HOBOKEN, N.J. (Feb. 22, 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 February 22-28
Feb. 22, 2014 – Cahill Breaks His Own Indoor 5K Record by Over 20 Seconds
Michael Cahill of the Stevens men's indoor track and field team put on a show in 2014 at the Cornell Deneault Invitational, breaking his own school record in the 5,000-meter run.

Cahill finished in first place out of 18 runners at the event, half of which consisted of Division I runers, and bested his own program record by 23 seconds with a final time of 14:42.12. At the time, it was also three seconds faster than his fastest outdoor 5K time. Cahill's final time remains on the record books as the fastest indoor 5K time in program history.

Feb. 22, 2001 – Women's Fencing Wins First-Ever EWFC Championship
In the first Eastern Women's Fencing Conference Championship in history, the Stevens women's fencing team made sure to establish they were there to stay, winning the conference crown and placing nine fencers on the all-conference team.

The Ducks won the team title over The City College of New York, Yeshiva University, Bard College and Hunter College to capture the first of what would be five EWFC titles. Samantha Bruno, Mercedes Ogando, Amy Cheng, Dorothy Sippo, Rosie Bauer, Blanca Ortiz and Catherine Oldfield were all named First Team All-EWFC selections while Sara Krack and Tania Barba landed on the second team.

Feb. 23, 2019 – Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field Sweep E8 Championship, Men Win First Title in Program History
One year ago, the Stevens men's and women's indoor track and field programs made history as they swept through the Empire 8 titles. The win was the second straight conference crown for the women while the men won their first-ever Empire 8 championship.

On the women's side, Gina Dello Russo earned Track Athlete of the Year honors for the third consecutive season after posting first-place finishes in the 60-, 200- and 400-meter dashes as well as the pole vault and the high jump. The Ducks also got victories from Mary Visca in the mile run, the 5,000-meter run and the 3,000-meter run and Katie Weeks in the shot put and the weight throw.

For the men, Alex Kainer was named the Track Athlete of the Year thanks to gold medals in the 60- (where the Ducks went 1-2-3) and 200-meter dashes as well as being a part of the first place 4x400-meter relay team. Additionally, Stevens won the Distance Medley relay, Andy Accardi took first in the pole vault and Trevor La Due won the 800-meter dash.

Feb. 23, 2014 – Yano, McIntyre, Poinsett, Walters and Jakusik Combine to No-Hit Yeshiva
The Stevens baseball team started the 2014 season with a bang, earning a doubleheader sweep of Yeshiva while throwing the first no hitter since 1990 against the Macabees in game two to start the year 2-0.

After winning game one 10-0, current Stevens volunteer assistant coach Jayson Yano started game two on the hill and tossed three hitless innings while striking out five. He then handed the ball to Daniel McIntyre who started a succession of four consecutive 3-up, 3-down innings by four different pitchers as Mark Poinsett, Zeph Walters and Greg Jakusik were
all perfect to complete the combined no-no.

Feb. 23, 2013 – Men's and Women's Swimming Win UNYSCSA/Empire 8 Titles on Same Day
The men's and women's swim programs made history in the 2012-13 season, sweeping the UNYSCSA/Empire 8 Championship crowns. The title for the Ducks on the men's side was the second overall and started a run of eight consecutive conference crowns that is still active. The women, meanwhile, won the title for the first time in program history.

On the men's side, John Hu was named the Swimmer of the Meet after winning the 200-butterfly and the 200 and 400-IM. Additionally, Stevens got gold medals by Elford Wesley in the 1,650-free, Greg Charriez in the 100-back, Ravi Sun in the 200-back, Simas Jarasunas in the 100- and 200-breast, Daniel Munt in 100-fly, the 200-medley relay, the 400-medley relay and 400-free relay teams.

For the women, the Ducks captured their first and only team title as a part of the Empire 8 after sweeping all five relays and winning a total of 11 events. Elizabeth Heinbach grabbed first the 500- and 1,650-free, Louise Moores won the 100-back and the 100-fly, Maria McClure took gold in the 200-fly and Brittany Geyer took home the crown in the 400-IM.

Feb. 24, 2007 – Brabender Becomes First Women's Swimmer to Qualify for NCAA Championship
In her final season with the Ducks women's swimming program, Lorrie Brabender became the first in program history to qualify for the NCAA Championships, qualifying in the 200-yard butterfly.

