Union College Women's Softball

Chris Comino returns for his second season as the head coach of the Union softball team in 2026. Comino led the Garnet Chargers to a 12-19 record in his first season at the helm of the program, including wins over both of the top-two teams in the Liberty League. Also under his guidance, first-year Carra Cleaves tossed the first no-hitter for Union since 2015 and earned All-Liberty League honorable mention honors.   Comino has been a collegiate head coach in the state of New York for the last 11 seasons, spending 10 years at Cazenovia College before moving to SUNY Morrisville prior to last season.   Comino led Cazenovia to 147 victories in his decade with the Wildcats, finishing his tenure as the winningest coach in program history and guiding the program to three of the five highest single-season win totals ever at the school. He led the squad to a combined 59-35 record over the last three seasons, including a 23-win effort in the College's final year that marked the most wins in a season since 2004. The team posted the highest single-season winning percentage ever by going 19-7 (.731) and capturing a North Atlantic Conference West Division title in 2021.   In addition to his time with the softball program, Comino also spent 11 years as the head women's basketball coach at Cazenovia from 2010-21 and served as the Director of Athletic Operations for 10 years, including work as Sports Information Director, Game Day Supervisor, Intramurals Director and liaison to the Admissions Office.   In his one season at SUNY Morrisville, he led the Mustangs to the second-most wins in a season in program history and the program's first NAC Tournament berth despite taking over a team that did not play in 2023.   Comino graduated from Cazenovia in 2005 with a bachelor's of professional studies degree in sports management. A two-sport student-athlete in baseball and basketball, he was inducted into the Cazenovia Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013. 

Molly Chamberlain returns for her fourth season as head coach of the Union College men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams at Union College in 2025-26. Under Chamberlain's guidance, the men's program has broken three school records and recorded 14 top-10 program times, while on the women's side seven additions have been made to the top-10 program times. In 2023-24, senior Matt Kenvin shattered three school records, a pool record, and a Liberty League meet record as the men's program started the season with a 4-0 record, the best start since 1966; the women also went 4-0 to start the 2023-24 season, the first time that happened since 2006-07. Outside of the pool, the women's team has earned CSCAA Scholar All-America Team status in all three years under Chamberlain's leadership while the men have earned the honor twice.  In her first year coaching the team, Chamberlain guided the men's team to a fifth place finish at the Liberty League Championship with 732 points and the women's team to a seventh place finish with 483 points. Junior Matt Kenvin broke the school record in the 100-yard breaststroke and earned two All-Liberty League honors, the first Union swimmer to earn that recognition since the 2018-19 season.    Chamberlain assumed her first head coaching role after spending four years as an assistant coach at Yale University. She served as the recruiting coordinator for the Bulldogs’ women’s team, trained the team’s middle distance swimmers, and also played a role in managing team operations throughout the year. In her three seasons, the women’s team posted a combined 27-1 dual-meet record and three straight top-three finishes at the Ivy League Championships, including second-place results in 2019 and 2022.   Chamberlain previously spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Sacred Heart University, where she played a role in all facets of the Division I women’s program, including scheduling, recruiting, practice planning and meet preparation. The Pioneers posted a 16-9 dual-meet record during her time on campus, including a program-record 9-2 mark and a third-place finish at the ECAC Winter Championships in 2016-17.   Chamberlain is no stranger to the Capital Region, having spent three years on the swimming team and four years on the water polo team at Siena College from 2007-11. A 2024 Siena College Hall of Fame inductee for both water polo and swimming, she still holds three individual school records at the school in the 100 free, 200 free and 500 free, all of which came during the 2009-10 season in which she was named team MVP, and is a part of the school-record 200 free, 400 free and 200 medley relays as well. She also spent four seasons as a volunteer coach at her alma mater after graduating from the school in 2011 with a bachelor’s of arts in social work.  

Emma Crisafulli finished her first season as an assistant coach with the Union College softball team in 2025.   Crisafulli helped the Garnet Chargers to a 12-19 record in her first season with the program, including wins over both of the top-two teams in the Liberty League. Crisafulli comes to Union after graduating from Emmanuel College, where she played four years on the softball team from 2021-24. A two-year starter for the Saints, Crisafulli earned All-Great Northeast Athletic Conference honors at first base in both of her final two seasons and also earned All-Sportsmanship recognition as a senior as well. As a senior, she hit .261 with three homers, 22 runs batted in and 13 walks in a career-high 92 at-bats.   A three-time GNAC Academic All-Conference selection, Crisafulli graduated from Emmanuel in 2024 with a degree in English communications and media studies.  

Sarah Penny finished her first season as an assistant coach with the Union College softball team in 2025, working primarily with the pitchers and middle infielders.   Penny helped the Garnet Chargers to a 12-19 record in her first season with the program, including wins over both of the top-two teams in the Liberty League. Also under her guidance, first-year Carra Cleaves tossed the first no-hitter for Union since 2015 and earned All-Liberty League honorable mention honors. Penny played softball at Cazenovia College under current Union head coach Chris Comino, starting all three seasons at shortstop and in the circle. Penny helped the Wildcats to a 59-35 record, winning the North Atlantic Conference West Division title in 2021 and making it to the NAC Championship game in 2021 and 2023.   Penny’s best season came in 2023, when she earned All-NAC first-team honors after hitting .468 with a .528 on-base percentage, a team-leading 49 runs scored and four home runs. She led the NAC and finished 11th in Division III in runs per game and also ranked top-50 in the country in batting average (34th) and on-base percentage (39th).  She also helped lead a Wildcat offense that finished top-10 in the country in slugging percentage (3rd), runs scored per game (8th) and batting average (10th).   A two-time All-Conference performer, she finished her career with a .410 batting average and .477 on-base percentage in 249 at-bats. She also appeared in 27 games with 19 starts in the circle for Cazenovia, posting an 12-8 record and 4.72 ERA in 112.2 innings, including a team-best eight wins in her final season.   Penny graduated from Cazenovia in 2023.  

Emery Sawitzki joined the Union College softball coaching staff in the fall of 2025 and finished her first season with the team in 2026, working primarily with the pitchers and hitters. Sawitzki played softball at Cazenovia College (2023) and SUNY Morrisville (2024-2025), including two seasons under current Union head coach Chris Comino.  She was a three year starter behind the plate. As a sophomore at Cazenovia, she helped the Wildcats to a 23-17 record and a spot in the NAC Championship. Her best season came in 2024, when she earned All-NAC first-team honors after hitting .366 with nine doubles, 22 runs scored, and 28 runs batted in, helping to lead the Mustangs to the second-highest wins total in a season in program history. Sawitzki graduated from SUNY Morrisville in 2025.  

Olivia Parham begins her first season as an assistant coach with the Union College men’s and women’s swimming & diving programs in 2025-26. Parham joins Union after a standout swimming career at Cal State East Bay, where she was a multiple-time CSCAA All-American and record-holder. She earned All-America recognition across three seasons, highlighted by helping the Pioneers to a program-record performance in the 200-yard freestyle relay at the 2023 NCAA Division II championships. Out of the pool, Parham was equally successful, earning CSCAA Scholar All-America honors in each of her four years and the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award three times. Since graduating, Parham has gained valuable coaching experience on deck with Mesa Aquatics in Arizona and with EBAT Masters in California, where she worked with swimmers of all ages and abilities. She has also spent time working in strength and conditioning at Cal State East Bay, further broadening her understanding of collegiate athletics. A native of Redding, Calif., Parham graduated from Cal State East Bay in 2024 with a degree in Kinesiology.