Four years ago, seven women’s lacrosse freshmen first stepped on to the campus of Queens College, they did not know what to expect. Just as these athletes were apprehensive about classes, meeting new friends, and adjusting to life away from home, the QC women’s lacrosse coaching staff was anxious about their first season of varsity competition and the years ahead for the program. “The women’s lacrosse team was added to the Knights athletics program for a couple of main reasons,” explains Brian DeMasters, the Assistant Athletic Director in 2009. The conference needed a minimum number of teams in the sport in order for it to be compliant and for an automatic qualifying bid for Regionals, etc. Not…
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Injuries hit men’s basketball team hard
A combination of inexperience playing with one another and untimely serious injuries to key players led to an underwhelming start for the men’s basketball team before they captured their first win Saturday. With eight new additions to the roster, the Knights (1-5, 1-0) struggled to string together a win before they defeated Mercy College last week, 72-68, in their first East Coast Conference game of the season. The team fell to non-conference opponents Daemen, Felician, New Haven and Post University twice out of the gate, but the QC Knights refused to be discouraged, said junior guard George Holmes. “We are trying to mix in some new guys,” said head coach…
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New players look to nix former ways of team
After only winning four games while losing 22 last season, the men’s basketball team said this year they will be an improved group —despite being without their two top scorers from a year ago. Khalil McDonald and Jeremiah Mordi, who combined to average nearly 30 points per game last season, finished their Queens College athletic careers. But the Knights are equipped for the upcoming conference season with eight new players and seven returning players. Returning forward and team captain Patrick Piasecki hopes with the new additions to the team, the Knights will be a force to be reckoned with in the East Coast Conference. “We have a fresh group of…
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Outstanding Freshman recipient, Abe Akanmu, ready for Year Two
Reggie Miller enjoyed a Hall of Fame basketball career with the Indiana Pacers after altering his shot at a young age because his older sister — also a Hall of Famer — used to block it. Though Abe Akanmu of the men’s basketball team may never reach the level of play Miller did, he can at least somewhat relate to the star’s beginnings. “I got into basketball because my older sister used to play and I wanted to do everything just like her,” Akanmu said. “I fell in love with the game and the rest is history.” The standout sophomore started playing basketball at age 5 and the experience has…
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Women’s Soccer Clinches ECC Playoff Position
With their last two consecutive shutout victories at home, the Queens College women’s soccer team advanced to a 9-3-3 record and clinched a berth in the ECC playoffs. On Friday October 12th, the Lady Knights defeated Roberts Wesleyan 1-0 on Knights Field in Flushing. The competition was fierce and the ensuring corner-kick marker came off the foot of junior Kristina Ikonomou in the 34th minute of play. “All game I had been taking corners that kept going over the keepers head that created a chance for us,” said Ikonomou. “So, I took advantage of that and over-hit my corner. Next thing I knew, the ball was in the back of…