St. John??' 2005-06 Athletic Highlights

Fall Highlights

Men???s Soccer (11-6-5, 6-2-3 BIG EAST)

The men???s soccer team finished the season 11-6-5 overall, making a 15th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and a 10th consecutive appearance in the tournament???s round of 16.
The Red Storm beat Marist College and Dartmouth in the NCAA Tournament, before falling at No. 1 seed and eventual national champion, Maryland, in the third round.
Forward Matt Groenwald earned All-America honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and Soccer Times and was named an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American for a third straight season.
Groenwald was one of three St. John???s players selected in the 2006 Major League Soccer SuperDraft, going in the third round to Kansas City. Andre Schmid was also selected in the third round by Houston, while Jeff Carroll went to DC United in the fourth.

Women???s Soccer (6-10-3, 2-7-2 BIG EAST)

The Red Storm was honored with the Team Academic Award from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). To earn the award, the team must have a combined grade point average of 3.0 or higher. St. John???s earned the award for the second-consecutive year and was one of six BIG EAST schools honored.
Senior midfielder Holly Ryder was named to the All-BIG EAST second team. She capped off a standout career with a stellar senior season, as she led St. John???s in nearly every offensive category including goals (six), assists (four), points (16), shots (56) and shots on goal (20).
The squad earned its first conference victory of the year on Sept. 23, a 1-0 shutout of Pittsburgh at Belson Stadium.

Volleyball (23-9, 9-5 BIG EAST)

St. John???s finished the regular season tied for fourth in the BIG EAST with a 9-5 mark and a 23-9 overall record. The team finished the year regionally ranked by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).
The squad made the program???s third postseason appearance and first since 1996.
The Red Storm posted one of the greatest turnarounds in program and conference history, improving from its 15-16 overall, 1-9 BIG EAST mark in 2004.
The team made program history by recording 20 three-game sweeps in a single season.
St. John???s brought home the Queens Nassau Cup for the first time in four years after defeating Hofstra, 3-1, on Sept. 14.
Freshman Hui Ping Huang finished the season as the team???s most decorated student-athlete. The outside hitter received first team All-BIG EAST and AVCA Northeast Region Freshman of the Year honors. Huang was also named BIG EAST Player of the Week for week seven and Rookie of the Week for week 12.

Men???s Golf

The men???s golf team finished the fall season with two NCAA wins and placed in the top six in four other tournaments. Both wins came as St. John???s hosted its McLaughlin and Tillinghast tournaments.
Sophomore Keegan Bradley was the low scorer for St. John???s in four out of five events in the fall. His low round of 67 came at the McLaughlin, and he earned an Individual Champion title at the Tillinghast.
The Red Storm will welcome Mike Ballo to the team next fall as the Trinity Catholic high school senior signed a National Letter of Intent to play at St. John???s.

Women???s Golf

While competing at the Legends Shootout, senior Christin Thomson set a course record for nine holes by shooting a 30 on the middle nine. She also recorded six consecutive birdies.
The Red Storm placed in the top seven in all events last fall.
Head coach Ambry Bishop has been hard at work on the recruiting circuit as five high school seniors have signed National Letters of Intent to play at St. John???s next fall.

Cross Country

ECAC Championships: The team finished in 21st place. Jasmine Barreto was the top finisher for the Red Storm in 36th place. She recorded the best performance of her career, clocking in at 19:43.6.
NCAA Regional Championships: The squad finished in 35th place. Barreto was the Red Storm???s top performer again, finishing the 6k race in 23:31.6 for 133rd place. She improved her personal best time by 20 seconds.
BIG EAST Championships: St. John???s finished in 15th place. Barreto clocked in at 23:51 for 76th place.
St. John???s Fall Festival: The team finished in third place. Barreto captured third place overall, crossing the line in 24:49.92 in the 6k race.
Metropolitan Championships: The team finished in eighth place out of nine teams. Jodey Johnson finished first for the Red Storm, clocking in at 19:47 for 14th place.

