clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Rutgers Roundup: Fall seasons begin, more stuff to peruse

Beginning tomorrow, Rutgers is in action, starting with a Women's Soccer exhibition against Lehigh. It's here, folks.

By rvc73
scarletknights.com

Women's Soccer

The women open the fall season with an exhibition in Bethlehem against the Mountain Hawks.  But on a more national stage, Rutgers has a candidate for the highest award in women's soccer.

The Red Bank Catholic grad started all 20 matches at center back in 2014 and was a Third Team National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-American.  Reed was also named to the 2014 All-Big Ten First Team.

Swimming

Rising senior Joanna Wu competed in the 2015 Phillips 66 National Championships held Aug. 6 through Aug. 10 in San Antonio. Wu was scheduled to participate in the 50 freestyle and 100 and 200 backstroke.  Her results put her 94th among all competitors in the 100 m backstroke.

Men's Track & Field

It was a frustrating year for long jumper Corey Crawford in 2014-15.  Injury kept him off the runway, and the likelihood of the NCAA granting him a sixth year of eligibility was slim.  Surprise!

Being able to compete in the Big Ten will be an added incentive for Crawford.  He already is an All American in both the indoor and outdoor season while competing in the American Athletic Conference.  And while winning a Big Ten title isn't specifically a checklist item for him, it would be another feather in his cap and a plus for the Knights.

Gymnastics

Five members of the Rutgers gymnastics team earned a spot on the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches for Women Academic All-America team. To be recognized for this honor, student-athletes must carry a grade-point average of 3.50 or better.

Sophomore Charly Santagado (philosophy) and freshman Elizabeth Nand (undeclared) each achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA to lead the way in the classroom. Senior Emma Hoffman (communication), senior Luisa Leal (exercise science) and freshman Elizabeth Groden (visual art) also represented the Scarlet Knights on the NACGC/W Academic All-America team.

Earlier in the summer, Rutgers gymnastics continued its consistency in the Academic Progress Rate (APR) by putting up a multiyear score of 995 for the third consecutive year. The Scarlet Knights rank in the 70th percentile within all sports in the NCAA and are higher than the national gymnastics APR average.

Coaching

Rutgers hired Teri Diamond as an assistant coach, head coach Louis Levine officially announced last week. Diamond will begin her position immediately.

"I am very excited to add Teri to our staff," Levine said. "As an athlete, she was a club gymnast at Hill's Gymnastics and then went on to be a team captain for a conference championship team and an EAGL Team MVP. She has had success at every level of her gymnastics career and is a great fit with coach Danielle D'Elia and myself. I can't wait to get the team back on campus to work with this staff and start preparing for the 2015-16 season."

Diamond enjoyed a decorated collegiate career at North Carolina as an all-arounder, where she earned 2011 East Atlantic Gymnastics League Team MVP honors for the Tar Heels. Diamond captained her team to the EAGL Championship in both of her final two seasons on campus (2010 and 2011). Diamond was also named the 2010-11 Athletic Director's Scholar-Athlete of the Year and appeared on the EAGL All-Academic team, Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Honor Roll and Scholastic All-America team throughout her tenure in Chapel Hill.

Field Hockey

Field Hockey also made some changes to its staff, adding Maddy Sposito as an assistant coach.  Sposito comes to Piscataway after spending the past two seasons coaching at Fairfield University.

A goalkeeping specialist, Sposito will work with the Knights' goalkeepers and use her extensive experience from both college and international hockey with the Knights.

Sposito was a three-year starting goalkeeper at Fairfield, and one of the best in their history. She tallied 23 career wins, 271 career saves and a save percentage of .708. As a senior, she earned a spot on the America East All-Championship Squad. During her junior campaign, she ranked as high as 10th in the national field hockey rankings with a goals against average of 1.27.

Sposito also competed with the U.S. National Indoor Team for the second consecutive year in 2014. She allowed no goals in her game-time for the U.S. National Team in a 7-1 win over Canada.

BTN at football Camps

Everyone's favorite network will be making the rounds of Big Ten football camps, with Rutgers coming up on August 22.  The full schedule of broadcasts can be found here.

Rutgers Marching Band

I know.  This is what you've been waiting for.  Yes, the band is in reality getting its new uniforms, in time for its 100th anniversary, which On the Banks highlighted back in March. And the fundraising effort to pay for those uniforms was a rousing success.  We have a sneak peek at the uniforms, along with some information about the band's current activities, including where you can contribute to continue supporting the Marching Scarlet Knights financially..

Here's that peek.....juuuust a hint.  I like it!  More red.

Fundraising

Things have been going well for Rutgers in the area of fundraising.  The numbers are up across the board, including athletics. Athletics was a major element in the fundraising campaign, with $14.7 million in gifts and commitments to Rutgers Athletics—an 18 percent increase over last year. That may have been driven in part by the university's policy requiring a mandatory contribution for football season-ticket sales.

The numbers were good, but need to continue to go up.  Look at ttfp:

Donors in Happy Valley gave $16.6 million in annual giving during the 2014-15 academic year.  That tied in with some 23,000 Nittany Lion Club members.By comparison, Rutgers did set records in athletic fundraising but with 9,048 donors, a 16.5-percent increase over the previous year.  Money is up, donors are up.  That's good, with a need to continue.

Around the Academic World at Rutgers

The two Rutgers law schools ate now one.  The merger of the Newark and Camden schools into a single Rutgers Law School is completed and is now approved by the American Bar Association.

A Sad Note

On the Banks joins the Rutgers athletics community in mourning the loss of Dr. Timothy Hosea.  Dr. Hosea served more than 30 years as the football team's orthopedist and was a constant sideline presence at both games and practices.  Dr. Hosea, 63, died suddenly on Saturday, Aug. 9.

Moment of Zen

With a tip of the OTB hat to Jon Stewart, we leave you with our own "Moment of Zen".  This time, not a montage of wacky video, but a place of calm and peace and....zen.  The sculpture honoring Mason Gross, the 16th president of Rutgers, sits on the Voorhees Mall, between Milledoler Hall and the Graduate School of Education. Sit, breathe, meditate.