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• SUMMER UPDATE 2014
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Owls Making the Grade in the Classroom Southern student-athletes excelled in
the classroom at record levels during the 2013-14 academic year. As a group, the Owls’ nearly 400 student-athletes combined to post a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.03 for the academic year. Individually, the department had 337 selections to the Northeast-10 (NE-10) Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll in 2013-14. Student-athletes must maintain a 3.0 semester GPA to earn recognition. In addition, seven programs – women’s cross country, women’s soccer, field hockey, women’s swimming and diving, women’s indoor/outdoor track and field and gymnastics – also earned national academic honors from their respective coaching organizations Here’s a quick look at the 2013-14 academic success by the numbers: Individual Academic Highlights • 337 selections to the NE-10 Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll • 4 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA)/Capital One Academic All-Americans • 7 (CoSIDA)/Capital One Academic All-District selections • 19 NE-10 All-Academic Team selections
• 2 NE-10 Conference Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award recipients • 10 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) National Academic Team members • 8 USA Gymnastics All-America Scholar Athletes • 11 Eastern College Athletic Conference All-Academic Team members • 7 United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic honorees
From the Director of Athletics Greetings to all in Owl Nation: As we embark on the 2014-15 academic year, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and also share some of the great work taking place within our Athletic Department and across the campus community. Growing up in West Haven, and later serving as the director of athletics at the University of Bridgeport and Albertus Magnus College, I was already well aware of the outstanding tradition of the Southern Connecticut State University Athletic Department, along with the strong academic reputation of the institution, when this opportunity became available in the spring. As a visitor to campus for numerous events throughout my administrative career, it was very evident to me that SCSU is a special place. During the course of my interview process, I learned more about the outstanding group of coaches, athletic administrators and student-athletes, along with the strong Director continued on Page 7.
Team Academic Highlights NE-10 Conference Academic Excellence Award Women’s Cross Country
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National Soccer Coaches Association of America Academic Award Women’s Soccer
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NFHCA Academic Award Field Hockey
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USTFCCCA Academic Award Women’s Cross Country Women’s Track and Field
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College Swimming Coaches Association of America Academic Award Women’s Swimming and Diving
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National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women Award Gymnastics
More on Moran Page 4
All-Americans Southern student-athletes continued to thrive on the playing fields with 27 All-America selections in 2013-2014. Since the release of the last Owl Club newsletter, the Owls had 12 student-athletes earn All-America honors. They are:
Rotem Porat, Gymnastics
Nick Lebron, Men’s Outdoor A.J. Guerra, Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Track and Field
Michael Cameron, Men’s Outdoor Track and Field
Michelle Grecni, Women’s Outdoor Track and Field
Moneque Beckford, Women’s Outdoor Track and Field
Angelique Ross, Women’s Outdoor Track and Field
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Logan Sharpe, Men’s Outdoor Track and Field
Jasmine Bien-Aime, Women’s Shatajah Wattely, Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Outdoor Track and Field
Chrystle Hill, Women’s Outdoor Track and Field
Brianna Ecklof, Gymnastics
Trio of Owls Named Academic All-Americans A trio of highly successful student-athletes
in the men’s cross country/track and field seniors A.J.Guerra and Logan category, while Guerra Sharpe of the men’s track was named to the and field team and senior Second-Team. Sharpe Anna Pleban of the women’s captured the honor swimming and diving team -for the second time in capped their collegiate careers his career, having also as Academic All-Americans by been recognized as a Capital One and the College Third-Team honoree in Sports Information Directors 2012. of America. Guerra capped an Pleban earned the honor outstanding career Anna Pleban in the competitive “at-large” with All-America category, which includes studenthonors in the hammer throw outdoors athletes from the sports of lacrosse, last spring. He was an All-Region and ice hockey, rifle, gymnastics, swimming All-New England selection both indoors and diving, water polo, tennis, fencing, and outdoors and the NE-10 Conference skiing, crew and golf. runner-up in the weight throw (indoors) She was selected as a Third-Team and the hammer throw (outdoors). Academic All-American for maintaining a Guerra was also an All-American in the 3.88 cumulative grade point average. weight throw and hammer throw as A finalist for the 2014 Northeast-10 a junior. He earned All-New England Conference Woman of