JUNE CLINCS

We had such a great time last summer we decided to host a few more clinics.   

FIELD HOCKEY CLINICS

Help support the Gwynedd Mercy College Field Hockey Team and brush up on your skills before you attend your field hockey camp this summer.   Great response last year so we have split the days by age group!  

The clinics will be run by the GMC coaching staff and current players.    GOAL KEEPING instruction will be available.

June 8^th and 15^th: Beginners to those entering 6^th grade in 2011. 5:30-8:15

June 9^th and 16^th: Entering 7^th grade through 12^th grade    5:30-8:15 

Cost:                    $25 per session or $40 for both days! 

                           Checks Payable: GMC Field Hockey

Rules:         We will be following FIH Rules of Hockey/USA Field Hockey

Where/Mail:        Gwynedd Mercy College: Attn: Laura-Ann Lane

                             1325 Sumneytown Pike, Gwynedd Valley, PA 19437

Questions: Contact Coach Laura-Ann Lane, 215-646-7300 X 8019 or Lane.L@gmc.edu

Players will need to have all equipment (stick, shin guards, mouth guard(s), GK equipment and a water bottle).  **If you have never played before please contact Coach Lane for help acquiring the needed equipment PRIOR to clinic days.****

Game Plan

5:30-5:50                    Check In

5:50-6:00                    All Player warm up

6:05-7:15                    Skill Sessions

                                    -players will rotate through various stations

7:15-7:20                    Water Break

7:15-8:00                    Small Sided and ½ Field games

Also, our CSAC CHAMPION WOMEN"S LACROSSE team will be hosting several clinics over the summer, please contact Coach Beth Wheeler for more information.  Wheeler.B@gmc.edu

The Man Behind GMC Field Hockey

I hope you enjoy this post written by captain and new Sigma Phi Sigma member Erin Gorenflo '13.    Please add you comments, and keep a look out for other thoughts posted by Flo throughout the  year.

This past Monday, a group of us attended the Senior Athlete’s Banquet to recognize our one and only senior, Matt Peasley.  Matt isn’t a typical senior athlete though; for the past four years Matt has been volunteering his time as our Goalie Coach.  Although we acknowledged his hard work and dedication at the banquet, I thought it would be nice to share with all of you how much we appreciate Matt.

            Matt joined this program as a freshman with more Field Hockey experience under his belt than most of us can say for ourselves… Although he works primarily with our goal keepers, his knowledge and skill is evident in all aspects of the game.  At practice, Matt scrimmages with us, directs our defensive corners, teaches us how to drag flick and stroke, and even competes with us in the occasional skill game to get out of sprints.  Matt is a triple threat player; at defense, offense, or goalkeeper, he’s sure to “school” us at practice.  This has benefited us in ways that he probably does not realize.  Many of us would not have grown to be the Field Hockey players we are today without Matt’s assistance. Personally, if it wasn’t for Matt’s coaching on offensive corners, I may not have scored my first-ever goals this year (as a defensive minded player, that’s a huge deal).  Matt’s influence and support is not just limited to field play either; he is also our emotional rock.  Whether it’s, “How is coach’s mood today?” or “My head’s really not in it this practice,” Matt is there to support us.  Finally, whether Matt likes it or not, his British accent is always a comic source of relief for us (usually when we learn a new British word or simply find something he says to imitate).  It can’t be denied that one of the things we’ll miss the most about Matt is hearing that British accent from the sidelines. Okay, okay, and the occasional “mer-up.”

            Unfortunately for us, Matt's plans for the fall are not definite.  With his Graduation comes a summer full of clinical, and then the inevitable job hunt.  We hope that we’ll all luck out and Matt's job will understand our need for Matt’s time.  He has played an important role in the success of our team since he started four years ago, and we hope that his influence will continue in the coming years. 

