The 2021-22 academic year provided us with lots of exciting moments.
With the new year approaching quickly, I want to take a moment to reflect on the many highlights our student-athletes accomplished in the classroom and their respective athletic arenas.
In the classroom, our athletic department achieved a department-wide GPA of 3.34, highlighted by our academic MVPs Madeleine Delore and Ethan Zirh.
A huge congratulations goes out to our women’s water polo team as well as our men’s indoor and outdoor track and field teams for winning their respective conference championships.
Our men’s basketball team held the longest winning streak in the country while advancing to the NEC title game. Individually, Alex Morales earned an invitation to the NBA Summer League. The women’s basketball, field hockey and women’s lacrosse teams all advanced to the NEC playoffs.
Looking ahead, we are excited to introduce two additional varsity sports in men’s fencing and competitive cheerleading while welcoming new faces to our staff, including a new head men’s basketball coach in Donald Copeland.
I’d like to thank President Araimo, the Board of Trustees, and the entire Wagner College administration for their tremendous support of our student-athletes and teams.
Go Seahawks!
Brendan Fahey
Walt Hameline Named Vice President For Intercollegiate Athletics; Brendan Fahey Elevated To Director Of Athletics
Wagner College President Angelo Araimo has announced that Walt Hameline will serve as Vice President For Intercollegiate Athletics, with Brendan Fahey elevated to serve as the Seahawks' Director of Athletics
"We are lucky to have one of the great athletic administrators in this country in Walt Hameline, who has provided Wagner College with tremendous leadership for 40 years," Araimo said. "In this new role, he will help us reach new heights as an institution and continue to guide our athletic department to success in the classroom and on the playing field. Brendan Fahey has been a great leader at Wagner, and our teams have seen incredible success throughout his tenure on Grymes Hill. I'm excited to see Walt and Brendan excel and help our teams win."
Hameline, who stepped down as Wagner College head football coach after 34 years following the 2014 season, has served as the Seahawks' athletic director since 1982, which made him the longest-tenured Division I AD, with 40 years of service to his credit. He was recently named to the 2023 ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.
"I'm extremely thankful to continue the journey at Wagner that started here four decades ago," Hameline said. "In my various roles at Wagner, I'm lucky to have crossed paths with many student athletes, coaches and administrators who have had a positive impact on my life. I look forward to facing new challenges here at Wagner, and I have great confidence in Brendan to continue his fantastic job in our athletic department."
Fahey, who recently completed his 15th year at Wagner, previously served as the Seahawks' Deputy Athletic Director. In that role, he was responsible for all internal and external operations, which included the department's finances, supervision of corporate marketing, Seahawk Club development, facility and equipment management, championship events, and budgeting and finances for each of Wagner's 26 varsity sports.
"I'd like to thank President Araimo, Walt Hameline and the entire Wagner community for giving me this opportunity," Fahey said. "Over the past decade, I have had the honor to serve alongside great coaches and administrators who have helped me develop as a person and a leader. I'm excited to guide our athletic department and watch our student athletes thrive while continuing to strengthen my relationships with thousands of alumni around the globe."
At The Core
It has been a stellar collegiate career for Thomas Corel. Before attending Wagner, Corel attended Redlands in his native Sydney, Australia, where he was named the 2017 Redland Track & Field Senior Boy Athlete of the Year while qualifying for the 400m at the U20 2018 Australian Junior Championship. At the New South Wales (NSW) All School Championships, he took third place in the 400m.
Fast-forward to his first-ever race while donning the Green & White, the 500m at the Monmouth University OceanFirst Bank Center Classic (Nov. 30 - Dec. 1, 2018). There, he finished fourth overall in the event with a time of 1:07.40 and was part of the 4x400 squad that placed second overall with a time of 3:25.27. At the Armory Last Chance (Feb. 22, 2019), he was part of the 4x400 team that took first with a time of 3:22.05. This is where Corel would show that he was going to be a key contributor to the program’s success.
At the 2020 NEC Indoor Track and Field Championships, Corel clocked in with a time of 1:04.97 during the preliminaries only to shave off a second to earn bronze with a time of 1:03.73 while also helping the 4x400 squad to bronze with a time of 3:17.33. Concluding the calendar year of 2021, Corel set the benchmark in the 600m at the Seahawk Shootout with a time of 1:19.87.
With 2022 in full force, so was Corel as he took first place in the 400m event at the Penn 10-Team Select and Ramapo College Track & Field Opener while also taking top billing in the 500m at the Great Dane Classic.
Corel would go on to set the indoor program in the 400m, clocking in at 47.06 at the Bruce Lehane Scarlet and White Invite (Feb. 5, 2022) while finishing second overall before rewriting the Wagner record books once again, this time in the 500m.
After qualifying fifth during the preliminaries with a time of 1:06.23, the Sydney, Australia native erased three seconds off that pace in posting a first-place time and school-record time of 1:03.03. A week later, at the IC4A Indoor Track and Field Championships, he helped the 4x400 relay squad to a second-place finish with a program-best mark of 3:12.07.
