Make sure that you reserve Monday, May 12, in order to participate in the Seventh Annual Friends of Union Athletics Golf Classic, will be held at The Edison Country Club in Rexford, New York. The event has been a tremendous success in the past and we are anticipating an even greater turnout this year. The funds raised from the classic will directly support the initiatives of the FOUA throughout the upcoming year.
Fun prizes for first, second and third place in men's and coed divisions and many great on-course competitions and prizes, including a chance to win a new car. The golfing price of $125.00 includes green fees, cart, driving range and locker rooms, gift bag, lunch, auction, hole-in-one and longest drive competitions and door prizes.
Registration and driving range will open at 7:00 a.m. with the shotgun start scheduled for 8:30 a.m. The luncheon and auction will will follow at approximately 12:30 p.m. Cost for just the lunch and auction is $25.00.
Deadline for applications is May 2, so don't delay!
Rodgers, who did not play basketball in high school and joined the Dutchmen as a walk-on, finished his brilliant career with 1,725 and 769 rebounds.
Anyone who followed the men's basketball program at Union from 1998 through 2001 was very familiar with the name C.J. Rodgers. A native of Chicago and a graduate of St. Rita's high school, Rodgers graduated as the Dutchmen's seventh leading scorer with 1,275 points, and as the team's leading career rebounder (769) since the 1980-81 season..
A four-year varsity letterwinner and three and a half year starter for the Garnet, C.J. was named the team's “Most Valuable Player” after his junior season of 2000-2001. He was selected to the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association's All-Conference team each of his last three seasons, including a First Team selection following his junior campaign. Rodgers played in 101 of 109 games during his career and finished with a scoring average of 12.6 per game with a rebounding average of 7.6 per game. His best single-game performance was a 22-point, 20-rebound effort against Middlebury on January 16, 2001. He also contributed 62 blocked shots, 156 assists, 125 steals while playing a total of 2,627 minutes during his career.
An English major, Rodgers missed the first seven games of his senior season while completing a term abroad in Athens, Greece. The Dutchmen compiled a four-year record of 66-43 (a winning percentage of .606) with three post-season invitations, including the program's first NCAA berth since the 1982-83 campaign.
Rodgers was among three all-star players who graduated from Union's 2001-02 squad that tied the College record for wins in a season (21-8), won both the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association's regular-season and tournament championships, and represented Union in the NCAA playoffs for just the second time in the College's long and proud basketball history.
Coach Rodgers gives hand signals to the Dutchmen in a game against St. Lawrence.
To the right is assistant coach Todd Montana, head coach Bob Montana and senior captain Phil Henry.
This past winter the Dutchmen put together their fifth consecutive winning season (something that hasn't been accomplished in the last 23 years) at 17-12 while finishing second in the UCAA both during the regular season and in the championship tournament. The Dutchmen came within five points of upsetting homestanding Hamilton for the right to represent the UCAA in the NCAA tournament (losing 74-70). The Garnet, with only one senior on this year's team, advanced to the second round of the ECAC Upstate New York tournament before ending their season.
While Rodgers wasn't in uniform, he was a big part of the team's success. With his playing days behind him, C.J. Rodgers, Union's feared No. 32, became Coach Rodgers.
“CJ handled the transition well from player to coach,” said head coach Bob Monatana, who has guided the Dutchmen to 101 victories and into four postseason tournaments in his seven seasons at the helm. “CJ came to work everyday as a player, therefore it was easy for him to coach returning players since they had respect for him as a player and a leader of a very successful team.”
Rodgers says that the transition from player to coach was not that difficult. The biggest adjustment was when it came to the time off of the court, the time when he used to “hang out” with his teammates and friends.
“It was not too much of a change in roles on the court,” he said. “The guys really looked up to the three of us (himself, Jason Manning and Aaron Galletta) during our senior season, and respected what we tried to do as a team. The most difficult adjustment took place off the court, because that is where so much team chemistry takes place. It was very difficult not being able to see the guys in a different atmosphere like during my playing days when we all would hang out together.
“But the guys were very respectful toward me this year and knew that the only thing that changed was that I had to trade in a Union Uniform for a suit. Most importantly, those guys knew that I wanted them to be successful, and they felt comfortable with asking me my opinions and taking criticism.”
