2010 MEN'S SOCCER SEASON LOOKS PROMISING

After competing in the Hudson Valley Men’s Athletic Conference (HVMAC) Championship game in only their second season of existence, the Berkeley College New York men’s soccer team is looking forward to an exciting 2010 season. In addition to their success in the HVMAC, the team will compete this season as a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA).

“As a new member of the USCAA this season, our team will be further motivated by the possibility for selection to a national championship tournament,” says Stavros Zomopoulos, who enters his second season as the men’s head coach. “The program has a very talented group of returning players, having only graduated three seniors, starting with our two co-captains, Claes Magnusson and Christ Assou. We also expect back nine starters and our 2010 recruiting class was very strong, with at least five new players that will compete for a position in the starting lineup.”

Not only is the team expected to be competitive, but the schedule promises to be so as well.
“Our 2010 schedule is an extremely challenging and fun one. Excluding our conference opponents, we are playing both the number one and number two nationally ranked teams in the USCAA, and another nine contests versus NCAA Division III programs representing all of the major conferences in the tri-state area,” says Zomopoulos.

In just two years Zomopoulos has not only orchestrated the development of a competitive squad, but has also advanced the program’s schedule from a six-game schedule in 2008 to a fourteen-game schedule in 2009 and now an eighteen game schedule in 2010.

“Words cannot express the impact coach Zomopoulos has had on our young men’s soccer program,” says Brian Maher, athletic director for Berkeley College. “He has a vision for the program and with it extremely high expectations of himself, his athletes, and the institution. It’s a perfect marriage.”

ATHLETES HONORED FOR ACADEMICS

The Berkeley College Athletics department is pleased to announce that five student-athletes were recently inducted into national academic honor societies.

Maria Blemur and Jessica Schreuder of the New Jersey women's soccer team and Andres Guarin of the New York men's soccer team were inducted into the Alpha Sigma Lambda National Honor Society. Christ Assou and Claes Magnusson of the New York men's soccer team were inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa National Honor Society.

WOMEN WIN EIGHTH STRAIGHT GAME

The Berkeley College New York women's basketball club won their eighth consecutive game to finish their regular season at Chelsea Piers with an 8-3 record and the number one seed heading into the playoffs.

The team has won all eight games by double digits and is heading into their first playoffs with a great deal of confidence.

"The more aggressive we got, the more confident we got," said head coach Sharod Tomlinson in explaining the team's surge after an 0-3 start on the season. "Team chemistry has been getting better with every game. This is a great time during the season to be playing your best basketball."

The Knights will play in the semi-finals on Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 8:30 P.M.

KNIGHTS END SEASON ON FOUR GAME WINNING STREAK

The Berkeley College New York men’s basketball team ended the 2009-2010 season on a positive note with a convincing 88-55 victory over Pratt Institute, finishing the regular season on a four-game winning streak and an overall record of 8-9 and 3-3 in the Hudson Valley Men's Conference.

Forward Robert Hemmings (Urban Assembly HS/Bronx, NY) led with 22 points while teammate Francis Edouard ( Nazareth HS/Brooklyn, NY) pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds.

Berkeley, while narrowly missing qualifying for the HVMAC championship tournament for the fifth consecutive season, will have an opportunity to finish the season at .500 when they take on their rivals from New Jersey, the Berkeley Bulldogs, in the annual Berkeley Cup on Saturday, February 27, at Borough of Manhattan Community College at 2 P.M.

BULLDOGS LOSE TO PACERS

Despite their best three-point shooting performance of the year, the Berkeley College Bulldogs lost to the Marywood University Pacers on Sunday by a final score of 79 to 61.

Marywood University placed five players in double-figures and connected on nearly 53% of their shots from the floor. The win improved Marywood to 9-13 on the year while the Bulldogs fell to 3-19. Marywood built a solid ten-point lead by halftime and carried that double-digit lead for much of the second half until Justin Lewandowski nailed a three for the Bulldogs to pull Berkeley back to within seven with just under ten remaining. Lewandowski would finish the night with a game-high 20 points and connected on 6 of 12 attempts from behind the arc.

Three other Bulldogs joined Lewandowski in double-figures as Donovan Black had 16 and Jamal Salaam had 11. Andrew Jarvis added 10 for Berkeley.

Berkeley's final game of the season will be at The Berkeley Cup on February 27 at 2 P.M. at The Borough of Manhattan Community College.

KNIGHTS EXTEND WIN STREAK TO THREE GAMES

The Berkeley College New York men's basketball team swept Sarah Lawrence College and Bronx Community College this weekend to improve their overall record to 7-9 and extend their winning streak to three games heading into the final weekend of the regular season.

On Saturday, February 6th at the Campbell Sports Center, Berkeley overwhelmed Sarah Lawrence 87-41 in a team effort that included twenty one assists and 14 steals. Robert Hemmings (Urban Assembly HS/ Bronx NY) led all scorers with 23 points and seven steals while Kaseem Williams (Boys & Girls HS/Brooklyn, NY) added 13 points and Jon Dorismond (Bread & Roses HS/New York, NY) chipped in with 11.

On Sunday, February 7th, the Knights used a late game defensive surge coupled with hot shooting from center Joshua Witsell (Jericho HS/Jericho NY) to shock Bronx Community College for a stunning 79-77 victory. Witsell led with 19 points with Williams adding 16 and Damir Redzepagic (Cardinal Spellman HS/Bronx, NY) adding 14 points.

The Knights close out the regular season against the Pratt Cannoneers in a Hudson Valley conference contest next Saturday, February 13th, at 7:30PM.

