Athletics > Weekly Lyon > 2006--07 > January 22, 2007
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Men's Basketball (9-7, 2-4) Wins Two of Three, Approaching 10 Victories
The Wheaton College men's basketball team went 2-1 last week, including splitting a pair of New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contests. The Lyons started play with a 74-63, non-league victory over visiting Fitchburg State College on Monday before dropping a NEWMAC affair at Springfield College, 70-58 on Wednesday. On Saturday, the Blue and White downed the United States Coast Guard Academy, 60-59 at Emerson Gymnasium.
Behind a tie for the fifth-best shooting performance (60.4 percent) in program history, the Lyons knocked off Fitchburg State. Junior Eric Johnston (South Windsor, CT/East Catholic) notched 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting in 19 minutes off the bench, while freshman Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) and senior Brian Zukowski (Dracut, MA/Dracut) contributed 14 and 13 points, respectively, with Zukowski adding four assists. Juniors David Harding (Hanover, MA/Boston College) and Jake Otto (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury) each turned in strong defensive efforts, while Harding added a career-best eight rebounds, and Otto tallied eight points on 4-of-5 shooting as a reserve.
At Springfield, the Lyons saw a second-half lead slip away during a NEWMAC loss. Johnston led the Lyons with 13 points, going 7-of-8 from the charity stripe during 13 minutes off the bench. Junior Brent DiGiovanna (Hanover, MA/Hanover) contributed 12 points and six rebounds, while Harding turned in seven boards. Leo finished with nine points and six rebounds, Zukowski added nine points, and Otto notched nine points thanks to 5-of-5 free throw shooting as a reserve.
Otto snapped a tie against Coast Guard by grabbing an offensive rebound and scoring with 0.9 seconds left. After an ensuing technical foul, the Bears converted one of only two free throws with 0.5 ticks remaining to create the final margin before having a long inbounds pass intercepted by DiGiovanna at the buzzer. DiGiovanna led all scorers with 18 points, going 8-of-9 from the charity stripe, in addition to grabbing five rebounds, while Leo added 10 points and two blocks. Zukowski had seven points and three assists, while freshman Andrew Ferreira (New London, NH/Kearsarge Regional) added seven points and four boards. Classmate Ben Stehle (Newton, MA/Newton South) collected six rebounds.
Zukowski now stands fourth in program history in each career assists (246), three-pointers (171) and free throws (287), fifth in points (1,260) and steals (157), and seventh in field goals (401).
Women's Basketball (10-6, 5-1) Splits Pair of NEWMAC Games, Falls Out of First
The Wheaton College women's basketball team split a pair of NEWMAC contests last week, first beating visiting Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 62-29 on Wednesday to extend its best league start (5-0) since 1994-95 and push its winning streak to six games, the program's longest since 1996-97. On Saturday, in a battle between the top two teams in the conference, the Lyons fell at Babson College, 62-57 to slide into a second-place tie with Mount Holyoke College.
Against MIT, the Lyons yielded the third-lowest point total in program history. Ten Wheaton players scored, led by junior Becky Aitchison's (Norwalk, CT/Trinity Catholic) 10 points. Sophomore Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) had nine points in 11 minutes, classmate Lauren Gosline (Peterborough, NH/ConVal Regional) posted a season-best eight points and career-high-tying six rebounds, while senior Casey Sorbara (Port Chester, NY/Trinity Catholic), sophomore Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) and freshman Callie Schneider (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) each had seven points. Freshman Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) dished out five assists, while senior Kim McCormack (Milton, MA/Milton) collected four steals.
The Lyons saw a nine-point, second-half advantage slip away at Babson. Freshman Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) led Wheaton with 13 points in her first collegiate start, while senior Samara Audet (Derry, NH/Trinity) collected 10 points and six rebounds. Smith contributed nine points and six rebounds, McCormack had eight points, nine rebounds and three assists, while sophomore Jennie Pleat (Nashua, NH/Nashua South) notched eight points. Sorbara added four helpers.
During last week's games, Sorbara became the fifth Lyon to reach the 300-career-assist plateau (303) and currently sits fifth while ranking 10th in steals (178). McCormack is tied for eighth in steals (181) and 10th in each assists (183), rebounds (537) and free throws (193).
Hickey Draws Women's Hoops Program's First Weekly NEWMAC Honor Since 2003-04
Hickey became the first Wheaton College women's basketball player to draw NEWMAC Player-of-the-Week honors since the 2003-04 season for the week ending on Sunday, January 14. She averaged 19.7 points during a three-win week while shooting 24-of-35 (68.6%), including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, and making 6-of-7 free throw tries. Hickey also averaged 4.0 rebounds, 3.3 steals and 3.0 assists. Against Wellesley College on January 9, Hickey had 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting while adding five rebounds, five assists and five steals in 26 minutes. At Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) on January 11, she tallied 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting. In a clash between two first-place NEWMAC teams at Mount Holyoke College on January 13, Hickey went 6-of-9, including 3-of-4 from deep, in tallying 17 points. She added four boards, four steals and three assists in 32 minutes.
Men's (5-9) and Women's (13-3) Swimming Go Combined 3-1, Women Set Wins Record
The Wheaton College men's and women's swimming and diving teams went a combined 3-1 last week, starting with a sweep of Bridgewater State College on Wednesday, when the men took a 123-95 decision and the women beat the Bears, 164-126. The Blue and White women won their school-record 13th meet on Saturday by defeating Bentley College, 159-135, while the men fell, 123-91. It marked the third straight season in which the Lyon women broke the program's victories standard.