Surprisingly, especially considering all the success Rodgers had during his undergraduate years, C.J. did not play high school basketball. In fact, he was courted by college baseball coaches.
“I was never recruited to play a sport here at Union,” he explained. “To make a long story short, I didn't play varsity basketball in high school. I was a baseball guy, and I was getting calls to play baseball in college. But when Union accepted me, I figured I'd give it (basketball) a shot. I had played competitively all summer with some very good players. So I told myself that I'd work hard over the summer, get in good shape and go for it. I called Coach Montana, and he explained to me that he had a big recruiting class coming in, and that he couldn't promise me anything but he'd give me a fair shot. I thank Coach for giving me a shot, and worked out well for both of us.
“If someone told me when I first got here that I'd be an assistant coach for Coach Montana when I graduated, I would have looked at them like they were crazy. But I'm glad I did it.”
While Montana admits that the fact that C.J. played in Union's system for four years made his transition to coaching easier, Montana also credits the personality make-up of his former star as a reason for this year's success as an assistant coach.
C.J. and his teammates celebrate after the Dutchmen earned the right to represent the UCAA in the 2001-02 NCAA tournament.
“The fact that CJ played for me at Union certainly made his transition easier,” Montana began. “I did not have to teach him the offense or our defensive schemes and that allowed us to move ahead. He also knew the “nuances” of the offense, the little things to teach players; and he had a good feel for me and could reinforce why I thought certain things that were important. All these things certainly gave him a sense of confidence about the job at hand.
“But CJ's personality certainly added to his immediate success,” Montana continued. “The key words to describe him, first as a person and secondly as a coach, are: bright, motivated, loyal, disciplined, and combative with a very high basketball IQ. CJ is a wonderful person, someone who will have success as he moves on in his professional life. His success will be based on the key words I just mentioned. CJ was a good player, someone who had a tremendous effect on the basketball program at Union because of those key words. Like Nike's catch phrase, with CJ “there is no finish line.”
Rodgers has enjoyed so many experiences and has so many friends and memories those people made up over the past five years, it was hard for him to pinpoint the one story that reflected his time at Union. He did, however, reflect on his coach and mentor, Bob Montana.
“I've enjoyed watching the players grow, but most importantly I've enjoyed watching Coach grow. I can remember when I first came to Union, he was always screaming; I could've sworn I was playing for Bobby Knight, and not Bobby Montana. Now I'm not saying that he doesn't scream now, but he does it a lot less and with much more impact on the players.
“There are so many experiences I'll take away from playing and coaching at Union.”
Rodgers is currently applying to graduate schools for the fall term. He would like to start a career in sports broadcasting, perhaps doing play-by-play in basketball. I would definitely love to go back into coaching at some point, because I love interacting with people, but we'll just have to wait and see about that one.
“There is a possibility, but a very slim one,” says Rodgers when asked if was returning to Union's bench for the 2003-04 season. “I feel like now is the time for me to go ahead and get my masters. The longer I stay here at Union the harder it becomes for me to leave.
“I've been here for five years now, and I've enjoyed every waking moment.”
As a former player and as an assistant coach, C.J. sees a great deal of success in the Dutchmen's immediate future.
“They have all the tools, the make-up,” he says. “It is about time people started talking about UNION BASKETBALL. These guys are good. I've never seen a team as complete as these guys are, from the number one guy on the chart all the way down to the number 15 guy, there is very little difference. I tell those guys all the time, even this year, they should not settle for just winning the league every year, they should strive to be national champions.
“Anything is possible when you have one of the hardest working coaches on any level in the country and a great group of talented players and people.”
Says Montana, “CJ was a great competitor, and leader during his tenure as a player and I felt he was going to be a very difficult player to replace. As a coach and someone who had played here, I thought he could be develop those qualities in this year's team.
Based on the Dutchmen's accomplishments over the last five years, the presence of C.J. Rodgers will be part of Union's future for some time to come.
Freshman Jackie Coffey is 7-0 and has allowed just one walk this year.
