MATT VOLZ
Sports Editor
**All photographs by Kayla Welsh, Sports Photographer**
FALL SPORTS
WOMEN’S SOCCER
The women’s soccer team’s overall record was 2-9-5, with wins over Utica University and Allegheny College.
Their final conference record was 0-7-2.
Junior forward Bri Grazen led the team in goals with three and in total points with 11.
Senior goalkeeper Sabrina Suriani had a 1.62 goals against average and an .828 save percentage.
Her .828 save percentage ranked fifth among SUNYAC goalkeepers.
MEN’S SOCCER
The men’s soccer team’s final record was 4-9-3, which included a win over Alfred University in the final game of the season.
Their conference record was 2-5-2.
Sophomore forward Kaleb Steward led the team in goals with six and in total points with 16.
Goalkeeping duties were split between senior William Richardson and sophomore Tanner Stutzman, as Richardson was injured late in the season.
Richardson’s .759 save percentage ranked fourth among SUNYAC goalkeepers.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
The men’s cross country team competed in five regular season meets in the fall with two top-five finishes, including an overall win in the Kara Hall Memorial Invite at the beginning of the season.
The team finished fourth in the SUNYAC Championships, and they placed 11th out of 24 teams in the Division III Regional Championships in Rochester, N.Y.
Junior Sembel Koshi was the team’s top finisher in most races, but graduate student Kyle Campbell and junior Josh Walters each took home first on the team in one race.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Although the women’s cross country team did not have the necessary five finishers to score as a team in two meets, they were able to finish in the top ten in each of the other three which included two top-five finishes.
They placed seventh out of 10 teams at the SUNYAC Championships and 18th out of 24 teams at the Division III Regional Championships.
All five finishers placed in the top 50 at the SUNYAC Championships.
Sophomore Alexandra Battaglia was the team’s top finisher all season, and she notched an overall win at the Rowan Interregional Border Battle in October.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
The women’s tennis team finished the season 0-12 in matches with an 0-6 conference record.
Freshman Brianna Gentile was the most successful Blue Devil, coming away with two singles victories on the season.
Junior Caitlin Snyder, freshman Violet Hess and freshman Sierra Allen each took home one singles victory.
The doubles team of Snyder and senior Bella Surma took home one victory.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
The Blue Devils volleyball team finished the regular season 4-20 overall and 2-7 in SUNYAC play.
The non-conference wins came against Mount Aloysius College and Hilbert College, while the conference wins were against Potsdam and Plattsburgh.
Freshman Gabrielle Sordetto led the team in kills with 199, which ranked 15th among SUNYAC athletes.
Senior Kourtney Krchniak recorded a team-leading 598 assists, which was fourth among SUNYAC athletes.
Junior Elora Sherman recorded 278 digs, which ranked first on the team and eighth in the conference.
WINTER SPORTS
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
In head coach Bill Bradley’s first season, the Blue Devils saw numerous personal bests and wins throughout the season.
Junior Kayla Hagen took home several first-place finishes, including the 50-yard freestyle five times and the 100-yard freestyle four times.
Hagen also won the 100-yard backstroke three times and the 200-yard backstroke twice.
Senior Rachael Mayou won the 200-yard freestyle four times, and she won each of the 500-yard and 1,000-yard freestyle twice.
Freshman Isabelle Price took home three diving victories, and Blue Devil relay teams tallied eleven wins on the season.
At the SUNYAC Championships, the team finished sixth – an improvement from their seventh-place finish the year before.
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
Much of the talk about the men’s swimming and diving team centered around sophomore Patrick McCrone, who took home a team-leading 19 total victories.
McCrone took home each of the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke five times and the 500-yard freestyle three times, among others.
Sophomore Tyler Conti and freshman Lucas Weiner each took home five total victories.
Sophomore Noah Wisniewski won each of the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke twice.
Four relay teams took home wins over the course of the season.
At the SUNYAC Championships, the team placed eighth.
MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
The men’s indoor track and field team competed in seven regular season meets from December to February.
One of their main contributors was senior Nick Abdo, who consistently placed in the top five and took home an overall win in the 300-meter event of the first meet of the season.
Other key contributors included senior Toby Onuoha, junior Josh Walters and sophomore Patrick Klinger, each of whom consistently placed in the top five of their events.
The team finished sixth at the SUNYAC Championships.
WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
Throughout the women’s indoor track and field season, freshman Cara Pellechia consistently made her mark in the pole vault event, taking home the win in the first meet of the season and placing in the top five on several occasions.
Other significant contributors included sophomore Alexandra Battaglia, who finished in the top five or top ten in the 5,000-meter run on several occasions, senior thrower Marisa Stravino and junior sprinter Evelyn Smith.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
The women’s basketball team finished with an overall record of 5-18 and a conference record of 2-16.
The team won three of its first four games, beating Hiram College, William Smith College and Hilbert College.
Conference victories came over Plattsburgh and Buffalo State.
Junior guard Renee Park led the team in points, averaging 11 per game.
Junior forward Caitlin Snyder was the team’s leader in rebounds, averaging 5 per game.
Sophomore forward Alena Wright recorded a team-leading 34 blocks, which ranked third in the conference.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
The men’s basketball team went 2-23 overall and 2-16 in SUNYAC play, with both wins coming over Buffalo State.
Junior guard AJ Knight led the team in scoring with 17 points per game, which ranked fifth in the conference.
Knight and senior forward Jacob Hougan led the team in rebounds with 4.8 per game.
Junior guard DeAndre Hayes recorded a team-leading 77 assists, which ranked ninth in the conference.
MEN’S ICE HOCKEY
The men’s ice hockey team was the lone winter team to reach the conference playoffs, clinching the conference’s sixth and final seed with a 7-17 regular season record and a 5-11 SUNYAC record.
The team fell to Geneseo in their first-round matchup, 3-0.
Sophomore forward Ryan Bailey led the team in scoring with 11 goals and 17 points.
Senior defenseman Craig McCabe recorded 50 penalty minutes, the most on the team and the second-most in the conference.
SPRING SPORTS
CHEERLEADING
The cheerleading squad competed at the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) Nationals in Daytona Beach, Fla. in April.
They finished ninth in the Intermediate All Girls Division III division with a final score of 86.8635, an improvement upon their 13th-place finish in 2022.
The team also had the opportunity to meet several cheerleaders from the hit Netflix series “Cheer” when they were in Daytona.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
In head coach Tori Poffenberger’s first season, the women’s lacrosse team had its winningest season since 2016 with a 6-11 overall record and a 1-8 conference record.
Their win over Potsdam marked their first conference win since 2021.
Senior Erin Woods led the team with 48 goals and 64 points, ranking sixth in the conference in each category.
Senior goalkeeper Emily Carr led the conference with 178 saves. Her .460 save percentage was fourth-best in the conference.
MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
The men’s track and field team competed in five regular season meets between late March and late April.
Many athletes from the cross country and indoor track and field seasons carried over to track and field in the spring, including Abdo, Walters, Onuoha, Klinger and others.
Throughout the season, many runners achieved career personal bests, including Abdo, who recorded performances in the 100-meter and 200-meter runs that ranked in the top ten all-time in Blue Devils history.
Other athletes who achieved personal bests included seniors Sam Cottrell and Vincent Mendez, Klinger and graduate student Kyle Campbell.
WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
The women’s track and field team competed in four regular season meets in late March and April, and Pellechia was invited to compete in the pole vault at a meet hosted by Bucknell University.
Pellechia consistently finished in the top five in the pole vault throughout the season.
Several other Blue Devils achieved personal bests throughout the season, including junior distance runner Holly Rohrbach and freshman jumpers Kira Davidson and Hayley Mercer.
SOFTBALL
The softball team finished the regular season with an overall record of 6-32 and a conference record of 5-13.
Sophomore infielder Allie Wandell led the team with a .351 batting average, and her 40 hits and 16 RBIs also led the team.
Senior infielder Victoria Pauwels was the lone Blue Devil with multiple home runs, and junior infielder Alexis Wulf led the team in stolen bases with 12.
Senior Emily Chelius was the team’s primary pitcher, and her 82 strikeouts ranked sixth among SUNYAC pitchers.
BASEBALL
The baseball finished the regular season at 6-28. They were 1-17 in conference play, with the lone SUNYAC win coming over New Paltz.
Sophomore outfielder Tyler Curtis batted a team-best .330, and his .474 slugging percentage was also the best of any Blue Devil.
Freshman outfielder and third baseman Garrett Stuckey led the team in hits with 38 and in RBIs with 30.
Freshman Nick Syposs was the team’s top starting pitcher, allowing 42 runs across 34 innings with a 7.94 earned run average (ERA).