Weekly Lyon

Men's Basketball (15-10, 6-6) Finishes Regular Season in Fifth Place with Conference Split

The Wheaton College men's basketball team wrapped up its regular season Saturday afternoon in strong fashion, as the Lyons posted a 62-54 victory over the Coast Guard Academy in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) game in Emerson Gymnasium. Earlier in the week, Wheaton dropped a hard-fought game at Babson College, 52-49. Finishing fifth overall in the seven-team conference, the Lyons will travel to fourth-seeded Springfield College for a tournament first round game on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. The two teams split games during the regular season.

At Babson, Wheaton held the home team to just 25.0 percent shooting while forcing 13 turnovers. The Lyons also dominated the glass, gathering 23 rebounds to Babson's nine. That allowed the visitors to build a commanding 30-12 lead with 2:40 remaining in the half, but the Beavers scored the final three points of regulation to cut their deficit to 15 at the break. The two teams played evenly through the first six minutes of the second half, as Wheaton held a 35-23 advantage with 13:48 left. Babson pulled to within six points at 37-31 with just over 11 minutes remaining. With its lead quickly shrinking, Wheaton pounded the ball inside to senior Scott Mahan (Bridgewater, MA/Cardinal Spellman) over the next two minutes. The 6-7 forward drew a pair of fouls and sank all four resulting free throws, pushing his team's lead back to double-digits, 41-31, with 9:48 on the clock. Babson then erupted on a 16-1 run over the next five minutes to take a 47-42 lead. Wheaton had one final chance to tie the contest with 5.5 seconds remaining, but the buzzer sounded before the Lyons could get a shot off. Junior Josean Vega (Pawtucket, RI/St. Raphael's) had 13 points despite being limited by foul trouble to just 22 minutes of playing time, while Mahan finished with 10 points. Senior Richard Henninger (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) added seven points and a game-high eight rebounds.

Against Coast Guard, the teams proved to be evenly matched through the first half of the opening stanza, with the biggest gap separating the teams set at seven points with 15:56 remaining, as the Bears led 14-7. Wheaton however climbed back into the game and knotted things up at 16 points apiece thanks to a Mike Stanton (Lynnfield, MA/Brewster Academy) three-point play. The hosts fell behind again, but sophomore James Greenslit (Framingham, MA/Rivers School) nailed a trey and the Lyons later hit a free throw to tie the score at 21 all. With the score tied at 23-23, Greenslit hit another three that ignited a 10-0 Wheaton run at the tail end of the half. The Lyons were able to maintain a solid lead through the second half, thanks in large part to Greenslit's hot hand, especially from beyond the arc. The Bears were unable to overcome their large deficit, as Vega secured the win with a flailing three-point jump shot with the shot clock about to expire at 1:54. A free throw by Vega finished the scoring and gave Wheaton the eight-point victory. Vega paced the way with 17 points and Greenslit netted a career-high 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting including a perfect 4-of-4 performance from three-point land. Henninger totaling 10 points and five rebounds, while Mahan recorded nine points and 11 boards.

Women's Basketball (9-16, 4-9) Finishes Season by Winning Three of its Last Four Games

The Wheaton College women's basketball team finished its season on a high note, as the Lyons were victorious in three of their final four games, including Saturday's 56-47 victory over conference opponent MIT. On Tuesday, the Blue and White suffered a 67-49 setback at Wellesley College. Wheaton finished ninth in the conference, as only the top eight teams qualify for the tournament.

At Wellesley, the hosts held a slim 20-19 lead with 5:45 remaining in the opening stanza and then broke the game open on a string of 11 unanswered points. Wheaton cut the lead to six points at 31-25 at the half on two free throws apiece from senior Amanda Dow-Allen (Greenfield, MA/Stoneleigh-Burnham) and freshman Casey Sorbara (Port Chester, NY/Trinity Catholic) and a lay-up from first-year Kim McCormack (Milton, MA/Milton). But that's as close as the Lyons would get the rest of the way, as Wellesley reclaimed its double-digit lead quickly in the second half on a pair of three-point buckets in the opening two minutes of the stanza. Wellesley held a 39-26 edge in rebounds and shot a solid 45.1 percent from the field on 23-of-51 shooting, while Wheaton connected on 19-of-50 attempts for a 38 percent mark from the floor. Both teams were hampered by turnovers with each team committing 25 turnovers. Freshman Michelle Portilla (Queens, NY/Francis Lewis) led the way with 13 points, while junior Kate Williams (Portland, OR/Catlin Gabel) added nine points.

