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Volleyball Championship Tops Siena's 2005 Top-10 Moments

Dec. 31, 2005

As we look forward to 2006, we pause to take a look back at some of the great moments Siena athletics achieved in 2005. From standout individual performances to landmark team accomplishments, it was great to be a Saint in 2005.

#10 Water Polo Wins Program Record Nine Games

The Siena water polo team won more games in 2005 then it did in its first three years of existence combined. The Saints finished the season with a 9-16 mark, but made strong moves with a solid out of conference showing. First year head coach Rob Swingle was named MAAC Co-Coach of the Year while sophomore Shanna Allen took home Offensive Player of the Year accolades. Freshman Caitlin Smith shared the MAAC Rookie of the Year award, as the future looks bright for Siena's up and coming water polo program.

#9 Baseball Team Wins 29 Games; Finishes Second in MAAC

Head baseball coach Tony Rossi was named MAAC Coach of the Year for a record sixth time in 2005 (sharing the award with Marist coach Joe Raccuia). Rossi led the surprising Saints to 29 wins and a 19-5 league record, good enough for second place in the 10-team league. Not much was expected from the Saints who were picked sixth in the MAAC Preseason Poll. Junior John Lannan posted a school record 10 wins (against two losses) and was named Second Team All-Northeast. Lannan was drafted following the 2005 season in the 11th Round by the Washington Nationals.

#8 Kojo Mensah Records Triple Double in Basketball Win Over UAlbany

Sophomore guard Kojo Mensah registered just the second triple double in the storied history of Siena's men's basketball program in the team's thrilling 82-74 overtime win against rival UAlbany on December 3. Mensah registered 20 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists and completed the triple double in regulation. It was the first triple double in all of college basketball this season. There were only two during the 2004-2005 campaign.

#7 Women's Basketball Season Opener with Maryland Sells Out the ARC

It started as just a dream. After scheduling ACC power Maryland, head coach Gina Castelli said she hoped the Saints could sellout their 2005 opener against the Terps. That proclamation at the start of the summer tipped off an aggressive marketing campaign that culminated with a record 3,780 fans in the Alumni Recreation Center to cheer on Siena's women's basketball team on November 18. Far and away the largest crowd to watch a women's game on campus, the attendance spoke to how far Castelli and the Saints had come. At halftime the athletic department honored its first women's basketball team, the 1974-75 squad along with some of the pioneers for the women's program.

#6 Women's Golf Wins Fifth Straight MAAC Title

The Siena women's golf team captured its fifth consecutive crown at the 2005 JetBlue Airways MAAC Golf Championship at the Magnolia Golf Course in Walt Disney World. The Saints shot 338 in the final round of their 54-hole tournament giving them a two-day total of 997. While rival, Fairfield finished round three with 340 points and a three-day total of 1018. Freshmen Melissa Agostinelli claimed the 2005 Women's McLeod award, which is presented to the MAAC individual champion.

#5 Milestone Wins for Castelli and Women's Program

The 2005 season saw two milestone victories for the Siena women's basketball program. On January 15, Gina Castelli registered her benchmark 250th win at home against Manhattan College. Castelli has led the Saints to at least a share of the MAAC regular-season title in seven of her 15 years as head coach. Seven times her teams have won at least 20 games. Earlier this season against the Jaspers on December 9, the women's basketball program recorded its 500th victory. Women's basketball began at Siena in 1974, and went Division I prior to the 1982-83 season.

#4 Women's Lacrosse Team Shares MAAC Title and Advances to Championship Game

Led by First Team All-MAAC selection sophomore Christina Pampalone, the Saints broke almost every team and individual record in the 10-year history of the women's lacrosse program. Most notable, the squad's record 11 wins (the old mark was 5) and 6-1 MAAC mark earned Siena a share of its initial MAAC regular-season title. Pampalone scored a school-record 50 goals including five in the Saints first round 12-9 win over LeMoyne College. A Championship game loss to rival Manhattan only temporarily slowed a Siena squad made up of 18 (out of 22) underclassmen. Pampalone was named Albany Times Union Siena Female Student-Athlete of the Year for her efforts. She was joined on the First Team by classmates Michelle Eide and Sarah Elloitt.

