What a year it has been for SUNY New Paltz athletics. From second-year men’s swimmer Cooper Knapp winning a national championship, to third-year men’s basketball player Nick Paquette winning the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Award of Valor, New Paltz was also able to send five teams to the postseason in 2018. The New Paltz Oracle would like to honor the most accomplished athletes of the year with our very own Oracle All-Star team.
Gabriela Cabello – Women’s Soccer
The fourth-year midfielder led the team in goals with six, and in points with 14. She tallied two assists on the year, and had a career-high five points against John Jay College of Criminal Justice on Sept. 15. The senior is graduating this May with a degree in elementary education.
Kevin Doorley – Men’s Soccer
A midfielder, Doorley made a huge impact in his first year as a Hawk, leading the team in goals with four, and in points with 13. He also was tied for the most assists on the team with five. The freshman from Pearl River, New York started in every game this year for New Paltz.
Justine O’Reilly – Field Hockey
A SUNYAC first team all-conference selection in 2017, the fourth-year forward led the SUNYAC in goals with 18 and points with 45. With nine assists, she was ranked third in the conference and first on her team. O’Reilly will be graduating in May with a degree in sociology.
Megan Reilly – Women’s Cross Country
In her first season of racing collegiately, Reilly ended her season with a 110th out of 279 runners finish at the NCAA national championship meet. She finished fourth overall at the NCAA atlantic regionals with a school record time of 21 minutes and 50.5 seconds to earn the first national championship bid in program history. The second-year transfer from Loyola Marymount University was also named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic team in 2017.
Dylan Balducci – Men’s Basketball
The fourth-year guard led the Hawks in scoring, dropping 14.4 a game. Only starting in eleven games, he also led the Hawks in minutes averaged, while finishing fourth on the team in assists with 37. The Massapequa Park, New York native will graduate from New Paltz this May.
Lindsay Bettke – Women’s Basketball
A first-team all-conference selection, Bettke was second on the team in scoring, dropping 12.5 a game. She was tied with third-year guard Rachel Simon and second-year guard Marion Dietz for most assists, while also being second on the team in three-pointers and steals.
Carol Tyson – Women’s Tennis
Named the SUNYAC women’s tennis most valuable player, Tyson also earned first-team all-conference honors for doubles in 2017. She was also a SUNYAC scholar athlete of the year in 2017. The graduate student ends her career on the top-10 list of all-time winners for New Paltz.
Veronica Matedero – Women’s Volleyball
A first-team all-conference selection, Matedero’s 487 digs finished second in the conference and first on her team. The fourth all-time leader in digs from Hauppauge, New York will graduate with a degree in mathematics in May.
Nick Smith – Men’s Volleyball
The third-year setter and opposite finished first on the team in kills with 319, earning third in the United Volleyball Conference (UVC). Smith also finished first in points per set and hitting percentage for the Hawks, earning first-team UVC honors. He racked up a program-record 30 kills against St. Joseph’s College to earn AVCA player of the week honors this year as well.
Cooper Knapp – Men’s Swimming
An all-American and national champion, Knapp earned a first place finish in the 200-yard butterfly of the 2018 men’s swimming national championship meet, the first in men’s program history since 1994. He also earned all-american honors for a sixth place finish in the 400-yard individual medley. Prior, Knapp broke the 200-yard and 400-yard individual medley records in this year’s men’s SUNYAC championship, while also being named to the conference’s first team.
Chelsea Angulas – Women’s Swimming
The second-year swimmer from Owego, New York earned first place in the 100-yard backstroke in this year’s SUNYAC championships. She also earned a fourth-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke of the championships. Angulas is studying mechanical engineering here at New Paltz.
Jake Williams – Baseball
Ending the season early due to injury, Williams finished the year leading the Hawks in batting average with .343. He also led New Paltz in doubles with 12 and RBIs with 25. The senior from Seaford, New York also earned SUNYAC baseball player of the week this season for dominating performances against SUNY Brockport.
Lauren Cappello – Softball
The senior from New City, New York pitched and hit for the Hawks this season, tying for third on the team in RBIs with 12 and leading New Paltz in innings pitched. She sported a 4.07 ERA in her last season as a Hawk.
Tara Bovich – Women’s Lacrosse
Winning SUNYAC offensive player of the week in her first as a Hawk, Bovich led New Paltz in points this year with 37 points. She is tied for most goals on the team with first-year attacker Amy Hofer, and was second in assists for the Hawks with six.
Nick Paquette- Men’s Basketball
After being diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia last year, there was doubt that Paquette would step on the court at all for the Hawks this season. The third-year guard and forward started in all but four games for New Paltz this year, scoring 7.3 points a game and dropping the second-most three-pointers on the team with 43. For his inspiring performance, he was named the 2018 SUNYAC Award of Valor recipient.
Chris Moran – Baseball
The fourth-year first baseman tied for third in the SUNYAC with five home-runs on the 2018 campaign. He earned two-straight SUNYAC athlete of the week honors for hitting all five of his yard-balls in the span of two weeks. The public relations major from Wading River, New York will be graduating this May.
Ryan Cole – Men’s Volleyball
Receiving first-team all-conference honors, Cole finished the season second on the team in kills with 281, ranking seventh in the UVC. Switching from the middle blocker position to opposite in his final year as a Hawk, Cole was able to earn AVCA player of the week honors this season for 26 and 19 kill performances.
Maddie Zwickl – Women’s Volleyball
Ending her career as the all-time leader in assists at New Paltz, she was also named to the second-team all-conference team. Zwickl tallied 1,101 assists in 2017, also tying a program-record for assists in a four-set match with 60 against Buffalo State this year.
Rachel Simon – Women’s Basketball
The first-team all-conference selection Simon led the Hawks in scoring with 14.3 points a game. Also leading New Paltz in field goal percentage and three-pointers, she was tied for most assists on the team with 63, and also had the third-most rebounds per game with 4.4.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the success of New Paltz athletics this year! Go Hawks!