Weekly Lyon

Men's Basketball (13-7, 4-4) Three-Game Winning Streak Snapped, Edges MIT

The Wheaton College men's basketball team had its three-game winning streak come to an end this week, as the Lyons split their two New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contests against MIT and Clark University. Wheaton collected its fourth straight road win on Tuesday with a 53-52 victory at MIT and then had its win streak snapped at Clark, 91-77 on Saturday.

At MIT, senior Scott Mahan (Bridgewater, MA/Cardinal Spellman) connected on two attempts from the charity stripe with four seconds left to push the Lyons past the Engineers. With MIT holding a 52-49 lead and 20 seconds showing on the game clock, a foul was whistled against the Engineers. Taking advantage of the opportunity, sophomore Sean Kelly (Providence, RI/Wheeler School) knocked down two free throws that slashed MIT's lead to one. The Lyons fouled on the ensuing inbound, but the Engineers missed on both attempts. A defensive board by Mahan gave the Lyons one last chance to tie the game. MIT contained on the defensive end, forcing junior Josean Vega (Pawtucket, RI/St. Raphael's) to put up a tough jump shot from the wing with six seconds left. Mahan muscled the offensive rebound off the glass and drew the foul. MIT fired a desperation three at the buzzer, but the long jumper caromed off the front rim. Mahan totaled 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while senior Frankie Whall (Roslindale, MA/Cheshire Academy) paced the Lyon attack in the first half and finished the game with nine points.

At Clark, the game was close for the first ten minutes, as Wheaton found itself down by just two points midway through the half. Vega accounted for 11 of the first 20 points, going four-of-four from the free throw line and nailing a three-pointer seven minutes into the contest. At the ten minute mark is where things turned sour for the visiting Lyons, as the host Cougars went on a 26-7 run, putting Clark up 48-27 at the half. The Cougars were able to maintain a comfortable lead throughout the second half as Wheaton got to within nine points on two occasions. Freshman Brian Zukowski (Dracut, MA/Dracut) hit a lay-up while being fouled and converted the ensuing free throw to bring the score to 78-69 with five minutes to play and Mahan sunk a jumper from beyond the arc with just under two minutes left to make it 85-76. But that's as close as the Lyons would come in the second half, as the Cougars finished out strong to complete the season sweep. Vega led the scoring with a game-high 27 points, going 4-of-9 from three-point land and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. Mahan contributed 16 points and a game-high tying eight rebounds and Kelly scored 10 points while handing out a contest-high seven assists.

Mahan Named to D3hoops.com Team of the Week and NEWMAC Player of the Week

Mahan was named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week in addition to being selected NEWMAC Player of the Week for the week ending on Sunday, February 1. The conference honor marks the second time this season that Mahan has earned the award. Mahan had an impressive three-game week, averaging 19.3 points while shooting 26-of-39 (.667) from the field in addition to totaling 11.7 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals. He was one rebound shy of collecting three straight double-doubles, leading Wheaton to a 2-1 week. In a 75-66 setback to Babson College, Mahan posted a season-high tying 24 points (10-14 FG) and a season-best 16 boards to go alongside his three blocks. At Springfield College, he totaled 17 points (7-12 FG), nine rebounds and three rejections in Wheaton's 75-59 victory. In a 76-67 win at the Coast Guard Academy, Mahan finished the week with an 18-point (9-13 FG), 10-rebound performance. He also added four assists, three steals and two blocks in the victory.

Women's Basketball (6-14, 2-8) Drops Two Conference Games to Worcester Schools

The Wheaton College women's basketball team dropped both of its conference games this week to a pair of Worcester schools, as the Lyons opened the week with a 66-49 home loss to Clark University on Tuesday followed by a 65-51 setback at WPI on Saturday.

Versus Clark, senior Taryn Brassil (Holyoke, MA/Holyoke) gave Wheaton an immediate lift in the early minutes of the first half, scoring six of the hosts' first eight points en route to an 8-4 lead for the Lyons with 15:42 to play. That's the last points Wheaton would score for nearly seven minutes however, as Clark used a 17-0 run to take a commanding 21-8 advantage with 9:46 on the clock. The Blue and White managed to cut into the deficit before the half, trailing 28-20 at the break. In the second half, the Cougars maintained a double-digit lead for the majority of the minutes, but Wheaton refused to quit. Clark led 44-31 with 10:53 to go, but the Lyons went on a 11-2 run to trim the deficit to 46-42. From that point on, the visitors responded in strong fashion, using a 10-2 run to pull away from Wheaton. In the last seven minutes, Clark outscored the Lyons, 23-7 to secure the win. Brassil and freshman Kim McCormack (Milton, MA/Milton) paced Wheaton with 10 points apiece. Brassil also pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds. Junior Kate Williams (Portland, OR/Catlin Gabel) added eight points, four rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocks.

