RIDER UNIVERSITY V O L UM E 3, I S S U E 1 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL F A L L 2 0 09
With the return of two all-conference honorees among its four returning starters, the Rider University women's basketball team is looking to continue the buzz and excitement created under INSIDE THIS ISSUE: third-year head coach and Rider alum Lynn Milligan. Bronc Backers 2 Ten letter winners return to a squad that experienced a tale of two seasons in 2008-09, an 11-game losing streak which was 2009-10 Schedule 2 immediately followed by the Broncs winning eight of their last 16 Head Coach Lynn Milligan to record double-digit wins for the first time since the 1999-2000 begins her third season Coaches Corner 4 season when Rider went 14-14. "This season we have a great mix of veterans and young players," Milligan said. Meet the freshmen 5 "Our upperclassmen know exactly what we expect from them and how we like to do things. We are at a time in year three where they can pass that down to our younger players. That is Beyond Basketball 5 how you develop tradition and a successful program when your players begin to teach and Alumni News & Notes learn from each other. I am very excited to see how our young nucleus will mesh with our 6 veterans." Finishing Thoughts 8 Last season, 16 of Rider's 20 opponents reached double-digit win totals with three hitting the 20 win plateau, and Milligan has again assembled a challenging non-conference slate to get ready for the rigors of the conference. "Being able to play higher-ranked confer- ences will give our players solid competitive experiences to draw from when we get into con- ference play," Milligan said. "Playing BIG EAST teams like Seton Hall and Syracuse and La Salle from the Atlantic 10 will test us mentally as well as physically." On Sunday, October 4, The 11-game non-conference schedule begins at home on November 13 against 2009, our women's basket- Seton Hall and after traveling to Colgate (Patriot League) on November 16, Rider returns ball team volunteered at home for two games against Northeast Conference rivals Monmouth (November 19) and the Central and South Jer- Fairleigh Dickinson (November 22). Rider looks to have some fun in the sun over Thanksgiv- sey Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. ing as the Broncs travel to Fort Myers, Florida (Alico Arena) taking on the Zips of Akon (Mid- Our team spent time in Atlantic Conference) on November 27 before the facing the host Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast the children's tent where on November 28 in the FGCU Thanksgiving Classic. The Eagles are the defending Atlantic Sun they painted faces, applied champions and will participate in the Preseason WNIT to open the 2009-10 season. tattoos, and did arts and The Broncs will face Fordham (Atlantic 10) for the first time since the 1984-85 season when crafts with the children. Rider travels to the Bronx, New York on December 5. Our athletes, also helped Just in time for final exams, Rider will take a quick look at the Ivy League with a with the kids races by home game against Mercer County rival Princeton handing out medals to all of the participants. (December 8) before traveling to Philadelphia to play the University of Pennsylvania December 12. The Broncs defeated the Quakers by 13 last January in Alumni Gym. A home game against La Salle (Atlantic 10) on December 20, followed by a trip to Syracuse, New York to take on the Orange out of the BIG EAST (December 28) round out the pre-MAAC schedule. Last year, Rider posted its second highest Freshman Caitlin Bopp MAAC win total all-time (seven wins) and defeated six Rider University women’s basketball returns is focused at the NJ of the nine conference schools including road wins at four starters to a team that reached a 10 win Race for the Cure. total for the first time since 1999-2000. (Continued on page 2) P AGE 2 V OLUME 3, I SSUE 1
(Continued from page 1) second-place Canisius, third-place Fairfield and fifth-place Iona, earning Milligan MAAC Coach of the Year consideration. That excitement and hard play increased the fan base to 900 fans per game at home, and Milligan is looking to continue the buzz surrounding her squad. "When we arrived here at Rider one of the first things we wanted to do was develop an identity of hard work, a competitive attitude, and out-working our opponents," said Milligan. "This is something we continue to strive for on a daily basis. The Broncs' Zoo is an amazing place to play. We take a lot of pride in protecting our home court. Key to that has been the support of our alumni. Their support is second to none. Coach Durkin leads the charge in keeping our past players involved. We want everyone who ever put on a Rider uniform to be proud of the program and everything it stands for. The support of the alumni is essential to our continued success." On or off the court, the goals of the Rider women's basketball program remain the same. "We look to come every day with a clear mind, body, and soul so we can do our best to take steps forward," Milligan said. "We feel if we (Continued on page 4)
