2008-09 Highlights

The 2008-09 varsity athletic season was highlighted by the success of the women's swimming & diving team, which won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, and the wrestling team, which sent four Broncs to Nationals and came home with an All-American.

The swimming & diving program produced a National-qualifying diver (junior Amanda Burke) and the Most Outstanding Performers, male (sophomore Drew Modrov) and female (senior Priscilla Modrov), at both the MAAC and the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships, as well as the MAAC and ECAC Coach of the Year (Steve Fletcher).

Burke placed 10^th at the USA Nationals in the one-meter dive and 11^th in three-meter dive, as well as 20^th at the NCAA Championships in one-meter and 24^th in three-meter competition. Senior Ericka Kriedel won a gold medal at the MAAC championships in the 200 free relay and obtained a Teaching Fulbright Scholarship to Thailand upon graduation. Priscilla Modrov was honored as a CoSIDA Academic All-America finalist as a First Team All-District selection.

The men's swimming & diving team won 10 events at the MAAC Championships to place runner-up, with Modrov and senior Josh Rosenbluth each winning five gold medals (two relays) and sophomore CJ Kohner winning a pair of individual events.

The wrestling team came home from the NCAA Division I Championships with its 13^th All-American in the last 30 years, third place finisher Doug Umbehauer. Junior Ed Bordas was a Colonial Athletic Association Champion for the second year in a row, leading the Broncs to a third place finish behind a pair of national top-20 teams.

The field hockey team got the year off on the right foot in the fall, advancing to the Northeast Conference Championship Game for the eighth time in the last nine years. Goalkeeper Lyndsie Johnson was named a Second Team Longstreth/NFHCA Mid-Atlantic Regional All-American and was named to the NEC All-Tournament team. Freshman Virginia Egusquiza of Spain, the NEC Rookie of the Year and First Team All-NEC pick, was one of 23 athletes selected to try out for the Junior World Cup Games as a member of the Spanish 21 years old and under team.

The women's cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field teams enjoyed a fine year, with all three teams finishing runner-up in their respective MAAC Championships. A best-ever three Broncs (senior Megan Crowe, senior Kelly Wojciehowski and freshman Heather Giovagnoli) earned All-MAAC cross country honors by finishing in the top 15 in the Championship race. With six MAAC All-Academic team members, the women's cross country team was honored by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association as a 2008 NCAA Division I All-Academic Team, compiled a team grade point average of 3.228.

On the track, senior Kelly Kajunski and junior Alicia Price competed at the NCAA Outdoor East Regional at North Carolina A&T. Kajunski placed third in the high jump (5'10" tying own Rider record) at the ECAC Championships to earn All-East honors for the eighth time in her career.

In the men's program, the cross country team received public recognition from the NCAA for the Academic Progress Rate and the track & field teams produced two indoor champions (senior Marcellus Manning- 55m hurdles and sophomore Brian Leggett-pole vault) and two outdoor champions (Manning-110m hurdles and sophomore John Clark-discus), as the outdoor squad placed second in the MAAC Championships, held once again at Rider.

The men's basketball team advanced to the MAAC semi-finals before losing in double overtime, and was selected to play in the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. The cagers compiled 58 wins over the last three years, the most ever at Rider. Senior Ryan Thompson was named to the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association First Team and to the Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major All-America team, as well as earning First Team All-MAAC. Novar Gadson was named the Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Freshman of the Year and to the Collegeinsider.com Freshman Mid-Major All-America team.

The baseball team qualified for the MAAC Championship Tournament for the second year in a row and the seventh time in 12 years in the league. The Broncs were led by the New Jersey Division I Player of the Year, Second Team All-East selection senior Sean Olson, and last year's NJ D I Player of the Year, senior James Hayes. Olson set Rider records for RBI in a season and in a career, while Hayes graduates with Rider career records for hits, runs scored, stolen bases and saves, and was drafted by the Atlanta Braves as a pitcher. Hayes is the second Bronc to be drafted in the last four years and fifth Rider baseball player in the last seven years to play professionally.