Posted on Nov 30, 2005

While it may be quiet and calm around the Union College campus during break, such is not the case at the Alumni Gymnasium pool. Both the Union men's and women's swimming & diving teams returned from the Thanksgiving break to prep for the upcoming Liberty League Championships, slated for December 2 and 3 at Rensselaer. While the swimming events will be held at RPI, the diving competition will be hosted by Union, Friday at 4:30 p.m. and Saturday at 11:30 a.m.

The music pumps through the speakers as the student-athletes work in the water before this big meet. And the men's team has a veteran D.J. ready to produce some sweet sounds against some strong competition, senior D.J. Hogenkamp (East Aurora, NY/East Aurora).

“D.J. was the swimmer of the meet and an NCAA competitor last year for us,” said Head Coach Scott Felix. “We will look for another big meet from him, as well as from senior Aaron Phillips (West Hartford, CT/Conard) and junior Charles Kinnett (Chelmsford, MA/Chelmsford). Two freshmen who we will be counting on are Julio Vidal (Guilderland, NY/LaSalle Academy) and Kevin Kewin (Brockport, NY/Brockport). The key diver to watch for is Evan Kalman (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central).

“We are going up against a tough Rensselaer team, that program won it last year. Also, Hamilton has won the meet nine times.”

Hogenkamp won both the 200 back and 200 free events in a win at home over Rochester in the last meet, November 12. His 200 free time was 1:47.93 while he tapped at 2:00.56 to take the 200 back. Vidal won the 50 free with a time of 23.18 in that meet, and he also was first in the 100 free at 50.88.

“In the 11 year history of the women's meet, Hamilton has won 10 and we won in 1997,” said Felix. “We are going to have to perform very well in the events that we are the strongest in, in order to repeat that effort from eight years ago.”

Three freshmen have made impacts in their first year at Union, Christina Baldek (Easton, CT/Lauralton Hall) and Sara Callahan (Shelton, CT/Shelton). Other Dutchwomen Felix will look to include Mary Larkin (Conklin, NY/Susquehanna Valley), Christa White (Washington, DC/Choate Rosemary Hall), Sydnie Wells (Bolton Landing, NY/Bolton Central), Brianne Phillips (West Hartford, CT/Conard), Ashley Braniecki (Cheektowaga, NY/Cheektowaga) and Molly Freeman (Barrington, IL/Barrington).

White won the 50 freestyle and the 100 free in the home win over Rochester. Her time of 25.32 in the 50 won by over a minute, and she clocked at 55.91 in the 100 for a victory of nearly a minute as well. Larkin had a solid day for the Dutchwomen in that meet. Her time of 2:15.25 was first in the 200 individual medley, and she was seconnd in the 100 free to teammate White at 56.88.

“We have been in the top three the past four years, and we are looking to improve on that effort,” Felix said.

If they do, expect D.J. and company to pump that music for some Saturday Night Fever after the league championship meet.

The Union women's basketball team opened up the season at Williams Sunday, and has two road games on tap this week. Thursday features a game at Utica, while Saturday will feature a 1 p.m contest at Middlebury. The home season at the Viniar Athletic Center opens Friday, December 9 against Rochester at 6 p.m. Thursday's game will be carried live on the web from Utica's broadcast at: www.starsradionetwork.com.

In the opener, a 64-50 loss at Williams, Devon Ciliberto (New Paltz, NY/New Paltz), scored a game-high 17 points. Krystal Hammond (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) had 11 points and nine rebounds, and Erika Eisenhut (Mohawk, NY/Mohawk) had 10 points with four assists for the Dutchwomen.

Coach Mary Ellen Burt, who guided Union to 19 wins and a fourth consecutive post-season berth, commented after the pre-season camp concluded.

“I really like our team this year and the work ethic they have displayed so far in the pre-season,” said the coach now in her 11th season. We had several bumps in the road with injuries, but the players seem to keep working together through the obstacles, which is great to see.

“The team is young and will experience a very tough non-conference schedule. If we can weather the storm and keep improving, I think we will be very tough when it comes time for conference play. The freshmen will be fun to watch, they are all very talented and blend in to our system very well.”

Burt believes the strength of the squad is the guard play, and she wants the Dutchwomen to be known as a great defensive team in 2005-06. Senior co-captain Nicole Cerniglia (Ridgefield Park, NJ/Ridgefield Park) returns after knee surgery kept her on the sidelines last season. Senior guard Erika Eisenhut (Mohawk, NY/Mohawk) led the squad in assists (91), steals (73) and blocks (12) while scoring at a 10.5 clip last winter. Hammond will also be a veteran force on the court.

The Union men's basketball team comes off a 17-win season that featured a Liberty League tourney title and an NCAA first round victory. The home opener is Wed., November 30 against Utica and the Dutchmen had a strong season opener on November 27. Union defeated New York City College of Technology, 86-69, and was led by senior guard John Cagianello (Wethersfield, CT/Loomis Chaffee) with 30 points, including 5-7 from three-point land and 5-6 from the charity stripe. Junior guard Joseph Mackey (Flushing, NY/Archbishop Molloy) finished with 15 points (4-5 on three point field goals) off the bench. Senior guard Jim Rahill (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) and classmate Darcy Bonner (Chicago, IL/Loyola Academy) each chipped in with 11 points.

