2002-2003 CUNY / Con Edison Women's Basketball Review

Battle to the Finish – Parity Rules in CUNY

Last season marked one of the most exciting CUNY Athletic Conference women's basketball campaigns in recent memory. The league saw vast improvement virtually across the board – culminating in an extremely exciting championship tournament as well as three postseason bids (one NCAA and two ECAC) for conference teams.

What will one of the nation's rising women's basketball conferences do for an encore in 2002-03? The top two teams from a year ago – Hunter and Lehman – have reloaded, traditional power Staten Island has recovered from uncharacteristic injury woes, CCNY will use a bit of its storied past to build a better present, Baruch is planning to continue its recent ascension, and York appears ready to bounce back from an off year. John Jay, Medgar Evers, City Tech, and Brooklyn enter the new campaign chock full of promise as well.

Starting at the top, defending champion Hunter College (22-7, 12-1) won its third title in the last five years, tied the school record for wins in a season, and made its second trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament in 2001-02. Tenth-year head coach Jackee Meadow must replace CUNYAC Tournament MVP Shevon Collins (14.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game), but will once again call upon an experienced cast to do so.

Back to lead the Hawks are a trio of seniors - Vana Loukissas (5.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game), Jen Rogers (8.9 points and 2.3 assists per game), and Jezel Rodriguez (7.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game) – who have spent four years and experienced incredible success together. Juniors Jen Agosto (11.6 points per game and a school record 70 three-pointers) and Tania Blanco (7.1 points and a team-high 8.4 rebounds per game) are also key players. Six freshmen join the squad including forward Topaz Robbins (Brooklyn, NY / Midwood) and point guard Michelle Apostol (Staten Island, NY / Moore Catholic).

"The future looks good and fresh with lots of promise, new talent and veteran leadership," said coach Jackee Meadow. "We always look forward to the challenge of defending our title." Runner-up Lehman College (18-11, 12-1) has retooled itself for another strong run. Gone are last year's top four scorers: CUNYAC Player of the Year Chanel Kendall, All-Stars Florena Rhodes and Desirae Ross, and captain Ivelisse Rosario. Fifth-year head coach Eric Harrison will build around three-time CUNYAC All-Star Diana Olaya, who was well established as one of the league's leading point guards before missing last season.

Two important role players returning are guard Monica Semley and center Christina Calderon. Making the difference, however, should be a strong recruiting class led by center Melissa Escalera (Bronx, NY / Adlai Stevenson) and guard Hannah Williams (Bronx, NY / Ursuline). Add in the experience of a pair of Division II transfers – forward Tiffany Thompson (Mount Vernon, NY / Mount Vernon) and Valorie Montes (Brooklyn, NY / Bushwick) from Mercy – and the Lightning look like a team primed to make another postseason run.

"Diana will be instrumental in leading a young and talented team this year," said Harrison, adding, "hopefully she will lead us to the CUNY finals again, but with better results this time around."

For the College of Staten Island (18-10, 11-2), last season ended on a down note due to a rash of injuries that seemed to tear through the squad. Fifth-year head coach Marguerite Gualtieri hopes to keep her unit free of such obstacles this season. Looking to lead the Dolphins in the title hunt is senior forward Keisha Cook, named by league coaches as the favorite to win CUNYAC Player of the Year honors this winter. The flamboyant All-Star averaged 18.2 points and 15.1 rebounds per game before having her season ended by an ACL injury last year.

Also back for the Dolphins are senior sharpshooter April Nelson (10.6 points per game and 65 three-pointers), juniors Pamela Barone (14.0 points and 5.2 assists per game) and Donna Przybyszewski (10.5 points per game and 2.4 steals per game), plus the CUNYAC Rookie of the Year in sophomore center Jacclyn Rock (14.1 points and 11.7 rebounds per game). Three incoming players who attended nearby Saint Peter's High School are sophomore Debra Pasquale, a transfer from CCNY, along with freshmen Kim Thompson and Trisha Doyle. Admittedly the season has the potential of being special.

