UALBANY MEN WIN FOURTH AMERICA EAST TRACK & FIELD CROWN IN PAST FIVE YEARS

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Boston, Mass. - Junior David Parker (Niskayuna) set a school record in the heptathlon, finishing first in the event, as the UAlbany men's track and field team won the America East Conference Indoor Track & Field Championship for the fourth time in the past five years on Saturday. The Great Danes tallied 203.5 points in the meet, breaking the previous meet record of 202 points, set by Northeastern in 1991. The two-day meet was held at Boston University's Track & Tennis Center.
Parker, who tallied 4,914 points and qualified for March's IC4A meet, won the heptathlon's 55-meter hurdles in 8.16 seconds and the pole vault with a height of 15-feet, 2.75-inches, and tied for first in the high jump with a leap of 6-feet, 4.75-inches. The previous school record in the heptathlon was held by Fred Frese, who registered 4,849 points in 2004.
The Great Danes earned three other victories in track events, with sophomore Pat Weider winning the 200-meters in 21.57 seconds and sophomore Jean Juste taking the 55-meter hurdles in 7.52 seconds. In addition, Weider was a member of the first-place 4x400-relay team, which also consisted of sophomore Andrew Overbaugh, freshman Nick Lemp and senior Junior Burnett. The relay registered a time of 3:16.99.
Burnett finished second in two individual events, clocking in at 6.42 seconds in the 55-meters and at 21.63 seconds in the 200-meters. Elsewhere, freshman John Moore (Fonda-Fultonville) finished second in the 800-meters in 1:50.83, his best time as a collegian, while Lemp came in third in the 500-meters in 1:05.40. Another school record was set by the 4x800 relay team, as Jared Jupin (Shaker), Ricardo Estremera, Joe Belokopitsky (Shaker) and Moore placed second in 7:38.73.
In field events, sophomore Mike McCadney won the triple jump with a leap of 49-feet, 1.75-inches. Sophomore Freddie Wills, who won Friday's long jump, finished second in the high jump with a distance of 6-feet, 7.5-inches, and came in third in the triple jump with a leap of 46-feet, 7.25-inches. Wills, who totaled 27 points, also had a sixth-place finish in the hurdles. Junior Renauld Buck placed second in the shot put with a throw of 50-feet even.
"I told our team that it was a privilege to coach them and that they have continued a winning tradition," said UAlbany coach Roberto Vives, a member of the America East coaching staff of the year. "It was a team effort all the way, especially to score that many points in both the long jump and triple jump. David Parker has become a bonafide multi-event athlete after competing in the heptathlon for the first time just two weeks ago. Freddie Wills had an exceptional meet by scoring in four different events."

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AMERICA EAST CONFERENCE INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
MEN'S TEAM STANDINGS
1. UAlbany 203.5, 2. New Hampshire 128.5, 3. Boston U. 114, 4. Binghamton 92, 5. Maine 79, 6. UMBC 74, 7. Stony Brook 64, 8. Vermont 23, 9. Hartford 1.

Academia and the University:

Academia and the University:

The University at Albany enrolls close to 20,000 students, ranking it among the higher university and college enrollments in the nation. Numerous colleges and academic programs within the University at Albany have been voted to be among the top in the nation. In terms of enrollment and quality of academics, the University at Albany resembles the top colleges and universities participating in the NCAA division I athletics.


Officially, the University at Albany was born in 1844, as the State Normal School. It has held a few names, but has adopted the official name of today, the University at Albany. The University at Albany was officially designated by Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller as a University Center and doctoral degree granting, research university in the State University of New York public university system.


The university comprises 10 colleges and schools: College of Arts and Sciences, College of Computing and Information, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, School of Business, School of Criminal Justice, School of Education, College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, School of Public Health, School of Social Welfare, and The Honors College.


In the US News and World Report magazine’s America’s Best Graduate Schools, Rockefeller College was ranked 10th overall, 4th in Information technology and management, and 6th in Public administration and management, out of 253 schools of public affairs. The School of Criminal Justice was formed in 1966, was ranked #2 in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.


The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering is the first college in the world devoted exclusively to nanoscale science and engineering. Major companies in the various nanotechnology industries have offices and labs at the CNSE facilities- IBM, Infineon, AMD, GE, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, SEMATECH, DuPont, Kodak, DARPA, Honeywell, Intel, Lockheed Martin, M&W Zander, Philips, NASA, and Motorola. Dubbed Albany Nanotech, this consortium is unlike anywhere else in the world. It also has the only 300-mm wafer processing line in the academic world. The University at Albany, these industry partners, and the State of New York have invested more than $3 billion in this complex.


At the East campus, the University prides itself with the new Cancer Research Center, dubbed "Gen*NY*sis." Also located in this state-of-the-art facility is the Center for Functional Genomics, which facilitates research in the areas of microarrays, proteomics, molecular biology and transgenics.


UAlbany is home to one of the oldest independent college newspapers in the nation, the Albany Student Press. Published continuously since 1916, the newspaper has a circulation of more than 10,000 and serves the students and surrounding area.


The quality of the University is directly influenced by many factors. In order to have a top notch University, it is vitally important to be competitive in every aspect of the University environment. It is certainly crucial to have superior academics, but it is also imperative to have nationally ranked athletic programs, ones which compete at the highest levels in the country.

UAlbany's Gia Sanders and Janea Aiken Earn America East Weekly Honors

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Cambridge, Mass. – Senior forward Gia Sanders and freshman guard Janea Aiken earned America East Conference Player and Rookie of the Week honors, respectively, as announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon. It is the first honor of the season for both.

Sanders led the Great Danes to their third and fourth consecutive wins last week, as she averaged 13.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in the two games. In a 76-50 win over Boston U., Sanders scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds, going 6-of-10 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range. In a 67-50 win over New Hampshire, Sanders recorded her fifth double-double of the season with an 11-point, 10-rebound performance. She also recorded five steals against the Wildcats. Sanders, who did not commit a turnover in the two games, is averaging 7.7 points and a team-high 6.9 rebounds on the season, and continues to lead the team with 41 steals and 32blocks.

Aiken also helped lead the Great Danes to an undefeated week in conference play, averaging 11.5 points and 4.0 assists per game, shooting a team-high 76.9-percent from the floor. Aiken scored 12 points to go along with six assists and two rebounds against Boston U., shooting 6-of-8 from the floor. In a win over New Hampshire on Sunday, Aiken scored 11 points, going 4-of-5 from the floor, including 2-for-2 from 3-point range. She added two assists and one steal in 21 minutes of action against the Wildcats. Aiken is scoring at a 7.5 clip for the Great Danes on the season.

UAlbany (8-14, AE 6-3) is currently tied with Vermont for second place in the conference standings. The Great Danes travel to Maine on Wednesday to close out the season series with the Black Bears.