The year in college sports

By Jason Eisenberg

Although only two institutions of higher learning are located within the confines of Riverdale, there was still plenty of exciting college sports action taking place in the area over the past 12 months. Here are some of the most noteworthy team highlights and intriguing off-the-field news items from the local world of college athletics in 2009.

College baseball

Thanks in large part to a midseason stretch that saw them win 16 of 17 games, the Manhattan Jaspers claimed their conference’s regular season title for the second consecutive year and went on to the MAAC championship tournament as the number-one seed. However, the memorable season came to a premature end when the Jaspers lost two of their first three games in the double-elimination round of the playoffs.

On a sidenote, former Manhattan College standout pitcher Mike Parisi was recently selected 12th overall by the Chicago Cubs in the 2009 MLB Rule 5 Draft. Parisi is now part of the Cubs 40-man roster and will report to spring training in Mesa, Arizona.

In 2009, the Mount Saint Vincent baseball team finished the regular season with an overall record of 18-14. The Dolphins made their second straight appearance in the ECAC Metro Division Tournament but they were ousted in the first round after a one-run loss in extra innings.

College basketball

After a rough campaign in 2008, the Manhattan Jaspers bounced back with their first winning season in three years. The team improved both its overall record (16-13) and conference record (9-9) by four games to finish in fourth place out of 10 teams in the MAAC. The postseason was a different story, though, as the Jaspers were again unable to advance past the quarterfinals of the conference tournament after a disappointing loss to Fairfield.

But the biggest news for the Jaspers was made off the court, when head coach Barry Rohrssen awarded a scholarship to 6-foot-11 center Kevin Laue, who was born with a left arm that ends one inch above his elbow. Up to this point, Laue has received very little playing time during his freshman season while he becomes acclimated to basketball at the Division 1 level.

After a slow start to the season, the Mount Saint Vincent women’s basketball team recovered to win 11 of 14 games down the stretch, and reached the semifinals of the Skyline Conference tournament for the third straight year. The Lady Dolphins again received a bid to the ECAC Division III Metro Region Tournament, but were knocked out in the quarterfinal round.

College softball

The Manhattan College softball team won 11 of its 16 conference games to set a school record and the Lady Jaspers earned a share of the MAAC regular season title for the first time in program history. In their first appearance at the MAAC postseason tournament since 2005, Manhattan posted a thrilling win over Fairfield in a 16-inning classic to temporarily avoid elimination, but was ultimately ousted the very next day by Niagara.

After losing the first five games to open the season, the Mount Saint Vincent softball team bounced back in a big way, with the Dolphins picking up victories in 16 of their last 20 contests. Junior standout Lisa O’Shea led the Mount with a .507 batting average and hit seven home runs to earn her selection as an ECAC Division III Metro All-Star.

College lacrosse

Midfielder Chrissy Gutenberger scored an incredible 54 goals in 16 games during her freshman season and led the Manhattan women’s lacrosse team to an impressive 11-4 regular season record. The Lady Jaspers made it to the MAAC tournament after failing to qualify the previous season, but were handily defeated by top seeded Fairfield in the semifinal round. Gutenberger was named MAAC rookie of the year.

For the first time in five years, the Manhattan men’s lacrosse team posted a winning season and advanced to the MAAC tournament championship game. Although they would fall to top-seeded Siena in the finals, it was an overall successful showing for the Jaspers, whose 10 wins this season were the second-most in school history. Junior attacker James Synowiez led the team with 43 goals and was named MAAC offensive player of the year.

It was an up and down season for the Mount Saint Vincent women’s lacrosse team, which was victorious in its first four games, then lost four of the next six, before wrapping up the regular season schedule with three wins in the last four contests. However, the Dolphins would be eliminated in the semifinals of the Skyline Conference tournament for the third straight year.

College soccer

In an otherwise down year for local college soccer, the Manhattan Lady Jaspers proved to be the only competitive team in the area. Despite finishing with an overall mediocre record, the Lady Jaspers saved their best for last, going 3-2-1 in their final six games to sneak into the MAAC championship tournament as a ninth seed. Manhattan carried its strong play on to the postseason and beat Rider in the opening round before nearly shocking top-seeded Loyola in a thrilling quarterfinal match. The two teams were locked in a 1-1 draw through two overtimes, but the Lady Jaspers upset bid came up short when they lost 5-4 on penalty kicks.

College volleyball

For the Mount Saint Vincent and Manhattan women’s volleyball teams, 2009 was a disappointing season on the court. The same cannot be said for the Mount Saint Vincent men’s team, though, as the Dolphins avenged their loss in the Skyline Conference championship match a year ago by capturing the league crown in 2009.

But the team made waves when the Dolphins announced last month that Horace Mann volleyball director — and Mount Saint Vincent alum — Jason Torres had been hired as the new head coach of the men’s volleyball team for the upcoming season.

This is part of the January 7, 2010 online edition of The Riverdale Press.

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