Siena University Athletics

Mission Statement | About Siena Athletics

SIENA UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ATHLETICS AND RECREATION
MISSION STATEMENT
 
The Athletic Department will provide a dynamic environment in which its student athletes can live, learn, and compete while providing competitive and recreational opportunities to the campus community
 
Core Values
1. Community
The athletic department will provide opportunities in which student athletes can share in the Franciscan values of Siena through its Saints in the Community program. The department recognizes the unique place Siena athletics holds in the Capital Region and that it has a responsibility to share its major varsity sports teams with the community.

2. Inclusivity
Athletics will prioritize the competitive opportunities it offers the student athletes in an equitable and strategic manner. The department will provide recreational and intramural opportunities to all members of the community to enhance their experience beyond the classroom.
 
3. Integrity
The athletic department will win the right way. Success achieved by taking short cuts or operating outside prescribed requirements-NCAA, Conference, University policy--is a hollow success. As a staff our actions and attitude will serve as examples to our students and teach them that any success worth having should be done the right way.

4. Student  Athlete Centered
The department's services and efforts will be centered on the student athletes. The department will provide opportunities to assist student athletes in their athletic, academic and personal development.

About Siena Athletics...

Since Siena's founding in 1937, athletics have played an important role in the development of its students and community.

In 1976, Siena's athletics program was elevated to NCAA Division I status. With that move, the University committed itself to upgrading its program and making all teams competitive. After stops in the ECAC Metro and North Atlantic Conference, Siena moved to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in 1989, where it has made its mark.

Nickname/Mascot Timeline
1938: Wolves (Men's Basketball)
1939-40: Golden Warriors (Men's Basketball)
1940: Mohawks
Late 1940-1988: Indians
1989-present: Saints 

The Program

Siena has won 51 MAAC Championships since joining the MAAC. 

Take a look at some of the accomplishments...

Men's Basketball

• 2021 MAAC Regular Season Co-Champions
• 2020 MAAC Regular Season & Tournament Champions
• 2014 College Basketball Invitational Champions
• Seven MAAC Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances
• Three NCAA Tournament victories (1989 vs. Stanford, 2008 vs. Vanderbilt and 2009 vs. Ohio State)
• Six Postseason NIT appearances, including 1994 semifinals at Madison Square Garden
• Edwin Ubiles became the first former Saint to play in an NBA game, appearing for the Washington Wizards during the 2011-12 season
• Jalen Pickett (played from 2018-2021 with Siena) was drafted by the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Draft with the 32nd overall pick in the second round.
• There are currently 11 former student-athletes playing basketball overseas professionally (as of November 2024)
• Tay Fisher '08 recently wrapped up an 11-year career playing for the Harlem Globetrotters
• O.D. Anosike '13 led the nation in rebounding in 2011-12 and 2012-13 and Ronald Moore `10 led the country in assists in 2010
• Team finished with a perfect 14-0 record at the Times Union Center and captured its first MAAC Regular Season title in a decade during the 2019-20 season
• Manny Camper '21 named the 2020-21 MAAC Player of the Year and was the program's first-ever finalist and First Team All-American selection for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award

Men's Lacrosse

• Four MAAC Championships and NCAA Tournament Appearances
• Ranked nationally on three separate weeks in the 2025 USILA Coaches Poll including a No. 20 ranking in the week 13 edition on May 5 as well as five consecutive weeks in the KANE Inside Lacrosse D1 Media Poll
• Won 87 games over a seven-year span from 2007-14, which tied for the eighth-most in NCAA DI over that time and included the program's first two wins over USILA Top-20 opponents 
• Finished the 2011 season ranked No. 20 nationally in both major polls
• Won four consecutive MAAC Regular Season Championships from 2009-12 and six overall in span of nine seasons
• Brent Herbst '10 became first Siena lacrosse player to be drafted by Major League Lacrosse
• Bryan Neufeld '12 was a two-time All-American Honorable Mention and capped his career with 156 goals - the most of any Division I player from the Class of 2012
• Boasted at least one candidate for prestigious Senior CLASS Award over a six year period from 2010-15, with seven candidates in total, including Tom Morr '12 as one of 10 national finalists
• Casey Dowd '15 graduated ranking tied for fifth all-time in NCAA Division I history in ground balls (472) and sixth in face offs won (772)
• Earned team NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) awards for holding a team GPA within the top 10 percent of all programs for the 2015-16 & 2016-17 seasons
• Pratt Reynolds '25 and Ryan McCarthy '25 became the first pair of teammates in Siena Men's Lacrosse history to be named USILA Division I Scholar All-American in the same season
• Program was one of 35 Division I programs to be recognized with the 2025 USILA Team Academic Award
• Christopher Yanchoris '22, G'23 earned USILA Division I Scholar All-American honors following the 2022 season and was the first in program history to do so in back-to-back seasons in 2023
• Have made four consecutive appearances in at least the MAAC Semifinals round or better (2022-Present)

