Press Releases

November 4, 1997
12th Season of Southampton College Women's Basketball Begins Nov. 16

Contact: Joe Dionisio
(516) 287 8313
Fax: (516) 283 4081

Southampton, NY -- When the Lady Colonials begin their 1997-98 season at American International on Sunday, Nov. 16, it will usher in one of the most challenging schedules in the 12-year history of the women?s basketball program.

"We have as tough a non-league schedule as any team around," said Anthony Bozzella, Head Coach at Southampton College of Long Island University. "Our goal is not just to reach the playoffs again-- we want to do some damage."

To make its mark this season, Southampton will rely on 11 returnees who comprise their 13-person roster, including: Captains Shannon Dries, Colleen Kates and Kara McGoldrick; senior Jackie Smith; juniors Kelley Larsen, Allison Mullen and Trina Yantz; and sophomores Evelina Breivaite and Rita Breivaite (identical twins from Lithuania), Beth Hartman and Heather Weaver. New to the team are senior Joyce Fender and freshman Melanie McCollum.

There are also new faces on the sidelines. Kimberly Tuffy of Hampton Bays, Christi Lagueux, and Kirk Ornstein of Southampton were added to the coaching staff, joining fifth-year assistant coach Jeannine Metrinko, and Kelly Nelmes, who begins her fourth season.

Tuffy, an alumnus of George Mason, has coached high school basketball for Hampton Bays. Lagueux graduated from SUNY Binghamton, where she captained the basketball team. Ornstein, the Strength and Conditioning Coach, is in his first year with the Lady Colonials.

The team is without Tammy Walsh, a 1st-Team New York Collegiate Athletic Conference selection, and Gina Lazaro, each of whom finished stellar four-year careers with over 1000 points.

"It's not easy to lose two of your greatest players," said Bozzella, who has a 61-51 record in the past four years. "However, I think our program is at a stage where there won?t be a drop-off. We have some players ready to blossom."

The Lady Colonials blossomed on and off the court last season, when they went 17-13, tied a school record for wins, qualified for a straight third trip to the ECACs, a fifth straight trip to NYCACs, and gained their first-ever post-season wins, beating Dowling and Sacred Heart.

Academically, they were rated the nation's 9th best Division II basketball team. For the second time in three years, Southampton also won the Anderson Sportsmanship Award as the NYCAC school which best displays sportsmanship and competition by its coaches and players.

Southampton plays its first home game Wednesday, Dec. 10 vs. Dowling at 5 p.m.