From The Director of Athletics' Desk...

The end of October marks an exciting time in college athletics as fall sports are coming to a close and winter sports kickoff their seasons.   As I mentioned last month, everyone at Daemen is proud of how our fall sport student-athletes and coaches have competed in their first official season as members of NCAA Division II and the East Coast Conference.  All of our student-athletes are transitioning to a higher level of competitive sports.  Highlights include our women's cross country team, which has flourished under first-year head coach Paul Lagno.  In every race, these young ladies demonstrate the #beFIERCE approach to competition.  Despite losing one of its top runners to injury, the team placed second at the ECC championship meet. Junior Mackenzie Donahue was second overall in a race of more than 70 participants.  Mackenzie smashed her own school record in the race and positioned herself to be a leading contender for a national qualifying spot when she competes at the East Region Championships on November 6.  This fall we've also seen our women's volleyball team, under the leadership of another set of first-year coaches, Bob Maxwell and Stephanie Albano, climb up the ladder in the ECC standings, currently ranking fourth to put themselves in contention for an ECC Tournament berth.  Perhaps the most competitive sport in the ECC is soccer and our men's and women's programs have been bringing their fight to each and every game.  The women's team has scored three ECC victories leaving them in the hunt for an ECC tourney bid.  And certainly worth noting is the official start of varsity women's bowling, which occurred on October 17.  This spirited group is fun to watch and they've already earned three victories in their opening weekend of competition. 
 
Also making history is Daemen's expanding program of club sports, which for the first time are operating as part of Daemen Athletics.  Our men's club ice hockey team has competed both at home and traveled to Erie, Pa. to compete against I-90 rivial Mercyhurst. Our co-ed club volleyball team has been diligently practicing for its first tournament scheduled for the second week of November.  Our women's club lacrosse program will start its second season in the next few weeks.  It's also been great to see our enhanced intramural programs in full swing on the front lawn of campus.  The goal of Daemen Athletics is to provide opportunities for athletics at all levels of talent and commitment and, as we look back on the year so far, it is great to see so many Daemen students involved in some form of competition.
 
We have some exciting events taking place in the next few weeks at which we hope you will join us.  On Thursday, October 29 Daemen Athletics will host Midday Madness to tip-off of the college basketball season.  This restyled event hopes to bring involvement from across campus and the community and will include a performance by the Daemen step team and an intro of this year's ballers.  The next day, the campus will host an exhibition game for men's team against Brock University.  Our teams will then cross-town and compete against the University at Buffalo's teams.  Our men's team plays UB at Alunmi Arena on Friday, November 6 and the Daemen's women's team will play at UB the next day on November 7.
 
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.  We are grateful for your continued support of our endeavors and I look forward to briefing you again next month on the progress of our program.
 
Until then, BE FIERCE!


Bridget Niland
Director of Athletics