Union's softball program has enjoyed a good deal of success throughout its 28-year history. Among the first group of intercollegiate varsity teams sponsored by the College in 1976, the Dutchwomen were invited to their first New York State Women's Collegiate Athletic Association postseason tournaments in 1981 after finishing the regular season with a 7-6 record under second-year head coach Jane Hopkins.
From 1984 through 1989, Charlyn Robert guided the team to a six-year record of 52-34 (a winning percentage of .605). Her 1985 and 1986 teams both finished with 12-win campaigns to set what was then the Union standard for victories in a season (breaking the previous best of eight). Four of her teams went to the state tournament with the 1985 squad finishing a program-best (at the time) third.
Suzanne Zaloom-Pedone headed the squad from 1990 through 1995, compiling an overall record of 80-70. Her teams of 1991 (17-5) and 1994 (21-16) established Union records for wins in a season while her 1991 squad was became only the second Dutchwoman team in any sport to earn the state tournament's No. 1 seed (the 1979 field hockey team was also seeded first). The softball squad finished second in the 1991 tournament, losing to Brockport, 5-2, in the title game.
Now in his sixth season as head coach, Pete Brown has seen his previous five seasons rewrite the Union softball record books. Invited to the state tournament each of the last four years, the 1999 Dutchwomen established the college record for wins in a season at 26. The 2001 squad captured the program's first state championship while finishing
with 22 victories. Brown's teams of 1999 (26-11), 2000 (20-13) and 2001 (22-11-1) became the first trio in the program's history to post three consecutive 20-win seasons.
Freshman Abby Arceneaux is 9-2 and is the Dutchwomen's leading hitter with her .441 average as the team's leadoff hitter.
Coming into the 2003 season, Brown and assistant coach Brian Speck have guided Union's softball season to an overall record of 103-65-2, a winning percentage of .612.
While the program has certainly enjoyed more than its share of success over the years, if the 2003 team's success is any indication….Union softball fans “haven't seen anything yet!”
“This is the best team I've been involved with because our pitching is so good and we are the deepest we have ever been and also more athletic than ever,” said Brown, who has seen this year's team win 12 of their last 13 games while posting an overall record of 17-5. What makes this year's record, and Brown's praise, even more remarkable is the fact that the
2003 Dutchwomen have just two seniors on their roster…and no juniors. In fact, nine of the 11 freshman that make up the 17-player roster have been in the starting lineup for at least half of the Dutchwomen's 22 games.
“This is the best team I've been involved with because our pitching is so good and we are the deepest we have ever been and also more athletic than ever,” said Brown, who has seen this year's team win 12 of their last 13 games while posting an overall record of 17-5. What makes this year's record, and Brown's praise, even more remarkable is the fact that the 2003 Dutchwomen have just two seniors on their roster…and no juniors. In fact, nine of the 11 freshman that make up the 17-player roster have been in the starting lineup for at least half of the Dutchwomen's 22 games.
Senior Jill Ring holds several Union career records including: extra base hits, RBIs, home runs and triples.
Freshmen pitchers Abby Arceneaux (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) and Jackie Coffey (Boston, MA/Boston Latin) have combined for a record of 16-2. Arceneaux, who is 9-2, has given up just 30 hits in 66.1 innings while allowing three earned runs (an earned run average of 0.32). Coffey, who is 7-0 with an earned run average of 0.62, has allowed five earned runs in 56.1 innings. They have combined for 105 strikeouts in 122.2 innings and allowed just 13 walks. Five of Arceneaux's wins have come as a result of a shutout while Coffey has blanked opponents four times. Last week Coffey pitched a one-hit, eighth-inning shutout against Rensselaer in the second game of a twin bill on Alexander Field. What was remarkable about the game is the fact that both Coffey and her Red Hawk opponent each allowed just two runners. Even more amazing is the fact that Union won the game without the benefit of a base hit.
Using the international tie-breaking rule, the last batter of the previousinning starts off on second base in every inning past the seventh until there is a winner. Freshman Erika Eisenhut (Mohawk, NY/Mohawk), one of the fastest players on the squad, easily took third on freshman Caitlin DelZotto's (Altamont, NY/Guilderland) sacrifice bunt. Sophomore Melissa Marra (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) drove in Eisenhut with a sacrifice fly.