At WPI, Wheaton jumped out to a quick 5-0 advantage to begin play, but the Engineers responded and reeled off six unanswered points to take a 6-5 edge with 15:51 remaining. After each team exchanged lay-up's to give WPI an 8-7 lead, the hosts maintained their advantage for the remainder of the game. The Lyons only trailed 13-11 with 10:50 showing on the clock, but the Engineers used an 8-0 run to take a 21-11 advantage with 6:59 to play. Wheaton refused to go away however, scoring seven straight points, including four from senior Bethany Jones (Winsted, CT/The Gilbert School), to trail 21-18 with just under five minutes to go. The hosts then tallied nine consecutive points to take a commanding 30-18 lead. WPI went into the half with a 34-25 advantage. The Lyons were plagued by turnovers the entire afternoon, especially through the first 20 minutes of play, where Wheaton committed 19 giveaways. Falling behind 36-25 to open the second stanza, Wheaton triggered eight straight points thanks to a pair of three-point buckets from senior Amanda Dow-Allen (Greenfield, MA/Stoneleigh-Burnham) to trail by three points with 16:51, but the Lyons would get no closer the rest of the way. Dow-Allen led the way with 15 points, while McCormack and freshman Casey Sorbara (Port Chester, NY/Trinity Catholic) rounded out the double-figure scoring with 10 points each.

Men's (5-5) and Women's Swimming (5-7) Split against Connecticut College and Wellesley

The Wheaton College men's and women's swimming and diving teams closed out their dual meet portion of the season Saturday in Balfour Natatorium, as the Lyons split with Connecticut College and Wellesley College. On the men's side, Wheaton shattered three school records en route to a thrilling 157-131 victory over Connecticut. In a double-dual meet on the women's side, Wheaton fell to Connecticut, 190-97 and Wellesley, 196-84.

Senior co-captain Chris Hurley (Belfast, ME/Belfast Area) and freshman Barrett Roberts (Portland, ME/Deering) both had outstanding meets, combining for six individual event championships, one relay title and an impressive three school records. The duo flexed their muscle in the freestyle and backstroke events, as Roberts topped the competition in the 50-, 100- and 200-yard freestyle races while Hurley was victorious in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke and 500-yard freestyle events. Both also swam a leg on the winning 400-yard freestyle relay race. Roberts broke his own school mark in the 50-free in 21.78, but even more impressive was his 48.14 finish in the 100-free, which shattered a 10-year record. Roberts captured the 200-free in 1:48.93 and later swam the first leg on the 400-yard relay team that finished in 3:22.75. Hurley's highlight of the meet took place in the 500-free event, breaking his own mark with a time of 4:59.98. In addition to anchoring the 400-yard relay team, Hurley also finished first in the 100-yard back in 55.19 and the 200-yard back in 2:14.14.

Joining Hurley and Roberts on the 400-yard relay team was senior co-captain Patrick Sagui (Westwood, MA/Westwood) and junior Chris Klinkow (Hollis, NH/Hollis-Brookline). Junior Brendon Pohner (Agawam, MA/St. Mary's) swept the diving events, as he provided Wheaton with critical points in the one- and three-meter dives. Pohner posted 153.50 points in the one-meter event and then captured the three-meter dive with 163.70 points.

Despite not winning any events on the women's side, the Lyons recorded several strong individual performances, including senior co-captain Katie Levine (Needham, MA/Needham) in the 100-yard backstroke with a third-place finish in 1:04.74. Freshman Cassie Bohn (Manhattan Beach, CA/Mira Costa) also placed third in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:13.89, while classmate Katie McNicholas (Acton, MA/Acton-Boxboro) took the bronze in the 200-yard butterfly in 2:20.89 and 200-yard individual medley in 2:23.03. Junior Blake Worrall (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) and first-year Kristen Behrens (Uxbridge, MA/Uxbridge) rounded out the third-place marks in the 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard breaststroke events with times of 56.89 and 2:39.47, respectively. Wheaton's 400-yard freestyle relay placed second overall in 3:55.35, while the Lyons' 400-yard medley relay turned in a third-place finish with a time of 4:20.16.

