2012-13 Iona College Women’s Basketball MAAC Championship Guide - Page 1 2013 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships MassMutual Center (7,552) - Springfield, MA - March 7-11, 2013 General Information Location..................................................... New Rochelle, NY 10801-1890 Founded ............................................................................................... 1940 Enrollment ........................................................................................... 3,018 Nickname .......................................................................................... Gaels Colors ................................................................................ Maroon & Gold Affiliation ............................................................................NCAA Division I Conference ......................Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Home Field ............................................... Hynes Athletics Center (2,611) President ........................................................................ Dr. Joseph E. Nyre Athletics Director .......................................................Eugene Marshall, Jr. Sr. Associate AD/SWA/Compliance .................................Jamie Fogarty Sr Associate AD/Internal Affairs .........................................Matt Glovaski Associate AD/Athletic Communications .............................Brian Beyrer Assistant AD/Operations .....................................................Tyler Cardinal Assistant AD/Development ........................................... Owen Salvestrini Assististant AD/Marketing Tickets ..........................................Josh Cohen Assistant AD/Administration and Team Operations ......Jessica Rosenberg Strength and Conditioning Coach ........................................... Ryan Carr Head Athletic Trainer ............................................................ Sam DeRosa Team Physician ............................................................... Dr. Riley Williams Athletics Phone ....................................................................(914) 633-2654 Basketball Information Head Coach .................................... Anthony Bozzella (Seton Hall, 1998) Record at Iona/Seasons ............................................ 150-185/11 Seasons Career Record/Seasons ............................................ 304-316/21 Seasons Basketball Office Phone ........................................................914-633-2321 Associate Head Coach .................. Christi Abbate (Binghamton, 1997) Assistant Coaches ...................................Ashlee Kelly (Quinnipiac, 2004) ....................................................... Lauren DeFalco (Iona College, 2008) Director of Basketball Operations .......... Tim Gardner (Maryland, 2003) Asst. Director of Basketball Operations .... Eric Alston (Iona College, 2011) Graduate Assistant ..........................Kara Kochanek (Iona College, 2012) 2012-13 Record ...................................................................................18-11 2012-13 MAAC Record/Finish ...............................................13-5/Second Athletic Communications Assistant Sports Information Director/ WBB Contact .................................................John Higgins (Syracuse, ‘09) Office Phone/Cell Phone .........................(914) 633-2057/(347) 601-0553 E-Mail ............................................................................. [email protected] Sports Information Fax ........................................................ (914) 633-2072 Iona Athletics Web Page ........................................... www.ICGaels.com Facebook .................................................. www.facebook.com/ICGaels Twitter ................................................................www.twitter.com/ICGaels YouTube ........................................ www.YouTube.com/ICGaelsdotcom 2012-13 Iona College Women’s Basketball MAAC Championship Guide - Page 2 Head Coach Anthony BOZZELLA With head coach Anthony Bozzella at the helm, the Iona College women’s basketball program is in good hands. Having recently completed his tenth season at Iona and 20th season as a college head coach, Bozzella has achieved a tremendous amount of success throughout his career. Over the past ten years, Bozzella has brought Iona women’s basketball to unprecedented heights, transforming the program from cellar dweller to championship contender. When Coach Bozzella arrived at Iona in 2002, he inherited a program that had struggled through 20 consecutive losing seasons. During that stretch, accomplishments such as winning 20 games in a season or qualifying for the postseason were unheard of for this program. Now, however, such