Hofstra Athletics: Remembering 2010

The Hofstra Athletics program continued its success in 2010. The men’s basketball, women’s basketball, wrestling, softball, men’s lacrosse and women’s soccer teams each made postseason appearances in 2010, while numerous Pride student-athletes won postseason awards for on-field performance and academics.

The men’s basketball team posted a 19-15 record and earned a postseason bid to the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). Star guard Charles Jenkins was named the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Player of the Year after averaging 20.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. He finished the year ranked 20th in the nation in scoring and was one of only five players in the country who averaged at least 20 points, four rebounds and three assists. Jenkins also earned the Haggerty Award as the top player in the metropolitan New York area for the second year in a row, becoming only the ninth player in the 77-year history of the Haggerty Award to win the honor more than once. In addition, Jenkins was named an honorable mention All-American by The Associated Press. Junior Greg Washington earned a spot on the CAA All-Defensive team for the second year in a row, after ranking second in the CAA (and 15th nationally) with 2.8 blocked shots per game.

In May 2010 Mo Cassara was named the new head coach of the men’s basketball program, joining the Pride after four seasons as an assistant coach at Boston College.

The women’s basketball team earned a WNIT bid and defeated Penn State on the road in the first round before bowing out in round two to finish the year with a 20-14 record. Star freshman Shante Evans was named to the All-CAA second team and was also an All-CAA Rookie selection after averaging 13.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, while senior Jess Fuller was a CAA All-Defensive pick after averaging 3.0 blocks per game, which ranked first in the CAA and 10th in the nation.

The Pride wrestling team saw its string of nine consecutive conference championships come to an end, but still three wrestlers – sophomores Ben Clymer and P.J. Gillespie, and senior Jonny Bonilla-Bowman – qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Freshmen Paul Snyder and Luke Vaith were named to the CAA All-Rookie team following the season.

The men’s lacrosse team earned its 16th overall and third consecutive NCAA Tournament selection in 2010, posting a 9-5 record on the season along with a #14 national ranking. Junior Jay Card and sophomore Brad Loizeaux led eight Hofstra lacrosse players named to the 2010 All-CAA Men’s Lacrosse teams. Card and Loizeaux were named to the All-CAA first team; juniors Jamie Lincoln, Adam Mojica and Mike Skudin were named to the All-CAA second team; and freshmen John Antoniades, Cody Solaja and Adrian Sorichetti were selected for the All-CAA Rookie team.

Card and Lincoln went on to earn USILA honorable mention All-America honors. Card was tied with Card was tied with Lincoln for the most points on the Pride in 2010, with 31 goals and 22 assists for 53 points in 13 games. He ranked seventh in the country in points per game (4.08), 13th in assists per game (1.69) and 19th in goals per game (2.38). Lincoln led the team with 33 goals and added 20 assists for 53 points in 14 games for the Pride in 2010. He ranked 11th in Division I in points per game (3.79), 21st in goals per game (2.36), and 32nd in assists per game (1.43). In addition, seniors Christian Scuderi and Dan Stein were chosen to play in the USILA North-South Senior All-Star Game.

Academically, the women’s lacrosse team was recognized as a Merit Squad by the IWLCA. The honor signifies that the Pride had one of the top three grade point averages in all of NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse (91 teams) during the 2009-10 academic year. In fact, Hofstra’s team GPA of 3.492 led the entire nation, edging Stanford (3.477) and Duke (3.471). It marks the second consecutive year that Hofstra has received Merit Squad recognition, as the Pride finished third in the nation in 2008-09 with a 3.50 team GPA. 

After a one-year hiatus, the softball team returned to the NCAA Tournament by winning the CAA Championship. Freshman pitcher Olivia Galati threw the first no-hitter in CAA Championship history as she struck out 10 batters in a win over Georgia State that gave the Pride the title. The Pride traveled to the Arizona Regional where it advanced to the NCAA Regional finals for the fourth time in the last seven years. Hofstra defeated #14 Oklahoma State twice and lost to #3Arizona twice to finish the season with a 45-12 record. The 45 wins tied the school record for wins in a season, set by the 2008 team.

Galati, who tied the school record for wins in a season with 26, won both CAA Pitcher and Rookie of the Year accolades, while Head Coach Bill Edwards was named CAA Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season. Galati was joined on the All-CAA first team by seniors Michele DePasquale and Kris Root, and sophomore Erin Wade. Freshman Tessa Ziemba was named to the second team and joined Galati on the CAA’s All-Rookie team. Sara Michalowski joined DePasquale, Galati, Root, Wade, and Ziemba on the NFCA All-Region team.

The baseball team won 20 games for the first time in three years, and senior Ethan Paquette was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft. Paquette and senior Matt Prokopowicz were named to the All-CAA first team, while freshman Matt Ford was an All-CAA Rookie team selection.

The women’s soccer program had a history-making season in 2010, setting a school record with 19 wins, 18 straight wins, and 11 conference wins. The Pride became the first team to go undefeated and untied (11-0) in CAA play since 1998. The team earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and won its first round game over Connecticut before falling to #18 Boston College in the second round. Two of Hofstra’s three losses in 2010 came against the Eagles.

