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Atlantic Region Women's Teams

1999-2000 Season

Catholic
With its two leading scorers returning and a host of talented freshmen, Coach Kathy Kilty is looking for her fourth team at Catholic University to make great strides this season.

"I think we’ll be a better shooting team this year, and be more athletic," Kilty said. "We have more height. So hopefully our rebounding will improve and we’ll play better post defense, which hurt us last year. I think we’re capable of improving our record."

Returning to lead the Cardinals are sophomore wing Meg Hagarty and senior forward Pam Canfield. Hagarty won CAC Rookie of the Year honors in 1998-99 by leading CUA in scoring (17.6 ppg) and averaging 6.0 rebounds. Canfield had another great year by averaging 16.3 points and a team-high 9.0 rebounds and 2.1 steals.

Hagarty, who primarily played small forward last season, will see a lot of time at shooting guard. She will start alongside either sophomores Meghan Courtney or Roz Sanchez at the point. Courtney last season averaged 3.0 points and Sanchez 2.0. Both are capable of playing shooting guard as Kilty will be looking for a capable backup to spell Hagarty.

"Courtney and Sanchez both see the floor very well," Kilty said. "And having Hagarty at shooting guard gives us a little more height up front to defend. I think our defense will improve and we’ll do a better job breaking the press."

The versatile Canfield, who can play both forward positions and center, is primarily a power forward. Her indefatigable playing style serves as a positive role model for her teammates. Expected to start with the 5-foot-9 Canfield up front are a pair of freshmen, small forward Carol Schnepp and center Jackie Yacenda, the Cardinals' tallest player at 5-11.

"Jackie adds more height, but she is a freshman, and there are a lot of senior centers in the league," Kilty said. "I don’t think teams will be able to pound the ball inside against us anymore. And Canfield is always strong and aggressive. I don’t think she’ll be double-teamed as much."

Depth in the frontcourt will come from sophomores Annie Foley and Kathleen Hatch and rookies Lindsay Sudeikis and Colleen Manning.

Catholic begins the season hosting the CUA Pepsi Tip-Off Classic against Albright, while Methodist and Virginia Wesleyan tangle in the other first-round contest. The Cards will close out 1999 at the Hood College Tournament in Frederick, Md. Capital Athletic Conference play starts at home against Mary Washington on Dec. 1. The league features Gallaudet and St. Mary’s (Md.), each of whom advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1999.

Said Kilty: "Our league schedule is always hard. It’s an older league; there’s a lot of seniors this year. So in order for us to do well, we’re really need to improve."

CCNY
The CCNY women's basketball team begins a new era under first-year coach Derrick Harrison. Harrison comes to City College after two seasons at Hunter College. While there, Harrison helped lead the Hawks to back-to-back championships, and was very instrumental in the assembling of last season's 22-6 squad. Harrison takes on the challenge of rebuilding a team who last season finished with a 5-20 record.

"I want to put this program back on the map. CCNY is one of the most historic programs in college basketball history and I look forward to being a part of the resurgence," said a confident Harrison.

Freshman guard Lauren Cargill has given Coach Harrison, and the City College supporters something to be excited about for the next four years. The 5-9 freshman from Cardozo H.S. is a do-it-all guard who has taken the leadership on this very young team. "There are not many (freshmen) who can come in, and take the lead, but Lauren is that type of player. Her hard work and skills make those around her that much better" said Harrison.

The frontcourt is led by 5-11 senior Michelle Pacheco. "After 4 years, Michelle is ready to step up, and leave her mark in the CUNY athletic conference. She is a tremendous rebounder who gives 110% each and every time she steps on the court."

Joining Pacheco in the frontcourt is 6-3 freshman Shevan Fenton (Brooklyn/Brooklyn Friends School). The 6-3 freshman has made an impression on the CCNY coaching staff with her shot blocking, and low post offensive ability. "Shevon has raw talent, and ability. As she continues to develop. she will emerge as one of the most dominating players in the CUNY conference," said coach Harrison. Rounding out the frontcourt is 5-11 freshman Rahmat Balogun (Brooklyn/Martin Luther King H.S.). Balogun is a slasher who can defend, and finish on the break.

Coach Harrison is counting on the experience of Pacheco, and the maturation process of the freshman class to bring the glory years back to City College campus.

Goucher
During the 1995-96 season, an experience-laden Goucher finished with 17 wins and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Over the next two seasons, the team won just three games, struggling through injuries and inexperience. The Gophers changed direction last season, however, under the tutelage of head coach Charleata Beale. Under Beale, the team finished 5-20 and won their first two Capital Athletic Conference games in three years. Beale has her eyes on continued improvement for the 1999-2000 campaign, but she, as well as her team, is setting realistic goals.

