Hofstra Magazine

Hofstra Athletics Year in Review: 2009

Charles Jenkins was selected as the 76th recipient of the Haggerty Award as the top player in the metropolitan New York area. 

Eight wrestlers earned bids to the NCAA Division I Championships in St. Louis, capping a year in which the Pride captured its seventh consecutive CAA Championship and eighth conference title overall before posting a 15th-place national finish. Jonny Bonilla- Bowman won his third conference championship after finishing 24-9, including a 3-2 record in the NCAA Championships. Lou Ruggirello was the CAA Champion at 133 pounds and earned the CAA Wrestling Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. P.J. Gillespie finished his first season by being named CAA Rookie of the Year and an All-Freshman team selection after winning the conference at 149 pounds.

The men’s basketball team produced a 21-win season as Charles Jenkins turned in a memorable sophomore season, averaging 19.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists, making him one of only six players in the nation who averaged at least 19 points, four rebounds and four assists per game. For his efforts, Jenkins was selected as the 76th recipient of the Haggerty Award as the top player in the metropolitan New York area. The women’s basketball program finished a rebuilding year at 16-14 as Joelle Connelly was named CAA Rookie of the Year.

Men’s lacrosse qualified for the NCAA Championships for the third time since 2006, earning an at-large bid. Four players – Michael Colleluori, Anthony Muscarella, Christian Scuderi and Jay Card – were named to the All-America team, while Card was named CAA Player of the Year. Muscarella’s season led to another honor: selection by the Long Island Lizards in the fourth round of the 2009 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft. A trip to Giants Stadium in the final year of its existence also led to a win over rival Delaware in the Big City Classic, while Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium hosted the NCAA Quarterfinals, which included compelling matchups involving Cornell, Princeton, Syracuse and Maryland.

The Pride women’s lacrosse team completed a 10-6 season on the heels of Corrine Gandolfi’s 45-goal season, which placed her on the All-CAA first team. Gandolfi was also selected for the United States Developmental Team following a series of tryouts that also included Hofstra teammates Bryana Borrelli and Liz Falco.

The softball team posted its 20th consecutive winning season, but saw its conference-championship streak end at an impressive 11 straight years. First baseman Michele DePasquale, second baseman Casey Fee and pitcher Kayleigh Lotti were named to the All-Northeast Region first team. DePasquale was also named CAA Player of the Year, while Lotti ended her stellar career as a three-time recipient of the CAA Pitcher of the Year award. The baseball team saw first-year Head Coach Patrick Anderson end his rookie campaign on a high note with a season-ending sweep over CAA rival William & Mary.

The football program posted five wins in 2009 before a December decision by the Hofstra Board of Trustees ended the program to reallocate resources into new academic programs and need-based scholarships. The program, which began in 1937, ended its final season on a high note, racking up 599 yards of total offense in a win over Massachusetts.

Field hockey enjoyed the most success of any Hofstra team in the fall, logging a winning season for the eighth time in nine years and clinching a CAA Championship spot for the sixth straight year. Genna Kovar was named an All-American, becoming just the fourth Pride player to earn the distinction. The men’s soccer program went 8-7-2 in 2009 and placed three players – Richard Martinez, Rob Youhill and Jamal Neptune – on the All Mid-Atlantic Region Team. Martinez also was named CAA Defensive Player of the Year.

Women’s soccer had four players – Jess Crankshaw, Courtney Breen, Tiffany Yovino and Salma Tarik – named to the All-CAA first team after a loss in the CAA Tournament’s first round. Volleyball won five of its last seven matches to finish the season strong after a slow start; Monica Knight and Anissa Whitney earned All-CAA honors.

Lauren Clifton led the women’s tennis team with an 8-7 record as five of seven team members finished with a winning record. Alex Hosner and Ben Star-Thompson each led the men’s team with six wins apiece. In cross country, the Hofstra men finished eighth and the women 10th in the CAA Championships in Virginia. On the links, Connell McNamara led all Hofstra men’s golfers in scoring average, while Erica Barnes topped the women’s unit.

The winter and spring of 2009 also saw Hofstra continue the retirement of jerseys in men’s basketball, wrestling, women’s basketball, softball, men’s lacrosse and women’s lacrosse. In December 2009 Softball Coach Bill Edwards received the highest honor in his profession when he was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Softball continued its dominance in CAA competition, winning its seventh straight CAA title and its 11th consecutive conference crown, counting four in the America East Conference. The team hosted an NCAA Regional for the third year in a row and advanced to the regional finals for the third time in five years. The team set a record for wins in a season with 45 and, individually, Kayleigh Lotti was named CAA Pitcher of the Year, and Bill Edwards was voted CAA Coach of the Year.

The women's tennis team also enjoyed a successful 2008, winning a program-best 14 matches, with two players -- Lauren Clifton and Christie Gattelaro -- earning All-CAA honors. Clifton won 25 matches, while Gattelaro had 20 wins on the season.

The fall season began with Hofstra announcing that the jersey numbers of20 former student-athletes would be retired during the 2008-09 academic year, with 10 retirement ceremonies taking place in fall 2008.

On the field, four teams -- women's soccer, men's soccer, field hockey and volleyball -- qualified for CAA Championship play. The women's soccer team lost a heartbreaking 1-0 contest in double overtime at the CAA Championship finals, while the men's soccer team fell in the first round of the CAA Championship. Volleyball advanced to the CAA semifinals, while the field hockey team was eliminated in the CAA quarterfinals.

Jess Crankshaw of the women's soccer team continued Hofstra's run of strong defensive players as she was named CAA Co-Defensive Player of the Year. The award marked the fifth time in the last six years that a Hofstra player has had at least a share of the honor.

Hofstra student-athletes also excelled in the classroom, as many players earned academic recognition. Among the standouts were: Lauren Engle, who was named CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year in volleyball; Sue Weber, a member of the women's soccer team who graduated in May and was named CAA Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, as well as the ECAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year; and wrestling's Lou Ruggirello, who was named to the NWCA Academic All-America team.

The Pride also had several student-athletes named to CoSIDA Academic All-District teams, including Nick Altomare (football), Lauren Engle (volleyball), Harmonie Calinda (volleyball), Luka Djordjevic (men's tennis), Joanna Kralowetz (softball), Pam Dreslinski (softball), Carolann Lubach (softball) and Kris Root (softball).

Other highlights from 2008 included the third Hofstra Athletics Hall of Induction Ceremony that took place in February and the Pride Student-Athlete Awards Banquet in May. It was announced at the banquet that the Hofstra Unsung Hero Award would be renamed in honor of Nick Colleluori, a member of the Pride lacrosse team who lost his battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in November 2006.