the Year and honors five times in his career and 2014 NE-10 Female Scholar-Athlete of was a two-time NE-10 champion. the Year Awards, Pleban concluded her Academically, Guerra was also named career as a 14-time NE-10 Conference to the NE-10 Conference Men’s Outdoor champion. The Owls’ captain was also Track and Field All-Academic Team named as both the SCSU Scholarearlier in 2014 and finished his career Athlete of the Year and the Female as a five-time selection to the NE-10 Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She Track and Field All-Academic squad. He was a three-time NE-10 Conference was also named a Capital One/CoSIDA Women’s Swimming and Diving AllAcademic All-District pick a year ago. Academic Team (2012, 2013, 2014) He is a physics major with a 3.39 selection. Pleban also previously named cumulative grade point average. as a Division II Athletic Directors Sharpe concluded his career as a Association Academic Achievement nine-time All-American. He collected Award recipient (2012, 2013 and 2014). Sharpe was a First-Team selection
Logan Sharpe 2014 NE-10 Conference Men’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year honors and USTFCCCA Indoor and Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year accolades this year. Sharpe was also the Most Outstanding Track Performer at the 2014 NE-10 Outdoor Championship. Sharpe was a three-time New England champion, a seven-time All-New England pick and a seven-time NE-10 Conference champion as an Owl. Academically, Sharpe was the 2014 NE-10 Indoor Track and Field ScholarAthlete Sport Excellence Award winner. He was also named to the league’s AllAcademic Team on multiple occasions, in addition to his selection to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team and for Division II Athletic Directors Association Academic Achievement Award. He is an exercise science major with a 3.5 cumulative grade point average. •••
Owls Again Crack Top 20% In Learfield Cup Competition
A.J. Guerra
The Southern Athletic Department concluded the 2013-14 academic year ranked No. 49 out of more than 300 eligible Division II institutions in the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup rankings. The Owls finished among the top 20 percent in the standings for the eighth consecutive year. The Owls finished No. 30 in the rankings in 2006-07, No. 46 in 2007-08, No. 56 in 2008-09, No. 42 in 2009-10, No. 25 in 2010-11, No. 48 in 2011-12 and No. 56 in 2012-2013. The top school in each NCAA Division, along with the NAIA, is
annually presented with the Directors’ Cup. The Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on an institution’s finish in up to 14 sports – seven women’s and seven men’s.
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Moran Ushers in New Era for Owls Athletics Jay Moran has worn many hats during the course of his 25-year career in collegiate athletics. He’s been a coach, assistant athletic director and for the last 12 years, athletic director. He’s also filled the roles of father, husband, mentor and even mayor of Manchester. Moran recently added another title to an impressive portfolio this summer when he was appointed as the fifth director of athletics in Southern history. He officially started his duties on Aug. 11. Moran joined the Owls after 10 years as the athletic director at the University of Bridgeport. During his tenure with the Purple Knights, the women’s gymnastics program claimed six consecutive team USAG National Championships, while both that program and the men’s swimming squad boasted individual national champions. Originally from West Haven, Moran is no stranger to Greater New Haven. He also previously served as the athletic director at Albertus Magnus College from 2002-04. He will now usher the Owls into a new era, and look to build upon the successes achieved by the department on the playing fields, in the classroom and in the community. “I’m excited to be here,” Moran says. “I’m happy to be here. I like being an Owl, and I think that we’re going to do some great things.” Moran cites many factors that contributed to his interest in the position. “I spent 10 years in Division II at the University of Bridgeport, so Division II was a draw for me because I have the experience,” he says. Moran points to the tradition of the Owls’ program, the coaching staff, the administrative support staff, the students and the vision of President Mary A. Papazian that ultimately sold him on the job. During his first few months, Moran
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has directed most of his efforts to connecting with former and current coaches, staff and student-athletes. “In my first week, I got to bring back Bob Dikranian, the former men’s soccer coach who was involved in so many national championships around here,” he says. “I met a few of the other former coaches. I tried to reach out to some of the former Jay Moran coaches so we can get back some of the alums. “The best thing that’s happened in the (first) two and a half weeks is that I finally got to meet some great men and women that are our student-athletes. I got to meet with most of the fall teams to introduce myself. Trying to get to know the student-athletes has been a great experience. They seem like a great group of young men and women.” Moran began his foray into collegiate athletics as an undergraduate at the University of Connecticut, where he later served as the director of recreation and intramurals. Moran was director of development and alumni relations at his scholastic alma mater, Notre Dame High School of West Haven, from 1991-93 and oversaw a $2 million capital campaign during that time. He went on to serve as assistant athletic director for facilities, recreation and intramurals at the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford (19932002). During most of his tenure at St. Joseph’s, he also served as the university’s cross country coach. An active member of the community, Moran has served as mayor of
