Geneva winning with some brotherly love
Oh, brother!
The wait to become eligible for the NCAA playoffs drags on for the Geneva football team, which is in the midst of an NCAA-mandated transition period to Division III from NAIA.
Geneva, which also is ineligible for the Presidents' Athletic Conference championship, won its final four games of the 2008 season to finish with a 5-5 record, and the Golden Tornadoes are 2-0 this season for the first time since 2005, giving them a six-game winning streak.
Aiding in the success are four sets of brothers. Of the eight players, five have been starters thus far.
"Geneva College has always been a family-oriented place, both academically and athletically, so it makes perfect sense that we have enjoyed great success in attracting siblings to our football program," said Geneva coach Geno DeMarco, who previously played at Geneva at the same time as his brother, the Rev. Eugene DeMarco.
When Jake Delmonico decided to leave Division I Akron and join Geneva before the start of the season, the final set of siblings was finalized.
There are the Delmonico brothers — Jake, a defensive back, and A.J., a wide receiver — from Blackhawk High School; linebacker Aaron and wide receiver Anthony Tommelleo, from Neshannock; defensive back Matt and running back Jordan Curry, from Penn-Trafford; and wide receiver Parker and defensive back Tucker Nuetzel.
Through the first two games, Parker Nuetzel leads Geneva with an average of 24.0 yards per catch, while A.J. Delmonico is second (20.4). Delmonico also is averaging 24.9 yards on seven kick returns and leads the team in all-purpose yards (138.0).
On defense, Aaron Tommelleo is tied for fourth with 10 tackles.
Geneva, which is idle this week, continues its march towards NCAA playoff eligibility by playing host to Thiel on Sept. 26. The Golden Tornadoes won't become eligible until the 2011 season.
In the meantime, Geneva continues to bid for a spot in postseason games sponsored by the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference and the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association.
The switcheroo
Wheeling Jesuit has named former assistant Katie Hine as its new women's basketball coach, succeeding longtime coach Joe Key, who will become a part-time assistant.
Key is the NCAA Division II school's all-time winningest coach in women's basketball with 245 victories in 14 seasons, but a day job has made it impossible for him to coach the team on a full-time basis.
"Coach Key has been a great teacher and mentor for me over the past six years," Hine said.
In January, Key started to guide Hine through the anticipated transition, expanding her coaching duties to include game preparation, practice and game coaching.
In Division III, Thiel named Angie Zeuch as women's coach, succeeding Artina Trader, who resigned to take over as coach of North Carolina Wesleyan, her alma mater.
Zeuch spent the past two seasons as an assistant at Wesleyan (Conn.).
Bragging rights
In volleyball's version of the City Game, the Duquesne women's team defeated Pitt, 3-2, last week, after suffering a lopsided, 25-9 loss in the first set. The Dukes came back to win on scores of 25-16, 25-23, 20-25 and 15-9.
At the time, it gave Duquesne a four-match winning streak and a record of 7-1.
But, Duquesne has dropped three in a row after losing over the weekend to Michigan State, Illinois-Chicago and Georgia State at the UIC Invitational in Chicago.
Elsewhere
• The St. Francis (Pa.) football team, which ended an 11-game losing streak dating to last season with a 31-0 victory over Morehead State on Saturday, will face its toughest challenge in history this Saturday, traveling to Division I FCS No. 3 Northern Iowa. St. Francis has not been scored upon for nearly seven full quarters dating to the second quarter of its opener on Sept. 5 at No. 6 New Hampshire, a 24-14 loss.
• Former Mercyhurst hockey players Matt Pierce and Brett Robinson have signed professional contacts with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the East Coast Hockey League.
• Baseball America magazine has rated West Virginia junior infielder Jedd Gyorko as the No. 4 professional prospect in the Cape Cod Summer Baseball League. Gyorko batted .421 with eight home runs and 58 RBI for the Mountaineers last season.
