Bridget Catanese will enter her second season as an assistant coach for the upcoming 2011-12 season. In her first year at Castle Point, she and first-year head coach Bri Fecteau helped lead the Ducks to the Empire 8 title with a 21-7 record and a 12-4 league mark. Both Jillian Barrett and Victoria Webber were named to the All-Empire 8 team from last year's squad.
The Lawrenceville, N.J. native joined the Ducks’ coaching staff after serving as the graduate assistant women’s basketball coach at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.
“I am thrilled that Bridget has chosen to join our community. She brings with her an excitement and passion for the game of basketball that is contagious,” said Fecteau after hiring Catanese in 2010. “From her background at Elmira she is very knowledgeable about the Empire 8 and aware of a student-athletes academic commitment and obligations. We are so lucky to have Bridget, as she believes wholeheartedly in the Empire 8, and more specifically, in Stevens’ commitment to excellence.”
As a graduate assistant for the Bison, Catanese aided in the development of Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) honorable mention All-American and 2009-10 Captial Athletic Conference Player of the Year, Easter Faafiti (Pittsburg, Calif.), while assisting head coach Kevin Cook in developing offensive and defensive plays and structuring the team’s preseason and summer strength and conditioning programs. She also helped provide academic supervision for the women’s basketball team and developed recruiting letters for prospective student-athletes.
Prior to Gallaudet, Catanese enjoyed a decorated career as a member of the Elmira College women’s basketball team. One of the team’s tri-captains during the 2007-08 season, Catanese – a three-time All-Empire 8 conference honoree – wrapped up her career ranked in the top-5 of the Soaring Eagles’ career rebounds list and the top-10 of the program’s career assists charts.
Catanese has also served as a counselor at the Elmira College Girls Basketball Camp, the Bigger, Faster, Stronger Camp, and the Hoop Stars Basketball Camp, providing coaching to youths ages 3-16, while organizing drills, designing strength and conditioning programs, and running in-game situations aimed at helping athletes develop fundamental skills.
A 2008 graduate of Elmira with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, Catanese received her Masters degree in Supervision and Administration from Gallaudet in 2010.