"Our goal is to win 50% of our games," says Beale. "We would also like to get past the first round of the CAC Tournament."

Beale, in her second year at the helm for Goucher, cites many reasons for optimism for this winter. She describes the Gophers’ team chemistry this season as "much better," notes that the squad has "a lot of versatility" and also believes that the team has improved athletically.

"This team is more fundamentally sound and has more athleticism (than in 1998-99)," remarks Beale.

Such strides have been made through a combination of a strong recruiting class and a core group of three retuning starters and five other returning letterwinners whose progressive improvement over the course of last year’s campaign carried over into the offseason. Five of those returning players are guards, giving Beale reason to believe that this year’s Gopher backcourt can play at a higher level.

"We will have more athleticism, better shooting and more experience in our back court this season, which will allow us to make better decisions," states Beale.

This year’s guards include the team’s two leading scorers from last season as well as the squad’s top player in assists. Junior Jessica Young joined last season’s Gopher squad over winter break and made an immediate impact. Four of the Gophers’ five wins came with Young in the starting line-up. The Atlanta native started in all but one of the 16 games she played in, pacing the Gophers with an 11.4 ppg average. Her .356 three-point field goal percentage would have been second in the CAC had she played in enough games to qualify for the rankings. Her 2.5 steals per game led Goucher.

Senior point guard Dana Bollinger enters this season fifth on all-time at Goucher for assists with 144, just five behind former Gopher Zeena Huang. Her 2.9 career apg average is currently fourth-best at Goucher. She finished eighth in the CAC in assists per game by matching her career average last season. Bollinger also posted a 6.5 ppg scoring average, sixth-best on the team.

Junior guard Kim Rogers finished second on the squad in scoring last season with 9.8 ppg, while leading the team with 18 blocks. Her two-year total of 38 blocks is already good enough for fourth-best in Gopher history. Rogers’ .729 free-throw percentage last season placed her sixth in the CAC. Her .723 career free-throw percentage is currently second-best at Goucher.

The Gophers also welcome back junior Sarah Zona and senior Nanette Sherman to the backcourt. Zona started 11 games last season, grabbing 5.3 rebounds per game, tops among Goucher guards. Sherman saw limited action last season, her second for the Gophers.

A trio of freshmen joins these returning guards. The most notable newcomer in the backcourt is point guard Erin Borsody, who played scholastically for a strong St. John’s College (D.C.) High School team.

"Erin brings winning experience from her nationally ranked high school. She is a quick player and a good shooter with exceptional ball-handling skill," Beale remarks.

While the backcourt will benefit from this season’s recruiting class, the frontcourt could thrive from it. Freshman forward/guard Meg Podowski may be the Gophers’ best recruit this season. The 5-10 player "can play guard or at the post," according to Beale, and is "very strong with a nice three-point shot." Podowski averaged 15 points and seven rebounds a game for Maryvale Prep in Towson where she was a league all-star and two-time team MVP.

The other top frontcourt recruit is six-foot forward/center Maren Hill, who helped lead Shaw High School in East Cleveland, OH to an 18-3 record last season. Beale describes Hill as "a post player with lots of athleticism who gets up and down the court very quickly."

Despite the addition of Podowski, Hill and two others, the Gopher frontcourt is not all about new faces. Sophomore forward Kim Toliver, who joined the Gophers between semesters last season, hauled down a team-best 6.6 rebounds per game last season. Her 8.4 ppg scoring average was the third-highest on the squad.

While Beale has already brought the Goucher program on the path back to its former success, she knows the team has to play hard to stay on course. While she can turn to her experienced players for leadership and heavy contributions, the success of the 1999-2000 Gophers may rest heavily on this season’s talented recruiting class. Beale knows that the new facers will have to step up right away.

"The freshman class will have large roles to play. They will not have much time to be freshmen."

Beale has set her sights on continued improvement this season, but knows that there it the freshmen will not be the only members of the team challenged this winter. The CAC features several quality teams and Beale’s squad has a competitive non-conference schedule ahead of them, which includes powerful crosstown rival Johns Hopkins. In spite of the obstacles ahead of them, Beale is determined to keep guiding the Gophers ahead on the long road back to national prominence.

Hunter
Seventh-year head coach Jackee Meadow and her Hunter College women’s basketball team enter the 1999-2000 season coming off one of the greatest campaigns in school history. Last year’s team earned Hunter’s first-ever NCAA Tournament bid, compiling a 22-6 overall record and going undefeated against City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) competition.

