Sobieraski receives Bounce Back award in Aspen

Geneseo women’s basketball senior forward Lea Sobieraski recently received the Bounce Back award from the Chris Klug Foundation for organ transplant recipients who have led inspiring post-transplant lives. On March 2, 2013, Sobieraski was rushed into surgery as her life was in the hands of the doctors and surgeons. She was diagnosed with Wilson’s disease, a rare inherited disorder that causes too much copper to accumulate in the liver, brain and other vital organs.

“Prior to being diagnosed [with Wilson’s disease] I had never heard of it. Being a healthy collegiate athlete, I had never faced any injuries or serious illness, so this was definitely a shock,” she said. “I was very taken aback because I had realized my life was going to change—my life was on a hold. My life changed drastically, but I am a better person because of it. I now have a clear purpose in life and that is to use my story to spread awareness on the importance of organ donation.”

Forced to leave school as her condition deteriorated, all Sobieraski could do was play the unfortunate waiting game. Her condition became so debilitating that she was pushed to the top of the transplant waiting list. She was rushed into surgery and with a successful transplant, Sobieraski was ready to get back in the game.

“When I stood up after my transplant, the first thing I did was take a pretend jump shot,” she said.

From there, it was obvious there was no stopping her and what she would accomplish. Sobieraski is now an active advocate for organ transplants and has registered more than 50 students on campus to become donors. In addition, she was chosen as a commencement speaker for a local high school. Perhaps most importantly for Sobieraski, however, was that she was not only able to re-enroll at Geneseo, but she was also able to get back on the court for the women’s basketball team just months after her surgery.

“I knew it would be a lot of hard work and dedication, but I made a promise to myself I would do whatever it took to play the game I loved again,” Sobieraski said. “I never gave up on that goal. Playing basketball was my passion, it was what made me so happy.”

The Bounce Back award is presented to two transplant recipients. With over 80 nominations, the staff at CFK chose Sobieraski. As a result, she won a trip to Aspen, Colorado to attend the Aspen Summit for Life on Friday Dec. 4. More than deserving of the honor, Sobieraski was presented the award on Saturday Dec 5. 

By using her second chance in life to not only give back and restart where she left off before the surgery, but also to evolve as a person, Sobieraski has proven herself as a role model and success story that most certainly won’t be soon forgotten.

Women's basketball defeated in Wendy's College Classic

The Geneseo women’s basketball team fell short in the Wendy’s College Classic on Saturday Dec. 5. Losing in the championship game to Division II Roberts Wesleyan College by a slim score of 54-51, the Knights were nearly able to come close to a Wendy’s tournament title that has eluded their grip for years now. To the Knights’ credit, they have only lost by three or fewer points in all three of those championship appearances.

Opening the tournament against the seventh-seed Rochester Institute of Technology, Geneseo faced an opening round scare and squeezed by with a 58-56 victory. A slow first quarter for the Knights left them with a deficit early and left them going into the half down by seven points and were forced to play catch-up for the rest of the game. A strong second half in which the Knights outscored RIT by nine also had a 12-3 run for Geneseo late in the fourth quarter. That provided Geneseo with just enough to win.

As they have shown all season, the strong play in the post sparked the Geneseo victory, as the women more than doubled RIT’s points in the paint. Led inside by senior forward Allison McKenna’s 14 point and eight rebound performance and accompanied by junior guard Katie Durand’s play, the women were able to find just enough offense to get by.

Securing another close, yet more decisive victory in the semifinals against the University of Rochester, Geneseo came out on top 56-48. It was a career night for junior forward Katie Vienneau, who led the Knights with her terrific shooting and scored a game-high 21 points on eight of 12 shooting, while also falling a rebound short of a double-double.

Though eventually falling in the final to Roberts Wesleyan, the women perhaps had one of their grittier performances of the season—coming back from a 13 point deficit going into the fourth quarter and bringing the score within three points. In a game in which they shot a mere 32.8 percent, the Knights losing by only three points in the final seconds shows that even on nights when the shot is not falling, the women can hang in there and find ways to compete with anyone.

“Our expectations are to really take the season one game at a time and have confidence to beat anyone we play,” freshman forward McKenna Brooks said.

Following a matchup against Misericordia University on Jan. 2, the women start off conference play with three straight home games. If they continue to follow the formula they have built so far of outrebounding and controlling the paint, these Knights can go as far as they want. They have shown everyone that they have just enough talent as anyone out there. What it really comes down to is whether or not they can keep the mistakes to a minimum.

Knights rely on defense to spark win streak

The Geneseo women’s basketball team’s season is underway and the Knights are looking to improve on the success they had last season: a 25-5 record coupled with making it to the third round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. This year’s team has already demonstrated what they are capable of by turning in some strong performances early on. Though the season has just gotten underway, the Knights have shown that they are yet again going to be a tough matchup for any team.

Starting off their season on Nov. 20 against Gettysburg College in the Jim Crawley Tournament, the 20th ranked—according to the USA Today Sports Preseason Division III Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll—Knights fell in a close game 50-47. Though the end score was not the one that the Knights had hoped for, the game exhibited strong individual performances by senior forward Allison McKenna, freshman forward McKenna Brooks and senior guard Dana Cohan. Not only did the three players’ points account for a combined 43 of the team’s 47 points, but their rebounds totaled to 21 of the teams 44 rebounds.

The strong performances of McKenna, Brooks and Cohan carried over to the rest of the team. The women would go on to blow out St. Joseph’s-Brooklyn in the Nov. 21 consolation game of the tournament. The final score was 78-37 with the Knights exhibiting a high level of consistent play and with Brooks tallying up a game high 18 points.

