Sports Talk
By Brian DePasquale
Mari Warner’s Contract Not Renewed
Director of Athletics and Recreation Lee McElroy announced on March 4 that the contract of head women’s basketball coach Mari Warner will not be renewed for the 2002-03 season.

Warner, the school’s all-time leader in coaching victories, recently completed her 20th season. She compiled a 299-213 career record. However, the Great Danes have registered four straight losing records, including a 21-60 mark since moving to the Division I level in 1999-2000. Albany finished its inaugural America East Conference campaign with a 4-23 record, and ended the season with 16 consecutive losses in conference play.

Warner, 43, was one of the nation’s youngest head coaches when she was appointed to the position in 1982-83. Under her direction, UAlbany posted winning records in 12 of 13 seasons as a Division III program. Her clubs reached the NCAA tournament twice. In Division II, Warner’s best team was the 1996-97 squad that finished 19-9 overall and advanced to the New England Collegiate Conference championship.

McElroy indicated that a national search for a new coach would commence shortly. “A screening committee will be organized that will be comprised of student-athletes, coaches and administrators,” he said.

Men’s Lacrosse Knocks Off Rutgers and Boston College
Freshman attackman Luke Daquino had five goals and two assists to power Albany past Boston College, 18-3, in a non-conference contest on March 9 at Rensselaer’s Harkness Field.

Albany (2-1) used an eight-goal third quarter to break the game open. Daquino scored four times in the period, and ignited the run when he found the net off a clear from defenseman Chris Zaffiro. Michael Solazzo and Jon Smith each added a pair of goals in the quarter.

The Great Danes, who were coming off an impressive 8-6 win over Rutgers earlier in the week, took a 2-1 lead with 4:03 left in the opening period. Daquino cut from behind the cage on the artificial grass surface and scored from the left side off a feed from midfielder Bobby Gabriel. Sal Massa gave his club a 5-1 halftime lead on a spin move with 23 seconds left before the intermission.

Solazzo, a sophomore attacker, finished with three goals and one assist; Smith also had three goals. Freshman Kevin Rae made seven saves in just over three quarters of work between the pipes. Senior goalkeeper James Karamby had 18 saves for Boston College, which was playing its season opener.

Softball Off to Fast Start
Megan Craft had four hits and drove in six runs to lead visiting UAlbany to a non-conference doubleheader sweep over Maryland-Eastern Shore on March 10. The Great Danes, who are off to a 6-0 start for the second time in the last three years, won the twinbill, 6-3 and 11-0.

In the opener, Craft’s groundout scored Lynette Bohannon, who had walked, to break a 3-3 tie in the fifth inning. Albany added two insurance runs in the seventh on Craft’s RBI triple and a run-scoring single by outfielder Jen Nolette.

Right-hander Sarah Maida, who picked up her third win of the season, won for the second straight day in relief. She allowed no hits over four innings, and recorded five strikeouts and one walk.

Craft and Nolette went to work again in the second game. Craft drove in three runs with a pair of singles, while Nolette went 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs and one RBI. Bohannon added two hits and scored twice. Pitchers Danielle Buyea and Kristin Couris combined for six strikeouts in registering a four-hit shutout.

On March 9, Buyea blanked Maryland-Eastern Shore on three hits at the Hampton University Tourna-ment in Virginia. The Great Danes, who earlier in the day defeated Hampton, 3-2 in eight innings, won the tournament title.

Buyea recorded nine strikeouts and no walks in her first start as a collegian. The game was shortened to five innings due to an eight-run rule. Senior shortstop Valerie Terry singled, walked, scored two runs and added a stolen base. Terry and Jenni Barros each had RBI singles, as Albany scored four times in the second inning to build a commanding 5-0 advantage.

In the first game, the Great Danes took a 2-1 lead in the sixth, when Jess Kostenblatt, who had singled, scored on a throwing error. Hampton tied the contest a two apiece in the seventh, when Adrian Williams delivered a two-out, run-scoring single. UAlbany’s Brittany Burnham scored the winning run in the eighth on a wild pitch.

Maida picked up the victory in relief of starter Couris.Maida, a senior right-hander, struck out six and walked two in five innings on the mound.

Brand Selected Third-Team All-Conference
Will Brand was voted to the 2002 America East Conference all-conference men’s basketball squad as announced on March 1 at the championship award’s banquet. Brand was chosen to the third-team by the league’s head coaches.

A 6-foot-5 senior forward, Brand averaged 10.2 points and 5.2 rebounds this season. He scored in double figures on 16 occasions.

Brand, who made 112 consecutive starts as a collegian, ranks eighth in scoring with 1,405 points and tenth in rebounding (688) on the school’s all-time lists. He is one of seven UAlbany players to combine for more than 1,300 points and 650 rebounds in a career.

Home Page/ Front Page/ Campus News/ Features/ Sports/ Date Book