6/23/11

BERKELEY TO LAUNCH MEN'S AND WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL

Berkeley College will be fielding a varsity men's volleyball team for the first time in College history in 2011-2012 with a women's program scheduled to begin in Fall 2012.

"We are extremely excited about adding men's volleyball and we are looking forward to adding women's in Fall 2012 as well," said Brian Maher, athletic director of Berkeley College.

Both squads will be led by head coach Brian Honsberger, a graduate of the Rutgers-Newark NCAA Division I program a few years back.

"Coach Honsberger not only brings a ton of experience, but he has played at the very highest level of collegiate volleyball in the nation and knows what it will take to get us to that level."

Recruiting has gone well in the first year, says Maher, and he expects the teams to do well in their inaugural seasons. Both programs will compete as members of the Hudson Valley Men's and Women's Athletic Conferences and the men's team will also be competing against the top club teams in the Northeast in the form of Temple University, Dartmouth University, and R.I.T. to name a few.

BERKELEY SHINES AT USCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

The Berkeley College New York men's basketball team earned a trip the United States Collegiate Athletic Association National Championships in their first year as a member. The team entered the championships as the fourth ranked team in the nation and lost a heartbreaking opening round game to Andrews University of Ohio in overtime 62 to 61! Andrews would go on to win the national championship.

The team would bounce back to win three consecutive games defeating Penn State University - Fayette, Vermont Tech, and Southern Maine to secure fifth place overall in the tournament.

The USCAA national championships came on the heels of the Knights earning their fourth Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference (HVMAC) championship, defeating Albany Pharmacy 91 to 81 in the semis and then archrival St. Joseph's College 91-62 in the championship game!