Senior Tiffany Yovino earned NSCAA All-America third team honors after scoring 12 goals and adding two assists. Yovino was also named the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year and the Big Apple Soccer Player of the Year. Head Coach Simon Riddiough was the CAA and Big Apple Soccer Coach of the Year.

Yovino was joined on the All-CAA first team by senior Salma Tarik and junior Brittany Butts. Junior Courtney Breen and senior Dana Bergstrom were named to the second team, while freshmen Emily Morphitis and Amber Stobbs were named to the All-Rookie team.

Off the field, Yovino and Bergstrom were named to the ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-America first team, and Bergstrom went on to earn CAA Women’s Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year accolades. Yovino added NSCAA First Team Scholar- All-America honors to her resume as well. Yovino, who will have her jersey retired in fall 2011, also became the first Hofstra student-athlete to receive an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.

The men’s soccer squad advanced to the CAA Championship game and finished the year with a record of 8-7-5. Freshman Shaun Foster was selected the CAA Defensive Player and Rookie of the Year, and also earned NSCAA All-Region honors.

The field hockey team won seven games in 2010 and saw junior Genna Kovar earn first team All-CAA accolades, while Dieke ter Weel was named to the All-CAA Rookie team. In addition, 11 student-athletes were named to the NFHCA National Academic squad, and the team received the National Team
Academic Award for having a cumulative GPA of better than 3.0.

Daniel Rono, a sophomore on the men’s cross country team, placed ninth at the Metropolitan Championship to earn All-Met honors.

Hofstra Athletics also celebrated its history in 2010, in conjunction with the 75th anniversary of the University, by conducting an online vote for the top 25 teams, individual players and games in program history. The 1959 football team, which went undefeated on the season, was voted the top team; Wayne Chrebet (football, 1991-94) was named the top individual player; and the softball team’s 10-5 win over defending national champion and top-ranked UCLA in Hawaii on February 13, 2000, was selected as the top game in Hofstra’s athletic history.

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Women’s Soccer: Hofstra Retires Tiffany Yovino’s Jersey

The Hofstra women’s soccer program will retire the jersey number (#18) of All-America senior midfielder Tiffany Yovino (Holtsville, NY/Sachem East).

Yovino, who will have her number officially retired in a pregame ceremony next season, becomes the 24th Hofstra student-athlete to have a jersey number retired and only the second women’s soccer player. Former All-American Sue Weber (2005-07) had her number (#20) retired in 2008.

Yovino capped off her four-year career with the Pride this fall by earning third-team All-America honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). She became the third All-American in the history of Hofstra’s women’s soccer program, joining Weber (2005, 2007) and Brooke DeRosa (2007), who were also third-teamers.

This past fall, Yovino scored 12 goals and added two assists to help Hofstra to a 19-3 final record and a spot in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The 19 wins set a new school record, breaking the mark that Yovino helped set as a freshman in 2007, when the Pride finished 18-4. Hofstra also won 18 consecutive games this season, shattering the old school record of 10 straight set by the 2005 team and tying for the third-longest single-season winning streak in Hofstra history in any sport.

In addition to her All-American distinction, Yovino earned first-team All-Mid Atlantic region honors from the NSCAA this fall, making her the first four-time all-region selection in Hofstra history. She earned third-team honors as a freshman, and then captured first-team honors in each of the last three years.

Yovino was also named the 2010 Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year, making her the first conference Player of the Year in program history. She helped the Pride to a perfect 11-0 league record, as Hofstra became the first team to go undefeated and untied in CAA play since William & Mary was 8-0 in 1998. Yovino scored at least one goal in each of the last eight regular season games, including two-goal performances in a 3-2 win over William & Mary and a 2-1 overtime win over Northeastern. She also had the game-winning goal in a 1-0 win over Connecticut in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on November 12, 2010, the program’s second NCAA victory.

In her four years with the Pride, Yovino started in all 83 games in the midfield and was a part of more wins than any other player in school history (58). Her career record with the Pride was an impressive 58-21-4, and she had a key role in the two winningest seasons in school history, as well as both of the program’s NCAA Tournament wins.

“Tiffany was an impact player from the moment she arrived at Hofstra as a freshman, and she just kept getting better and better,” said Head Coach Simon Riddiough. “She was as driven to succeed as anyone I’ve ever coached and has been a wonderful ambassador for our program for the last four years. She left everything she had on the field every time she put on a Hofstra uniform, and it’s only fitting that we retire that uniform now that her career at Hofstra is over.”

In addition to her success on the field, Yovino carries a 3.74 GPA as a dual major in history and early childhood education, and was named a first-team ESPN CoSIDA Academic All-American in fall 2010. Only six other student-athletes in Hofstra Athletics history (in any sport) have achieved first-team Academic All-America distinction.

“Tiffany Yovino had one of the great careers in Hofstra history,” said Director of Athletics Jack Hayes. “Her academic and athletic achievements serve as fine examples for all future student-athletes.

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