UALBANY WINS FIRST-EVER AMERICA EAST CONFERENCE MEN’S TRACK & FIELD TITLE

Orono, Maine – Jesse Bennett won the 100-meter dash and was a member of the winning 4x100 relay in leading Albany to its first-ever America East Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship on Sunday, May 4 at Clarence Beckett Family Track and Field Complex. The Great Danes, who won the conference’s indoor title in February, scored a league-record 230 points.

Bennett, the championship’s Most Outstanding Track Performer, was clocked in 10.97 seconds to win the 100-dash, and was third in the 200-dash in 22.15. Bennett also teamed with Shamere Boland, Rickardo Smith and Alix Rodriques to post a winning time of 41.70 in the 4x100 relay.

Kristof Molnar repeated as the America East 800-meter champion, and reached the finish line in 1:51.28. Paul Roche and Joel Vazquez were winners in the 110-hurdles and 400-hurdles, respectively. Roche, who was second in the long jump on the first day of competition, took the hurdles final in 14.61. Vazquez sprinted 53.35 seconds to beat Maine’s Joel Evans.

Albany’s Aggrey Morris won his team’s sixth individual title of meet by running 47.82 in the 400-meter dash. Kamar Elliott and Fred Frese, a pair of cornerbacks on the school’s football team, recorded second-place finishes in the triple jump and decathlon, respectively.

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America East Conference Men's Track & Field Championships

Team Standings: 1. Albany 230, 2. Northeastern 158, 3. Maine 106, 4. New Hampshire 105, 5. Boston U. 102, 6. Binghamton 87, 7. Stony Brook 42, 8. Hartford 8.

Albany defeated top-seed Hartford, 7-5, To Take AE Championship

Albany defeated top-seed Hartford, 7-5, in last Saturday's America East Conference tournament championship. The Great Danes, who are riding a six-game winning streak, tied the school's single-season record for victories with a 10-5 record. Head coach Scott Marr, a former Maryland assistant and player at Johns Hopkins, is in his third season.

"I know Princeton will be a heavy favorite and we will be a decided underdog," said Marr, who is taking the program to the school's first-ever Division I NCAA tournament appearance in any sport. "We've played Johns Hopkins and Massachusetts and good competition like that has got to help us. Our attitude has been a big reason for our program getting better; it's come full circle since I arrived here."

The Albany-Princeton winner will meet the Syracuse-Dartmouth in the NCAA quarterfinal round on May 17-18. Along with Princeton, the NCAA championship's top seeds are Johns Hopkins (#1), Virginia (#2) and Maryland (#3).

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2003 NCAA Division Men's Lacrosse Championship Bracket

FIRST ROUND (times will be determined Monday afternoon):
Saturday, May 10
Army (8-7) at #1 Johns Hopkins (11-1)
Penn State (7-6) at Towson (8-5)
Albany (10-5) at #4 Princeton (10-3)
Mount St. Mary's (10-7) at #2 Virginia (11-2)
Sunday, May 11
Georgetown (10-3) at Rutgers (10-4)
Ohio State (9-4) at #3 Maryland (10-3)
Dartmouth (11-2) at Syracuse (8-5)
Hofstra (11-5) at Massachusetts (12-2)

QUARTERFINALS:
Saturday, May 17, at Syracuse
Syracuse/Dartmouth winner vs. Albany/Princeton winner
Maryland/Ohio State winner vs. Massachusetts/Hofstra winner
Sunday, May 18, at Towson
Johns Hopkins/Army winner vs. Towson/Penn State winner
Rutgers/Georgetown winner vs. Mount St. Mary's/Virginia winner

SEMIFINALS:
Saturday, May 24, at Ravens Stadium (Baltimore)
11:30 a.m.: First game; second game: 45 minutes after conclusion of first

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
Monday, May 26, at Ravens Stadium (Baltimore), 11 a.m.

UAlbany Men Capture America East Conference Indoor Track Championship

BOSTON, MA (February 22, 2003) -- University at Albany’s Paul Roche won the 55-meter high hurdles, his third individual event of the meet, to lead his team to the men’s championship at the 15th annual America East Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday, Feb. 22 at Boston University Track and Tennis Center.

The Great Danes, who won their first-ever America East title in a team sport since joining the conference in September 2001, scored 148.25 points, and were well ahead of Boston U. (124) and three-time defending champion Northeastern (119.50).



Roche, a senior captain, sprinted a personal-best 7.60 seconds to win the 55-hurdles and tied for fourth in the high jump (6-4). Roche, who won the pentathlon and long jump on Friday, was named the Most Outstanding Male Field Performer.



