Team/individual news
Binghamton on solid footing in America East rankings
With steadfast performance in the academic and athletic arenas, Binghamton continued its solid showing in the two America East rankings. During 2013-14, BU finished fifth (out of nine) in both the America East Academic Cup and Commissioner’s Cup. Binghamton was one of just two schools to register a top-five finish each of the two primary measures of success.
Hartford captured the Academic Cup with a 3.28 GPA. New Hampshire was in second place with a 3.20, followed by Maine (3.16), Vermont (3.15) and Binghamton (3.14) in the top five. Stony Brook (3.08), UMBC (3.07), Albany (3.03) and UMass Lowell (3.01) completed the academic rankings.
Binghamton has captured two Academic Cups (2001-02 and 2002-03) - each ironically with a lower GPA than BU’s student-athletes have recorded in each of the last six years.
Accomplished men’s tennis coach Cohen departs for Ohio State
Binghamton men’s tennis coach Adam Cohen is moving on after an historic eight-year run with the Bearcats. Cohen, who led the program to a school-record seven consecutive America East championships, has accepted a position as assistant women’s tennis coach at Ohio State University. The Buckeyes are a nationally-prominent program coming off a 19-win season that culminated with an NCAA tournament berth.
The University expects to name an interim head coach in the next few days while at the same time, beginning a national search for Cohen’s successor.
Cohen, five-time America East Coach of the Year and two-time ITA Northeast Coach of the Year, returns to the Big Ten, where he played and coached at University of Minnesota.
“I’m proud of what we accomplished in my eight years at Binghamton,” Cohen said. “We’ve had some incredible student-athletes and I’ll miss those relationships, both at the University and in the community. I know the future is bright for the BU men’s tennis program, especially now in the Mid-American Conference competing for an automatic NCAA berth every year. I wish the players great success moving forward. My family and I will always reflect fondly on our time at Binghamton.”
Hall of Fame coach Starke returns to aid men’s tennis program
Michael Starke as its interim men’s tennis coach, the University announced on Monday. Starke steps in for Adam Cohen, who departed to take a position at Ohio State. Starke will oversee the program through the fall semester while the University conducts a national search for its new head coach.
Starke led the program for 20 notable years and orchestrated its successful Division I transition before retiring in 2006.
“We’re excited to have Coach Starke return to campus and lead our men’s tennis program through the current fall season,” Director of Athletics Patrick Elliott said. “Michael is a tremendous teacher and coach and we truly appreciate his willingness to assist our program during this period of transition.”
A lifelong Binghamton native, Starke coached from 1987-06, steering the men’s program to unprecedented regional and national success. During his tenure, Starke produced 10 All-Americans, 14 Academic All-Americans and 26 NCAA qualifiers. His teams claimed five conference titles, advanced to the NCAA Championship seven times and won at a 67 percent clip. He won 246 matches and held the niche of being a conference Coach of the Year at all three NCAA divisional levels.
Men’s basketball announces non-conference schedule
Binghamton men’s basketball released its 15-game non-conference schedule on Friday and several intriguing matchups await head coach Tommy Dempsey’s 2014-15 Bearcats.
After home exhibition games against Mansfield (Nov. 1) and Oswego State (Nov. 7), BU will head to South Bend, Ind. for its season opener against ACC member Notre Dame - the first of two games against ACC schools and the first of four games as part of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament. The Irish have advanced to the NCAA tournament four times in the last five years.
The Bearcats will then travel to Providence on Nov. 17 to face a Friars team that won 23 games and captured the BIG EAST title in 2013-14.
Binghamton will host Hartwick in its home opener on Nov. 19 before playing its final two Hall of Fame games at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. First up will be a Nov. 22 tilt against a Manhattan team that went 25-8 and advanced to the NCAA tournament. Then the Bearcats will either face Northeastern or Navy in the bracket championship or consolation game on Nov. 23.
An away game at Army (Nov. 25) and home game against regional rival Cornell (Nov. 29) bookend Thanksgiving and close out the first month of the season.
