Paw Prints E-Newsletter 10/27/2016 5:07:00 PM

Paw Prints E-Newsletter: Volume 28

From The Director of Athletics' Desk...

As we continue to grow and develop into a successful NCAA Division II athletics program, October 2016 marked another exciting month. Highlights include the continued and steady success of our men's and women's cross country runners. The women's team is led by longtime standout Mackenzie Donahue who placed second at the East Coast Conference Championship for the second straight year. The team took second overall and has maintained a fourth-place ranking the NCAA Division II East Region poll all season. Mackenzie is not only an exceptional individual runner, but she has also helped Coach Paul Lagno develop younger runners such as Amy Trabert, who placed seventh out of 70 participants at the conference meet. Cross country is a total team effort and the role of our third, fourth and fifth runners are also crucial to our success. Senior Hannah Rice and multisport athlete Ashley Cheff have been selfless in their dedication to the team and have propelled the team to success behind the top runners. Cheff is a standout triathlete who has stepped in twice to join the cross country team and support their efforts to be nationally recognized. The entire women's team will be racing hard next Saturday, November 5 at the East Region Championship to earn a coveted national qualifier spot. The team's quiet senior leader Morgan Urbanek is readying the group for the opportunity for one final race at the NCAA National Championship on November 19. Also vying for a national qualifier spot is men's team member Kevin Roginson. The development of Roginson into a top contender has truly been inspiring. The two teams train together, and their determination and dedication have been contagious and propelled them to quick success in NCAA Division II competition.

If you have not had a chance to watch our women's volleyball team compete, they are simply must see matches! All home games are broadcast live through daemenwildcats.com. Or, better yet, if you are close to campus, head to the LumsDen on November 5 as the team takes on four-time defending ECC champs University of Bridgeport. The women's volleyball team under the leadership of Stephanie Albano has made noise in the NCAA Division II East Region. The team is poised to enter the ECC tournament as a favorite and focused on earning an NCAA national tournament bid. The young women on this team play with such determination and passion and exemplify the excitement that college sports can bring to a campus gym.

As past Paw Prints have discussed, perhaps the most competitive sport in the East Coast Conference is soccer and our men's, and women's programs tackled another tough season of competition. The courage of our goalies Jackie Wescott and stand-in men's goalie Steve Geffert was astounding as they faced nationally ranked teams. Despite the valiant and passionate play of our student-athletes, it is clear that the College needs to increase the resources it devotes to this sport to further a competitive student-athlete experience. We are excited to have the backing of the First Niagara Bank Foundation among others in helping Daemen build quality playing and practice fields with the Park School. The two teams have played without a permanent field since both programs were launched in 2000. The teams bring over 40 students to Daemen College each year. In the future, we will be looking to increase roster sizes and expand the role soccer plays in the overall strategic plan of Daemen Athletics.

Please be sure to follow @DaemenAthletics and daemenwildcats.com to keep up on all things Wildcats. In addition to the sports noted above, men's golf and our tennis teams have had a productive fall and will spend the winter working on skills indoors as they prepare for spring seasons. Women's bowling and, of course, our basketball teams have started their seasons as well. Be sure to catch Daemen's men's basketball team as they play the University at Buffalo on Friday, November 4. It is the second year the two teams have played, and it is always a fun night to watch a Division II underdog clash with UB's big time program. And our women's basketball team will take their shot on Wednesday, November 9 down Main Street against Canisius College. Gotta love the underdogs!

All of us at Daemen Athletics wish you the best in the month of November. We hope that reading about the efforts of our student-athletes has inspired you to become the very best version of yourself and give a little bit more each and every day in that endeavor.

As always, if you'd like to talk about the direction of our program, or investigate ways that you can make an impact on today's student-athletes, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at bniland@daemen.edu or (716) 472-5951. As always, we are grateful for your continued support, and I look forward to briefing you again next month on the progress of our program.

Until then, #beFIERCE

Bridget Niland
Director of Athletics

UPCOMING EVENTS
November 2 - Men's Basketball @ Siena - 7 PM
November 4 - Men's Basketball @ Buffalo - 8:30 PM
November 5 - MXC/WXC @ East Region Championships
November 5 - Volleyball vs. Bridgeport - 12 PM
November 9 - Bowling vs. Medaille - 6 PM
November 9 - Women's Basketball @ Canisius - 7 PM
November 11-2 - Men's Basketball ECC-CACC Challenge

FOR A DETAILED LISTING OF UPCOMING EVENTS,
CHECK OUT OUR COMPREHENSIVE ONLINE CALENDAR

IN THE NEWS...

OCT. 6 - CROSS COUNTRY RUNNERS NAMED STUDENT-ATHLETES OF THE MONTH FOR SEPTEMBER
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OCT. 11 - BALLOU AWARDED ECC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
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OCT. 11 - SHAWISH NAMED ECC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
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OCT. 19 - STEELE NAMED ECC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
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OCT. 19 - ZAJAC NAMED INTERIM HEAD WOMEN'S BOWLING COACH
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OCT. 20 - NILAND ANNOUNCES ADMINISTRATIVE PROMOTIONS
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OCT. 24 - MEN'S BASKETBALL TO OFFER CO-ED CAMP ON VETERANS DAY
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OCT. 25 - WILDCAT VOLLEYBALL PROGRAM TO HOST FREE CLINIC FOLLOWING MATCH ON NOV. 5
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OCT. 25 - WILDCATS REMAIN RANKED FOURTH IN EAST REGION
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OCT. 26 - WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PICKED NINTH IN ECC PRESEASON POLL
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OCT. 26 - MEN'S BASKETBALL PICKED FIFTH IN ECC PRESEASON POLL
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NOTABLE GAME RECAPS...

OCT. 4 - VEITENGRUBER & MILNER WIN "A" DOUBLES DRAW AT DAEMEN INVITATIONAL
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OCT. 21 - WOMEN'S TENNIS BLANKS MOLLOY
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OCT. 22 - DONAHUE, TRABERT PACE WILDCATS TO RUNNER-UP SHOWING AT ECC CHAMPIONSHIP
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OCT. 22 - ROGINSON'S TOP-FIVE FINISH PACED WILDCATS AT ECC CHAMPIONSHIP
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OCT. 22 - WILDCATS WIN 8TH STRAIGHT
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MAKE AN IMPACT TODAY BY GIVING A GIFT TO THE WILDCAT ATHLETICS ASSOCIATION

Did you know there are over 123,000 men, women and children waiting for life-saving organ transplants? Did you know that 100 people in WNY need blood every day?

You can provide hope to those in need by becoming an organ, tissue or blood donor through Unyts. Visit unyts.org/checkyes to register as a donor today.

UNYTS is a proud corporate partner of Daemen College Athletics.

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