15 minute read
New Leadership for Athletics
by Ken DeBolt
Deb Steward has been named the Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics and Recreation at Hobart and William Smith. Previously the Director of William Smith Athletics, in her expanded role Steward now oversees all 23 intercollegiate Hobart and William Smith sports as well as the Colleges’ recreation, intramural, fitness, outdoor recreation and physical education programs. An award-winning administrator, Steward came to the Colleges in 2005 to serve as the Director of William Smith Athletics. Over the past 15 years, she has managed all aspects of the Herons’ intercollegiate athletics program and supervised the HWS Sport and Recreation Center, the Outdoor Recreation Adventure Program, the waterfront, physical education classes and wellness programs. Steward’s leadership earned her the 2014 ECAC Division III Female Administrator of the Year Award and the 2017 Women Leaders in College Sports Division III Administrator of the Year Award. “Deb is an exceptional leader and one of the top athletic administrators in the country,” says President Joyce P. Jacobsen. “As we considered how best to provide all students with an outstanding and cohesive athletics and wellness experience, we knew we needed someone with a record of accomplishment in managing and leading people and teams, and someone with success in resource development including fundraising, marketing and community building. Deb is that person.” During her tenure in Geneva, Steward has hired 13 new head coaches, broken Heron Society records for total membership and total dollars raised, and coordinated four highly successful Heron Hall of Honor ceremonies, all while taking a lead role in The Fund for Athletics, a part of Campaign for the Colleges which improved athletic and wellness facilities. She added women’s ice hockey as the department’s 12th varsity sport in 2014. Under her supervision, Heron teams have captured 44 conference championships, received dozens of postseason tournament bids, and secured the 2013 NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer National Championship. Steward has served as the tournament director for three NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championships and a NCAA Division III Women’s Lacrosse Championship. She has also served on several NCAA Championship committees including women’s ice hockey, golf and softball. Previously an assistant athletic director at Ithaca College, Steward earned a master’s in education from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and her bachelor’s in mathematics education from Winona State (Minn.) University. Rounding out the new leadership model, Brian Miller, who has served as Interim Director of Hobart Athletics for the past two years, has been named the Associate Director for Athletics and Recreation and Director of Athletic Compliance. Sally Scatton P’02, P’06, who has served as the Assistant Director of William Smith Athletics for 13 years and the Head Field Hockey Coach for 32 years, has been named the Associate Director for Athletics and Recreation and Senior Woman Administrator, an NCAA designated leadership position, in addition to continuing as Head Field Hockey Coach. “This new management construct with one director of athletics will lead to streamlined processes for athletics and recreation while still maintaining the unique identities of the Statesmen and Herons,” says Vice President for Campus Life Robb Flowers. “Deb, Brian and Sally share a commitment to ensuring that student-athletes have the resources and opportunities to excel, both athletically and academically.” “I’m honored at the trust that the Colleges have placed in me to lead the Hobart Statesmen and the William Smith Herons,” says Steward. “I look forward to working with Brian and Sally in this leadership role as we advocate for our students and staff. We are committed to creating efficiencies, with policies and procedures and garnering additional support so that all Herons and Statesmen can pursue their academic, athletic and wellness goals.”
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Brian Miller For more than a decade, Miller has overseen the NCAA compliance program for all 23 intercollegiate programs at Hobart and William Smith, spending the past two years as the Interim Director of Hobart Athletics. A member of the National Association for Athletic Compliance, he educates coaches, staff, student-athletes, alums and boosters on NCAA, conference and institutional rules and regulations. Miller came to the Colleges with 10 years of experience as an administrator and coach at D’Youville College and as a coach at Canisius College, where he earned a master’s in sports administration. Miller received his bachelor’s in mass communication from St. Bonaventure University.
Sally Scatton P’02, P’06 Scatton has led the William Smith field hockey program since 1988, earning three national championships, 11 conference championships and 468 career victories. She has been named the national coach of the year three times, regional coach of the year six times and conference coach of the year nine times, while earning induction into three halls of fame. Since 2007, she has served as the assistant director of William Smith athletics. An accomplished coach of not only field hockey, but lacrosse, basketball and swimming as well, Scatton has guided teams at Cornell University and Wells College. She earned a master’s in education from SUNY-Cortland, and is a magna cum laude graduate of Ithaca College.
Tracking Champions
by Mackenzie Larsen ’12
Trustee Calvin “Chip” Carver Jr. ’81 and William Smith Soccer Assistant Coach Chas Allen P’20 review data from the Titan Realtime GPS. PHOTOS BY KEVIN COLTON Whether tracking the exit velocity of a home run, the speed of a slapshot or the apex and velocity of a golf shot, analytics are everywhere in sports. Thanks to a donation from HWS Trustee Calvin “Chip” Carver Jr. ’81, the 17-time Liberty League Champion William Smith soccer team has jumped on board the analytics train. In 2018, Carver and the Heron coaching staff began using Titan Realtime GPS, a device worn during practices and games that collects intricate data on an athlete’s performance and physical wellbeing. The unit is inserted into the pocket of a vest players wear under their jerseys. “At the basic level, the tracking gives the coaching staff a sense of each player’s fitness levels,” Carver says. “We can get a sense of who will still have gas in the tank at the end of a tough game and who will not. The data along with observation can give you an idea on how each athlete is different.”