“The start of the year will be especially challenging,” said Head Coach Bob Montana. “New York City Tech won 22 games and is a two-time NCAA participant, so that was a big win for us. Middlebury, Williams, and Lehman on the road are tests, and we also have tough home games against Utica, Carnegie Mellon and Washington & Jefferson.

“Our non-league schedule is very challenging. Hopefully, this will force us to play at a high level and help us as we move on in the season. The Liberty League teams that return the most players are Hamilton, with everyone back, and Hobart, which lost one starter.”

Cagianello became the 14th Union player to score 1,000 career points, and needs jut 98 points to become the fourth player in school history to record 1,500 career points. He was  a Second Team Liberty League All-Star last winter, averaging 16.7 points while recording 56 assists and 35 steals.

The memorable Union football season ended Saturday at snowy and chilly Bailey Field, yet over 2,400 diehard fans braved the elements to support one of the best gridiron squads in the school's history. This season's Union team posted the second most wins in school history (11, trailed only by the 13 by the 1989 Stagg Bowl team). It was the ninth undefeated regular season (10-0) in the program's history. The Dutchmen, finishing 11-1, advanced to the second round of the NCAA's for the first time since 1995. The Dutchmen held on to “The Shoes,” win a victory over RPI to end the season, and won the league title and automatic NCAA bid with that 49-42 home triumph. Union defeated Ithaca at home in the NCAA First Round, 55-41, before losing to Rowan at home in the Second Round, 28-24.

Junior RB Tom Arcidiacono (Castleton, NY/Columbia) finished the season with 1,954 yards, and his regular season total of 1,616 broke the Dutchmen's regular season rushing record. He will enter his senior year needing just 54 yards to break the Union career rushing record set by George Beebe in 2002 (3,615 yards). Junior WR Steve Angiletta (Plantsville, CT/Southington) finished with a record 1,612 yards for the 2005 season, and had over 100 yards in each of his last four games. Angiletta broke the single season yards and receptions (99) records. Junior QB Anthony Marotti (River Edge, NJ/River Dell) broke a 16 year old record with a single season total of 3,095 yards, becoming the first Union signal-caller to pass for 3,000 yards in a season. Sophomore linebacker Vito Pellerito (Ponte Verde Beach, FL/St. Thomas Aquinas) had 81 tackles to lead the defense.

The future bodes well, as each of those key football players will be back at Bailey Field in '06. Makes you want to turn on that D.J. and pump up that music.

Posted on Nov 29, 2005

Instead of catching up on sleep or selling back textbooks, Union College students are participating in an alternative winter break to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina.

For one week beginning Tuesday, 29 students out of the 110 who volunteered to participate will help rebuild schools that have been uninhabitable since the Gulf Coast hurricane.

The volunteers will paint, move furniture and help with clerical duties in an effort to restore Franklin High School, Lusher Elementary and Middle high schools in New Orleans. They were selected because Laura Eyman, a student at Union in Schenectady, N.Y., attended those schools while growing up in Zachary, La.

The district hopes to reopen the schools by Jan. 17.

Funding for the trip has been made possible through fundraising efforts, alumni donations and personal contributions made by students, their families and James Underwood, Union's interim president.

Posted on Nov 28, 2005

WALTHAM, MA  – Senior Erika Eisenhut (Mohawk, NY/Mohawk) of Union College was named to the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Women's Soccer College Division First Team.

A Mathematics and Physics major with a 3.82 G.P.A., Eisenhut is a three-sport standout who was the winner of the ECAC Robbins Scholar-Athlete Award in September. A first team All-Liberty League selection, the midfielder scored 13 goals and had 10 assists while leading Union to an 18-1-3 record. She was named to the Liberty League First Team this season, and also received the prestigious ECAC Robbins Scholar Athlete Award, representing all ECAC Division III female athletes.

The Academic All-America® Teams program honors 816 male and female student-athletes annually who have succeeded at the highest level on the playing field and in the classroom.  Individuals are selected through voting by CoSIDA, the College Sports Information Directors of America; a 2,000-member organization consisted of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.

To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.  Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.

ESPN The Magazine – winner of the 2003 National Magazine Award for General Excellence – is a provocative and innovative sports publication.  Full of insight, analysis, impact and wit, the oversized bi-weekly with a circulation of 1.85 million looks ahead to give fans a unique perspective on the world of sports.

For more information about the Academic All-America Teams program, including the entire listing of the University and College teams, visit www.cosida.com.

Posted on Nov 26, 2005

Assemblyman James Tedisco plans to hand his “Pass The Budget” neckties to a colleague now that he's expected to become the next Assembly minority leader.

