New York – Dina Ragab of NYIT has been named the All-Met Division II women’s college basketball Player of the Year by the Met Basketball Writers Association.
Anthony Crocitto of NYIT was selected Coach of the Year.
The rest of the All Met First Team: Deja Gabbidon, Dominican; MacKenzie Rowland and Madison Rowland, Queens; Tianna Smith, Bloomfield.
The Second Team: Sierra Clark, Adelphi; Kristen Drogsler, Caldwell; Shannon Duer and Nina Vukosavljevic, NYIT; Jenna Erickson, St. Thomas Aquinas.
The All-Met players and coach will be honored April 12 at the 83rd NIT/MBWA Haggerty Awards dinner at the Westchester Marriott, Tarrytown, NY.
A 6-foot senior forward from Cairo, Egypt, Ragab --- who also was named the East Coast Conference player of the year and a WBCA All-America Honorable Mention --- led the Bears and was third in the ECC with 16.8 ppg while adding a team-leading 8.3 rpg and shooting 47.6% from the field.
Ragab registered 558 points, 276 rebounds, 81 assists and 42 blocks this past season and finished her career as NYIT’s all-time leading scorer (1,565 points) and shot-blocker (134). In her final game in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen round, she closed with 29 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks, and was named to the NCAA East Region All-Tournament team.
Crocitto was named ECC coach of the year while leading the Bears to a program record for wins (26-9), along with their first-ever regular season conference title (18-2), a fifth straight berth in the ECC tournament and an at-large bid into the NCAA postseason event. NYIT captured two games in the NCAA tourney --- winning in that event for the first time --- before bowing out in the East Region championship game (aka the NCAA Sweet Sixteen).
In seven seasons at the NYIT helm, Crocitto has compiled a 115-89 record, including 77-52 in the ECC. A native of Amityville, N.Y., and a Hofstra grad, he resides in South Huntington, N.Y.
| First Team | ||
| Deja Gabbidon, Dominican | 5-8, sr, F | Teaneck, N.J. |
| Dina Ragab, NYIT | 6-0, sr, F | Cairo, Egypt |
| MacKenzie Rowland, Queens | 6-2, sr, F | Albany, N.Y. |
| Madison Rowland, Queens | 5-10, jr, G/F | Albany, N.Y. |
| Tianna Smith, Bloomfield | 5-7, jr, G | Spring Valley, N.Y. |
| Second Team | ||
| Sierra Clark, Adelphi | 5-11, jr, F | Hughesville, Md. |
| Kristen Drogsler, Caldwell | 5-10, so, G | Middle Village, N.Y. |
| Shannon Duer, NYIT | 5-9, jr, F | Islip, N.Y. |
| Jenna Erickson, St. Thomas Aquinas | 5-4, so, G | Melrose, N.Y. |
| Nina Vukosavljevic, NYIT | 5-5, so, G | Belgrade, Serbia |
Player of the Year: Dina Ragab, NYIT
Coach of the Year: Anthony Crocitto, NYIT
Release provided by Chuck Stogel, MBWA.
