-pointers to become the school's all-time leader, and would move ahead of Darrin Jahnel '98 ... Cetnar was named the Division I Independent Player of the Week (Jan. 24-30). 

Indoor Track & Field
    Luis Soto and Ronald Edmundson won the long jump and triple jump, respectively, and the Albany women set three school records at the Fordham/St. John's Invitational on Friday, Feb. 11.  The Great Danes were second in both the men's and women's team standings at the Armory Track & Field Center.
    Soto went 23-feet, 8.75-inches in the long jump, and narrowly missed Anthony Davenport's school mark of 23-9.  Robby Harrison was second in 23-2, and qualified for the IC4A championships in March.  Edmundson won the triple jump with a leap of 47-4.25.  Jamie Rodriguez placed third in the 5,000-meter run (14:51.88).  John Morris was second in the high jump (6-5), and Rudy Volcy took third in the 55-hurdles (7.89). 
    Andrea Viger and Sarah Best, a pair of Granville Central High School graduates, were winners in the 5,000 and pole vault, respectively.  Viger posted an ECAC-qualifying time of 17:35.24, and was three seconds better than LaSalle's Kathy Heable. Best, a freshman, established a school standard with a mark of 8-6. 
    Two other Albany indoor records were smashed.  Erica Viger, Andrea's twin sister, was fifth at 1,000 meters in 3:02.07 to break a mark set by Tonya Dodge in 1994.  Dinnah Decatus eclipsed another record owned by Dodge, when she finished fourth in the 800 with a time of 2:16.88. 
St. John’s edged Albany, 92 to 90, in the men's competition, and also outdistanced the Great Danes by nearly 44 points in the women's meet.

FORDHAM/ST. JOHN’S INVITATIONAL MEN 1. St. John’s 92, 2. Albany 90, 3. St. Joseph’s 86, 4. Iona 74.50, 5. LaSalle 70, 6. Colgate 66.50, 7. Fordham 63, 8. Rutgers 55, 9. Manhattan 25, 10. Stony Brook 21.
WOMEN 1. St. John’s 144, 2. Albany 100.5, 3. LaSalle 89, 4. St. Joseph's 76, 5. Colgate 58, 6. Fordham 50, 7. Wagner 40, 8. St. Francis, N.Y. 23, 9. Stony Brook 22, 10. Manhattan 21.50, 11. Iona 10.

Women’s Basketball
    Lauren O'Brien came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points, as Albany extended its winning streak to four straight with a 78-30 victory over St. Joseph, Vt. last Friday at UAlbany’s Recreation and Convocation Center. 
    Albany (9-14) rolled to a 17-2 lead in the opening seven minutes.  Marie Connors had five of her career-best 13 points in that run, and canned a three-point field goal to end the outburst. 
    The Great Danes, who shot 53 percent in the first half, would later lead 29-15, but  then used a 9-0 run to push its margin over 20 points for the rest of the night.  Liz Tucker had five of her 10 points in that stretch. 
    Sophomore center Cara Caffell finished with a career-high 13 points and added seven rebounds for the Great Danes, who traveled to Mississippi State, ranked 21st in the latest Associated Press national poll, on February 13. 
    “This was a confidence builder for several of us,” said O'Brien, who made 5-of-9 from three-point range, and added five assists and six steals.  “I had not been shooting well, and tonight I got my rhythm back.  Megan (Buchanan) has the flu, so it was great to see Marie and Cara step it up.” 
    Buchanan, the team’s top scorer this season with a 16.3 average, played just nine minutes, and scored three points.  Most of the Albany regulars saw just over 20 minutes of action.  St. Joseph, Vt., a NAIA Division II program, fell to 13-4 this season.
WOMEN’S NOTES:  Albany rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit for a 60-57 win at Lafayette on February 7 ... Liz Tucker led the way with 21 points and a career-high 18 rebounds ... Megan Buchanan, who became the fifth player in school history to score 1,000 career points on January 29, moved into a tie with Michele Davis as UA's all-time leader with 117 three-point field goals 

Faiola Named Director of Athletic Facilities
    University at Albany Interim Director of Athletics Gail Cummings-Danson announced on Wednesday, Feb. 9 the hiring of Jerry Faiola as director of athletic facilities.  Faiola will supervise day-to-day operations and facility renovations and projects, and serve as event manager for all home contests. 
    Faiola will also coordinate and schedule activities in the Recreation and Convocation Center (a 5,000-seat all-purpose arena), the Physical Education Building with its gymnasium and swimming areas, the school's air-supported bubble, and an outdoor complex which includes University Field, a football stadium with a 400-meter track, and 12 lighted tennis courts. 
    Faiola was previously assistant administrator of events and facilities at Princeton University, where he supervised a 38-sport NCAA Division I program.  He directed building operations for Jadwin Gymnasium and Baker Rink, and was assistant coordinator of aquatics at DeNunzio Pool.  During his tenure, he was involved in directing NCAA championships in men's lacrosse and field hockey. From 1996-98, Faiola was the director of club sports and assistant manager of the Pride's Den at Springfield College.  He marketed sports apparel to 39 athletic teams and five club sports, and generated $110,000 in sales.  In addition, Faiola was a recreation supervisor for Springfield's intramural sports program, and coordinated the school’s NCAA Division III men's basketball northeast regional and ECAC swimming & diving championships. 
A native of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Faiola received his B.S. in marketing and management from Siena College, where he was a two-year starter as a pitcher/infielder on the baseball team.  He earned his master's in education with an emphasis in athletic administration from Springfield in 1998. 
    Faiola, 32, played in the Albany Twilight Collegiate Baseball League, and won three championships as a player/manager in the 1990s.  He was an assistant coach for two years with the Springfield College program, and has coached two state championship squads in the Saratoga Springs Babe Ruth League.