Sports reporters had a new league to follow this year, and Union's name was mentioned prominently in their reports.
The league is the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association (UCAA), a group of eight independent colleges in New York State. The members, all of whom share a similar athletic philosophy, are Clarkson, Hamilton, Hobart and William Smith, Rensselaer, the University of Rochester, St. Lawrence, Skidmore, and Union.
(Not all of the colleges take part in all sports, and the league doesn't affect the Division I hockey programs at Union, Clarkson, St. Lawrence, and Rensselaer, which compete as members of the Eastern College Athletic Conference.)
As of mid-October, here's a rundown on the new league:
Union's volleyball team placed second in the UCAA Tournament with its 4-1 record. The Dutchwomen swept Clarkson, Hamilton, St. Lawrence, and Skidmore, losing only to undefeated champion Rochester. Junior Gretchen Voegler and senior Chris Taraborelli were elected to the
All-Tournament team.
Voegler and sophomore Jinsy Andrews were the league's top two shot blockers with 3.02 and 2.04 blocks per game,
respectively. Voegler was fifth in hitting percentage and sixth in kills while freshman Erika Friedrich was sixth in assists and third in service aces.
The men's soccer team went into the last weekend of the UCAA season contending for league championship honors. But back-to-back shutouts at the hands of Clarkson and
St. Lawrence (the league champion) left the Dutchmen with a 2-4 league record.
Junior midfielder Ted Doran was tied for fourth place in the league scoring race and sophomore goalie Joe Caruso was the league's third-best netminder
The women's tennis team finished sixth out of eight in the first UCAA Tournament and completed the regular season with a record of 5-5 despite losing the top three singles players from last year. Senior Amy Kessinger, junior Joanna Freedman, and sophomore Courtney Rogers each won two matches during the UCAA event.
Kessinger, New York State's defending No. 4 singles champion, won six matches this season while playing in either the first or second position. The doubles team of sophomore Jessica Hallenbeck and Freedman posted a 7-4 record while Kessinger and Rogers were 5-2. The Dutchwomen were invited to the New York State Tournament for the third consecutive season.
Despite an opening game loss to St. Lawrence, the football team reached mid-October with a chance at the UCAA title, with a final game against Rochester. The Dutchmen were 2-1 in the league and had the best defense (and one of the best defenses in the nation).
Senior strong safety Kevin Pessolano twice was named upstate New York's “Defensive Player of the Week” (following his efforts in the WPI and Dickinson games) and sophomore cornerback Len Mortimore picked up the honor after intercepting three passes –
one for an 82-yard touchdown against Albany. Freshman Justin Campbell was the league's “Rookie of the Week” following his performance against WPI and junior Bobby Champlin was the “Defensive Player of the Week” following a 15-tackle, two-interception performance against Rensselaer.
The Dutchmen led the league in rushing defense (79.0 yards per game), pass defense (101.8), total defense (180.8), and points allowed (8.3). Mortimore was tied for the league lead in interceptions with five, and junior placekicker Roger Egbert was second in scoring with his 6.3 average.
The women's soccer team finished third in the league behind national power William
Smith and Skidmore, with a league record of 3-2-1. Senior forward Kim Fanning was sixth in the overall scoring race with 18 points and senior forward Nicole Solomos had 15 points. Sophomore goalie Sarah Retersdorf was fifth in the league. Fanning and senior defender Danielle Shelov were named to the weekly honor roll.
No team received more individual honors than the field hockey team, however. Although the Dutchwomen finished fifth of seven with their 2-4 league mark, all but one of their games were tightly-contested. Junior forward Tonya Capparello finished second in the scoring race with nine goals and 24 points, and senior goalie Elana Goldberg finished fourth with her 1.56 goals against average.
Freshman Carrie Heroth captured a “Rookie of the Week” award and honor roll selections went to Capparello (twice), senior forward Michelle McCarte, freshman Bianca Prumo, and freshman midfielder Shoko Okado.
The men's cross country team was third of five in the initial UCAA meet with 103 points while the women placed third of four with 75 points. Sophomore Jay Goldberg (18th out of 59) and junior Nick Conway (24th) led Union's men, and sophomore Kelly Jamieson (10th), freshman Katie MacDowell (14th), and senior Linda Seymour (15th) led the women.