Versus MIT, the Lyons exploded out of the gates and quickly jumped out to a 10-0 lead. The Engineers managed to drain their first basket over six minutes into the game and added another before Wheaton went on another run, this one to the tune of 11-0, which put the Lyons in command at 23-4 with 8:48 remaining. Wheaton only scored seven more points in the half and the shooting of MIT began to heat up. After trailing by 19 points, the Engineers managed to get within eight points with 1:19 showing on the clock, bringing the score to 28-20. The second stanza started with another six-minute scoring drought, this time by the hosts. Wheaton however eventually brought its lead back out to double figures at 41-31 thanks to a Taryn Brassil (Holyoke, MA/Holyoke) lay-up midway through the stanza. The Engineers got as close as four points once, but the Lyons' defense held strong and Williams hit four straight freebies down the stretch to seal the win. Dow-Allen had the hot hand for Wheaton, going 5-of-6 from three-point land en route to scoring a game-high 20 points. Brassil contributed 11 points with seven boards, while Williams added 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Brassil Selected NEWMAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week

Brassil was selected NEWMAC Player of the Week for the week ending on Sunday, February 15. She helped lead Wheaton to a 2-1 record, including picking up victories over Newbury College and Springfield College. Brassil averaged 16.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game, including shooting 20-of-36 (.556) from the field and 8-of-9 (.889) from the free throw line. She was two rebounds short of recording three straight double-double performances. Brassil scored 18 points (8-13 FG), grabbed eight rebounds and posted four blocked shots in a 76-66 loss at Tufts University. She recorded career-high totals of 19 points (8-11 FG) and 16 boards in a 72-61 win over Newbury and then contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds in Wheaton's 55-42 victory against Springfield.

Women's Swimming Equals Highest Finish at NEWMAC Meet, Shatters Eight Records

The Wheaton College women's swimming and diving team equaled its highest finish ever at a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship over the weekend, as the Lyons placed fifth overall with 292.5 points and in the process shattered an impressive eight school records at MIT's Zesiger Center. Moving up four placements in two short seasons, Wheaton also finished fifth in the NEWMAC's inaugural season in 1998-99.

The Lyons began the meet in strong fashion on Friday, setting 13 personal-best times while breaking the school mark in the 400-yard medley relay. Juniors Amanda Berthelette (Milford, NH/Milford) and Blake Worrall (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) alongside freshmen Cassie Bohn (Manhattan Beach, CA/Mira Costa) and Colleen Smith (Milford, CT/Lauralton Hall) finished fifth overall with a time of 4:12.30.

On Saturday, Wheaton witnessed four more school records fall, including two additional relays. The 200-yard medley relay team, consisting of Berthelette, Bohn, Smith and senior captain Katie Levine (Needham, MA/Needham), collected a fifth-place result in 1:55.65. The foursome broke a record that had stood since 1998. Also placing fifth and shattering a mark from 1996 was freshman Katie McNicholas (Acton, MA/Acton-Boxboro) in the 400-yard individual medley, finishing in 4:52.40.

Wheaton's 800-yard freestyle relay made school history, as the team comprised of Worrall, Levine, McNicholas and sophomore Lauren Pcholinski (Old Saybrook, CT/Old Saybrook) finished fourth with a time of 8:19.18, which was a solid 10 seconds faster than the 1999 record. Earlier in the day during the preliminary races, Smith snapped a five-year record in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:02.66.

