Finger Lakes Fall Sports Season Sits Just Weeks Away

CANANDAIGUA -- Good news for you avid sports enthusiasts -- the fall 2012 sports season at Finger Lakes Community College is quickly creeping up on you. As the calendar now reads late July, it's almost time for another academic year to begin -- and more notably it's almost time for the start of another sports season in Laker land. In less than two weeks, the sounds of another sports season at Finger Lakes will be heard around the Canandaigua campus as teams will begin hosting tryouts starting on the week of (Monday) August 13th.

The first team to kickoff its tryout sessions for the fall will be the men's soccer team come the 13th. The women's soccer team will follow suit when it begins its tryouts on Tuesday 8/14. The women's volleyball team will be the lone remaining team offering tryouts for the beginning of the academic sports year at Finger Lakes. These tryouts will begin on Thursday 8/16. As for the men and women's cross country team, there will be no tryouts as any student is allowed to join. The first cross country practice will begin on Tuesday 9/4. A glimpse of the start of each fall sports team's tryouts schedule is located at the bottom of this page.

As the fall sports season continues to inch its way closer on the calendar, it promises to be an intriguing and exciting one on Marvin Sands Drive. The men's soccer team looks to rebuild its program in 2012 as it welcomes first-year head coach Brent Conley to the helm. Conley brings with him 35 years of coaching experience within the sport of soccer to the Lakers program. With his understanding of the game and knowledge about knowing what it takes to produce a quality product on the field, Conley is expected to recruit at a high level and is believed to be the missing link to building a sustainable men's soccer program. The Lakers will benefit from a home friendly schedule this season as they will play 14 of their 21 games on their own grass. The Lakers will kick off their season at home on Saturday 8/25 against Howard Community College at 1:00 p.m.

The women's soccer team, coming off of a 22-1-1 showcase of a season in 2011, looks to continue building upon its success from a year ago as it aims at its goal of winning the national title in 2012. The Lady Lakers 2011 record, which toppled all other teams in the NJCAA's Division III, came with both a conference and regional championship title along with a pair of wins in the National Championship Tournament. A team that is well-coached (under co-head coaches Eric Marsh and Brandy Cooper) and built around a solid core group of returning assets, it's almost certain that the Finger Lakes women's soccer team has what it takes to be a viable contender in their conference and region yet again in 2012. The Lady Lakers will begin their season at home on Tuesday 8/28 when they take on Onondaga Community College at 4:00 p.m.

The women's volleyball team comes into its 2012 season under fourth-year head coach Kristen Sharp with high hopes. Despite being such a young program at Finger Lakes, the Lady Lakers have scripted a well-written book thus far. Most notably, the best part of the script was written just last season when they notched their first-ever conference championship title. They finished 2011 with a 30-12 record. The women's volleyball team will look to continue its upward trend in the win column when it hits the hardwood this fall. It will also aim at not only capturing a second consecutive conference championship title, however it will also look to add both a regional and national championship crown to is mantle in 2012. The Lady Lakers will play their first match of the upcoming season on Saturday 8/25 when they take on Tompkins Cortland Community College on the road. The time of the match is to be announced.  

The men and women's cross country team, under eleventh-year head coach Rob Wink, will look to continue building upon its strong past with the goal of producing an elite group of runners in 2012. The program has endured a successful and sustainable history at Finger Lakes under Wink's wing. The men and women's cross country team will look to continue to add to the already strong history of the program when it kicks off its fall season at the Alfred State Invitational on Saturday 9/8. The meet is expected to get underway at 11:00 a.m. 

Start of Fall 2012 Sports Season Tryouts Schedule

Men's Soccer, Mon 8/13 -- 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Women's Soccer, Tues 8/14 -- 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Women's Volleyball, Wed 8/15 -- (Meeting) 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

 (Tryouts) Thurs 8/16 -- 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.