Overseas tours

Three Colgate teams went abroad this summer for contests and cultural experiences.

Women’s basketball traveled to New Zealand — native land of Josie Stockill ’16 — from August 4–16. Alex Ramon ’16 welcomed the men’s basketball team to his home country of Spain from August 11–20. Lastly, the men’s ice hockey team traveled to Italy from August 12–23.

The women’s basketball team posted a perfect 4–0 on its tour around New Zealand’s North Island. They started with sweeps of Harbour Breeze and the Auckland Lady Hawks. In Stockill’s hometown of Napier, the Raiders lived with host families, ran a basketball clinic at the Napier Girls School, and played in an invitational.

At the invitational, Stockill was the star of the show. The senior forward scored 21 points and added 16 rebounds and five blocked shots. She was honored after the game for her achievements at Colgate and as a member of the New Zealand Women’s National Team. The tour ended with a win over the Wellington Nationals.

The men’s basketball team got an early jump on the 2015–16 season with a four-game tour of Spain. The Raiders started their tour in Barcelona and quickly racked up two wins in two days over EuroProBasket in nearby Girona. Next up were contests against Black Lizarra and Timbuk in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Ramon’s hometown, where Colgate logged two more wins. The team then enjoyed two city tours in the Basque Country before heading back to the States.

Men’s hockey embarked on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity during a 10-day trip in which they competed against teams from the European professional ranks. The team competed against Switzerland National League B squad GCK Lions in the first game of the tour and lost 4–3 despite a hard-fought overtime shootout. They then played a contest against Switzerland National League B squad EHC VISP and lost. In the final game, the Raiders beat SG
Cortina 8–0.

Pictured aboveThe men’s basketball team, shown here in Spain, is one of three Colgate teams that played abroad this summer.


 

Colgate running back battles through Navy tackles

Colgate played its season opener against Navy in Annapolis, Md.; the Midshipmen won 48–10. (Photo by Bob Cornell)


 


On a roll

Colgate placed a record 173 student-athletes from 13 sports on the 2015 Patriot League Winter-Spring Academic Honor Roll.

This was the university’s strongest overall performance in the classroom since the introduction of the Patriot League Honor Roll. Colgate had 51 more student-athletes on the honor roll than last year, an increase of nearly 42 percent. With the 85 Raiders who made the conference’s Fall Academic Honor Roll, Colgate finished the 2014–15 academic year with 258 selectees.

To be eligible for the honor roll, a student-athlete must earn a 3.20 grade point average in the spring semester and participate in one of the Patriot League’s winter or spring championship sports.


 


Alumna competes at Pan Am Games

Chelsea Burns '12 on bicycle at Pan Am games.

Chelsea Burns ’12 finished as the United States’ best competitor in the triathlon at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto, Ontario, this summer. Her time of 1:58.29 placed her fifth overall out of 34 participants. The Pan Am Games are the world’s third-largest international multisport games, surpassed only in size and scope by the Olympic Summer Games and the Asian Games.

Burns, a Seattle native, lettered all four years at Colgate in cross country and three each in indoor and outdoor track and field (missing only the spring of her junior year while studying abroad). In addition to the second-place individual result and team title at the 2010 Patriot League Cross Country Championships, Burns also was an indoor conference champion in the mile and 3,000 meters, and an outdoor conference winner in the 5,000 meters. She contributed to Colgate’s school record set in the distance medley relay.

The Pan Am success sets up Burns for her ultimate goal: making the USA Olympic Team and competing at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.


 

Mark Dekanich ’08, Tyler Burton ’08, Jesse Winchester ’08, and Ben Camper ’08 with trophy

L to R: Mark Dekanich ’08, Tyler Burton ’08, Jesse Winchester ’08, and Ben Camper ’08 won the 2015 Terry Slater Memorial Golf Tournament at Seven Oaks at the end of July. More than 110 Raider hockey alumni and friends participated.


 


Alumnus covers Women’s World Cup

Rob Stone '91 with his co-host Kate Abdo on the Fox Sports TV set

Rob Stone ’91 with his Women’s World Cup co-host Kate Abdo. (Photo courtesy of Fox Sports)

Rob Stone ’91 was the Fox Sports prime-time host during the Women’s World Cup this summer, leading the network’s comprehensive month-long coverage, which included 16 live broadcasts on Fox and another 29 on Fox Sports 1.

The Connecticut native was a soccer captain and all-Patriot League selection at Colgate in the ’90s. Stone has covered various sports since 1992, including four men’s World Cups for ESPN beginning in 1998 and as the sideline reporter for the 1999 Women’s World Cup.

