Daily Sports Digest: Monroe, Coach Robinson Cut Down The Nets

Coaches, Parents and Boosters, Please send scores and information to HVDailySportsDigest@gmail.com immediately following every game.

The Top Spot:

Behind the construction of a Division II junior college powerhouse based in New Rochelle is coach and mentor James Robinson Jr. of Peekskill.

Robinson, who recently guided the women’s basketball team to a second straight National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCA) national championship, firmly believes and often repeats that “What don’t break you, makes you,” as noted on the Mustangs’ Web site.

Maintaining a two-year program, with its inherent turnover and with some youngsters still finding their way in life, is not as easy task, but the road to a repeat championship was not an easy task either.

Monroe College entered tournament play as the No. 9 seed, but en route to beating Lake Michigan in the final, 78-73, the Mustangs knocked off the Nos. 8, 1, 4 and 7 seeds to cap a remarkable 31-6 season.

Having already lost a couple of players due to discipline reasons, the Mustangs’ starting point guard tore her ACL in the District tournament and was lost for the remainder of the playoffs.

That's when Robinson, who moved up to the head spot just as the season started after four years as an assistant, invoked his mantra about overcoming obstacles.

“I was going to ride the wave as far as it would take me,” Coach Robinson was quoted a few days after the championship game. “At Monroe we’ve had such success on the national stage that we actually use the regular season as preparation for the playoffs and with all we went through together, we were prepared for anything. So at the biggest moment, we were calm.”
Examining how his team could perform so well in the throes of national pressure, Robinson said, “I coach their minds first, then their bodies.”

Robinson, the father of three in a 17-year marriage, has been molding the minds and bodies of youngsters in Peekskill all his adult life. A one-time high school star at Peekskill, Robinson’s Red Devils won the Section 1 crown in 1981.

He has coached youngsters in the Peekskill Parks and Recreation leagues and some of his apprentices learned their lessons well, like NBA player Elton Brand, Mookie Jones of Syracuse, Hilton Armstrong of UCONN and Allen Jenkins who starred at Monroe and Alderson Broaddus.       

“I’ve always been about teaching young people to make the right decisions and be accountable for themselves,” Robinson said. “If you stay consistent to your values when you lead them, then they reap the rewards of making the right decisions. This national championship is as good an example of how that works as anything.”

Robinson is already pounding the hardwood looking for talent to round out next year’s squad as he attempts to take the Mustangs, who have played in nine straight national tournaments, to a three-peat.  

“It's hard work. It's not easy,” he said. “But you know, what don’t break you, makes you.”

Yesterday’s Results:

Sport: Baseball

Game: New Rochelle vs. Ardsley

Score: Ardsley Won 5-3

Highlights: Alex Eisenberg got the win got the win for Ardsley as he pitched complete game with 12 strikeouts, offensively Eisenberg went 3-3 with two RBI.

Sport: Boys Tennis

Game: New Rochelle vs. Keio

Score: New Rochelle Won 4-3

Sport: Girls Lacrosse

Game: New Rochelle vs. Scarsdale

Score: Scarsdale Won 18-8

Highlights: Liz Felix led the way for Scarsdale with six goals as Lindsay Repp scored five and Dannah Strauss added four. Allie Chaves and Julia Ross each had five saves with a win. Cassidy Cruz scored three goals in the loss for New Rochelle.

Sport: Softball

Game: Dobbs Ferry vs. New Rochelle

Score: Dobbs Ferry Won 8-3

Highlights: Alexandra Cialini pitched a complete game for Dobbs Ferry striking out five and allowing six hits. Andrea Abbatiello went 4-4 with three runs scored and three RBI in the win.

Sport: Girls Lacrosse

Game: Mamaroneck vs. Ursuline

Score: Mamaroneck Won 11-2

Highlights: Abby Baigelman scored seven times for Mamaroneck in the win and Meghan Fitzgerald scored two goals and assisted on two others in the win.

Sport: Softball

Game: Ursuline vs. Ardsley

Score: Ursuline Win 13-0

Highlights: Brittany Mitchell only allowed two hits for the Koalas as she struck out 11, offensively Mitchell was a single shy of hitting for the cycle. Mary McCabe and Jole Luiso both homered for Ursuline.

College Sports Notebook:

Jamela Joseph of Elmsford, Christi Marraccini of Harrison and Arame Mbodi of New Rochelle are members of the women’s track and field team at Manhattanville College, which competes on Saturday at the Elmer Swanson Invitational at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. Action starts at 10 a.m. Josh Marrero of Elmsford is a member of the men’s team.

Weekly Sports Poll:

The last five times Kentucky won the National Championship the Yankees responded and won the World Series. Last week’s poll ask who would win the Final Four in New Orleans and the Patch public correctly over Kansas, Ohio State and Louisville. This week’s sports poll deals with the start of baseball season and we are asking you .

The Daily Sports Digest is Patch’s way of increasing reader involvement in sports coverage. We would like to provide you with for you to add your best photos and/or videos to share. If you see anything in our high school scores, standings or schedule that requires updating, please e-mail Mark Rinaldi directly at HVDailySportsDigest@gmail.com or like us on Facebook and post updates on our wall. Marc Maturo covers college athletics across the nation. Please send updates of your local schools or players to marcmaturo@aol.com.