GCC

GARDEN CITY: No.2 Genesee Community College was unable to get by No.3 Nassau Community College in the NJCAA National Men’s Lacrosse Final Four Semifinals on Saturday afternoon, falling by a final score of 15-6 and bringing the Cougars’ season to an end.

Genesee got on the board first after Tyler Skowronski scored just over three-minutes in to give GCC a 1-0 lead. Nassau tied it three minutes later and then converted on the man-up with a goal at the 8:03 mark to take a 2-1 lead. The Lions scored two more times before the end of the opening period and led 4-1 after one.

Nassau upped its lead to 5-1 less than thirty-seconds into the second quarter and made it 6-1 at the 3:32 mark before the game was delayed nearly an hour due to weather.

After the restart, Nassau took advantage of another man-up situation and scored with eight-minutes remaining in the half to take a 7-1 lead. Genesee had a chance to cut into the deficit late in the second quarter, but could not capitalize on a three-man advantage. Nassau scored two more times before the end of the half and led 9-1 at the break.

Blake Hurt broke a nearly 27-minute scoring drought for GCC with a goal just 40-seconds into the second half to get the Cougars to within 9-2. Nassau answered quickly to make it 10-2 and then scored with a two-man advantage to increase its lead to 11-2. Hurt scored again for GCC with just over a minute left in the third and the Cougars trailed 11-3 going into the fourth quarter.

Nassau struck twice early in the fourth, including another goal with a two-man advantage, before Chris Rabung got a man-up goal for GCC to make it 14-4. Saxon Weil and Christian Reiller followed with a goal each for Genesee to get the Cougars to within 14-6, but Nassau finished the scoring with a goal at the 2:56 mark and ended GCC’s season with a nine-goal victory.

Brady Lawrence made 14 saves in net for GCC on the afternoon. Of GCC’s 27 shots, 15 were on net.

The Cougars were successful two out of eight times with the man advantage in the game and allowed five man-up goals to Nassau.

Genesee ends the season with a 15-3 overall record.

Press release:

Genesee Community College Associate Professor of Psychology Elise Banfield has earned the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society's Paragon Award. The award recognizes advisors for significant contributions, service and advocacy. Banfield was one of just 30 persons from across the nation to receive the award.

Banfield has been advisor to GCC's Phi Theta Kappa chapter, Alpha Iota Upsilon, since March 2011. GCC Chapter President Tom Wieszczyk accepted the award for Banfield at the Phi Theta Kappa Convention held in San Jose, Calif., in early April. Five of the six student officers from GCC's Phi Theta Kappa chapter attended the convention.

"It's exciting and humbling to receive this award," Banfield said. "Serving as advisor to GCC's Phi Theta Kappa chapter has been tremendously rewarding. It's an honor to celebrate our students' academic accomplishments and work with them to do positive things in our college community."

This academic year the chapter has been promoting Community College Completion Corps or C4, a program that encourages degree completion. The chapter also raised approximately $1,300 for breast cancer awareness/research through its "Walk for a Cure."

GCC's PTK officers nominated Banfield for the award without her knowledge. They submitted essays sharing her contributions to the chapter and the college. She received the award regionally and then was selected to be one of the 30 national winners.

Phi Theta Kappa was established in 1918 to recognize and encourage academic achievement of two year college students and to provide opportunities for individual growth and development through honors, leadership and service programming. To be eligible for induction, GCC students must have earned12 hours of college credit with an overall minimum 3.6 GPA; thereafter students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.3.

GCC inducted its first members into Phi Theta Kappa in February 1985. The chapter held its 57th induction on April 18. The chapter welcomed 45 new members and continues to accept additional qualified students.

Adam Baumeister shot a one-under 71 to claim first place medalist honors and the Genesee Community College golf team took second place in the GCC Invite on Saturday afternoon at the Batavia Country Club.

GCC individual scores: Trevor Leach 79, Andrew Steinbrenner 80, Alec Engel 82, Gary Neth 87 and Max Sallade 91.

Monroe Community College finished first as a team with a combined score of 303. Genesee tallied a team score of 312 and tied with Onondaga Community College for second place overall. Adirondack Community College finished fourth with a team score of 316 followed by Jefferson Community College (325), Mohawk Valley Community College (327), Tompkins-Cortland Community College (338), Cayuga Community College (338), Niagara County Community College (360) and Mercyhurst North East (410).

(First place medalist Adam Baumeister)

Malik Mitchell threw a complete game for the third-seeded Genesee Community College baseball team in the Region III Division II tournament opener, helping the Cougars defeat #2 Mercyhurst North East, 9-1.

