Daily Sports Digest: Local Colleges Cleaning Up During Award Season

Coach Kern Named Coach of the Year, Pechin Named First Team

In just her second season with the , Coach Susan Kern has been named Coach of the Year by the Hudson Valley Women’s Athletic Conference.

At 8-17, the team has made huge strives from only winning two games last season, and with the recent announcement that freshman Alyssa Pechin earned first team All-HVWAC, the future is looking bright for the Blue Angels.

Iona Trio Named to All-MAAC Teams

The Gaels are establishing themselves as one of the top mid-major programs in the country. At 24-6 the Gaels hold a two-game lead in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, and they are one of the best offensive teams in the nation as they lead the country in points and assists per game.

The MAAC just announced that seniors Scott Machado and Mike Glover had been named First Team All-MAAC for the second consecutive year, and junior guard Lamont “Momo” Jones is Second Team All-MAAC.

Machado currently leads the nation with 10.1 assists per game and today he was named to the Naismith Award watch list. This makes the Gaels point guard eligible for two of the NCAA’s six nationally recognized of player of the year awards.

The Gaels return to action this week as the MAAC Championships take place in Springfield,  MA.

Yesterday’s Results:

Sport: Boys Basketball Class B Semifinal

Game: (2) Albertus Magnus vs. (6) Croton-Harmon

Score: Albertus Magnus Won 72-44

Highlights: The Falcons dominated the entirety of the game and started out going up 22-11 in the first quarter. Tyler Sayre led Albertus Magnus with 33 points and Jack Sullivan added 15.

Croton-Harmon’s Wes Turner led the team with 12 points and Ian Thorn added 11 in the loss.

Sport: Boys Basketball Class B Semifinal

Game: (1) Dobbs Ferry vs. (5) Blind Brook

Score: Dobbs Ferry Won 64-38

Highlights: Dobbs Ferry was led by Eddie Ritch’s 15 points and a great game by point guard Spencer Avalos who had 11 points and four assists

Blind Brook kept it close up until the third quarter and the Trojans were led by Sam Adler’s 15 and Antoine Saliba’s 10 in the loss.

Dobbs Ferry and Albertus Magnus will square off in the Class B Championship game at 5 p.m. on Sunday. Albertus Magnus narrowly beat the Eagles in the championship game last season.

The Class A Semifinals games between (1) Tappan Zee and (5) Byram Hills and (2) Peekskill and (11) Poughkeepsie were postponed from last night to Friday due to inclement weather.  Peekskill and Poughkeepsie will play at 3 p.m. and Tappan Zee and Byram Hills will face off at 4:45 p.m.

Today’s Schedule:

In girls basketball, (10) Carmel and (3) Our Lady of Lourdes will face off in the Class AA Semifinals at 3 p.m. at the Westchester County Center.

In girls basketball, (4) John Jay (EF) and (1) Ossining will square off in the Class AA Semifinals at 4:45 p.m. at the Westchester County Center.

In girls basketball, (6) Sleepy Hollow will take on (2) Tappan Zee at 6:30 p.m. in the Class A Semifinals at the Westchester County Center.

In girls basketball, (4) Albertus Magnus will face off against (1) Pearl River at 8:15 p.m. in the Class A Semifinals at the Westchester County Center. Check out Ryan Buncher’s of the match up.

Mortarboard musings

• Attacker Chrissy Gutenberger of Stony Point and freshman goalkeeper Christina Fiorinelli of Massapequa were honored with weekly awards by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Gutenberger, who leads the Jaspers with 10 points, was named the MAAC’s offensive player of the week. The senior ranks 10th in the country in goals per game (4.50) while being tied for 32nd in total goals. The Jaspers meet Long Island University in Brooklyn on Saturday at noon, and then welcome Brown University to Riverdale on Sunday at 1 p.m.
• The St. Thomas Aquinas College track and field team finished ninth in the final East region rankings. Mike Abelard of Spring Valley finished fifth in the Region in the 60 with a time 7.01 and sixth in the Region in the 200 with a time of 21.84.  The Lady Spartans finished 15th in the region.  Highlights include Chelsea Klinger of Owego finishing fifth in the region in the pentathlon. On the National level George Erazo of North Babylon and Abelard just missed the cuts for the National Championships.
• Andrew Hancsak of Lake Worth, FL, had a tie-breaking triple, and Matt Marotta of Suffern went four strong innings in relief as the St. Thomas Aquinas College baseball team defeated Bloomfield (NJ) College at Provident Bank Park (PBP) in Pomona. The Spartans host Post University on Friday at PBP at 3 p.m. On Saturday, STAC travels for another non-conference tilt--a twin-bill at Adelphi University--before taking off on their annual weeklong trip to Florida for six games before returning home.
• The Purchase College baseball team looks to snap a four-game losing streak on Saturday when it meets Worchester State College in a noon doubleheader at The Rock Turf Complex in Chester. The Panthers, coming off a two losses to St. John Fisher, visit Yeshiva University on Sunday for another noon twin-bill. Senior Frank Fiumara of Port Chester and senior Mike Marrone of Pleasantville each had RBI in a first-game loss to St. John Fisher. In the second game, senior pitcher Eric Cuadrado of Yonkers shook off early trouble, allowing only one run in his last three innings of work.

Weekly Sports Poll:

Major League Baseball lost a great earlier this month, former Met and Expo Gary Carter.

Two decades years after he retired, Carter was elected into the baseball Hall of Fame and many consider him one of the best catchers of all time.

But where do you think “Kid” ranks among the best New York back stops of all time?

Let us know your thoughts below in this week's sports poll.

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