Winter Highlights

Men???s Basketball (12-15, 5-11 BIG EAST)

The Red Storm posted 12 victories, exceeding its win total from each of the last two seasons, and St. John???s five conference victories on the season surpassed the number of league wins from each of the past two years. Two of the Red Storm???s wins came against ranked opponents: a 55-50 win over then-No. 9/9 Pitt (Jan. 21) and a 68-56 victory over No. 17/15 Louisville (Jan. 17).
After the pair of signature wins over ranked opponents during the week of Jan. 15, the accolades came pouring in for the St. John???s men???s basketball team. The AP sportswriters gave St. John???s votes in the Top 25 for the first time since the 2001-02 season on Jan. 23. ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale named the Red Storm his "Team of the Week" on his website, and ESPN.com???s Andy Katz bestowed the same honor. Head coach Norm Roberts was named the national coach of the week on FOXSports.com. Also, the BIG EAST Conference selected junior forward Lamont Hamilton to its honor roll and the New York Metropolitan Sports Writers Association (MBWA) named Hamilton its PrestoSports/MBWA Player of the Week.
The Red Storm made it a perfect 2-for-2 in Holiday Festival titles during the Norm Roberts Era at St. John???s, taking the 2005 championship by downing Columbia and UMass on Dec. 27 and 28. The team also captured the 2004 Holiday Festival championship last season.
The team began practice in state-of-the-art Taffner Field House in September.
St. John???s University celebrated the legendary contributions of 10 individuals to its men???s basketball program by conferring ???Basketball Legacy Honors??? upon them and hanging permanent banners in Madison Square Garden and Carnesecca Arena to commemorate their tremendous athletic achievements. St. John???s welcomed those distinguished players and coaches to the Queens Campus for an unforgettable evening on Friday, Jan. 20. The recipients of the prestigious accolades were recognized during halftime of St. John???s victory over previously undefeated Pittsburgh on Saturday, Jan. 21 at Madison Square Garden.

Women???s Basketball (22-8, 11-5 BIG EAST)

BIG EAST Coach of the Year Kim Barnes Arico led the Red Storm to its first NCAA Tournament berth since 1988. St. John???s advanced to the NCAA Second Round for just the second time in school history and finished with an overall record of 22-8. In addition to her conference honor, Barnes Arico was also tabbed by the Metropolitan Basketball Writer???s Association as the All-Met Coach of the Year.
St. John???s defeated California in the first round, 78-68, and was led by Kia Wright with 26 points. The Red Storm fell in a close game to eventual NCAA champion Maryland in the second round.
The team, led by first team All-BIG EAST selections Kia Wright and Angela Clark, secured back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1984.
Wright and Clark were also named to the Metropolitan Basketball Writer???s Association???s All-Met first team.
The Red Storm earned a first-round bye in the BIG EAST Tournament after finishing fourth in the conference with an 11-5 mark.
St. John???s debuted in the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls for the first time in more than 20 years on Jan. 30 and eventually climbed as high as the No. 23 spot.
The team defeated then-No. 11 Notre Dame for its first win over a ranked opponent in 2005-06.
The squad boasted an impressive 11-1 record at home, including two wins at Madison Square Garden. In all-time games at the World???s Most Famous Arena, the Red Storm improved to a perfect 3-0.
The team began practice in state-of-the-art Taffner Field House in September.

Fencing (Women 12-3, Men 8-5)

Captain Erzsebet Garay of the women???s squad posted her best season in a Red Storm uniform. She earned the Individual Championship title at the 2006 NCAA Championships, winning 22 of her 24 bouts in the foil. Overall, Garay posted 45 wins and only three losses for the season.
The women???s team took fifth place at NCAA???s and received strong performances from sophomore Katia Larchanka and Reka Szele. Larchanka finished seventh in the foil while Szele took eighth in the epee.
The men???s team took sixth at the NCAA tournament, backed by the sixth place finish of junior Adam Rodney. In his first postseason appearance, Rodney won 14 of his 24 bouts in the epee.
Captain Ben Bratton took ninth overall in the epee and transfer Luther Clement came in eighth in the sabre with 16 victories. Sam Wunderlich placed 10th in the foil to round out the top 10 finishers for the Red Storm.

