Staff report

GREENSBORO — UNC Wilmington captain Cooper Wright finished his track and field career with some great efforts in the Coastal Athletic Association Championships held at North Carolina A&T.

Wright was obviously fast when he was at East Rowan and had plenty of potential as a 6-foot-2 receiver, but he had no luck as far as injuries, and he also came through East during the two school years affected by COVID.

Track and field became Wright’s sport at East. He racked up all-county and all-conference accolades as a Mustang. Track and field also took him to the next level at UNC Wilmington, where he ran some terrific times in the 200 and 400. The 400 became his main event.

In the 2021 CAA Championships, Wright ran a 21.63 200 for fourth place. He was second in the 400 in 47.57 seconds and ran a leg on a third-place 4×400 team.

In the 2022 CAA Championships, Wright ran a PR 21.36 in the 200 for third. He was conference champ in the 400 with 48.46 clocking. He also ran on the championship 4×400 team that was timed in 3:20.68.

Wright battled some injuries after that. He was on the fifth-place 4×400 team in the 2024 CAA Championships.

He came back with a great year as a fifth-year performer.

He ran a PR in the 400 — 47.37 — in last week’s CAA Championships and finished sixth.

A more amazing effort came in the 4×400 where he ran the swiftest 400 of his life to close his career — 46.52 — on the third leg. UNC Wilmington finished third in the event, but it was a school record run for the Seahawks.

Wright graduated with a degree in accounting and finance and is launching a career as a financial planner.

For good and bad, senior goalie Martynas Bieliauskas stopped lots of shots this season for the Riverside Brookfield High School boys water polo team. 

“Not always the best stat to have but I’ll take it,” Bieliauskas said. “It’s a good reflection on me. I try. That’s all I can say.” 

When senior teammate and friend Avi Ponnappan checked halfway through the season, Bieliauskas’ total saves were on pace for historic proportions.  

GLASSBORO, NJ – Rowan University introduced new director of athletics Shawn Tucker today as University president Dr. Ali Houshmand, provost Tony Lowman and Board of Trustees member Joe Cosgrove led the event that welcomed Tucker and his family to the campus community.

Tucker comes to Glassboro after serving as Rutgers’ vice president for Athletic Development, where led a comprehensive fundraising program that supports athletics’ priorities through engagement and stewardship.

Tucker thanked Houshmand, Lowman and Cosgrove, as well as the members of the search committee. “This entire process has been first class from the beginning… I stand here before you just very proud to be a Rowan Prof.”

Tucker recognized the tremendous success of Rowan’s programs, which includes 34 conference championships since 2019, and particularly the current spring sports teams. The Profs’ softball and baseball teams are competing in the NCAA Super Regionals this week and are one step away from the College World Series in their respective sports. The men’s and women’s track teams will have 27 student-athletes competing in this weekend’s NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships while the women’s lacrosse team set a school record for victories and advanced to the NCAA round of 16.

Speaking to a crowd of more than 200 student-athletes and Rowan well-wishers, Tucker spoke of what attracted him to Rowan and what he expects in the future. 

“There were numerous boxes for me, checked for ‘why Rowan’… From my initial conversations with Rowan officials, coaches and student-athletes, it was abundantly clear that Rowan University not only desires to be a premier destination for academics and elite athletics, but there’s an internal drive to be a national leader, one of one, across all disciplines,” Tucker said.

“I love the conference championships— (winning) Super Regionals, is a job well done. But the mindset that we’re going to have here is national championships.” Tucker continued, “You need an athletics department filled with high achieving, relentlessly pursuing, integral professionals and student-athletes who are determined to put forth their very best, day in and day out, to execute on that very vision. You need a Rowan community of alumni, donors, parents, friends of this beloved institution growing together to reach each milestone along this success journey.”

He played an instrumental role in securing a $15 million gift—the largest in Rutgers University Athletics history. Tucker planned and managed a campaign that raises approximately $20 million annually through engaging nearly 75,000 Rutgers supporters, including multiple seven-figure gifts and corporate opportunities. He also worked directly with NIL partners and the corporate sponsorship team to increase brand visibility and direct student funding for more than 700 student-athletes. 

Tucker joined the Rutgers athletics administrative team in April 2010 as assistant director of student-athlete development. His most significant achievement was the development and launch of the Rutgers Leadership Academy (RLA). 

Through programming and counseling, RLA helps support student-athletes at Rutgers with valuable information and tools to guide decision-making in critical life-shaping areas such as career choice, personal enrichment, leadership, community and civic engagement and professional growth. 

Through RLA, his team offered specialized programs and career, leadership and personal enrichment events for more than 650 student-athletes annually.

Earlier in his career, as associate athletic director of student-athlete development at Rutgers, he also oversaw the Rutgers Athletics Internship Program and helped launch R Care—a program dedicated to providing a comprehensive care and communication system in the areas of academic support, sports medicine, sports performance and the RLA. He had staff oversight in the areas of career enrichment, leadership training, personal development and community engagement.

Between his two most recent appointments at Rutgers, Tucker, from 2018-2022, served as associate vice president and director of Athletics at New Jersey City University. There, he led the transformation of its athletic department, doubling the number of athletics programs to 24 and tripling the number of student athletes.

He also increased private and corporate giving which supported the Rising Knight Institute for student success. Under his leadership, facilities were improved and the department’s operational budget increased by more than 100 percent.

Tucker’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for Rowan, a top 100 public research university that has doubled enrollment over the past decade and is ranked as the third fastest growing research university in the nation. During this time of great transformation, Rowan Athletics has grown to become one of the most successful DIII athletic programs in the nation.

