SPORTS TALK
UAlbany Opens First Year of Division I Basketball with "Midnight Madness"
By Brian DePasquale
The beginning of University at Albany's first year as a NCAA Division I institution was welcomed to campus with “Midnight Madness” on Friday evening, Oct. 15, at the Recreation and Convocation Center.
Approximately 700 fans attended the event, which celebrated the start of basketball practice for Division I men's and women's teams.
Albany's basketball teams took the floor just after midnight, and put on a short exhibition for the crowd to highlight the two-hour party.
Fans who attended received a T-shirt commemorating the event, and each person was eligible for several contests by random draw. Two contestants had opportunities to win $10,000, while one individual chanced a 60-foot putt on a makeshift green for a 2000 Ford Focus, courtesy of Upstate Ford Dealers. “We are hoping this will generate enthusiasm and excitement among the students and community members,” said Jason Santarcangelo, coordinator of tickets and promotions. “We are obviously looking to capture more student interest.”
President Karen R. Hitchcock, Vice President Jim Doellefeld and Interim Director of Athletics Gail Cummings-Danson began the evening by unveiling the school's brand-new Division I logo which has been painted on the basketball floor's center court.
The Albany men face a challenging 1999-2000 schedule with away games against Big East Conference opponents Syracuse and Rutgers.
The Great Danes, who have seven letterwinners returning, have home dates with Niagara, Vermont, Army and Dartmouth. Todd Cetnar, a senior guard from Amsterdam, N.Y., led the team in scoring at 16.2 points per game last year.
Head coach Mari Warner will have three returning starters on her first Division I squad. Megan Buchanan, a second-team all-conference forward, was the top scorer with a 15.2 average last season.
Albany's home schedule includes Akron, Richmond and Buffalo, while the Great Danes are on the road at Mississippi State, Harvard and Holy Cross.
Senior tailback Greg Garrett became the school's all-time rushing leader, as Albany pounded out a 40-0 non-conference victory over Massachusetts-Lowell on Saturday at Cawley Stadium. The Great Danes extended their road-winning streak to 14 straight.
Garrett, who passed Tom DeBlois '76 on the career chart, toppled the mark on a 4-yard run early in the fourth quarter. Garrett, who has 2,684 rushing yards, also eclipsed Albany's career record for all-purpose yardage during the contest."I didn't know how much I was proud of the accomplishment until it happened," said Garrett, who had 65 yards on 14 carries, and caught a 13-yard screen pass for a touchdown in the third quarter. “The guys on the team were whispering about the record all day. I'm glad it's over with and we can get on with the season; it was starting to be a distraction.”
Quarterback Eric Williams scored on a 16-yard run, as the Great Danes reached paydirt on their first possession. In the second quarter, Albany (5-1) took a 16-0 lead, when reserve quarterback Michael Oliva fired a 37-yard touchdown pass to split end Michael Ettz. Bryan Bagstad converted his second field goal of the day, a 19-yarder, on the last play of the first half for a 19-point advantage.
The Great Danes led 26-0 after three quarters, and scored twice in the fourth period. Oliva reached the end zone on a 5-yard option run, before fullback Charles Gill went over the left side from six yards out.
“That Garrett is a jack-of-all-trades, and he's so unselfish,” said Albany coach Bob Ford, whose team has won 12 of its last 13 contests. “He's a great blocker, he's a good receiver, and he does all the little things that make you a great player.”
Albany's defense allowed 164 total yards and forced three turnovers in recording its first shutout this season. Massachusetts-Lowell (1-5) was limited to 25 passing yards, as two quarterbacks combined on 3-of-17 through the air.
DANE NOTES: Albany is ranked first among the NCAA Division I-AA leaders in turnover margin (+12) the Great Danes are tied for 16th in scoring offense (36.2 points/game) and are 24th in scoring defense at 18.2 ppg ... Albany moved up to second in this week's Football Gazette Division I-AA non-scholarship Top 20 Poll. Valparaiso is in the top spot. Greg Garrett has 3,203 career all-purpose yards which broke a mark set by Dan Gmelin '97.
Cross Country
Sophomore Jamie Rodriguez
placed third with a time of 25:50.80, as Albany was eighth among 28 schools
at the IC4A Division I championship on Oct. 15 at Van Cortlandt Park.
Mike Kiernan ended up in 31st, while Andy Rickert was 48th in a field of
188 competitors. Manhattan won the meet, while Lehigh's Steve Gourley took
individual honors.
In the women's ECAC championship,
Nicole Herring led the Great Danes to a fifth-place finish. Herring was
ninth overall with a time of 19:06.4 over the 5,000-meter course.
Andrea Viger finished 24th in 19:32.60, as Albany placed four runners among
the top-40.
Lafayette's Laura Nann won
the competition, and Lehigh was first in the team standings.
Women's Tennis
Freshman Violeta Petijevic
and the doubles team of Samantha Kramer and Ilissa Strolovitz reached the
championship bracket's semifinal round at the New York State Women's Tennis
Championships on Oct. 16-17.
Petijevic upended Keely
Crawbuck, of Hofstra, 6-3 and 6-4, in the quarterfinals of Flight I singles,
before losing to Cornell's Carolyn Zakrevsky, 6-3, 6-1, in the semifinals.
Kramer and Strolovitz were beaten in straight sets, 6-2 and 6-2, by Colgate's
Jenny Buntman and Lorraine Coulter in their Flight I doubles semifinal
match.
Shayna Smith and Emily
Gonzales advanced through to the Flight II doubles consolation final, but
dropped a straight-set decision.
DANE NOTES: Angie Stegel scored
two goals and added one assist as the women's field hockey team remained
unbeaten at home with a 5-1 victory over Sacred Heart on Sunday Amy DiMicco
also scored twice for Albany (6-4). Interim Director of Athletics Gail
Cummings-Danson was inducted into the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame on
Sept. 25. Cummings-Danson, a native of Huntsville, Ontario, was a three-time
All-American at Temple University, and led the Owls to the 1988 NCAA Division
I national championship.
Lorena Coscio, Albany's
assistant field hockey coach, was enshrined into the Oneonta State Athletic
Hall of Fame on Oct. 2. Coscio was a two-time All-America midfielder, and
led the Red Dragons to a pair of NCAA tournament berths.