Mercyhurst took an early 1-0 lead with a run in the top of the first inning. The Cougars came back to tie it with a run in the fourth and then took the lead after Zack Ranta hit a bases loaded double that scored two to give GCC a 3-1 lead. Genesee added another run in the fifth and added five more unanswered runs to defeat the Saints via the eight-run mercy rule after seven innings.

Brandon Collins hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning and drove in a run in the seventh on a double to help extend the lead. Jacob Sojda, Ramon Vega, and Jacob Kenney also drove in runs for the Cougars in the final inning.

In game two, Genesee managed just six hits off of top-seeded Monroe Community College's starting pitcher Dylan Sheffer, who went the distance and did not allow a run.

Collins and Ranta each collected two hits and Fauchedre Celestijn and Alex Lyons each went 1-3.

Monroe scored five runs in the second inning and twice in the sixth and tallied 11 hits in the game.

Ranta started the game on the mound and went five innings allowing five runs (three earned) on nine hits and struck out three. Ryan DiMartino threw the final three innings and allowed two earned runs on two hits and struck out one.

Genesee (1-1) will face elimination on Saturday at 4 p.m. Monroe CC (1-0) will play Mercyhurst NE (0-1) at 12 p.m. If Monroe wins, Mercyhurst NE will be eliminated from the tournament. If Mercyhurst NE wins, they will play Genesee for the right to play for the Region III Division II tournament title.

In a tune-up before this weekend's Region III Tournament, the Genesee Community College baseball team hosted Lackawanna College on Wednesday afternoon in a final regular season doubleheader. The Cougars lost the first game 14-2 but came back to win in walk-off fashion in game two, 9-8.

Brandon Collins hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first, but Genesee surrendered two runs to Lackawanna in the top of the inning to fall behind.

GCC used a total of four pitchers in game one and allowed 14 runs (nine earned) on 12 hits.

Collins doubled in the fourth and scored on an RBI single by Josh Maier, but that was the extent of the Cougars offense in game one.

In game two, Lackawanna again put two runs on the board in the top of the first to take an early lead.

Ryan DiMartino singled with one out in the second inning and then scored on a triple by Jacob Sodja to cut Lackawanna's lead in half.

Trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Fauchedre Celestijn delivered an RBI single that scored Jacob Kenney to get GCC to within 3-2. Manny Garcia added a sacrifice fly later in the inning to tie the game at 3-3.

Lackawanna responded in the top of the seventh with five runs to take an 8-3 lead.

The Cougars loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh and cut the Lackawanna lead in half after Celestijn was hit by a pitch, allowing Maier to score. Garcia then stepped to the plate and hit a game-tying grand slam out to left, notching the score at 8-8. The Cougars kept the rally going and loaded the bases again, before Jose Diaz was hit by a pitch, scoring Collins to give Genesee a 9-8 walk-off win.

The Cougars finish the regular season 21-11 and will now turn their sights on the Region III Tournament which will begin on Friday afternoon at Monroe Community College.

The Genesee Community College softball team lost both games of a doubleheader to Onondaga Community College on Monday afternoon, losing game one 12-8 and falling in game two, 8-4.

GCC honored sophomores Alishia Foss, Chelsea Lynch and Miki Kawaguchi to begin the afternoon as Monday marked the final doubleheader of the season.

Kawaguchi delivered three hits and scored three runs in game one, but Onondaga scored five runs in the first and five in the second to jump in front with a lead they would not give up.

Genesee put together a four-run third inning to get to within 10-7, but managed only a run on four hits the rest of the way.

Foss finished game one 3-4 with a run scored and two runs batted in. Rachel VanDuser went 2-4 with a double, a triple and a run scored and Lynch added three hits, an RBI and a run scored.

Foss took the loss on the mound, throwing all seven innings, allowing 12 runs and striking out four.

(Catcher Brittnee Hallett-Jonathan tags out an OCC runner trying to score)

In game two, Genesee took a 1-0 lead in the second inning after Tori Kramer delivered an RBI double that scored Yui Sotah.

The Lady Lazers responded and scored four times in the third inning to take a 4-1 lead. GCC had a chance for a big inning in the bottom of the third, but scored only one run and left the bases loaded.

The Lady Cougars answered two OCC runs in the top of the fourth with two runs in the bottom of the inning, but did not score the rest of the game and managed only three hits in the final three innings.

Lynch scored two runs in game two and went 2-4 at the plate. Taylor Gayton delivered an RBI double, VanDuser went 2-3 with a run scored and Kawaguchi went 2-4 with two singles.

Andrea Pursel took the loss on the mound, allowing eight runs on 11 hits and struck out four.

Genesee falls to 10-24.

(GCC sophomores (L-R) Chelsea Lynch, Miki Kawaguchi and Alishia Foss)

The No.2 Genesee Community College men's lacrosse team fell to No.1 Onondaga Community College 15-8 on Sunday afternoon in the Region III Championship at Herkimer County Community College.

