BRONX, N.Y.- Coming off her eighth career NCAA Tournament appearance this past spring, Fordham Women's Basketball Head Coach
Stephanie Gaitley will host her annual Chalk Talk on Friday, June 20
th, in the Rose Hill Gym.
Gaitley, the 2013 Maggie Dixon Metropolitan Coach of the Year and the first women's basketball coach in Fordham history to win an Atlantic 10 title, headlines a group of speakers that bring years of experience on the bench. In 28 seasons leading a Division I basketball program, the Ocean City, N.J., native has amassed 527 wins, five conference titles and two conference coach of the year awards. This past season, Gaitley guided two all-conference selections in
Erin Rooney and
Abigail Corning, the former of whom earned First Team All-Atlantic 10 accolades for the second straight season and the latter of whom was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2014 Atlantic 10 Championship.
Entering his fifth season in control of the Fordham Men's Basketball program,
Tom Pecora will join Gaitley's panel on June 20
th. The owner of four 20-win seasons at the helm of the Hofstra Pride, Pecora has proven to be an elite recruiter in his time at Rose Hill, landing 2013 New York State Mr. Basketball Jon Severe and 2014 NESPAC AAA Player of the Year Eric Paschall. A product of St. Thomas More in Oakdale, Conn., and a native of Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., Paschall took home Player of the Year honors over student athletes attending programs such as Kansas, Georgetown, Syracuse, Oklahoma State and George Washington. During Pecora's tenure so far, the Rams picked up a win over a top 25 team for the first time in over a decade and registered a victory in the Atlantic 10 Championship for the first time since 2007.
Also joining Gaitley's Chalk Talk will be Joe Tartamella, the head coach of St. John's University and one of the rising stars in the women's college basketball coaching community. After serving as a longtime assistant in Queens, Tartamella took over the reigns of the Red Storm program in 2012 and has led the Johnnies to two straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Having posted a 41-24 record in his first two seasons, Tartamella led the team to a number 22 ranking in the AP poll toward the end of last year and an NCAA Tournament victory over USC.
Rounding out the Chalk Talk dais will be Greg Herenda, who just completed his first season at the helm of the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights. In his first season leading the Knights, Herenda saw two of his players earn all-conference accolades, as Sidney Sanders Jr. was named First Team All-NEC and the league's most improved player, while freshman Matt MacDonald found a spot on the NEC All-Rookie Team. Prior to his time at FDU, Herenda was the winningest coach in UMass-Lowell history, posting a 95-56 record in five seasons.
The Chalk Talk is free to all, but a suggested donation of $25 will be collected on behalf of the Ginny Doyle Memorial Fund established by the University of Richmond Spider Club, honoring the legacy of longtime Associated Head Coach Ginny Doyle, who died tragically earlier this month.
For further information about the event, contact
Katelyn Linney at klinney@fordham.edu.