To further cement his legacy on the track, Corel took second at the NEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a time of 48.01 while being a key cog in the 4x400 triumphant victory, taking first and the Seahawks’ second-straight outdoor crown, finishing with a time of 3:12.88.
The final competition Corel raced for Wagner came on May 14 at the 2022 Princeton Elite Invitational, where he would rewrite the 400m outdoor record, taking third overall with a personal-best of 47.39. In addition, he and the 4x400 team took first place honors with a time of 3:15.81.
A three-time NEC gold and bronze medalist… A three-time All-NEC selection… A two-time NEC silver medalist… He truly was the core of the Seahawks success during his time on Grymes Hill.
Defensive Wizard
Senior defender Aileen Hannan earned Northeast Conference (NEC) Defensive Player of the Year honors while being named All-NEC First Team for the second consecutive season.
Hannan served as the ringleader of a tough Wagner defense that caused a league-high 10.25 turnovers per game in conference play and held conference opponents to 8.00 goals per game. The senior caused a league-best 39 turnovers, including 25 in NEC play while finishing the season second in ground balls with 50. Hannan ranked eighth and eleventh in the nation in caused turnovers and ground balls per game, respectively. The Rockville, MD native also finished the season ranked fifth in total ground balls and tenth in caused turnovers per game.
Hannan became the first Seahawk to be recognized as Defensive Player of the Year since Shea Gegan earned the honor in 2014.
Hannan earned Defensive Player of the Week honors in the last two weeks of the regular season and claimed her 100th career ground ball at Hameline Field against Sacred Heart on April 20.
Back 2 Back
As the reigning NEC Player of the Year, graduate student Alex Morales faced high expectations coming into the 2021-22 season. Morales did not disappoint. The Paterson, NJ native became the fourth player in Northeast Conference (NEC) history to repeat as NEC Player of the Year while also earning Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-NEC honors. He was voted to the NABC District 15 First Team, earned ECAC Player of the Year and First Team All-Met honors.
In Wagner's NEC quarterfinal win over Saint Francis U, Morales recorded 11 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, recording the 12th triple-double in the NEC since 1997.
The last known triple-double in NEC Tournament action dates back to 1983, when LIU's Carey Scurry recorded 12 points, 13 rebounds, 10 blocks in the ECAC quarterfinals on March 9, 1983.
Three nights later, the reigning NEC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year became the 13th player in NEC history to compile 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 250 assists while leading Wagner with 19 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.
Most recently, Morales accepted an invitation to play in the NBA Summer League with the Golden State Warriors.
Queen Of The MAAC
Women’s water polo junior Abbey Simshauser was named Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Co-Offensive Player of the Year while earning First Team All-MAAC Honors.
Abbey Simshauser becomes the sixth Seahawk to win Offensive Player of the Year as she joins Erica Hardy, Kimberly Watson, Jessica Lundgren, Chelsea Beck, and Billy Hoelck. Watson and Lundgren claimed the award twice. This is the sixth consecutive year of competition that Wagner has claimed the Offensive Player award, the Green & White accomplished the feat from 2015-2019 before the 2020 season was cut short and the team opted out of the 2021 season. Simshauser finished the regular season with 90 goals on 173 shots, 52 assists, 142 points, a .520 shooting percentage, 54 exclusions, and 46 steals in 34 games played.
During the 2022 MAAC Tournament, Simshauser tallied five goals on 11 shots while dishing out one assist and drawing three exclusions. On the defensive side of the pool, the Sydney, Australia native tallied three steals and two field blocks in two games at the tournament. In the NCAA Tournament, Simshauser tallied four goals on 14 shots, three assists and eight drawn exclusions. The junior also tallied a hat trick in Wagner’s opening-round victory over Salem, the third NCAA Tournament win in program history. Simshauser was named MAAC Offensive Player of the Week on January 26 and April 20.
The Human Wrecking Ball
Following a shortened season in the spring of 2021, Titus Leo entered elite company in the fall. Leo was named a Stats Perform FCS Third All-American and First Team FCS All-American by HERO Sports while repeating as the NEC’s Defensive Player of the Year.
The senior finished the 2021 regular season as one of the best defensive players in the nation, as he ranked eighth in the nation and first in the NEC in tackles for loss with 1.7 per game. Leo also finished third in the NEC with seven sacks and led the Seahawks with 71 total tackles.
This marked the fourth straight season a Seahawk has won the highest honor for a defensive player in the NEC, as Leo follows Super Bowl LV Champion and former All-American Cam Gill, who won the award in 2018 and 2019 and was a HERO Sports FCS Second Team All-American in 2019.
Wagner is the first school in NEC history to win four consecutive NEC Defensive Player of the Year awards. Leo, Gill and defensive lineman Bill Sommers, who earned the distinction in 1996, are the only Wagner players to earn NEC Defensive Player of the Year honors. Leo was also named a finalist for the STATS FCS Buck Buchanan Award, presented annually to the nation's top defensive player.