During a game or practice, the Titan device tracks the level of physical effort, including how many sprints each athlete completes and how fast and how far they run. While the team regularly has players run 15 mph, the fastest speed Carver has seen a Heron hit was 19 mph. He has heard professional athletes who use the device brag about hitting 21 mph. In addition, Titan creates a heat map of where players are on the field, giving coaches additional information that can’t be seen on film. Heat maps allow coaches to track how many runs players make and in what direction, which can be used to instruct the team on where the coaches expected players to be as opposed to where they’ve actually been. Carver notes that coaches also use heat maps to see if a player makes runs from goal line to goal line instead of sideline to sideline. Athletes use Titan to track and assess their progress. Before games and practices, each player fills out a quick survey about how they’re feeling; questions cover the quantity and quality of sleep, soreness and overall fatigue. Coaches take this information into account when planning training sessions and share it with the athletic training staff in case of an injury. After workouts and games, a second survey asks about the level of effort expended by each athlete. This information provides coaches insight into perceived effort, which is then compared with data of actual effort from the GPS tracker. For the 2019 season, Heron soccer coaches used Titan to focus on how individual athletes got ready for games. “Practices are more important to our staff than games,” Carver says. “From the data, we saw that the effects of a large effort show up 48 hours later, so we learned that if the team went hard Monday and Tuesday we have to think about what Wednesday’s practice will look like with weekend games.” The data allows coaches to track the team's workload. “I can say in this The data allows coaches to track the workload they put on the team.
particular practice the team put in this effort, so we need to watch what we do tomorrow,” says Carver. “You can get to this information by just watching the athletes, but the data gives you that additional amount of insurance to confirm what your eyes are seeing.” Titan then allows coaches to tweak that workload. “We had a good dozen players in their best physical shape at the end of the season.”
Head Coach Aliceann Wilber P’13 sees many benefits of the system. “The trackers provide us with specific data to shape the work load intensity and volume,” she says. “They especially help us to temper our training for identified individuals. Where we used to rely on input from student-athletes and our own observations, the trackers provide information at a higher level.” Carver has also implemented a drone during training. While it can’t be used during games, at practice the drone takes between 15 and 30 video clips, which is especially helpful when working on spacing drills and corner kicks. Going forward, Carver sees analytics playing an even more expanded role in training and games with the ultimate goal of using data to create peak performance at the most important time of the year, when the Herons head into yet another championship postseason. “The trackers provide information at a higher level.” — Head Coach Aliceann Wilber P’13
Herons Finish No. 2 in Nation
The William Smith College soccer team ranked No. 2 in the nation in the final United Soccer coaches and D3soccer.com polls of the season. The Herons finished the year with a 21-2-1 overall record and advanced to the national championship game. It was William Smith’s 30th NCAA tournament appearance and fifth trip to the title game. The Herons were 9-0-0 in conference play and captured the league's regular season and tournament titles for the 13th straight year.
The Herons finished the year ranked third in the nation in goals against average (0.297), fifth in shutout percentage (.750) and winning percentage (.896), 11th in save percentage (.883), and 23rd in total assists (46). Sophomore goalie Amanda Kesler led the nation with 15 shutouts, was third in GAA (0.30) and 14th in save percentage. William Smith posted 18 shutouts — fourth most in the nation — while conceding just seven goals against the fourth most challenging schedule in Division III.
Individual awards piled up for the Herons this season as well. Maialen Martinez ’21 was named the D3soccer.com Defender of the Year, a first team All-American by the United Soccer Coaches and D3soccer. com and the United Soccer Coaches Scholar Player of the Year. Amanda Adams ’21 and Emilie Sauvayre ’20 also received All-American honors from the United Soccer Coaches and D3soccer.com, respectively. Sauvayre was also named a 2019 CoSIDA Academic All-American.
Athletics Round-Up
by Amanda Zumpano
Hobart Soccer (14-5-2, 6-2-1) The Hobart soccer team captured its third Liberty League title with a 2-1 win over Clarkson and earned the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, making their eighth appearance. The Statesmen defense finished tied for first in the Liberty League in goals against average (0.772) and second in the league and 25th in the country in shutout percentage (.524).
Brian Salazar ’20 led the league with a .864 save percentage, was second
in goals against average (0.728) and posted seven shutouts for the Statesmen. Defender Charlie Widing ’22 was named to the 2019 Academic All-America® third team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Football (9-2, 4-2) The Hobart football team began its season with a 33-7 win over nationally ranked Brockport. The Statesmen posted a 4-2 record in league play, tying for second in the standings. They wrapped up their season with a 30-10 win over Cortland to capture the New York State Bowl title. The Statesmen ranked sixth in the nation in
turnovers gained with 17
interceptions (15th) and 13 fumbles recovered (11th). The Hobart
defense was among
the best in the nation in the red zone, as opponents scored on just 57.5 percent of their trips inside the 20 (17th). Emmett Forde ’21 was named a first team All-American by the AFCA and D3football.com and was a second team pick by the Associated Press. He was also voted the Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year.