Rowan competes in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC), offering 18 programs. The University has captured 26 NJAC team championships and has had 19 appearances in the NCAA Championships in the last five years. Last year, it was ranked 21st nationally in the Learfield Division III Directors Cup. Rowan Athletics earned its fourth consecutive NJAC cup in 2023-24, making it the most successful program in the NJAC five times over the past six years.

Tucker comes to Rowan after the retirement of Dr. John Giannini, who was athletic director from 2020-2024. Longtime athletic department leaders Penny Kempf and Gabby Lisella served as co-directors during the national search for the new director.

As a former standout wide receiver and team captain for Rutgers Football, Tucker will bring a unique perspective and passion for athletics to Rowan. He was a four-year letter winner and three-year starter for Rutgers and was a key member of two bowl squads, including the 2006 Texas Bowl champions. Tucker earned three Preseason All-BIG EAST honors and had 115 receptions for 1,559 yards and four touchdowns in his career.

Tucker earned a master’s degree in City & Regional Planning from the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers. He earned a pair of Bachelor of Arts degrees in Geography & Labor Studies from Rutgers.

Tucker was joined at the event by his wife, Mary, and sons, Miguel, Javier and Mario. He will officially begin his post at Rowan on June 16th.

 

 

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – For the second week in a row, Tennessee volleyball landed another big-time offensive player through the transfer portal, as 2024 American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year Sydney Jones announced her decision to join the Lady Vols.
 
“We believe Sydney has a world of potential,” head coach Eve Rackham Watt said. “She has great physicality at the net, can play on either pin and has been a primary passer. Our staff is looking forward to helping Sydney develop on Rocky Top, as she builds off a great freshman season.”
 
An outside/opposite hitter for Temple in 2024, Jones compiled 369.5 points, 324 kills, 209 digs, 35 aces and 17 blocks during her first season of collegiate volleyball. She ranked third overall in the AAC for aces (0.39) and kills (3.60) per set and was fourth in points per set at 4.11.
 
The All-AAC Second Team selection recorded double-digit kills in 19 matches and reached 20 or more kills on three occasions, including a career-high 25 against Binghamton on Oct. 9. Her 35 aces marked the second most by an Owl during the 25-point rally scoring era, and she recorded a season-best five aces against Charlotte on Nov. 17.
 
Defensively, Jones finished third on the team with her 209 digs, helping solidify Temple’s back row defense. She netted 10 or more digs in 10 matches, with nine of those going for double-doubles as well.
 

Jones attended Haverford Senior High School in her hometown of Havertown, Pennsylvania. She eclipsed more than 1,000 kills during her prep career and played club ball with Synergy VB. She was also a track & field star at her high school, competing in the high jump.
 
Tennessee added three hitters in this portal class, as Jones joins All-Big 12 honoree Brynn Williams and All-CUSA selection Starr Williams. The Lady Vols bolstered the defense with libero Gülce Güçtekin and middle blocker Zoë Humphrey.

Three University of Northern Colorado track and field athletes qualified for an NCAA regional outdoor meet with the end of the regular season last weekend.

Men’s sprinter and hurdler Jerome Campbell and sprinter Zander Cruzan, and women’s jumper Kiana Van Haaren will compete in the Division I West First-Round or regional meet May 28-31 at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

Campbell, a junior from Jamaica, qualified in the 100 meters and the 110-meter hurdles, continuing his strong track and field seasons dating to last year’s outdoor performances.

Cruzan, a freshman sprinter from Cortez, will run the 400 meters. Van Haaren, a junior from New Braunfels, Texas, will be in the long jump. New Braunfels is about 2 1/2 hours southwest of College Station.

Last year, four UNC athletes qualified for the west regional meet: Campbell, middle distance runners Jesse Hayward and Regina Mpigachai and women’s sprinter Alexia Austin.

The top 48 athletes in each individual event through the conference championships qualify for the east and west regional meets, which are the first round of NCAA qualifying. The top 24 teams in each relay also compete at first-round meets.

The East First-Round meet will be held May 28-31 at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida.

Qualifying athletes from the regional meets advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 11-14 at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon.

Campbell, 22, reached the NCAAs in Oregon last year in the 110-meter hurdles. He finished seventh.

Though he qualified for first-round meets in two events this spring, UNC coach Wayne Angel said Campbell has until May 25 to decide if he’ll compete in both at Texas A&M. There are only 20 minutes between the start times of the 100 and 110 hurdles quarterfinals races May 30. The events’ first-round races are scheduled to start an hour apart on the first day May 28.

In the 100 meters, Campbell is tied for 17th among west regional qualifiers with a season-best time of 10.16 seconds. He recorded the time May 3 at Colorado State. Campbell ranks 11th in the west in the 110-meter hurdles. His best time this year is 13.43 seconds, set last weekend at the Big Sky Conference Championships in Sacramento, California.

He won the 100 and 110-meter hurdles at the conference meet.

Cruzan ranks 40th at 45.97 seconds among 400-meter runners in the west region. Cruzan ran the time in early April at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He won the 400 in 46.42 seconds at the Big Sky championships on the way to earning honors as the men’s co-freshman of the year.

Van Haaren’s season-best, school-record jump of 20-feet, 9 ¼ inches places her 21st in the west region. She hit the distance earlier this month at Colorado State’s Doug Max Invitational, breaking her own school record. Van Haaren jumped 20-9 for a UNC record in late April at the University of Oregon.

Van Haaren finished third in the long jump at the Big Sky Conference meet last week. Her best jump there was 20-3 ¾.