Nov. 20, 2003
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SCOUTING GEORGETOWN The Hoyas were chosen to finish ninth out of the fourteen teams in the Big East Conference for 2003-04 in a pre-season poll. Georgetown senior Rebekkah Brunson was unanimously named to the All-Big East Pre-Season First Team. Brunson led the Hoyas in scoring and rebounding last season, averaging 16.6 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. Brunson has also been promoted as an All-American candidate after leading Team USA to a silver medal at the Pan Am Games this summer. Senior Sarah Jenkins and junior Mary Lisicky (Whitehall, Pa.) join Brunson as tri-captains this season. Lisicky holds the top two spots for three pointers in a season on the all-time charts at Georgetown. Georgetown is coached by Patrick Knapp, now in his 17th season. Knapp has amassed a 220-235 record while coaching the Hoyas.
COMING UP Lafayette hits the road after today's contest and does not return home until the team hosts its own Lafayette College Holiday Tournament on Dec. 29-30. The Leopards travel to Sacred Heart on Tuesday, Nov. 25 and St. Peter's Saturday, Nov. 29. The team kicks off December with trips to Wagner (Wednesday, Dec. 3) and Harvard (Saturday, Dec. 6) before heading out to Denver for the Wells Fargo Classic at the University of Denver on December 29-30.
TRI-CAPTAINS Seniors Colleen Fitzpatrick and Elecia Kruise and junior Brianne Welte will serve as tri-captains this season. Fitzpatrick and Kruise both repeat as captains after serving as tri-captains with the graduated Liz Rojahn last season.
THE PATRIOT LEAGUE Lafayette was chosen to finish eighth this season in the Patriot League Pre-Season Poll. Holy Cross was picked to finish first in the regular season for the eighth straight season. Army's Katie Macfarlane was chosen as the pre-season player of the year.
2003-04 Patriot League Pre-Season Poll
1. Holy Cross (14) 2. American (1) 3. Navy (1) 4. Colgate 5. Army 6. Lehigh 7. Bucknell 8. Lafayette
**First place votes in parentheses
SHARP SHOOTER Colleen Fitzpatrick led the Patriot League in field goal percentage (58.2) for the third consecutive year in 2002-03. She also finished the regular season ranked 13th in the nation in field goal percentage.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS With her entire senior season left, Colleen Fitztpatrick continues to climb the charts in the Lafayette history books. Fitzpatrick currently resides 12th on both the career points (1,044) and rebounds (508) charts and holds the fourth highest single-season points total (460) in Lafayette women's basketball history. Fitzpatrick was only the 13th Leopard to reach the 1,000 point plateau. The 5-11 forward needs only 11 rebounds to surpass Stacy Cagenello '87 for 11th on the all-time rebound chart and 31 points to move into 11th on the career scoring chart, passing Maureen McKenna '83.
Leopards in the Record Books
CAREER Points 1. Maureen McManus '87 1,813 2. Stacey Cagenello '87 1,521 3. Tiffany Bedics '99 1,467 4. Chris Sieling '94 1,377 5. Terri Dadio '92 1,283 6. Laurie King '90 1,211 7. Theresa O'Connell '90 1,789 8. Beth Mowins '89 1,156 9. Dana Wolfe '85 1,098 10. Nancy Lembo '88 1,076 11. Maureen McKenna '83 1,074 12. Colleen Fitzpatrick '04 1,044
Rebounds 1. Alicia Yapsuga '99 813 2. Dana Wolfe '85 792 3. Maureen McManus '87 783 4. Laurie King '90 769 5. Chris Seiling '94 727 6. Jen Bayer '03 673 7. Theresa O'Connell '90 614 8. Keri Hollister '98 602 9. Stacy Farrow '92 585 10. Mary Prokpus '86 536 11. Stacy Cagenello '87 518 12. Colleen Fitzpatrick '04 508
SINGLE SEASON Points 1. Maureen McManus '87 626 '86-87 2. Maureen McManus '87 508 '85-86 3. Chris Sieling '94 480 '93-94 4. Colleen Fitzpatrick '04 460 '02-03 5. Terri Dadio '92 442 '91-92 6. Chris Sieling '94 436 '92-93 7. Beth Mowins '89 423 '88-89 8. Maureen McManus '87 406 '84-85 9. Stacey Cagenello '87 390 '85-86 10. Alicia Yapsuga '99 394 '96-97
FROM THE HEART The Leopards welcome Kasey Keenan to the bench this season. Kasey, a fourth grader from Belvidere, N.J. is a huge supporter and fan of Lafayette basketball. She has attended summer basketball camps at Lafayette and has become a close friend of the team. Kasey was recently diagnosed with leukemia and is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatment with a very positive prognosis. The team has named Kasey a Junior Captain for the 2003-04 season, and she will be sitting on the bench with the team at all of the home games.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIR The 2003-04 women's basketball team has three players from foreign countries on the roster this season. Junior transfer Naida Dupovac hails from Sarajevo, Bosnia and comes to College Hill after two years at the junior college level. Incoming freshman Joanna Pekonen is originally from Lapeenranta, Finland and played in a Finnish women's league since 2000. Another freshman, Michelle Hunter, comes to Lafayette from Burlington, Ontario, Canada, where she was a four-year MVP for Hillfield Strathallan.
HIGH ALTITUDE Transfer Naida Dupovac and freshman Joanna Pekonen will add some much needed height to the Leopard frontcourt this season. Standing 6-4, Dupovac will look to see time at the forward position along with the 6-3 Pekonen.
LEOPARD ATHLETICS ON THE WEB The quickest and most comprehensive source for information on Lafayette athletics is the world wide web. Go to www.lafayette.edu and click on "Sports." The athletics site is continuously updated with gameday press releases, schedules and results, rosters, statistics, player features, photos and more.
LEOPARDS ONLINE Juniors Brianne Welte and Ashley MacLelland will chronicle their third season of Lafayette basketball on www.goleopards.com with the 2003-04 installment of their weekly journal. Welte and MacLelland will run down the season and give insight into the life of a student-athlete.
THE FUTURE IS NOW With only two seniors on the 2003-04 squad, the Lafayette team is a wealth of youth, including four freshman brought in by head coach Tammy Smith's second recruiting class. With four juniors, five sophomores and the class of 2007, the young Leopards will be gaining experience to build the future of Lafayette basketball. Leading the freshman class is Mechanicsburg, Pa. native Kara Stetler. Stetler is the projected starter at the point guard position. Fellow guard Meghan Austin of Lynchburg, Va. will also be competing for time at the point. Forwards Joanna Pekonen of Finland and Michelle Hunter of Ontario, Canada also will be battling for time under the basket.
ON THE SIDELINE Head coach Tammy Smith (East Stroudsburg '82) returns for her third year at the helm of the women's basketball program. Bringing a second class of recruits to College Hill for the 2003-04 season, Smith is continuing her vision of progress for the Leopards, and is hoping to improve on last season's 3-25 finish. Assistant coaches LaRonda Murphy, Shelby Kealy and Ron Hoffman all return to the sidelines for the 2003-04 season aboard Smith's staff.
