News
Women's Basketball Welcomes Three New Members To Coaching Staff
Roberts Wesleyan University women's basketball coach Kevin Clifford is pleased to announce three additions to his coaching staff.
Todd Esposito, Sheila Hawkes and Marissa Kerwin will join Clifford and assistant coach Anthony Bollinger for the upcoming season.
"I am delighted to have Coach Espo, Coach Sheila and Coach Marissa with us," Clifford said. "Each of them brings knowledge and experience to Roberts and they will be helping in all phases of the program."
Esposito has 17 years of experience as a head coach in Section V, having coached the boys varsity teams at Penfield and Gates Chili and the girls varsity team at Churchville-Chili. He led the Gates Chili boys to back-to-back appearances in the Section V semifinals.
Esposito played two seasons of junior college basketball at Villa Maria College in Buffalo and two seasons at Nazareth College and has been a special education teacher at Gates Chili High School for more than 30 years.
Hawkes, a Rochester native, has enjoyed success as a player and coach at the high school and college levels.
She played point guard at powerhouse Bishop Kearney and was the starting point guard on BK's first Section V championship team in 2012 and first state title team in 2013.
She began her college career at Monroe Community College before an injury led her into coaching. She served as the manager of the MCC men's team alongside her mentor, MCC coach Jerry Burns, and has also trained numerous AAU teams through the years.
Hawkes coached the girls junior varsity team at Rochester's School of the Arts in 2018-19 before returning to play at Bryant & Stratton in 2019, where she started at point guard and had the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the country. The Bobcats advanced to the Final Four before COVID-19 ended their season.
Hawkes returned to coaching last year as an assistant for the MCC women's team.
Kerwin, whose maiden name is Sell, returns to her alma mater, where she was a four-year standout in basketball, soccer and lacrosse, as a volunteer assistant.
Kerwin is a physical education teacher in the Churchville-Chili Central School District and has coached varsity basketball at Attica Central School for five seasons. She has also served as a high school coach for soccer, volleyball and tennis.
Bollinger, a native of Hamburg, N.Y. is entering his third season on Clifford's staff. He assists in all aspects of the program and also serves as the head coach for the men's and women's junior varsity teams.
Roberts opens the regular season on at 8:15 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 10 against Felician University in the Redhawks Classic.