By Frank Mastrandrea ’88
Baseball
After a solid start to the season that saw Holy Cross win
three-out-of-four games against Bucknell and Lafayette,
the Crusaders ended the season on a 12-game losing streak,
falling just short of the Patriot League tournament. Holy
Cross rounded out the year with a 13-27-1 record, 8-12
in league play. Captain Jeff Miller '00 finished his career
by surpassing career records for games played (153), at
bats (534), runs (109), doubles (34), total bases (275)
and assists (374). Miller batted .303 on the season and
tied for the team lead with five home runs. Jim Sweeney '01,
last season's Patriot League Player of the Year, continued
his impressive play, leading the pitching staff with a
3.73 ERA and 53 strikeouts while also batting .319 with
a team-leading 27 RBIs. Sweeney will not play for the Crusaders
next year, however, as he was drafted in the 14th round
of the major-league baseball draft by the Chicago White
Sox and will begin his professional career this summer.
Matt Reiland '02 paced the squad with a .375 batting average
while tying for the team lead with 27 runs scored. Corey
Czajka '01 opened a lot of eyes as he started every game
in center field and finished second on the team with a
.341 batting average. First-year player Matt McEvoy established
himself early in the starting lineup batting a hefty .338
while leading the team in doubles with 15, one shy of tying
the record of 16 set by Rich Jasinski '78 in 1978.
Softball
The softball team finished with a tie for third place in
the Patriot League and ended up the fourth seed in the
Patriot League tournament. Unlike the last two years, the
squad won the first game in the tournament defeating 1999
Patriot League Champion Colgate before falling to the number
two seed, Lehigh, in eight innings. The Crusaders then
defeated Lafayette in the consolation bracket only to face
Colgate for the second time in the tournament. Playing
their third game of the day, the team ran out of steam
and fell to Colgate, 5-1. Holy Cross finished with a 9-27-1
overall record, 4-6 in the Patriot League. Alyssa Hayden '03,
the Crusaders' top hitter with a .336 batting average,
led the team in hits (36), runs (18) and walks (11). Kait
Hannen '03 was the team's top pitcher, posting five wins
and a 3.09 ERA. She also had the team's only shutout.
Men's Lacrosse
Under the direction of first-year head coach, Mike McCaffrey,
the Crusaders posted a 3-11 mark, two more wins than the
previous year, a sure sign that
better things are yet to come. Junior captain Richie Santoro led the team
with 38 points (nine goals and 29 assists) while going over the 100-point
mark for his career (112). Senior tri-captain Brian Scollard capped his successful
four-year run with the Intercollegiate Award.
Women's Lacrosse
After an exceptional 1999 season, the women's lacrosse team
ended its most recent season with a disappointing 4-12 record
overall and a 1-4 record in
the Patriot League to finish in fourth place. Fortunately, returning to coach
Paul Ramsey for the 2001 season will be the team's two top scorers. Jen Amendola '01,
who broke six Holy Cross records this season, led the team in scoring with
65 goals and eight assists. First-year student Erin Rowse, second on the team
in scoring (51 points), led the league in assists with 33. She also holds two
school records for most assists in a season and most assists in a single game
(6). Amendola and Erin Hartigan '01 will be the co-captains for the 2000-2001
season.
Men's& Women's Track & Field
The Crusaders posted some good performances at the Patriot
League outdoor track championships. On the men's side,
Dave Puloka '01, fresh off his All-New England and First
Team All-Patriot League performance on the football field,
won the gold medal in discus at the Patriot League championships,
setting a new league record with a throw of 53.37 meters.
Dan Conti '03 placed second in the 110-meter hurdles (15.04
seconds) while 2000 Holy Cross Crusader of the Year Scott
Hinds '00 finished third in the 400-meter hurdles (55.31).
Other highlights include a fifth-place finish by Dave Kasouf '03
in the 100-meter dash (10.99) and a seventh-place finish
by Kipp Teamey '00 in the long jump (6.43 meters). Overall,
the team finished seventh at the meet.
On the women's side, the Crusaders finished sixth at the
Patriot League outdoor track championships. Alison LeBeau '01
vaulted 3.15 meters to fourth place in the pole vault while
Marguerite DoRosario '00 placed fourth in the 1,500-meter
(4:46.85) and Emily Hogan '02 placed sixth in the 3,000-meter (10:27.96).
Men's & Women's Rowing
It was another successful season on Lake Quinsigamond for
both the men's and women's rowing teams this year. The
highlights of the year for the men's team-co-captained
by Pat Godfrey '00 and Paul Guthrie '00-were the Men's
Varsity 8's victory at the Patriot League championships,
and a strong second-place finish by the Men's Varsity 4
at the Champion International Regatta. On the women's side,
the team, led by co-captains Mera Kriz '00 and Sarah Tyler '01,
boasts a New England championship for the Women's Varsity
Lightweight 8, Patriot League titles for the Women's Varsity
8 and Women's Novice 8, and a third-place finish for the
Women's Lightweight 8 boat at the Champion International
Regatta.
Men's Basketball Recruits
The Crusader men's basketball team is eagerly awaiting the arrival of three
student-athletes in the class of 2004. John Bucaro of Hauppauge, N.Y., Jave
Meade of Long Island City, N.Y., and Greg Rector of Gaithersburg, Md., are
Holy Cross' newest basketball recruits.
Head coach Ralph Willard voiced his excitement about the incoming students: "We've
added three good players who have the potential to contribute to our program
right away."
Bucaro, a 6-foot-5-inch guard, averaged 18 points, seven rebounds and four
assists per game while earning MVP honors at St. Anthony's High School this
year. He also earned First Team All-League honors. Before choosing Holy Cross,
Bucaro was considering Princeton and Yale.
Meade spent last season at Northfield-Mt. Hermon, after a successful career
at Christ the King High School. The 6-foot-1-inch point guard averaged 14 points,
seven assists and five rebounds at Northfield last season, earning the school's
Most Outstanding Athlete honor. He was also chosen to the New England Prep
School Class A All-Star team. Before choosing Holy Cross, Meade was considering
such schools as Baylor, Vanderbilt, Mount St. Mary's and Brown.
Rector, a 6-foot-7-inch forward who averaged 21 points, 17 rebounds and three
blocked shots as a senior at Quince Orchard High School, chose Holy Cross after
considering VCU, Richmond, Navy and Mount St. Mary's. He was named the Montgomery
County Journal Player of the Year last season, and was selected to play
in the Capital City Classic-a game matching the best players in the Washington,
D.C., area against a team of National All-Stars.
Women's Basketball Recruits
The Holy Cross women's basketball team is equally as excited to welcome their
three newest recruits. Kristin Popovics of Marion, Iowa, Susan Altman of Glen
Gardner, N.J., and Patty Fitzgerald of Providence, R.I., will make up the third
athletic scholarship class since scholarships were reinstated.
According to Head Coach Bill Gibbons, "We are extremely pleased to sign three
quality players in the early signing period. Kristin, Sue and Patty are all
tremendous competitors who have elevated their respective high school programs
to new heights."
Popovics is a 5-foot-7-inch guard who averaged 24.8 points and 7.2 assists
per game as a junior at Marion High School. As a result, the Iowa Coaches Association
named her First Team All-State.
Altman is a 5-foot-10-inch forward who was named All-West Jersey Player of
the Year as a junior at Voorhees High School where she averaged 17 points and
7.3 rebounds.
Fitzgerald led her LaSalle Academy team to an undefeated junior season and
the Rhode Island state championship. The 6-foot-1-inch forward averaged 17.2
points and nine rebounds and was named First Team All-State.
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