2011 Schedule

Our 2011 schedule is finally complete!        The 18 game schedule features 7 Colonial States Athletic Conference matches and 11 out of conference opponents.     Our line up also feature's a pre-season scrimmage against the Centennial Conference Runner Up Haverford College on August 28.
 Some highlights on our schedule;
The season will begin on September 1 with Misericordia University coming to town.    The Griffins won last year's game 4-3 in Dallas.   The game winning goal was scored by Sarah Jackson '14 with :28 remaining on the clock.    The Griffins will then take on 2010 Final Eight participant and NJAC Champion The College of New Jersey at Lions Stadium in Ewing, NJ on September 3rd at 1:00.     We will travel to William Paterson University on September 25th for a 5pm start.   The Pioneers are the 2nd of 3 new teams added to the schedule this season.  
CSAC play will begin on September 20 with the team traveling to Baltimore for a 4:00  match against College of Notre Dame.    The Griffins are 3-0 against the Gators since they joined the league in 2008, and have outscored them 19-1.      Three out of the 4 conference games in October will be against the top of the conference and will play an important role in seeding for the play offs.    We will host CSAC Champion Cabrini College on Saturday October 1 and Neumann University on October 4.   The final conference game of the year will be against Keystone College on October 19.   
The CSAC Semi Final will be Wednesday November 2 and the championship will take place on Saturday November 5.    The winner of that game will get the conferences' automatic bid into the 2011 NCAA Championships.

Full schedule will be available on the Griffins website next week.

2011 Captains Announced

With the end of the semester comes the usual events; Senior Banquet, Graduation and for the field hockey team naming of our captains for next season.     The players as well as coaches entered the spring season with a strong passion towards building on our successes of 2010 and creating new goals for the 2011 season.    So for us picking the right people for this position was very important and represented the first step in helping us to attain our goal of being CSAC Champions.    The 4 players that were chosen by the team and coaching staff will no doubt lead the 2011 Grifs to great things.
It is my honor to present to you Casey Dellostretto '12, Christine Hammitt '12, Kelsey Deveney '13  and Erin Gorenflo '13  as the 2011 Captains.     

OUR MR. GRIFFIN

2011 Mr. Griffin Title

This past Sunday evening GMC's SAAC put on the 2nd Annual Mr. Griffin Contest.     All proceeds from the event are donated to the Mercer County Chapter of the Sunshine Foundation.    They provide dream trips for sick, abused and terminal ill children.  
Each female sports team is represented by a male athlete from another sport. Participants compete in an Opening Dance Number, Swim Suit, Talent, Evening Wear with a question and concludes with a dance off between the 2 top contestants.    After the ballots were tallied; our rep Men's Lacrosse player Jon Figliola was the winner!    Jon is a sophomore business Marketing major from Weston, CT.     Jon performed an excellent rendition of "The Evolution of Dance" which was choreographed by Christine Hammitt and Kelsey Deveney.       Our 2011 SAAC reps are Casey Dellostretto and Katie Blankenstein.

Spring Season Success

Our 2011 spring field hockey season is just about completed, we have 1 more practice tomorrow night then it will be time to prepare for the start of 2011.     Practices have been very cold but extremely productive.     Goals for members of the team going into this were; fitness, better stick/ball control, aerials, more consistent hitting and continuing on the success of 2010 by working together as a team.
Yesterday (4/10) we made our annual trip to the Muhlenberg College 7 V 7 College/Club Tournament.    There were 10 teams there, 2-pools of 5.   Our pool consisted of: Lebanon Valley College, Muhlenberg College, Alvernia University and Muhlenberg Alumni.    We came out of pool play in 1st place with a 3-0-1 record, beating LVC, MC,the Alums and tied Alvernia.   That performance put us in the Championship game vs. another team from LVC.    A little research on my part showed that the team we would be facing for the Ship consisted of their starters and other top players in the program, without their seniors.    We came out with great intensity and fire.    Although, LVC struck first on a nice numbers up goal our team didn't let down!   We answered back with our own breakaway goal!    We controlled much of the play, and were able to pull our an exciting 4-3 win to take home the Championship.    We heard that many people at the stadium were watching us play and approaching our parents asking who we were and where we were from.....they know who THE GRIFFINS ARE NOW!
Many thanks go out to our parents who supported us very loudly for the entire day and  provided us with snacks to get us through the day.   
Also, a HUGE thank you to MR. KARIDAS.....he invited the entire group back to his restaurant (THE HAMILTON FAMILY RESTAURANT on Rt. 222 in Allentown....amazing food, great prices and wonderful service) for the post game celebration.    His pre tournament speech was pretty basic....we don't get food unless we win the whole thing...2nd place does not cut it!
Next up for us...finals!

2nd Annual Parent vs. Player Game

What started from a conversation at a tailgate I am happy to say has turned into a fun tradition.     For the 2nd year in a row the current team will take on members of their family in a 7 v 7 "friendly" on Saturday April 2nd at 8:30 am.    Last year's event was a lot of fun, and we are looking forward to another great game.    The parent's did come out victorious.....although they threatened to NEVER have another tailgate or feed the team again if they were beaten.   HMMMM!   
Let's hope for a sunny, warm morning!

