SOMERSET, NJ – The Northeast Conference (NEC) announced today that the St. Francis Brooklyn women's swimming & diving program and the men's basketball team claimed the leagues' Sportsmanship awards for the 2018-19 season.
Instituted by league Presidents in 2008, the awards are designed to acknowledge the team in each conference sport that, in the opinion of its peers, most closely demonstrates good sportsmanship based on the NEC Principles of Sportsmanship and Standards of Conduct. Voting is conducted at the conclusion of each season by each team and head coach, who rank teams within the conference based on a set of criteria.
Both programs had successful seasons in the pool and on the court respectively. Women's swimming & diving earned six dual meet victories, including five in a row from October 20-January 20. They defeated Manhattan, Sacred Heart, Saint Peter's, Monmouth, Stony Brook, and Queens in head-to-head action this season. The Terriers notched a fourth-place finish at the ECAC Winter Championships, and sophomore
Ana Paula Montes de Oca took home the Swimmer of the Meet honor. At the NEC Championship, the Terriers earned a seventh-place finish. As a team, they set 11 records (six individual & five relay) in 2018-19.
"We appreciate the teams and the conference for recognizing us. We take pride in our team's performance both in and out of the pool. As a team, we always strive to be competitive and supportive of our teammates and respectful of our opponents," said Director of Aquatics/swimming & diving head coach
Brian Guidera.
"Sportsmanship has always been the major component that our team has possessed. It really brought us up to where we are today, and I think that getting acknowledged for this award means a lot to all of us. This honor also emphasizes how great our sportsmanship is, constantly cheering each other on and supporting each other in and out of the pool," added junior captain
Melanie Lumkong.
The Terriers' men's basketball team concluded the 2018-19 campaign (17-16, 9-9 NEC) and earned a berth into the CollegeInsider.com National Postseason Tournament (CIT) for the first time in history where it took on Hampton in the opening round. The Terriers posted an impressive eight non-conference wins, their most since the 2013-14 season and went on to earn the No. 5 seed in the 2019 NEC Tournament. It is the second time in head coach
Glenn Braica's tenure that the Terriers have claimed the NEC Sportsmanship Award, they also won the award in 2014-15.
"We are extremely honored to win the Northeast Conference (NEC) Team Sportsmanship Award and would like to thank the league and its coaches for recognizing us with this honor. We are proud of our student-athletes who have put forth exemplary character on and off the court this season. Although we received this award, we understand that there are many worthy teams of this honor in the NEC and we appreciate being recognized and are proud to be associated with the teams and coaches in this league. Congratulations to all the teams on another great season of NEC basketball and we look forward to another exciting year in 2019-20," said coach Braica.
"Receiving the NEC team sportsmanship award is a great honor for our basketball team. From our team's first few days on campus, our coaching staff has put their best foot forward in regards to providing us with a strong moral foundation. I believe this award is a testament to that and is something that the college, athletic department, coaching staff, and players should all be proud of," noted graduate captain
Glenn Sanabria.
