Regular season action tips off for NYU’s men’s and women’s basketball teams on Nov. 15 at Coles Sports Center. After successful campaigns last year, both teams hope to continue their success going into the new season.

Last year, the Lady Violets went through a resurgence. Under then second-year coach Lauren Hall-Gregory, the team finished 20-6, making the NCAA DIII Tournament as an at-large bid. Many members of last year’s team are back this season, including sophomore guard Kaitlyn Read. As a freshman, Read was a fundamental part of the Violets, averaging 13.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.

Although she was a First Team All-UAA Honors selection last year, Read is still striving for more as she prepares to step onto the court.

“So far I’ve just been working on getting a lot of shots up and working to be more in shape so that I can go 100 percent on both offense and defense,” Read said. “We have some new freshmen that are very good and I’ve been working on getting used to playing with them as well.”

Upperclassmen were a key factor last season, and with forward Alexis Doherty gone, guards Melissa Peng and Lexi Bove-Domenech will take the reins as senior leaders.

“As a senior, I just hope my example speaks out and sets the tone for hopefully a successful year ahead of us,” Peng said.

Peng said she has high hopes for the freshman class this year, as its contributions will be crucial.

“They are very energetic and eager to learn and are great additions to our team,” she said.

Read, among her other teammates, are looking to finish strong with a potential championship win.

“We’re all thirsty for more tournament games, and we all want to win an NCAA Championship, which is completely within our reach,” Read said.

On the men’s side, a 16-10 season and postseason bid last year have given the team high expectations coming into 2014. Coach Joe Nesci’s team will be led by junior forward Evan Kupferberg. After garnering, among other accolades, First Team All-Metropolitan and First Team All-UAA Honors as a sophomore, Kupferberg will look to increase his averages of 17.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game this season.

The Violets will also look to the juniors to lead the team this season. Big man Costis Gontikas at center averaged 12.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game as a sophomore, and will look to fortify the post for the Violets defense. Junior guard Max Ralby was resurgent in his return from an injury freshman year, leading the team with 4.4 assists per game.

Freshman recruits include guards Ross Udine and David Katz and forwards Francesco Cordioli and Coby Lefkowitz.

Udine said he was ecstatic for the opportunity to play for NYU and is rapidly getting acclimated to the game with the help of the team’s upperclassmen.

“The older guys on the team are a huge help to me,” Udine said. “So since I look up to them when I see how hard they are working, it makes me want to work just as hard, if not harder.”

Ralby said this season brings a lot of hope to the team, and is to be selected for the NCAA tournament.

“We are hungry, excited and determined and cannot wait to get out on the floor and start the regular season,” Ralby said.

Email Michael Thompson at [email protected].