CONTACT: Jeff Foley (518) 629-8085 or (518) 373-1262
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Monday, February 26, 2001
http://www.hvcc.edu
Hudson Valley Community College's men's and women's basketball teams learned their NJCAA Division III Region III tournament seeds yesterday. Additionally, the Lady Vikings received news that first-year guard/forward Lindsey Bradt (Bishop Maginn) was named Region III Player of the Year and was selected as a member of the All-Region III First Team. Second-year head coach Colleen Ferris of Averill Park earned Region III Coach of the Year honors after guiding the Lady Vikings to a 23-2 regular-season record. Kara Sheehan (Catholic Central) was named to the All-Region III Second Team.
The Lady Vikings (23-2) are the number-one seed in the Region III tournament. The winner (for both men and women) advances to the national championship tournament. Hudson Valley, ranked fifth in the nation among Division III (non-scholarship) junior colleges, will take on either the number-eight or -nine seed at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 2. Herkimer County Community College (number eight) and Tompkins Cortland Community College (number nine) will play on Wednesday, February 28 for the right to battle the Lady Vikings at Mohawk Valley Community College.
The following is a list of the women's seeds: 1) Hudson Valley 2) Fulton-Montgomery Community College 3) Broome Community College 4) Mohawk Valley Community College 5) Jefferson Community College 6) Corning Community College 7) Cayuga Community College 8) Herkimer 9) Tompkins Cortland 10) Erie Community College.
Hudson Valley's men's hoop team (20-6), ready to appear in the Region III tournament for the sixth time in head coach Vince Medici's six seasons, is the number-two seed. The Vikings, ranked among the nation's top-20 Division III schools all season, will take on Cayuga Community College, the number-seven seed, at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 2. The game will be played at SUNY Cobleskill.
The following is a list of the men's seeds: 1) SUNY Delhi 2) Hudson Valley 3) SUNY Cobleskill 4) Mohawk Valley Community College 5) Fulton-Montgomery Community College 6) Jefferson Community College 7) Cayuga 8) SUNY Morrisville.
This tournament will mark Ferris's debut in postseason play as a head coach. In her first campaign, after taking over Hudson Valley's coaching job with just 30 days remaining until the start of the 1999-2000 season and having no time to recruit, the Lady Vikings struggled to a 7-18 record. Now, with eight Section II players on a nine-woman roster, including seven recruited by Ferris, Hudson Valley has won 23 games by an average of 21 points, earning Ferris Coach of the Year status.
Bradt, a physical education major who stands 5-foot-8, earned Region III Player of the Year honors by leading the Lady Vikings in several categories. Her 17.6 points per game makes her the number-11 scorer in the nation among NJCAA Division III players. Bradt also is averaging 6.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. She has recorded a team-high 61 steals and has 36 blocks. Additionally, Bradt is shooting 55 percent from the field (13th in the nation) and 85.6 percent from the free throw line (eighth in the nation).
Sheehan, a second-year guard/forward and a co-captain, averaged 15.9 points per game during the regular season, good for 20th in the nation among NJCAA Division III players. She also averaged 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game, and contributed 37 steals. She is shooting 52.4 percent from the field, which ranks 22nd in the nation.
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 30 community colleges in the State University of New York system, Hudson Valley has an enrollment of more than 9,000 students each year, and is known as a leader in distance learning initiatives and worker retraining.