Manchester since April after several months as deputy mayor. He was a youth group director at St. Bridget Church in Manchester from 1989-2001 and also has been a Babe Ruth and American Legion baseball coach in his hometown. Moran also has served in a leadership capacity among his peers — including as president of the East Coast Conference Athletic Directors’ Council from 2007-11, and has been presidentelect of the Eastern College Athletic Conference for the past year. Moran has already started to map out his vision for success at Southern, pointing to the need to provide students and teams with the resources they need to be successful athletically and academically. “For every institution, the key is to graduate your student-athletes because we know they go on to do other things besides sports after they graduate,” he says. “At the end of their career if they leave here as better people, then I think that we’ve done our job.” •••
Gymnastics Team Vaults To 2nd Straight Community Service Cup Award Hannah Spreckley
After a spirited competition among all intercollegiate programs at Southern, the gymnastics team was recognized as the winner of the Tim Greer Insurance Agency, Inc. Community Service Cup for the 2013-14 academic year. It’s the second consecutive year that the gymnastics squad has claimed the award. In addition, junior Hannah Spreckley of the women’s soccer team was named the recipient of this year’s individual Community Service Cup. The awards were presented at the annual Senior Athletic Awards banquet in late April. The Tim Greer Insurance Agency Inc. Community Service Cup provides a competitive format that allows studentathletes to gain an enriched experience through engagement with the oncampus and local communities. The gymnastics program assisted with many programs, both on-campus and in Greater New Haven. The team helped with on-campus events such as Friends of Rudolph and the annual Day of Service program. The Owls also conducted clinics at
the Wallingford Boys’ and Girls’ Club’s ‘Sports Night’ event and completed service assistance at St. Ann’s Soup Kitchen in Hamden. They also took part in a series of events that benefited groups such as the U.S. Armed Forces and senior citizens. Several members of the squad were also active with their local communities in Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania and New York. Spreckley was immersed in many events both on and off campus. She participated in weekly reading and
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tutoring programs at the Clinton Avenue School and the Beecher School in New Haven, as well as the Soccer Haven program at the Daniels School. She assisted with on-campus events such as Girls and Women in Sport Day and volunteered her time towards local programs at St. Ann’s Soup Kitchen, the New Haven Animal Shelter and the American Cancer Society’s Daffodil Days event. The team champion was determined through a scoring system that awards points based on the percentage of each team’s roster that participates in an event. Student-athletes can earn points through a variety of means, including: participation in community service events, hosting pre- or postgame clinics and participation in campus events. The individual winner was selected through event participation throughout the course of the academic year. •••
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The SCSU Athletic Department continues to provide extensive information through its social media platforms, in addition to its official athletics website, SouthernCTowls.com. Owls’ fans can follow their teams as games progress with Twitter updates. Most recently, the Owls created an Instagram account for their fans before the start of the 2013-14 academic year. The department’s YouTube page provides an array of student-athlete features, as well as game highlights and postgame interviews. In addition, regular updates are available through the Southern athletics Facebook page. Fans can check out more on these efforts at SouthernCTowls.com
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Former Basketball Star Inducted Into NE-10 Hall of Fame Former Southern women’s basketball standout Kate Lynch was selected as a member of the Class of 2014 for the Northeast-10 Conference Hall of Fame. Lynch, who was also inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame last spring, helped guide the Owls to victory in the 2007 NCAA Division II National Championship and was named Most Outstanding Performer during the run. She capped her career as a two-time All-American. Lynch is the all-time leading scorer in Southern history (1,779 points) and ranks fifth all-time in rebounds (650). Upon the completion of her playing career, Lynch has embarked on the coaching path. She is entering her second year as the head women’s basketball coach at Molloy College. Previously, Lynch built the Community College of Rhode Island program into a national power, capped by her selection as the 2013 Russell Athletic/WBCA National Coach of the Year in the junior/community college classification. She also previously served on the coaching staffs at Fairfield University and Clark University. Southern will formally honor Lynch during an on-campus presentation later this fall. •••