The Cougars started off fast scoring the first two goals of the game. Nick Gray got GCC on the board first with a goal at the 13:37 mark. Luke Grahnert had the assist. Gray then set up Christian Reiller who scored at the 10:22 mark to give Genesee a 2-0 lead. Onondaga came back to score the next two goals and the game was 2-2 after one.

GCC started the second quarter the same as the first, scoring two quick goals to take a 4-2 lead. Marcus Palvino and Cam Seneca had the Genesee goals. The Lazers got  one goal back late in the second quarter but GCC took a 4-3 lead into the half.

Onondaga took the lead in the third quarter, scoring the first five goals of the period to take an 8-4 lead. Seneca broke the GCC scoreless drought with a goal at the 6:41 mark, one of two goals he scored in the third. OCC led 10-6 after three.

Genesee was unable to draw closer in the fourth as the Lazers outscored the Cougars 5-2 in the final frame to win the Region III Championship and take the #1 seed in the NJCAA National Tournament.

Brady Lawrence played well in net for GCC, making 23 saves on the afternoon.

Seneca led all scorers with three goals, Gray finished the game with a goal and two assists, Reiller added a goal and two assists, Palvino finished with two goals, Saxon Weil chipped in a goal and Blake Hurt, Tyler Skowronski, and Grahnert each had one assist.

Johnny Astrologo and Jordan McElligott led the defense with three takeaways each.

Lawrence, Seneca and Charlie Evans were all named to the All-Tournament Team.

Genesee will enter the NJCAA National Tournament as the number two seed and have a bye until the semifinals. The Final Four will be played May 11th and 12th at Nassau Community College in Garden City, NY.

The Genesee Community College softball team managed just six total hits in a doubleheader against Monroe Community College on Thursday afternoon, falling 10-2 in game one and 11-2 in game two.

Monroe jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the top of the first in game one but Genesee responded with a run of its own in the bottom of the inning after Rachel VanDuser singled and eventually scored on fielders choice.

Starting pitcher Alishia Foss set the Lady Tribunes down in order in the second and third and then notched the game at 2-2 after reaching on a single, advancing to second on a wild pitch, reaching third on an infield single by Chelsea Lynch and then scoring after Lynch drew a throw to second on a stolen base.

That would be it for the Lady Cougars bats, however, as Genesee managed only one hit the rest of the way. Monroe sent nine batters to the plate in the fourth in a five-run inning and then added three runs in the fifth to take game one via the mercy rule (eight-run lead or higher after five full innings).

Monroe scored the first ten runs of game two and the Genesee hitters were retired in order in each of the first three innings before Miki Kawaguchi singled to give GCC its first hit of the game in the bottom of the fourth. VanDuser followed with a single of her own and both came around to score on RBI ground outs by Foss and Lynch respectively to get Genesee to within 10-2.

The Lady Tribunes added a run in the fifth to extend their lead and GCC went 1-2-3 in their final at bats, falling again via the mercy rule in game two.

VanDuser got a hit in each game for GCC and scored a run in each game as well. Foss collected two hits and scored a run in game one and had a run batted in during game two.

The Lady Cougars fall to 9-19 overall on the season and they will travel to Alfred State on Saturday afternoon for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.

The No.2 Genesee Community College men's lacrosse team overcame a slow start to down visiting Dean College (MA) 17-4 in the opening game of the Region III playoffs on Wednesday night.

Neither team got much going to begin the first quarter and Genesee was forced to go on the penalty kill early. After successfully killing off a man-down situation, Marcus Palvino gave GCC a 1-0 lead just shy of eight minutes into the opening frame.

Dean tied it just 30-seconds later and the Cougars again faced a penalty kill situation, this time down two men. Genesee successfully killed off both penalties and after returning to full-strength, Jonathan Gill scored his first of six goals in the game to give GCC a 2-1 lead with five-minutes remaining in the first.

Charlie Evans made it 3-1 after the Cougars killed off another penalty and Genesee took a two-goal lead into the second.

Christian Reiller and Cameron Seneca scored the first two goals of the second to put GCC in front 5-1 and the penalty kill came through again before goals from Reiller and Gill gave Genesee a 7-2 lead. The Cougars took a 7-3 lead into the break.

The third quarter was all Genesee as the home team out-scored the visitors 6-0 in the period to take a 13-3 lead into the fourth.

Seneca answered an early fourth quarter Dean goal before Gill recorded three consecutive goals to end the game and advance Genesee to the Region West Championship and a chance at an automatic bid into the NJCAA National Tournament.

Gill finished with six goals and an assist, Reiller added three goals and three assists, Palvino scored four times and also had an assist, Seneca finished with two goals and two assists, Tyler Skowronski and Saxon Weil each had two assists and Chris Rabung scored once.

