As the year 2009 comes to a close, lets take time to look back on a very successful year in Fisher College Athletics. Both the Men's Basketball team and Baseball team captured Sunrise Conference titles and set themselves up to repeat in 2010. For now, here is a month by month breakdown of the 2009 year for Fisher College Athletics.
January
After a sub-par beginning to their season, the Men's Basketball team looked to right ship. Entering the month they were sitting at 6-9 after a tough non-conference schedule. Sophomore Louis Williams (Burlington, VT) returned to the team and along with Senior Brandon Hamilton (Sarasota, FL) led the Men's team to an 8-0 undefeated month. All 8 victories came against Sunrise Conference opponents, including a very impressive three game streak which saw the Men's team score 100+ points in each game.
February
After losing their first conference game, at home versus Maine-Fort Kent, the Men's basketball team rolled off 5 straight wins en route to clinching their first ever Sunrise Conference Regular Season title. As the number one seed in the Sunrise Conference Tournament, the Men's team beat the College of Saint Joseph's 97-80. Both Hamilton and Williams were named to the All Conference First team.
Senior Jessica DiCicco (Arlington, MA) recorded 4 double-doubles as the Fisher Women's Basketball team won 4 games and secured a spot in the conference tournament. They would eventually lose to Sunrise Conference Champion, Maine-Fort Kent in the semi finals. DiCicco was named to the All Conference First Team and Head Coach Troy Smith was named the Sunrise Conference Coach of the Year.
Both Baseball and Softball began their seasons in the month of Feburary. Baseball traveled down to the University of South Carolina at Beaufort, while the Softball team went to Savannah State in Georgia. Baseball would battle hard in all four games. They captured victory in game three as Senior Jarlin Gomez (Lawrence, MA) pitched 6 strong innings and sophomore Mark Dorso (Waterbury, CT) came in a stopped a USCB rally in the 7th for the save.
March
The Men's Basketball team faced off against rival Maine-Fort Kent in the Sunrise Conference Tournament Championship Game. After a hard fought back and fourth battle, Fisher came out on top and won their 4th tournament championship in 5 years. The victory secured the team a trip to Branson, MO for the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball tournament. They were paired up against the number one seed Oklahoma Wesleyan University. Fisher would battle hard despite being short handed and was only down by 9 at halftime. OKU would go on to win the game and eventually the tournament. The Fisher Men's Basketball team accomplished many first's in the season as they won more than 20 games for the first time in school history and also took home their first Regular Season title.
Baseball took its annual spring trip south, this time to Texas for the second consecutive year. Playing against tough competition, the Baseball team notched two wins against host University of Texas at Brownsville and also beat Valley City State University. When the team came back north, they rattled off six straight wins to finish off the month.
The Softball team made its spring trip to Cocoa Beach, FL where they would face some of the best competition during its 2009 season. Even though they didn't win a game, they learned how to battle and won 3 of their 5 games to close out the month.
April
Senior Tom Englehardt (Bradford, MA) and junior Edwin Pena (Union City, NJ) helped the Baseball team to two separate win streaks of 6+ games. With 17 wins in the month of April, the Baseball team took home its fifth straight Sunrise Conference Regular Season title and Sunrise Conference Tournament title. Englehardt was named Sunrise Conference Baseball Player of the Year (his third straight) and Head Coach Scott Dulin was named Sunrise Conference Baseball Coach of the Year. Senior Eddy Delcarmen (Boston, MA), junior Samuel Luciano (Union City, NJ), junior Patrick Shanahan (Haverhill, MA), junior Zack Thompson (Salem, MA), sophomore Kevin Ryan (Cheshire, CT), along with Englehardt and Pena were named to the All Conference Team.
Led by junior Jackie Streeter (Westminster, MA), the Softball team would win five more games and face off against the University of Maine at Presque Isle in the Sunrise Conference Championship Series. In game one, Fisher dropped a heart breaker as they lost 10-9. UMPI would come out and win game two, ending the Softball season. Softball won 11 games, the first time in program history that its won more than 10 games. Also, Streeter finished with the highest batting average in the country (.577) and the highest slugging percentage in the country (.992). She also belted 10 home runs to lead the team and conference.