Ibrahim Competes In IAAF World Junior Track & Field Meet Yakabu Ibrahim of the Southern men’s track and field program represented Ghana at the 2014 IAAF World Junior Track and Field Championships. Ibrahim competed this summer in the 110-meter hurdles at the event in Eugene, Ore. Ibrahim, who now resides in Franklin, N.J., had a stellar rookie season for the Owls last year. He was an NCAA qualifier, an All-Region and All-New England honoree and was also selected as the Northeast-10 Conference Rookie of the Year. Thanks in part to Ibrahim’s efforts, the Owls won the NE-10 indoor and outdoor track and field titles, as well as the New England indoor and outdoor track and field crowns. •••
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Sport Shorts
Director continued from Page 1.
Godek Talks Football Southern football coach Tom Godek participated in the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce Sports Council’s sixth annual “Chalk Talk” event recently at the Russian Lady in New Haven. All three area football coaches – Godek, Chris Pincince (University of New Haven) and Tony Reno (Yale University) – gathered to discuss the upcoming campaign. Noah Finz of News8/MyTv9 served as the moderator. The function provided an opportunity for local professionals to network and enjoy an exciting evening of college football chatter.
Tom Godek
Two With SCSU Ties Selected For Prestigious Bill Walsh Fellowship Former Player, Current Assistant Coach Chosen Former Southern All-American Jacques Cesaire and current Owls’ assistant coach/defensive coordinator Jon Shelton were among the individuals selected to participate in the 2014 Bill Walsh NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship, an annual program administered by the NFL Management Council and NFL Player Engagement. Cesaire was a team captain for the Owls who moved on to a nine-year NFL career with the San Diego Chargers. He appeared in 125 games with 66 starts in nine seasons, amassing 217 tackles and 12.5 sacks. He completed his work this summer as a member of the Chargers’ coaching staff. Shelton joined the Owls last spring after eight years as the defensive line coach at the University of New Hampshire. In total, he has 17 years of college coaching experience, which includes stops at the University of Kansas, University of Maryland, Bryant University (Rhode Island) and Montgomery Community College in Maryland. He completed his work as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles coaching staff, of which former Owls’ captain Jeff Stoutland serves as the offensive line coach. •••
Jacques Cesaire
Jon Shelton
collection of faculty, staff and senior administrators, led by university President Dr. Mary Papazian. Southern presented an environment that was tremendously attractive, and I was honored to be appointed as the fifth director of athletics in program history. I officially started my duties on Aug. 11. The first few weeks on the job have been very exciting. I have had the opportunity to meet with many current student-athletes, along with several alums and former coaches who all share a great passion for Southern. I look forward to meeting with all of our student-athletes and many more of our alums, former coaches and program supporters as we dive full-speed ahead into the academic year. The 2013-14 academic year was filled with many accomplishments by our programs, coaches and studentathletes -- academically, athletically and in the community. Our nearly 400 student-athletes combined to record a cumulative academic year grade point average of 3.03, with nearly half of that group earning recognition on the conference, regional or national level for their successes in the classroom. We boasted two NCAA individual national champions -- Nick Lebron (men’s indoor track - heptathlon) and Ray Cswerko (men’s swimming – 200-yard butterfly); eight teams that qualified for NCAA competition – including our men’s basketball team, which reached the Elite Eight; and 27 individual All-Americans. For good measure, our student-athletes volunteered roughly 4,000 hours of their time to community service efforts, a single-year record. I encourage you to come out and support our student-athletes during the 2014-15 academic year so that you can witness the commitment and effort they display on a daily basis. Please feel free to reach out to me at any time, whether that be in-person, or via a phone call or an email. We are heading into an era of unprecedented growth at Southern. I hope that you are as excited to be a part of it as I am. Go Owls! Jay Moran Director of Athletics
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Division II Academic Achievement Awardees A total of 30 student-athletes from Southern were named as 2013-14 recipients of the Division II Athletic Directors Association (ADA) Academic Achievement Award. For a student-athlete to receive an Academic Achievement Award, the athletic director of the institution must be a current dues paying member of the Division II ADA. The student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale, have attended a minimum of two years (four semesters) of college-level work and have been an active member of an intercollegiate team during his/her last academic year. In total, 155 institutions nominated individuals, accounting for a record 6,949 nominees.
