Castleton Names Scardillo New Women's Coach
from press release
CASTLETON, Vt. - Castleton State College
Associate Dean for Athletics and Recreation Deanna Tyson, is
pleased to announce the hiring of Mary Kate Scardillo as the head
coach for Castleton's volleyball and women's lacrosse teams.
A 2009 graduate of Nazareth College, where she was a four-year
member of the lacrosse team, Scardillo has spent the past two
seasons at Castleton as Graduate Assistant with the . While at
Castleton, Scardillo helped with all aspects of the program which
compiled a 25-11 record and made back-to-back appearances in the
New England Women's Lacrosse Alliance (NEWLA) Championship.
While at Nazareth, Scardillo was a three-time captain and a part of
two NCAA Division III National Tournament teams (2006, 2007),
earning honorable mention to the Empire Eight All-Conference Team
in 2009.
"Mary Kate has demonstrated an ability to recruit strong
student-athletes to the women's lacrosse program, as well as taking
on an increased leadership role this past season," Tyson said. "I
have no doubt that her strong work ethic and positive attitude will
translate well from the lacrosse field to the volleyball
court."
A native of Slingerlands, New York, Scardillo played volleyball,
basketball and lacrosse at the Academy of the Holy Names and earned
Most Valuable Player for the 2003 volleyball squad. Growing up in
the local hotbed for volleyball talent, Scardillo has a good sense
of the type of student-athlete she intends to target for the
volleyball team.
"We definitely want to surround our solid returning nucleus with
players who want to work hard and compete both in the classroom and
on the court," Scardillo said. "I think by using some of my
connections in the Capital District we can certainly develop a good
recruiting base for the future."
Scardillo takes over the volleyball program from Bethany Torrice,
who stepped down this spring after three seasons at Castleton.
The women's lacrosse team will be joining the North Atlantic
Conference (NAC) next season, after spending the past 11 competing
in the NEWLA. Castleton was a perfect 3-0 against NAC opponents
last season, defeating Colby-Sawyer, Green Mountain and Thomas as
part of its 12-5 campaign.
Tammy Landon, who has coached the Spartan lacrosse team for the
past five seasons, will remain the Castleton field hockey coach as
well as director of the aquatics program and senior woman
administrator. Landon took over the struggling program in 2007 and
amassed a 56-35 record, including a program-best 15-4 mark in
2009.
"I have learned a lot about being an effective leader from Tammy
over the past two seasons, and we will look to build on the strong
foundation she has in place," Scardillo said. "I'm grateful for the
opportunity and look forward to working alongside the great staff
of coaches and administrators here at Castleton."
