SPORTS

by Robert D. Cornell The NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee announced that the Patriot League football champion will receive an automatic berth into the 1997 NCAA Football Championship. The Patriot League becomes one of eight conferences to receive an automatic bid into the field of 16 for the annual championship. In addition, the 1997 Patriot League women's soccer champion will receive an automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship. The Patriot League is one of 13 conferences whose champion will proceed directly to the NCAA Tournament. The Colgate football team participated in the Division I-AA playoffs in 1982 and 1983, the first two years of the division. Women's soccer has enjoyed tremendous success since the league's inception in 1990. This past season, Colgate won its fifth Patriot League title in six seasons and its third ECAC title in four seasons. Bruce Gardiner '94 has played well for the Ottawa Senators, who have qualified for the NHL playoffs this season, the first time in the club's history. Gardiner, a forward, had the winning goal against the Rangers in a game that propelled Ottawa into the postseason. Photo © OSHC/Sportsfocus Junior diver Cheryl Meltz and senior hockey player Dave Dubuss-chere were named to the 1996-97 GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-District I teams, each for the first time. Meltz was one of only two juniors out of the 11 total honorees to be selected to the District I team. She boasts a 3.93 cumulative grade point average as a physics major and this year captured a silver medal at the ECAC Championship. Meltz won two bronzes at this year's Patriot League Championships and was presented with the team's Bob Kane Award for selflessness, courage and leadership. She is the first junior to be considered for the prize in its 10-year history. Dubusschere, a senior left wing on the Red Raider hockey team, has a 3.35 grade point average in economics and geography. He finished the season as the squad's second leading scorer with 15 goals, 20 assists for 35 points. He was voted the team's best defensive player and this season finished in a tie for fourth in the voting for the ECAC's Best Defensive Forward Award. He also represented Col-gate in the second annual Eastern Senior Hockey All-Star game. The crew club hosted its first-ever regatta on Lake Moraine. Snow and Spring Party Weekend didn't deter the crews from competing in the third annual Seneca Cup with Skidmore, Hobart and William Smith. Colgate won five of the seven races and, according to coach Fred Cressman, the highlight was the women's varsity eight open water win over William Smith, New York State champs and undefeated the past three years. The men's varsity eight, above, made the most of the conditions. Colgate hosted the Patriot League championships the next week at Delta Lake in nearby Rome. Senior football player Anthony Caravetta has been named the first winner of Colgate's Tom Wilson '67 Memorial Leadership Award. The award is given to the senior student-athlete who demonstrates outstanding leadership both on his or her team and in the Colgate community. Caravetta, the Patriot League Offensive Player-of-the-Year, was the leading rusher in the league last season with a career-high 1,235 yards on 224 carries. He finished his collegiate career with 2,025 yards, which placed him eighth on the school's all-time rushing list. In addition to being a leader of the football team, Caravetta was also actively involved in the Delta Upsilon fraternity and served as the Treasurer of the Interfraternity Council. Senior Darcy Rollins, a four-year letter winner in women's soccer, has been named the winner of Colgate's Jack Mitchell Award. The award is presented annually to the graduating senior student-athlete with the highest overall grade point average. Rollins, who played on three Patriot League champion teams and three ECAC Division I champion teams, finished her career with five goals and seven assists for 17 points. She carries a 3.99 grade point average and majors in political science. Mike Harder, a senior right wing on the hockey team, was named a second team Titan All-America by the American Hockey Coaches Association. The St. Adolphe, Manitoba native becomes the 12th player in Colgate hockey history to be named an All-America. In addition to this honor, Harder was one of 10 finalists for the 1997 Hobey Baker Memorial Award. He was a first team all-ECAC pick after leading Colgate in scoring with 55 points (22 goals, 33 assists). He became Colgate's all-time leading scorer with 214 points (88 goals, 126 assists). Senior Kara Crismale became the 12th women's basketball player to score 1,000 points in a career with a 13 point effort against Lehigh in the quarterfinal round the Patriot League Tournament. The mark was reached with just 52 seconds remaining in the game. Crismale, a guard, ended the season as Colgate's leading scorer with 13.4 points per game. Dan Hunt has been elevated to a full-time position on the football staff after working as a part-time assistant for two seasons. Hunt, 28, will be the running back coach for the Red Raiders after working with the tight ends the last two seasons. Last year he coached with all-Patriot League tight end Chris Young, who caught 35 passes for 518 yards and two touchdowns after playing linebacker for three seasons. Spring has sprung for lacrosse teams With junior Angela Chongris up front, sophomore Hilary Meyer back in the goal and a hard-working team that pulls together in between, women's lacrosse has had a blooming good spring. The team was 9-1 after its first ten games, and with a break from Lafayette, could be playing for the Patriot League title. "The