Indoor Track and Field

Blessing Egwu captured two top 10 finishes at the USA Track and Field Championships. She finished eighth in the shot put and 10th in the 20 lb. weight throw. Egwu also captured seven first place finishes in 10 competitions.
At the BIG EAST Indoor Championships, the Red Storm had several strong individual performances as well as an impressive team showing. Overall, St. John???s finished in sixth place out of 16 teams. Senior Kaydian Reid won the gold medal in the 500 meter dash while setting a school and field house record. Reid was also a member of the 4x400 meter relay team, which also took first place and set a field house record. Egwu, meanwhile, won two silver medals ??? one in the weight throw and one in the shot put.
At the ECAC Championships, St. John???s finished fourth overall. Egwu captured second place in the weight throw and third in the shot put. The 4x400 meter relay team took home the bronze medal while freshman Maxcine Foster and Reid finished in second and third in the 400 meter dash, respectively.

Spring Highlights

Baseball (40-19, 16-10 BIG EAST)

The St. John???s baseball team finished the season with a 40-19 overall record and a 16-10 mark in BIG EAST Conference games. The team topped the 40-win mark for the second time in school history, both of which have come in the last two seasons.
After falling in the first game of the 2006 BIG EAST Championship, the Red Storm came back to win three straight games before losing to No. 1 seed Notre Dame, 5-3, in the tournament semifinals.
Junior Anthony Smith and senior Will Vogl were first-team all-BIG EAST selections, while sophomore Matt Tosoni and junior Chris Joachim were named to the second team and junior Sam DeLuca to the third team.
Vogl had one of the most productive seasons in school history, ranking among the top 10 on the school???s single-season home runs (4th, 14), hits (2nd, 89), RBI (2nd, 62), runs scored (2nd, 64), doubles (T4th, 18) and triples lists (T4th, six).
After losing the team???s top three starting pitchers and All-America closer Craig Hansen from the 2005 season, the Red Storm pitching staff finished the year with a BIG EAST-leading 3.21 earned run average. St. John???s ranked sixth nationally with that mark, while also finishing ninth in the nation with a .327 team batting average.
St. John???s was one of two teams in the nation (College of Charleston) to finish among the Top 10 nationally in both team batting average and team ERA.

Lacrosse (4-9, 0-7 ECAC)

The Red Storm finished its second season after the program???s nine year hiatus with a 4-9 overall record and an 0-7 mark in league play. St. John???s defeated Robert Morris, 12-3, in its season opener, topped Hartford on the road, 9-7, dominated Wagner, 16-4, and edged Lafayette, 7-5, on the road. The four victories doubled last season???s win total.
Despite its 0-7 conference record, St. John???s performed well in all of its conference matches. Against No. 5 Georgetown, the Red Storm fell 9-5 in Washington, D.C., but rallied back from a 5-0 deficit in the first quarter to get within two goals. Against No. 19 Loyola, the Red Storm led the Greyhounds 3-2 at halftime before losing 6-5.
Sophomore goalkeeper Dave Saccente, sophomore midfielder Devin Madden and freshman Bobby Fitton each earned a spot on the ECAC Weekly Honor Roll throughout the season. Saccente received the honor for stopping 18 Georgetown shots against one of the nation???s best squads, while Madden won 16-of-18 faceoffs against Air Force and Fitton tallied two goals and two assists for four points in the season finale against Fairfield.
Sophomore attackman Tom Michaelsen led the Red Storm in goals (21), assists (10) and points (31) for the 2006 campaign. He scored at least one goal in every contest.

Men???s Golf

The men???s golf team took seventh place at this season???s 2006 BIG EAST Golf Championship. The team shot a combined 880 (310-288-291) on the 72-par course.
Keegan Bradley led the team with a third place finish. He was the only Red Storm golfer to finish in the top-five after shooting a five-under par 211 (71-69-71). This was the sophomore???s best showing at the BIG EAST Championship, and he was just six strokes shy of second place.

Women???s Golf

The women???s golf team completed its season with a sixth place finish at the 2006 BIG EAST Championship. The Red Storm posted its best round of 316 in the final day of the tournament.
St. John???s had three golfers finish in the top-25 as Christin Thomson took 13th, Brittany Lambertson came in 22nd and Maggie Steciuk in 24th. Thomson carded a four-over par 76 in round one and finished up with her best round of 74.

