Weekly Lyon

Men's Basketball (10-6, 1-4) Falls Twice in NEWMAC Play, Including Once at Buzzer

The Wheaton College men's basketball team fell twice in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play last week, including on Wednesday against visiting Clark University, 76-73 on a 40-foot desperation buzzer-beater. The Lyons then lost to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), 86-70 on Saturday in a game played at Worcester State College.

Wheaton fell to Clark despite freshman Anthony Coppola's (Watertown, MA/Watertown) second 34-point performance of the season. Coppola broke his own program first-year record by canning eight three-pointers, falling one short of the 17-year-old program mark for players from all classes, while going 12-of-17 overall and 8-of-11 from downtown. Coppola added five rebounds, while sophomore Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) turned in 13 points. Senior Jake Otto (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury) went 4-of-5 for nine points and snagged five rebounds, while junior Nick Michel (Hyde Park, MA/Boston Latin School) notched eight points. The Lyons shot 10-of-22 on three-pointers.

Against WPI, the Lyons led the NEWMAC leaders midway through the first half before the Engineers mounted a big run and pulled away. Leo led Wheaton with 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks, while junior Kristopher Pedra (Avon, CT/Avon) added a season-high 10 points. Coppola, Otto and freshman Bobby Perry (East Providence, RI/East Providence) notched eight points apiece, while freshmen Bud Gaffney (Berkley, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon School) and Ryan Sasso (Peabody, MA/Bishop Fenwick) each contributed five helpers. Wheaton went 10-of-21 from beyond the arc.

The Lyons, who have started three freshmen in all 16 games, are 8-2 when Coppola is the team's leading scorer. The only other Wheaton freshman to lead the squad in scoring at least 10 times was Will Hawkins '93, who did so on a first-year record 17 occasions in 1989-90. Coppola is 12 points shy of becoming the sixth freshman in program history with 300 points. His 52 three-pointers are a Wheaton record for first-year players, as he is just the eighth player overall to reach 50.

Women's Basketball (12-5, 5-0) Still Tied Atop NEWMAC Standings After 1-1 Week

The Wheaton College women's basketball team started 5-0 in league play for the second straight season, a program first, while going 1-1 last week. Against nationally-ranked Tufts University, the Lyons held close in the first half before falling, 61-36 on Tuesday. On Saturday, Wheaton downed Wellesley College, 72-63. The Lyons are tied with United States Coast Guard Academy atop the NEWMAC, with a game against one-loss Springfield College looming on Saturday. Wheaton first faces Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on Wednesday, as the Lyons look to run their league record to 6-0 for the first time since 1994-95, when they finished 7-0 in the old New England Women's Eight Conference (NEW 8).

Against visiting Tufts, which was ranked 18th in the country by D3hoops.com, the Lyons saw winning streaks of 11 games at home and seven overall come to an end. Wheaton trailed just 32-28 at halftime, as junior Jennie Pleat's (Nashua, NH/Nashua South) arcing jumper beat the buzzer, but the Lyons tallied only eight points in the second period. Classmate Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) led the Blue and White with 12 points, nine rebounds and three steals, while sophomore Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) added seven points, eight boards and two blocks. Classmate Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) had six points, five caroms and four assists.

A balanced effort helped Wheaton ease past host Wellesley. The Lyons led by as many as 17 points with a little more than 16 minutes remaining before the host Blue twice rallied to within five. Champney recorded 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and a 4-of-5 showing from the charity stripe. Bailey added a career-high 15 points to go along with seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. Senior Becky Aitchison (Norwalk, CT/Trinity Catholic) turned in 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting with eight rebounds, four steals and three assists. Hickey tallied 12 points.

Hickey (997 points) is ninth on Wheaton's career scoring list, as she is just three points short of 1,000, a plateau no Lyon junior has reached. Hickey is also ninth in career field goals (387), junior Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) is sixth in three-pointers (98), Champney is ninth in blocked shots (46) and Aitchison is 10th in assists (188). Champney's 27 blocks this year are seventh at Wheaton.

Men's (5-8) and Women's (12-3) Swimming Tally 27 Event Wins During Sweep of Babson

The Wheaton College men's and women's swimming and diving teams each downed visiting Babson College on Saturday, as the men snapped a three-decision losing streak with a 155-119 win, and the women picked up a 184-93 triumph. The Lyon men captured 12 of 14 swimming races, while the women won 15 of 16 events against the Beavers. Wheaton's women are two wins shy of matching last year's program record with four decisions remaining.

