Edition III: January 27, 2004
Sports Covered:
SKI TEAMS OPEN SEASON WITH HISTORICAL WIN
The Middlebury College nordic and alpine ski teams did something no other teams have done in school history. The teams combined to win the school's first-ever carnival race since the EISA has been combining team scores in 1983. The feat came at Sugarloaf USA, this year's site for the Colby Carnival.
On the alpine side, the Middlebury men were led by junior John Rusten (Federal Way, Wash.), who placed second in the GS (2:00.57, .54 off the winning pace) and third in the slalom (1:22.96, .34 off the winning pace). Senior Fred Emich (Littleton, Colo.) placed sixth in the GS (2:00.53), while coming in eighth (1:24.40) in the slalom. Middlebury's third racer in the GS was senior Andy Peters (Shelburne, Vt.), who came in 12th with a time of 2:04.73. Sandwiched in-between Rusten and Emich in the slalom was sophomore David Coriell (Killington, Vt.), who placed eighth in 1:24.40.
First-year racer Lindsay Brush (Charlotte, Vt.) led the women's GS team as she placed third with a time of 2:06.13, 1.7 seconds off the winning pace. Finishing eighth was senior Laura Scripture (Harrisonburg, Va.) with a time of 1:02.77, followed by rookie Tara Martin (Lyndonville, Vt.) in 13th (2:10.84). In the slalom race, junior Jessica Smith (Rockport, Maine) paced the team in eighth place in 1:30.32, just under three seconds off the winning time. Just behind her was Brush in 1:30.52, followed by Martin in 15th place with a time of 1:32.11.
Sophomore Claire Anderson (Whitefish, Mont.) picked up where she left off at last year's EISA Championships as she won the women's 10K freestyle race in 31:50. Also with top five finishes were senior Kate Whitcomb (Worthington, Mass.) in fourth (32:29) and senior Kate Newick (Canterbury, N.H.) in fifth (32:38). The threesome also combined to win the women's 3x5 relay race with a cumulative time of 48:29.
Sophomore Garrott Kuzzy (Minneapolis, Minn.) led the men's nordic team with a second place finish (40:35, two seconds off the winning pace) in the 15K race. Senior Colin Rodgers (Westford, Vt.) placed sixth for the Panthers in 42:35, followed by senior Marshall Greene (Spokane, Wash.) in ninth place with a time of 42.52. This group was also able to win the men's 3x5 relay with a combined time of 41:13.
* Ski team places first at Colby
* Up next: 1/30-31 @ St. Lawrence Carnival
SWIM TEAMS IMPROVE TO 5-1 WITH WINS OVER UNION
The Panther swimming and diving teams both improved to impressive 5-1 records as they defeated Union in the team's third home meet of the season. The men were 153-107 victors, while the women picked up a 172-110 win.
Pacing the men's squad were senior Karl Wittington (Carrboro, N.C.), junior David Hawkins (Arlington, Va.) and first-year swimmer Tim Lux (Sandy Hook, Conn.), who each won two events on the afternoon. Wittington won the 400 IM (4:23.28) and the 500 free (4:53.10), Lux picked up wins in the 100 breaststroke (1:01.60) and the 50 breaststroke (29.15), while Hawkins won the 50 back (26.46) and the 50 fly (24.05). Rookie Zachary Maxwell (New York, N.Y.) won the 50 free in 22.68, while classmate Robert Collier (Catonsville, Md.) rounded out the Middlebury winners with a time of 55.95 in the 100 backstroke.
