Albany, NY—Russell Sage College's Director of Athletics Sandy Augstein-Collins has announced the selection of Nick Pontari (Troy, NY/Troy) as the interim field hockey coach for the fall of 2022 season.
Augstein-Collins commented, "I am so appreciative of Nick stepping up to serve as Interim Head Field Hockey Coach for the upcoming 2022 season. "She added, "Nick has experience in the game from his teaching days at Brockport State University and is committed to doing his best to give the Gators a season that they deserve."
"I can't express how excited I am to get to work with our field hockey team this Fall," remarked Pontari. He added, "I'm excited for what the roster returns, the incoming players arriving at Sage, and what the future holds for everyone in the program."
Pontari, a 2016 graduate of Brockport State, joined the Gator staff in the summer of 2020 as the head baseball coach. Russell Sage College, an NCAA Division III institution, competes as a member of the Empire 8 conference and commenced varsity baseball during the 2021-2022 academic year. The Gator baseball team opened their first varsity campaign in the spring of 2022 and Pontari recorded his first career win on March 11, 2022 as the Gators beat Gordon University. By season's end, the baseball team earned a spot in the Empire 8 tournament after a 14-27-1 overall campaign with a mark of 9-11 in the Empire 8.
Pontari arrived at Russell Sage after one season as a volunteer assistant coach with the Cornell University baseball team. While the Big Red's 2020 season was truncated to nine games because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he played a big role in preparation for the season after his appointment to the position during the previous fall.
Prior to his time at Cornell, he served four seasons as a member of the coaching staff at his alma mater, The College at Brockport. He was promoted to Associate Head Coach of the Golden Eagles for the 2019 seasons, having served the previous three years as an assistant coach. At the time of his move to Cornell, he had taken over daily operations of Brockport's pitching staff. He also held roles in assisting with recruiting operations and working with the team's catchers.
Pontari has a bachelor's of science in physical education from Brockport in 2016, having transferred to the school from Fulton-Montgomery Community College via Hudson Valley Community College. In his senior season at Brockport, Pontari led the pitching staff with 15 appearances as a reliever, which tied him for seventh all-time in single-season appearances in the Golden Eagles record book. A senior captain of the 2015 squad, he compiled 16 strikeouts, while allowing only three walks in 19.1 innings of work and had a pair of saves to his credit. He had previously helped Hudson Valley Community College advance to the regional finals. Scholastically, his 2009 American Legion team won the New York State Championship and he was a First Team All-Big Ten player as a senior at Troy High School. An accomplished student-athlete, Pontari also earned a Masters of Education degree from Brockport in May of 2018 and was a member of the faculty at Brockport State, responsible for teaching as a member of the Kinesiology, Physical Education, Sport Management Department for the Golden Eagles as well in 2019.
Active in his community, Pontari has also volunteered at the Empire State Games for the Physically Challenged, while also attending and presenting at the NYS AHPERD Conferences. He also volunteered for the Golden Eagles' "Swim and Gym" programs assisting children with special needs, as well as participating with the Blindfolded Gymnastics Events for awareness for children with visual impairments, during his time as a student-athlete.
Sage's field hockey team is coming off a 4-13 campaign in their third season of varsity play. A member of the Empire 8, the 2021 squad had a number of players garner acclaim from the Empire 8 as well as the National Field Hockey Coaches Association for their outstanding efforts in the classroom. The 2022 Gators take to the field on September 10 when they travel to Oswego State for a 4 p.m. non-conference match.
