Farmingdale State Athletics

2009 Farmingdale State Athletics Banquet Highlights

May 4, 2009

Farmingdale, N.Y. - The 2008-09 Farmingdale State Athletic Banquet was held at the Huntington Hilton in Melville, N.Y. The banquet hosted over 200 student-athletes, fans and friends of Farmingdale State Athletics, who are excited to recap all of the team and individual accomplishments throughout the year. The featured awards included the Male and Female Athlete of the Year, the Chancellor’s Scholar-Athlete Awards, the President's Award (for outstanding team) and the Academic Award (for highest team GPA).

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

Each year the Alumni Association, in conjunction with the Athletic Department administration, choose a male and female athlete of the year, two student-athletes who have achieved excellence within their sport(s). This year's recipients were Miss Theresa Rokee and Mr. Damien Santana.

The Alumni Association Female Athlete of the Year, Theresa Rokee, was a two-sport athlete at Farmingdale State College, competing in volleyball and lacrosse.

She was a three-year starter on the volleyball team and was team captain for both her junior and senior seasons. This past year, she was named All-Conference and will leave Farmingdale ranked second All-Time in digs with 853. She even managed 87 kills in her career, which is a school-record for someone standing under 5'2".

In lacrosse, she was a four-year starter and three-year captain. One of the first recruits when the program began in 2006, she is the first four-year player to graduate from the women’s lacrosse program. This season, she led Farmingdale State to their first-ever Skyline Conference Championship, after the Rams defeated the 3-Time defending champions Montclair State, by a score of 16-13 in the Conference Finals.

For the year, she led the team in goals with 61 and shattered her career-high points scored in a season with 72. She will leave Farmingdale as the school record holder in 10 categories, including: goals (146), points (193), assists (47), shots (306), ground balls (132), draw controls (141), caused turnovers (63), game winning goals (7), free-position goals (18) and games played (55).

She graduates with a degree in Business Management (with a minor in Sport Management), and grade point average of 3.24.

The 2008-09 Alumni Association Male Athlete of the Year, Damien Santana, was a four-year starter on the men’s basketball team.

He was named Skyline Rookie of the Year after his freshman season, in which he averaged 10.8 ppg and was second on the team in assists. That year, Farmingdale made their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and lost a close game in the second round to eventual National Champion Virginia Wesleyan.

His sophomore year, he was named All-Conference, after leading the team in scoring and steals...but it was as an upper classman that he left his mark on the Division III basketball scene.

He averaged over 21 points a game in his junior year, while leading the team in assists, steals and 3-point field goals made as Farmingdale once again qualified for the NCAA Tournament. He was named Skyline Conference Player of the Year, along with ECAC Metro Player of the Year, First Team All-Met and D3Hoops.com First Team.

This year, he once again led the team in scoring, steals, assists and 3-pointers and led the Rams all the way to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Championship Tournament. Named a 2009 State Farm Coaches’ Division III Second Team All-American, he was also named the Skyline Player of the Year for the second straight season, along with a Preseason All-American, the D3hoops.com Atlantic Player of the Year, the Met Basketball Writer’s Association Co-Player of the Year, First Team All-District from the National Association of Basketball Coaches, and 1st Team All-Metro Region by the ECAC.

During his four years at Farmingdale, the team posted an overall record of 90 wins and 26 losses, captured two Skyline Conference Championships and qualified for the NCAA Tournament three times. He became Farmingdale’s All-Time leading scorer this past season as he bested the previous school record of 1,773 held by former teammate Kenny McMillan. He finishes his outstanding career with a new school record of 1,910 total points.

PRESIDENT'S AWARD

The 2008-09 President's Award went to the Men's Basketball Team, after setting a school record for wins (27), a school record 20-game winning streak that spanned from December 8 to February 26, and advancing to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Rams earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after finishing the season with a 24-3 overall record and 17-1 in Skyline Conference play.

In the opening round of the Tournament, Farmingdale defeated the University of New England 90-73 and MIT the following night on their home court by a score of 67-61, advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time in the programs history. The Rams traveled to Richard Stockton College and won by 20 over Bridgewater State before falling to #1 seed and National Runner-Up, Richard Stockton, in the Elite Eight.

