SKYLINE COACHES FORECAST THE 2015 FALL SPORTS SEASON
NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Skyline Conference coaches have made their predictions for the upcoming 2015 Fall sports season.
The league will crown champions in men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s tennis, men’s golf and women’s volleyball. The respective winners will represent the conference in NCAA Championship competition.
The Skyline Conference also welcomes its newest member, St. Joseph’s-Brooklyn, to the conference this season. The Bears will play a full conference schedule and are eligible for 2015-16 Skyline and NCAA Division III Championship participation.
Sage women’s volleyball team, which finished the 2014 season with a perfect mark in conference play (9-0) and won the Skyline Conference Championship for the third time in program history, returns two Skyline Conference All-Conference performers. Leading the way this fall for the 2015 Gators will be junior libero Siena Wilder (Ballston Spa, NY/Burnt Hills Ballston Spa) who earned a posting on the first team last fall, as well as junior setter and team tri-captain Rachel Liebig (Hartford, NY/Hartford) who was tapped for the Second Team last fall.
Sage opens the 2015 campaign hosting SUNY-Polytechnic on September 2 at 7 p.m. in Kahl Gym (Albany, NY) under the guidance of veteran head coach Sandy Augstein-Collins.
Sage’s men’s soccer team was also chosen first in the race for the league’s 2015 crown and will open the campaign on September 1 at Cazenovia College, while hosting SUNY-Canton on September 11 at 2 p.m. in the home opener at Albany College of Pharmacy’s Athletic Complex.
Sage went 9-8-1 on the season with a 7-2 mark in Skyline Conference play in 2014 and advanced to the semifinals of the league playoffs, while also garnering a spot in the 2014 ECAC Metro Men’s Soccer Tournament.
Since adding men's soccer, the Gators have now appeared in every Skyline Conference Tournament since the 2010 season and finished last season as the Skyline Conference regular-season runner-up and return their leader, coach Kyle Clancy.
Overall on the 2014 season, Sage outscored their foes by a 48-24 margin and blanked eight different opponents. The Gators combined for 44 assists and ranked No. 10 in Division III and No. 35 nationally in total points (144) as well as No. 10 in assists per game (2.44) in the final statistics release.
Junior defender Kyle LeClerc (Beacon, NY/Beacon) returns this fall after earning a spot on the 2014 NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division III Men's East Region Third-Team as well as a selection as the 2014 Skyline Conference Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Year and a Skyline All-Star First-Team honoree. Joining LeClerc on the Gators’ squad this fall are returning Skyline Conference honorees, senior forward Peter Fabrykiwicz (Delancey, NY/Andes), senior goalie T.J. Zehner (Beacon, NY/Beacon) and junior back Christian Pinti (Slate Hill, NY/Minisink Valley).
The Sage women’s soccer team, which was picked third in the pre-season poll, will be paced by the play of junior forward Savannah Mason (Wynantskill, NY/Averill Park), who was a Skyline Conference First-Team honoree last year. Mason led the way with her team-best 34 points. She had 15 goals with four assists and connected for four game-winning goals. In the final NCAA stats release, she was ranked in five different categories. She was No. 72 in goals, No. 78 in goals per game (0.75), No. 85 in total points, No. 93 in game-winning goals, and No. 99 in points per game.
Rookie head coach Andrew Gamarra was named the Skyline Women's Soccer Coach of the Year and had three players honored with Skyline honors and one with ECAC honors. Gamarra led his Gators to the best finish in the Sage women’s soccer history. Sage garnered the No. 3 seed in the 2014 Eastern College Athletic Conference Metro Division III Women's Soccer Tournament. The Gators topped the Dolphins of the College of Staten Island, 3-2 in overtime in the ECAC’s. The victory represents the Gators' first win in ECAC Tournament play and a school-record 12th win on the season. The Gators advanced in the ECACs to the semifinals and faced Rutgers-Newark, before the record-setting season came to an end. The 12-win campaign for Gamarra and his Gators also surpasses the previous mark for most wins in a season, a feat achieved in 2003, when then Russell Sage College went 11-6-2. For the 2014 campaign, Sage went 12-6-2.
Sage opens the new year at nearby Albany College of Pharmacy in a non-conference match up at 5 p.m. on September 1.
Sage’s women’s tennis team, which was led last season by rookie head coach Tom Fashouer, was picked fourth in the race for the league crown. The Gators returned to the playoffs last season after a 7-8 overall finish with a 3-3 mark in conference play. Sage will return Skyline Conference Second Team honoree and senior leader Katie Schultz (Wynantskill, NY/Averill Park). Schultz went 10-2 last season at No. 3 singles, while going 12-3 in singles play overall.
Sage opens the new campaign on September 3 at Hartwick College in a 4 p.m. non-conference match.
In cross country, Sage’s women’s team was picked to finish third at the league’s championship, while the men’s team was picked eighth.
The Sage Colleges’ men’s cross country team returns veteran performer and team leader senior captain Juan Reyes-Alvarez (Latham, NY/Shaker). The 2014 Skyline Conference Men’s Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Reyes-Alvarez earns his second consecutive Men’s Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor. At the 2014 Skyline Conference Cross Country Championships, he became the program’s first three-time Skyline Conference First Team All-Star. He posted a time of 29:22.27 to finish in fifth place. On his career, he also finished in fifth as a rookie in 2012 and last year took home third place.