We would like to thank the following members of the Friends of Women’s Basketball for their do- nations during the 2008-09 season. Last year we received over $4,000 that went directly into our booster club. Thank you for your generosity. For more information on the 2009-10 Friends of Women’s Basketball Club, please see page 4. Champion ($500 - Above) • Barb McNeill Captain ($100 - $199) • Eldon Price • Amanda Allen • Herb and Joan Young • Walt and Shirley Brower MVP ($200 - $499) • Christine Catalanotto • Chelsea Capstraw • Ed and Hope Confer • Dave and Helen Carle • Chris Carothers • Pam Durkin • Maureen Donovan • Linda Genther • Tom and Denny Durkin • Maureen Loughran • Ellen Fitzpatrick • Lynn Milligan • Debbie Glover Starter ($ 25 - $50) • Lil Haas • • Joyce Centola Jeanne Miller • • Kerry Drennan Al Sumutka • • Jon Husch Lauren Thomer • • Jean Lembach Linda Weise • • Michelle Mattai Nancy Whalen B RONCS ’ B ULLETIN P AGE 3
11/13/09 SETON HALL UNIVERSITY 7pm 11/16/09 @ Colgate University 7pm 11/19/09 MONMOUTH UNIVERSITY 7pm 11/22/09 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON UNIVERSITY 2pm Florida Gulf Coast University Classic 11/27/09 University of Akron 5pm 11/28/09 Florida Gulf Coast University 7pm 12/5/09 @ Fordham University 1pm 12/8/09 PRINCETON UNIVERSITY 7pm 12/12/09 @ University of Pennsylvania TBA 12/20/09 LASALLE 2pm 12/28/09 @Syracuse University 7pm 1/3/10 @ Manhattan College* 2pm 1/5/10 @ Saint Peter’s College* 7pm 1/8/10 @ Loyola University* 11am 1/11/10 MARIST COLLEGE* 7pm 1/16/10 CANISIUS COLLEGE* (Alumni Game) 2pm 1/18/10 NIAGARA UNIVERSITY* 7pm 1/22/10 FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY* (Field Trip Game) 12pm 1/24/10 @ Siena University* 2pm 1/29/10 IONA COLLEGE* 7pm 1/31/10 MANHATTAN* 2pm 2/6/10 @ Niagara University* TBA 2/8/10 @ Canisius College* 7pm 2/12/10 @ Marist College* 7:30pm 2/14/10 LOYOLA COLLEGE* (NGWSD/Pack the House) 2pm 2/19/10 SAINT PETERS’S COLLEGE* (Pink Zone) 7pm 2/21/10 @ Fairfield University* TBA 2/26/10 SIENA COLLEGE* 4:30pm 2/28/10 @ Iona College* 2pm 3/4/10 – 3/7/10 MAAC Championships (Albany, NY) TBA Home games in CAPS *denotes MAAC Game Games broadcasted on WRRC 107.7 FM & www.gobroncs.com P AGE 4 V OLUME 3, I SSUE 1
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take steps forward every day, no matter how big or small, The 2009-10 season is underway, and we will achieve success. One of the things I am so proud of is the commitment we have made off the court as a the Broncs are as excited as ever. To program. Our student-athletes are just that – student- help assist our fundraising efforts we will athletes! They are committed to being the best students continue the Friends of Rider Women’s they can be and preparing for their futures. One of my Basketball club, and we hope that you jobs as a coach is to develop our young ladies off the will consider membership this season. court who are prepared for success beyond Rider. With There are many different membership our clinics and volunteer work within the community we levels with several incentives available. are teaching our players the value of giving back and All levels receive a 2009-10 pocket cal- learning from other people outside of Rider and their own comfort zone." endar with the Bronc logo on the front. With their hard work both on and off the court, The 2009-2010 membership brochure the women's basketball team is looking to continue its has been sent out, but if you didn’t re- recent success of bringing the opposition out of its com- ceive one or misplaced it, please contact fort zone as the team strives to build the competitive at- our office at 609-896-5368. mosphere of the program. Milligan is hoping that year Our fundraising goals for 2009-10 in- three will continue to see the Rider fans (and its oppo- clude a permanent awards plaque out- nents) stung by the buzz and excitement of Rider Broncs basketball. side of our locker room, purchasing the final piece to our editing equipment, and Thank you to Brian Solomon, Assistant Sports Information continuing to provide our student- Director for his contribution to the Broncs Bulletin. The athletes with a first-class experience full, unedited version of this story which contains quotes while at Rider. about our players can be found on www.gobroncs.com.
with Head Coach Lynn Milligan Hello Fellow BRONCS!
I hope everyone had a terrific summer. Ours was filled with recruiting, more recruiting and a couple of weeks of camp. We begin year three with the theme of “NO EXCUSES.” We believe we have positioned ourselves to take an- other step forward with the program. We have all committed to not letting anything stand in our way and can’t wait to get started. The team had a great summer working hard to achieve our goals. We have four incoming freshmen that will help make this the deepest team we have had since we got here. We need your continued support to make it all happen. I cannot wait to see everyone this season and I would love to see everyone at our home opener Friday November 13 vs. BIG EAST foe Seton Hall at 7pm. We will also have our usual gatherings throughout the season. Starting with our tip off social event with men’s basketball on November 4 at Mountain View Country Club . We will also have our Alumni Day with the date on January 16, 2010. I also would like everyone to know that I have named Pam Durkin associate head coach of the program. I don’t need to tell all of you about how hard Pam works and what she means to the pro- gram. Join me in congratulating her on a well-deserved honor! Take care, B RONCS ’ B ULLETIN P AGE 5
Welcome to the first installment of Beyond Basketball. We hope that this will be an introspective look at what our players and coaches do in their spare time! This quarter we will take a look at sophomore center Sarah Homan and assistant coach John Miller . If you have a specific question that you would like to ask our players or coaches about their lives outside of basketball, please feel free to send them along and we will find you an answer!
Rider women’s basketball center Sarah Homan broke out of her shell and worked her way to earn MAAC All-Rookie team honors, but working hard is not new to the Upper Darby, PA native. Sarah maintains one of the highest grade point averages on the team and works very hard to succeed off the court, as much as she does on. That hard work enabled Sarah to go on trip to London earlier this summer, for a week, as part of the Rider University baccalaureate honors program. While in Lon- don, the group studied British culture and history while visiting such historic land- marks as Westminster Abbey, Kensington Palace and Stonehenge. Sarah also spent most of her summer working in the Rider University Biology department. Homan worked with Professor Laura Hyatt on the research of the invasive plant, garlic mus- tard. Garlic mustard destroys other plants that are normally found in forests which is a huge problem. Sarah had to go out in the field weekly to measure the growth patterns of garlic mustard. Homan had this to say about her field study, “By understanding how the plant grows (environment & nutri- ents), hopefully there will come a time when it could be eradicated.” Sounds like fun Sarah! Rider Assistant Coach John Miller was busy this summer also, although maybe not the same busy as Sarah was, but busy nonethe- less. “July was a work month for me, as it was the entire staff” said Miller. “Coach Durkin had me up and down the East Coast looking for players!” However, that didn’t mean that Coach Miller didn’t have his share of down time. Not many people know that Coach Miller was on the golf team at Mt. St. Mary’s. “I love golfing and I tried to get in as many rounds as I possibly could,” claimed Miller. For more Beyond Basketball profiles, make sure you check out our blog: Riderwbball.blogspot.com
# 14 Center # 2 Forward # 34 Guard # 12 Guard Caitlin Bopp Carleigh Brown Dior Brown Shereen Lightbourne Baltimore, MD Philadelphia, PA Upper Darby, PA Elmsford, NY Institute of N.D. Nazareth Academy Upper Darby HS Hamilton HS P AGE 6 V OLUME 3, I SSUE 1
Congratulations to Lauren Thomer ‘04 who was recently named head coach at Manhat- tanville College. The following is the official press release: Lauren Thomer was named the head women’s basketball coach at Manhattanville College in July 2009 and begins her first season at the helm of the Valiant program in 2009-10. Thomer comes to Manhattanville from the U.S. Military Academy, where she spent the last three years working with the women’s basketball program under head coach Dave Magarity. Thomer served as an assistant coach with the Division I Army women’s basketball team for two seasons, helping the team to a 37-24 record over that span. She involved herself heavily in recruiting, scheduling and player development for the Army program, including working closely with the Black Knight guards and perimeter players. Prior to that stint, Thomer served as head women’s basketball coach of the U.S. Military Academy Prep School (USMAPS) for one season. At USMAPS, she was responsible for all aspects of the pro- gram, including scouting, travel, game preparation and both in- and Future Rider recruits Ryanne and Ty- son Allen show which team they want off-season player development. On the court, she guided the program to play for! Lynzie Allen wants a piece to its first-ever 4-0 record against the other service academy prep of the action too...someone send her a schools. shirt! Photo provided by Thomer graduated from Rider University in 2004, playing the point Amanda Paul Allen ‘97 & ‘00 for four