Kristof Molnar was a winner in the 1,000-meter run, as he posted an IC4A-qualifying time of 2:29.11. Molnar also anchored the 4x800 relay to a second-place finish in a school-record 7:44.53. Naron Stewart repeated as the America East indoor high jump champion, as he cleared the bar at 6-feet, 10.25 inches.



Freshman Ed Hilts surprised the field by winning the 55-meter dash, as he out-leaned New Hampshire’s Ronald Harvey at the tape in 6.58 seconds. Aggrey Morris was second in the 400-meter dash, and was clocked in a school-record 47.74. Galen Gomes also turned in a second-place effort in the triple jump (46-6).



"I thought we had a shot, but I never believed we would have it wrapped up by the time we got to the relays (the last events)," said Albany coach Roberto Vives, whose team finished second to Northeastern in last year’s championship. "It was a total team effort. Confidence and conditioning were the reasons Paul Roche was able to score in four events. He did his homework and worked hard in the preseason."



In the women’s meet, the Great Danes ended up in third with 76 points behind Northeastern (163) and Boston U. (114). Teresa Covert, who was second in the long jump on the first day, won the 55-meter hurdles in 8.07 seconds and took fifth in the 200-dash in 25.54.



Jennifer Aubin placed second in the triple jump with a mark of 38-feet, 6-inches. Alexis Bowens, Dinnah Decatus, and Zerlinda Martinez each recorded a fifth-place showing in the shot put, 800 and 1,000 events. Bowens, a outside hitter on the UAlbany volleyball team, threw 40-feet, 3.25-inches.



America East Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships

(Final Scores)

MEN – 1. Albany 148.25, 2. Boston U. 124, 3. Northeastern 119.50, 4. New Hampshire 94, 5. Maine 55, 6. Binghamton 38.25, 7. Stony Brook 38.

WOMEN – 1. Northeastern 163, 2. Boston U. 114, 3. Albany 76, 4. Stony Brook 64, 5. New Hampshire 63.50, 6. (tie) Maine and Vermont 60, 8. Binghamton 19.50.

University of Albany Football Wins 2002 NEC Football Championship

Albany, NY -- Tailback Gary Jones rushed for 103 yards and quarterback Ryan Roeder scored on a 59-yard run in the second quarter as Albany captured its first-ever Northeast Conference championship with a 19-7 victory over Monmouth in the regular-season finale for both teams on Saturday afternoon at University Field.

The Great Danes also earned an ECAC Football Classic berth by winning the NEC title and will host Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion Duquesne on Nov. 23.

Albany (7-4, NEC 6-1) scored on its first series, an eight-play drive that was capped by Stan Zylinski's 37-yard field goal. Roeder, who completed 11 of 17 passes for 91 yards on a field covered by a two-inch, overnight snowfall, started the march with a 25-yard completion to flanker Matt Crudo.

The Great Danes' defense, who limited the visitors to 104 yards, including four net rushing yards, set up another field goal in the first quarter. Defensive tackle Matt Kryzak forced fullback Mike DiBella to fumble and defensive end Kevin Gribbin made the recovery at the Monmouth 23. Four plays later, Zylinski's 31-yarder gave his team a 6-0 lead.

Albany put together a 13-play, 54-yard drive that took more than seven minutes off the clock for its first touchdown. Jones, who ran for 100 or more yards for the sixth straight game, and broke the school's single-season record for all-purpose yards, rushed four consecutive times to the Monmouth 1. Fullback Eddie Unverzagt busted into the end zone for the final yard, and his team had a 13-0 advantage with 10:45 left in the second quarter.

Roeder, who rushed 12 times for a career-high 62 yards, helped extend his Albany's lead in the final minute of the opening half. He checked off against a blitzing linebacker, and sprinted over left guard and up the sideline on a 59-yard touchdown run. The extra-point was blocked, following a celebration penalty, and the Great Danes led 19-0 at halftime.

"Winning a conference championship is a great way to finish your career," said Roeder, who scored his eighth rushing TD of the season. "We've come up short in the past, and then to finally win it is a great feeling. We were shorthanded with (fullback) Jon George injured, and the defense just picked it up."

Monmouth (2-8, NEC 2-5) got on the scoreboard midway through the third quarter, when quarterback Bill Rankin fired a 25-yard scoring pass to Dennis Carriero. Rankin, who completed just 6 of 21 attempts for 89 yards, drove his team to the Albany 34 late in the fourth quarter, but the sequence stalled out when he was sacked for the fourth time on the afternoon.

"We were picked the win the conference in the preseason, and I'd be disappointed if we had to share it," commented Albany coach Bob Ford, whose team finished ahead of Sacred Heart and Stony Brook who tied for second with 5-2 conference records. "The defense was spectacular and they also helped to set up scores today."

The Great Danes, who are among the top Division I-AA teams against the run, held an opponent to less than 100 yards on the ground for the fifth time this season