After 15 years at ESPN, in 2012, Stone jumped to Fox, which holds the rights to the men’s and women’s World Cups through 2026.


 


Lacrosse alumni take trophy

Raiders from several generations competed in the Summit Lacrosse Tournament in Lake Placid in August.

Team Power-Tek, composed largely of Colgate alumni, captured the Men’s Open championship for the fourth time. They outlasted the Maryland-based 1 Lacrosse Elite team in a 13–12 victory. Jeff Ledwick ’12 played a major role in the win, as did face-off specialist Jimmy Carroll ’11. Helping Carroll and Ledwick earn the trophy were Colin Hulme ’07, E.J. Atamian ’08, Matt Lalli ’08, Chris Mulholland ’08, David Tucciarone ’11, Jared Madison ’12, Kevin Boyle ’14, Bobby Lawrence ’14, Jimmy Ryan ’14, Matt Clarkson ’15, and Cameron Williams ’16.

In the Men’s Open 2 championship game, Danny LaCrosse ’17 aided Wells Fargo in its 10–9 triumph over the Buffalo Soldiers.

Team Creaky Gates (Bruce Wanamaker ’89, Tom Flynn ’90, Andrew Halliday ’91, Cooper Morrow ’95, Tom Accordino ’96, Rich Mok ’96 , and Conor Tracy ’00) competed in the Men’s Masters 3 Division and finished with two strong wins.

The Creakier Gates were part of the Men’s Grand Masters 1 Division and finished 1–3. In addition to Halliday and Wanamaker, this year’s team members were Jim Redpath ’83, Rob Stoner ’83, Mike Bazany ’86, Jeff Bleakley ’87, Chet Speed ’87, Craig Shouldice ’88, Tom Flynn ’90, Kevin Roelofs ’90, David McCarthy ’88, Jeff Quillen ’88, and Jeff Roelofs ’88.


 


2015 Hall of Honor class

A lucky roster of 13 Raiders have been named to the 2015 Hall of Honor class — three coaches, six all-star student-athletes, and four members of one of the top rowing crews in Colgate history.

Head coaches Dick Biddle of football and the late Jack Bruen of basketball were honored alongside Janet Little, who coached volleyball and softball and was then a longtime administrator.

Former student-athletes named are Lori Eaton ’81 (softball, volleyball, and basketball); Christine Hanrahan ’89 (field hockey); Alison Smith ’91 (volleyball); Jamaal Branch ’05 (football); Franny Iacuzzi ’08 (women’s soccer); Brandon Corp ’09 (men’s lacrosse); and the 2004 men’s rowing Varsity 4 of Ryan Cole ’04, David Galos ’05, Paul Kelly ’05, and Mike McCarthy ’05.


 

Sass signs with Buffalo Beauts

Colgate goaltender Kimberly Sass '12.

Photo by Bob Cornell

Former women’s hockey goaltender Kimberly Sass ’12 is back on the ice after signing to play for a newly formed National Women’s Hockey League team, the Buffalo Beauts.

Sass played for the Raiders from 2008–2012 and still holds the program record for most minutes played in a season. She is third in saves and fourth in both shutouts and wins in a season.

After graduating from Colgate, she began pursuing her master’s degree in architecture at the University of Buffalo. She has also coached hockey summer camps and served as the goaltender coach for a boys’ hockey team. When she heard about the new women’s league and that there was a Buffalo team, Sass told the Amherst Bee, she knew she “needed to make the team.”

She went to the first tryout and then participated in the Beantown Classic showcase tournament in Boston to get the team general manager’s attention. It worked: just days later, Sass received an offer.

On August 4, she signed her contract with the Beauts, making her the second of three goaltenders to sign with the team.

Sass plans to complete her master’s degree while playing for the team. “It’s a great opportunity for women to have an outlet to play the sport they love while pursuing a career,” she told the Amherst Bee.


 


Fargo to coach Canada U18

Colgate’s Greg Fargo was recently named to the coaching staff of Hockey Canada’s under-18 team as an assistant for the 2015–16 season.

He has been the head coach of the Raiders women’s hockey program since the summer of 2012. He served as an assistant coach at Canada’s National Women’s Development Team summer camp during the 2014–15 season.

In August, Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team held a selection camp in Calgary, followed by a three-game series against the U.S. Women’s Under-18 Select Team in Lake Placid, N.Y. The 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s Championship takes place from Jan. 8–15, 2016, in St. Catharines, Ontario.