December 2011
Friends of CUA,
With the fall semester soon coming to a close, I thought this
was a good time to update you on what has been happening on our
campus.
I am proud to report that we had an outstanding fall season, and
because of our success, we currently lead the Landmark
Conference President’s All-Sports Cup standings.
This is a true testament to the hard work and dedication of our
student-athletes and coaches.
At the top of the list of our many accomplishments this fall was
our field hockey team capturing its first-ever
conference championship and NCAA Tournament bid. Head
Coach Gia Cillizza and her team equaled the school record for
single season wins with 17, which included a perfect 6-0 mark
within the conference, and also won an NCAA Tournament game at home
against Eastern University.
Two of
our players, Tracey Scanlon and Mary Swarthout, received
All-American recognition for their play this season with Tracey
becoming the first First Team All-American we’ve had in field
hockey.
Not to be outdone, our men’s soccer team had yet another
strong season, advancing to
their fourth straight conference championship match and
appearing in the national rankings for the first time in a number
of years. The
women’s soccer team also advanced to the conference
championship match, marking the third time in four years they
have done so.
Our volleyball team raced out to a 17-2 start, which was its best
since 2001, and finished the year with 25 wins and a third straight
appearance in the conference tournament semifinals. Along the
way, Head Coach
Nagy Abdelrazek earned his 400th career victory, joining Marty
Dowd and Ross Natoli as the only CUA coaches to achieve this
historic milestone.
In cross country, our women’s
team had a terrific finish to their season, placing third at the
conference championship, led by top-ten finishes from Camelia
Mayfield and Laura Kinley. Mayfield then went on to earn
All-Region accolades with a 26th place showing at the regional
championship in Texas. On the men’s side, first-year
head coach Kent Thompson had a strong debut season, leading the
Cardinals to a first place finish at the season-opening Albright
Invitational and a 28th place finish at the highly competitive
Paul Short Run.
Our success has carried over into the winter, with men’s
basketball off to a strong start, which included a
trip to Gainesville, Florida to compete against the
Gators. Many of our basketball alumni made the trip to
Florida and it was great to see all of you cheering on the
Cardinals.
Our women’s basketball team won the McDaniel
Tip-off Tournament and has played well during the early going,
picking up where they left off from last year when they won 19
games.
In the pool, our swim teams have faced a tough early schedule and
done quite well, led by Caleb Capozella,
who earned two Swimmer of the Week awards from the Landmark
Conference.
Looking forward, we hope to see many of you at the Hall of Fame ceremony, which will take place on Saturday, January 28 prior to a basketball doubleheader. Read about this year’s inductees here.
Thanks to everyone for their continued support of CUA Athletics,
and best wishes for a safe and healthy holiday season.
GO CUA!
Mike Allen