Ellie Eastwood Makes History
Standout swimmer Ellie Eastwood set a school record at the NEC Championships in the 100 Yard Breaststroke finals, taking the gold medal with a time of 1:02.00. The senior won her second gold medal of the championships in the 200 Yard Breaststroke and also won a silver medal in the 400 Yard Individual Medley.
She was also a part of the 400 Yard Medley Relay team that won a bronze medal. Eastwood won NEC Swimmer of the Week in November and was a three-time NEC Prime Performer. The Whangarei, New Zealand native posted 15 individual victories for the Seahawks on the season.
McLean Stands Out For A Second Straight Season
Heather McLean earned All-Northeast Conference first-team selection for the second straight season. The Port Williams, Nova Scotia native also was named Second Team All-NEC her sophomore season. The senior posted a career-best 77 stroke average per round this season and finished in a program-best second place at the NEC Championship in Daytona Beach, FL.
McLean completes her career on Grymes Hill with five top-three finishes this season, including an individual title at the UMES Collegiate Challenge on October 27. She also finished in the top ten in each of the three NEC Championships she competed in as a Seahawk.
New Era, Same Family
Wagner College Interim President Angelo Araimo and Director of Athletics Walt Hameline announced the hiring of Donald Copeland as Wagner's 19th head men's basketball coach.
Copeland, who spent last season as an assistant coach at Big East member Seton Hall, returns to Grymes Hill after serving six years on the Seahawks' staff, including four seasons as an assistant coach.
Copeland played an integral role in the Seahawks' recent success. Over the course of those six seasons with Copeland on staff, Wagner won three Northeast Conference regular season championships, advanced to the NEC Tournament final twice, appeared in the NIT twice, including an upset win over top-seeded St. Bonaventure in 2016, and compiled an NEC league record of 64-44.
This past season, Copeland was part of a Seton Hall team that earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament after compiling a 21-11 record along with an 11-8 mark in Big East play.
"I view Wagner as my school," Copeland commented. "I have a Master's Degree from here. I was in the classrooms, I've been in the cafeteria. I was a student here. It means something for me to do well here. I view myself as an alum and the community that we have here makes this a special place. I want to put a banner up there. I want to win, I want to win, I want to win. But we're going to win a certain way."
The Best Season In Program History
The Seahawks spent the entire 2022 campaign ranked in the top-25 of the College Water Polo Association (CWPA) poll. After beginning the season at #23, the Seahawks ended the season at #13.
Wagner captured its seventh Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championship in the last nine seasons with a convincing 18-7 victory over LIU on April 24.
From January 29 to March 2, the Seahawks won 15 consecutive games which matched the second longest winning streak in program history as Wagner won 17 consecutive games in 2017 and 2018.
The Green & White concluded the regular season with a 15-game winning streak from March 12 to April 16 and have never had multiple winning streaks of double-digit victories in a single season in program history until this season.
Wagner began the regular season 2-2 through the first four games of the season and proceeded to launch a 30-1 record in the final 31 games of the regular season, all of the Wagner losses came against nationally-ranked opponents.
The Seahawks tallied the highest goals per game average in the history of the MAAC with 16.6 goals per game in a single season and tallied the second most goals in a single season in conference history with 582. The 2019 Seahawks scored the most goals as they found the back of the net 615 times.
The victory over St. Francis Brooklyn on Friday, April 15 gave Wagner 31 victories in the regular season, the most in program history as the 2019 Seahawks captured 30 victories.
With three victories in the MAAC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, Wagner rewrote the longest winning streak in program history with 18 consecutive wins.
Junior Abbey Simshauser was named MAAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year while head coach Ciaran Wolohan was tabbed as the Coach of the Year as six members of the #13 Wagner women's water polo team earned All-Conference honors.
Simshauser was named to the First Team while fifth-year senior Malia Josephson, seniors Kristina Bell and Sofia Diaz Alvarez were named to the Second Team. Sophomores Andrea Arias and Mar Navarro were also named to the Second Team.
Wolohan earned his first career Coach of the Year honor at the helm of the Seahawks as the Wagner graduate guided the Seahawks to a 32-3 regular season, a MAAC title, an NCAA Tournament victory, the longest winning streak in program history and the most wins in program history.
Running It Back
The Wagner men’s track and field program defended their indoor and outdoor championship by winning their second straight NEC title this year.
The indoor team became the first team to repeat as champions since LIU won four straight between 2014-2017. The Seahawks scored 93.5 points on the second day of the competition to finish with a two-day score of 129.5, 21 points ahead of second-place finisher FDU.
The 4x400m relay team of Josiah Cadet, William Cuthbertson, Cyril Babcanec, and Thomas set a new conference meet and program record in the event, crossing the finish line in 3:14.35. Individually, Cuthbertson and Corel went on to produce first-place finishes in the mile and the 500m.
