Albertus Magnus College has announced the newly-established Mary Benevento Fund, named for Mary Benevento, the director of athletics at Albertus Magnus College from 1952 to 1980. The interest earned from this endowed fund will be used to support special projects for the Albertus Magnus Athletic Department.
Former student-athlete Tabitha “Tab” Wazorko Manafort ’94, who played softball for the Falcons, was inspired to make a leadership gift to jump-start the fund in honor of her years at Albertus.
“I am so proud to be able to give back to Albertus,” said Wazorko Manafort. “My years at Albertus, were and continue to be, so very special to me. This donation is one way to show my deep and heartfelt ‘thank you’ to our alma mater. To be a part of the Mary Benevento Fund for Athletics makes it all the more special.”
From tennis—the first sport played at Albertus—to earning conference titles and NCAA Tournament berths today, the student-athlete experience has become an important part of the Albertus Magnus campus culture.
Most recently, in the last five years, the Albertus Magnus men’s soccer team won their second Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) title en route to making its first NCAA Tournament berth in program history. The Falcons’ men’s basketball program has won four-straight GNAC Championship titles and five in the last six seasons after winning the crown in 2010-11.
Albertus Magnus also produced its first-ever All-Americans in 2011-12 in Jamal Howard (men’s soccer) and Ray Askew (men’s basketball) as the Falcons had one of their most successful years in department history. Senior standout Stephen Zapata was recently named the Albertus Magnus men’s soccer program’s second All-American after receiving the accolade in the fall of 2012. Darius Watson (men's basketball) and Victor Ljuljdjuraj (men's basketball) both earned All-America honors as well in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Lianna Carrero (women's basketball) is the college's first-ever Academic All-American - earning that accolade in back-to-back years in 2013 and 2014.
To join Tabitha and other Falcon fans supporting Albertus Athletics, please click here to contribute to the fund.