Linda Cimino Named Head Women's Basketball Coach

A new era in St. Francis Brooklyn women's basketball history begins as Linda Cimino became the 13th head women's basketball coach in Terrier history this May.

Cimino comes to Brooklyn Heights from Binghamton University where she was named the America East Coach of the Year in 2016.

New Women's Head Coach Linda Cimino with President Miguel Martinez-Saenz and Athletic Director Irma Garcia '80.

"Linda embodies so many of the values we pride ourselves in here at St. Francis College," said St. Francis College Director of Athletics, Irma Garcia '80. "We are excited to see her continue the high standard of excellence Coach Thurston and his staff brought to our Women's Basketball program. Her commitment to encourage female athletes to succeed on the court and in the classroom, as well as her mentoring of each player to become well-rounded members of their communities are what we most look forward to as she joins our Terrier community."

"I am thrilled to come back to the NYC metro area, a place where I have spent most of my career and to work under the leadership of Irma Garcia, a person who has been a mentor to me," said Coach Cimino. "I fully embrace the Franciscan mission of St. Francis College as I am deeply connected to my faith and look forward to developing strong, well-rounded leaders who will serve from their hearts. I'm eager to bring my personality and style of play to Brooklyn and continue to build upon the success of this program."

In the last three seasons, the Binghamton Bearcats averaged 15+ wins and played at or above .500 in the America East Conference. This past season, the Bearcats received a bid to the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI), marking the first time that program reached a national postseason tournament since Binghamton moved up to NCAA Division I prior to the 2001–02 season. A win at the WHI over Youngstown State brought the Bearcats to 20 wins for the first time since the 2000–01 season, the year before it moved up to Division I.

A native of Lincoln, RI, Cimino was All-State in both basketball and softball at North Smithfield High School. She graduated from Adelphi in 2001 with a Bachelor's degree in Health and Physical Education and her Master's degree in Health Education from Adelphi in 2004.

Cimino inherits a Terrier team that finished a program high 3rd in the Northeast Conference standings. Second team All-Conference guard Jade Johnson '20 enjoyed a breakout sophomore season and is expected to remain as one of the top players in the league over the next two years. In the classroom, the program has finished among the top four in the WBCA Division I Women's Basketball Academic Top 25 list for the past four seasons.

New Records for Swimming and Diving

It was a record-setting season for Terriers swimming and diving as 13 records fell. The women's squad eclipsed six individual event records and also bested three relay marks. The men's team shattered four individual records.

On the women's side, freshman sensation Beatriz Gomes Angelo '21 took down three individual records (200 freestyle, 500 freestyle, and 400 individual medley) as did sophomore Raphaelle Gregoire '20 (100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, and 200 individual medley).

Fresh relay records were established in the 200 medley (Shannon Sokolow '18, Fanny Stromstedt '20, Gregoire, Gomes Angelo), 400 medley relay (Sokolow, Gregoire, Gomes Angelo, Melanie Lumkong '20) and the 800 free relay (Gomes Angelo, Lumkong, Lara Milak '20, Rebeca Tapia '21).

Evan Augst '18 and Marcus Da Silva '18 spearheaded the efforts of the men's squad with Augst setting new Terrier standards in the 200 freestyle and the 1,650 freestyle while Da Silva moved to the top of the leaderboard in the 500 freestyle and the 400 individual medley.

Beatriz Gomes Angelo '21

Raphaelle Gregoire '20

Evan Augst '18

Marcus Da Silva '18

The Dynasty Lives on for Terrier Men's Soccer

There is no disputing that head men's soccer coach Tom Giovatto has built the model soccer program in the Northeast Conference. The Terriers (14-5-1) made their fourth NCAA appearance in the past five years after winning the NEC title for the second straight season at Brooklyn Bridge Park in early November.

Giovatto was named the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Division I Coach of the Year following another tremendous season. On a personal level, Giovatto recorded his 100th career win on October 20 in a victory over Robert Morris.

Brooklyn Bridge Park has provided an unbelievable advantage for the Terriers since beginning play at their new home in 2013. The Terriers are a combined 33-5-4 (.825) playing on the waterfront during those five seasons, never losing more than one home match a season.

