Scholastic Roundup: Linda Cimino is back on the bench

October 6, 2023 Andy Furman

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Linda Cimino was the last women’s basketball coach at Brooklyn’s St. Francis College.

The Terriers dropped their intercollegiate athletic program at the conclusion of the 2023 spring semester.

In May, Cimino was named women’s basketball coach at Dartmouth College. She comes to the Hanover, New Hampshire campus after a successful five-year run with the Terriers.

During the 2018-19 season, her first with the Terriers, she led the team to a historic finish with 12 conference victories — a program record at the time. Her 2021-22 team topped that feat with a 13-3 conference mark and upended Michigan State during non-conference action for the program’s first-ever win over a Power Five opponent.

St. Francis Brooklyn has produced four winning conference records in the program’s 50-year history, and Cimino was at the helm for three of those campaigns.

A 2001 Adelphi University graduate, Cimino began her collegiate career in 2001 at Queensborough Community College, where she spent one year.
She played collegiately at Adelphi under current Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico. A native of Lincoln, Rhode Island, Cimino was inducted into the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Hall of Fame in 2019.

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Homecoming for the Tigers of Fort Hamilton High School proved to be a 30-6 loss to DeWitt Clinton of The Bronx last Saturday. The Governors from the Bronx outgained the Tigers, 283-54 in total yards, and 213 to a minus 14 in rushing. Aidan Farley, the Tigers’ junior quarterback, passed for 68 yards. Fort Hamilton’s lone score came on a 25-yard pass from Farley to junior wide receiver August Porter.

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Pratt Institute’s women’s tennis team remained undefeated (4-0) with a 9-0 triumph over Hunter College at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center last Sunday.

First-years Pallavi Verghese and Beatrice Crespo continued their strong play, with Verghese winning 6-2, 6-1 in lead singles and Crespo prevailing 6-2, 6-0 in the No. 2 slot. Sophomore Ariana Castro posted a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 3 singles and fifth-year Nastazja Cancellaro collected a 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 4 singles.

Julia Ognibene secured a 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 5 singles with Alice Li rallying after dropping the opening set to clinch the sweep with a 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-6) win in the No. 6 spot. The Cannoneers put their undefeated streak on the line Saturday (October 7) in a joint dual match against Bard College at the Tennis Center.

The Pratt Institute men’s tennis team opened their 2023-24 campaign competing in their first Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Northeast Regional Championship at Drew University, last weekend.

First-year Calder Tillinghast picked up a pair of wins and, senior Ryan Nelsen also scored a victory. The men take to the courts Saturday (October 7) against Bard College at the USTA Tennis Center.

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Pratt’s women’s soccer team saw their three-game winning streak halted with a 4-1 road defeat at Immaculata University last Sunday. Kat Thomsen scored the lone goal for the Cannoneers who leveled their record at 3-3.

The women volleyballers picked up a pair of victories over borough foes St. Joseph’s University (Brooklyn) and Brooklyn College in the Battle of Brooklyn Tri-Match at the Activities Resource Center (ARC) last Saturday.

In the opening match with Clinton Hill rivals St. Joseph’s, eight different Cannoneers combined for 38 kills in a season-best .405 hitting effort also serving up a season-high 21 aces. Emily Sontag had eight kills on .467 hitting, with three aces and a block. Olivia Julich had a match-best nine kills on .471 hitting with a block.

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Davon Wells broke a 90-yard touchdown run late in the fourth-quarter to even the score in LIU’s football game against Duquesne, Saturday. That capped a day in which Wells amassed 171 all-purpose yards.

And this week, Wells was named the NEC Offensive Player of the Week. He joined teammate Nyrel Sevilla as an NEC Prime Performer.
Wells is a junior wide receiver from Kissimmee, Florida, and previously had been named to the All-NEC Preseason Team. He also was a Phil Steele Preseason All-NEC first-team selection as a receiver and kick returner.

Sevilla, a junior linebacker from Melville, produced a sack, interception and six tackles in the Sharks’ 31-28 loss to Duquesne. The Sharks host Sacred Heart in a noon homecoming matchup Saturday (October 7) at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium.

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Emil Jaaskelainen, the NEC’s reigning soccer Player of the Year, scored a pair of goals as LIU’s men’s soccer team defeated Sacred Heart, 2-1 Sunday. LIU improved to 4-4-2 overall and 1-0-1 in the conference. The Sharks return action Sunday (October 8) at 2 p.m. hosting Merrimack at LIU Soccer Park.

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The LIU women’s volleyball team is knocking on the door of first-place in the NEC after defeating St. Francis University (Pennsylvania) in Loretto last week.

The win gives the Sharks a 3-1 conference record, putting them in second-place behind Sacred Heart. Camelia Melendez and Amaris Smith combined for 26 kills with Melendez recording a .429 hitting percentage (14 kills on 28 attempts). Alasha Colon tallied 22 digs in the match, bringing her NEC leading total to 350.

Selina Koc led the Sharks in assists with 30, which now puts her over 400 for the season at 415. The Sharks host FDU Saturday (October 7) at 5 p.m.

LIU’s field hockey team scored a 2-1 non-league win against St. Louis in a game played on Staten Island, Sunday. Redshirt freshman Juana Laskowski broke the tie with her goal with eight minutes, 18 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

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Danielle Bourne, a St. Joseph’s University (Brooklyn) junior, turned in a season-best time and a 54th-place finish (28:30) last Sunday afternoon in the Queensborough Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park in The Bronx, Sunday.

Bourne, a Brooklyn native, joined with teammate and rookie Jennifer Sarji (Fontbonne Hall Academy) who followed closely in 58th place (29:11).
Two Bishop Loughlin grads, Tariq Belma and Joshua Gordon, posted times of 48:08 and 53:58 respectively for the Bears in the 8K men’s run last Sunday.

The Bears’ men’s soccer team snapped their three-match losing streak in Skyline Conference play as they defeated the College of Mount Saint Vincent, 1-0, last Sunday at Aviator Field.

Bryan Lucero from Brooklyn’s High School of Telecommunication Arts & Technology fired-off a match-high four shots during the scoreless first-half. Teammate Francisco Garcia (Park Slope Collegiate) dished a ball to Victor Naciu (Bordeaux, France, Bernard Palissy) inside the 18-yard box for the Bears’ 1-0 edge.

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Brooklyn College freshman middle blocker Olivia Fan has been named the City University of New York Conference (CUNYAC) Rookie of the Week in helping the Bulldogs to an overall 3-3 mark and win over Medgar Evers last week.

It was a breakout week for Fan who totaled 13 blocks including six solo stops. In a non-conference win over St. Joseph’s University (Brooklyn), Fan put away a career-high seven kills and had five block assists. She leads the conference with .78 blocks-per-set.

Brooklyn College’s men’s soccer team rolled to a 6-0 win in their conference opener over Medgar Evers, for their first victory of the season last week. Brooklyn freshman forward Rayan Vukovic scored the first two goals of the match.

Andy Furman is a Fox Sports Radio national talk show host. Previously, he was a scholastic sports columnist for the Brooklyn Eagle. He may be reached at: [email protected] Twitter: @AndyFurmanFSR