Highlighting the women's performances on the day was the pool-record time of 7:58.24, set by the Middlebury 800 freestyle relay team. The squad was comprised of seniors Lizzy DeWitt (Madison, Wis.) and Sarah Groff (Cooperstown, N.Y.) and sophomores Teague Douglas (York, Pa.) and Mollie Reed (S. Burlington, Vt.). Sophomore Jessica Blanner (Edina, Minn.) was a victor in the 50 backstroke (30.33), senior Taylor Boltz (San Antonio,
Texas) won the 50 breaststroke (32.56), sophomore Lily Knopman (Rochester,
Minn.) picked up a win in the 100 fly (1:03.12), while first-year swimmer Barbara Van der Veer (Pittsburgh, Pa.) won the 50 free (25.16). Other event winners include senior Courtney Campbell (New Canaan, Conn.) in one-meter diving (214.40 points), Douglas in the 100 free, Dewitt in the 100 backstroke (1:02.03) and senior Kellianne Egan (Katonah, N.Y.) in the 500 free (5:22.31).
* Women's swim record: 5-1, men's swim record: 5-1
* Up next: 1/31 @ Williams
MEN'S HOCKEY WINS THREE LEAGUE ROAD GAMES
The Middlebury College men's hockey team picked up six points on the road last week as they defeated three league opponents, moving them into first place in the NESCAC standings.
The week began with a big game down route 7 in Williamstown. The game was scoreless until the 4:40 mark of the third period when junior Levi Doria (Ripton, Vt.) scored to give Middlebury a 1-0 lead over Williams. The Panthers would then explode for three goals in a 1:24 second span beginning at the 11:04 mark to take a 4-0 lead. Senior Adam Foote (New Hartford, N.Y.), junior Patrick Nugent (Lynnfield, Mass.) and first-year player John Sales (Chatham, Ill.) tallied the three goals, as first-year player Evgeny Saidachev (Gig Harbor, Wash.) had two assists on the night. Senior Marc Scheuer (Pt. Claire, Que.) made 15 saves in goal for the shutout as the Middlebury defense held Williams shot-less in the third period.
St. Anselm scored the game's final two goals as Middlebury came away with a 4-3 win. Saidachev started the scoring on the power play just 1:12 into the game. The Hawks tied the game later in the period before the Panthers tallied a pair of goals by Doria and senior Kevin Cooper (Mississauga, Ont.) to take a 3-1 lead after two periods. First-year player Eric LaFreniere (St. Anne, Manitoba) made it a 4-1 game before St. Anselm scored the final two goals of the game. Nugent picked up two assists in the game, while Scheuer made 24 saves.
Middlebury out shot New England College 40-21 and scored five third period goals on its way to a 7-1 win over the Pilgrims. Adam Foote had two goals, while Cooper, Nugent, Sales, junior Brian Phinney (Ripton, Vt.) and senior Mike Kennedy (Darien, Conn.) also found the back of the net. Scheuer made 20 saves in goal for the win. For his impressive 3-0 week, Scheuer was named the NESCAC Player of the Week.
* Men's hockey record: 12-2
* Up next: 1/27 vs. Plattsburgh - 7:00, 1/30 @ Babson, 1/31 @ UMass.-Boston
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FALLS TO UNION, SPLITS TWO LEAGE ROAD GAMES
The Panther women's basketball team suffered a loss to Union at home before falling at Amherst and defeating Trinity over the weekend.
Union jumped out to an early lead and held onto it before Middlebury went on a 13-2 second half run to tie the game at 37. Junior Elyse Carlson (Braintree, Mass.) knocked down three three's during the impressive run. Union came right back later in the half as a 13-2 run sealed the 64-49 win. Carlson led the team with 17 points, while senior Alexis Batten (Avalon,
N.J.) added a dozen.
At Amherst, the Jeffs held an early 13-4 lead and led by as many as 10 before taking a 32-24 lead into the break. The lead grew to as many as 18 in the second half before a 6-0 run to end the game left Middlebury with a 77-64 loss. Batten led the team with a game-high 21 points and 11 rebounds, while sophomore Kate Fehsenfeld (Zionsville, Ind.) added 15 points.
Sophomore Lacy Hebert (Keene, N.H.) tied the school record with 14 assists as Middlebury thumped Trinity, 87-57. A 20-2 first half run gave the Panthers a 34-18 lead with 4:46 left in the first half. Trinity could only come within 18 in the second half as the lead grew to a game-high 30 points at games end. Batten had a game-high 21 points with 10 rebounds, while junior Alexis Hollinger (New London, N.H.) scored 20 points and grabbed 18 rebounds.