"We are a lot deeper, returning a lot of players and I think we can be very good," said skipper Gualtieri in seeking CSI's second automatic berth to the NCAAs.

Last year's remaining CUNYAC Tournament semifinalist was City College of New York (13-14, 7-6). The Beavers have brought legendary head coach Gary Smith back for this season as the squad's former coach departed in September. Smith has previously guided CCNY to five conference championships, including an unprecedented four straight from 1984-87.

Smoothing Smith's move back from the athletic office to the hardwood is senior Lauren Cargill. The perennial CUNYAC All-Star averaged a league-best 21.8 points along with 9.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game last year. She also hit 77 three-pointers and needs just 101 points this year to become the conference's all-time leading scorer. She enters the campaign with 1,730. Classmate Samantha Halpern, also a CUNYAC All-Star, averaged 20.3 points per game, while sophomore Kim Neos added 9.0 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. A freshman to look out for is Katarina Sefrankova (Bratislava, Slovakia).

"Our goal is to try and take a team with some experience and improve the defense and that will keep us competitive in CUNY and beyond," said Smith upon his return to the bench. Joining Lehman's Harrison in sharing last winter's CUNYAC Coach of the Year award was Bob DiNardo of Baruch College (16-9, 7-6). Now entering his fourth season, DiNardo returns CUNY All-Star Stephanie Trahan, who averaged 18.3 points and 3.8 assists per game while drilling a conference-high 86 three-pointers. Former All-Star Jamees Wright added 12.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per contest for the Bearcats. Two newcomers to watch for are Christine Klusko (Jamaica, NY / Forest Hills) and Jessenia Marrero (Flushing, NY / Francis Lewis) who hope to help the Bearcats go far in the CUNY playoffs at their home court.

Fifth-year head coach Jackie Smith also figures to have York College (7-17, 6-7) back to its old form after a youth-dominated line-up was put to the test immediately last year. Sophomore Tashana Watson was strong with 16.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while classmate Esperanza Visbal added 9.4 points per contest. The Cardinals are also banking on added stability from All-Star senior guard Garrianne Brown's return after a one-year absence.

Entering his eighth year as head coach, Roy Anderson always has Medgar Evers College (10-17, 4-9) poised to make a breakthrough. Last year saw CUNYAC All-Star Keisha Toms average 15.3 points and an NCAA and league-leading 15.5 rebounds per contest. The senior center should receive a solid supporting effort from Elizabeth Hall, who added 10.9 points per outing last year, and Rannie Miles, who posted a team-topping 21.6 points per game for the Cougars.

One of two rookie coaches in the league this season is Robb Smith, who takes the reigns and brings renewed optimism at John Jay College (8-18, 4-9). The Bloodhounds bench boss will rely on CUNY All-Star December Bails, a junior guard who averaged 13.5 points per game and hit 62 three-pointers a season ago. Complimenting her is junior forward Cherith Pointer, who added 11.6 rebounds per contest. Pacing the newcomers are forward Jeannise Masseus (Jamaica, NY / Jamaica), a transfer from York, and center Natasha Alvardo (New York, NY / Beacon), a transfer from Hofstra.

Hoping to make a move up is New York City College of Technology (3-19, 2-11) under the guidance of fifth-year head coach Brenda Alexander. The Yellow Jackets fortunes will depend heavily upon the efforts of sophomore guard Camille Manning, who averaged a sensational 31.0 points per game last season. Manning only played in 14 of the team's 22 games but accounted for more than half of the team's total points a year ago. Look for guard Latoya Harris (Bronx Regional HS) and forward Deena Felix (John Adams HS) to add some valuable points for the Yellow Jackets.

A team with nowhere to go but up is Brooklyn College (0-26, 0-13). The conference's other rookie head coach, Alex Lang, has put a positive spin on that clichι and has the Bridges headed in the right direction. Senior Kenisha Caicedo and sophomore Tracy Altifios will be joined by eight freshmen. Rookies to keep an eye out for include former James Madison High School standouts Kelly Weismuller and Angel Simmons.

By Damion Jones