It's the time of the year when the College's sports information director, George Cuttita, keeps extra busy racing from a football game to a hockey game, with a basketball game or swimming meet thrown in for good measure.
This year, the overlap season was a good one, as the football team won a championship game and the hockey team got off to a winning start.
The football championship was the ECAC Northwest game, in which Union overwhelmed the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, 34-14.
It was the ninth postseason appearance for the Dutchmen in the past twelve years. Union had hoped to receive one of four bids to the NCAA regional games, but the Dutchmen finished fifth in the polling. A midseason loss to unranked Coast Guard undoubtedly played a major role in the decision.
“We were very disappointed at being overlooked,” said John Audino, the head coach. “I give our players a lot of credit for playing hard against UMass. We showed great pride and tradition.”
The star of the championship game was senior tailback Chris Irving, who rushed for 159 yards and scored three touchdowns. His effort earned him the game's most valuable player award and a spot on the ECAC weekly honor roll for the fifth time this season. Later, he was named to the ECAC Upstate
All Star team.
Irving finished his career with 3,408 yards rushing (he is Union's only 3,000yard player) and scored thirty-three touchdowns, another Union record.
Another outstanding fall record came in volleyball, with Union setting a school record for wins in a season (twenty-four). The team's winning percentage of .750, on a record of 24-8, was the second-best in the history of the sport at Union.
Senior Jen Ahrens finished with 533 of the team's 680 assists. She also had 195 service aces. Sophomore Gretchen Voegler led the team with 290 kills, 243 digs, and 135 blocked shots.
The field hockey team concluded with a record of 8-7, including an appearance in the state tournament. Senior forward Missy Lombardoni was selected to the College Field Hockey Coaches Association All-American third team and the state All-Star first team. A four-year starter, she had five goals and five assists this year and eighteen goals and twenty-five assists during her career.
The hockey team opened with a loss at Providence, went undefeated for the next five games, and then lost Thanksgiving weekend games to Harvard and Brown. The streak included a win over traditional power St. Lawrence (6-2) and a tie with Clarkson (3-3).
Both the men's and women's swimming teams began with two dual meet wins and championships at the Union Relays. College Sports magazine, the only national publication devoted to college sports, picked the men's team number six and the women's team number eight in its preseason rankings.