The Blue and White completed their solid meet on Sunday by once again etching multiple names in the Wheaton record book. Rounding out their four relay records was the Lyons' 400-yard freestyle relay team, as Worrall, Levine, McNicholas and freshman Kristen Behrens (Uxbridge, MA/Uxbridge) garnered a fifth-place finish in 3:45.95. Berthelette and Smith also set school marks, placing 10th overall in the 200-yard backstroke and 200-yard butterfly events, respectively, as Berthelette finished the back with a time of 2:15.46 and Smith 2:18.60 in the fly.

Men's and Women's Track Teams Post Solid Showing at New England Championships

The Wheaton College men's and women's indoor track and field teams competed at the United States Track & Field (USATF) New England Championships, as the Lyons had a solid showing Sunday afternoon at Harvard University. No team scores were kept at the meet.

Senior Amber James (Woodbury, MN/Woodbury) spearheaded Wheaton's impressive finishes on the day, including posting the top two times in both the 200- and 400-meter dash events. Placing first overall in the open 400, James yet again notched an NCAA Division III national meet automatic qualifying time at 55.26. Improving her season-best in the 200-meter dash, James collected a second-place mark with a time of 24.92. Sophomore Aspen James (Woodbury, MN/Woodbury) captured the 60-meter dash, but due to equipment failure no time is currently available. Junior Jessica Allegra (East Hampton, CT/East Hampton) and sophomore Oly Wirtz (Fitchburg, MA/Fitchburg) placed third and fourth, respectively in their 200-meter dash heat, with Allegra finishing in 26.64 and Wirtz at 27.03. Freshman Alison Amendola (Franklin, MA/Franklin) topped the competition in her heat of the 400-meter dash in 1:00.02, while Wirtz placed fourth in the same section at 1:02.34.

In the distance events, sophomore Kendra Leith (Holden, MA/Wachusett Regional) placed fifth overall in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:29.24, while sophomore Christina Langevin (Wilbraham, MA/Minnechaug Regional) finished seventh in the 5,000-meter event. In the field, Wheaton captured three of the top five performances in the high jump, including freshman Crystal Blamy's (Walpole, NH/Fall Mountain Regional) individual title and provisional qualifying height of 5' 6". Junior Kathrine Wallace (Glenmoore, PA/The Hill School) was second with a jump of 5' 4 1/4", while freshman Jennifer Harlow (East Bridgewater, MA/East Bridgewater) took fifth at 5' 2 1/4". Sophomore Noelle Battista (Warwick, RI/Toll Gate) was victorious in the pole vault, as she registered a national meet provisional qualifying mark of 12'.

On the men's side, senior Erik Benson (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) posted the third-fastest time in the 200-meter dash at 22.08 and also finished third in his section of the 60-meter dash in 7.18. Benson later sided with juniors Adam Walker (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) and Patrick Freytag (Pittsford, NY/McQuaid Jesuit) and sophomore Ajay Sisodia (Andover, MA/Andover) to record a national meet provisional qualifying time in the 4x440-yard relay with a time of 3:19.43, good for second place. Sisodia recorded Wheaton's fastest time in the 60M event with a fifth-place finish of 7.13, while senior Tyrone McClain (New Haven, CT/Hillhouse) placed seventh in the same heat in 7.21. In the 400, Walker finished fourth in his section in 50.46, while Freytag was also fourth in his heat in 52.45.

Junior Stan Pyle (South Portland, ME/South Portland) posted a top ten placement in the mile run at 4:19.00. Senior Terry Panetta (Hicksville, NY/St. Anthony's) was on his heals, placing 13th overall in 4:20.74. Junior Jamaal Rawls-Payton (Stoughton, MA/Stoughton) rounded out Wheaton's solid track marks with a time of 8.83 in the 60M hurdles. In the field, junior Dan Olson (Voorheesville, NY/Albany Academy) returned from an injury to place second in the high jump, while Sisodia also took second in the long jump with a distance of 22' 1". McClain wasn't far behind with a jump of 21' 5 1/2" and fourth-place finish. Freshman Ryan Fitzgerald (Newport, RI/Rogers) finished seventh in his shot put flight with a throw of 43' 6 1/2".

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 1/30/07.
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