Our chance to dance is finally here.
Friday at 5 p.m. on ESPNU, you can watch our women's basketball team take on Maine for the opportunity to go to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. It has been a long journey since last March, when our season was cut short on the eve of the championship game, but our team is locked in and ready to win.
Words cannot adequately express my admiration and gratitude for this team. Our women have sacrificed so much to get to this point, and they enter Friday's title game coming off their most complete performance of the season in a 75-55 semifinal victory over UMass Lowell.
I'm so proud of the winning culture that Caroline McCombs has created on and off the court for our women's basketball program. She was my first hire after I was named AD at Stony Brook, and it has been rewarding to watch her vision come to life. In the past 50 games, she has led our team to 42 wins while taking us to two straight America East title games.
Let's get win No. 43 on Friday night!
Women's Lacrosse: New Year, Same Mindset
Joe Spallina has his women's lacrosse program in a familiar position heading into Sunday's America East home opener against UMass Lowell.
We enter the weekend ranked No. 6, with momentum building after road wins last weekend against UMBC and No. 16 Towson. The team is 4-2, with the only losses coming against No. 1 North Carolina and No. 2 Syracuse. Although we didn't win those games against the nation's top two teams, I believe the experience will pay dividends down the road. Think about the fact that for freshmen Jaden Hampel, Clare Levy and Ellie Masera — all key contributors — the game against UNC was their first lacrosse game in more than a year, after their senior seasons of high school were lost.
This might be the most balanced we have been in my seven years at Stony Brook. Ally Kennedy and Taryn Ohlmiller, our two All-Americans, have been sensational, while Siobhan Rafferty's return following an ACL tear has lifted the offense. Her 16 goals are one behind Ally's team-leading 17.
I believe the trajectory of our team is sky high, and can't wait to watch them continue their march toward an eighth straight America East title.
Budget Planning
An annual rite of spring is the budget planning process for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. Working on the budget is always a time-consuming process, but it is especially critical this year as we begin to emerge from the economic chaos of the past 12 months.
The budget challenges facing New York State and, as a result, Stony Brook University, are very real. Despite the challenges and hard decisions that must be made, I have tremendous confidence in our ability to minimize the pain. The actions we took to contain costs this year helped to offset close to $8 million in lost revenue, including $4.1 million in student-fee refunds and a $1.1 million reduction in state allocation.
Obviously we saved money from our teams not traveling. Fifteen full-time positions that have become vacant since July 2020 have remain unfilled.
As we look ahead to next year, we know there must be some investment in order to emerge stronger in the future. There are creative ways to save money without compromising our ability to compete for championships. It does require us to raise more money, so I hope you will continue to support our cause.
Our "Believe In The Seawolves" campaign is one way that you can make a difference. The goal is not simply to "make it through" the next year, but to thrive. Together we will make it happen.
This is another massive weekend for Stony Brook Athletics, so let's get some wins. We're just getting revved up!
Keep believing!
Shawn
