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| Rutgers-Newark athletics photo |
Ashley Cieplicki was named acting head women's basketball coach at Rutgers-Newark, it was announced June 2.
Cieplicki will be taking over a program that went 15-14 last season, reaching the semifinals of the New Jersey Athletic Conference tournament and title game of the ECAC Metro/Upstate championship.
She replaces Bill Zasowski, who was an interim head coach himself this past season.
"We could not be more pleased in welcoming Ashley on board here at Rutgers-Newark," said athletic director Mark Griffin. "She combines a wealth of coaching experience at many different levels with a very strong knowledge of the area, and we think she is the right person to take our women's basketball program to the next level."
The New Jersey native and Rowan standout joins the Scarlet Raiders after being on the staff at DI FDU-Teaneck since 2012.
"I am incredibly excited and thankful for the opportunity Mark (Griffin) has given me to join the Rutgers-Newark team," said Cieplicki. "The chance to coach in the NJAC – a league I played in and one I believe to be at the top of Division III – is something I couldn't pass up. Add that with the excellent academics and general direction of Rutgers-Newark athletics, and you can see there will be chance to achieve some great things."
At FDU, Cieplicki assisted in all facets of the women's basketball program, helping the Knights to a seven-win increase from 2013-14 to 2014-15 and an appearance in the Northeast Conference quarterfinals in March. Three players earned all-conference honors in her final year, with junior Erika Livermore earning first-team All-NEC accolades in addition to NEC Defensive Player of the Year distinction. The Haworth, N.J., resident also handled and organized all scouting and video breakdowns of opponents and managed the Knights' recruiting database in addition to assisting in all aspects of practice, travel and more.
Prior to her time at FDU, Cieplicki spent time at Holy Family University as an assistant coach where she helped guide the Tigers to two NCAA Tournament appearances and a CACC title in 2011-12, playing a major role in all aspects of the program. She conducted individual workouts, helped plan/implement practices and was responsible for all scouting, game video breakdown, scouting reports, etc. She was also instrumental in the creation of individualized strength and conditioning programs and served as the Holy Family women's basketball camp director.
Cieplicki graduated from Rowan in December 2009 and is close to completing her Master's in Sports Administration. A team captain, Cieplicki was an all-conference selection in 2007-08, helping her Prof teams to appearances in the NJAC tournament in 2007-08 and 2008-09.
She spent time as the video operations coordinator for the New York Liberty of the WNBA in 2009-10 and was the head coach of the New Jersey Gym Ratz – an AAU girls' basketball program.