CASSIDY HERMAN
Special to The Leader
Although Fredonia may not be known for women’s sports, it has a number of women’s sports teams including basketball, tennis, softball and more. Those three sports are extra special this season.
Women’s basketball team member Jenna Einink hit her 1000th point late last year. The 5’10” senior just began her last year as a Fredonia basketball player.
“The whole dynamic is different. Having a new coach and seven new freshmen has changed the dynamic of the team. We are definitely more energetic and as a whole we work a lot harder,” said Einink. “The expectations are higher as well compared to my freshman year. We are expected to train more in the pre and off seasons.”
During the 2015-2016 season, Einink was named Fredonia Athlete of the Week for the weeks of Nov. 23, Dec. 14, Jan. 4, and Feb. 15. She was named SUNYAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week Feb. 15 and 2015-16 SUNYAC Women’s Basketball Rookie of the Year. She was also Fredonia Athletics Female Rookie of the Year, May 2016.
“I have always loved basketball. I have always made sacrifices to play because I enjoy playing and learning about the sport. Playing basketball is more than a game to me. It has become a passion,” said Einink. “I enjoy being there at practices, games, film session and I especially being around the team. Making the memories, laughing with one another and playing a game that we all love. It’s a pretty great feeling.”
Einink was recognized as part of the second Team All SUNYAC during the 2016-2017 season. She was fourth in SUNYAC scoring with 13.7 points per game and fifth in field-goal accuracy at 43.6 percent, second in blocked shots (39) and fifth in total rebounds (195) and rebounding average (7.8) and was named SUNYAC Player of the Week on Dec. 5.
Last year, Einink was part of the second Team All SUNYAC. She joined the 1,000-Point Club in the team’s final game and led the team with 14.3 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per contest. She was ranked third in the conference in scoring and ninth in rebounding. She was the SUNYAC Player of the Week on Jan. 8.
Through all of these accomplishments, Einink is excited for this season. She and the team are working hard in the gym and on the court.
“The expectations that we have are working. We just started the challenges with Ryan, Fredonia’s strength and conditioning coach, but I think they have already made a difference for us. Without those, I don’t think our team would be in as good of shape or as strong. They made us disciplined in working out and getting stronger before the season. If our team keeps doing those throughout the seasons, I think they will see the differences,” she said.
“Our team definitely needs to just keep getting stronger and keep in shape. If our team buys into this, they will see a major change in their games,” said Einink.
The women’s season has just begun and would love to see many faces at their games. They are looking forward to a great season. One team that has already had a great season was the women’s tennis team.
Mallory Mecca is one of the tennis team’s seniors. The team finished their season with a record of 12-4. The addition of new coach, Matthew Johnson, could have played a part in that.
“Transitioning from high school to college tennis, Coach Catalano definitely helped me improve. My second year, Coach Dave joined as an assistant coach, being a competitive player himself, he helped my improve my skill even more. Finally, having Matt as head coach and Dave as assistant, the two of them together improved us all more than we would have thought possible before,” said Mecca.
In years prior, the team had records that were just breaking even or losing. In 2011 the team was 4-8, the following two years they were 8-5. In 2014 the team was 8-5 and the year after they were 6-7. The previous two seasons before this year they were 10-3.
“We have done nothing but improve since I’ve joined the team, but we haven’t actually competed with other teams in our conference until this year. I think that’s because we have more players this year that care about the team and are more competitive and want to get better,” said Mecca.
The girls and their coaches are hopeful for the future of Fredonia women’s tennis.
Another Fredonia team that is hopeful for this upcoming season and future is women’s softball. The softball team is made up of seven freshmen, six sophomores, two juniors and two seniors. Out of those players, only one has participated in all four seasons: me. I am the only four year.
It has been a pleasure playing on the team all the years and one of the best things this team has given me is my best friend, Samantha Seegar, a sophomore.
“Softball has given me some of my best friends for life. I keep playing because I love making new connections, being competitive, learning and getting better,” said Seegar.
The softball team has had some standout athletes. I was able to play with some of them. In 2013, Alyssa Morgan, shortstop, led the Blue Devils and was third in the SUNYAC with a .421 batting average. She had the third highest single-season average in program history. She was a Blue Devil Athlete of the Week of April 1 and April 8. She was also Fredonia’s rookie athlete of the year in 2013 and second team All-SUNYAC.
In 2014, outfielder, Erin Mushtare was a Fredonia Female Rookie of the Year nominee. She made the Dean’s List Spring 2014 and the SUNYAC All-Academic Team.
Last year, Katelyn Dennis, first baseman, graduated. She received the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American Scholar-Athlete, SUNYAC Commissioner’s List and All-Academic, Dean’s List, Delta Mu Delta Honor Society. She hit seven home runs as a junior, second most ever by a Blue Devil in a single season. She has 14 career homers and is tied for the most in program history.
Katie Yudin, a junior pitcher, received Fredonia’s rookie athlete of the year last year and I was the year before.
In terms of collective play, the team has not too well in the past but they are hopeful this year and years to come.
“I think the fact that we all share the same team goals as well as the same team struggles is a big reason that we all want to work together,” said Seegar. “I think we need to learn to work together more. We need to understand that not all of us need to be best friends, but when we’re playing we have to give our absolute best effort for the team and not just for ourselves. We need to support each other.”
“College sports can be interesting. They just need the right attention,” said Seegar.
Even though some women’s teams don’t have the best records or the most wins, they have some standout athletes and some great seasons.