TEAM RECOGNIZED BY THE NFHCA

CHANDLER, AZ. -- For the 4th-straight season, the Gwynedd-Mercy Field Hockey Team received both team and individual academic honors from the National Field Hockey Coaches' Association (NFHCA) on its 2010 Gladiator by SGI/NFHCA Division III All-Academic teams.

The Griffins were one of over 100 institutions to post a team GPA higher than a 3.0 in the fall semester.

Individually, members of the team were honored on the 2010 Division III National Academic Squad, recognizing student-athletes who achieved a cumulative 3.3 GPA or higher, and they are:
Casey Dellostretto (Jr. Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland/Education)
Erin Gorenflo (So. Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh/Education)
Katie Blankenstein (So. York, Pa./Central York/Psychology)
Sarah Jackson (Fr. Sewell, N.J./Washington Twp./Education)
Maria Karidas (Fr. Richboro, Pa./Council Rock South/Education)
Kristy Kelleher (Fr. Oxford, Pa./Oxford/Nursing)
Erin Magee (Fr. Lindenwold, N.J./Paul VI/Biology)
Charlsie Moore (Fr. Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville/Nursing)

This is the third year in a row that Dellostretto was honored, and the second for Blankenstein and Gorenflo.

The Griffins finished 13-8 in 2010, advancing to the CSAC Championship game and making a second consecutive appearance in the ECAC Tournament. Dellostretto and Karidas were first-team all-league selections while Jackson and Blankenstein were second-team. Gorenflo was chosen to the honorable mention list. Karidas also garnered the conference rookie of the year award.

Coach Lane's Club Team To Be Featured On ESPN3.com

GWYNEDD VALLEY, PA. -- GMC Head Coach Laura-Ann Lane and her club team, Viper Red, will be featued on ESPN3.com on Thursday, February 10th at 3 p.m. as part of Disney's Field Hockey Showcase.   Current players Kate Johnston and Maria Karidas are Viper Alumni.

The game will feature live commentary by Amy Tran, from the U.S. National Team and halftime interview with Missy Meharg, head coach at the University of Maryland. 




You can view the came at www.espn3.com.  If you don't have ESPN 3, please contact your local cable provider.

13 Named to CSAC Fall-Academic Team

ASTON, PA., -- The Colonial States Athletic Conference announced the Fall 2010 CSAC All-Academic Team, where a total of 60 Griffins in a total of seven sports were recognized.

“It is my pleasure to announce that 546 Colonial States Athletic Conference student-athletes have achieved the level of academic success necessary to be named to the Fall 2010 CSAC All-Academic Team,” said CSAC Commissioner, Amy Friedman. “These student-athletes have assumed leadership roles on their campuses by demonstrating that a complete education includes both academics and athletics.”

The CSAC All Academic Award is earned by each student-athlete that meets the NCAA Division III eligibility requirements, earns varsity status in their respective sport, and earns a minimum semester grade point average (GPA) of 3.2. The team consists of student-athletes from Men's and Women's Cross Country, Field Hockey, Women's Tennis, Men's and Women's Soccer and Volleyball.

Of the 546 student-athletes receiving this award, 51 were First Team All-CSAC in their respective sport, 41 were named to the Second Team All-CSAC in their respective sport, 44 received Honorable Mention and 49 were recipients of the individual sportsmanship award..

Please note the following representations: 1st = First Team All-CSAC, 2nd = Second Team All-CSAC, HM = Honorable Mention, and S = Sportsmanship.
Kaylin Bassett, HM, Radiation Therapy, So., Columbus, NJ
Katie Blankenstein, 2nd Psychology, So., York, PA
Casey Dellostretto, 1st, Elementary Education, Jr., Hatboro, PA
Kelsey Deveney, 1st, Health Information Management, So., Dalton, PA
Erin Gorenflo, HM, Secondary Education-English, So, Plymouth Meeting, PA
Sarah Jackson, 2nd, Elementary Education, Fr., Sewell, NJ
Maria Karidas,1st, Elementary Education, Fr., Richboro, PA
Kristy Kelleher, Undeclared, Fr., Oxford, PA
Brianne Kline, S, Nursing, Fr., York, PA
Ashlee Lippincott, Nursing, Fr., Cinnaminson, NJ
Erin Magee, Biology, Fr., Lindenwold, NJ
Charlsie Moore, Undeclared, Fr., Phoenixville, PA
Nicole Tourdot, Health Information Management, Jr., Blue Bell, PA