HWS Sailing Chase Carraway ’22 finished fourth in a field of 18 sailors at the 2019 LaserPerformance Men’s Singlehanded Championships. It was Hobart’s best finish since Robert Crane ‘09 was third in 2008. The Colleges finished the season strong with a third place showing in the MAISA Fall Women’s Championship and a fourth place finish at the War Memorial, the MAISA Coed Dinghy Championship. The Statesmen and Herons were perfect on Seneca Lake this fall, winning the David Lee Arnoff Trophy and the Luce Trophy.
Gina Scibetta ’20 leads the Herons in scoring.
Hobart Hockey (18-4-3, 12-4-2) Hobart hockey heads into the NEHC Tournament fresh off a six-game winning streak and ranked fifth in the nation in the USCHO poll. The Statesmen capped the regular season with a 4-1 win at No. 6 Babson. Hobart, which went 9-1-2 at home in the regular season, will host Skidmore in the NEHC quarterfinals.
William Smith Hockey (16-7-0, 12-2-0) The William Smith hockey team is riding a nine-game winning streak into the final weekend of the regular season. The signature win of the streak was a 4-3 overtime triumph over No. 4 Elmira. Gina Scibetta ’20 leads the Herons in goals (15), assists (22) and points (37). The 2019 AllAmerican has broken the program’s career records for goals (51), assists (60) and points (111) this season, shattering the marks established by Krista Federow ’18.
Hobart Basketball (18-3, 12-2) Stefan Thompson ’13 has the Statesmen playing fierce defense in his memorable first season as head coach. With two games remaining in the regular season, they lead the
nation in field goal percentage defense (36.1%) while ranking in the top 10 in rebounding margin (2nd, 13.0), 3-point percentage defense (2nd, 26.7%), scoring defense (5th, 61.1 ppg), and defensive rebounds (9th, 31.57/g). Tucker Lescoe ’20 broke the program’s career record for 3-pointers made, sinking his 245th in a win at RIT to surpass the standard set by Michael Gambino ’02.
William Smith Basketball (13- 10, 9-7) Entering the final weekend of the regular season, the Herons have clinched a spot in the Liberty League Tournament and could earn a home game in the opening round with a pair of wins to close out the year and some help from the teams in the North Country. The team features four players averaging 11 or more points per game, led by Olivia Parisi ‘22’s 15.2 points. The sophomore also paces the Herons’ efforts on the glass, averaging 8.6 rebounds. Stella Davis ’22 adds 11.8 points per game and sits seventh on the team’s season list for 3-pointers made with 56. William Smith Squash (15-3) The Herons won four straight matches entering the Liberty League Championship and then swept St. Lawrence 6-3, Vassar 9-0 and Bard 9-0 to collect the program’s third conference title. Gabby Fraser ’20 was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. She leads the team with 14 wins this season. Marcela Marquez Martinez ’23 joined the team for the start of the second semester and is unbeaten in 10 matches in the top two spots in the order.
And More The Hobart rowing team’s varsity eight finished third in a 38-crew field in the men’s collegiate eight event at the 55th Head of the Charles Regatta. … The William Smith rowing team captured two bronze medals at the Head of the Genesee … Field hockey had three players named all-league: Midfielder
Kelsey Pierce ’20 and forward Mackenzie Wodka ’23 were named to the second team and Lauren Jackson ’23 earned honorable mention … Hobart tennis’ Alan Dubrovsky ’20 and Walker Anderson ’21 advanced to the doubles finals at the ITA Northeast Regional Championships, qualifying for the ITA Cup … Leland Barclay ’20 of the William Smith tennis team advanced to the B Flight finals match at the Mary Hosking Invitational … Josh Wasserman ’20 led Hobart cross country this season, finishing fifth at the ECAC Championship … The William Smith cross country team recorded one first-place finish and three second-place finishes this season … Will Harrison ’21 leads the Hobart golf team with a 79.8 scoring average and shot his lowest round of 75 at the Utica Invitational … Emma Nedeau ’22 carded William Smith golf’s lowest round (83) at the St. Lawrence Invitational … The William Smith swimming and diving team is 5-0 this season and placed third at the Don Richards Invitational … The Heron squash team is 6-2 and ranked No. 25 in the nation … Hobart squash has posted a 1-6 record and is ranked No. 38.
Staff Accolades Hobart College Assistant Football Coach Cait Finn was one of only 40 women selected to attend the 2020 NFL Women’s Careers in Football Forum in Indianapolis in February. The forum, which takes place alongside the NFL Combine, serves to support the development of a talent pipeline by connecting qualified women to career opportunities in football. Hobart College Football Defensive Coordinator Aaron Backhaus ’00 was recently named the Ability Partners Foundation Volunteer of the Year at the 17th annual Winter Gala and Auction in the Finger Lakes. Backhaus coordinates team visits to Happiness House in Geneva and organizes the annual Tackles and Touchdowns fundraiser.
CAIT FINN
AARON BACKHAUS ’00