seasons for the Division I Broncs. The point guard was a three-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All- Academic Team selection and received the team’s Academic Excellence award as a senior. She also earned her master’s de- gree in Sport and Exercise Psychology from the University of Virginia in 2006. While getting her degree at Virginia, Thomer also successfully balanced coach- ing duties on two different basketball teams. As the head coach for the Univer- sity of Virginia's club basketball team, she led the squad to a 46-6 record over two seasons and the 2005 East Coast Women’s Club Championship. At the same time, Thomer also was the top assistant coach at the prominent St. Anne’s Belfield School in Charlottesville, Va., mentoring several Congratulations to women’s basketball alum Tami Coyle for leaving single future Division I players as the squad won life behind! Tami and her husband, Scott Reinert, were wed on August 15, a conference title and placed fifth in the 2009. Attending the wedding and pictured above are several former Virginia State Tournament. Broncs. From left to right are: Robin Stein, Lauren Thomer, Tami Coyle Reinert, Katie Hall Wahlman, Kim Peto, and Becky Hower. B RONCS ’ B ULLETIN P AGE 7
In the latest edition of the Rider Alumni Magazine, Congratulations to Jennifer Lovell ‘96 and class of 2007 alum Monica Welborn was featured in Maureen Loughran ‘93 on completing the a story about young alumni and what they are up to Philadelphia Distance Run on September 20, now. The magazine showcased 30 alums under the 2009. Jen completed the 13.1 mile course in age of 30. Below is a snapshot of that article. Wel- 1:57:21 and Mo followed in at 2:09:06. When born spent part of her summer as an Adjunct Profes- asked about the run, Lovell had this to say sor here at Rider. The course was Fundamentals of “Never again!! Mo and I do want to do Broad Street but Drawing. Congrats Monica! 10 is the longest I will do! Great experience but darn it was hard! UPDATE FROM KERRY SZEMPLE DRENNAN ‘96 I had a baby girl on April 19, a month early. Her name is Paige Drennan, and my bun- dle of joy weighed in at 6lbs, 18 1/4 inches. I really en- joyed having the summer to get to know each other, but now it is back to reality and back to work!
Durkin ’97 Named Associate Head Coach (Since I am the editor and chief contributor to this newsletter, I feel kind of awkward spreading the news, but Lynn told me she would rescind my title if I didn’t share this with all of our supporters! So I am sharing with you part of the press release off of www.gobroncs.com)
On August 24, Bronc Head Coach Lynn Milligan announced that third year women's basketball assistant coach Pam Durkin has been given the title of Associate Head Coach. "Pam is everything you want in assistant coach; a friend, honest, loyal, and she is a tireless worker," Milligan said. "She is in this profes- sion for the right reasons and has had a profound im- pact on everything that is Rider women's basketball." Durkin returned to Rider in May, 2007 as Milligan's top assistant after serving as an assistant coach at Drexel University for seven seasons. "I am honored to be in a position where I can give back to my alma mater and to have a positive impact on the direction of our basketball program and the per- sonal development of our student-athletes," Durkin said. "I am appreciative of the confidence that Coach Milligan and Rider has placed in me with this title change.” November 4, 2009 Basketball Tip-Off Social Technology has now become a daily part of our sport. With most people having Mountain View either access to the internet or a smartphone, the way that we receive our infor- Country Club mation has changed. We have made the leap as well and are offering you more 850 Bear Tavern Rd. ways to keep up-to-date on women’s basketball. Ewing, NJ 08628 Remember to check out the official women’s basketball blog... Rider 6:00pm - 9:00pm Women’s Basketball and Beyond! The blog will feature frequent updates of Please join head coaches anything and everything that surrounds Rider, the team, and much, Lynn Milligan ‘92 and much more. Follow year-round to see what is new! Rider Women’s Basketball and Beyond will supplement the Broncs’ Bulletin to give you the most extensive cover- Tommy Dempsey and age! The blog can be found at: http://riderwbball.blogspot.com their staffs as they prepare We hope you will add it to the Web sites you read! for the 2009-10 season. For information please Have you taken the plunge and joined facebook? If so make sure you request Rider University women’s basketball as a friend. Log contact Joan Hedden onto your account and search for Riderwbb. We will have daily 609-896-5076 or updates, game results, alumni news, and lots more surrounding the [email protected] women’s basketball team. It is just one more way for us to connect to our loyal and faithful fans! Hope to see you there! In the Winter issue of Broncs’ Bulletin : • Beyond Basketball • Player Profiles • MAAC Preview … and, as usual, much, much more!
Rider University Women’s Basketball 2083 Lawrenceville Rd. Lawrenceville, N.J. 08648 Contact: Pam Durkin Phone: 609-896-5368 Fax: 609-895-5664 E-mail: [email protected]
Visit us on the web: www.gobroncs.com