The Schenectady lawmaker, known for pushing Assembly Democrats to negotiate a budget, declared victory Friday in the brief struggle to replace Charles Nesbitt as the top Republican in the 150-member lower house. Nesbitt, of Albion, is leaving for a Pataki administration job – president of the state Tax Appeals Tribunal.

Tedisco won enough backing to send Assemblyman David Townsend of Oneida County to a distant second place in the quick skirmish to replace Nesbitt, according to Tedisco and Townsend. The minority has 42 members.

“It happened because my colleagues realized the sort of legislator I am,” Tedisco said from his office Friday as he planned for the transition from the three-year Nesbitt reign.

“It's the greatest job in the world,” said Tedisco, adding that he isn't focused anymore on trying to join the Senate Republican majority. “I am going to be able to lead the best, the brightest, the hardest-working members in the New York state Legislature.”

He takes over a conference that has dwindled in size as the Assembly Democrats' majority has swelled in a very blue Empire State.

“I want to turn it a lighter shade of blue,” Tedisco said, pledging to work hard to get Republicans elected in several special elections early next year, to get his current group re-elected and to pick up some seats.

“We've got a gold mine of ideas,” he said.

Townsend had joined Assemblyman Daniel Burling of Batavia and a few others in Burling's failed attempt to unseat Nesbitt earlier this year. Nesbitt's popularity suffered largely because of disenchantment by some members with Nesbitt's chief of staff, Kimberly Galvin, Townsend said.

Tedisco said Galvin won't remain on the minority staff and that he has lined up a new top aide.

Nesbitt edged John Flanagan of Long Island in a 27-26 secret vote among the Assembly Republicans in 2002 to replace John Faso, who stepped down to work on a bid to become state comptroller.

Townsend said he won't blast Tedisco, but complained that the four leaders of the Assembly and Senate are either from the Capital Region or New York City.

“We don't need to fracture the conference, we're in enough trouble now,” Townsend said, adding he is pleased Galvin's departure is part of the shake-up.

He said Tedisco will likely get all the votes on Tuesday when the conference officially chooses its new leader. But Townsend said he is disappointed that “power brokers” got involved in the race and helped Tedisco. He listed U.S. Rep. Tom Reynolds of western New York, who preceded Faso as minority leader, Nesbitt, GOP Chairman Steve Minarik and Gov. George Pataki.

“He's got to prove himself in a year, because you know what – if he doesn't do what he says, we'll be through this again,” Townsend said.

Tedisco said the conference will be tighter than ever under him. He said he intends to employ the same aggression he learned on the hardwood as a Union College basketball player.

“I've got a fire in the belly to do this job that I haven't had since I broke all those records when I was at Union,” Tedisco said. Tedisco, a former teacher and coach, has been in the the Assembly for 24 years, making him its most senior Republican. His annual salary will be $114,000 as minority leader.

Posted on Nov 23, 2005

Schenectady, N.Y. (Nov. 23, 2005) – Union College associate athletic director and senior women's administrator Joanne Little was recently inducted into the Nanuet High School Sports Hall of Fame for her outstanding athletic achievements. Little, class of '76, was one of six honorees recognized at the 4th annual induction dinner. She earned 10 varsity letters in four sports – basketball, volleyball, softball and track & field.

Basketball was the sport in which Little, a guard, excelled most. She led the Rockland County Public School Athletic League in scoring her junior and senior years, averaging 24.1 and 20.5 points per game, respectively. Both years she was a unanimous first-team All-County selection, team co-captain and MVP. She also averaged 15.5 points per game as a freshman and 18.7 as a sophomore in the days when teams played only 13 to 15 games a season. She wound up with 956 points during her four-year varsity career.

In volleyball, she earned first-team All-County recognition her senior year and was team co-captain and MVP, while as a junior she was honorable mention All-County. During the spring, Little played softball for three years and merited honorable mention All-County as a junior. The following year she switched to track & field. At the Rockland County Championships, Little won the shot put and finished second in the discus.

At the conclusion of her stellar athletic career, Little was one of three Black & Gold Club scholarship recipients, along with fellow Nanuet Hall of Famers and 1976 graduates Tony Harlin and Bret Watzka. She also earned the Jesse Kaplan Memorial Award, the Nanuet Lions Club Humanitarian Award, the I Dare You Committee Leadership Award, and the P.T.S.A. Citizenship Award.

Little earned an athletic scholarship to Keene State College in New Hampshire, an NCAA Div. II school where she excelled in basketball for four years and softball for two. She then embarked on a career in coaching and athletic administration. During her one season as head women's basketball coach at SUNY Binghamton, 1989-90, she was SUNY Coach of the Year for leading her team to a fourth-place finish after they were picked in a pre-season poll to finish 10th out of 11 teams.

Little, a resident of Niskayuna, N.Y., has spent the last 15 years at Union College serving as a coach of basketball, volleyball and tennis and later moving into administration. In her current role as associate athletic director and senior women's administrator she oversees 10 sports, sports services and sports information, and is the marketing/promotions coordinator for the department.