Softball (27-30, 8-14 BIG EAST)

The softball squad advanced to the BIG EAST Championship Tournament for the first time since the 1994 season. The Red Storm earned the eighth seed in the tournament and faced top-seeded Louisville in the first round. St. John???s took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning off a Lauren Lupinetti RBI base hit to right field. Junior Loren Anguiano followed up with a solo home run, adding to St. John???s lead. After numerous rain delays and postponements, the Red Storm eventually fell to the Cardinals 8-2.
Senior Jo Sherlock and freshman Lauren Lupinetti earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region honors. Sherlock was named to the first team for the third consecutive season and closed out her career at St. John???s with a .376 batting average. She graduated as the all-time career-leader in hits (240), runs (144), RBI (140), doubles (51) and home runs (33). Lupinetti was named to the second team, leading St. John???s with a .404 batting average and 48 RBI in her rookie season.
The Red Storm had its most successful season under the direction of head coach Debbie DeJong with a 27-30 record and an 8-14 mark in BIG EAST play. The team recorded another milestone against conference foe No. 19 Louisville during the regular season when it defeated the nationally-ranked Cardinals, 4-1, in Kentucky. It was the first time St. John???s had defeated a nationally-ranked team since the 2003 season.

Men's Tennis (13-5, 6-1 BIG EAST)

The men???s tennis team hosted six on-campus matches at the newly-finished Courts at St. John???s. Three of the matches were against BIG EAST opponents.
The squad earned its fifth consecutive conference tournament berth and took fifth place. Senior David Nylen and junior Louis Desmarteaux earned All-BIG EAST team honors.
The team was victorious at the University of Pennsylvania Invitational (Oct. 29-30), finishing 20-8 overall at the three-day tournament with Desmarteaux and Alex Svetlakov taking first place in the doubles draw.
Desmarteaux finished the season first on the team with a 22-3 overall record and a 19-1 spring record in singles action playing at the No. 1 spot. He earned first place at the Columbia Classic in January and was awarded the tournament???s Sportsmanship Award.
Nylen completed his collegiate career second on the team with a 17-7 overall mark and a 15-4 spring singles record playing at the No. 2 position. He ended the spring on an eight-match winning streak and was the only member of the Red Storm to finish the BIG EAST Tournament with an undefeated record.
In doubles action, senior Morgan Bauer and junior Claudio Halim led the Red Storm with a 17-8 overall mark playing mostly at the No. 3 position. The duo finished the season winning six of its last seven contests.

Women's Tennis (16-7, 10-3 BIG EAST)

The women???s tennis team earned its second consecutive berth to the BIG EAST Tournament this spring and finished in fifth place. The squad was victorious in 12 of its last 13 contests.
For the first time since 1995, the women???s tennis team defeated rival Massachusetts on the Courts at St. John???s on Oct. 6. The Red Storm edged the Minutewomen, 4-3.
Junior captain Alison Adamski finished the season first on the team with a 20-5 overall record and a 16-3 spring mark, playing at the No. 5 spot.
Sophomore Mariana Chachua finished second on the squad with a 17-6 overall mark and an 11-6 spring record playing at the No. 2 position. Senior MVP Lauren Lorenzetti ended her collegiate career third on the team with a 17-8 overall record and a 13-6 spring mark playing at the No. 4 spot.
In doubles action, Lorenzetti and freshman Gabija Gasuinaite led the Red Storm with an 11-2 record at the No. 3 position. After joining forces against DePaul (March 11), the duo produced an eight match winning streak.

