TEAMS
Bob Bruno begins his second year at the helm preparing for competition with an increase in assets. In 2001 Bruno led the newly reinstated softball program onto the diamond for the first time in 15 years, overcoming many challenges. With the addition of a large and multi-faceted recruiting class the program will now feature a complete roster of athletes eager to showcase their talent to opponents.
Bruno
was announced as the first head coach of the softball
program’s new era in the spring of 2000.
“Bob’s experience, coupled with his passion for the
game, makes him a natural choice for our program,” said
Director of Athletics Steve Hurlbut. “As a life-long educator his skills and values will serve
Fairleigh Dickinson well. His
knowledge of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania softball will
allow us to attract top players from those softball hotbeds.”
Bruno
has over 25 years of teaching and coaching experience in New
Jersey. He has
coached Pequannock High School for two seasons and previously
was at Palisades Park High School for 12 years.
While at Palisades Park he turned the program into one of
the most respected in Bergen County, accumulating a 215-86
record. Bruno was
named the 1996 Bergen County Softball League Coach of the Year.
A
1973 Ramapo State College graduate, Bruno represented New Jersey
at the Junior Olympics with the Clark Wildcats during the summer
of 1994. At
2000’s 86-team Pony Nationals held in Sterling, VA, he led the
Clifton Cobras (American Softball Association) to an 11th-place
finish.
Bruno
and his wife, Phyllis, live in Somerset, NJ.
The couple has two daughters, Jessica and Heather.
Assisting Bruno for the second season will be North Jersey native Dana Jeannetti. A four-year letterwinner at Georgian Court College in Lakewood, NJ, Jeannetti was an NAIA All-American at second base for the Lions in 1997. She was also an All-Conference selection and NAIA All-Tournament member at second base each of her four years.
The
1998 graduate played for the Clifton Cobras, who finished ninth
at the Major Nationals in 1999.
Her coaching experience includes being an assistant with
the Under-16 Project Pride Softball Organization in 1996.
She was an all-state selection at Clifton High School her
junior and senior seasons.
Keimel enters his second season as assistant coach for the Knights. He has coached three national tournament teams with the Clifton Cobras ASA Under-19 and was assistant coach for the Metro West team at the Maccabiah Games in 1996. He also has experience as head coach of the North Stars Fall Ball team out of Randolph High School.
Born in Newark, the Parsippany native
is currently employed with the Parks and Forestry Department in
the Township of Parsippany/Troy Hills. Keimel and his newlywed wife Carmela reside in Hamburg, NJ.
Murdoch is in his second season assisting the Knights.
A long-time coach of girls' softball and soccer at Lyndhurst High School in Lyndhurst, NJ, he is a veteran player in men's Class C and was part of the Kearny Graham National Championship. In the summer of 2001 Murdoch was an assistant coach with the Mystic Majectic, a majors fastpitch who now play in the majestic nationals.
Murdoch is a
native of Kearny, NJ.