Volleyball Team Off To Nice Start
Men’s Water Polo
S
L
ome early season success has the
Terriers poised to challenge for a playoff
berth in the 2013 Northeast Conference
Tournament. Micah Acoba’s squad has already
collected victories over teams including:
Delaware State, NJIT, Quinnipiac, and
Providence. Sophomore Maggie Niu ’16,
freshman Domenique Gerard ’17, and senior
Slavica Stefanovic ’14 have made an impressive offensive trio thus far. Niu and Gerard
were both among the conference leaders
in kills per game and Stefanovic was among
the team-leaders in a variety of statistical
categories. Gerard and Stefanovic were both
named to the All-Tournament Team at the
Providence Invitational.
“We are going to work hard and try to improve
every day, every touch, every practice,”
declared Coach Acoba. “We need to establish
a good mindset. For the last couple of seasons,
we had talented players, but we struggled
to get on the same page.” ●
Senior Slavica Stefanovic ’14 has watched
the team turn its fortunes around over the past
three years.
Former Players Sign Professional Contracts
A
pair of recent St. Francis Brooklyn
graduates, Akeem Johnson ’13 and
Stefan Perunicic ’12, inked professional basketball contracts and are now
playing in Europe. Johnson is suiting up for
Karhu Kauhajoki in Finland. The team
competes in the highest tier of Finnish
basketball. Perunicic takes the court with
Aries Trikala B.C. in Greece, which competes
in the top Greek division.
Last season, Johnson became the 28th
player in Terriers’ men’s basketball history to
reach the 1,0 0 0 point plateau. He averaged
10.0 and 5.8 rebounds per contest in his final
Akeem Johnson ’13 takes his talents to
Finland. R I G H T: Stefan Perunicic ’12 is a starter
for his new team.
L E F T:
season. Perunicic is the 16th leading-scorer
in Terrier history with 1,14 4 points and is also
seventh for three-point field goals with 224.
“This is a great opportunity for me to
continue to play basketball for one of the top
teams in Finland,” Johnson stated. “Not too
many college players have a chance to play
professionally so I’m very excited about it.
I have never been to Europe so I’m a bit
nervous about adjusting to a new culture.”
“The coaching staff has told me that I need
to come in and work very hard every day in
practice,” Johnson added. “As long as I do
that, I will have an opportunity to prove myself
on the court once the season begins.”
“It’s the greatest feeling to know that with
hard work and dedication, this dream came
true,” said Perunicic. “I am just so happy to be
playing in one of the top five leagues in the
world. It’s a once in a lifetime experience.”
“We’re thrilled Akeem and Stefan will have
an opportunity to continue their basketball
careers,” said St. Francis Brooklyn Head Coach
Glenn Braica. “Both guys have worked
extremely hard to get to this point and we wish
them the best of luck as they begin their
professional careers.” ●
14 | S T. FR A NC I S COL L EGE T ERR IER | W IN T ER 2013-2014
ast season was a banner one for Men’s
Water Polo as they defeated Air Force
14-8 to capture third-place at the NCAA
Final Four. This was the first ever win for the
Terriers at the tournament and showed how
far the program has come. This season, the
Terriers have lost some terrific student athletes
to graduation but an infusion of new talent
led by freshmen Lazar Komadinic ’17 and
Ilija Djuretic ’17 and junior Nathan Kotylaka
’15, will help keep the momentum going.
A core of returning players, including senior
All-American goalie Igor Mladenovic ’14,
senior center Bosko Stankovic ’14, and junior
defenseman Vuk Vujosevic ’15, make
St. Francis a favorite to again capture the
Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA)
championship and advance to the Final Four
for a fourth time.
New Terrier head coach Srdjan Mihaljevic
’01, who has been continuously involved
with St. Francis since his arrival in 19 97 from
Croatia as a freshman water polo player, is
no stranger to the expectations placed on
the Terriers. “Sure, we are one of the favorite
teams to win but so are Princeton, Brown,
Navy, Bucknell and others,” he sa Y