HOBOKEN, N.J. (Jan. 18, 2021) – Under the leadership of current Director of Athletics Russell Rogers, who is in his 21st 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 January 18-24
Jan. 18, 2020 – Wrestling Takes Home MAC Championship Title
Competing in the Middle Atlantic Conference Championship for the first time, the Stevens wrestling program left no doubt that it would be a force to be reckoned with as they dominated the field, winning six individual title en route to taking home the MAC Crown in 2020.

Kyle Slendorn (133), Troy Stanich (141), Brett Kaliner (149), Dylan Van Sickell (157), Thomas Poklikuha (165) and Michael Dooley (197) all took home individual titles in the meet. All totaled, Stevens captured 11 medals as the Ducks topped the field with 154 points, 8.5 points more than No. 15 Messiah College who finished in second place.

It was the sixth straight conference title for the Ducks who won the final five crowns in the Centennial Conference before transitioning to the MAC for the 2019-20 season. Hunter Gutierrez, Stefan Major, Pasquale Vizzoni, Bruce Parola and Akhil Vega all also medaled for Stevens.

Jan. 18, 2020 – Men's Fencing Sets Program Record with 25th Consecutive Victory
The Stevens men's fencing program got off to the best start in program history in 2019-20, winning their first 25 bouts of the season to set a new program record. The 25 straight wins culminated in a 5-0 day at the Army Invitational where the Ducks won their first five bouts handily before getting past Division I foe Cleveland State 14-13 to close out the day.

In the Invite, Stevens knocked off Army, Drew, Detroit Mercy, the U.S. Naval Academy and Cleveland State. The Ducks got double-digit victories from Noah Ehrlich, Logan Rechler and Vaughn Rice and eight wins apiece from Wolfe Crouse, Andy Faubert, Juan Amezquita and Matthew Jacobson.

Faubert had the key moment to help the Ducks ultimately clinch the win over Cleveland St. as he landed a touch on his opponent with the match tied at 13 to seal the victory for him as well as for the team.

Jan. 18, 2014 – Nieradka Sets Program All-Time Wins Record at Epee
Briana Nieradka, who still holds the women's fencing program record for most wins at epee, broke the weapon record in her senior campaign at the Army Invitational in 2014 while leading the Ducks to a 4-2 overall record in the event.

Nieradka posted a perfect 14-0 mark in the event to shatter the previous record of 223 held by 2013 alumnus Krystal Perkins and ran her total to 233 wins. She was not done there, however, as she amassed a total of 265 career wins to hold the top epee spot in the record books to this day. Nieradka's 265 career wins ranks third across all weapons in program history behind only Abigail Kaye (300) and Michelle Drobish (285).

Jan. 20, 2010 – Men's Volleyball Sweeps No. 5 NYU to Open Season
The Stevens men's volleyball team kicked off the season with a bang, sweeping No. 5 NYU (30-28, 30-22, 30-23) thanks to a match-high 15 kills from Jonathan Landis as well as nine kills and five blocks from Christopher Egebo. It was the third straight season the Ducks started the year with a win over an NYU team ranked inside the top-six.

The win was the first of what would be four total wins over ranked opponents in the 2010 season.  As a team, Stevens hit .386 in the match and .458 in the third set while holding the Violets to just .071. The Ducks also out-blocked NYU 19-14 and held a 46-38 advantage in total kills.

Jan. 21, 2018 – Men's Swimming Comes from behind to Topple No. 15 TCNJ
After falling in three consecutive dual meets against TCNJ, the Stevens men's swimming team stopped the streak as they came from behind to knock off the 15th-ranked Lions 117-88. The win was the first for the Ducks against TCNJ since 2013.

Sam Fuller, Tyler Zanki and the quartet of Matthew Burk, Theodore Jagodits, Jonas Lackey and Trevor Hinds each earned victories in the final three races to help Stevens pull away down the stretch. The Ducks took home wins in the 200-yard medley relay, the 1,000-free (Daniel Rosenberger), the 50-free (Kurt von Autenried), the 100-fly (Vincent Tavoletti), the 500-free (Fuller), the 100-breast (Zanki) and the 400-free relay.

