Weekly Lyon

Men's Basketball (10-12, 3-8) Drops Final Two NEWMAC Home Games

The Wheaton College men's basketball team went 0-2 at home during New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play last week, dropping an 82-72 decision to Babson College on Wednesday before narrowly falling against Springfield College, 71-69 on Saturday.

Against Babson, the Lyons chipped a 48-20 deficit to eight points late in regulation but came no closer. Senior Brian Zukowski (Dracut, MA/Dracut) finished with a game-high 21 points, hitting 5-of-8 three-point attempts and 6-of-7 free throw tries, while turning in five assists. Junior Brent DiGiovanna (Hanover, MA/Hanover) added 16 points while shooting 6-of-8 from the field and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe, while sophomore Mark Sullivan (West Roxbury, MA/Catholic Memorial) tallied 10 points. Freshman Ben Stehle (Newton, MA/Newton South) contributed nine rebounds and five helpers.

With Wheaton down six to Springfield, junior Jake Otto (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury) canned his first career three-pointer with 18 seconds left, and DiGiovanna hit a three with 8.8 ticks to go and knotted the game before the Pride hit the winning shot with 3.3 seconds remaining. DiGiovanna tallied 18 points by going 7-of-9, including 2-of-3 on three-pointers to triple his career total. Zukowski had 13 points and six assists, while sophomore Pat Youreneff (Belle Mead, NJ/Montgomery) added career highs of eight points and five assists. Junior Eric Johnston (South Windsor, CT/East Catholic) posted eight points, while Otto had seven points, five rebounds and four assists.

Zukowski is third at Wheaton in career assists (277) and steals (165), fourth in threes (181) and free throws (313), fifth in points (1,346), sixth in field goals (426) and tied for 10th in games (100).

Women's Basketball (16-7, 9-2) Falls into First-Place Tie in NEWMAC Following 1-1 Week

The Wheaton College women's basketball team split a pair of NEWMAC home games last week, falling into a two-way tie for first place in the league. The Lyons avenged their first conference loss with an 80-59 victory against Babson on Wednesday before missing a chance to capture at least a tie for their first league crown since 1994-95 by falling to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), 55-50 on Saturday.

Sophomore Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) tallied 22 points, and classmate Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) hit five three-pointers for 19 points against Babson. After missing her first six shots, Hickey made eight of her last nine and collected six rebounds and four steals. Smith shot 7-of-8, including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, while sophomore Jennie Pleat (Nashua, NH/Nashua South) added 12 points. Junior Becky Aitchison (Norwalk, CT/Trinity Catholic) collected eight points, seven rebounds, six assists and four assists, while senior Casey Sorbara (Port Chester, NY/Trinity Catholic) also notched six assists with four steals.

The Lyons lost for just the second time in 14 games after chipping a 14-point deficit against WPI to just three with less than a minute remaining. Hickey tallied 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Aitchison finished with nine points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals. Freshman Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) recorded seven points and eight rebounds in 18 minutes.

Sorbara is fourth in program history in career assists (326) and seventh in steals (191). Senior Kim McCormack (Milton, MA/Milton) is eighth in steals (189), tied for eighth in assists (195), and ninth in both rebounds (572) and free throws (203). Smith is eighth in three-pointers (68).

Synchronized Swimming Tops Four-Team Field at Wheaton Invitational

The Wheaton College synchronized swimming team bested a four-team field during Saturday's Wheaton Invitational, as senior Sarah Swinkin (Hamden, CT/Hamden) played a hand in three wins. During a victorious team routine, Swinkin joined senior Elizabeth Corman (Saint Paul, MN/Hill-Murray School), junior Megan Kinney (Los Angeles, CA/Marlborough School), sophomores Sharada Strasmore (Weston, CT/Weston) and Sylvia Syracuse (Tonawanda, NY/Kenmore West), and freshmen Laura Montes (San Juan, PR/Academia San Jose) and Jenna Swinkin (Hamden, CT/Hamden). Sarah Swinkin also teamed with Syracuse and sister Jenna to perform the top trio routine, and her winning C figures score of 66.592 was 0.491 better than Jenna's second-place total. Montes was the solo champion, while Strasmore earned the best B figures score.

Men's and Women's Indoor Track Athletes Reach Five NCAA Standards at BU

The Wheaton College men's and women's indoor track and field teams participated at Boston University's Valentine Invitational over the weekend, where five Lyons reached NCAA Championship standards, and sophomore All-American Chizoba Ezeigwe (Brockton, MA/Thayer Academy) had an automatic qualifying time after leading a relay team to one last week.

Ezeigwe's time of 56.34 in the 400-meter dash was an AQ, placed her ninth among the event's 129 runners, and was tops in New England and second in the nation this season. Freshman Renee Thompson (Hartford, CT/Weaver) turned in a time of 57.66, which was a provisional qualifier for the NCAAs and third in the region. During the 200M, Ezeigwe ran the fastest time in New England at 25.02, while senior All-American Jennifer Harlow (East Bridgewater, MA/East Bridgewater) met a provisional standard in the high jump with a height of 5' 6".

Sophomore All-American Jonathan Cunha (Lexington, MA/Lexington) and freshman Merzudin Ibric (Revere, MA/Phillips Academy) each met provisional times during the 400-meter dash. Cunha was eighth in 48.22, which was the best in the nation this season. Ibric's 48.54 was the second fastest in the region this winter. Sophomore All-American Michael Wright (Baldwin, NY/Uniondale) was seventh in the 200M at 21.92, missing his school record by 0.06 seconds.

Ezeigwe Extends Wheaton's ECAC Awards Streak to Five Weeks

Ezeigwe corralled an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Track Co-Athlete-of-the-Week honor for the week ending on Sunday, February 4 after earning the same laurels on January 24. Ezeigwe helped the 4x400-meter relay team to the nation's fastest time - 3:51.91 eclipsed the automatic qualifying standard for the NCAA Championship - at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational in the New York City Armory on February 3. Ezeigwe finished the 400M in 57.29, which was a provisional qualifier and the fastest time in New England, before running the region's top 200M time at 25.88.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 2/8/08.
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