While most Manhattan College students were enjoying time off-campus on vacation, athletes were competing and practicing for the upcoming fall season.
Manhattan was represented in Europe as former members of the track and field teams competed internationally. Practices resumed earlier this month and regular season games are starting shortly thereafter.
Track & Field
Men’s and women’s track and field earned all-academic honors from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Men’s team posted a 3.09 GPA and was one of 123 teams to accomplish this. Women’s averaged a 3.28 GPA and were one of 224 teams to record higher than a 3.0.
This summer has been an impressive one for Manhattan graduates competing in Europe. Among those are 2015 graduates Killian Barry and Lydia Wehrli.
Barry earned second place in the men’s hammer throw (59.32 m, 194’7) at the Irish National Championships. Meanwhile, in Paris at the French Nationals, Wehrli placed ninth in the women’s hammer throw in July. She later competed at the National Championships and earned second place in the hammer throw with 55.85 m, 183’3.
Men’s Soccer
In the MAAC preseason poll, Manhattan ranked ninth in the conference — 39 points, just behind Marist who finished with 44.
Manhattan added 12 new players to their roster for the fall season — eight freshmen and four transfers. The team also welcomes two new assistant coaches: Simon Royle and Kyle Hoffer.
Abraham Bartoah was named to the all-MAAC preseason team. He previously was selected to the all-MAAC second team at the of the 2014 season. Last season, he played in 16 games and made 15 starts for the back line. He notched one goal and one assist.
Royle has spent time coaching in France, Holland, Italy and Australia. He earned a degree in coaching and sports development. While Hoffer spent the last five years playing professionally in the U.S. and Europe. He played for St. John’s University, and was a member of the Big East Tournament champion team in 2009.
This season, the team has nine home games. It begins MAAC play against Siena on September 26.
Women’s Soccer
Manhattan opened its season on August 21 with a 1-0 victory over Vermont. Erica Modena’s first-half goal sealed the win for the Jaspers. Colleen Kavanagh assisted Modena on the goal and Kristen Skonieczny notched six saves, five of which were in the second half. She now has 15 career wins and nine shutouts.
This was Manhattan’s third straight season-opening win and are now 13-11-1 all-time in season-openers and 6-0 in home-openers under head coach Brendan Lawler. The team was polled to finish sixth in the conference.
It welcomed back 13 players from last season — eight starters — and added 12 new players to the roster — 11 freshmen.
Manhattan has seven home games this season and starts MAAC play against Canisius on September 19.
Volleyball
Over the summer, the team was honored with the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award, earning it for the fourth straight year. The team was one of 752 recognized teams. A team needs a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher to be eligible and Manhattan’s team GPA for 2014 was 3.47.
Claire Van Dyk and Allie Yamashiro have been selected to the all-MAAC preseason team. Last season, Van Dyk finished second on the team in kills with 373 and third in digs. She was named to the 2014 MAAC All-Tournament Team.
As for Yamashiro, she set a program record with 656 dig, leading the MAAC, and was 12th in the NCAA. Manhattan ranked third nationally in digs with 2,351. Yamashiro also earned the MAAC Libero of the Week honor three times.
This season, Manhattan will play in 32 matches with 11 of them at home. It’s coming off their second consecutive appearance in the MAAC Tournament semifinals, as well as their second straight 20-win season. They have nine returning players and welcome seven to the roster.