Cuthbertson clocked in with a time of 4:15.10 while also finishing second in the 800m with a time of 1:52.97 while Corel lowered his time and rewrote his own school record of 1:03.03 to bring home the gold in the event.
Holding a slim five-point lead heading into the final event of the 2022 NEC Outdoor Track and Field Championship, the Seahawks showed that they were up to the task of capturing the program’s second straight outdoor crown.
The Seahawks trailed heading into the 4x400m relay before Cuthbertson grabbed the baton and completely changed Wagner’s fortune, as he was able to outspring the field and hand it off to Thomas Corel, who claimed the win and the title for Wagner. The win was Wagner’s fifth gold medal of the day and sixth of the championship.
Cuthbertson and teammate Michael Pepe qualified for the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field East Preliminary Round that Indiana University hosted on May 25-28 for the second straight year. Pepe claimed his second straight NEC title in the discus throw after launching the discus 51.21m and cleared a season-best 54.62m at the Metropolitan Outdoor Track Championships, taking first-place honors in the event.
For the second straight year, head coach Joe Stasi and his staff earned NEC Indoor and Outdoor Coaching Staff of the Year honors. For the indoor season, the men’s team collected three first-team honors and three second-team accolades while on the women’s side Ana Blanco Duran garnered Second-Team and Rookie Honors along with teammate Marlene Adolf.
Record Breakers
The 2021-22 season was a historic year on Grymes Hill. The Seahawks earned a 21-6 overall record and an appearance in the NEC title game. This marked the third time under Bashir Mason and ninth time in program history that Wagner won 20 or more games in one season. The 2021-22 Seahawks were the first team in NEC history to feature four All-NEC players, as Alex Morales earned Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors along with a spot on the All-NEC First Team, while Will Martinez and Raekwon Rogers earned Second Team honors and Elijah Ford earning Third Team honors. Zaire Williams picked up a spot on the All-Rookie Team.
Wagner's 15 conference wins matched the most in program history. During the regular 2021-22 regular season, Wagner's 14 consecutive wins set the record for the longest winning streak for a Seahawk team under Mason and was the longest winning streak for a Wagner squad since winning 16 straight during the 1978-79 season under P.J. Carlesimo.
Wagner's 13-0 start in NEC play fell two short of the NEC standard set by UMBC, which won 15 in a row in 1998-99 before dropping two of its last three games to settle for a 17-3 record. The last conference school to rattle off 13 straight NEC wins was LIU. The Sharks won 13 in a row in 2010-11, a stretch that included three NEC Tournament wins. Wagner's win over Fairleigh Dickinson marked the 100th career victory in conference play for Mason, who became the 11th coach in NEC history to reach the century mark. Mason also earned his 150th overall victory against Fairfield.
Following the 2021-22 season, Mason departed Wagner to become the new head coach at Saint Peter’s.
Coburn Continues Women’s Basketball's Recent Success
On April 28, 2021, Terrell Coburn was elevated to head coach of the Wagner women’s basketball program after serving as an assistant coach for the previous five seasons. Coburn, who is the first African-American head coach in program history, was instrumental in the turnaround of the program, which reached the Northeast Conference (NEC) championship game in 2020-21.
The Seahawks finished with 17 overall wins, the most wins by a first-year head coach in program history. Coach Coburn tied for the fifth-most wins among all NCAA first-year women’s basketball head coaches while posting the seventh-highest win percentage this season (.586).
The Green & White was one of the top defensive teams in the NEC this past season, finishing first in three-point field goal percentage defense (26.0) and steals (8.6 pg), second in scoring defense (58.2 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.381), turnover margin (+2.79), and third in blocked shots (3.2 per game), and assist/turnover ratio (0.8).
Wagner ranked 10th in the nation in three-point field percentage defense, joining Binghamton, Houston Baptist, American, Charlotte, IUPUI, Norfolk State, Rice, Mercer, and Vermont. The Seahawks were among the top 30 in the nation in turnovers forced, averaging 19.21 a contest, which ranked first among all NEC teams as well.
The Seahawks won Coburn’s first game, 61-49 at NJIT before stringing a six-game winning streak that was capped off by a milestone win at the Spiro Sports Center over Big East member, St. John’s, 62-59 on December 12. Five of the six wins during the streak came on Grymes Hill.
For the fourth straight season, the Green & White qualified for the postseason as Wagner defeated No. 5 seed, LIU, 66-55, before falling in the semifinals to eventual league champion Mount St. Mary’s.
Prior to the start of the NEC Tournament, three Seahawks earned All-League recognition, as for the third straight year, forward Emilija Krista Grava earned a spot on the league’s First Team while guards Zhaneia Thybulle and Lina Loceniece garnered Second Team and All-Rookie Team selections, respectively.
With the three selections, this marked the eighth time in program history that the Green & White had multiple honorees and the first since 2013-14. The last time three different players earned All-NEC honors was back in 1998-99.
