CALDWELL WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ADDS LEARY, MITCHELL AS ASSISTANT COACHES

10-28-08

Leary

Mitchell

CALDWELL, N.J. - Dana Leary and Marc Mitchell have been added to the Caldwell College women's basketball coaching staff, head coach Linda Cimino announced. Leary joins the staff after an outstanding playing career for the Cougars, while Mitchell comes to Caldwell after one year as an assistant at New Jersey City University. They join Kylee Wilson as assistant coaches on Cimino's staff.

Mitchell served as the recruiting coordinator and assistant coach for the women's basketball team at NJCU last season. He will serve in a similar role at Caldwell, bringing his considerable New Jersey recruiting contacts to the Cougars' recruiting efforts. Prior to working with the Gothic Knights, Mitchell spent two years as the coach of the Elizabeth (N.J.) Middle School girls basketball team and three seasons as the varsity girls basketball coach at Elizabeth High School. He led Elizabeth to the state tournament all three years, and coached the team to an appearance in the semifinals of the 2005 Union County Tournament. Mitchell also has coached at several summer camps, including the Bob Hurley Summer Camp, the Seton Hall and Fairleigh Dickinson team camps, and Hoop Group.

Mitchell does have a connection to Caldwell College Executive Director of Athletics Mark A. Corino, as he was a freshman on Corino's final team at Bloomfield College in 1987-88. Mitchell graduated from Kean University with a degree in history in 2000 and earned a Master's degree in Education from American Intercontinental University in 2008. He currently works at East Orange High School. A native of Newark, N.J., Mitchell lives in Elizabeth with his wife Winsome and their daughters Amira and Jade.

Leary played guard for the Cougars from 2004-08, scoring 1,049 points in 108 games. A hard-working player who thrived near the basket in spite of her 5-foot-7 frame, Leary also grabbed 546 rebounds and dished out 209 assists in her career. As a senior last season, Leary earned all-Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference honorable mention as well as a spot on the all-Met second team after averaging 10.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest. She also made 51.1 percent of her field goal attempts to rank third in the conference.

An excellent student, Leary was a three-time member of the CACC All-Academic Team, which requires a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher. She graduated from Caldwell this past May with a Bachelor's degree in psychology.

The Cougars return nine players and two starters from last year's squad that finished 18-12 and advanced to the finals of the ECAC Tournament. Caldwell opens the 2008-09 season with a home game against Molloy College on Nov. 15.

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