The start of the 2008-09 academic year brings fresh faces to Temple – and they aren’t just freshmen.
Temple athletics will welcome four new coaches this fall, two of them in sports that made it to the NCAA
Tournament just last year. Such new beginnings for the Owls aren’t strictly limited to North Philadelphia. Two alumni joined the professional ranks in sports this summer.
Here’s a recap of the summer sports news:
Women’s Basketball
After spending eight seasons at Temple and amassing a record of 172-80, including six NCAA Tournament
appearances and four Atlantic Ten titles, coach Dawn Staley left the Owls for the University of South Carolina. She was replaced by Tonya Cardoza, a former teammate of Staley’s at the University of Virginia and a 14-year assistant to hall of fame coach Geno Auriemma at the University of Connecticut. Cardoza, a guard specialist, brings championship experience with her to North Broad Street, as she helped the Huskies win five NCAA titles and 464 games during her time in Storrs, Conn. Dan Durkin, Waynetta Veney and Brittany Hunter have joined her staff as assistants.
Men’s Basketball
After helping the Owls reach their first NCAA Tournament since 2001, guard Mark Tyndale joined the Adelaide 36ers of the Australian National Basketball League in August. Tyndale, a Philadelphia native, averaged 15.9 points last season and led the Owls in rebounding (7.2) and assists (4.3) per game. He finished his career at Temple ranked in the school’s top 20 in scoring and rebounding and the top 10 in assists and steals.
The man who was at the helm of that NCAA Tournament appearance, coach Fran Dunphy, signed a contract
extension through the 2013-14 season. Dunphy, who holds a career record of 343-194, will also take his squad to the inaugural Charleston Classic in November. In addition, Temple has announced it will play two games against city rivals La Salle and Saint Joseph’s, as well as Rhode Island.
Baseball
After the Owls were eliminated from the Atlantic Ten Conference Championship in late May, left-handed pitcher Mike Mongiardini signed a professional contract in July with the Kalamazoo Kings of the Frontier League, an independent professional baseball league based in the Midwest. He made his pitching debut the next day, throwing five scoreless, hitless innings in the team’s 7-5 win. During his senior season at Temple, Mongiardini went 3-2 with a 4.08 ERA in 11 starts, leading the Owls in strikeouts with 43 in 57.1innings. Mongiardini also led the baseball program to its first postseason victory in five years when he pitched 7.2 innings and allowed only one earned run against St. Bonaventure in the A-10 Tournament.
More than one month later, Mongiardini’s Kalamazoo Kings’ teammate, Brandon Anderson, joined the Temple Owls baseball team as an assistant. Anderson, who has played with the Kings for two seasons, rejoins Temple coach Rob Valli. Anderson played under Valli for two seasons at Gloucester County College in New Jersey.
Softball
Temple headed north up Broad Street to find a replacement following the resignation of three-year coach Casey Dickson. Joe DiPietro, who spent six seasons as La Salle University’s softball coach, takes over for the Owls, who finished the season 15-24, with a record of 5-15 in the A-10.
Women’s Tennis
First-year coach Jill Breslin resigned, opting to take the same position at Bryn Mawr College instead of defending Temple’s A-10 Championship. Breslin, the A-10 Coach of the Year in her first season at the helm, helped the Owls reach the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in the program’s history. A successor has yet to be named.
Track and Field
The Owls hired former assistant Eric Mobley as the teams’ coach after Stefanie Scalessa stepped down from her position. Mobley, who was at Temple from 2002-04, spent the last four years as coach at the College of New Jersey. He will replace Scalessa, who became the first woman to coach a men’s sport at Temple and helped revive the cross country program after 20 years of dormancy in 2005.
Jennifer Reardon can be reached at
jennifer.reardon@temple.edu.
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