Men's and Women's Track Teams Post Pair of Top Five Finishes at Tufts Invitational III

The Wheaton College men's and women's indoor track and field teams posted a pair of top five finishes Saturday afternoon at the Tufts University Invitational III. Competing at the Gantcher Family Sports & Convocation Center for the second time this season, the women took the silver with 118 points among the 16 teams while the men placed fifth overall with 64 points in the 14-team field.

Sprints and jumps once again carried the Wheaton women to several impressive performances, led by sophomore Noelle Battista (Warwick, RI/Toll Gate) in the pole vault. Battista not only shattered her own school record by two inches and posted an NCAA Division III national meet automatic qualifying standard, but also tied two other athletes for the highest vault in the country at 12' 6". Also solid on the field was Wheaton's high jump performances, as the Lyons captured three of the top four positions including the event title by junior Kathrine Wallace (Glenmoore, PA/The Hill School) with a provisional qualifying jump of 5' 5". First-year athletes Crystal Blamy (Walpole, NH/Fall Mountain View) and Jennifer Harlow (East Bridgewater, MA/East Bridgewater) tied for third with leaps of 5' 3". Harlow also placed third in the triple jump and fourth in the long jump.

Senior Amber James (Woodbury, MN/Woodbury) and sophomore Aspen James (Woodbury, MN/Woodbury) led the way in the sprinting events, as the sister tandem posted a pair of top two finishes in both the 55- and 200-meter dash events. Aspen topped the field in the 55M event in 7.25 while Amber was on her heals in second in 7.30, as both qualified provisionally for the national meet. In the 200M event, Amber finished in 25.31 and Aspen at 26.08. Amber also anchored the provisional qualifying 4x400-meter relay team to a second-place finish in 4:00.15. Joining James was Wallace, senior Kim Spence (Barrington, NH/Dover) and junior Jessica Allegra (East Hampton, CT/East Hampton). Spence placed second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:20.85 and sophomore Kendra Leith (Holden, MA/Wachusett Regional) was second in the 3,000-meter run in 10:29.16.

On the men's side, sophomore Ajay Sisodia (Andover, MA/Andover) placed second in the 55-meter dash in 6.60 and third in his section in the 200-meter event in 22.78, behind senior Erik Benson's (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) second-place finish of 22.76. Junior Adam Walker (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) was fourth in the event with a time of 23.54 and third in the 400-meter dash in 50.72. Benson placed second in his section of the 600-meter run and senior Terry Panetta (Hicksville, NY/St. Anthony's) was third overall. Junior Stan Pyle (South Portland, ME/South Portland) highlighted Wheaton's distance events by posting the day's fastest time in the 3,000-meter run in 8:45.85. Junior Jamaal Rawls-Payton (Stoughton, MA/Stoughton) advanced to the finals of the 55-meter hurdles, finishing seventh with a time of 8.19. He also helped lead the Lyons' 4x400-meter relay team to a runner-up finish with a time of 3:24.30. Joining Rawls-Payton was Walker, Sisodia and Benson. On the field, freshman Ryan Fitzgerald (Newport, RI/Rogers) placed third in the shot put at 45' 1".

James Earns Second ECAC Track Athlete-of-the-Week Honor

Amber James collected her second Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Track Athlete-of-the-Week honor of the season, this time for the week ending on Sunday, February 1. James stole the show in the 400-meter dash at the Terrier Classic hosted by Boston University, as the three-time national champion in the indoor 400M event exploded to a school-record time of 55.01, breaking her own mark of 55.13 set in the winter of 2003. James not only posted an NCAA Division III national meet automatic qualifying time but also holds the distinction of having the fastest 400-meter dash performance to date. She finished fifth overall and was the second fastest collegiate competitor behind an athlete from Division I St. John's University. James also competed in the 55M dash, where she tied for ninth in 7.40.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 1/30/07.
Questions about this page? Use our query form.

News

Men's Tennis: Men's tennis players Beekman and Hudgins named ITA Scholar-Athletes (more)

Women's Soccer: Hough's tally sends Wheaton past Emmanuel, Leddy notches third shutout (more)