Along with his goal, Evans was 6-9 on face-offs, Mike Breindel was 6-9 and Mike Tolli was 4-6.

Jordan McElligott and Pete DiLaura led the defense with four takeaways and seven ground balls each and Brady Lawrence made 23 saves in net.

Genesee will play for their chance at the automatic bid on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Opponent to be determined.

Denae McGrath scored three goals for the Genesee Community College women's lacrosse team on Wednesday night, but it was not enough as the Lady Cougars fell to visiting Niagara County Community College, 16-4 in their final regular season home game of the season.

McGrath's first goal came at the 11:08 mark of the first half to cut Niagara's lead down to 3-1. Cassandra Dembik scored four-minutes later to get GCC to within 3-2 and Genesee was able to hang around. McGrath responded to a Niagara goal with her second goal of the game to keep the Lady Cougars within one, at 4-3.

The Lady Thunderwolves took control of the game in the final ten-minutes of the first half, however, scoring five unanswered goals to end the opening period, upping their lead to 9-3.

Niagara made it 13-3 before McGrath scored her third goal of the game late in the second half and the Lady Thunderwolves cashed in three more times before the night was over to earn the victory.

Sarah Bosa made 18 saves in net for Genesee.

Genesee falls to 0-7 on the season and will travel to Herkimer County Community College on Saturday for a 1 p.m. start.

Alishia Foss came through with a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning of game one, but the Genesee Community College softball team fell in game two to split a Tuesday afternoon doubleheader with visiting Niagara County Community College.

Foss' single capped off a five-run seventh inning for the Lady Cougars, who battled back and forth with the Lady Thunderwolves in a high scoring first game.

Genesee scored four times in the bottom of the first but trailed 6-4 before their at bats in the third. Andrea Pursel and Yui Sotah put together back-to-back doubles and both scored runs to tie the game at six after three.

Niagara then scored three runs in the fourth inning to take a 9-6 lead and held GCC to just two hits during their next three at bats. The Lady Thunderwolves upped their lead to 10-6 with a run in the top of the seventh, before Genesee sent all nine batters to the plate in the seventh, highlighted by the walk-off single by Foss.

Sotah finished the game 3-4 with two doubles and three runs scored, Pursel went 2-4 and scored three runs and Rachel VanDuser went 3-4 with a triple, two singles and a run scored.

Along with the game-winning hit, Foss also earned the win on the mound, throwing all seven innings.

(Members of the GCC softball team celebrate after Alishia Foss delivers the game-winning hit in game one of a doubleheader against Niagara County Community College)

In game two, Niagara used a six-run second inning to take an 7-0 lead, but Genesee was able to climb back into the game. Taylor Gayton plated Pursel in the bottom of the second inning with an RBI groundout to get the Lady Cougars on the board and VanDuser delivered a run scoring single to get GCC to within 7-2.

Pursel, the game two starter, pitched around a hit in the third and fourth and kept Niagara off the board in both innings.

After two runs in the third, GCC put together a four-run fourth to take an 8-7 lead. Chelsea Lynch, Pursel, Sotah and Gayton each delivered RBI's in the inning.

That would be it for the GCC offense however, as Niagara took the lead with three runs in the fifth and added four in the seventh and held Genesee without a run over the final three innings to win 14-8.

Pursel went 3-4 in game two, scored three runs and drove in one, Lynch scored twice and stole a base and Gayton had two runs batted in.

With the split, Genesee is now 9-17 overall on the season. They will host Monroe Community College for a doubleheader on Thursday beginning at 3 p.m.

The Genesee Community College softball team came up empty in a doubleheader against Mercyhurst North East on Monday afternoon, falling to the visiting Lady Saints, 18-0 in game one and 14-6 in game two.

Genesse was held hitless in game one for 4 1/3 innings before Yui Sotah hustled out an infield single with one out in the fifth. Mercyhurst powered its way to an 18-0 mercy rule win, smashing two home runs in the game and scoring nine runs in the third inning.

In game two, Tori Kramer extended a 3-2 GCC lead with a two-run home run to left center field in the bottom of the fourth inning to put the Lady Cougars in front 5-2. Genesee held a 6-4 lead after five innings, but the Lady Saints put together a four-run sixth to take back the lead for good. Mercyhurst shut the Genesee bats down over the final two innings and added six runs in the seventh to complete the sweep with a 14-6 win.

Miki Kawaguchi went 3-4 with a run batted in, Brittnee Hallett-Jonathan scored two runs and went 2-4 at the plate and Kramer finished the game 2-4 with a run scored and three runs batted in.

Genesee falls to 8-16 on the season and will return to action tomorrow when they host Niagara County Community College for a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m.

(#10 Yui Sotah connects on a pitch against Mercyhurst North East)