#3 Fran McCaffery Hired as Men's Basketball Head Coach

On April 1, 2005, Siena named Fran McCaffery its 14th men's basketball head coach in program history. McCaffery brings a proven track record of winning the right way to the Loudonville campus. In his previous stints as a head coach at Lehigh and UNC-Greensboro, McCaffery guided each program to the NCAA Tournament. Each of the programs also boasted a 100% graduation rate during his tenure. McCaffery inherited a Siena team that set a program record with 24 losses last season and was picked last in nearly every preseason conference poll. In just nine games coached, McCaffery has already helped recapture the excitement of Siena basketball and has fans excited about both the present and future status of the Siena program. The overachieving Saints reeled off four straight wins in early December, including wins over defending MAAC Champion Niagara (on the road) and preseason AmericaEast choice UAlbany. The Saints finished the 2005 portion of their schedule with an encouraging 5-4 record.

#2 Brian Bigley Wins MAAC Golf Individual Championship

Bigley started his record-setting performance by firing an incomparable 66 in his first round of the 2005 jetBlue Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Men's Golf Championship at the Magnolia Golf Course at Walt Disney World in Orlando. That score was the best single round in MAAC Tournament history. The then-sophomore followed that effort up with a 72 on Saturday and a 73 on Sunday, shattering the MAAC Tournament record with a three-day total of 211 in capturing the 2005 Scott McLeod Award for low men's individual score. Bigley kept the Saints in contention until the final day before the team succumbed to Loyola by six points. Siena finished second in the nine team field and has visions of a MAAC Championship with Bigley and the majority of its top five returning this spring.

#1 Volleyball Team Wins MAAC Championship

After a 10-year hiatus, the Saints ran off nine straight wins at the end of the 2005 season climaxing with the program's fourth MAAC Championship. Not much was expected from a Siena team that was picked ninth in the Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, but third year head coach Garvey Pierre guided the upstart Saints to a second place finish in regular-season play and a Championship game upset of top-seeded Fairfield in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Freshman April London was a big reason for the Saints' success. London was named MAAC Rookie of the Year and MAAC co-Setter of the Year after establishing a school record with nearly 11 assists per game. Sophomore Nadiege Honore set Siena's kills per game single-season mark and was named First Team All-MAAC. Junior Christie Gustafson was selected to the MAAC Second Team. The Saints senior class of Liz Hubbard and Christa Glenn also played a key role in then team advancing to play eventual National Champion Washington in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament in Fort Collins, Colo.

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Players Mentioned

Melissa Agostinelli

Melissa Agostinelli

5' 5"
Junior
Christa Glenn

#4 Christa Glenn

OH
5' 11"
Senior
Christie Gustafson

#3 Christie Gustafson

OH
6' 0"
Junior
Nadiege Honore

#6 Nadiege Honore

OH
6' 0"
Sophomore
Liz Hubbard

#15 Liz Hubbard

MB
6' 1"
Senior
April London

#20 April London

S
5' 10"
Freshman
Caitlin Smith

#10 Caitlin Smith

Utility
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Melissa Agostinelli

Melissa Agostinelli

5' 5"
Junior
Christa Glenn

#4 Christa Glenn

5' 11"
Senior
OH
Christie Gustafson

#3 Christie Gustafson

6' 0"
Junior
OH
Nadiege Honore

#6 Nadiege Honore

6' 0"
Sophomore
OH
Liz Hubbard

#15 Liz Hubbard

6' 1"
Senior
MB
April London

#20 April London

5' 10"
Freshman
S
Caitlin Smith

#10 Caitlin Smith

Sophomore
Utility