Westmoreland County campus clippings: Former Seton Hill basketball player headed to Greece

From Seton Hill to Alabama to Greece, basketball is taking Samuel Tabe around the globe.

Tabe, a former go-to scorer at Seton Hill, signed to play professionally with AE Psychiko Athens of the Greek Elite League.

The 6-foot-5 guard played his last college season at South Alabama, a Division I program where he scored 35 points in a game.

He played three seasons for the Griffins, averaging 16 points and eight rebounds a game as a senior to earn All-PSAC West accolades.

For his college career, he averaged close to 12 points a game and scored more than 1,000 career points.

Football

Saint Vincent: Head coach Aaron Smetanka promoted an assistant just before the start of a new season.

David Neil will be the Bearcats’ offensive line coach after previously serving as an offensive assistant.

Neil was an assistant at Danville and Woodstock Union high schools. He later led Essex High School to three state titles in 1992, 2009 and 2021.

He moved to the area and worked at Derry as a recreation and adult education director, and also was a kindergarten classroom assistant and care reader in the district.

Neil also has a strong background in lacrosse, and he has officiated lacrosse and basketball at the high school and college levels.

Men’s soccer

Seton Hill: Coaches in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division picked the Griffins to finish second in their preseason poll.

Last season, Seton Hill finished 6-12-1 and went two rounds deep in the playoffs, losing to Millersville in the semis.

Sophomore James Aubrey led the Griffins last year with 18 points on seven goals and four assists.

Junior Aiden Hollander was the top goalkeeper, making 46 saves in 18 starts.

This season, the PSAC will move to two divisions in soccer. The top three on each side will qualify for the playoffs.

Seton Hill opens the season Sept. 7 at Ohio Dominican.

Gannon is the top-ranked team in the West coaches poll, while Millersville is the favorite in the PSAC East.

Women’s soccer

Duquesne: Senior Mackenzie Leeder (Mt. Pleasant) had an assist and two shots on goal as the Dukes opened the season with a 6-2 victory over Mercyhurst.

James Madison : Redshirt freshman Sofia DeCerb (Latrobe) is starting at goalkeeper and made three saves in a 3-0, season-opening win over Villanova.

Robert Morris: A pair of local junior forwards started the season on a high note. Malia Kearns (Penn-Trafford) registered a goal and an assist, and Paloma Swankler (Norwin) added a goal as the Colonials opened the season with a 5-0 victory over Le Moyne.

Seton Hill : The Griffins are expected to finish second in the PSAC West, according to conference coaches’ preseason poll.

Junior Jessica Molitoris was the top scorer last fall for the Griffins with 13 points (5 goals, 3 assists), while sophomore Kilee Coatney was second with 10 (4 goals, 2 assists).

Seton Hill finished 7-11-1 and lost to Mercyhurst in the first round of the PSAC playoffs, which will now be split into two divisions with the top four finishers in each advancing to the playoffs.

The Griffins will open the season Sept. 5 at home against West Liberty.

Defending PSAC West champion Gannon received the most first-place votes to top the West poll, while West Chester is the top team in the East.

Women’s lacrosse

Saint Vincent: Former Seton Hill standout Makayla Kintner, who led the Griffins up until this season, was hired as an assistant coach.

A five-year player, Kintner was a four-time IWLCA All-America and All-Atlantic Region pick, and also is a former two-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

A defender and a native of Vestal, N.Y., she started all 80 games in her career, collecting 164 ground balls, 137 caused turnovers and 269 draw controls.

Seton Hill made the NCAA Division II Tournament in each of the past four years.

Wrestling

Saint Vincent: The young but surging Bearcats added a former NCAA champion to head coach Dom Nania’s staff.

Bruceton Mills, W.Va. native Terrance Fanning joins the second-year program after a strong career at Wheeling Jesuit (2015-19) where he won a national title as a 285-pounder in 2018.

Fanning coached youth wrestling in Pensacola, Fla., for five years before this opportunity with the Bearcats.

Saint Vincent last winter won the Presidents’ Athletic Conference championship in its first year of competition since 1973.