Women's Basketball

• First MAAC Women's Basketball program to win three games in a national postseason tournament, advancing to the 2015 Women's Basketball Invitational Championship
• 2001 MAAC Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance
• Seven regular-season MAAC Championships
• Four WNIT appearances
• Tehresa Coles '15 was named the MAAC honoree for the 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year Award and Lily Grenci '13 was tabbed a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award
• Kollyns Scarbrough '18 was named the MAAC nominee for the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year and received First Team All-MAAC honors during her senior season
• Earned team NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) awards for holding a team GPA within the top 10 percent of all programs four times, most recently in 2017-18
• Posted back-to-back winning seasons and its best MAAC regular season finish in six years during the 2023-24 season, culminating in a second straight trip to the MAAC Semifinals
• Posted its best MAAC regular season record in back-to-back seasons in 2023-2024 (14-6, .700; 3rd ) as well as in 2024-25 (14-6, .700; 3rd) since the 2003-2004 season (13-5, .722; 1st)

Volleyball

• Record nine MAAC Championships, including four straight from 2005-08
• Five NCAA Tournament appearances
• Taylor Akana '14 and Lesli Akeo '13 were named MAAC honorees in consecutive years for both the NCAA Woman of the Year and Senior CLASS Awards
• Earned team NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) awards for holding a team GPA within the top 10 percent of all programs five times, most recently in 2017-18
• Program won its 700th match during the 2023 season 

Baseball

• Defeated Dallas Baptist 9-8 (10) in the 2014 Fort Worth Regional for program's first NCAA Tournament win
• Five MAAC Championships, reached title game four times in a five-year span
• 1999 and 2014 NCAA Tournament appearances
• 56 players have signed professional contracts including 38 who have inked contracts with MLB teams.  
• Siena has boasted 26 MLB Draft picks -- including 18 since 1996 - and five top-10 Round selections overall
• John Lannan '06 pitched in the Major Leagues for the Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets
• Dan Paolini was drafted in the 10th Round of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners after setting the MAAC all-time home run record (54) in just three seasons and earning All-American honors as a sophomore and junior
• At of the conclusion of the 2024 season, four former Saints are currently playing professional baseball, including Brendan White, who became the sixth Saint to debut in the major leagues on June 14, 2023, doing so with the Detroit Tigers.

Men's Golf

• Won back-to-back MAAC Championships (2024 and 2023) 
• NCAA Stanford Regional (2024) and Auburn Regional (2023) Participants
• Michael McConie set program record for individual low single-round of a 70 in a NCAA Tournament
• Captured the 2016 MAAC Championship to advance to the NCAA Tuscon Regional
• Six MAAC Championships and five NCAA Tournament appearances
• Five McLeod Trophy (MAAC Individual Medalist) winners and two modern NCAA Regional individual qualifiers 
• Don DeNyse III '11 won the MAAC individual championship in 2011 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament
• Michael Christafulli '18 won the MAAC individual title in 2018 and competed at the NCAA Stockton Regional
• Posted unblemished multi-year NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores of 1,000 in latest report for a second consecutive year
• Earned team NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) awards for holding a team GPA within the top 10 percent of all programs seven times

Women's Golf

• Won 13 of 15 MAAC Tournament Championships between 2001-2014 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2012 and 2014
• 11 McLeod Trophy (MAAC Individual Medalist) winners
• Kylie Strijek '14 won the 2014 MAAC Individual Championship
• Three MAAC Rookie of the Year recipients
• Earned team NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) awards for holding a team GPA within the top 10 percent of all programs 11 times

Women's Lacrosse

• 12 MAAC Tournament appearances, including four MAAC Championship game appearances (three in the last six seasons)
• Claimed a share of the 2005 and 2022 MAAC Regular Season Championships
• Set the program record for wins in a season (13) during the 2024 season
• Earned first victory over an IWLCA Top-25 ranked opponent with a 12-11 win against then #18 Army West Point on Feb. 17, 2024
• Earned a program-record eight All-MAAC selections including three First Teamers, one Second Team selection and four onto the All-Rookie Team in 2024
• Posted second-best one-year turnaround in the nation from 2018 to 2019
• Grace Dobrzynski ’25 became the 21^st Academic All-American in Siena Athletics history, was a repeat winner as the Siena Athletics Female Student Athlete of the Year and the grand collegiate winner for the Capital District Sports Woman of the Year
• Annie Brennan '21 and Nicole McNeely '21, named nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year award over back-to-back seasons in 2021-22
• McNeely was named the MAAC Offensive Player of the Year for 2022 and won the 2021-22 Siena Female Student Athlete of the Year award

Softball

• Set program-record for most wins in a season with 36 in 2025
• Won program's first MAAC Softball Championship by defeating No. 4 Canisius 7-6 on May 11, 2024 as a No. 6 seed
• Reached the NCAA Tournament Austin Regional and played against No. 1 Texas and Saint Francis (PA)
• Have won at least 32 games in four consecutive seasons from 2022-2025
• Advanced to the MAAC Championship Game for the first time ever in 2022
• Won first MAAC regular-season title in 2013 
• Posted seven consecutive 20-win seasons from 2011-17
• Shannon Jones '13 was named the MAAC Co-Player of the Year in 2012 and a Senior CLASS Award Candidate in 2013
• Jessika-Jo Sandrini '14 became the first player in school history, in 2012 and 2013, to be named to two All-MAAC teams; she was a First Team selection as both a pitcher (2014) and a hitter (2012 and 2013)
• Madysen Cossack '19 led the nation in doubles per-game in 2017, was a 2019 Senior CLASS candidate and captured MAAC Player of the Year honors in 2017 & 2019
• Ava Fitzmaurice G'23 named the program's first NFCA First Team All-Region selection following the 2023 season
• Earned team NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) awards for holding a team GPA within the top 10 percent of all programs for the 2016-17 season

Swimming and Diving

• Won second ECAC Championship in 2025 while head coach Maggie Davenport was named the Coach of the Meet 
• Hope Ivanovich ’27 became a two-time MAAC Champion, winning both the 100-meter and 200-meter butterfly in program record times at the 2025 MAAC Swimming & Diving Championships. Her 100-meter time was also a MAAC record. 
• Placed top-3 at the ECAC Winter Championships in three straight years from 2013-15, capped off by winning the 2015 ECAC Championship
• Swam to a second place finish at the 2003 MAAC Championships
• Earned team NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) awards for holding a team GPA within the top 10 percent of all programs for the 2014-15 season
• Kelsey Helin '15 was named the Female Walk-on Athlete of the Year by College Swimming and Diving Honors
• Brittany Pavolko '11 was an academic All-District selection in 2011 after winning two MAAC titles and breaking the individual record in the 100 and 200 fly
• Katie Carew '12 was the MAAC's national representative on the NCAA Student Athlete Advisory Committee. She was the league's female nominee for the 2011 NCAA Sportsmanship award.
• Lydia DeLano '23 won the ECAC 3-Meter Diving Championship, was named the ECAC Diver of the Meet in December 2019 & the MAAC Rookie Diver of the Meet in 2020; Delano was named Siena's Female Rookie of the Year for the 2019-20 year
• Abigail Sheridan '22 invited to participate in the prestigious NCAA Leadership Training in 2021
• Talia Spenziero '24 captured the 2023 MAAC One-Meter Diving title for the program's first individual MAAC Championship in 12 years; Spenziero and Delano qualified for and participated in 2023 NCAA Diving Zone Regionals
• Spenziero '24 doubled as a NCAA Woman of the Year nominee and a Capital District Sports Women of the Year award recipient in 2024

