Quinnipiac lost an awful lot when Erin Kerner and Brianna Rooney graduated, but that's no reason to not believe in the Bobcats. Approaching her 200th career win,
Tricia Fabbri has coached Quinnipiac to winning records and NEC Tournament berths in each of the past seven seasons.
If there is a way to compensate for the loss of Kerner's 1,799 career points and Rooney's two NEC Defensive Player of the Year awards, Fabbri will find it.
"I feel that we are very talented and have good depth, but we are just untested," said Quinnipiac's head coach who has amassed a 195-196 career record in 14 years at the helm.
It will help to have Felicia Barron back in uniform after the young guard lost a great deal of her freshman season to injury. Helping the Bobcats to a 6-1 start to the 2008-09 season, Barron averaged 8.0 points over her first seven collegiate contests before going down with an injury one minute into the NEC opener against Monmouth last Dec. 6. "We've moved forward since April with Felicia as our floor general. She's done a nice job and is a real talent," Fabbri said.
Senior Kathleen Neyens and sophomore Jacinda Dunbar bring a combination of size and athleticism to the lineup. The former is the Bobcats' leading returning scorer (7.7 ppg) and rebounder (5.3 rpg). Meanwhile, Dunbar comes off a rookie campaign during which she made 18 starts and averaged 4.9 points and 4.4 boards over 18.8 minutes per game.
Then, there's the return of junior center Courtney Kaminski, who missed all of last year due to injury. Playing in all 30 games as a sophomore in 2007-08, she averaged 8.7 points and 5.0 rebounds over 21.8 minutes per contest. "It's really nice to have her [Kaminski's] 6'3" presence and her ability to shoot the three real well," commented Fabbri. "She gives us an inside presence that we were missing."
A trio of freshmen led by local product Ryann Simmons highlight Fabbri's latest recruiting class. The 5-foot-9 guard, who was an all-state talent at Connecticut's Kolbe Cathedral, has made quite an impression on her collegiate head coach.
"All three ladies have really done a nice job and haven't been overwhelmed at all with the transition to college," said Fabbri. "Ryann is our most raw-talented, best athlete. She is explosive and can make a major contribution."
Overall Record (Past Four Years)
Last Year: 18-11
Last Two Years: 43-17
Last Three Years: 59-29
Last Four Years: 81-37
NEC Record (Past Four Years)
Last Year: 11-7
Last Two Years: 27-9
Last Three Years: 37-17
Last Four Years: 52-20
RPI Nat'l Rank/Conf. Standing
2008-09: 163/3rd
2007-08: 131/3rd
2006-07: 156/4th
Leading Returning Scorers
Kathleen Neyens: 7.7 ppg
Sarah McGowan: 5.4 ppg
Leading Returning Rebounders
Kathleen Neyens: 5.3 rpg
Jacinda Dunbar: 4.4 rpg