Weekly Lyon

Men's Basketball (10-4, 1-2) Splits Pair, Falls to 2007 NEWMAC Champ Coast Guard

The Wheaton College men's basketball team fell to 1-3 in its last four games after splitting a pair of New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contests. The Lyons went to Babson College and defeated the Beavers, 69-64 on Wednesday before returning home and falling to defending league champion United States Coast Guard Academy, 74-61 on Saturday. With 10 wins, Wheaton is one shy of matching its 2006-07 total.

Sophomore Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half to help Wheaton hold off Babson. Leo finished 7-of-8, including 4-of-4 from three-point range, while also snagging nine rebounds and blocking two shots. Junior Nick Michel (Hyde Park, MA/Boston Latin School) went 7-of-7 for 15 points while collecting five boards, four blocks and three assists. Freshman Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown) canned a trio of threes to finish with 13 points, while sophomore Jon Lecznar (Poland, ME/Poland Regional) had six rebounds and two blocks in 12 minutes off the bench. Wheaton shot 51.9 percent, including 8-of-17 from beyond the arc, and finished with a 38-26 rebounding advantage. Its nine blocked shots tied for fourth in program history.

The Lyons played close with Coast Guard until early in the second half, when the Bears pulled away. Wheaton trailed just 37-32 with 17:20 remaining in the game and, after the visitors' lead ballooned to 19, the Blue and White chipped to within seven with 9:02 left but came no closer. Leo scored a team-high 16 points, while Coppola added nine points and three assists. Freshman Bud Gaffney (Berkley, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon School) recorded six points, six rebounds and four assists, while classmate Bobby Perry (East Providence, RI/East Providence) snagged a season-high eight boards.

The Lyons, who have started three freshmen in all 14 games, are 8-1 when Coppola is the team's leading scorer. The only other Wheaton freshman to lead the squad in scoring at least nine times was Will Hawkins '93, who did so on a first-year record 17 occasions in 1989-90.

Women's Basketball (11-4, 4-0) Remains Tied for First in NEWMAC After 2-0 Week

The Wheaton College women's basketball team began consecutive conference slates 4-0 for the first time and extended its winning streak to seven games for the first time since 1995-96 after going 2-0 last week, remaining tied for first place in the NEWMAC. On Wednesday, the Lyons held off visiting Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), 70-68 before dispatching Smith College, 73-49 on Saturday in Emerson Gym. Wheaton has won 11 straight at home, its longest streak since a run that ended in 1995-96.

Against WPI, the Lyons saw a 15-point first-half lead dissipate before junior Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) snapped a tie with 2.3 seconds left in regulation. Wheaton had forged a 25-10 advantage 12 minutes into the contest, but the second stanza saw the teams exchange eight leads and play to five ties. Sophomore Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) had career highs of 22 points and five blocks while shooting 10-of-14 with eight rebounds. Senior Becky Aitchison (Norwalk, CT/Trinity Catholic) added 14 points, five rebounds and five assists, junior Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) finished with nine points and five boards, while Hickey had eight points, six caroms and two blocks. The Lyons shot 54.4 percent, the best showing WPI had allowed in 61 games. Wheaton's eight blocks tied for fourth in program history.

Wheaton sprinted out to a 17-4 advantage against Smith and never looked back, taking a 19-point lead into halftime. Sophomore Ida Kruse (Vershire, VT/Rivendell Academy) scored a career-high 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting to go along with four rebounds and three steals in 14 minutes off the bench. Classmate Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) added 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting with five assists and four boards, while Aitchison totaled 10 points, five assists and three steals. Champney contributed 10 points and five boards.

Hickey (973 points) is 10th on Wheaton's career scoring list, as she is just 27 points short of 1,000, a plateau no Lyon junior has reached. Hickey is also ninth in field goals (377), Smith is sixth in three-pointers (96), and Champney is ninth in blocked shots (44).

Hickey Earns Second Career NEWMAC Player-of-the-Week Laurel

Hickey drew the second NEWMAC Player-of-the-Week honor of her career for the week ending on Sunday, January 13. In two games during the week, Hickey averaged 16.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting 61.1 percent (11-18) from the floor, including 4-of-5 from three-point range, and canning all seven free throw tries. During a 67-48 win at Mount Holyoke College on January 9, Hickey had game highs of 23 points and 10 rebounds, going 8-of-12 while hitting both of her three-point attempts and all five free throw tries. She added three assists. Hickey then had 10 points, six rebounds and three assists in 27 minutes of a 70-50 win against visiting Babson College on January 12.

