NEW PALTZ, NY — Second year head coach Jamie Seward enters the 2007-2008 season coming off record breaking year. The Hawks complied a 17-11 overall record and 10-6 record in conference play last year. The Hawks earned the fourth seed in the SUNYAC tournament and used a miracle comeback of 12 points in 43 seconds to send the game to overtime and defeat Geneseo before being eliminated by Cortland in the semifinals. New Paltz received a bid to the ECAC Upstate tournament, where they fell to Oswego.
The Hawks return ten lettermen (three seniors and seven sophomores) from last year’s squad led by senior Amber Sohns (Delhi/Delaware Academy). Sohns led New Paltz in points (8.7) and finished second in rebounds (4.6) per game in earning honorable mention All-SUNYAC. The senior guard started 24 games and averaged 22.5 minutes last year. Seward classifies Sohns as one of the most talented players his has coached and states that she has even better leadership. Her leadership keeps the team together and is evidence as to why she is a top player.
Senior Toni Marie Caserta (Levittown/MacArthur) and sophomore Nicole Sarcone (Staten Island/Notre Dame Academy) will share the point guard duties. The pair combined for seven points per outing last season, but can shoulder the responsibility for the ball handling and offensive organization.
The Hawks will rely on the inside game, returning sophomores Chelsea Clarke (Ithaca/Lansing) who netted 7.2 points and 3.6 rebounds and Carly Minehan (Albany), who collected 6.8 points and 5.3 boards. Clarke, who is the tallest player on the team, will take up space in the lane which will hinder penetrating opportunities for guards. Minehan is underestimated by her size but she is a hard physical threat.
Senior Sarah Salvo (Manorville/Eastport Southmanor), a defensive specialist, was 33-of-39 from the charity stripe last season and will look to create more scoring opportunities to get to the line this season. Maggie Farrell (Hillsdale/Immaculate) showed no fear adjusting to the college game as a freshman last season and has the ability to shoot the ball from deep as well as scoring in the lane, which complements her penetrating ability. The sophomore guard played in 26 games, finishing the year fifth in scoring (7.2 ppg) and third in rebounding (3.7).
Sophomore Kristen Caban (Staten Island/St. Joseph Hill Academy) came along strong towards the end of last season and will hopefully continue that momentum into this winter. She is quick on the ball and will look to build on her 2.9 points per game.
Kristin Sitek (Ellington, CT/Ellington) has a tremendous work ethic and is always striving to improve. She finished with 8.6 points, 3.6 boards and a 79.7 percentage from the line in her freshman campaign. Abbey DeRossi (Albany) is a team player who will be a vocal communicator and an intimidating factor on defense.
There are five newcomers that will be looking for playing time this season. Seward is encouraged by the play of first year Artie Williams (Newburgh/Newburgh Free Academy), sister of 2003 graduate Silver Williams. Williams is extremely athletic and with the right fundamentals has all the tools to be a talented player. Starr Lederer (Merrick/Bellmore Kennedy) will definitely be a presence in the middle standing 6’1”. Hilary Perks (Saugerties) has the speed to run the floor and to be an outstanding defensive player. She is versatile enough to play point or on the wing. Kim Stahl (Scotia/Scotia-Glenville), Cobleskill transfer, has a great touch on the ball and is dangerous from the outside. Senior Katie Becofsky (Altamont/Schalmont) joins the team after four seasons on the volleyball court and will be used for her athletic quickness.
New Paltz has a challenging schedule planned out including contests against Scranton, NYU, Norwich and of course the SUNYAC conference games. Seward believes the conference is stronger than last year, and with the mix of a few new coaches and some nationally ranked non-conference opponents the Hawks hope to find out where they fall into the mix quicker than last season. New Paltz kicks off their season on the road on Friday, November 16th, taking on Scranton, ranked 14th in the WBCA USA Today preseason poll, at the Muhlenberg tournament before returning home on Friday, December 7th against Geneseo at 6 p.m.
