HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 23, 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 November 23-29
Nov. 23, 2019 – Poklikuha Earns 100th Career Victory to Lead Wrestling to two Victories
Wrestling at 165, Thomas Poklikuha became just the 12th student-athlete in program history to reach 100 career wins with a first period pin of Roger Williams University's Luke Bokina.
Poklikuha also earned a victory later in the day over WPI to give him multiple wins on the day. Brett Kaliner, Dylan Van Sickell, Hunter Gutierrez, Robert Gennat, Akhil Vega and Michael Dooley all also won at least two bouts to help Stevens knock off WPI (33-12) and Roger Williams (37-12) after falling to Castleton (23-26) to open the duals.

Nov. 23, 2014 – Men's and Women's Swimming Sweep F&M Invite Titles
The men's and women's swim programs swept the field at the Franklin and Marshall Invitational in 2014. The men, who were ranked No. 6 in the nation at the time, topped 1,000 points to defeat the field of 10 by nearly 400 points. The women, meanwhile, finished with 728 points to narrowly edge out Washington & Lee who finished in second with 712 points.

On the men's side, Ravi Sun broke his own school record in the 200-yard backstroke to lead the way for the Ducks. In total, Stevens swam 11 NCAA "B" cut times in the meet and broke three meet records as well.

The women's meet was much closer, coming down to the final event. After Danielle Caruso broke the meet record in the 500-yard freestyle and Brittany Geyer won both the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard IM, Stevens led by a narrow 674-656 margin headed into the final race. The Ducks pulled out the victory in the end thanks to grabbing first place in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

Nov. 23, 2008 – Men's Soccer Tops Middlebury in PKs to Advance to Institution's First-Ever NCAA Semifinal
In a contest against defending national champion Middlebury, the Stevens men's soccer team became the first in Stevens Athletics history to advance to the NCAA Semifinals thanks to a thrilling 4-3 victory in penalty kicks after the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Stevens Hall of Famer Zach Carr made to magnificent saves in goal during penalty strokes to help give the Ducks to move on to the final four. Tied at 3-3 in PKs with only one more shot to go, senior captain Craig Moquin fired a shot into the left corner of goal to seal the win.

The draw in the NCAA Tournament would be the second of three draws for the Stevens in their magical run that ultimately ended in the NCAA Championship match.

Nov. 23, 2002 – Women's Swimming Captures Third Straight Skyline Conference Title
After winning the 2000 and 2001 Skyline Conference titles, the women's swimming program decided it was a good time for a three-peat as they topped the field of seven to grab the conference crown.

Erin Rowe (50 back, 50 free and 100 back) and Emily Schlipf (200 IM, 100 fly and 200 free) won three races each in the championship to lead the Ducks to 126 total points and edge out King's Point who finished in second with 108. In addition to Rowe and Schlipf's individual titles, Rebecca Brancato won the 50 fly and Jessica Arden took home the title in the 100 IM.

Nov. 25, 2008 – Rhode Becomes First Women's Volleyball Student-Athlete in Program History to be Named a CoSIDA Academic All-American
Women's volleyball student-athlete Melissa Rhode made history in her senior campaign when she became the first player in program history to be named a Second Team CoSIDA Academic All-American after a stellar year on the court and in the classroom.

Rhode graduated with both a Bachelor's of Engineering Degree as well as a Master's of Engineering in just four years on Castle Point. On the court, Rhode led the team in assists (635) and landed 130 kills on 336 swings with 30 errors for a .298 hitting percentage. She also launched 34 service aces and lifted 282 digs. For her career, Rhode accumulated 978 kills, 1,809 assists, 248 aces, 1,317 digs and a total of 127.5 blocks.

Nov. 26, 2013 – Guketlov Becomes First Student-Athlete in Program History to Post Perfect 3-Point Percentage with at Least Five Attempts
In just her fifth career collegiate competition, Erica Guketlov did something no Stevens women's basketball student-athlete has ever done in a 72-50 victory over Centenary (N.J.). Guketlov was on fire from downtown and is the first and only women's basketball player to finish a contest with a perfect 1.000 3-point field goal percentage when attempting at least five 3-pointers.

Guketlov finished the contest with a career-high 17 points and went 6-for-9 from the floor and 5-for-5 from deep. After leading by only seven at the break, the Ducks outscored the Cyclones 31-9 to open the second half and grab the victory.

Nov. 26, 2011 – Smith Reaches 1,000-Point Plateau in Victory of CalTech
Another Stevens Hall of Famer made history this week in history as well as 2018 inductee Simon Smith became the 15th student-athlete in program history to eclipse 1,000 points in his career in a 91-78 victory over CalTech.

The senior continued his torrid start to his final campaign on Castle Point as he posted his fourth double-double in the first five games of the season with 20 points and 14 rebounds in the win. Smith finished his career with 1,416 career points and currently ranks fifth all-time in program history.

Nov. 29, 2010 – Stevens Finishes Seventh in Final Fall Learfield Director's Cup Standings
In what was one of the best academic years in the history of Stevens Athletics, the Ducks found themselves ranked seventh in the final fall Learfield Director's Cup standings. It remains the highest mark Stevens has ever achieved in final fall or spring standings.

The Ducks were ranked inside the top-10 thanks to the field hockey program advancing to the Regional Semifinals, the men's and women's soccer teams making it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and the women's volleyball program earning a trip to the Regional Final. Stevens finished the 2010-11 Learfield Director's Cup standings in 13th place, which is tied with 2015-16 as the highest finish in school history.

Nov. 29, 2006 – Dean and York-Carr Become First Women's Soccer All-American's in Program History
Both Heather Dean and Sienna York-Carr made history following the 2006 season when they became the first student-athletes in program history to become All-Americans. The duo were both tabbed as Third Team All-Americans by D3Kicks.com after stellar seasons on the field.

Dean had a solid senior season for the Ducks as she finished sixth on the team in scoring with nine points from four goals and an assist.  In the process, she was named to the All-Skyline Conference second-team. York-Carr, meanwhile, earned First-Team All-Conference honors in 2006 after accumulating a goal and two assists.

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
Oct. 12-18
Oct. 19-25
Oct. 26-Nov. 1
Nov. 2-8
Nov. 9-15
Nov. 16-22

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