DAWN GUGLIARO, HUNTER ‘97
PSAL Assistant Commissioner for Softball
St.Francis College (Division I) Head Bowling Coach
NYC Adaptive Physical Education Teacher
Three-time CUNYAC Player of the Year
“During my senior season, my grandmother passed away and all-star Kim Tolve, broke her ankle when a cab ran a red light and hit her while she was rollerblading, so I switched my number to 13, Kim’s number (pictured on crutches), so we made it our mission and closed out our year with a CUNY Championship. It’s an amazing feeling no matter how many times you win!”
Named the CUNY Athletic Conference Player of the Year by the league coaches at the conclusion of her junior and senior seasons, Dawn Gugliaro was one of the most dominant pitchers in the 30-year history of CUNY Softball. While Hunter College won the CUNYAC Championship three straight times with Gugliaro on the mound (1992, 1993, 1994), she was also selected as the Tournament Most Valuable Player in her last two seasons to complete an astonishing collegiate athletic career.
She moved to the sidelines in 1995 and served as an assistant coach to skipper Ralph Moroni for two years before getting her Bachelor’s degree in human movement studies and Physical Education/Teaching from Hunter. Moroni and Gugliaro shared a personal connection as well, eventually marrying her older sister Doreen and becoming her brother-in-law. Nowadays, it’s unclear which role Moroni treasures more, having coached Gugliaro or having her in his family.
“She was not given an opportunity as a freshman to learn,” said Moroni. “There was not an experienced pitcher to show her the ropes. I remember telling her ‘You’re going to have to do this by yourself.’ She immediately walked into the fire and became our ace.
I never let her hit, because I could never take a chance she would get hurt. She was our only pitcher. We were playing a game against New Paltz, Dawn was pitching and she got hit with a line drive right to her head. Before I even got to the mound she looked me right in the eye and said ‘I’m NOT coming out!’ After five minutes in a heated discussion at the mound... she finished the game.
Gugliaro grew up in Brooklyn and was a star catcher at SouthShoreHigh School. She was an infielder as young child; she fell in love with catching in high school. Before her senior season, Vikings coach Bob Nixon needed a pitcher. So he tried out all his veterans as Gugliaro stayed behind the plate, as she was the one who leads all the drills. Needless to say when it was her turn, Gugliaro’s strong arm won out. She quickly became a dominant pitcher, becoming a finalist for the Pegasus award as the Public School Athletic League’s (PSAL) top player.
Q: Why did you select choose to attend Hunter?
DG: I was being recruited by some Division I Colleges as a catcher, San JoseState and Temple she said. I even had one offer to pitch and catch. I didn’t go to tryouts for the PSAL Exceptional Senior game because I decided to go on my senior trip instead. I came to the game, expecting to play since I was an award finalist and they didn’t let me play. Jackee Meadow (the current Athletic Director at CCNY), who was an assistant softball coach at the time came out of the stands and spoke to the people in charge to get me in the game. They still didn’t let me play, but its because of her that I went to Hunter. I used to thank Jackee all of the time. Now my softball life has come full circle as an Assistant Commissioner for Softball. I get to give back what softball means to me.
Q: How did being a collegiate student-athlete improve your life back then?
DG: By staying home, I got a much richer experience than I would have gotten had I gone away. I actually lived at the dorms on Hunter’s Brookdale Campus (on East 25th Street) and it helped me become an adult. I learned quickly how to be independent and the time management is an extremely important skill set. I even became a RA (Resident Assistant) during my senior year, while I was captain of the team and working for Jackee in the Hunter Recreation office. I know I’m biased but I encourage everyone to go to a CUNY school. It’s not just Hunter and Staten Island anymore, the Conference is getting stronger every year.
As far as playing, it was important for my family to see me play softball. If you go away to school, they see you a few times and it’s a big burden an pressure on your family to see you play. It was the pinnacle of my athletic career and I can’t tell you how much I appreciated my family watching my play for four years.
Q: Did you find difficulty keeping up with softball when your focus shifted to your career?
DG: After graduating Hunter, I worked as a manager at Gold’s Gym for over two years, supervising trainers and staff, but I wanted to teach and coach. I started teaching Adaptive Physical Education to physically, emotionally and socially challenged children and it still keeps me on my feet more than ten years later. I got back into coaching at PolyPrepHigh School in Brooklyn when I met Nick Trani, the former head softball coach at St.FrancisCollege. His daughter was on the team and two years later he asked me to join his staff as a pitching coach. I worked with St. Francis, a Division I school for five years on the softball staff, sometimes filling in for Nick who was sick, before they cut the team. That was a real growing experience for me.
Q: What led you to your current career path? Actually with you paths?
DG: I was fortunate when the wanted to keep me on staff at St. Francis. The administration knew I was a bowler all of my life as well and the school was starting an NCAA Bowling team. In four years we have built a nationally ranked program. We finished 12th in the country this year and beat both teams in the NCAA Championship match. Following years of service to the Empire State Games as a player and a coach, I was named an Assistant Commissioner for PSAL Softball in February 2009.
Everything is great when you can work in the sport you love. With the PSAL, I want to make the teams in New York City more competitive around the country. Plus, coaching Bowling gives me that rush in a different way.
I am involved in pitching and coaching clinics and have seen the level of play continually improve. I have a great working relationship with many of the CUNY Coaches and I really like the direction that CUNY softball is going, even at QueensCollege and QCC.
Q: How about one final reflection?
DG: It was the greatest time in my life and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without Hunter softball and Ralph Moroni. I’m glad things have come full circle for me now.
“Dawn was, and still is one of the most competitive people I have ever met. She was a dominant pitcher on the mound and a strong leader off the field. She never quit, she always used to say ‘We can get through this’. She never let adversityget her down. The younger players really looked up to her and fed off of this. She’s one of those people who just want it done right every single time. She’s like that as a teacher, with her bowling team and with the PSAL - She is passionate about EVERYTHING she does. She never does ANYTHING half-hearted.”
FORMER HUNTER HEAD COACH RALPH MORONI