The men's team's two seniors each played a role in four event victories. Matt Hurley (Belfast, ME/Belfast Area) won the 50- and 100-yard breaststrokes and the 200-yard individual medley, while Matt Jordan (Ellsworth, ME/Ellsworth) topped the 50- and 100-yard backstroke fields. The two then combined to push the 200-yard medley relay quartet to the top time, while Jordan also led off for the fastest 200-yard freestyle relay foursome. Freshmen Corey Best (Brentwood, TN/Ravenwood) and Sam Dean-Lee (Rocky Hill, CT/Xavier) each swam a leg for the 200-yard medley relay team, and Dean-Lee topped the 100- and 1,000-yard free events, while Best won the 100-yard butterfly race. Joining Jordan on the 200-yard free relay foursome were freshmen Zach Fichman-Klein (North Attleboro, MA/North Attleboro), Eddie Gillie (Haverhill, MA/Saint John's Prep) and Ben Sabol (Saint Petersburg, FL/Shorecrest Prep). Fichman-Klein bested the 50-yard fly field and fell 0.01 seconds shy of first place in the 50-yard free, while Gillie was the fastest 500-yard free swimmer.

For the women, senior Abby Pratt (Melrose, MA/Melrose) won the 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard butterfly, while sophomore Emily Sweatt (Portland, ME/Deering) captured the 50- and 100-yard breaststrokes. The two also joined sophomore Iris Meehan (Bar Harbor, ME/Mount Desert Island) and freshman Dania Piscetta (Belmont, NH/Belmont) on the winning 200-yard medley relay quartet. Senior Laura Fleck (Auburn, ME/Hebron Academy) topped both the one- and three-meter diving competitions, while sophomore Sarah Houlihan (West Springfield, MA/West Springfield) was the top finisher in the 200- and 500-yard freestyles. Sophomore Aurelie Marcotte (Hampden, MA/Minnechaug Regional) won the 50-yard back and freshman Samantha Farrell (Reading, MA/Reading Memorial) took the 50-yard fly before the pair helped the 200-yard free relay quartet to victory, joining junior Caitlin Glover (Durham, NH/Berwick Academy) and freshman Sara Hollar (La Crescenta, CA/Flintridge Prep). Rounding out the event winners were junior Mandy Cumings (Zionsville, IN/Zionsville Community) in the 100-yard free, sophomore Chelsea Stephenson (Cape Elizabeth, ME/Cape Elizabeth) during the 1,000-yard free, and freshman Nicole Zais (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) in the 50-yard free.

Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field Athletes Break Record, Qualify for NCAAs

The Wheaton College men's and women's indoor track and field teams turned in strong showings on Friday at the Reebok Collegiate Indoor Games, as the women placed behind a trio of Division I schools in finishing fourth among 11 scoring teams, while the men were seventh out of 13 squads.

Sophomore Howard Powell (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) broke his own school record in the 55-meter hurdles by 0.02 seconds and came within 0.01 ticks of an NCAA Championship provisional qualifying time. Powell placed third overall at 7.76. The lone Wheaton athlete in the entire meet to produce a pair of top-three individual finishes was sophomore Mark Cimino (Danbury, CT/Danbury), who took second in the 55M and third in the 200M. Powell joined sophomore Merzudin Ibric (Revere, MA/Phillips Academy) and freshmen Nick Colantuono (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) and Mark Williamson (Vienna, VA/James Madison) on the 4x400M relay quartet, which placed second. Junior Kyle Greenidge (Dorchester, MA/Newton North) also had a runner-up finish in the triple jump, while freshman Marcus Kohlman (Milton, MA/Milton) tied for third in the high jump.

Wheaton's women claimed four of the top five spots during the 400-meter dash. Sophomore Renee Thompson (Hartford, CT/Weaver) and junior Chizoba Ezeigwe (Brockton, MA/Thayer Academy) went one-two with times of 58.18 and 58.19, respectively, as each provisionally qualified for the national championship. Sophomore Kelly Libert (New Haven, CT/James Hillhouse) came in fourth, while classmate Kamia Smith (Cincinnati, OH/Cincinnati Country Day School) was fifth. Freshman Lacresha Simpson (Bronx, NY/New Rochelle) took third during the triple jump, and classmate Erin Neville (North Providence, RI/La Salle Academy) tied for third in the high jump.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 1/29/08.
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