Going into the event with the 19th-fastest time in DIII, Brabender exceeded expectations, finishing in 10th place overall to become an Honorable Mention All-American. Her efforts paved the way for the women's swim program to earn an 11th-place overall finish at the NCAA Championship just two short years later.

Feb. 25, 2002 – Bazil Breaks Epee Single-Season Wins Record
The 2001-02 season for Andrew Bazil was a historic one as he set a new program record for epee wins in a single-season with 88, a record that still stands to this day.

Bazil went into the last competition of the season needing three victories to top the previous mark of 83 wins set by Sascha Jerrentrup in 1998-99. Bazil did just that and then some, earning eight total victories to put him only four wins shy of the most single-season wins by any fencer in program history. He currently sits second on that list, trailing only Rich Dalrymple who holds the record with 93 wins in 1997-98.

Feb. 27, 2013 – Waybright Nets 10 Goals to Reach 100 in Win over Mount St. Vincent
Spencer Waybright reached a career milestone in dramatic fashion in her senior campaign, tying a program record with 10 total points and became fifth women's lacrosse student-athlete in program history to amass 100 career goals.

Waybright was dominant throughout a 20-3 victory over Mount St. Vincent, tallying five goals and five assists to become the first women's lacrosse athlete since Michelle Buonocuore to rack up double-digit points in a single game. Waybright would go on to match her 10-point effort later in the season to join Stevens Hall of Famer Valerie Barnhart as the only Ducks to have multiple 10-point efforts in their careers.

Feb. 28, 2016 – Men's Lacrosse Comes from Behind to Topple No. 19 Endicott in Overtime
With less than a minute left in overtime against the 19th-ranked team in the nation, senior Andrew Scrutchfield scored the game-winning goal to lift the men's lacrosse team to a 16-15 victory over Endicott College.

Trailing 9-4 in the second quarter and 10-7 at halftime, the Ducks went on to score 12 of the final 17 points of the game to upset the Seagulls in overtime. Stevens got a balanced effort in the victory with three goals apiece by Max Bailey and Scrutchfield, two goals each by Connor O'Shea, Eric Radbourne, Connor McKeon and Matt Ferentini and one goal from both Dean Peluso and Tommy Dawson.

Feb. 28, 2009 – Women's Basketball Wins Empire 8 Crown to Advance to NCAA Tournament for First Time in Program History
The women's basketball program made history in thrilling fashion in 2009, defeating Ithaca College 59-57 to capture the program's first-ever Empire 8 Conference title and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Melissa Collier was named the game's MVP after producing 19 points and seven rebounds while shooting 58.3 percent from the floor.

With the score 53-52 in favor of Stevens with 2:36 left, Collier hit a layup increased Stevens' lead to three, and then Dani Dudek made it five when she weaved her way through the lane and over a defender with 34 seconds to go. Ithaca then took it the length of the court to cut the margin to two with 11 seconds remaining. Collier was fouled on the ensuing inbounds and sunk both her free-throw attempts to secure the win.

Feb. 29, 2020 – Wrestling Captures Southeast Regional Title, Seven Qualify for NCAA Championship
The Stevens wrestling program had possibly its most dominant performance in a regional championship one season ago, winning four individual titles and placing seven total inside the top-three to capture the NCAA Southeast Regional crown. Stevens totaled 163.5 points to win the title by 33.5 points over Washington and Lee University.

The Ducks got individual titles from Kyle Slendorn, Troy Stanich, Brett Kaliner and Michael Dooley in the meet while Thomas Poklikuha, Dylan Van Sickell and Akhil Vega all finished in the top-three of their respective weight classes. All seven wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Championships by virtue of their podium finishes.

Feb. 29, 2020 – Men's Basketball Wins MAC Freedom Title for First Conference Crown in Program History
The Stevens men's basketball program did something it had never done before in 2019-20, winning a conference title for the first time in program history. The Ducks topped Eastern 77-59 in the MAC Freedom Championship and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012-13.

Spencer Cook led the way for the Ducks and was named the tournament MVP after nearly setting a new career-high with 32 points, going 10 for 20 from the floor and 6 for 11 from beyond-the-arc. Matt Crowley added 14 points and six assists in what was the 10th consecutive win for Stevens.

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
Jan. 25-31
Feb. 1-7
Feb. 8-14
Feb. 15-21

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