Krista Grava made program history, becoming the first player to be selected to the NEC First Team in three straight years.
Thybulle led the conference in assists and assists per game as the Elmont, NY native recorded 147 helpers and averaged 5.1 per contest. She ranked 37th in the country in assists per game and 44th in total assists. Thybulle is the first Seahawk to lead the conference in assists since Andrea Reed did so in 2008-09.
Loceniece proved to be a key cog for Coach Coburn in her inaugural season, netting double-figures in eight games, highlighted by a career-best 15 points against New Hampshire (Nov. 28) where she hit a season-best 5 of 6 from downtown.
Seahawks Soar Into Kelly McPartland Era
The women’s lacrosse program claimed its first victory of the Kelly McPartland era with an 8-7 overtime victory at Lehigh on Saturday, March 5 as senior Kasey Dorney tallied her first of three game winning goals on the season.
Senior Aileen Hannan took home Northeast Conference (NEC) Defensive Player of the Year honors along with earning First Team All-NEC honors with classmate Kasey Dorney. Graduate students Victoria Tucci and Madeline Seims earned Second Team honors with senior Lauren DiStefano and junior Casey Haas. Freshman Angelina Skowronski was named to the All-Rookie Team.
Gradute student Stefani Peluso earned her 100th career point in the NEC opener against Central Connecticut State on March 26 behind four goals in the contest. Madeline Seims tallied her 150th career point as a member of the Green & White against LIU on March 30. For Seims, she moved into sole possession of seventh place in career points and is fourth in career goals with 136.
On the same day, goalkeeper Lauren DiStefano notched her 300th career save. Victoria Tucci claimed her 100th career point against Saint Francis U on April 2 while senior Kasey Dorney reached the century mark in points with a goal against #13 Rutgers on Wednesday, April 13.
On Wednesday, April 20 against Sacred Heart, Aileen Hannan was the latest Seahawk to garner an individual accomplishment as she notched her 100th ground ball for Wagner.
The Seahawks found a new DNA under the first-year coaching staff of Kelly McPartland, Sarah Willard and Rachel Florek as Wagner ranked 10th nationally with 174 caused turnovers and a .947 save percentage. The Green & White ranked 12th nationally with 330 ground balls and 16th with 9.67 caused turnovers per contest.
A Year To Remember
In its third year of competition, the Wagner Field Hockey team qualified for the Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament for the first time in program history after finishing with a 5-2 mark.
Freshman Liselotte Koop earned NEC Rookie of the Year along with First Team All-Conference honors. Along with Koop, senior Julia Cruces Pastorino was selected to the First Team while classmate Agustina Deharbe was named to the Second Team.
After a slow start to the 2022 season, the Seahawks rattled off four consecutive victories to close the month of September. With a 5-10 record on October 22, the Seahawks claimed four straight victories to close out the regular season. The run ended with a 2-1 victory at Sacred Heart on Sunday, October 24. The victory punched the Seahawks’ ticket to the 2021 NEC Tournament.
Against Merrimack on Thursday, October 28, the Seahawks scored 10 goals, a single game program record. Julia Cruces Pastorino tallied nine points and Agustina Deharbe tallied four assists. Both marks are also a single game record for Wagner field hockey.
This past season, the Seahawks shattered the record books as Julia Cruces Pastorino’s 37 points, and 15 goals puts her atop the program record book while Deharbe’s 11 assists puts her atop the program leaderboard. For a single season, Cruces Pastorino’s 35 points this past season is a single season record while Koop and Deharbe’s 11 assists are also single season records.
Rewriting The Record Books
The Seahawks set a number of records during the 2021 season as 16 regular season victories is tied for the most in program history, matching the total set in 2018. Senior goalkeeper Ethan Zirh solidified his place in the Wagner men’s water polo record books as he became the all-time leader in saves with 604, junior Olivér Fodor became the all-time leader in goals with 216 and set the single season goals mark with 129. Sophomore Zsombor Gyémánt set the single season assists mark with 92 this past season. Fifth-year senior Jack Leighton ended his Wagner career with the 111 assists and 214 sprints won, both program records.
Fodor and Gyémánt were named to the Metro Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) All-Conference Teams as Fodor claimed First Team honors while Gyémánt earned Second Team recognition. Along with being named All-Conference performers, the two Budapest, Hungary natives were named ACWPC All-American Honorable Mentions. Olivér Fodor is the first Seahawk to earn this honor in back-to-back seasons and to receive national recognition more than once. On October 9 at the Spiro Sports Center, Fodor found the back of the net 10 times in a 20-11 victory over Mount St. Mary’s, a single game program record for Wagner men’s water polo.
In the classroom, the Seahawks claimed the 11th highest team grade-point average with a 3.33 cumulative average led by six players who garnered an average of 3.71 or higher.
