David Anderson, Key Bank's Vice President for Community Relations, presents Director of Athletics Dr. Milton E. Richards and Associate Director of Athletics Gail Cummings- Danson with a $10,000 check to establish a Key Bank-University athletics community ticket program which purchase admissions for underprivileged youth to attend Great Danes intercollegiate athletics contests.

Tonya Dodge shattered her own school record in the women's mile run with a time of 4:54.72 to finish fifth at the 1997 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday afternoon. The Great Danes tied for the 15th in the women's final team standings, and posted the best finish by an eastern school in the two-day event held at the RCA Dome.

Dodge, a senior, became the first woman in school history to earn All-America honors in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. She was 13th at this year's NCAA cross country championships, and placed sixth in the '96 NCAA outdoor 3,000-meter run.

"I am happy to be the first one (All-American in three sports), but I'm sure other people will follow me," said Dodge, whose previous best in the mile was 4:59.40. "I had not run the mile much during the season, but I knew my distance training would favor me."

Xiomara Davila Diaz, a junior from Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, and sophomore Ellakisha Williamson also gained All-America recognition in the 55-meter hurdles. Davila Diaz placed fourth in 8.07 seconds, while Williamson, the ECAC and New England Collegiate Conference champion, was fifth in 8.15. Abliene Christian's Delloreen Ennis won her second consecutive NCAA title, and was clocked in 7.74.

Davila Diaz, who was injured in a tragic auto accident just one year ago (March 6, 1996) which took the life of teammate Kimberly Toone, also qualified for the finals in the 55-meter dash and 400-meter dash. She finished seventh in both events, and set a school record for the second straight day in the 400 with a time 56.52 seconds. She sprinted 57.14 in the qualifying round.

"This is more than what I expected," Diaz said. "I was running for my friend. I know she is proud, and will always be proud of me. Every time I stepped to the line, I said to myself this is for her."

Abliene Christian captured its fifth consecutive NCAA Division II indoor crown with 76 points. St. Augustine's was second with 61.

NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships

Final Women's Team Standings

1. Abilene Christian 76, 2. St. Augustine's 61, 3. Lincoln (Mo.) 30, 4. Lewis 20, 5. Cal State-Los Angeles 19, 6. Adams State 17, 7. Augustana 16, 8. Ashland 14, 9. (tie) Nebraska-Omaha and North Dakota State 13, 11. North Carolina Central 12, 12. Western State 10, 13. (tie) Northwest Missouri State and South Dakota 9, 15. (tie) Albany, N.Y., and Mankato State 8, 17. (tie) East Stroudsburg, Saginaw Valley State, Kutztown and Fort Hays State 6, 21. (tie) Emporia State and New York Tech 4, 23. St. Cloud State 2, 24. (tie) St. Joseph's, Calif.-Davis, South Dakota State 1.

Albany was not able to grab the brass ring, but did take another step toward building a solid Division II women's basketball program at last week's New England Collegiate Conference tournament.

The Great Danes suffered a 70-44 setback in the NECC championship game on top-seed Massachusetts-Lowell's home floor. But Albany, which finished with a 19-9 record, showed a dramatic improvement from last year's 13-14 mark in its inaugural Division II campaign.

"I am extremely proud of our players, said Mari Warner, who completed her 15th season as head coach. "We met every single goal that we set for ourselves as a team. You can't take that away. Last year we got to the semifinals and this year to the championship, so it is one step at a time for our program."

In the quarterfinals, Albany, the No. 3 seed in the tournament, rallied for a 52-50 overtime victory against New Haven. Michele Davis, a senior, hit a driving bank shot from the left side at the buzzer to send the game to an extra period. Kelly Paolino scored four of her 11 points in the overtime.

Senior guard Samantha Ginsberg, who is second on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,217 points, scored 15 to pace four players in double figures in leading Albany to a 66-53 triumph over Franklin Pierce in the semi-final round at the Recreation and Convocation Center.

The Great Danes held a 53-51 advantage midway through the second half, but then reeled off 10 straight points to take control. Davis, a 5'9" guard/forward, had four of her 14 points in that decisive run, and banged home a three-point field goal for a 63-51 lead with 5:17 remaining.

Albany, which shot 52 percent for the field in the first half, jumped out to a 32-18 lead behind the play of freshman Mary Harrison, who had 11 of her 12 points in the first half.

In the final, Massachusetts-Lowell claimed its fourth conference title in the last seven years. Sheila Knower had 12 points, while Jessica Bruce came off the bench to add 11 points and eight rebounds. The River Hawks earned an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament field.

"They were hitting their shots early and playing good defense on our guards," said Paolino, who was named to NECC all-tournament team along with Davis. "We were not getting open and we were making mistakes on offense."

Only three other Albany women's teams recorded more victories in the program's history. The Danes won 26 games in 1985-86, and posted 23 and 22 wins, respectively, in 1984-85 and 1991-92.