By Dylan Butler
Denis Conroy has resigned as Queens College women’s basketball coach and has been replaced by assistant coach Tom Flahive, the school announced last week.
Conroy was 28-28 in two seasons at the helm, including 26-22 in the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference. He was an assistant coach at Queens for eight years before replacing Jerry Ingenito two years ago.
He led Queens to a 17-11 record and a program-best 16 NYCAC wins. Conroy cited his father’s health, the long commute from Suffolk County and his full-time job as a social studies teacher and dean at Commack Middle School as his reasons for stepping down.
“We had a good year and they’re still going to be a pretty good team next year,” Conroy said. “Tom is a good guy and he knows what he’s doing, and I felt it was a good time to step down.”
Flahive, who was an assistant coach for one year at Queens, has head coaching experience at St. Francis College in Brooklyn and St. Joseph College, where he resurrected the program. He also served as an assistant coach at Montclair State in New Jersey.
St. John’s sophomore pitcher Anthony Varvaro was named Big East Pitcher of the Week for the second time in his career after tossing a complete-game shutout Sunday in a three-game sweep of Virginia Tech.
The Staten Island native gave up seven hits but only one extra-base hit — a one-out double in the fifth — struck out four and walked three to improve to 4-0.
Varvaro is one of six Big East pitchers with four wins this year, he ranks sixth in the league and strikeouts, and opponents are batting .215 (31-for-144), good for eighth in the league.
Queens College sophomore pitcher/outfielder Jessica Paparella was named NYCAC Player of the Week, the conference announced Monday. She batted .333 with a home run, double and five RBIs over Dowling and added another homer against Concordia. Paparella also threw a pair of complete-game wins, striking out nine for an ERA of 0.50.
Providence 2, St. John’s 1. Michelle Willette was 2-for-2 with an RBI for Providence (18-10, 4-4 Big East), which scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth to salvage a doubleheader split Sunday in Providence, R.I.
Jessica Marical drove in the lone run for St. John’s (13-15, 1-1) while Brittany Crouch picked up the loss, giving up a pair of earned runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings.
St. John’s 8, Providence 1. Allina Sainz was 3-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs, Tami Hill went 3-for-5, Marical was 2-for-4, and Lauren Anguiano belted a three-run home run for the Red Storm.
Courtney Fitzgerald went the distance, allowing one earned run on six hits while striking out seven and walking one to improve to 6-1.
Philadelphia University 3, Queens College 2. Jessica Blake was 2-for-3, and Jessica Henck was 2-for-4 with an RBI for Queens College (9-10, 4-2 NYCAC) in the nightcap of a doubleheader at Philadelphia University Monday.
Queens College 8, Philadelphia University 0. Lauren Gorges’ three-run double capped a six-run first inning in the opener for the Knights. Paparella pitched five innings of two-hit ball and Henck had three of Queens’ 14 hits.
Shernette Davis, a member of the St. John’s women’s track team, qualified for the NCAA Regionals in the 100m with a winning time of 11.76 in the Crimson Tide Classic in Alabama over the weekend. Davis also qualified for the Big East championships in the 200m (24.05) and as a member of the 4×400 relay team (3:51.41).
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