BERKELEY LOSES HEARTBREAKER TO ARCHRIVAL

The Berkeley College New York men's basketball team lost a crucial Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference game this evening to archrival St. Joseph's College of Brooklyn 70-69.

Tied at 13 with just under 10 minutes left to play in the first half, the Knights went on a 13-0 run over the next five minutes to take what appeared to be a commanding 26-13 lead. The Bears, however, would respond with an 11-0 run of their own to close within two with just over a minute remaining in the first half. The half would end tied at 28.

In the second half the Knights and Bears would trade baskets back and forth until the Knights would once again take a double digit lead at 56-46 with 10 minutes remaining in the game before the Bears would again respond with a 5-0 run to cut the lead in half. The Knights, however, seemed in control with an eight point lead with just over two and a half minutes left in the game, but the Bears would finish the game with a 13-4 run to squeeze out the one point victory.

The Knights were led by freshman center Joshua Witsell (Jericho/Jericho, NY) who led the team in scoring with 17 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Jonathan Dorismond (Bread & Roses/New York, NY) and freshman Kaseem Williams (Boys & Girls/Brooklyn, NY) would add 15 points and 14 points, respectively.

The Bears were led by senior guard Justin Gist (Newsome/Newsome, FL) who would lead all scorers with 25 points.

The loss drops the Knights to 4-8 on the season and 1-3 in the conference.

BERKELEY NJ FALLS TO YORK COLLEGE

The Berkeley College New Jersey men's basketball team lost its sixth consecutive game Friday evening to York College by a score of 90-58. York is currently undefeated in conference play and is 14-5 overall on the season. The loss drops the Bulldogs to 3-13 on the season.

Four players reached double-figures in points for York, led by junior Marcel Esonwune who finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots.

The Bulldogs were led by Andre Jarvis who had 12 points and eight boards. Donovan Black added 10 points and seven rebounds.

The Bulldogs play The Fashion Institute of Technology at 1 P.M. on Saturday.

BERKELEY FALLS TO RUTGERS

The Berkeley College men’s basketball team kept the game close until the last few minutes before falling to Rutgers-Camden 76-52.

Rutgers-Camden improves to 5-9 with its first victory since a 96-72 home win over St. Joseph’s College-Brooklyn on Dec. 7 while Berkeley falls to 3-12 on the season. The Bulldogs are now 0-5 against teams from the New Jersey Athletic Conference, having lost to The College of New Jersey, Montclair State University, Rowan University and Rutgers-Newark prior to their loss to Rutgers-Camden.

The teams traded leads three times in the early going until the Raptors took the lead for good, 16-15, on a three-pointer by junior guard Shawn Greene (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) with 9:54 remaining in the half. That field goal helped the Raptors to a 27-12 run to close out the half and head into the break with a 40-27 lead. Berkeley College forward Donovan Black (Morristown, NJ/Morristown) had 12 first-half points. Guard Justin Lewandowski (Bordentown, NJ/Bordentown Regional) added eight.

The Raptors held a 49-32 advantage off the boards. Rutgers-Camden shot 27-for-64 (42.2 percent) from the floor, while Berkeley shot 18-for-53 (34.0). Black led Berkeley with 22 points and forward Andre Javis (Hillside, NJ/Union) added a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. Teammate Justin Lewandowski (Bordentown, NJ/Bordentown Regional) added 16 points.

Berkeley returns to action Friday with a 6 p.m. game at York (NY) College.

KNIGHTS WIN SECOND STRAIGHT

The Berkeley College men's basketball team won its second game in a row by defeating Albany College of Pharmacy 95-80 in an offensively-driven matchup at the Albert White Gym in Albany.

Five Knights finished in double-digit scoring with guard Kaseem Williams (Boys & Girls HS/Brooklyn, NY) leading all scorers with 21 points and center Joshua Witsell (Jericho HS/Jericho, NY) following with 20 points.

Albany jumped out to an early 10-3 lead with 16:33 to play before Berkeley quickly got back into the game. A layup by Witsell gave the Knights their first lead at 15-14 with 11:35 to go in the first half. A layup by Williams and two field goals by guard Stanley Hamp (Nazareth HS/Brooklyn, NY) expanded the lead to seven at 21-14 and closed out a 8-0 run. Albany closed the lead to four at 36-32 with 3:55 remaining when Berkeley went on another 14-2 run to close out the first half.

Guard Jonathan Dorismond (Bread & Roses HS/New York, NY) hit two 3-point jumpers to lead the charge and stake Berkeley to a 50-34 lead at halftime. The Knights shot 53% from the field in the first half, their best shooting percentage of the season.

Berkeley's hot shooting and relentless defense continued into the second half. Berkeley upped its lead to 22 points at 72-50 with 10:52 to play on a layup by guard Isaiah Didier (Sheepshead Bay HS/Brooklyn, NY) and Albany would get no closer than 11 points the rest of the way. Berkeley shot 54% from the field overall while the defense generated 15 steals and forced 18 Albany turnovers.

Dorismond and Hamp each added 13 points while guard Damir Redzapagic (Cardinal Spellman HS/Bronx, NY) added 10 points and pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds in registering his third double-double of the season. Guard Ben Sheppard led Albany with 24 points. With the win, Berkeley improved to 4-7 overall and 1-2 in the Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference. The Panthers fell to 3-7 overall and 1-1 in the conference.

Berkeley's next game will be on Saturday, January 23rd at 4:00PM against conference archrival St. Joseph's College at Borough of Manhattan Community College.