February 11, 2004

MSU'S GERA AND WPU'S GRANT & COHEN HONORED BY THE NJAIAW

TWO NJAC ATHLETIC DIRECTORS AND PIONEER COACH RECOGNIZED
FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO WOMEN'S ATHLETICS

Montclair State athletic director Holly Gera and William Paterson athletic director Sabrina Grant along with Pioneer head field hockey and softball coach Hallie Cohen were recently honored for their outstanding achievements in sports and contributions to women's athletics by the New Jersey Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (NJAIAW) at the organization's annual luncheon on February 8 at Seton Hall University.

Gera is in her 14th year at Montclair State as an athletic administrator, and was named the school’s third full-time athletic director in August of 1999. She spent her first six years at MSU as the school's senior women’s administrator and associate director of athletics. Gera originally came to the Red Hawks as the director of campus recreation in 1989. In her tenure, she has been responsible for many positive developments within the athletics department, such as the upgrade of several athletic facilities including the construction of MSU Soccer Park, and the new Montclair State University Softball Stadium, which will open in April 2004.

One of the key ingredients to the Montclair Athletics administrative success, Gera is also quite involved with many NCAA committees, including her nationally recognized work with softball and women’s lacrosse, and is a strong advocate of physical education and women’s awareness groups. In addition, she currently serves as president of the New Jersey Athletic Conference.

Grant arrived at William Paterson in 1983 as the assistant director of athletics. She was promoted to associate director of athletics in 1994 before taking over as interim director of athletics in July of 2002. She became the full-time director of athletics in February of 2003.

As part of her duties, Grant oversees the daily and long-term planning of the athletic department, supervises the entire athletic department staff and serves as the University's liaison for intercollegiate athletics on campus as well as at regional and national conventions. In addition, she serves on the New Jersey Athletic Conference's Executive Committee, the NJAIAW Woman of the Year Committee and is the NJAC women's tennis chairperson.

Cohen has accomplished two significant coaching milestones recently: she won her 400th softball game on March 21, 2003, and captured her 200th field hockey triumph on September 13 of that year. She is believed to be the only coach in NCAA history to have achieved 400 softball victories and 200 field hockey wins. In addition to her milestones, she coached the Pioneers' softball team to its second NJAC championship last spring before leading the field hockey team to a school-record 16 victories en route to reaching the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Mid-Atlantic Region championship game.

"Hallie is an educator who demands excellence from her players both on the field and in the classroom," Pioneer athletic director Sabrina Grant said. "William Paterson University is proud of her accomplishments and her recognition by the New Jersey Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women."