Weekly Lyon

Men's Basketball (15-7, 6-4) Drops Pair of Games to Nationally-Ranked WPI and Newbury

The Wheaton College men's basketball team dropped two games last week, including falling to nationally-ranked Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), 75-68 in Tuesday's key New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) clash in Worcester. On Saturday, the Lyons suffered their third straight loss with a 76-73 non-league setback to Newbury College at Hellenic College in Brookline.

At WPI, the game was a back-and-forth affair, as the two teams endured 15 lead changes and nine ties. The Lyons took an early 11-4 lead thanks to trey from senior Josean Vega (Pawtucket, RI/St. Raphael's) with 14:53 remaining, but WPI used a quick 7-0 spurt to knot the contest and eventually took its first lead of the game at 14-13 midway through the half. WPI later held a 28-27 edge with 4:15 on the clock, but the Lyons took over from there, reeling off eight unanswered points while preventing the Engineers from scoring en route to a 35-28 cushion at the half. In the second half, Wheaton led by as many as 12 points at 42-30 with 17:52 remaining. The Lyons maintained their double-digit advantage with a 45-34 lead, but the hosts then used a 16-4 run to capture a 50-49 edge with 9:25 to play. Both teams stayed within four points of each other for the majority of the closing minutes and eventually were knotted at 66-66 with 2:21 to go. Trailing by two, Wheaton had a pair of close-range shots blocked and the Engineers were awarded two free throws and the ball following a technical foul. WPI then made three free throws on its next possession to push its lead to five with a minute to go. Vega totaled a Wheaton season-high 36 points with three steals and three boards, while sophomore Brian Zukowski (Dracut, MA/Dracut) finished with 11 points.

At Newbury, the Lyons began the game with a poor shooting performance, converting 9-of-32 (.281) from the floor and 1-of-9 (.111) from three-point range in the opening half. Newbury on the other hand hardly missed from the field, knocking down 16-of-25 (.640) overall and 4-of-8 (.500) from three-point territory. Wheaton had three players with a mere four points apiece through the first 20 minutes of play, as the Lyons trailed the Nighthawks, 39-21 at the break. Wheaton found its shooting stroke in the second stanza after more than doubling its field goals from the first half. The Lyons converted 20-of-36 (.556) from the floor and an impressive 9-of-17 (.529) from behind the three-point arc. Wheaton actually held a three-point lead late in the game, but Newbury's strong shooting prevailed in the end. The hosts knocked down 9-of-11 (.818) from the free throw line in the second half alone. Vega led the offense with 16 points, while senior Mike Stanton (Lynnfield, MA/Brewster Academy) finished the contest with 13 points. Zukowski chipped in with 11 points and six rebounds, while junior Sean Kelly (Providence, RI/Wheeler School) added a game-best six assists.

Women's Basketball (9-14, 4-7) Suffers Two Losses to Mount Holyoke and Springfield

The Wheaton College women's basketball team suffered a pair of NEWMAC road losses last week, as the Lyons dropped a hard-fought 60-59 decision at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley on Tuesday followed by an 85-58 setback to Springfield College in Springfield on Saturday.

At Mount Holyoke, Wheaton led 11-4 when senior Mary Flaherty (Mattapoisett, MA/Old Rochester) knocked down three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt, but Mount Holyoke retaliated with seven unanswered points to knot the game at 11. The Lyons pulled away again, leading by as many as nine points at 26-17 with 4:51 remaining in the half, but the hosts capped the first frame on a 10-2 run to make the score 28-27 in favor of Wheaton heading into the break. Mount Holyoke tied the game at 30-30 at the 19:12 mark of the second stanza, but the Lyons thwarted any comeback attempt with a 9-3 spurt to lead 39-33. Trailing 41-35 with 14:41 remaining, Mount Holyoke went on a critical 11-0 run to take its second lead of the game at 46-41. The Lyons bounced back and scored five straight points to tie the contest at 46-46 with nine minutes left. With the score tied at 56-56, Flaherty drilled another three-pointer for the visitors to retake the lead at 59-56. Mount Holyoke knotted the contest at 59 and then hit the decisive game-winning free throw with 22 seconds left. Freshman Courtney Riley (Quincy, MA/Fontbonne Academy) notched a double-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks, while Flaherty picked up 14 points.