Women’s Golf Cracks Top Three At NEC Championship
The Wagner women’s golf team finished tied for third place at the NEC Championships for the first time since 2019. The Green & White shot a collective 944 over three rounds in Daytona Beach, FL. Heather McLean finished in a program-best second place and shot a 224, one stroke back of the first-place crown. Audrey Paradis also played a part in the third-place finish, placing 13th on the players leaderboard. The two seniors both landed on All-Conference teams.
"I want to congratulate Heather and Audrey on their All-Conference selections," head coach Luis Medina said. "This is the culmination of hard work, countless hours of dedication and determination. I'm extremely proud of their continued success and achievements."
Medina’s group had three second-place finishes this season: UMES Challenge, Quail Valley Spring Invite, and Hawk Spring Invite.
Making A Splash
The Seahawks improved at the NEC Championships this season, finishing fourth out of ten teams with a score of 412.5. The Green & White took home four medals at the championships, with Ellie Eastwood setting a new school record and winning two gold (100 & 200 Yard Breaststroke) and a silver (400 Yard Individual Medley), Bree Anderson winning silver (200 Yard Individual Medley), and Eastwood, Shamiya Guirre, Annie Jencova, and Abbie Hassell winning silver (400 Yard Medley Relay).
The team won seven meets this season, matching the 2019-20 season win total. This season included three conference wins: Mount St. Mary’s, St. Francis Brooklyn, and LIU. The Seahawks also placed fifth out of 12 teams at the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships in December.
The Green & White reeled in numerous NEC awards throughout the season. Eastwood was named Swimmer of the Week in November after posting three individual victories at Bryant. Meliti Efthimiou was a two-time NEC Diver of the Week (January 26 and February 9) and Shamiya Guirre earned NEC Rookie of the Week (February 9).
Diamond Notes
Under the direction of first-year head coach Craig Noto, the Wagner baseball team continued to improve on the diamond. The 2022 campaign featured a tough non-conference slate with teams from nine different leagues and matchups with two power five schools.
The Seahawks opened March with a trip to the west coast for the first-ever contest with Pac-12 powerhouse, USC. The challenging stretch continued the following week when the Green & White headed to Nashville, TN to face the 2019 College World Series Champions and SEC member, Vanderbilt. Wagner stood toe-to-toe with the No. 4 team in the country as the Seahawks held two different leads in one of the games before falling 12-7.
Wagner turned 46 double plays this season, which ranked 42nd in the country and was tied for first in the Northeast Conference (NEC).
Individually, outfielder Dante Faicchio carved out a stellar first season for the Seahawks, earning All-NEC First Team honors. Right-handed pitcher Frankie Wright was tabbed to the All-NEC Second Team.
Faicchio was just one of two Seahawks to start in all 51 games this season and he finished with a .285 batting average, which was second on the club. Patrolling right field for most of the season, the Laguna Beach, CA native clubbed 12 home runs (third on the Wagner single-season list) and drove in 52 runs (fourth on the Wagner single-season list).
On the mound, Wright flourished in his rookie season for the Green & White. The Egg Harbor, NJ native led the team with six victories, which was also tied for the third-most in the conference. He ranked among the top ten in the league in both ERA and opposing batting average. Wright logged 67 innings (seventh-most among conference pitchers) and made 14 starts, which landed him third on the Wagner single-season appearance list.
Women’s Triathlon Gets Major Recognition
Clara Normand and Yasmin Rieger received All-American Honorable Mention Accolades. Normand and Rieger are the first Seahawks in the program's four-year history to receive athletic All-American recognition. For Normand, this is her first-ever award at Wagner. Rieger has received Scholar All-American: Honorable Mention twice (2018-19) in her career.
The two teammates finished in the top 25 of each race they competed in for the Green & White this season. Normand’s best finish came at the Smith Mountain Lake NCAA Qualifier when the freshman placed third with a chip time of 1:02.20.7. Rieger’s best finish came at the NCAA National/Regional when the senior placed seventh with a chip time of 1:08.15.
In July, Patrick Waters was announced as the school's next head women's triathlon coach. Melanie Abbott will also join the staff as a graduate assistant with long-time Wagner men's and women's track & field coach Joe Stasi serving as Director of Triathlon.
Waters has 14 years of triathlon coaching experience and is a Lima 2019 Parapan American Games Silver Medalist and Canadian National Record Holder. The Kamloops, BC native earned his Bachelor's degree in Nutrition & Exercise Science from the University of British Columbia. Waters is a Chartered Professional Coach and Certified Triathlon Coach with the Coaches Association of Canada. He attended Canadian's Sport Institute Victoria Campus to receive his Advanced Coaching Diploma. Waters' other certifications are as a certified Exercise Physiologist & certified Strength & Conditioning Coach.
Nine In A Row
The Seahawks’ softball team opened its home slate with eight straight home victories as part of a nine-game winning streak during the 2022 season.
The Seahawks swept Saint Peter’s, Merrimack, and Central Connecticut at home before earning a victory at Bryant to extend the win streak to nine.