The Gator women’s team, which earned a spot on the 2014 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III Scholar Teams of the Year, will be led by veteran coach Jim Bowles. Leading the Gators this fall will be senior Amanda Millington (Chestertown, NY/North Warren Central) who was chosen as the 2014 Gator of the Year. A top performer throughout the 2014 season, among the many highlights of the year was she was part of the squad’s third place team finish at the 2014 Skyline Conference Championship and placed 15th in a time of 22:35.21. She was the team’s top finisher at the SUNY-IT Wildcat Invitational taking 17th place, while finishing second overall at the Purchase Invitational in 21:51.41. She also helped the Gators as she was seventh at the Green Mountain Invitational as Sage finished as the runner-up in the team race.
Both cross country teams will be in action in the 2015 season opener at SUNY-Polytechnic in a meet with the women’s short course race commencing at noon and the men’s short course event following.
Picked fourth in the pre-season poll, Sage’s men’s golf squad will be paced by the leadership of returning coach Ian Pingelski. The Gators finished fourth a year ago at the league’s championship, and produced three Top 15 finishers at the event. Leading the way this season will be senior DJ Ioele (Johnstown, NY/Johnstown) as finished in 12th place at the 2014 Skyline Conference Tournament after carding a 157 for the tournament (75-82), marking his best showing in the conference tournament as well.
Sage men’s golf team opens the new year on September 11 participating in the SUNY-Old Westbury Invitational at Eisenhower Red Course.
Below are the results of the Pre-season Coaches' Polls:
| Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Poll | Points |
| 1. Sage (4) | 93 |
| 2. Mount Saint Mary (5) | 92 |
| 3. St. Joseph’s-Long Island (1) | 75 |
| 4. Purchase* (1) | 72 |
| 5. Farmingdale State | 59 |
| 6. Mount Saint Vincent | 57 |
| 7. Maritime | 47 |
| 8. Yeshiva | 39 |
| 9. Old Westbury | 38 |
| 10. Sarah Lawrence | 17 |
| 11. St. Joseph’s-Brooklyn | 15 |
First-place votes in parentheses *Defending champion
| Women’s Soccer Coaches’ Poll | Points |
| 1. Farmingdale State* (7) | 97 |
| 2. Mount Saint Mary (3) | 93 |
| 3. Sage (1) | 81 |
| 4. Mount Saint Vincent | 61 |
| 5. St. Joseph’s-Long Island | 60 |
| 6. Old Westbury | 58 |
| 7. Purchase | 53 |
| 8. St. Joseph’s-Brooklyn | 39 |
| 9. Maritime | 33 |
| 10. Sarah Lawrence | 18 |
| 11. Yeshiva | 12 |
First-place votes in parentheses *Defending champion
| Women’s Tennis Coaches’ Poll | Points |
| 1. Farmingdale State* (7) | 49 |
| 2. St. Joseph’s-Long Island (1) | 43 |
| 3. Yeshiva | 37 |
| 4. Sage | 27 |
| 5. Purchase | 25 |
| 6. Sarah Lawrence | 17 |
| 7. Mount Saint Mary | 13 |
| (tie) St. Joseph’s-Brooklyn | 13 |
First-place votes in parentheses *Defending champion
| Men's Cross County Coaches’ Poll | Points |
| 1. Mount Saint Mary* (7) | 95 |
| 2. St. Joseph’s-Long Island (3) | 91 |
| 3. Maritime (1) | 80 |
| 4. Yeshiva | 79 |
| 5. Purchase | 59 |
| 6. Farmingdale State | 54 |
| 7. Mount Saint Vincent | 43 |
| 8. Sage | 37 |
| 9. Sarah Lawrence | 34 |
| 10. Old Westbury | 18 |
| 11. St. Joseph’s-Brooklyn | 15 |
First-place votes in parentheses *Defending champion
| Women's Cross County Coaches’ Poll | Points |
| 1. St. Joseph’s-Long Island* (10) | 100 |
| 2. Mount Saint Mary (1) | 90 |
| 3. Sage | 79 |
| 4. Sarah Lawrence | 75 |
| 5. Farmingdale State | 59 |
| 6. Yeshiva | 54 |
| 7. Maritime | 47 |
| 8. Mount Saint Vincent | 36 |
| 9. Purchase | 31 |
| 10. Old Westbury | 16 |
| 11. St. Joseph’s-Brooklyn | 15 |
First-place votes in parentheses *Defending champion
| Women's Volleyball Coaches’ Poll | Points |
| 1. Sage* (6) | 94 |
| 2. Mount Saint Mary (4) | 90 |
| 3. St. Joseph’s-Long Island (1) | 84 |
| 4. Mount Saint Vincent | 71 |
| 5. Farmingdale State | 68 |
| 6. Maritime | 55 |
| 7. Old Westbury | 33 |
| (tie) St. Joseph’s-Brooklyn | 33 |
| 9. Yeshiva | 32 |
| 10. Sarah Lawrence | 25 |
| 11. Purchase | 17 |
First-place votes in parentheses *Defending champion
| Men's Golf Coaches’ Poll | Points |
| 1. Farmingdale State* (4) | 34 |
| 2. St. Joseph’s-Long Island (3) | 33 |
| 3. Mount Saint Mary | 24 |
| 4. Sage | 21 |
| 5. Purchase | 18 |
| 6. Yeshiva | 17 |
| 7. Old Westbury | 6 |
First-place votes in parentheses *Defending champion