At Springfield, Riley scored four of Wheaton's first six points to give the Lyons an early 6-4 lead, but the Pride used an 11-2 run to lead 15-8 with 13:27 remaining. Springfield extended its advantage to 35-26 with 5:39 to play, but Wheaton used a 12-6 run to narrow the gap to 41-38 at the intermission. Senior Kate Williams (Portland, OR/Catlin Gabel) scored on a three-point play to make it a three-point game with nine seconds left in the half. Springfield responded with a 17-6 run to open the second half which gave the hosts a comfortable 58-44 lead with 13:51 to go. Wheaton got as close as 60-54 when Williams drained a three with 11:28 left, but Springfield outscored the Lyons, 25-4 the rest of the way. Riley posted team-high totals of 17 points and nine rebounds with three blocks, while sophomore Kim McCormack (Milton, MA/Milton) contributed 11 points and seven rebounds. Senior Vanessa Savas (Belmont, MA/Belmont) added nine points and seven boards off the bench.

Synchronized Swimming Opens Season with Bronze at Keuka Invitational

The Wheaton College synchronized swimming team opened its season Saturday with a third-place finish and 86 points at the Keuka College Invitational. The Lyons saw Division I Canisius College and host Keuka share top honors with 89 points. Wheaton's team performances led the way, as the A squad comprised of senior co-captain Jamie Olken (Brighton, NY/Brighton), sophomore co-captain Elizabeth Corman (St. Paul, MN/Hill-Murray), classmate Sarah Swinkin (Hamden, CT/Hamden) and freshmen Tori Hay (Danville, CA/Monte Vista), Megan Kinney (Los Angeles, CA/Marlborough), Esther Kovacs (Windham, NH/Notre Dame Academy) and Sachi Maekawa (Seattle, WA/Franklin) captured the top spot with 84.750 points.

The Lyons' second team, consisting of sophomore Renata Paglio (Portland, ME/Deering) and first-year athletes Perri Kapp (Yarmouth Port, MA/Dennis Yarmouth), Ru-Shyan Yen (Des Moines, IA/Abraham Lincoln) Ru-Huey Yen (Des Moines, IA/Abraham Lincoln) and Laura Fleck (Auburn, ME/Hebron Academy), also gained valuable points with a fourth-place finish and score of 72.500. In the other free routines, Corman, Hay and Kinney recorded a third-place finish in trio with 81.250 points, while Kovacs, Olken and Swinkin also tallied points in the competition with a score of 78.750. Maekawa rounded out the routines with a second-place showing in solo. In figures, Maekawa placed third in the A category, while Kinney, Kovacs, Olken and Swinkin captured the top four spots in C figures, respectively. Fleck posted a second-place performance in the D category with 58.081 points.

Men's and Women's Track and Field Posts Solid Performances at Valentine Invitational

The Wheaton College men's and women's indoor track and field teams posted another set of impressive performances Friday and Saturday, as the squads took part in the non-scoring Valentine Invitational held at Boston University.

The women were led by a trio of solid high-jump performances by senior Kathrine Wallace (Glenmoore, PA/The Hill School), sophomore Jennifer Harlow (East Bridgewater, MA/East Bridgewater) and classmate Crystal Blamy (Walpole, NH/Fall Mountain Regional), who all turned in NCAA Division III national meet provisional qualifying jumps of 5' 4 1/4". Harlow also recorded Wheaton's top finish in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.46. Senior Jessica Allegra (East Hampton, CT/East Hampton) captured second in the section in 26.60, while first-year Chelsea Nader (Ardmore, PA/Lower Menan) was third in the group in 26.73. Nader notched the Blue and White's best mark in the 400-meter event in 1:00.15, while Allegra, Wallace and freshman Julie McLane (New Canaan, CT/New Canaan) all finished within 72 hundredths of a second of Nader.

Allegra, Nader, McLane and Wallace later posted another national meet provisional qualifying time in the 4x400-meter relay, as the foursome turned in a time of 3:59.87 to win its section. Other strong performances came from freshman Megan Brousseau (Attleboro, MA/Attleboro), who captured the sixth-best time for her section in the mile in 5:05.52. She also posted a strong finish in the 3,000-meter event with a time of 10:26.92, which is just over three seconds shy of the school record. Senior Lindsay Whalen (Dedham, MA/Dedham) nearly missed a all-time program mark in the 1,000-meter run, finishing fourth in her section with a time of 3:07.00.

Junior Ajay Sisodia (Andover, MA/Andover) posted the best times for the men's squad, capturing 14th place in the 400-meter dash with a NCAA national meet provisional qualifying time of 49.06 and 15th place in the 200-meter dash in 22.09. Sisodia also recorded a 6.75 finish in the 55-meter dash preliminary race, while senior Jamaal Rawls-Payton (Stoughton, MA/Stoughton) registered a time of 7.98 in the prelims of the 55-meter hurdles. The men's distance medley relay team, consisting of senior Patrick Freytag (Pittsford, NY/McQuaid Jesuit), junior Ross Kahill (South Portland, ME/South Portland) and freshmen Alex Cook (Hanover, MA/Hanover) and Pat Benson (Foxboro, MA/Bishop Feehan), turned in a time of 10:40.03, just over three seconds from a new school record.

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