Here is a list of the honorees from SCSU: Jack Mallis • Football
Christine Katrenya • Women’s Swimming/Diving
De’Vaghn Millington • Football Luke Houston • Men’s Basketball Tylon Smith • Men’s Basketball
Hannah Olson • Women’s Swimming/Diving Anna Pleban • Women’s Swimming/ Diving
Eric Rothbart • Men’s Soccer Daniel Elliot • Men’s Swimming/ Diving Logan Sharpe • Men’s Track and Field
Laura Richard • Women’s Swimming/Diving
Nicole Strauss • Women’s Cross Country/Track
Caitlyn Salter • Women’s Swimming/Diving
Titilayo Vanriel • Women’s Cross Country/Track
Sarah Brochu • Women’s Soccer
Sarah Vaughan • Women’s Cross Country/Track
Jillian Newton • Women’s Soccer
Cathlyn Pistolas • Field Hockey
Jamie Botteon • Women’s Soccer Kaley Marden • Softball Kristie Vitulli • Softball
Meghan Cole • Gymnastics Jennifer Rochefort • Gymnastics Emily Shelton • Gymnastics Rebecca Jennings • Women’s Lacrosse
Erica Martino • Women’s Lacrosse
Sarah Beres • Volleyball Kelly Gunneson • Volleyball Lauren McVey • Volleyball Sarah Cebry • Field Hockey/ Women’s Lacrosse
Men’s Track Team Runs to New England & Conference Titles
The Owls celebrate after winning the New England title.
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It was another outstanding outdoor campaign for the Southern men’s track and field program. The Owls started the month of May by claiming their 12th consecutive Northeast-10 Conference Championship. The following week, at the All-Division New England Championships, SCSU won its third New England title in the last four years in convincing fashion. In terms of individual honors, John Wallin was selected as both the conference and regional Coach of the Year. Nick Lebron was named the Regional Field Athlete of the Year, while Logan Sharpe was tabbed as the Regional Track Athlete of the Year. In addition, assistant coach Bill Sutherland was named the regional Assistant Coach of the Year. Southern finished 20th as a team at the NCAA Division II Championships in Pueblo, Colo. The Owls sent seven student-athletes to the competition, with four coming back with All-America laurels. •••
Pleban Nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year
Anna Pleban, who recently concluded her senior season as a member of the Southern women’s swimming and diving team, was nominated as one of 446 studentathletes for the 2014 NCAA Woman of the Year award. The Woman of the Year award honors graduating female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership. Pleban enjoyed a stellar career in the classroom and in the pool. The most recent honor in her collegiate career came earlier this month when she was selected as a Third-Team Academic All-American by Capital One and
the College Sports Information Directors of America for maintaining a 3.88 cumulative grade point average. Also a finalist for the 2014 Northeast-10 Conference Woman of the Year and 2014 NE-10 Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards, Pleban concluded her career as a 14time NE-10 Conference champion. The Owls’ captain was also named as both the SCSU Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She was a three-time NE-10 Conference Women’s Swimming and Diving All-Academic Team (2012, 2013, 2014) selection. Pleban previously had been named as a Division II Athletic Directors Association Academic Achievement Award recipient (2012, 2013, 2014). •••
Fore! Southern staffers pause for a moment during the 25th annual SCSU Annual Golf Tournament held at the Lake of Isles North Course at Foxwoods Resort and Casino. It marked the 10th year at Lake of Isles. The event was filled to capacity as more than 150 participants, coaches and administrators enjoyed a day of camaraderie. •••
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