The Knights were able to take a 31-10 lead in the second quarter against St. Joseph’s-Brooklyn and never looked back. The real difference maker was on the boards for Geneseo. They they were able to absolutely dominate; out rebounding their opposition 61-27—which consequently led to 27 second chance points and a victory for the Knights. These strong performances are essential for a team that has lost intricate pieces of last year’s team.

“After graduating three key players last year, we will need to find ways to replace both scoring and rebounding,” Cohan said. “Allison McKenna will be relied on heavily but contributions from our junior class will also be very important for us to be successful this season.”

Perhaps the strongest game by the Knights so far was the Nov. 24 win against Vassar College. In a tight 70-66 win, the Knights had their best all-around performance with five different players scoring in double digits. Senior forward Lea Sobieraski paced the Knights with her dominant performance off the bench, getting a double-double on 10 points with 12 rebounds.

“Rebounding has always been my strength; I understand how important it is for me to crash the boards whenever I am in the game,” Sobieraski said. “One thing our coach has always told us is that you should control what you can control: attitude and effort. I am going to have days where I miss layups and my shot isn't falling, but I can control my defense and rebounding.”

Sobieraski—who is also the team captain—added that the team has a high standard of performance that they expect from themselves personally and collectively.

“We expect to win the SUNYAC and make the NCAA Tournament; this is our expectation of one another,” she said. “Every day, we work to get better, both individually and, more importantly, as one unit. We have the talent to go far; it is the hard work and paying attention to detail that will get us there.”

Women's soccer upset at home in SUNYACs

The long, rollercoaster of a season has come to a sudden halt for the Geneseo women’s soccer team following a 2-1 loss at the hands of SUNY Oswego in the SUNYAC Tournament quarterfinals. Finishing the season with a record of 11-5-1, this is the first time in the past two seasons that the women have not made it past the SUNYAC quarterfinals.

All the signs pointed to the Knights having the advantage in this second matchup between the two teams. Geneseo came out on top in their matchup two weeks ago with a 2-1 win. As the third seed for the playoffs, the Knights were awarded home field advantage—where they had been an impressive 5-1 throughout the regular season.

Although the Knights outshot SUNY Oswego 11-8, it was clear that there was a lack of offensive production, which was the Knights’ downfall.

“We played a good game, but we were unable to get a strong attack going,” junior midfielder Emily Green said. “We controlled the ball most of the game, but we didn't create enough opportunities for ourselves.”

The Knights’ lack of an attack has been their Achilles’ heel all season long. It has been the strong defense—not offense—that has carried them up to this point. Although the end result was clearly not what the women had hoped for, many players noted that it was still a fairly successful season overall.

“I believe the season was successful but again, our offense needs to improve. We need to be more of a threat with that,” freshman keeper Emily Janiszewski said. “We were happy with how hard we worked and we can't wait to come back for next season.”

With a roster that has only five seniors, it appears that the women will retain most of the same players, which should give them a chance to really form a strong chemistry and repertoire together.

“The more we play together, the better a team we become. We were able to work with some new players and formations and make positive changes to the way we play,” Green said. “Our returning players continue to improve and although we will suffer a huge loss from our graduating seniors, I feel we set ourselves up to be a strong team next season.”

Of course, the end of a season means the end of a career for the senior class. “I am very thankful that I was able to spend the last four years of my soccer career here at Geneseo,” senior forward Kelsey Raschke said. “It has been incredible to be a part of the team and to play with some of my best friends.”

Women's Soccer starts undefeated off NCAA's

Being a freshman is a difficult task in its own right for anyone. Throw in leaving home in mid-August, practicing for several hours a day, attending school earlier than most and juggling academic and athletic success—a student-athlete has one of the more strenuous jobs out there. The freshmen on the women’s soccer team, however, are proving that they are not going to back down. They are up to the task of taking on all of the obstacles that face college athletes. A roster of 28 women—consisting of eight freshmen—has the team set up for success. The first big step for any high school athlete is deciding which college to attend.

“Geneseo is a place that combines great academics, great women's soccer and great people,” head coach Nate Wiley said. “I cannot think of a better place to be a student-athlete ... especially now with this new stadium.”

If that isn’t enough to persuade recruits to attend Geneseo, then perhaps Wiley’s resume could help. Wiley is coming off a season where he won the 2014 SUNYAC Women's Soccer Coach of the Year award; guiding the Knights to a 16-3-3 record—the team's best mark since 1993.

“Wiley was so clear about finding not only a good soccer player, but a good person too, to fit into our team dynamic,” freshman Rachel Walsh said. “He was so nice and made me feel comfortable to come into this program.”

Having a great coach is only one piece to the puzzle when deciding where to attend school. Freshman Ashley Byrne noted that it was the “the academics and the sport atmosphere” that convinced her to come to Geneseo.

“I knew it was the perfect decision because I was looking to play soccer in college at the Division III level and I saw this opportunity and took it,” she said.

Although transitioning to college can be difficult, Wiley thinks this group is moving in smoothly.

“I think our freshmen have been transitioning quite nicely,” he said. “Acclimating freshmen into your program can sometimes prove to be a difficult process, but with the depth of experience that we have, it allows that transition to progress at a more comfortable pace.”

Senior Samantha Sherman also had high praise for the young talent.

“We really have a great group [of freshman],” she said. “They are amazing and fit right into our team.”

With such a great freshman class, this season is already off to a positive start for Wiley’s team. If their early success continues this year and in the distant future, Geneseo should see a few more SUNYAC championships and, perhaps, some NCAA Tournament banners hanging in the new stadium.