Men's (4-8) and Women's (11-3) Swimming Combine to go 2-4 Against Non-League Foes

The Wheaton College men's and women's swimming and diving teams split at Brandeis University on Thursday before combining to drop three of four decisions during a double-dual meet on Saturday at Trinity College. Against the Judges, the Lyon women notched a 164-134 win, while the men fell, 136-108. At Trinity, Wheaton's women downed the Bantams, 212-87 but fell to Connecticut College, 165-134. The Blue and White men lost to the Camels, 162-78 and Trinity, 158-119. The women are 11-3 for the third straight season and are three wins shy of last year's program record with five decisions left.

At Brandeis, six different women recorded individual wins, while one relay team was victorious. Sophomore Sarah Houlihan (West Springfield, MA/West Springfield) won the 500-yard freestyle and swam a leg for the top 400-yard free relay team, joining freshmen Kathleen Dwyer (Barrington, RI/Barrington), Samantha Farrell (Reading, MA/Reading Memorial) and Sara Hollar (La Crescenta, CA/Flintridge Prep). Seniors Meg Miller (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) and Abby Pratt (Melrose, MA/Melrose) won the 100-yard free and 100-yard backstroke, respectively. Junior Caitlin Glover (Durham, NH/Berwick Academy) captured the 200-yard back, sophomore Emily Sweatt (Portland, ME/Deering) bested the 100-yard breaststroke field, and freshman Nicole Zais (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) was the top 50-yard free swimmer. For the men, senior Matt Hurley (Belfast, ME/Belfast Area) won the 100-yard breast and 200-yard back races while swimming legs on the winning 400-yard free and medley relay teams. The same quartet comprised both relays, as Hurley sided with senior Matt Jordan (Ellsworth, ME/Ellsworth) and freshmen Sam Dean-Lee (Rocky Hill, CT/Xavier) and Eddie Gillie (Haverhill, MA/Saint John's Prep). Jordan also won the 50-yard free.

On Saturday, Pratt paced the 50- and 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke races before swimming leadoff for the victorious 200-yard free relay foursome, joining Farrell, Miller and Zais. Sweatt bested the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke fields and swam for the top 200-yard medley relay quartet, siding with Zais, sophomore Iris Meehan (Bar Harbor, ME/Mount Desert Island) and freshman Dania Piscetta (Belmont, NH/Belmont). Wheaton's men notched four runner-up showings, including two by Jordan, who fell just 0.14 seconds short of the top finisher in the 100-yard back.

Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field Turn in Strong Showings in Rhode Island

The Wheaton College men's and women's indoor track and field teams competed in a Division I-heavy field at the Sorlien Invitational on Saturday at the University of Rhode Island, and the Lyon women came away with a fifth-place showing, while the men were eighth. In just her second collegiate meet, freshman Diana Kornberg (Woodbury, NY/Monroe-Woodbury) provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship with a shot put throw of 42' 7", placing her fifth overall. Sophomore Renee Thompson (Hartford, CT/Weaver) was victorious in the 500-meter run, as her time of 1:16.74 was just 0.38 seconds shy of a 10-year-old program record. On the men's side, sophomore Howard Powell (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) came in third in the 55M hurdles in 7.80, falling short of his school record by 0.02 seconds and an NCAA meet provisional qualifying standard by 0.05 seconds. Freshman Marcus Kohlman (Milton, MA/Milton) took third in the high jump, missing a provisional height by 3/4", as he cleared the bar at 6' 6 1/4". Sophomore Merzudin Ibric (Revere, MA/Phillips Academy) placed second in the 500M, as his time of 1:05.69 was 0.73 seconds shy of a 10-year-old school standard.

Thompson Named ECAC Co-Athlete of the Week for First Time in Career

Thompson was named Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Track Co-Athlete of the Week for the week ending on Sunday, January 13, earning the first award of her career. Thompson had an NCAA Championship provisional qualifying time of 58.47 in the 400-meter dash on January 13 at the Dartmouth Relays, leading Wheaton to sixth place among 26 scoring teams. She was the event's top Division III runner while placing fourth overall and also ran a leg on the runner-up 4x400M relay team.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 1/21/07.
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