2010 was a banner year for Stony Brook Athletics, and now you the fans get to choose which moment was your favorite. The department has compiled its 10-best moments of 2010, and the most voted on moment will be crowned the top Seawolves Moment of the Year.
Below are descriptions of each moment, ranging from All-American performances to hosting postseason games on the Stony Brook campus. Voting begins today and will run until Jan. 2. Then visit GoSeawolves.org after the New Year holiday to see which moment will be declared the Seawolves Moment of the Year.
Baseball defeats NC State for its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory
The Seawolves, having won their third America East championship, were looking to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament. After suffering an opening game loss to host Coastal Carolina, the Seawolves were matched up with North Carolina State in an elimination game. Stony Brook wasted no time as six of the first seven batters reached base and scored to put the Seawolves on top 6-0. Sophomore starter Tyler Johnson did the rest as he pitched eight innings and allowed only two runs on six hits while striking out 10. The Seawolves won 6-2, earning their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory.
Football beats Gardner-Webb to clinch second straight Big South championship
The Seawolves made it two straight conference championships with a convincing 55-3 win over Gardner-Webb at LaValle Stadium. Junior tailback Brock Jackolski scored three touchdowns three different ways (rushing, receiving, kick return) and freshman Davonte Anderson picked off three Gardner-Webb passes. Jackolski finished with 256 all-purpose yards to lead the Seawolves. A dominant force in the conference, Stony Brook is now 13-4 all-time in the Big South with two conference championships.
Glenn Dubin donates $4.3 million for the construction of a new strength & conditioning center
Stony Brook alum Glenn Dubin '78 made the largest private donation ever to an athletics department within the SUNY system when he committed $4.3 million to the Seawolves for the construction of a new strength & conditioning center that will be named the Dubin Family Athletic Performance Center. The new center will be an 8,000 square-foot facility within the Indoor Sports Complex and is scheduled for completion in fall 2011. The new strength and conditioning facility will include weightlifting racks, dumbbell sets, Olympic platforms, a cardio fitness area, space for plyometric exercises and an office for the strength and conditioning staff.
Kevin Crowley named Stony Brook's first-ever first-team All-American
Crowley had one of the best seasons ever in Stony Brook men's lacrosse history. The junior midfielder from New Westminster, British Columbia produced 51 goals and 26 assists with the 51 goals setting a new Seawolves single-season record. He was already named unanimous America East Player of the Year and a finalist for the Tewaarton Award, but he capped it by becoming the first Stony Brook student-athlete in any sport to earn first-team All-America honors.
Lucy and Holly Van Dalen both earn All-America honors in outdoor track and cross country
The Van Dalen sisters had a big 2010 for the Seawolves. In June, Holly finished seventh in the 5,000 at the NCAA Outdoor Championship with a school-record time of 16:06.77 to become an All-American. One day later, Lucy placed eighth in the 1,500 to also earn All-America honors. The pair then dominated the cross country scene, finishing No. 1 and No. 2 at the America East Championship and NCAA Regionals and then becoming All-Americans with a sixth (Lucy) and seventh place (Holly) finish at the NCAA Championship in Terre Haute, Ind.
Men's Basketball beats Vermont to win America East regular season championship
In front of a sold-out Pritchard Gymnasium and the America East regular season championship on the line, the Seawolves came out firing against Vermont, scoring 15 of the game's first 18 points. From there, the Seawolves built a 19-point lead and held off a late Vermont rally to win 82-78 and clinch the title. It was Stony Brook men's basketball's first-ever regular season title and completed an incredible two-year comeback that saw the Seawolves go from a 3-13 record in 2008 to a 13-3 record in 2010. Muhammad El-Amin scored a team-high 23 points, and Dallis Joyner chipped in a career-high 20 to lead Stony Brook to its most important victory in program history.
Men's Basketball hosts Illinois in the NIT in front of a sold-out Stony Brook Arena crowd
Despite coming up short in the America East Tournament, Stony Brook men's basketball still earned its first-ever postseason appearance with a berth into the NIT. What was even more incredible was the fact that the Seawolves were charged with hosting Big Ten member and top-seed Illinois in the first round. Despite only three days notice, the Seawolves packed a Stony Brook Arena record 4,423 fans into the gym to witness Seawolves history. The raucous crowd that looked more like a sea of red saw the Seawolves jump out to a 7-0 lead, only further energizing the plethora of Seawolves fans in attendance. Although Stony Brook ultimately lost to the Fighting Illini, the Seawolves clearly had a tremendous home court advantage that was there to support a team that had been making school history all season long.
Men's Lacrosse hosts Virginia in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals in front of a sold-out LaValle Stadium crowd
The men's lacrosse team, enjoying a tremendous 2010 season, had already won the America East Championship and had beaten Denver on its home field in the NCAA Tournament first round. However, now No. 1 seed Virginia was coming to town to play in the quarterfinals. In front of a standing room only crowd of 10,024, the Seawolves gave the Cavaliers everything they could handle in a 10-9 loss. Stony Brook trailed by four in the first half, but the Seawolves battled back to tie the game. It was tied 8-8 with five minutes to go, but Virginia scored twice to pull away. Despite the defeat, Stony Brook finished the season with a 13-4 mark and was No. 8 in the final national rankings.
Muhammad El-Amin named America East Player of the Year
Senior guard Muhammad El-Amin was a scoring machine for the Seawolves, who went 22-10 for its best Division I season ever. The Lansing, Mich., native scored 517 points on the season, a Stony Brook Division I record, and averaged 16.7 points per game. During America East play, El-Amin amped up his scoring to 19.1 points per game. He scored in double figures in 27 of 31 games and scored 20-plus points in 11 games. He sealed his award with a 23-point performance against Vermont in the game that ultimately decided the America East regular season championship.
Women's Cross Country finishes seventh at the NCAA Championship
In what was Stony Brook's best-ever performance at a national championship event, the women's cross country team finished seventh in the nation at the 2010 NCAA Women's Cross Country Championship in Terre Haute, Ind., placing ahead of schools like Syracuse, Arizona, Oregon, Stanford and North Carolina. The Seawolves were led by twin sisters Lucy and Holly Van Dalen, who finished sixth and seventh, respectively, to earn All-America honors. Also contributing to the incredible finish were Annie Keown, Hayley Green, Olivia Burne, Kristal Conklin and Carolina Cortes.
