Lake Placid, N.Y. - Behind a combination of six regular season and championship titles, Stony Brook finished second, its best finish ever, in the 2010 America East Stuart P. Haskell, Jr. Commissioner's Cup final standings. The conference announced the final standings at the Lake Placid Club Golf House earlier this week as part of its annual meetings. The Commissioner's Cup annually recognizes the strongest athletic program in the America East Conference as determined by a scoring system which rewards an institution for success during both the regular season and championship competition in the conference's 20 sports.Stony Brook (328 points) posted its highest finish since joining the America East in 2001 while Boston University (345 points) won the Cup for the fifth straight season. The Seawolves, whose 17-point margin from first place was the closest since Albany came within five points of the Cup in 2006-07, won regular-season titles in men's basketball and men's lacrosse, both program firsts. Also buoyed by conference championships in men's soccer, women's cross country, men's lacrosse and baseball, Stony Brook enjoyed its finest season since joining Division I in 1999.
"I am extremely proud of the efforts of our student-athletes, coaches and staff members who all contributed to our recent growth and development which ultimately culminated in a phenomenal year in the history of Stony Brook athletics," said Director of Athletics Jim Fiore. "While our success will never be defined solely by winning championships, as a department and university, we appreciate the opportunity to compete for the Commissioner's Cup and look forward to continuing to challenge for the top spot in the year's ahead."
The Stuart P. Haskell, Jr. Commissioner's Cup is named in honor of the first commissioner of the America East Conference. Haskell served as commissioner of the conference from 1987 until his retirement in 1997.
During the 2009-10 athletic year, Stony Brook achieved unprecedented success in all areas. Women's Cross Country won the conference title for the third straight year while the men's soccer team captured the America East title and earned a trip to the first round of the NCAA tournament before falling in overtime to Brown University. The football team, which is part of the Big South Conference, started the year by winning a championship in only its second season in the conference. Tyler Santucci (New Kensington, Pa.) was named Big South Defensive Player of the Year and Chuck Priore was named Coach of the Year. Seven players earned all-conference honors and Senior Chris Richards (Quartz Hill, Calif.) signed a contract with the Seattle Seahawks.
The basketball and lacrosse teams both enjoyed banner seasons as each advanced to the postseason. SBU hosted the University of Illinois in a postseason NIT game before a sold-out crowd of 4,400 at Stony Brook Arena. After defeating Denver in the first round, the Seawolves men's lacrosse team advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals where a standing room only crowd of more than 10,000 saw Stony Brook battle #1 University of Virginia before falling 10-9. Senior Muhammad El-Amin (Lansing, Mich.) and junior Kevin Crowley (New Westminster, British Columbia) were named America East Players of the Year in men's basketball and men's lacrosse respectively. Men's Basketball Head Coach Steve Pikiell and Lacrosse Head Coach Rick Sowell were honored as America East Coaches of the Year in their respective sports.
More than 50 Stony Brook student-athletes earned all-conference honors, including 14 first-team selections. Four men's lacrosse players - Crowley, Jordan McBride (New Westminster, British Columbia), Steven Waldeck (Levittown, N.Y.) and Tom Compitello (Hauppauge, N.Y.), one men's basketball player (El-Amin) and one baseball player William Carmona (Hempstead, N.Y.) were all named All-American. Crowley also won the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association's Lt. Raymond J. Enners Award, given to Division I's most outstanding player and he was a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award, given to the nation's most outstanding collegiate player. On the track, Junior twin sisters Holly and Lucy Van Dalen (Wanganui, New Zealand) completed a phenomenal year. After winning their third straight conference title as members of the cross country team, Holly advanced to the NCAA Indoor Championships, each won individual events at the prestigious Penn Relays and then qualified for the NCAA Outdoor National Championships.
Junior Stephen Marino (Lake Grove, N.Y.) won the America East's male sportsmanship award for demonstrating core values on a consistent basis and Senior Alyssa Struzenberg (Cooper City, Fla.) was named a finalist for the America East Woman of the Year award.
In the classroom, Stony Brook student-athletes also had a successful year earning numerous conference and national all-academic honors. As a collective group, Stony Brook student-athletes currently boast a cumulative gpa of 3.05.
