Mesaris Era Begins Saturday Against Montclair State

Brewers selected third in Liberty League preseason poll

Poughkeepsie, NY – The Vassar College Women's Basketball team tips-off the 2023-24 season, its first under new head coach Meredith Mesaris, Saturday evening when non-conference foe Montclair State pays a visit to Poughkeepsie. Tip-off with the Red Hawks is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. with Live Stats and Video available for those unable to attend.

Quick Hitters

Vassar finished the 2022-23 season with an 18-9 overall record and a 14-4 mark in Liberty League play.
The Brewers return Second Team All-Liberty League selection Julia Harvey (Delmar, NY) to the fold in 2023-24, but will need to replace fellow Second Team selection Alex Lee as well as First Team pick and two-time Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year Eliza Srinivasan.
Vassar returns three of its top five scorers from a season ago, led by Harvey who was good for just over 10 points per game.
The Brewers advanced to the Semifinal Round of the 2023 Liberty League Championship, falling to eventual champion Skidmore.

Backcourt

Harvey leads a talented group of returners in a deep backcourt for Vassar in 2023-24. Harvey, a Second Team All-League pick, scored 10.1 points and hauled in 4.3 rebounds while shooting 38.5-percent from the floor to go along with a team-high 43 three-pointers. Harvey also chipped in 37 assists and 22 steals a year ago for the Brewers.
Sierra McDermed (San Antonio, TX) appeared in all 27 games as a First Year and was good for just over eight points per game while connecting on 25 three-pointers. McDermed handed out 23 assists for the Brewers and swiped 31 steals.
Tova Gelb (Sharon, MA) tallied 8.2 points per game as a sophomore, converting at 44.4-percent from the floor to go along with 38 assists and 31 thefts.
Naiya Kurnik (Fallbrook, CA) appeared in 25 games as a First Year and was good for 5.4 points while shooting 41.5-percent from the floor.
Tash Thompson (Los Altos Hills, CA) is back after appearing in 22 contests a season ago.
Mesaris and the Brewers will look from increased productions from returners Ashley Mostrom (Germantown, MD), Kolby Davis (Houston, TX), Sam Lederman (East Brunswick, NJ), Margo Gramiak (Wilmington, DE) and Maddie Ahearn (Bethlehem, PA) in 2023-24.
A talented group of newcomers enters the mix this season in Mo Regan (Oak Lawn, IL), Sophia Ippolito (Cumberland Center, ME) and Emery Mullen (Charlton, MA).
Regan was a 1,000-point scorer and two-time All-Conference pick at Saint Ignatius College Prep.
Ippolito is coming off a senior season at Greely High School that saw the Rangers finish as the stat runner-up as she was named First Team All-Conference and a McDonald's All-Star.
Mullen joins the position group following a standout high school career at Sheperd Hill.

Frontcourt

The Brewers return three players to the frontcourt group in 2023-24, led by Bella Tawney (Simsbury, CT) who started all 27 games a season ago and produced 6.3 points and 4.7 rebounds to go along with a team-high 11 blocked shots.
Caroline Siekman (Islesboro, ME) appeared in all 27 games as a First Year a season ago, shooting nearly 42-percent from the floor while adding 17 assists and six steals.
Ava Gurley (Austin, TX) is back on the floor in 2023-24 after missing last season due to injury.

Preseason Prognostications

Vassar was selected third in the Liberty League preseason poll just behind defending champion Skidmore and Ithaca who claimed last season's regular season crown.

Head Coach

Mesaris comes to Vassar in her first season as Head Coach of the Brewers.
Mesaris has previous assistant coaching experience at Division I Dartmouth as well as Williams and the University of Hartford.
As a student-athlete, Mesaris was a standout at the University of Scranton, scoring 1,758 career points, a Landmark Conference record, and averaging just under 18 points for her career.
Mesaris was tabbed the Landmark Player of the Year in 2015 and a WBCA All-American twice.

Schedule

The 2023-24 schedule features seven challenging non-conference games starting with the season opener against Montclair State and continuing with a trip to New Paltz on November 14.
The Brewers will take part in Western New England's Tournament November 17-18 before heading to the West Coast to take on Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer November 24-25.
The final non-league game is a trip to Rutgers-Newark to finish off the 2023 portion of the schedule on December 30.
Liberty League commences on December 1 with a visit from last season's regular season champion Ithaca.
The Brewers will embark on a seven-game road trip starting on January 9 at Skidmore.
Vassar will play four of its final six regular season games at home.
The Liberty League Championship opens on February 20 with the First Round and continues with the Semifinal Round on February 23 and the Final on February 25.

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Players Mentioned

#11 Alex Lee: G; 5' 6"; Senior

#5 Eliza Srinivasan: PG; 5' 8"; Senior

#3 Maddie Ahearn: G; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#42 Kolby Davis: G; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#22 Tova Gelb: G; 5' 8"; Junior

#2 Margo Gramiak: G; 5' 6"; Sophomore

#35 Ava Gurley: F; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#23 Julia Harvey: G; 5' 8"; Junior

#13 Naiya Kurnik: G; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#20 Sam Lederman: G; 5' 5"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#11 Alex Lee
: 5' 6"; Senior
: G

#5 Eliza Srinivasan
: 5' 8"; Senior
: PG

#3 Maddie Ahearn
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: G

#42 Kolby Davis
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: G

#22 Tova Gelb
: 5' 8"; Junior
: G

#2 Margo Gramiak
: 5' 6"; Sophomore
: G

#35 Ava Gurley
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: F

#23 Julia Harvey
: 5' 8"; Junior
: G

#13 Naiya Kurnik
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: G

#20 Sam Lederman
: 5' 5"; Sophomore
: G

Vassar College Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned