CONTACT: Jeff Foley (518) 629-8085 or (518) 373-1262
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Tuesday, December 5, 2000
http://www.hvcc.edu
The Hudson Valley Community College men's basketball team used a November 30 victory against SUNY Cobleskill to jump three spots in the NJCAA Division III poll. The Vikings, previously ranked ninth in the nation among NJCAA Division III squads, earned the number six spot with a 63-60 win over Cobleskill, who entered the contest ranked sixth. Cobleskill dropped to ninth in today's poll.
Hudson Valley's defense, allowing 65.5 points per game, is ranked ninth in the nation. The Vikings are 7-1.
This is the highest the Vikings have been ranked in head coach Vince Medici's reign. Medici, now in his sixth season, led Hudson Valley to a number 10 ranking last year. He also led the Vikings to the NJCAA Division III championship tournament in 1998-99, establishing his squad as one of the eight best in the nation. The Vikings have qualified for the NJCAA Division III Region III tournament during each of Medici's first five seasons, and he has twice been named Mountain Valley Conference Coach of the Year. Medici has a lifetime record of 104-51.
The last time Hudson Valley's men's basketball team was ranked as high as sixth was 1992-93.
Hudson Valley Community College, located in Troy, offers more than 50 degree and certificate programs in four academic divisions; Business; Engineering and Industrial Technologies; Health Sciences; and Liberal Arts and Sciences. One of more than 30 community colleges in the State University of New York system, Hudson Valley Community College has an enrollment of more than 9,000 students each year, and is known as a leader in distance learning initiatives and worker retraining.