By achieving such unprecedented success last winter, the Hawks have firmly established a high standard by which to measure future seasons and loftier goals to strive for. Defending the conference title and returning to the national spotlight will provide a tremendous challenge for the team as a new millenium dawns.

Leading the charge to meet the challenge is senior center Tanika Hurtt (Bellingham, MA/Bellingham), the reigning CUNYAC Player of the Year. Also named an ECAC All-Star last winter, she was Hunter’s top scorer, rebounder, and shot blocker.

Another returning CUNYAC All-Star is multitalented sophomore guard Diana Olaya (Brooklyn, NY/Franklin D. Roosevelt), who will again be counted on to run the team’s high-octane offense. The other two returning starters are steady junior forward Maria Kalogiannis (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Kearney) and explosive sophomore forward Shevon Collins (Brooklyn, NY / Canarsie).

Reliable junior guard April Williams (New York, NY/Seward Park) is the most experienced player among the other returnees, all of whom gained valuable experience a year ago and will be looked to for stepped-up play. Also back are frontcourt sophomores Melodie Abrook (Lynbrook, NY / Malverne), Shanell Sapp (Brooklyn, NY/South Shore), and Tonye Faloughi (London, England/Cranleigh), while backcourt classmate Stephanie Rodriguez (Bronx, NY/Aquinas) moves up from the junior varsity squad.

The team’s quartet of newcomers will be thrown right into the mix, beginning with junior forward Melinda Gardner (New York, NY/Humanities). The other new faces are freshmen guards Atitya Dendy (Long Beach, NY / Long Beach), Vana Loukissas (Flushing, NY/Cardozo), and Jen Rogers (Brooklyn, NY/Fort Hamilton).

Joining Meadow on the sideline is first-year assistant coach Suzette Henry, a former All-Star player who will also guide the junior varsity team through its schedule. Another former All-Star player, Yaasmin Hooey, will serve as student assistant coach along with Mike Hovel for the second straight season.

The team will be tested early and often against a rigorous schedule. This winter’s edition of the Hunter College Hawks must be ready to meet that challenge, however, in order to fulfill the goals of another CUNYAC title and a return trip to the NCAA Tournament.

York (Pa.)
All the pieces are in place and the stage is set for showtime. Now all the York College women’s basketball team must do is go out and perform like they are capable and everything else will take care of itself.

Head coach Betsy Witman enters her third season at the helm of the Spartans with hopes of having their best season yet. Witman led the Spartans to numerous records last year including a school record 15 victories. The Green and White were the most prolific offensive club in school history as they tallied 1,880 points and averaged 72.3 points per game. Last year’s team recorded 736 field goals, grabbed 1,256 rebounds, dished out 441 assists and blocked 163 shots, all school records.

Witman has five seniors that will each play key roles in the Spartans' success in 1999-2000. Katie Parise, Veronica Byrne, Brooke Davis, Carol Chudovan, and Kate Tillotson provide Witman with a core of senior leaders that the coach will rely on heavily during their final season. Parise was selected as the green and white MVP after last year as she tallied a team-high 16 points per game and was also named to the second-team All-Capital Athletic Conference. Byrne continued to become one of the best post players in the league as she was second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.2 points per game. She also helped York control the boards as she grabbed 6.5 rebounds per game, good for second on the squad.

Davis ended the season as the most versatile player in the CAC. She led the Spartans in rebounding (8.7 rpg), assists (5.4 apg), blocked shots (3.6 bpg), steals (4.0 spg) and free throw percentage (70%). Not only did Davis lead the Spartans but she was the conference leader in blocked shots and steals and was second in the league in assists behind national leader Amy Cooke from Salisbury State.

The junior class is not very big with only two players, but the class does have two very talented players in Amy Anderson and Megan Fitzgerald. Anderson fell victim to injury on the second day of practice and it did not improve all season. Despite the injuries, Anderson averaged 12.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Fitzgerald continued her steady improvement during last year. She averaged 2.7 points and rebounds during the year and established new career-highs with a double-double in the win over Catholic on Feb. 10.

Sophomore Kellie Flynn experienced the most success of the trio of last year’s freshmen as she averaged 5.2 points and 5.5 rebounds for the Spartans in 25 games. Witman’s second recruiting class should be even better than her first effort. She welcomes six new players as Holly Arndt, Catherine Elliot, Melissa Henderson, Greta Schmidt, Michelle Reynolds, and Sara Anderson join the green and white fold.

"We will be tested early," says Witman. "But we did much better on the road last year and I see no reason for us to regress on the road. We have a very experienced team and it really should not matter where we play."

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