“We have a new hero every game,” said Brown. “This team has bonded well together. Everyone realizes that no one has a starting job locked up, except for maybe Abby and Jackie on the mound. Every player is pushed by someone in every game, every practice. With all the new faces we have on the roster this could very easily been a rebuilding year. I'm a bit surprised with how much we've accomplished in such a short time, but when I take a closer look I feel like we could have easily been 19-3 or 20-2 instead of 17-5.”
Freshman catcher Alicia Gifford holds her ground and puts the tag on a Rensselaer player.
Senior co-captains Jill Ring (Brewster, MA/Nauset Regional) and Erin Lefkowitz (Amherst, NH/Souhegan) have provided the leadership stability necessary for a young team.
“I can't even begin to explain how much Jill and Erin have meant to this team, not only on the field, but in terms of their leadership,” said Brown. “They both have provided tremendous examples of work ethic, patience, and stability that has helped bring our freshman and sophomores along.”
Ring is a four-year standout who will take some team records with her when she graduates in June. Already the program's record-holder for career extra base hits (40)
before the 2003 season began, Ring has provided the Dutchwomen with 24 doubles (second all-time), 16 triples (first) and 11 home runs (tied for first).
She has 83 runs batted in (first) in 373 at bats during her 122 game career, which includes 118 starts. Ring has scored 79 times (fourth) and has 124 hits (fourth), 11 shy of Julie Cardettino's standard of 135 with at least eight games remaining on the schedule. Her current career batting average of .332 ranks 10th all-time.
While Brown is certainly more than impressed with the career he has seen Ring put together, he is quick to point out the rookie Julie Gawronski (Dunkirk, NY/Dunkirk) is “one of the best hitters I've ever seen. Julie has the potential to challenge Jill's records over the next three years.”
Gawronski, who is the heir-apparent to the starting goaltenders position for the Dutchwomen's soccer team (which has been to the NCAA tournament each of the last four years), is the Dutchwomen's third-leading hitter with her .343 average and the team's top run producer with 15 rbis. She is also tied for the team lead in runs scored, with 12, while batting third or fourth all year.
Arceneaux is quite possibly the Dutchwomen's most complete player. Not only is she a top pitcher, the 5'7 right-hander is the team's leading hitter with a .441 average out of the leadoff spot. Arceneaux has scored 12 runs with five rbis off of her team-high 26 base hits.
Head coach Peter Brown says, “This is the best team I’ve been involved with because our pitching is so good and we are the deepest we have ever been and also more athletic than ever,”
Included in the Dutchwomen's starting Class of 2006 are third baseman Stephanie Rubino (Port Chester, NY/Holy Child), shortstop Beth Carcone (Utica, NY/New Hartford). Eisenhut, who plays second base, DelZotto, and outfield, infielder Cris Pasqua (White Plains, NY/White Plains), outfielder Katey Ratner (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown) and catcher Alicia Gifford (Schenectady, NY/Guilderland).
One area in which Brown is particularly pleased is the team's overall improvement in the fielding department. Since returning from their week long trip to Ft. Meyers, Florida, where they made 40 errors in 10 games, the Dutchwomen have misplayed the ball just 12 times in the last dozen contests.
“The fielding has been great since Florida,” said Brown. “We have worked very hard on our fielding both as a team and as individuals. We came back from Florida, knowing that we beaten ourselves in a couple of games, determined to cut down our physical mistakes. We still make more mental errors than I'd like to see, but that is going to happen with a young team that is maturing as a unit.”
This may not be the year that the Dutchwomen get to carry Union's banner into the NCAA Tournament, but if this season is any kind of accurate preview to what is store for the next three seasons, this program will take its place among the very best in the Garnet's already successful history.
Trustee Mark Walsh is issuing to grads of the last decade a special fundraising incentive that resembles the TV show, “Take Ben Stein's Money.”
In “Take Mark Walsh's Money,” the 1976 grad will match gifts
up to $100 made by June 30.
Walsh is also issuing a challenge: “I think I know more about Union's history than you do and will put my money up against your Union knowledge,” he said in a letter. When making their gift, alumni can take a quiz with Walsh giving another $5 for each correct answer.
