Alyssa Bernstein                               Coach Cabot-Puro

The women’s tennis team swept all 9 flights at the 2011 Region XV Championships, earning them a trip to the NJCAA Division Tournament beginning Wednesday, October 26th.  Also announced was that head coach Lynn Cabot-Puro was named the Region XV Coach of the Year and Alyssa Bernstein earned Player of the Year honors.

Winning first singles, and earning the Region XV Player of the Year, was Alyssa Bernstein.  She won her match easily 6-1, 6-2 and teamed up with Amanda Cabey to take first doubles 6-3, 6-0.  Also earning All-region first team accolades were Sara Julio, Amanda Cabey, Niki Phillips, Nika Munoz, Sara Pink, and Jessica McHugh.

Also announced was the Head Coach Lynn Cabot-Puro was named the Region XV Coach of the Year.  She guided the team to a 4-1 season record, and then this impressive sweep at the Championships.

The women’s volleyball team was rewarded for their excellent play this season, by being awarded three players on the All-Region Team.  Also announced was that Kayla Kalleberg was given the sportsmanship award and Casey Buie was nominated for All American honors.

After finishing the regular season with a 14-2 overall record, the Tigers earned the second seed in the Region XV tournament. On top of that, three student-athletes were voted to the All-Region Team.  Casey Buie and Kayla Kalleberg were named to the first team, while Ariane Datil was named to the 2nd team.

Buie is leading the team in kills this season, with 122 (2.3/g).  She has also recorded 27 aces and 19 blocked shots.  Kalleberg is in the top three in nearly all categories, including 75 kills (1.42/g), 30 assists, 37 aces, and 57 digs.  Datil has 101 kills, 40 aces, and 9 blocked shots.

On top of the All-Region nods, the region’s sportsmanship award was given to Kayla Kalleberg.  Also, Casey Buie was nominated for All-American.  That nomination comes from being one of the top three players within the first team All-Region team.

FIT defeated Orange CC in the first round of the playoffs, and move on to play 3rd seeded Queensborough in the semifinals. The semifinals and finals will be played at Hostos CC and will begin Saturday, October 29th at noon.  The other semifinal match will pit top seeded Nassau CC against 4th seeded Suffolk CC.

The women’s soccer All-Region Team was recently announced by Region XV, and four FIT Tigers made appearances on the team. FIT finished their inaugural season with a 4-5-1 overall record and a 3 seed in the regional tournament.

Brittany Sheeran was named to the first team, after a stellar season at midfield. The co-captain was tied for the team lead in points, scoring 3 goals and adding 3 assists. Her best game of the season came against Sufflok Community College, scoring 1 goal and adding 2 assists.

Making an appearance on the second team was midfielder Briana Marquit, and defenders Faranak Shahryary and Kathryn Fox. Fox and Shahryary played a huge role in allowing only 17 goals in 10 games (1.7 per game).  The two center backs were a dominant presence in the FIT defensive third, using both their height and foot skills to foil most attacks on net, and they had a combined total of 8 blocked shots.  Marquit, was a constant threat in the midfield.  Her ball work and precision passing gave the FIT offense a just start on most transitions.  Marquit was the third highest in points on the team, 3 goals and 1 assist.

“I am very pleased that Region XV recognized 4 of our players to the All-Region team in our inaugural season”, commented Coach Bevivino.  ”The girls that made the first and second team truly do belong on that list, appearing alongside players from the Monroe team who is ranked second in the Nation.  I am very proud of these girls for their hard work and dedication.  However I think that soccer being a team sport, it is through everyone’s effort on the FIT team that we had the success on the field that we did; and I truly feel our team was full talent and anyone of them could have made the first or second team.”

The Fashion Institute of Technology Women’s Volleyball Team clinched the 2011 NJCAA Region XV volleyball championship, defeating defending champions Nassau Community College 3-1 (25-12, 25-14, 17-25, 25-12). The win earns the team a berth into the NJCAA Division III National Championships which are held in Rochester, Minnesota November 10^th-12^th.

After losing a very close match to Nassau early in the regular season, the Tigers went on to win 13 straight matches, and 15 of their last 16, before getting the rematch with Nassau in the Championship game.  Sparked by this dominant trend, the Tigers fascinated the fans with their overpowering defensive efforts and amazing serving ability to dominate the Lions in the finals. Outside hitter Kayla Kalleberg and middle hitter Enya McNiece each had 7 kills, while Ariane Datil and Casey Buie pounded down 6 kills each.

This shared offensive responsibility was successfully created by freshman setter and Tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP), Lauren Curley. According to Coach Auguste, “Lauren Curley is the engine that propelled our team to regional success. As a freshman and setter she orchestrated our offense in a manner that brought energy and consistency to our team. She received a deserving award and I am very proud of her.”

In addition, to the MVP award, two All Tournament Team awards went to FIT’s 1^st Team All Region recipients; Casey Buie and Kayla Kalleberg. The coaching staff and players would like to extend their sincere gratitude to all the parents and supporters this season.

(Taylor Heinselman)

The FIT women’s cross country team placed second overall at the Region XV Championships held Sunday, October 22nd at Sunken Meadow Park on Long Island.  The men did not have enough runners to finish as a team, however both runners placed 22nd or better in the race. 

The women were led by Taylor Heinselman who placed second overall at the meet that featured 27 runners.  She finished the 5k course in 22:16.6.  Placing 9th overall was Nikki Quinn in 25:24.7, followed by Brady Brennan in 13th (26:31.5), Jessica Finnegan in 16th (28:07.6), Rachel Isaac in 17th (28:14.9), Krystelle Buenafe in 18th (28:26.1), Brittany Cheek in 22nd (31:47.3), and Amanda Dresen in 25th (32:17.7).  Since the top 5 runners make up the team score, FIT finished with 57 points.

The men’s 5 mile race was completed by Sean Read and Tanner Temnick, who finished the course in 20th and 22nd places respectively.  They had times of 32:33.6 and 33:18.1.