* Women's basketball record: 8-6
* Up next: 1/27 vs. Plattsburgh - 7:00, 1/30 vs. Colby - 7:30, 1/31 vs. Bowdoin - 3:00
WOMEN'S HOCKEY SPLITS A PAIR OF GAMES
The Middlebury College women's hockey team won the game they needed to last week as they defeated Plattsburgh before falling to Division I Clarkson.
Fourth-ranked Middlebury scored three unanswered goals in the third period to knock off top-ranked Plattsburgh, 3-2. The Panthers hand the Cardinals their first loss of the season, while out-shooting their opponent, 20-12 on the night.
Plattsburgh opened the scoring at 8:55 with a power play goal, while making it a 2-0 game midway through the second period with another power play tally. Middlebury cut the lead in half 1:32 into the third period with a rocket from just in front of the blue line from sophomore Hannah DeLong (Hillandale, New Brunswick). The Panthers made it a new game at 9:37 as senior Kristin Reid (River Vale, N.J.) found the back of the net from just outside the crease after a pair of rebounds. The game-winner came at 15:01 as some nice passing on the power play led to the goal. From the point, rookie Shannon Tarrant (Brookfield, Conn.) found classmate Abby Kurtz-Phelan (Denver, Colo.) down low, before she one-timed the game-winner into the left side. Plattsburgh had a few late chances with their netminder pulled, but they could not tie the game up. Sophomore Kate Kogut (Springfield, Mass.) made 10 saves in goal for Middlebury.
Clarkson scored three third period goals as they picked up a 6-2 win over the Panthers. First-year player Alison Graddock (Stowe, Vt.) tied the game at one in the first period, while junior Lorna Gifis (Princeton, N.J.) gave Middlebury a 2-1 lead at 8:21 of the second period. Unfortunately, that would be the Panther's final goal as Clarkson scored the next five for the win. Senior Kati Madouros (White Plains, N.Y.) made 15 saves in goal.
* Women's hockey record: 10-3
* Up next: 1/27 @ Williams, 1/30 vs. Conn. College - 7:00, 1/31 vs. Amherst
- 3:00
h2>INDOOR TRACK COMPETES NORTH OF THE BORDER
HORESTA SETS SCHOOL MARK The Panther indoor track team took part in some competitive indoor races at McGill University in Montreal on Saturday.
The big story of the weekend was sophomore Matt Horesta (Pomptain Plains, N.J.), who broke the school's indoor 10000 meter record with a time of 2:38.46. The old record was held by Krishna Moody in 2000. Sophomore
Kevin Bright (Sharon, Mass.) finished third in the 600 meters in 1:23.19, while junior Nick Digani (Northfield, Ill.) came in fifth in the 1500 meters in 4:08.77. In the shot put, first-year thrower Pascal Lasambe (S. Burlington, Vt.) came in sixth with a toss of 12.66 meters, while senior Craig Parker (Cohasset, Mass.) was third (11.53m) and sophomore Chris Harnisch (Fairfax, Va.) was sixth (10.0m) in the weight throw. In the women's weight throw, sophomore Kim Nelson (New York, N.Y.) placed seventh with a throw of 11.08m.
* Teams compete at McGill
* Up next: 2/7 @ Darmouth
MEN'S BASKETBALL DROPS THREE TOUGH CONTESTS
The Middlebury College men's basketball team dropped three home games last week to opponents with a combined record of 39-2 entering the games. The contests saw Middlebury take on a tough Union team, the top-ranked team in the nation, Amherst, and #9 Trinity.
The Union loss would have to be the toughest as Middlebury led by three with the ball in the final 20 seconds, but came up on the short end of a 79-78 game. The Dutchmen cut the lead to two with a free throw, before missing the second shot, gaining an offensive board, and hitting a three with 14 seconds left to put them up 79-78. