It has been more than a decade since an Albany football team has reached the seven-victory mark, but the 1996 edition met that standard with a convincing 49-21 victory at King’s (Pa.) College on Nov. 16.
“We’re happy to be 7-3,” said head coach Bob Ford, who team reversed a 3-7 record from the previous season. “You always have regrets in a season, but we appreciate this game. It was an all-out effort by our club.”
The heartache referred to by Ford came in the form of losses to Pace (17-5) and College of New Jersey (38-18) in the eighth and ninth games of the season. The pair of contests were tied at halftime, but saw the Great Danes stumble in the second half. Both defeats diffused Albany’s ECAC Division II playoff aspirations.
At King’s, junior quarterback Joe Savino passed for 176 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a career-high 89 yards. His efforts helped Albany win both its opener and season finale for the first time since the 1984 campaign.
The Great Danes jumped out to a 14-0 lead early in the first quarter. Dan Gmelin, who amassed 220 all-purpose yards, scored on a 65-yard punt return; the fourth longest in school history.
Savino went to work later in the first half, as he threw three touchdown passes, all to tight end Seth Thomas, for a 35-7 advantage at the intermission. Savino connected on 14 of 16 passes on the afternoon, and accounted for 265 total yards.
Tailback Greg Garrett, who set the school’s single-season freshman rushing record with 696 yards, scored on the first play of the third quarter on a 66-yard run.
Free safety Ted Bearor led the Albany defense with 10 tackles. Bearor and 12 other seniors made their final appearance in an UA uniform.
Albany moves to the Eastern Football Conference in 1997, and plays an 11-game schedule for the first time. The Great Danes open at Central Connecticut State.
Tonya Dodge became the first Albany woman to earn All-America honors in both cross country and track & field, when she finished 13th at last Saturday’s NCAA Division II cross country championships in McKinleyville, Calif.
Dodge, the New England Collegiate Conference and Collegiate Track Conference champion, ran the 5,000-meter circuit at the Beau Pre Golf Course in 18:35.1. Her performance was the top finish by an eastern runner.
Dodge, who won four races this fall and was third at the East Regional two weeks ago, placed sixth in the 3,000-meter run at the NCAA outdoor track championships last May.
The Albany men were fifth at NCAA East Regional on Nov. 9, and finished third at the ECAC meet. Ryan Osborn led the way with a time of 36:39 for 10,000 meters. Shawn Higgins (36:40) and Dennis King (36:41) followed right behind in the order.
Andre Duncan tied a career-high with 26 points and scored the go-ahead basket on a jump hook with 1:58 left in a 72-69 victory at LeMoyne on Nov. 20. The Danes also defeated Maine-Presque Isle, 80-59, in the opener, and are off to a 2-0 start.
Albany and LeMoyne had a close encounter for the fourth time in the last 10 months. The Dolphins won all three decision last year by a combined 10 points, including a 76-73 overtime thriller in the conference tournament semifinals last March.
The series has been so close, that not much separates the teams at halftime. Albany has held a pair of one-point leads at the break, while LeMoyne has twice led at the intermission, 37-34.
New England Collegiate Conference play looms on the horizon with Massachusetts-Lowell at the Recreation & Convocation Center on Wed., Dec. 4. Seventeen regular-season game can be heard on NewsRadio 590 AM WROW. Rodger Wyland, the evening sports anchor at WNYT-TV, and Charlie Voelker provide the play-by-play coverage.
Rich Dormer, Tom McGoldrick and Duncan will serve as tri-captains for the 1996-97 season.
The Women Great Danes are 0-2 following a disappointing 72-71 loss to LIU-Southampton in the home opener on Nov. 23.
Poor shooting has been a factor in Albany’s slow start, and was the culprit in its latest defeat. The Danes made just 16 of 34 free throws, and missed three one-and-one opportunities in the stretch.
Seven new faces dot the UA roster, and several freshman have already been productive off the bench. Megan Buchanan, a 5’11” forward, had 13 points against Southampton, while 6-foot-1 Melissa Schoonover added nine points and nine rebounds.
Senior guard Samantha Ginsberg is just two points away from moving into fourth place on the school’s all-time scoring list. She has reached double figures in 20 of her last 21 starts. Ginsberg and Katie Zeglis, a senior forward-center, are the Albany captains.
Meredith Jackel and Liz Peck have been selected to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division II All-America team.
Jackel, a junior defender, is the first Albany player to earn first-team All-America recognition. She scored four goals and had four defensive saves, and led a defensive unit which recorded a 0.52 goals against average and blanked 11 of 17 opponents.
Peck, a junior, was chosen to the NFHCA second team as a midfielder. She had two goals and one assist in 17 starts. In addition, Peck and three other UA players were chosen to the NFHCA national academic squad.
The Great Danes finished with a school-record 14-3 mark, and a No. 5 ranking in the North Region.
Rafaela Nikas, a junior outside hitter, has been voted first-team all-New England Collegiate Conference by the league’s coaches. She averaged 3.68 kills, and has been among the nation’s leaders in dig average (4.54 per game).
Nikas, who was also named to the NECC’s all-tournament team, reached double figures in kills in 17 matches, including a career-high 23 against both Stonehill and Sacred Heart. A two-time NECC Player of the Week, she had double-digit digs on 18 occasions, and handled a career-best 43 against American International.
Nikas, who will be a starter in the Albany midfield when the lacrosse team takes the field this spring, turned in a 20-kill, 27-dig effort against Stony Brook in the NECC semi-final round.
Julie Bliss was named as the New England Collegiate Conference’s Most Outstanding Player, while Darcie Trapasso was chosen Coach of the Year.
Bliss won the NECC Tournament’s Flight I singles and Flight I doubles titles. A freshman from Glenville, N.Y., she posted a 17-5 singles record and had a 9-5 mark in doubles play. Bliss was listed No. 15 in this fall’s ITA East Region rankings.
Trapasso, who is in her fourth season as Albany’s head coach, guided the Great Danes to their second consecutive NECC championship. Albany, which had an 8-4 dual-match record, was ranked 16th in the final ITA East Region Division II poll.