It's been a few weeks since I've written a blog and today seemed like an ideal time to express some thoughts as we get ready to head into a critical time for Stony Brook Athletics. I plan to write more often moving forward as I feel that it best allows me to share insights and issues with you.  

Let me begin with the positives – and there are many to speak of right now.

Our indoor training center has been operational for our teams since January and the response from our student-athletes and coaches has been overwhelmingly positive. Construction on the support building, which houses the training room, restrooms and main lobby, is expected to be completed in the next three weeks.
 

Women's lacrosse is ranked No. 3 after huge wins against Syracuse and Ohio State. I was able to watch a few minutes of practice earlier this week as the team prepared for their trip to Florida and I've never seen a team fly around the way ours was. We've obviously had some great players and some great teams. This one could be the best by the time it's all said and done.
 

Softball is off to the best start since 1991 at 5-0 and is one of three unbeaten teams in Division I joining UCLA and Oregon. The team made a huge statement at last weekend's season-opening tournament in Madeira Beach, Florida, as Jourdin Hering hit for the cycle against Providence while Dawn Bodrug capped the weekend with a perfect game in a win over Cornell.
 

At 25-3, women's basketball has already set the school single-season record for victories while claiming their first-ever America East regular-season title. The team will play Albany on Saturday at 12:30 for Senior Day in a game that will be broadcast on SNY. I can't say enough amazing things about this group, which has its sights set on the first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
 

Our men's and women's track and field programs both gave stellar performances at last weekend's America East Indoor Championships. I'd like to give a special shoutout to our champions: Cameron Avery (5000m), Vann Moffett (3000m), Luke Coulter (1000m), Amanda Stead (200m) and distance medley relay team (Chris Biondi, Luke Coulter, Paul Catalano, Vann Moffett). Also congratulations to Nadja Ashley for earning Rookie of the
Meet honors.
 

Men's lacrosse is out to a 3-1 start under first-year head coach Anthony Gilardi after knocking off Hofstra on Tuesday night. Senior goalie Michael Bollinger has been a huge reason for our early success and ranks fourth nationally with 15.5 saves per game.
 

Despite losing leading scorer and inspirational leader Elijah Olaniyi to an ankle injury five games ago, men's basketball is holding on to the second spot in the America East standings. 

 
I could go on but the reality is that the urgency to win has never been greater. I'll admit that with a new president being named later this spring, I feel that this is a critical juncture for the future of athletics at Stony Brook. The bottom line is that our teams are winning. This was part of the plan that we rolled out five years ago because we knew that comprehensive athletic success across all sports is imperative for us to be the national program that we aspire to be.
 
Earlier in the week, I tweeted that since the start of the 2018-19 basketball season, Stony Brook leads the America East with 90 combined wins for our men's and women's programs. The next highest total was Vermont with 72. Basketball success is imperative and losing one game feels like 100. While losses hurt, it is important to maintain perspective. Our women are conference champions with a school-record 25 wins and our men are in second with 18 victories. Our goals remain clear in front of us.
 
Anything less than a trip to the NCAA Tournament will be a disappointment. Our goal of sustained success means that we will always be in the fight. Trust me, we will never stop fighting… or believing.
 
Thank you for believing along with us.
 
Warm regards,



Shawn Heilbron