Hawks Continue to Soar in Fall Season

October is officially here and SUNY New Paltz’s fall sports are halfway through their seasons. There have been many impressive performances across the board from both the men and women’s teams. As schedules progress, everyone is looking ahead and preparing for the postseason, which is fast approaching.

The women’s tennis team is currently undefeated and holds the number one spot in the SUNY Athletic Conference (SUNYAC). They’ve won their last four matches, sweeping conference rivals SUNY Oneonta and SUNY Plattsburgh 7-0. Starting on Thursday, Oct. 3, the women will participate in three straight days of conference play against SUNY Fredonia, SUNY Oswego and SUNY Cortland in Binghamton, New York. With how they have performed so far, confidence is undoubtedly high.

“I feel excellent. We had a great preseason. We brought in three new freshmen that have all hit the ground running. We’re the number one team in the SUNYAC and everyone seems to want to come after us and try to beat us,” said head coach Robert Burley. “The way our new doubles teams have all been working together, I’m very happy the way our season has started going into conference play.”

With a goalless game against Cortland on Sep. 28, the record of the women’s soccer team currently stands at five wins, two losses and two draws. Although they have not won a conference game yet, the team has held their own against non-conference rivals, displaying incredible skill in wins against Mount Saint Vincent and Farmingdale State College. Conference play will continue on Oct. 2 away against SUNY Potsdam.

Like the women, the men’s soccer team also ended their game against Cortland in a 1-1 draw. This result brings their overall record to 4-4-1. The rest of their season will consist entirely of conference play and hopefully produce a qualification for the SUNYAC tournament.

“I’ve been quite happy with the progress we have made through the eight games so far.  This has been our toughest schedule under any of the teams I have coached and we have been in every game,” said head coach Kyle Clancy. “We have learned a lot from the early season losses that have allowed us to grow in a number of areas and we have seen many first-years get more minutes due to injuries and other factors that have occurred.”

The men’s roster has remained fairly consistent, with the return of the entire backline, consisting of sophomore Samuel Snider, junior Ryan Bochenski, graduate students Owen McGarrity and Alberto Molina, as well as senior goalkeeper Christian Micheli. Junior captain Alex Wyant has remained solid in his role as a defensive midfielder while sophomore Kieran Weber continues to grow as a number 10 — otherwise known as an attacker who operates between central midfield and the front line. Sophomore transfer Riley Tait is also excelling as he works on both sides of the ball.

“This is a group that believes it can make a run in the NCAA Tournament and that is what we have our sights set on. That being said, we are very process-oriented and know that we need to concentrate on being a more disciplined defensive group, knowing when to press and pressing together so we can be more successful,” said Clancy. “We also need to be better in transition and limit the easy chances teams have created early in the season. We want to continue to create more high-quality chances in the run-of-play and on set pieces.”  

At the helm of both the men’s and women’s cross country teams, head coach Thomas Hartnett has been pleased with what his athletes have accomplished so far. At the Fred Pavlich Invitational, hosted by Bard College on Sep. 28, an amazing sweep took place. Both teams finished in first place, with the men earning 22 points after running an 8k and the women earning 27 points after running a 6k.

“Both teams have a lot of new team members since we brought in a big recruiting class,” said Hartnett. “In cross country, you build up to your big performances and we’ve done pretty well in the first half of our build-up.”

Senior Oliver Melara-Perez returns from last year as the top performer for the men. Both he and sophomore Evan Miller have stood out with their performances this season as they finished first and second, respectively, at the Fred Pavlich invitational. Seniors Marcella Candlin and Mackenzie Barcomb, as well as junior Lillian Stephenson have been the top performers for the women, as they secured the top three places for SUNY New Paltz at the invitational as well. For the rest of the season, getting ready for the postseason is the main focus.

“We have a big showcase meet at Rowan down across from Philadelphia in New Jersey. We’re looking to use that as a prep for the championship season,” said Hartnett. “For the SUNYAC, we’re looking to finish in the upper half and for regionals, we’re looking to have our higher team placements in the last five or six years. We’re also looking to get some individuals into the national championship.”

Led by head coach Matt Giufre, the women’s volleyball team currently holds a record of 6-7. Out of the eighteen players, fifteen are freshmen and sophomores, with many sophomores taking on more of a significant role compared to their first year on the team. They are set to start conference play in a home matchup against Oneonta on Oct. 2. Going forward, desires for the postseason go beyond the conference.

“We’d love to play in the NCAA tournament and to be one of those 64 teams competing for a national championship,” said Giufre. “We have to get through the SUNYAC to do that first, but that is our aspiration.”

The field hockey team, led by head coach Shanna Szablinski, has been an unstoppable force since the start of their season in August. Despite a tough 2-6 loss against Bryn Mawr College that ended their six game winning streak, the women have returned to their usual form. They beat Kean University 4-3 in a thrilling overtime win and dominated conference rival SUNY Morrisville during their Green Out game 12-2.

The fall season has been a very exciting time at SUNY New Paltz and the coming weeks are sure to produce more admirable performances.the coming weeks are sure to produce more admirable performances.