(8/7/08)  The 2008-2009 Athletic season marks the first season for newly hired Head Coach Kim Broking taking charge of the Centenary College Lady Cyclones Softball program. 

Broking comes to Centenary after a very successful six year coaching stint (2002-2006, 2008) at Montclair State University.  She is however not unfamiliar with the Lady Cyclones program as she did handle the Assistant Coaching duties at Centenary for one year (2007) before returning to the Red Hawks last season.  While on the staff at MSU, Broking was in charge of all aspects of the team’s pitching staff.  She also oversaw the strength and fitness components for the program along with coordinating the team’s fundraising events for their annual spring trip.  During her tenure the team compiled a record of 207 wins and 58 losses. In 2008 she was part of a program which won the New Jersey Athletic Conference tournament after going undefeated in conference play finishing with a record of 18-0.  MSU then went on to the NCAA tournament as the #1 seed.  The staff’s final accolade came when they were named the 2008 Regional Coaching Staff of the Year, one of the top honors awarded to a coaching staff.   In addition to her coaching experience at the college level, Coach Broking, has handled Administrative duties such as coordinating student-athlete study halls, assisting with academic advisement, and was a Mentor to the Student Athlete Advisory Counsel (SAAC).   

During her playing career, Broking was a four-year starter and letter winner for Montclair State from 1998 through 2001.  In her final season she batted a team-best .437 as the Red Hawks won 36 games and claimed the ECAC South Division III crown. Broking set a school record with 1,048 career putouts as an infielder, and tied the school standard with 145 career RBIs. For her career, she batted .404 with 216 hits and 103 runs scored in 174 games, including 56 doubles, while assisting on 96 outs from her first base position. She went 17-2 as a pitcher with a 2.91 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 173 innings. A two-time All-NJAC First Team All-Star, Broking was also selected as the 2001 MSU Outstanding Female Athlete, the 2001 ECAC South Region MVP, and was named the Dioguardi Scholarship Award winner.

Broking holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Physical Education (’02) and a Master of Arts in Physical Education-Exercise Science (’08) both from Montclair State, along with a pair of Coaching Certificates, one from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (Certified Specialist) and the other from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

(6/30/08)  Enrico Mastroianni has been named the new Head Coach of the Centenary College (NJ) Men’s Basketball program.

Mastroianni comes to Centenary after spending the last four seasons as the Associate Head Coach at Misericordia University in Dallas, PA.  During his time at Misericordia, Mastroianni was also the Head JV Coach, Academic Coordinator for the Men’s Basketball team, top recruiter and major contributor to all strategic game-day and practice planning.  “I am very excited about the opportunity to lead the Cyclones into the future!  I believe in this team and our administration.  I have no doubt that together we will do what is necessary to be successful!” 

When asked how she feels about Coach Mastroianni taking over the program, Centenary AD Billie Blackwell said " we are very excited to have Enrico join our staff.  He brings great passion and energy for the game.  I am pleased to have him take over our men's basketball program and look forward to a new era of Cyclone basketball.

Mastroianni is a 1999 graduate of Penn State University where he completed his undergraduate degree in Marketing and International Business.  Most recently he completed his Master’s Degree in Education at Misericordia University where he assumed the role of Associate Head Coach under Trevor Woodruff for the past four seasons.

Mastroianni brings extensive basketball knowledge to Centenary beyond that which comes from his time at Misericordia.  While working with the Cougars, he attended and worked at several Division I, II and III basketball and coaching camps.  He got a chance to work with some of the best coaches in the country and continuously expand on his philosophies.  His players excelled in and out of the classroom.  He contributed to nine “All PAC” awards which included two 1st team, two 2nd team and a PAC Coach of the Year Honor.  As Academic Coordinator he supported a team GPA that achieved at or above the overall school’s GPA consistently.

Last season, the Cougars ranked 8th nationally in scoring defense and 11th in FG % defense, finished in a tie for 2nd place in the former PAC conference and reached the semi-finals of the ECAC tournament.  Improving the team’s defense will be the first point of focus for Mastroianni.  Last year the Cyclones gave up 83.3 points per game to its opponents.  “It isn’t really hard to figure out what we need to do in order to be better right away; play better defense and take care of the basketball.  I believe this team has great potential – now we need to focus on being more disciplined and making better decisions.”

During the 2007-2008 season, the Cyclones men’s basketball program was 4-20 overall, 2-14 in conference play.  The Cyclones have not had a winning season in the last ten years.  The program returns six players off of last year’s roster, including five individuals that all averaged nearly twenty-five minutes a game.

"We have some challenges ahead, but they are challenges we will face head on and as one unit together," Mastroianni said. "I want to improve the culture and attitude of this program, we have to get to a place where we can expect to be competitive and win.  Success cannot be measured only by wins and losses; I want our guys to understand that they are preparing for the next step in life.  Our players will understand that the classroom comes first and if we can have success in there, the wins will follow.”

(6/11/08)  Centenary’s Women’s Lacrosse program was again honored, as sophomore midfielder, Kiti Ovaskainen (Helsinki, Finland) was recognized last week as the NCAA Division III leader in groundballs per game for the season.  She led the entire country in this category as she finished the year with 86 total groundballs and an average of 6.14 groundballs per game. 

In addition to her previous accolades from the spring season, Kiti was also one of sixteen players named to the Second Team of the IWLCA’s (Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association) Boardwalk All-Region Team at the end of May. 

The Centenary Women’s Soccer program has announced the hiring of Erica Stewart as the program’s Assistant Coach beginning in the Fall of 2008.  Stewart, who played her high school soccer in the state of New Jersey at Cranford HS before moving onto Villanova University, will join Head Coach Kevin Davies on the Lady Cyclone sidelines this August.

Stewart comes to Centenary following an amateur career at Cranford where she earned All-State Honors and helped the Cougars to a #1 ranking in New Jersey and a #2 ranking nationally (USA Today / NSCAA) in 2000, as the team went an incredible 20-0-1 and won the NJSIAA Group III Championship.  She was member of the State Cup Champion MC Dynamo in 1998 and 2000.  At Villanova, Stewart was impact player from the freshman year on.  She scored the deciding penalty kick in a shootout victory over Boston College in the Big East Championship as a junior, giving the program their first ever Conference Title.  Throughout her four years the Wildcats compiled an overall record of 56-20-15 and four NCAA Tournament appearances.

Following her collegiate playing career, in 2006 Stewart became the Head Coach of the U17 CWS Red Devils.  From 2005-2007, Erica served as an assistant coach for the Rutgers University Women’s Soccer Team under Head Coach Glen Crooks.  She also served as a coach with the NJ ODP program since 2006.  Currently she is a member of the Jersey Sky Blue, who presently participates in the W League.  The Sky Blue are hoping to join the Women’s Professional League, which begins play in 2009.

When asked how he feels Erica is going to impact his program, Head Coach Kevin Davies said, “She is going to have a tremendous impact on our players during practices.  Her playing experience and knowledge of the game will definitely be an asset in getting our players to perform at the next level.”