Outdoor Track and Field

Senior Kaydian Reid and graduate student Blessing Egwu each competed at the NCAA Championships in Sacramento Calif. Reid participated in the 400 meter dash and finished with the 10th fastest time in the nation. She advanced to the semifinals, clocking in with a personal best 52.63 seconds. Egwu, meanwhile, participated in the hammer throw.
At the NCAA Regional Championships, Reid cruised to a 53.57 in the 400 meter dash for fifth while Egwu finished eighth in the hammer throw, hurling the weight 55.86 meters. Graduate student Grace Zollman participated in the javelin, recording a mark of 42.58 meters.
Egwu competed at the Nigerian National Championships in both the hammer throw and shot put and earned a spot on the Nigerian national team, finishing second in both events. Egwu and the national team will compete next in August at the All-Africa Championships and then in September at the World Cup.
At the BIG EAST Championships, St. John???s finished in eighth place as a team, recording 56 points. Reid broke the school record on her way to a first place finish in the 400 meter dash, clocking in at 52.68 seconds. She also took third in the 200 meter dash, crossing the line in 23.89 seconds, and was the anchor of the 4x400 meter relay team that took third, registering a time of 3:40.51. Egwu won the conference championship in the hammer throw for the second year in a row and took third in the shot put. She threw the hammer 58.53 meters and tossed the shot put 13.91 meters.
The Red Storm captured the Metropolitan Championship team title, scoring 178 points. St. John???s defeated Rutgers University, who scored 119 points for second place.
Egwu recorded a school record in the hammer throw at the Penn Relays with a 59.93 meter performance. Zollman, meanwhile, set the school record in the javelin at the Sea Ray Relays with a throw of 46.16 meters.

Academic Support Highlights

52% of St. John???s student-athletes achieved a cumulative GPA above a 3.0, 22% are above a 3.5 cumulative GPA.
The average Cumulative GPA for student-athletes is a 3.09.
110 student-athletes were selected to the Big East Academic All-Star Team.
55 Student-athletes were named to the Dean???s List for the 2005-06 academic year.
25 student-athletes received the Dr. Michael Pisano Award for seven consecutive semesters above a 3.0, as compared to 10 students from 2004-05.
Three members of the Student Development team were selected to present at the N4A national convention on June 24th 2006.
Student-athletes completed a total of 18,014 hours of supervised study during the 2005-06 academic year.
More than 951 hours of one-on-one tutoring was completed.
15 student-athletes were named Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar Award recipients.
14 teams achieved Graduation Success Rates (GSR) higher than the national average.
Nine teams have cumulative GPAs above a 3.0.
31 student-athletes achieved a perfect 4.0 during 2005-06 academic year.
20 student-athletes were inducted as part of our inaugural class into the National College Athlete Honor Society.
13 freshmen student-athletes were inducted into the Phi Eta Sigma National Honor society on April 24th 2005.
Matt Groenwald, Men???s soccer was Named A First-Team Academic All-American For Third Straight Year by ESPN the Magazine.
Jaclyn Sanders, Women???s Golf was named a regional finalists for the prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship.

Community Service Highlights

Athletic teams fulfilled more than 2,223 hours of community service.
All athletic teams completed at least one community service event.
Bionka King, Softball named Coca Cola Community Service All American.
Three student-athletes volunteered during Spring Break to help Hurricane Katrina victims in New Orleans, La.
Softball received the team Community Service Award during the Annual Athletics Awards Banquet on May 2, 2006.

Career Development Highlights

96% of student-athletes attended a Career Development workshop or completed a one-on-one meeting with a career counselor.
100% of senior student-athletes participated in an interview workshop, and 52% practiced what they learned in a video taped Mock Interview session.
98% of senior student-athletes resumes were included in the St. John???s Student-Athlete Resume Guide, which was sent to more than 400 employers and alumni.
99% of freshman completed an individual career assessment, which helps identify a students skills and interests as a first step in their career decision process.
95% sophomores attended a workshop focused on finding internships related to their career goals.
62 student-athletes attended the annual Student-Athlete Career Night, which featured 29 professionals from various fields.

Personal Development Highlights

Implemented STORM TRACKER points board ??? an innovative, performance based competition that assigns points for teams that successfully complete Student Development programs. Teams can earn points for community service, attendance at workshops and for academic achievement.
The softball team was recognized as the inaugural winner of the STORM TRACKER competition with 3,455 points.
90 student-athletes participated in the New Student Orientation on August 29, 2005.
Student Development sent a team of administrators and student-athletes to the APPLE conference, an Alcohol Education Conference from January 27-29, 2006.
SAAC raised $500 dollars for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, selling wristbands during a men???s soccer game.
Softball player Bionka King was selected by the NCAA to represent St. John???s at the NCAA Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida May 25-28, 2006.

St. John's University Athletics

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