May 17, 2010
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - Siena College said goodbye to three transcendent student-athletes at commencement on Sunday. They combined for seven NCAA Tournament appearances across three different sports and made a lasting footprint on Siena's national growth. Volleyball's Burgandy McCurty, men's basketball's Alex Franklin and men's lacrosse's Brent Herbst made significant contributions to Siena and will all leave their home of the past four years, their teammates, friends and the Siena community for the real world that waits at their feet.
McCurty, a three-time MAAC Offensive Player of the Year, ranked second in the nation in kills per set (5.37) this past season. She rewrote the Siena volleyball record book and was an integral part of the program's dynasty in the MAAC. But McCurty, who graduated with a 3.36 GPA in accounting and will go for her master's degree next year, struggled with her grades when she arrived as a freshman.
"It was a learning experience," McCurty said. "Both academically and as a person. I started out fast athletically as a freshman but I've matured over my four years and that showed academically. I feel like I'm a better person."
After four years of dominating the MAAC volleyball league, McCurty decided to continue playing at the Division I level and walked-on to the women's lacrosse team. She helped the Saints to their first MAAC Tournament appearance since 2005 and second in program history.
On the basketball court, Franklin has been a superstar during the program's most successful run and wrapped up his career as MAAC Player of the Year and Tournament MVP. He won three straight MAAC Championships and along with classmates Edwin Ubiles and Ronald Moore, brought national recognition to Siena through their success in the Big Dance. Through all of the wins and championships and the constant media attention, Franklin says it's the fans that he'll miss the most.
"They showed a lot of support and that's something not a lot of programs have," he said.
Franklin's unique blend of power, speed and quickness distinguished him from other post players around the league and created matchup problems for major conference teams. He ranks in the program's top-5 all-time for points (5th-1,730), rebounds (3rd-923) and field goal percentage (4th-.567). He hopes to continue playing the sport he loves at the next level, either with the NBA or professionally overseas.
Herbst, the lacrosse team's starting goalie the last four years, has been at the forefront of the biggest turnaround in Siena athletics history. Before he arrived, the program last finished with a winning record in 1983. He finished his career with a 44-23 record and led the Saints to their first MAAC Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2009.
"[This experience] has been unbelievable," Herbst said. "I had the opportunity to help turn a program around and start a winning tradition."
Herbst is the second Siena men's lacrosse player to be named All-American and was a 2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award finalist. He has ranked in the top-4 in the country in both goals-against average and save percentage the last three years. He has professional lacrosse on his mind with Major League Lacrosse's collegiate draft approaching this summer and is currently applying for the marine corp.
A common theme all three Saints talk about is the Siena community.
"This is a family," McCurty said. "It feels like home and I'm going to miss that because it's not going to be like that everywhere you go."
"It's a close knit community," Herbst said. "Amongst the athletes, you have relationships with other teams and it's very supportive. The support of the entire school has been great."
"I had a great experience at Siena," Franklin said. "It was more than I could have ever expected."