key," says coach Cathy Foto, "is everyone on this team is working hard every day. Our success is because of how we practice." With strong senior leadership supplied by Evan Mingle and captains Dulany Reeves and Joy Martin, Colgate also boosts the scoring of Chongris and the goalkeeping of Meyer, who have both been statistical leaders in the Patriot League and the NCAA. Chongris's four goals a game average ranks her eighth nationally and first in the Patriot League. "Ang is scoring goals in a lot of different ways this year," says Coach Foto. "She is passing the ball well, too." Chongris sets the pace but otherwise Colgate's scoring has been balanced and comes from several directions. "I think almost everyone has scored," says Foto. Colgate opponents can't make a similar claim. Goalie Meyer leads the nation in save percentage and her goals against average of 5.57 is good for sixth place on the NCAA list. She is the league's top-rated goalie -- allowing 63 goals in the season's first 10 games, almost exactly half the number of goals Colgate (125) scored on its way to the 9-1 record. That lone loss came against Lehigh, but if Lafayette can knock off their arch-rival, the Leopards and Red Raiders could play for the Patriot League title when they meet in the season finale. The men's lacrosse team's .500 (6-6) season has been marked by successes and disappointments. After a season opening loss to Butler in the Syracuse University Carrier Dome, Colgate beat Cornell for the first time in years. The team then defeated Denver University in a game played at the Air Force Academy. Back home, Colgate rallied against Vermont to send the game into overtime. The Red Raiders' huge comeback, however, was dashed when the Catamounts scored a sudden death winner. In a game that had to be played on Hamilton College's turf field because of snow, Colgate led Hobart early but the traditional powerhouse pulled away in the second half to win 15-10. Colgate blanked Holy Cross 15-0, the Red Raiders' first shutout since 1960 when they beat Duke 19-0. Sophomore goalie Mike Fine earned league Player of the Week honors for his role in the victory. The win set up a showdown with Army but the Cadets took control of the Patriot League race with a 14-8 win. Colgate was dancing on Spring Party Weekend. Led by senior attack Joby Fowler, the Red Raiders beat Bucknell 19-6. Fowler scored six goals and one assist. He has scored 100 goals in his career and is now ranked fourth among Colgate's all-time leading scorers.

Adonal Foyle opts for the NBA When Adonal Foyle announced three years ago that he would attend Colgate, passing up offers to play in some of the nation's most powerful college basketball programs, the sports press took note. Foyle's unusual circumstances -- discovered on a tiny Caribbean island in the Grenadines and brought to the United States by Colgate professors Jay and Joan Mandle -- and his dedication to earning an education at the same time he developed his basketball skills -- is a story that has been featured in the sports press for three seasons and even garnered two editorials in the New York Times. That Foyle led the Red Raiders to their first two NCAA post-season tournaments while establishing national records for shot blocking and dominating the Patriot League as rookie of the year and player of the year (twice), at the same time sustaining a 3.47 grade point average as a history major, made him the quintessential model of the scholar-athlete. But shortly after the conclusion of this 12-16 season and just two days before his twenty-second birthday, Foyle announced "that basketball has to take priority at this point in my life," that he would "put my formal academic training on hold for a while to pursue a professional career in basketball." Foyle acknowledged both his professors and the Colgate coaching staff but said, "For the first time in my life I have to make a decision in which academic considerations cannot be given the highest priority. He said he had promised his family that he would graduate from college, "It will just take me longer than I anticipated." Everyone at Colgate has shared in the experience of having Adonal Foyle on campus for the past three years" said President Neil Grabois. "His athletic achievements have earned him a place in the national eye, but the real story has been in the values he represents. He is not only a gifted basketball player, but a scholar and a gentle person who has spoken thoughtfully, easily and often about the importance of leading a full and enlightened life. "His guardians, Jay and Joan Mandle, created an opportunity for Adonal to learn and grow in this environment, and the faculty and students at Colgate have contributed to Adonal's development even as they have enjoyed his company. "I regret that he is leaving college before he achieves his degree, but that is an issue for society and not for one young man with many talents. Adonal Foyle will be a success in life, no matter what he chooses to do, and he leaves with my best wishes and those of the Colgate community." Foyle was a first team GTE Academic All America this season. The US Basketball Writers had him as a second team All America, and he was third team AP All America and a finalist for the John Wooden College Basketball Player of the Year. He shared ECAC Division I Player of the Year with Austin Croshere of Providence while setting the national career record for blocked shots (492), finishing second in the nation and breaking the Colgate record for rebounds (13.1/game, 1,103 career), and finishing third in the nation and second in a Colgate career for scoring (24.4/game, 1,776 career). Through press time, ESPN forecast Foyle as the eighth pick in the spring NBA draft.