Jan. 21, 2017 – Astel Scores Program Record 36 Points in 81-68 win over St. John Fisher
Kaitlyn Astel had a career night in her final season on Castle Point as the graduate student scored a program record 36 points to lead the women's basketball team to an 81-68 victory over St. John Fisher.

Astel went on 13 for 17 from the floor and bested the previous mark of 33 points set by Aracely Cruz during the 2000-01 season. Astel was also a perfect 9 for 9 from the free throw line and pulled down five boards while dishing out four assists for good measure. It was the first time in her career that Astel, who ranks third on the program's all-time scoring list, scored more than 30 points in a game.

The win was important for Stevens as it was their fifth consecutive win after starting the year 3-7. The Ducks finished the 2016-17 campaign strong as they went 13-3 over their last 16 contests and advanced to the Empire 8 Championship Game.

Jan. 21, 2012 – Diaz-Borda Sets Indoor Long Jump Record at Monmouth Classic
In his sophomore campaign, Andres Diaz-Borda set a men's indoor track and field program record in the long jump. Diaz-Borda set a mark of 6.69 meters (21' 11.5") at the Monmouth Classic to break the previous record of 6.68 (21.11) set by Nick Lowe in 2010. Diaz-Borda's record stood for over seven years until Evan Kainer topped it in February of 2019 with a jump of 6.77 meters (22' 22.5")

In the same meet, Andrew Kraemer finished in first place in the weight throw with a distance of 15.33 meters to win the event by more than 15 inches. Additionally, Victor Servito finished second overall in the 60-meter hurdles and tied for third in the high jump.

Jan. 21, 2012 – Smith Becomes First and Only Men's Basketball Student-Athlete to Amass 1,000 Career Rebounds
In a 73-53 victory over St. John Fisher, Simon Smith, the Stevens men's basketball all-time leader in rebounds, became the first in program history to pull down 1,000 rebounds in a career. The senior finished with 10 points and nine boards while Michael Cutri and Sheldon Jones added 18 points apiece.

Heading into the game, Smith needed nine rebounds to reach the milestone and did just that as he remains the only student-athlete in program history to have accomplished the accolade. He was not done there, however, as he produced 141 more boards to close out his senior campaign to put his career total at 1,141. He has 430 more than Waleed Farid who sits in second place with 711.

Jan. 23, 2010 – Cook Breaks Pair of Program Records at Wesleyan Invitational
Salme Cook, who currently owns two indoor program records for the Stevens women's track and field team, became the first female student-athlete for the Ducks to break 60 seconds in the 400-meter dash at the Wesleyan Invitational. Cook finished with a final time of 59.69 to break her own program record which stood until Gina Dello Russo bested the record with a final time of 55.39 in March of 2018.

In addition to Cook's record, the 4x400-meter relay team consisting of Hillary Paul, Jillian Price, Shanna Bearisto and Cook also broke a program record with a final time of 4:19.22. The quartet would break their own record later in the season with a blazing time of 4:08.62 in February of 2010 that stood until 2020 when the combination of Laura Mathews, Liana Meyer, Erica O'Kelly and Dello Russo produced a time of 4:02.69.

Jan. 23, 2009 – Women's Basketball Shoots Program-Best 60 percent from the floor in 100-48 rout of RIT
Dani Dudek posted her fifth career triple-double to lead the way as the women's basketball program set a new program record by shooting 60 percent from the floor in a 100-48 victory over Rochester Institute of Technology.

Dudek finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists while Brittany Fuller added 28 points. The 100 points fell just short of the program record of 103 points set against Concordia in the 2000-01 season.

Additionally, Dudek's 10 assists surpassed the 600 career-assist mark as she stands at joined Division I legends Nancy Liberman, Dawn Staley and Kelly Miller to have scored 1,000-plus points, pulled down 700-plus boards and dished out 600-plus assists. Dudek was the first-ever Division III basketball player to accomplish this feat.

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
Nov. 23-29
Nov. 30-Dec. 6
Dec. 7-13
Dec. 14-20 
Jan. 4-10

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