At Bridgewater State, a quintet of men's swimmers combined for 13 event victories, with senior All-American Barrett Roberts (Portland, ME/Deering) and junior Yunuscan Tokcan (Providence, RI/Northfield Mount Hermon School) playing a hand in five apiece. Roberts took home the 100-, 200- and 500-yard freestyle crowns, while Tokcan notched individual victories in the 50-yard breaststroke and free events and 100-yard breast. Senior Zach Hicks (Bath, ME/Morse) displayed his versatility by winning the 100-yard backstroke, 400-yard individual medley and 1,000-yard free, while junior Matt Jordan (Ellsworth, ME/Ellsworth) picked up wins in the 50-yard back and 100-yard butterfly. During relays, Hicks, Jordan, Roberts and Tokcan won the 200-yard medley before Jordan, Roberts, Tokcan and freshman John Ahern (Boxboro, MA/Acton-Boxboro Regional) topped the 400-yard free field.
Junior Abby Pratt (Melrose, MA/Melrose) paced Wheaton's women with two individual victories, as she won the 50-yard backstroke and butterfly events, breaking her own school record by 0.12 seconds with a 27.38 showing in the 50-yard fly. Five additional Lyons won events, with senior Kristen Behrens (Uxbridge, MA/Uxbridge) taking the 100-yard breaststroke, classmate Cassie Bohn (Manhattan Beach, CA/Mira Costa) pacing the 50-yard breast field, junior Meg Miller (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) winning the 50-yard freestyle, freshman Iris Meehan (Bar Harbor, ME/Mount Desert Island) capturing the 500-yard free title, and first-year Emily Sweatt (Portland, ME/Deering) notching a 400-yard individual medley triumph. The Blue and White also won the 200-yard medley relay race, as Behrens, Meehan, sophomore Caitlin Glover (Durham, NH/Berwick Academy) and freshman Brenna Crothers (Mount Desert, ME/Mount Desert Island) combined for the victory.
At Bentley, Pratt took part in four wins, including posting individual victories in the 50-yard butterfly and 50- and 100-yard freestyle events. She also joined Glover, Meehan and Sweatt on the winning 200-yard medley relay team, which fell just 0.50 seconds short of a 2005 school mark. Sweatt also swept the 50- and 200-yard breaststroke events, coming within 0.02 ticks of her own program record in the 50. Meehan, who was victorious in the 50-yard backstroke, sided with Crothers, Glover and Miller on the top 200-yard free relay team. Miller also won the 200-yard free, while freshman Stephanie Conelias (Cheshire, CT/Cheshire) was victorious in the 200-yard fly and classmate Sarah Houlihan (West Springfield, MA/West Springfield) in the 500-yard free.
For the men, Roberts highlighted the meet with three wins, including shattering a school record in the 50-yard butterfly. Formerly held by two swimmers from the 1993-94 and 2002-03 seasons, the mark of 24.42 was bested by Roberts's time of 23.86. He also won the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events, topping the competition in 21.01 and 46.55, respectively, each of which were NCAA Championship provisional qualifying times. Jordan also captured the 50-yard backstroke.
Pratt Draws ECAC Swimmer-of-the-Week Honors
Pratt earned Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Swimmer-of-the-Week honors for the week ending on Sunday, January 14, winning six of the eight events she entered. On January 11 against Brandeis University, she won the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard butterfly and 200 free while swimming leadoff for the victorious 400-yard free relay quartet. Against Connecticut College and Trinity College on January 13, Pratt tied for the 50 free crown while swimming for the top 400-yard medley relay team. She also pushed the 200 free relay quartet to a runner-up finish and swam into third in the 100 fly.
Men's and Women's Track and Field Compete at URI, Women Place Third out of 10
The Wheaton College men's and women's indoor track and field teams competed at the University of Rhode Island's Sorlien Invitational on Saturday, when the women placed third as the only Division III squad among a 10-team field otherwise comprised of Division I and II schools. The Lyon women were third despite entering only 12 of the 17 scoring events. Wheaton's men were seventh of 11.
Senior All-American Jennifer Harlow (East Bridgewater, MA/East Bridgewater) and sophomore All-American Chizoba Ezeigwe (Brockton, MA/Thayer Academy) each met NCAA Championship provisional standards, with Harlow doing so in both the 55-meter hurdles and high jump. Harlow won the high jump with a height of 5' 7" and took second in the 55M hurdles with a time of 8.51, while Ezeigwe was victorious in the 400-meter dash in 57.73. Junior Joell Whitley (Magnolia, NJ/Triton Regional) bested the long jump field with a 16' 6 1/2" leap. In the 500M, freshman Renee Thompson (Hartford, CT/Weaver) took third, finishing just 0.06 seconds out of second.
On the men's side, freshman Merzudin Ibric (Revere, MA/Phillips Academy) turned in Wheaton's best showing with a second-place finish in the 500-meter run, clocking in at 1:05.19. His time was just 0.11 seconds behind the winning runner and 0.23 ticks off a nine-year-old school record. Sophomore All-American Michael Wright (Baldwin, NY/Uniondale) placed sixth in the 55-meter dash, as his time of 6.52 was just 0.04 seconds off the school record he set last weekend.
Wright Receives ECAC Track Accolade for Second Consecutive Week
Wright drew Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Track Athlete-of-the-Week honors for the week ending on Sunday, January 14, marking the second straight week he earned ECAC accolades. His time of 6.48 in the 55-meter dash on January 13 at the Tufts Invitational bettered the school mark he set the previous weekend by 0.01 seconds and provisionally qualified him for the NCAA Championship. He also won the 200M event at the Tufts Invitational.
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