Individually, the Rams were led by senior guard Damien Santana, who was named the Skyline Conference Player of the Year for the second straight season. Santana averaged 19.3 ppg, 6.7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2.6 steals per game. Santana was also named a 2009 State Farm Coaches' Division III Second Team All-American, the D3Hoops.com Atlantic Region Player of the Year, the Met Basketball Writer’s Co Player of the Year, First Team All-District from the National Association of Basketball Coaches, and 1st Team All-Metro Region by the ECAC. He became Farmingdale’s All-Time leading scorer eclipsing the old school record of 1,773, previously held by Kenny McMillan. Santana finished his career with 1,910 total points.

Junior guard Mike Campbell was named First Team All-Conference, All-Met Second Team, and ECAC Second Team, after leading Farmingdale in scoring (19.6ppg) and rebounding (9.5) per game. Campbell posted 15 double-doubles and shot an outstanding 58% from the field. Senior Erastus Shannon had another outstanding year for the Rams in which he averaged over 13 points, 6 rebounds per game and finished with a team-high 31 blocked shots. Shannon was the defensive leader throughout the season and continued his great defense during the NCAA Tournament. Seniors Dan Phillips (11ppg), Joe Cammarata (10ppg) and sixth man Davon Jackson (7ppg, 7 rebounds) rounded out a deep and talented senior dominated team, that has gone further in the postseason the any team in Farmingdale State history.

Last but not least, Coach Erik Smiles was named Skyline Conference and NABC Co-Coach of the year, earning him eight Coach of the Year awards in his five seasons as Head Coach of the Rams. Smiles surpassed the 100 win mark this year, and now holds a career 110 wins and 35 losses.


ACADEMIC AWARD

Each year one team receives the Academic Award, which is the team with the highest cumulative grade point average. In just their second varsity season, the 2008-09 Academic Award went to the Women's Tennis Team. The team's cumulative GPA at the end of the fall 2008 semester was 3.08. Other notable Team GPA's were: Women’s Lacrosse - 3.06 and Men's Golf - 3.04.

CHANCELLOR'S SCHOLAR-ATHLETES

Also this year, five student-athletes received the 2009 Chancellor's Scholar-Athlete Award from the State University of New York's Chancellor. The Chancellor's Scholar-Athlete Award was created to recognize outstanding academic excellence and outstanding athletic achievement. Recipients were selected after a thorough review of their credentials and accomplishments by athletic directors from across the State University System. This year's winners from Farmingdale State were: Oshea Davis (Women’s Tennis, 3.43 GPA), Patrick Gubbins (Men's Soccer, 3.43 GPA), Larry Hipp (Men's Golf, 3.95 GPA), Mike Labrozzi (Baseball, 3.59 GPA), Arielle Morelli (Softball, 3.39 GPA) and Justine Rothar (Women's Lacrosse, 3.71 GPA).

TEAM MVP'S

Each coach awards a Most Valuable Player for their exceptional contributions on the field, course, track or court. This years' MVP winners were:

Men’s Basketball – Erastus Shannon
Women’s Basketball – Kimberly Blakney
Men’s Cross Country – Sean Daly
Women’s Cross Country – Sarah Pope
Men’s Golf – Matt Livolsi
Men’s Indoor Track – Qasim Ellis
Women’s Indoor Track – Teresa Cox
Men’s Outdoor Track – Jermaine Carter
Women’s Outdoor Track – Sarah Pope
Men’s Lacrosse – Erick Thomson
Women’s Lacrosse – Justine Rothar
Baseball – Kevin Curtis
Softball – Nicole Farber
Men’s Soccer – Thomas Mueller
Women’s Soccer – Kaitlin O’Brien
Men’s Tennis – Tom Johnsen
Women’s Tennis – Jessica Gentile
Women’s Volleyball – Theresa Rokee

Congratulations to all our student-athletes for another record-breaking year in Farmingdale State Athletics.

Good luck seniors...GO RAMS!!

*****