In December, BU will renew its rivalry with former America East foe Boston University (away, Dec. 3), an NIT participant and Patriot League regular season champion last winter. Binghamton then has two home games in a three-day stretch when Ivy League member Penn and first-time opponent Caldwell come to the Events Center on Dec. 6 and Dec. 8 respectively.
After a Dec. 11 game at Colgate, BU heads back to Boston for a first-time meeting with ACC member Boston College (Dec. 14). That game begins a tough final stretch to the calendar year. Binghamton hosts Atlantic-10 member St. Bonaventure on Dec. 22, plays at 2014 NCAA participant Mt. St. Mary’s on Dec. 22 and then finishes up on Dec. 30 against a Buffalo program that won 19 games last season.
In all, BU will face six opponents who won 18 or more games in 2013-14 and four who advanced to the NCAA tournament. The breakdown of 15 games is six at home, seven on the road and two neutral.
Dempsey returns four starters and nine letterwinners from his 2013-14 BU squad.
New volleyball assistant joins the staff
The Binghamton volleyball program and head coach Glenn Kiriyama announced the hiring of Valerie Armstrong as assistant coach. Armstrong replaces Rashinda Reed who moved on to Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) member Northeastern.
Armstrong arrives from Alabama State University where she was an assistant coach during the 2013 season. She will immediately step into the top assistant role for Kiriyama, who is entering his 16th season at Binghamton.
“We are thrilled to have Valerie, with her vast experience as a player and coach at various levels, join our staff,” Kiriyama said. “She will be a great addition to the Binghamton volleyball program. Our squad will benefit greatly from her enthusiasm and passion for the sport.”
While with Alabama St., Armstrong was a member of the 2013 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) tournament champions helping guide the Hornets to their first NCAA appearance in school history. Alabama St. set a program record for wins (25) and named five players to the SWAC all-conference teams.
New swimming and diving coach announced
The Binghamton Athletic Department has announced the hiring of Brad Smith as its new swimming & diving coach. He arrives from Western Colorado, where he was the head women’s coach the previous two years. In addition, Smith was also the assistant coach at Maine from 2009-12.
Smith was named the head women’s coach at Western Colorado in 2012, when the program became an intercollegiate sport at the NCAA Division II level. The Mountaineers had previously sponsored an NCAA swimming program from 1960-84. In his two years at the helm, Smith oversaw a squad that produced a NCAA qualifier, set 84 team and pool records and was named a Scholar All-American team in 2014. In addition, Western Colorado had an all-conference swimmer and three academic all-conference honorees during his tenure.
At Maine, Smith was the assistant coach when the Black Bear men’s squad placed fourth at the 2011 America East Championships – their highest finish in a decade. During his final two years, Maine broke a total of 21 school records. According to avidasports, the Black Bear men’s team ranked ninth nationally in terms of yearly improvement in 2011 while the women were sixth nationally the following year.
“We are very excited to welcome Brad to Binghamton,” Director of Athletics Patrick Elliott said. “He is very familiar with the America East Conference as a student-athlete and coach. We look forward to him leading our programs.”
Conference champion baseball hires new assistant coach
Two-time defending America East champion Binghamton baseball has added a pitching coach with local ties. After serving the last two years on the staff at St. John Fisher, Dan Jurik joins head coach Tim Sinicki’s Bearcats staff for the 2014-15 year.
A right-handed pitcher, Jurik was one of the most accomplished hurlers in St. John Fisher history. He capped a stellar career by becoming the school’s first-ever MLB draft pick when he was chosen by the Atlanta Braves in the 25th round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft. Jurik then earned three minor league promotions in his two-year professional career.
This past spring, Jurik helped St. John Fisher roll to a 31-11 record and his work with the pitching staff resulted in one All-America and two all-region selections. The staff held down a 2.80 earned run average with nearly eight strikeouts per game. Jurik helped develop three all-conference pitchers for the Cardinals in 2013, when the team won 28 games.
“I am thrilled that Coach Jurik has decided to join our staff,” head coach Tim Sinicki said. “He brings tremendous experience and knowledge as both a player and coach to the program. Coach Jurik has a great passion and enthusiasm for pitching that our players will soon get to experience first hand.”