Wagner placed three student-athletes on All-NEC teams in Nora Conway, Bianca Worthy, and Kate Wolf.
Worthy and Conway earned Second Team All-NEC recognition, while Wolf earned a spot on the All-Rookie Team.
Navigating The Course
Vying for a third-straight Northeast Conference (NEC) Men’s Cross Country title, the Seahawks finished second to Central Connecticut as the Green & White concluded the race with 68 points. The Green & White had three harriers claim All-Conference honors, led by William Cuthbertson, who finished sixth overall with a time of 26:06.80. Dominic Palermo rounded out the top-ten with a time of 26:31.10 while newcomer Johnny Sokoll was among the top-14 all-league finishers, placing 13th overall with a time of 26:43.50.
The Turnaround
The 2021 women’s soccer team thrived and quickly erased the memory of their shortened 2020-21 campaign as the team racked up eight overall wins and five Northeast Conference (NEC) victories. The five conference wins match a program-high, tied with the 2014 team that went 5-1-2.
The Seahawks rattled off back-to-back victories over Rider and Saint Peter’s to start the season before finishing the year winning three of their final four matches by a combined 6-1.
At season’s end, forward Madison Carr was tabbed to the All-NEC First Team while Kayla Barbosa earned All-Rookie accolades. The duo is the fifth and sixth players, respectively, under head coach Phil Casella to earn All-NEC honors; joining Alexa Rispoli (2020-21 All-Rookie); Mya Donnelly (2019 All-NEC Second Team); Autumn Clark (2019 All-NEC Second Team) and Luisa Barone (2018 All-NEC Rookie Team).
Carr made an immediate impact in her first season on Grymes Hill, opening the year with four goals over her first three matches, two of which came in the season opener at Rider. For her efforts against the Broncs, she collected the first NEC Player of the Week award. She continued her scoring prowess down the stretch, finishing out the season with five more goals to lead the circuit with nine goals.
Barbosa was a key cog for Coach Casella’s team this season in the midfield. The Lake Hopatcong, NJ native started in all 18 matches for the Green & White, recording a goal, two assists, and recording four points. She notched her first collegiate point on the season against Rider.
She is the ninth Seahawk all-time to be named to the All-Rookie team and the third player in a four-year span to earn the distinction, joining teammates Alexa Rispoli (2020-21) and Luisa Barone (2018).
Seahawks Roll In Second Season
In just their second season of existence, the Wagner women’s bowling team, under the direction of head coach Joseph Ambrose, made significant strides on the lanes during the 2021-22 campaign. After a shortened inaugural season in which the Green & White recorded four wins, this year’s team racked up 33 combined wins.
The Seahawks claimed second-place honors at their Wagner College Winter Invite with AG Carhart and Kristina Colon each earning a spot on the all-tournament team.
On the first day of the Northeast Roundup, the Seahawks won three matches which established a milestone mark for their head coach. Coach Ambrose reached career win No. 900, which came against his former program, Kutztown, in the final match of the day. Additionally, the Seahawks rolled their highest traditional match score of 1,023, also against the Golden Bears in the final match.
Colon went on to etch her name in program lure, as the Brooklyn, NY native became the first-ever Seahawk bowler to receive an NEC weekly award, closing out the season as NEC Rookie of the Week on March 23. The first-year Seahawk led all-NEC rookies with a 19.15 frame average and 197.6 traditional average at the Northeast Roundup, posting match scores of 240 and 226, good for an eighth-place finish.
Colon wasn’t finished in recording history, as on the morning of the NEC Championship, it was announced that she was the first Seahawk to garner All-NEC honors, being named to the All-Rookie Team.
Lock Down Defense
For the first time since 2017, multiple Seahawks earned All-Conference honors. Goalkeeper Danny Brady and short stick midfielder Brendan Higgins received All-Conference Second Team selections, while defensive midfielder Quin Hoke was named to the All-NEC Rookie Team. This is the third time in program history that Wagner has had three players represented on All-NEC teams (2011, 2015, 2022). Brady led the NEC and was third in the nation this season in save percentage (.591) and saves per game (14.08) and currently ranks fifth all-time on the Wagner men’s lacrosse saves list.
Wagner ranked first in the Northeast Conference and third nationally in man-down defense with a .759 penalty kill percentage. The Green & White finished with the fewest penalties (32), fewest penalties per game (2.67), fewest penalty minutes (25), and fewest penalty minutes per game (2.08) in the NEC. The Seahawks were tied for least goals allowed in the country with Notre Dame (121) and ranked tied for tenth in goals allowed per game (10.08).
Head coach Bill McCutcheon’s defense led the conference in three categories: Penalty killing percentage (.759), penalties per game (2.67), and penalty minutes per game (2.08).
Senior Stephen Dwyer capped off his Wagner career with a 20-goal season that consisted of five multi-goal games and two four-goal games. The Somerville, NJ native ranks fourth all-time in goals (59), tied for tenth all-time in assists (25), and sixth all-time in points (84).