May
After winning their fifth straight Conference title, the Baseball team traveled to Greensburg, PA to play a three game series against KIAC Champion Brescia University. The winner advances to the National Regional Tournament. In game one, Shanahan dominated as he threw a complete game shutout. He allowed just 6 hits over the 9 innings. Offensively, Englehardt crushed a solo home run and scored all three runs as Fisher won 3-0 and took a 1-0 advantage in the series. Brescia would force a decisive game three as they took game two by a 8-1 score. Down 5-2 in the bottom of the ninth, with two men on base, Pena stepped up to the plate with two outs. He hit a deep fly to left field, which was caught on the warning track and the hard fought 2009 season came to an end. Englehardt was named as a NAIA All American Honorable Mention.
June
More success came from the Baseball team as Edwin Pena received an invitation to attend a tryout with the New York Yankees at the brand new New Yankee Stadium.
July
Baseball Pitcher Patrick Shanahan was selected to pitch for the Sag Harbor Whalers in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League.
August
Anthony Perry (Andover, MA), a former Fisher Baseball legend, had a career day for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Against the Newark Bears on August 21st, Perry went 2 for 3 with a double and two runs scored. He also played error less defense at first base as the Blue Crabs went on to win the game.
September
As the new school year began, so did a new chapter in Fisher Soccer. New Head Coach Ed Devereaux brought in a good recruiting class and they showed promise as they beat Sunrise Conference rival Paul Smiths College, 4-3, and then tied fellow conference opponent SUNY-Canton, 2-2. With a tough non-conference schedule, Fisher dropped its final 4 matches in the month.
October
Fisher Men's Soccer would win its 2nd game of the season, tying a program high, with an incredible last second win against College of Saint Joseph's, 2-1. With the game tied at 1, Fisher sent a cross toward the CSJ net. The ball bounced of a CSJ defender's leg and found the back of the net in the 89th minute.
November
To begin the month, the Fisher Basketball teams competed in the Hesser College Tournament. The Men's team took home the tournament title as they beat both Hesser College in the semis and Northern Maine CC in the finals. The women's team would fall to Briarcliffe College in the semis and then beat Hampshire College in the consolation.
On the 15th, Fisher Athletics celebrated its annual Fundraiser event. With the help of Major League Pitcher and World Series Champion Manny Delcarmen, Fisher Athletics held a triathlon at the Cottage Park Yacht Club in Winthrop, MA. This was not your normal triathlon, we substituted running, swimming and biking with bowling, darts and billiards. There was also the Manny Bowl in which contestants got a chance to bowl agianst Manny Delcarmen. To cap off the day, five former student-athletes were inducted into the Fisher College Athletics Hall of Fame. Those five inductees are Joey Eugenio '07, Kyle Van Offeran '07, Patrick Holland '07, and Marisa and Katilyn O'Leary '07.
Over the weekend of the 20th and 21st, the Fisher Men's Basketball team competed in the Roger Williams Tournament. In the opening game, Fisher fell just short of beating Trinity College . In the consolation game, the Men came out victorious over Lesley University. The Men closed out the month with a win over Nichols College.
December
The Men's Basketball team continued its winning ways, but it was not easy. They would win their first four games to start the month. In the Harold J. Brodie Tournament at Rochester Institute of Technology, Fisher was matched up against the host school. With 15 minutes left in the second half, the Men's Basketball team found themselves trailing by 22 points. Fisher would dig deep and go on an amazing 30 to 7 run to close the game and win 69-68. In the championship game, Fisher beat Fredonia State and was named Champions. They would go on to win their next game, at home versus MCLA, and end the first half of their season at 11-1. The best start in program history.
The women's team ended their first half of the season with an impressive win over Hesser College. Junior Tiffany Beckman (East Hartford, CT) scored 22 points in the victory.
With all that happened in 2009, Fisher College Athletics looks forward to a better and more successful 2010. We hope that you and your families have a safe and wonderful New Year and we hope to see you in 2010!