The Terriers are a combined 12-0-2 over the past two years in Northeast conference play. Over the past five years, the Red & Blue are a combined 23-6-6 against NEC opponents.

They've outscored their NEC opponents 21-2 during the last two regular seasons and did not allow an NEC goal in all of 2016, a stretch which extended into the NEC post-season. This past season they owned a 9-2 scoring advantage and outscored their opponents, 8-0, in the 2017 NEC Championships.

A total of five Terriers were named to 2017 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Men's All-Northeast Region Teams: Defender Faouzi Taieb '20 and midfielder Dominick Falanga '18 earned First Team honors, goalie Roberto Bazzichetto '18 and forward Ali Tounkara '20 received Second Team accolades, and defender Collyns Laokandi '18 was named to the Third Team.

St. Francis College Athletics ahead of the Curve on Mental Health

Mental health issues have always carried a certain shame in our society and that stigma, unfortunately, extends to college athletics as well. At St. Francis College, however, this is not the case. Last summer, Irma Garcia '80 made a bold decision that she hoped would make a long-lasting impact for her student-athletes and coaching staff. Instead of budgeting all of the department's precious funds for routine program upgrades, the Terriers' Director of Athletics hired Dr. Jarrod Spencer to instill the revolutionary "Mind of the Athlete Program" for the entire 2017–18 academic year.

"The Northeast Conference recently instituted a wonderful new initiative to bring experts to our campuses to help student-athletes on a variety of different topics," Garcia explained. "Mental health was the one area I felt would benefit our student-athletes the most. We wanted to give them a tool to deal with a variety of problems that arise due to the stress of being a college student and a Division I athlete."

"Mind of the Athlete" helps improve the emotional health of athletes. The staff believes there is so much more possible within athletes. The belief is that this potential is often blocked by limitations of the mind. The program attempts to unlock that potential by equipping athletes with cutting edge sports psychology content, resources, and skills. The mission is to help athletes thrive!

Dr. Spencer focused the first year on three main areas: how the mind works best, sleep and how it effects performance, and how to manage performance anxiety.

"I believe it's really been a huge positive for our program," Garcia added. "We have gotten great feedback from our student-athletes and coaches and we plan on continue our relationship with Jarrod next year."

"If you want your son or daughter to attend a school where they are honestly cared for, St. Francis College is the place," said Dr. Spencer.

"The student-athlete is cared for deeply as a person, not just an athlete, and it's obvious from the top-down. It's a tangible vibe that you feel at this place and it gives me more excitement and the love to perform my job every day."

Bowler Emma Catone Competes at Nationals

Bowler Emma Catone '18 competed in the United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Singles Championships, in Omaha, NE this April. Catone earned an automatic invite to the national event after placing seventh out of 174 competitors with a score of 1,240 at the 2018 Intercollegiate Singles Championship Sectional Qualifiers.

Catone, a Second Team All Northeast Conference performer, bowled the fourth highest score in qualifying, moving her to the second round of the national tournament where her tournament ended.

"I'm so proud of Emma this past year, especially the last few months where I've seen some of the best shots ever from her," said Terriers' Head Coach Dawn Gugliaro. "Her decision-making with on lane adjustments and ball selection have been on point. Her ability to stay in the moment and focused is the reason she has been able to put up the big numbers."

Men's Track and Field Returns to the Penn Relays

Five members of the Men's Track and Field team ran in the 2018 Penn Relays, making it the second year in a row the Terriers competed in the prestigious event. The men competed in the 4 x 400 meter relay and the College Men's Sprint Medley. Paul Clarke '19 was the only one of the five who raced last year. The others on the 4 x 400 were Daniel Pagan '21, Feguy Magnan '21, and Joshua Beausil '21. In the medley, Clarke, Magnan, Pagan, and Matthew Nieves '21 raced, cutting more than four second off the team's time from a year ago.

Graduate Wagner Elancieux '18 also competed at the relays. He ran for Team Haiti in the USA vs. the World 4×100 meter event where he got to race against one of the world's fastest men, Justin Gatlin.