HOBOKEN, N.J. (October 12, 2020) – Under the leadership of current Director of Athletics
Russell Rogers, who just completed his 20th year in the position, the Stevens Institute of Technology Department of Athletics has risen to unprecedented levels of success.
Under Rogers' leadership, Stevens has finished inside the top 45 in the DIII College Directors' Cup standings 11 consecutive years including a program-best 13th-place finish in both 2010-11 and 2015-16. The Ducks also won the Jostens Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Institution of the Year Award in both 2007-08 and 2012-13, while also finishing as the Collegiate Athletic Administrators of New Jersey DIII Cup Winner in seven of the last 10 years.
The Department of Athletics will look back into the archives to reflect on the development's evolution under Rogers. Each week, key moments will be highlighted that happened "This Week in Stevens History."
The week of October 12-18
Oct. 12, 2019 – Shelby Stewart Sets Women's Volleyball Career Blocks Record at St. Thomas Tri-Match
Just 18 matches into the season senior women's volleyball student-athlete
Shelby Stewart broke the program record for career blocks with her 429th career block in the opening set of a match against Northwestern-St. Paul. The block broke the record previously set by
Maggie Kowalska who produced 428 in her four-years on Castle Point.
Though the Ducks lost both matches on the day, they were not down for long as they made a run to the NCAA Tournament. Despite falling to 9-10 following the trip to the Midwest, Stevens went on to win 13 consecutive matches en route to their first MAC Freedom Regular Season and Tournament titles and also made their first trip to the NCAA Regional Final since 2016.
Oct. 12, 2008 – Women's Cross Country, Franzese Win NJIT Highlander Invitational
Led by junior Melissa Franzese, the Stevens women's cross country team took home first place in the New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlander Invitational, topping a field of eight total teams. Franzese finished the 5K race in a final time of 18:58 to break the Branch Brook Course record to cross in first place as the Ducks had five runners place inside the top-seven individually.
Franzese broke the previous record of 19:04 that was set by her teammate, Sara Amitrani, one year prior. Amitrani finished in second place in 2008 and was followed by teammates Shannon Beairsto, Jamie Brabston and Erica Bakelmun who finished in fourth, sixth and seventh place, respectively.
Oct. 13, 2019 – Men's Tennis Sweeps Field at MAC Individual Championship
In their first year in the Middle Atlantic Conference, the Stevens men's tennis team swept all 11 singles and doubles titles at the MAC Individual Championships to become just the second program since the format change in 2005 to accomplish the feat.
Marc Feliu,
Keegan Morris,
Mark Kanevsky,
Philip Szkudlarski,
Gabriel Sifuentes,
Arjun Krishnan and
Eloi Pradier all won their individual singles titles. Each student-athlete recorded their win in straight sets and the Ducks dropped a total of only seven games.
On the doubles side, Feliu and Morris, Sifuentes and Szkudlarski, Kanevsky and Krishnan and
Garrett Kincaid and
Brian Li all teamed up to win their respective doubles titles to complete the sweep.
Oct. 13, 2018 – Women's Tennis Wins First-Ever Empire 8 Conference Title
For the first time in program history, the Stevens women's tennis team won the Empire 8 Conference Title when they knocked off the top overall seed Nazareth College 5-4. It was the first time a team other than Nazareth or Ithaca College won the E8 crown since 2004 when Alfred took home the title.
To start the match,
Agatha Malinowski and
Isabella Calandra won 8-1 at line one doubles while
Alexis Fuda and
Sydney Zoretic combined to win a thrilling 8-7 (7-5) matchup at line three doubles.
In singles action, Fuda and
Makenna Sargis both picked up straight set victories at lines four and six, respectively while Nazareth won at lines one, three and five to tie the contest at 3 wins apiece. After dropping the first set at line two 7-6 (7-5),
Julia Earl battled back to win the next two sets 6-3, 6-2 to clinch the win for Stevens.
