HOBOKEN, N.J. (Sept. 14, 2020) – Under the leadership of current Director of Athletics Russell Rogers, who just completed his 20th year in the position, the Stevens Institute of Technology Department of Athletics has risen to unprecedented levels of success.

Under Rogers’ leadership, Stevens has finished inside the top 45 in the DIII College Directors’ Cup standings 11 consecutive years including a program-best 13th-place finish in both 2010-11 and 2015-16. The Ducks also won the Jostens Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Institution of the Year Award in both 2007-08 and 2012-13, while also finishing as the Collegiate Athletic Administrators of New Jersey DIII Cup Winner in seven of the last 10 years.

The Department of Athletics will look back into the archives to reflect on the development’s evolution under Rogers. Each week, key moments will be highlighted that happened “This Week in Stevens History.”

The week of September 14-20
Sept. 14, 2016 – Women’s Cross Country Enters the USTFCCCA Poll for First Time in Program History

Led by eventual two-time NCAA Division III National Champion Amy Regan, the Stevens women’s cross country team entered the United States Track and Field / Cross Country Coaches Association Poll for the first time in program history. The Ducks were ranked 33rd in the poll and were one of three new additions who did not receive any votes in the preseason.

The Ducks made the leap into the top-35 after finishing second at the Ron Stonitsch Invitational, finishing just behind No. 1 Williams College and topping No. 9 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Sept. 14, 2013 – Women’s Tennis Student-Athletes Jessica Bourque and Lisa Tessitore Break All-Time Doubles Wins Record

In a 9-0 victory over St. John Fisher College, junior Jessica Bourque and senior Lisa Tessitore teamed up to win at No. 1 doubles for their record-breaking 34th career doubles victory as a duo. Borque and Tessitore cruised to an 8-2 victory to break the record previously held by Whitney Bender and Rebecca Ryba from 2005-08.

The combination of Tessitore and Borque went on to win 48 doubles matches as a tandem and still hold the program record.

Sept. 15, 2011 – Laura Barito Named One of Nine Finalists for NCAA Woman of the Year Award

After finishing her career with the Ducks in the spring of 2011, Laura Barito continued to rake the in accolades as she was the first student-athlete in program history to be named one of the nine finalists for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

A 21-time All-American in swimming, Barito became the first Stevens NCAA National Champion in school history when she captured the 50-yard freestyle at the 2011 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships.

On the track, Barito captured the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships title in the 400-meter hurdles by more than one full second and her winning time of 59.49 seconds made her the only Division III runner to break the 60-second barrier during the 2011 season. She was named the Women’s Track Athlete of the Meet at the Empire 8 Outdoor Track and Field Championships after winning the 100- and 400-meter dashes as well as the 400-meter hurdles. She later was named the Empire 8 Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

Barito still holds the distinction of being the lone NCAA Woman of the Year finalist in Stevens history.

Sept. 15, 2006 – Tim Meehan Named Division III Male Student-Athlete of the Year by the CAANJ

After earning his degree from Stevens in 2006, baseball student-athlete Tim Meehan was named the Division III Male Student-Athlete of the Year for 2005-06 by the Collegiate Athletics Administrators of New Jersey.  He became the third student-athlete from Stevens to win the award after men’s lacrosse student-athlete Brian Lalli and women’s cross country student-athlete Allison Donnelly earned the man and woman of the year honor, respectively, from the CAANJ in 2004.

 

As a senior in 2006, Meehan had a remarkable season, helping the Ducks break the program record with 27 victories. In the process, he was named the Skyline Conference Player of the Year and earned First Team honors as he hit .423 with 37 RBI and 50 runs scored. Meehan was also selected as a First Team All-Star on the NCAA Division III Baseball ABCA/Rawlings All-New York Region Team and New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association All-State Team.

 
Sept. 16, 2019 – Eddie Sot Wins Individual Title and Men’s Golf Takes First at Frederick Anton III Memorial Invite

Playing in just his second collegiate event, Stevens men’s golfer Eddie Sot topped the field and the men’s golf team took home first place at the Frederick Anton Memorial Invitational by one shot. Sot finished the round with a final score 70, the second-lowest single-round score in program history and became just the sixth player in program history to earn an individual tournament championship.

As a team, the Ducks posted a single-round team score of 298 to win the team title by three strokes over Chestnut Hill College The carded score was the second-lowest single-round score in program history, falling just three strokes shy of Oct. 2015’s 295, shot on the second day of play at the McDaniel’s Mason-Dixon Collegiate Classic. It is just the program’s second single-round team score under 300. 

Additionally, the team win was the fourth under head coach Charles Papendick. The victory also moved Papendick into a tie with Joseph Stahley atop the program’s career coaching wins leaderboard.

Sept. 16, 2006 – Field Hockey Becomes First Program to Win an Empire 8 Contest with 1-0 Win over Nazareth

Stevens officially joined the Empire 8 Conference for most of its sponsored sports in the 2007-08 academic year. One year prior, however, the field hockey program joined the Empire 8 as an affiliate program and became the first team to win an Empire 8 contest in the history of the school.

The Ducks knocked off Nazareth College 1-0 thanks to a goal from freshman forward Courtney Geddis with 26:06 remaining in the contest. It was the fifth shutout in the first seven games of the season for the Ducks.

From 2007 to 2019, Rogers oversaw the Ducks win a total of 62 Empire 8 Conference team titles as well as winning the Empire 8 Commissioner’s Cup in both 2017-18 and 2018-19.

Sept. 18, 2004 – Stevens Hall of Famer Valarie Barnhart Scores Two Goals for Women’s Soccer in a 2-1 win over Vassar

With four goals under her belt already in the first four games of the season, eventual Stevens Hall of Famer Valarie Barnhart netted a pair of first-half goals to send the women’s soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Vassar College and extend their winning streak to five straight matches to open the season.

In the first five games of the season, Barnhart netted six of the team’s first nine goals including three game-winning goals. The senior finished her final year on Castle Point with 22 total goals which, at the time, was second in program history only behind her stellar first-year campaign where she found the back of the net 23 times.

Sept. 20, 2012 – Men’s Soccer Defeats Previously Unbeaten No. 18 Swarthmore 2-1 on the Road in OT

After falling behind 1-0 in the very first minute of the match, the Stevens men’s soccer team rallied to net a pair of unanswered goals, including the game-winner off the foot of sophomore Quinn Conner in overtime, to upset previously unbeaten No. 18 Swarthmore 2-1 on the road.

The Ducks got a first half goal from senior Victor Daza on a penalty kick late in the first half to tie the match. Then, after a stalemate for the entire second half and the majority of the first overtime period, Conner fired a 30-yard, unassisted, game-winning strike with one minute remaining to give the Ducks a thrilling victory. The win jump-started what would end up being a 17-match unbeaten streak and a trip to the NCAA Round of 16.

The games noted above are not meant to be a complete listing of Stevens’ events on these dates, but a sampling of great moments as determined by the Stevens Department of Athletic Communications.

 

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