Commissioner's Cup win caps historic year for Quinnipiac Athletics

The class of the conference

The crowning achievement was the men’s ice hockey team’s triumph at the Frozen Four, of course. But Quinnipiac teams combined to win six league titles across the 2022-23 academic year, making the Bobcats the overall winners of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s Commissioner’s Cup. Additionally, Bobcats’ women’s sports were named co-champions of the Commissioner’s Cup alongside Fairfield. “Winning the Richard J. Ensor, Esq. Commissioner's Cup is a testament to the dedication and commitment from our entire department on a daily basis,” Athletic Director Greg Amodio said.

Women's soccer goes back-to-back

With a 1-0 win over in-state rival Fairfield on November 5, the Quinnipiac women’s soccer team captured their second straight MAAC Championship to secure another berth in the NCAA Tournament. A dominant regular season saw the Bobcats compile a perfect record (9-0-1) in the conference en route to an overall mark of 13-3-1. Senior forward Courtney Chochol earned the conference’s Golden Boot award for racking up a league-best 23 points (seven goals, nine assists) and senior goalkeeper Sofia Lospinoso was her equal in net, posting six shutouts and a 1.05 goals against average to capture the Golden Glove award. Three Bobcats — Markela Bejleri, Kayla Mingachos and Olivia Scott — shared the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year award and coach Dave Clarke collected his first career MAAC Coach of the Year award.

Acrobatics and tumbling crowns four national champs

After a sterling regular season that saw Quinnipiac win six of eight meets en route to a berth in the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association semifinals, the Bobcats captured four event titles at the NCATA national championships. The team of MiaRose King, Chloe White, Schuyler Tomey, Bella Pierce, Grace Rogers, Hailee Oswald, Abby Hamilton, Nicolette Tianga, Raven Hammett and Madison Aiello won the inversion pyramid event. Summer Knoell and Lyndsey Rudolph took home the duo tumbling title. Farrah Chernov, Katherine Carter, Tiffany Zieba and Bri Marks won the quad tumbling event. And Chernov also captured the individual title for aerial tumbling.

Batten makes his mark in the big leagues

Former Bobcats baseball standout Matthew Batten ’17 has taken the road less traveled to Major League Baseball, climbing through the minor league ranks to earn two separate stints as a utility infielder with the San Diego Padres after the organization drafted him in the 32nd round in 2017. After collecting just two hits in 19 at-bats in 2022, Batten blasted his first career home run on July 8, a two-run shot that served as the deciding blow in an eventual 3-2 win over the New York Mets. “It's (something) I'll appreciate forever, but it definitely means a hell of a lot more doing it with a win,” Batten, 28, of Shelton, Connecticut, told The San Diego Union-Tribune.  “That's the end goal here. There's no more moving up. You play to win the game here. So that's awesome to do it.”

Women's golf makes a run at a dynasty

Since Quinnipiac’s arrival in the MAAC ahead of the 2013-14 season, no rival women’s golf program in the conference has had an answer for the Bobcats. Coach John O’Connor’s team collected its third straight MAAC championship and fifth overall with another dominant outing on April 23. Medalist and MAAC golfer of the year Fuge Zhang led a 1-2-3 finish in the conference tournament, with Kaylee Sakoda and Leeyen Peralta finishing second and third, respectively. The Bobcats’ three-day combined score of 9-over-par 873 set a new conference record, decisively topping their own mark of 37-over-par 901 in 2022. Zhang’s individual total of 2-under-par 214 was also a new conference record. Additionally, the team’s academic performance merited the Women's Golf Coaches Association All-Scholar Team GPA Award.

Williams signs pro basketball deal in Slovakia

On the heels of helping the men’s basketball team compile a 20-win season, former Bobcats guard Tyrese Williams ’23 signed a pro contract with BC Komarno of the Slovak Basketball League. A native of Beacon, New York, Williams tallied 1,173 career points while appearing in 135 games — second-most in program history. He led the Bobcats with 66 3-pointers in 2022-23.

Women's tennis repeats as MAAC champs

On the strength of first-year Nikole Lisovyy’s perfect 4-0 mark in conference tournament play, the Bobcats topped Fairfield, 4-1, in the finals to win their second straight MAAC championship and seventh overall league title. Lisovyy, who was named the tournament’s most outstanding player, teamed up with Jordan Bradley to win No. 2 doubles in the finals. The duo of Vera Sekerina and Claire Koscielski won the No. 3 doubles match. And Alessia Truden (No. 2 singles), Sekerina (No. 4) and Lisovyy (No. 6) each won their individual matches against the Stags.

Baseball finishes with a flourish

Tabbed to finish seventh out of 11 teams in the MAAC preseason poll, the Bobcats found themselves in the middle of the pack before a nine-game win streak to close out the regular season vaulted them into fourth place in the league. The late-season surge — which included a 27-0 win over Saint Peter’s on May 11, marking the largest margin of victory in program history — earned skipper John Delaney his second MAAC coach of the year award in nine seasons at the helm. Five Bobcats earned All-MAAC honors, including senior pitcher Kevin Seitter, junior catcher Keegan O’Connor and senior outfielder Anthony Donofrio.