Oct. 13, 2007 – Field Hockey Sets Program Records for Goals, Assists, and Points, Borzillo Nets Five Goals, in 9-0 Win Over Elmira
In what was the most lopsided victory in program history, the Stevens field hockey program routed Elmira College 9-0 thanks to a program-record five goals off the stick of now-Stevens Hall of Famer
Kara Borzillo. The Ducks set a program record for goals, assists and points while Borzillo became the first and only student-athlete in program history to find the back of the net five times in a game and also set a program single-game record with 11 points.
Stevens out-shot Elmira 34-2 in the contest and also got a goal from 2019 Hall of Fame inductee Hillary Paul in the victory. Along with Borzillo and Paul,
Stephanie Linder, Courtney Geddis and Allison Basile all netted goals. The nine goals from the Ducks remains tied for the most single-game goals in program history with a match from Oct. 26, 2013 when Stevens also scored nine times against Elmira.
Oct. 15, 2011 – Men's Swimming Breaks Four Pool Records in Convincing Win over Montclair St.
The 2011-12 men's swimming season got off to a fast start with a dominant 153-88 victory over Montclair St. that saw the Ducks break four DeBaun Aquatic Center records and sweep all 16 events on the afternoon.
Stevens broke the pool records in the 200-yard medley relay, the 100-yard backstroke, the 200-yard butterfly and the 400-yard freestyle relay.
The victory was the sign of a fantastic season that was to come for the Ducks as Stevens won the ECAC title for the third consecutive year and placed 11th at the NCAA DIII Swimming and Diving Championships.
Oct. 15, 2004 – Men's Soccer Hands No. 6 USMMA First Loss of Season
With the regular season Skyline Conference title on the line, the men's soccer team got a pair of goals in the final five minutes to rally to a 2-1 victory over No. 6 USMMA to hand the Mariners their first loss of the 2004 season.
Trailing 1-0 with less than five minutes to play, Collin Clatanoff fired a shot from 30 yards deep and found the back of the net to tie the contest at one. Then, two minutes later, Kings Point was called for a foul in the penalty area and junior Chris Barsky delivered the ensuing penalty kick over the wall of defenders into the left side of the net with 2:05 left to give Stevens the thrilling victory.
The Ducks went on to top USMMA 4-0 in the Skyline Championship match later that season and advanced to the NCAA Round of 16.
Oct. 16, 2011 – Laura Barito Becomes NCAA Woman of the Year
Following an unbelievable career on Castle Point, Stevens women's track and field and swimming student-athlete Laura Barito was named the NCAA Woman of the Year on Sunday night. A two-time NCAA national champ, Barito was just the second NCAA Division III student-athlete to win the award.
Barito earned national titles in swimming (50-yard freestyle) and track (400-meter hurdles) at Stevens and was an eight-time Empire 8 conference record holder in swimming upon graduation. She also was a four-time Empire 8 champion in track and was the hurdle/sprint team captain. Additionally, she competed in cross country and earned all-conference honors in that sport. She was a nutrition representative and service leader for both the track and swimming teams. Selected twice as Stevens Athlete of the Year, Barito was also named Empire 8 Swimmer of the Year during her career.
Barito appeared on Stevens Institute's President's List from 2007 to 2011 and was named a College Swimming Coaches Association of America Scholar All-American from 2008 to 2011. CoSIDA named Barito to the Academic All-America First Team and the Empire 8 named her a Senior-Scholar Athlete.
Oct. 18, 2007 – Dana Bacalla Named Conference Player of the Year for Third Consecutive Season
After earning Skyline Conference Player of the Year honors in 2005 and 2006,
Dana Bacalla continued to rack up the accolades as she was named the Empire 8 Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Year for the 2007 season.
Bacalla finished the year a perfect 16-0 in dual matches (including 10-0 against league opponents) and teamed up with Allyson Kingman for a 15-1 doubles record on the year. Bacalla was the first women's tennis player to be named the conference player of the year three times in a career and is still one of only two women's tennis student-athletes to accomplish the feat (
Jessica Bourque 2011, 2013, 2014).
The games/events noted above are not meant to be a complete listing of Stevens' events on these dates, but a sampling of great moments as determined by the Stevens Department of Athletic Communications.
"This Week from the Pond" Archives:
Sept. 14-20
Sept. 21-27
Sept. 28-Oct. 4
Oct. 5-11
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