On May 9, Wagner Athletic Director Walt Hameline announced that in next season and 2024, the Wagner men’s lacrosse team will be joining the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) as an associate member.
“We are excited to find a new home for our men's lacrosse program,” said Hameline. “Building on the success that our women's water polo team has had in the MAAC conference while allowing us to continue competing in a sport that is on the rise at Wagner makes this a great fit and we look forward to watching the team start this new journey next season.”
The Rebuild
The Wagner football program is successfully rebuilding on and off the field. Adjacent to Hameline Field, construction on Wagner’s new $3 million athletic facility continues to make progress.
On the field, the Seahawks are consistently developing young talent, with a plethora of first-year Seahawks and redshirt freshmen seeing the field during the 2021 season.
Led by All-American defensive end Titus Leo, nine Seahawks earned spots on Phil Steele’s All-NEC teams at the conclusion of the 2021 season.
Additionally, Wagner’s unprecedented success in the NFL continues, as former Seahawks Cam Gill, Chris Williams, Greg Senat, and Julian Stanford continue their successful professional football careers.
Galantini Places Top Five At NEC Championship
Tyler Galantini of the Wagner men’s golf team finished fourth on the players leaderboard at the NEC Championship in Daytona Beach, Florida, shooting a 223 (+7) over three rounds at LPGA International. The junior’s season also consisted of two Match Play Event victories and he shot a season-low 69 at the Hartford Hawks Invitational. Galantini’s other top-five finish of the season came at the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Championship when he shot a 109 and finished fourth.
First-year head coach Jimmy Criscione recorded his first career win on March 24, defeating Canisius 3.5-1.5 in a Match Play Event in Kissimmee, FL.
Successful Seahawks
In the opening meet of the season at the Temple Open, freshman Simona Nedyalkova earned 20th-place in her first meet as a Seahawk on October 23. On November 6 at the Penn State Garrett Open, freshman Katerina Cervenkova earned a program best 3rd-place finish. To cap off the fall slate, the Seahawks claimed six victories against seven opponents at the Vassar Invitational on November 14.
On January 13, the Wagner College fencing team checked in at #11 in the United States Fencing Coaches Association (USFCA) Poll, the highest ranking in program history.
At the Notre Dame DeCicco Duals on January 29, the Seahawks claimed six victories over Lawrence, Denison, Detroit Mercy, Cleveland State, Florida, and Wayne State. Against Notre Dame, graduate student Abby Buckborough and Simona Nedyalkova each claimed two victories.
The Seahawks celebrated senior day on February 27 at the Spiro Sports Center that was highlighted by victories over Fairleigh Dickinson and Yeshiva.
The Seahawks sent a program record seven participants to the Mid-Atlantic/South Regionals on March 12. Katerina Cervenkova placed 19th épee competition which was the highest finish in Wagner fencing history. The seven participants for Wagner is a program record as Wagner sent four fencers to the competition in 2019. Abby Buckborough made her program record fourth trip to the regional competition while senior Caecilia Thuermer made her third appearance at the Mid-Atlantic/South Regional compeition.The two fencers were joined by senior’s Hallie Tiburzi and Cleo Burton, junior’s Lauren Foley and Ava De La Cruz. Simona Nedyalkova and Katerina Cervenkova rounded out the Wagner participants.
Success At The Net
The women’s tennis team finished the fall season sporting a 2-2 overall record after posting victories over St. Francis Brooklyn and Rider and during the spring, faced tough competition against Big East members St. John’s and Seton Hall, America East member Stony Brook, and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) rival Fairfield.
Maintaining The Pace
The Seahawks' women's cross country team finished seventh overall with Ana Blanco Duran finishing among the top-ten with a time of 18:51.1 in the 5K race to place eighth overall in earning her first all-conference selection. Blanco Duran became the first Seahawk to earn all-conference since Sara Carney earned back-to-back league honors in 2018 and 2019.
Inaugural Season In The Pool
The Wagner men’s swimming and diving team completed its first-ever season in program history, led by head coach Colin Shannahan. Freshman Danny Connell secured the first individual victory in the program’s history, taking first place in the 1000 Yard Freestyle against Mount St. Mary’s.
"It's amazing to be able to add a men's team in this current environment where you see teams getting cut all over the place. It really makes me proud to be able to offer more opportunities for Division I male swimmers and divers,” Shannahan said.
On January 15, the Seahawks won the program’s first-ever meet, defeating College of Staten Island (CSI) 139-102. Standout fifth-year senior Jack Leighton dominated the pool all season long. The Lake Forest, CA native won eight individual races for the Green & White and earned four NEC Prime Performer accolades. Leighton also finished fifth in the 200 Yard Freestyle, posting his best time of the season (1:41.31).
Leighton, Dingess, Tristan Lee, and Dylan Egan all qualified for finals heats at the NEC Championships in Geneva, OH, capping off the inaugural season of the Wagner men’s swimming & diving program.