Men's Soccer

• Defeated three NSCAA Top-25 opponents in four seasons - No. 23 Boston University in 2014 and No. 15 Ohio State and No. 16 Iona in 2011
• For two consecutive weeks in mid-September 2014 received votes in the NSCAA Top-25 Poll with a peak of 24 votes on Sept. 16 which marked the 32nd highest total in the nation
• Jannis Opakla '13 & James Beeston '14 were both candidates for the Senior CLASS Award
• Finished second in the MAAC three times (2008, 2010, 2012), equaling the program's highest league finish
• Earned team NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) awards for holding a team GPA within the top 10 percent of all programs for the 2017-18 season
• Jacob Sandun Arachchige-Jensen was named the MAAC Rookie of the Year, Siena Male Rookie of the Year, and became the first Siena freshman ever to earn First Team All-MAAC honors in 2021
• Team boasted four First Team All-MAAC honorees and saw goalkeeper Greg Monroe '22, G'23 honored as the league's top keeper with the "Golden Glove" award
• Set a program-record with seven student-athletes who earned All-MAAC honors highlighted by Dren Dobruna, who became the fifth player in program history to be named the MAAC Rookie of the Year and just the second ever to do so while also being named to the All-MAAC First Team

Women's Soccer

• 2021 MAAC Tournament Champions and NCAA First Round Participants
• Took home the MAAC Regular Season Title for the first time ever in 2021
• Head Coach Steve Karbowski named the 2021 MAAC Coach of the Year, while goalkeeeper Leslie Adams won MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year and Brianna Montinard took home MAAC Defensive Player of the Year
• Captured its first MAAC Championship in 2010 and made its first NCAA Women's College Cup appearance
• Became the first No. 6 seed in MAAC history to win the conference championship in 2015, advancing to its second NCAA Tournament appearance 
• Started the 2010 season 12-0-0, ranking No. 25 nationally in the Soccer America poll and standing as the last undefeated, untied team in Division I
• Tabitha Tice '11 was named the MAAC Honoree for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award in 2011 and Anna Grant '15 was named a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award in 2014
• Held a 15-game home unbeaten streak from 2009-11 and a 20-game non-league home win streak from 2007-12 (18-0-2)
• Earned the NSCAA Team Academic Award each of the past 18 seasons
• Taylor Dorado '19 was named a 2019 Senior CLASS Award Candidate and graduated as the program's all-time leader in goalkeeper matches played, starts, minutes played and shutouts, while ranking second in wins and third in saves
• Featured a program-record 16 players on the 2019 MAAC All-Academic Team
• Earned team NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) awards for holding a team GPA within the top 10 percent of all programs for the 2013-14, 2015-16, 2022-23 and the 2023-24 seasons
• Catherine Rogers became the fifth Saint to earn MAAC Rookie of the Year honors in 2024 was the lone freshman to earn a spot on the 11-member MAAC First Team

