Aug. 14, 2007

NEWARK, NJ - Positives abound as NJIT prepares for its second season facing NCAA Division I competition.

In 2006, the first season of Division I competition and with only two starters back from the previous year, NJIT won 10 matches. Included was a 7-7 finish with a top seven made up completely of first and second-year players.

This year, all seven are back, fortified by a group that includes two freshmen, two transfers and returning redshirts Ashley Craig and Kasia Rusin.

Four players--Craig, Rusin, Kubra Tanrikulu and Rebecca Wilkinson--entered NJIT as in 2004 and helped produce the school's best Division II record. Tanrikulu and Wilkinson started all 26 matches and Craig started 24 for a team that was 13-13 in 2004.

Tanrikulu and Wilkinson missed 2005 and returned in 2006, while Craig and Rusin played in 2005, but not in 2006.

The 2005 season saw the arrival of Agnieszka Pregowska and Danielle Thompson, who assumed leading on-court roles as freshmen in NJIT's final Division II campaign.

Three more key players--Kristy Haeckel, Katrina Hornstein and Sabrina Baby--came on in 2006.

This year, sophomore transfers Erica Schultz and Katlyn Lewis come in having made their marks as freshmen at Louisiana Tech and Division III Rutgers-Newark, respectively.

The two 2007 rookies are Victoria Gill, a middle from New Jersey, and Baaba Hughes, an outside hitter from Canada.

Rusin, one of just two who appeared in all 29 matches in 2005, was second that season with 242 kills. Craig, the 2004 starting setter, was a utility player in 2005. She is a tireless worker and all-around player.

Tanrikulu and Wilkinson returned in 2006. The versatile Tanrikulu was second on the 2004 team in kills, assists, service aces and total digs. Last year, she ranked fourth in points, kills and digs per game. Wilkinson, who led the 2004 team in blocks, solidified NJIT's middle in 2006, leading front line players in attack percentage and finishing second in blocks.

Pregowska and Thompson entered with a splash 2005 and were solid in 2006. Pregowska, New Jersey's 2004 state high school Player of the Year, was an instant star for NJIT, earning first-team all-conference and ranking fourth nationally in NCAA Division II in kills per game for 2005. Last year, with a more diverse attack, she was second in points per game and third in digs per game and attack percentage.

Thompson, a two-year starting setter, averaged more assists per game in Division I than she had in Division II, stepping up to average 9.56 assists in 2006.

Haeckel headlined the strong 2006 freshman class, emerging as team leader in kills, blocks and points per game. She was named Female Newcomer of the Year for the entire Highlander athletic program.

Hornstein, a complete player, wasn't far behind Haeckel on the attack and was second on the team in digs per game. Baby led the Highlanders in digs and service aces per game.

Both 2007 transfers did well as freshmen elsewhere. Schultz appeared in 29 matches and had eight double-figure digs nights at Louisiana Tech and Lewis was second team all-New Jersey Athletic Conference for Rutgers-Newark.

The incoming freshmen, Hughes and Gill, will challenge the returnees for playing time, while also adding depth to a team whose biggest weakness was lack of the same in 2006.

"The number of players alone should account for four or five more wins than we had last year," said McNeil. "Players won't have to play at less than 100 percent. Practices will be better and the players will push each other for playing time."

With the optimism, NJIT faces a challenging schedule that includes two home tournaments and visits to tournaments hosted by Central Connecticut, St. John's (which reached the second round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament), Navy, Tulsa and Harvard. The season ends with a trip to Utah Valley and the Division I Independent Tournament.

"Facing good teams is going to be a great experience," said McNeil. "We may not win them all, but we'll come out with our heads held high and new respect from those top programs."