achievements are regular occurrences. The Maroon & Gold have twice won at least 20 games and have reached the postseason WNIT in three of the past six seasons. The Bozzella Era at Iona has featured numerous highlights so far. The numbers speak for themselves: • 136-115 overall record over the past seven years (2005-2013) THE BOZZELLA FILE • 88-56 MAAC record over the past seven years (2005-2013) - second best in the league Year at Iona: Eleventh Season • Two 20-win seasons (2006-2007 and 2007-2008) • Two berths in the MAAC championship game (2007 and 2008) Birth Date: November 21, 1965 • Five semi-final berths in the MAAC tournament (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) Age: 47 • Seven postseason MAAC victories (2006-2011) Hometown: Glen Cove, N.Y. • Three postseason appearances (2007, 2008, 2010) Wife: Maria • Two victories in the WNIT (one in 2007 and one in 2008) Children: Samantha (16), Joseph (13) • One MAAC Player of the Year (Martina Weber, 2007) High School: Glen Cove HS • Three MAAC Rookies of the Year (Toni Horvath, 2004; Kristina Ford, 2009; Damika Martinez, 2011) Glen Cove, N.Y. • 20 All-MAAC players (2006-2013) College: Seton Hall University, 1988 • 62 MAAC All-Academic honorees (Most by any team) • 100% graduation rate of all players he has recruited. BS in Business Management • 96% retention rate of all players he has recruited. • A perfect 100 Academic Progress Rate (APR) in five of the last six seasons (2005-09 and 2011-12) BOZZELLA BY THE NUMBERS • A current team GPA of 3.25 on a 4.00 scale Overall Record: ...........................304-316 After laying the groundwork for future success during his first three years in New Rochelle, with two strong recruiting classes, Record at Iona: ............................150-185 Bozzella piloted the Gaels to a breakthrough year in 2005-2006. It was then that the Maroon & Gold (17-12 overall, 13-5 MAAC) MAAC Record:...............................98-100 enjoyed their first winning season in 23 years. Furthermore, Iona finished tied for third place in the MAAC. In spite of being picked Home Record: .................................76-62 preseason number nine in the MAAC, the Lady Gaels earned a first-round bye for the conference tournament. The Gaels Road Record: .................................65-106 defeated Niagara in the quarterfinal round before suffering a 60-59 loss to eventual champion Marist in the semifinals. Bozzella was honored as the 2005-2006 MAAC Co-Coach of the Year. Neutral Record: .................................9-17 In 2006-2007, Bozzella led the program to unchartered territory. Iona (21-13 overall, 13-5 MAAC) set a school record for the most wins as a Division I program. By virtue of their second-place finish in the MAAC standings, the Gaels earned another first-round bye. After emerging triumphant in the quarterfinals (vs. Saint Peter’s) and semifinals (vs. Loyola), the Maroon & Gold advanced to the MAAC championship game for a showdown with Marist. Though the Red Foxes prevailed in overtime, the Gaels qualified for the WNIT, thereby earning their first-ever postseason berth. Bozzella guided the Gaels past his former team – Long Island University – by a score of 91-79 in a first-round game on March 15 at the Hynes Athletics Center. Iona’s historic season came to an end four days later with a three-point loss at Indiana. Entering the 2007-2008 season, many outsiders expected the Gaels to have a rebuilding year. After all, the team had graduated five key players, including WNBA draft pick Martina Weber (the only MAAC player to be drafted into the WNBA). Despite finishing second in the MAAC the previous year, Iona was picked sixth in the 2007- 2008 MAAC preseason coaches’ poll. But Bozzella refused to let himself – or his team – buy into any such skepticism. And sure enough, the Maroon & Gold came out and had virtually as good a season as they had the previous year. For the second straight year, the Gaels (20-14 overall, 11-7 MAAC) reached the 20-win plateau; finished second in the MAAC; advanced to the MAAC title game; earned a postseason berth; and reached the second round of the WNIT. The 2008-09 Gaels took a sixth place preseason ranking and ended the year tied for fourth in the conference, advancing to the MAAC semifinals for the fourth straight year. The young squad achieved all of its success with only one senior on the roster, while the freshman and sophomore classes produced five of the top seven players. Iona’s 18 wins was the third highest total in the school’s Division I history. 2009-10 saw the Maroon & Gold earn its third WNIT bid and a first around appearance against the University of Maryland. Iona earned an 18-14 overall record and finished secnod in the MAAC regular season, matching its program record with 13 league wins. After