Cross Country / Track & Field

• Both cross country programs posted top-4 finishes at the MAAC Cross Country Championships in each of the last seven years, with the men finishing as the runners-up in 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2023 while the women did so in 2020-21, 2021, and 2022
• Olivia Lomascolo '22, G'23 won the 2022 MAAC Women's Cross Country individual title, was named the 2022 MAAC Women's Cross Country Most Outstanding Runner, won the 2023 MAAC Indoor Track 3k and the 2023 MAAC Outdoor Track 5k titles; She became the first Siena female to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Track East First Round, was named the 2022-23 Siena Female Student Athlete of the Year, and was selected as one of the 2023 Capital District Sports Women of the Year 
• Brandon Olden '23 completed a three-peat of MAAC titles in the 10k at the 2023 MAAC Outdoor Track Championships and qualified for the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Track East First Round
• The Siena’s Women’s Distance Relay team of Claire Gardner ’25, Keira Flaherty ’25, Jennifer McClintock ’25 and Mattingly O’Rourke ‘25 won the 2025 MAAC Indoor Track and Field Championships to help the team earn that title for a third consecutive season
• Keira Flaherty ’25 won the one-mile race at the MAAC Indoor Track & Field Championships while Claire Gardner ’25 earned victory in the 800-meter event         
• Both the men's and women's distance medley relay teams won MAAC titles at the 2023 MAAC Indoor Track Championships
• Olden won the 2021 IC4A Cross Country Championship, as well as the 3k and 5k individual titles at the 2022 IC4A Indoor Track Championships, and was named the IC4A Male Most Outstanding Performer 
• Olden and Lomascolo each won the MAAC 3k individual championships at the 2022 MAAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, while Olden (10k), Tommy Anderson '23 (3000 steeplechase), and Aidan Gillooley '23 (5k) won individual titles at the 2022 MAAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships
• Olden was named the 2021-22 Siena Male Student Athlete of the Year
• Olden became the first Saint in 40 years to qualify for the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in March 2021
• Olden captured the Men's 10k MAAC Title at the 2021 MAAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships
• Seniors Evans Kibet '20 and Sydney Johnson '20 were named Siena's Male & Female Student Athletes of the Year, respectively, while Gillooley was named the Male Rookie of the Year for the 2019-20 year
• Sarah Forman '19 was named Siena's Female Athlete of the Year following the 2018-19 school year and set the program record for the women's 5k during her senior campaign
• Kelly Pasko '17 was named a Junior All-American after running ninth at the 2014 Junior Women's Nationals 6K race 
• Siena hosted the 2018 and 2022 MAAC Cross Country Championships at The Crossings of Colonie nearby campus 
• Keira Flaherty logged a new program indoor record time of 2:14.80 to claim the individual MAAC title in the women's 800-meter in the 2024 Indoor Track and Field Championships
• Gabby DeAngelis, Julia Caputo, Claire Gardner and Flaherty claimed victory in the 4x800 relay at the 2024 MAAC Indoor Track and Field Championships
• Earned team NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) awards for holding a team GPA within the top 10 percent of all programs 25 times, including seven for men's XC, five for men's track, eight for women's XC and five for women's track. 

Men's Tennis

• 2023 MAAC Champions and NCAA Tournament participants for the first time ever  
• Oscar Martinez become the second Saint in program history to be named the MAAC Player of the Year in 2024-2025
• Dante Russo named the 2022-23 MAAC Men's Tennis Player of the Year and the 2022-23 Siena Male Student Athlete of the Year
• Edward Vo named the 2022-23 MAAC Men's Tennis Rookie of the Year and the 2022-23 Siena Male Rookie of the Year 
• Jose Pablo Davila named the 2023 MAAC Tournament MVP
• Set the program record for wins in a season with 14 and clinched a berth in the MAAC Championships for the first time in over a decade in 2021-22
• Highest cumulative GPA for any Siena men's team over the past five years
• Earned team NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) awards for holding a team GPA within the top 10 percent of all programs in 12 consecutive reports (2007-2019)
• Oscar Martinez became the third Saint to be named the MAAC Rookie of the Year, represented Venezuela at the Davis Cup during the summer of 2024 and won the inaugural MAAC Masters Tournament Championships in the fall of 2024 to qualify for the ITA Conference Masters Tournament in Rome, Ga
• Three men's tennis players named Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars in 2019 and a Siena record five in 2020

Women's Tennis

• 2021-22 MAAC Regular Season Co-Champions, marking the second regular season title in program history (2005-06)
• 2021 MAAC Champions and NCAA First Round Participants
• Megan Brown named the 2021 MAAC Tournament MVP
• 2006 MAAC Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance
• Laia Giralt and Manuela Gomez claimed the inaugural MAAC Masters Tournament Doubles Championship by qualify for the ITA Conference Masters Tournament in Rome, GA
• Alexa Wilson '24 was selected to represent Siena for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award
• Earned team NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) awards for holding a team GPA within the top 10 percent of all programs in 11 consecutive seasons (2007-2018)

Water Polo

• Qualified for the MAAC Championship in 2008 & 2010
• Earned team NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) awards for holding a team GPA within the top 10 percent of all programs five times, most recently during 2015-16 season
• Diana Fernandez '20 was a three-time All-MAAC honoree, two time ACWPC All-American Honorable Mention honoree, and was Siena's nominee for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year Award
• Georgia Vargas '22 was named the Water Polo Sport Winner as an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar and was one of the MAAC's nominees for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award in 2022
• Posted the first winning record in program history (7-6) and set program marks for most goals and margin of victory in a 27-5 victory over Connecticut College in 2020
• Defeated a ranked opponent for the first time in program history with a victory over #25 Iona in 2021
• Catherine Williamson was named the 2024 MAAC Water Polo Rookie of the Year as well as being named to the All-MAAC Second Team