Montclair, NJ (4/2/09) –Montclair State softball coach Anita Kubicka reached another milestone in her already impressive career for the Red Hawks as she claimed victory No. 600 as MSU defeated Hunter College, 1-0 in the first game of the doubleheader at the MSU Softball Stadium on Thursday. MSU would win the second game 6-0 to sweep the twinbill.

Kubicka joins current baseball coach Norm Schoenig as the only coaches in Montclair State history to reach the 600-win plateau. Now in her 19th season, Kubicka is 601-213-2, and becomes the 10th coach in Division III history to reach the mark as well. Kubicka entered the year ranked 10th all-time in victories and winning percentage.

Taking over the Montclair State program in 1991, Kubicka has far and away won more games than any other coach in Montclair State softball history. Thirteen times her teams have won 30-plus games, including nine of the last 10 campaigns, and she has led the Red Hawks to 10 NCAA Tournaments. In those 10 appearances are two trips to the national championship tournament where in 1997, MSU finished as the runner-up. Montclair has also won seven ECAC championships under Kubicka’s watch and she has earned several NJAC and Regional Coach of the Year honors.

But Kubicka’s legacy in Montclair State softball history goes beyond the records and accolades on the field. She played a major role in the construction of the MSU Softball that gave her team a first-class facility that matched it success on the field. The stadium opened in 2004 to raved reviews and is one of the premier softball-only complexes in the East Region. The stadium served as the home to the NY/NJ Juggernaut of the National Pro Fastpitch in 2004 and in May will be the site for the NCAA Division III Softball Championship. It marks the first time that Montclair will host a national championship tournament and it will be the first appearance in the East by the tournament in 20 years.

Among the list of 55 players to be named All-American at MSU, Kubicka had coached 35 of them – 15 First-Team selections, including 1992 NCAA Division III Player of the Year Lois Fyfe.

Kubicka’s teams have also excelled in the classroom raking among the top academic athletic teams at Montclair State and place several players each year on the NJAC’s All-Academic Team. In 2008, Jackie Ferranti became the first female and the fifth student-athlete in school history to be named Academic All-America.

In January, Kubicka was honored for her outstanding career by the New Jersey Sportswriters Association and was part of a star-studded group of honorees that include New York Mets All-Star third baseman David Wright, Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel and New York Giants Super Bowl Most Valuable Player O.J. Anderson. Also in attendance were former NFL great and ESPN Analyst Joe Theirmann, New York Liberty coach Patty Coyle and former New Jersey Governor Hon. Brendan T. Byrne.

Over the past two seasons, no team in the New Jersey Athletic Conference has been better than Kubicka’s Red Hawks which went an impressive 34-2 during that time.

In 2008 MSU put together its best conference season in program history. Montclair did not lose a single conference game during the regular season posting an 18-0 mark making just the second NJAC squad in league annals to accomplish that feat. In addition to its second straight regular-season crown, Montclair also captured the NJAC Tournament winning twice on the final day to earn its first conference championship since 1997 and its third overall.

Montclair State completed 2008 with a 43-6 record, setting the school record for victories and Kubicka and her staff were rewarded as they captured Coaching Staff of the Year honors from both the NJAC and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).