COBLESKILL’S MCCARTHY NAMED 2007 MOUNTAIN VALLEY CONFERENCE
COACH-OF-THE-YEAR

The Mountain Valley Conference announced today that SUNY Cobleskill Head Men’s Basketball Coach Kevin McCarthy has been selected the league’s 2007 Mountain Valley Conference Coach-of-the-Year by the conference’s coaches. This marks the fourth time Fighting Tiger mentor has been earned the award from his peers previously having been honored in 1995, 1996 and 1998. Under his direction Cobleskill has compiled a 313-110 record to date, posted 12 twenty win season and made 14 NJCAA Division III Tournament appearances.

This season McCarthy returned from one year coaching sabbatical to lead the Fighting Tigers to a 21-7 overall record on the season including an 11-5 mark in league competition and a return to the NJCAA Region III Division III Tournament. Cobleskill is currently ranked ninth in the latest NJCAA Division III National Poll. The season marks one of the best turnaround seasons in the nation at the NJCAA Division III level as the Fighting Tigers posted an 11-19 overall record with a 6-12 mark in MVC play under the direction of interim head coach Mark Rybczyk.

“Maybe I should take a sabbatical more often,” joked McCarthy. “But seriously this award is really reflective of the hard work put in our coaching staff, our support personal and of course our players. People who know me know that I prefer winning games as opposed to winning award for my coaching. However I have enjoyed returning to the bench this season and getting things back to somewhat normal and the fact that my son Brennan has been playing for us this year has made this a very rewarding experience for me personally.”
Cobleskill will next play on Friday March 2nd in the Quarterfinal Round of the 2007 NJCAA Region III Division III Championships hosted by Herkimer Community College in Herkimer, NY. The Fighting Tigers will play at 3:00 PM versus the winner of Tuesday night’s Mohawk Valley Community College/Finger Lakes Community College sub-regional contest. In all twelve teams have been selected and seeded to play in this year’s version of the tournament which will see the Quarterfinals thru Championship game played at Herkimer Community College from Friday March 2nd thru Sunday March 4th.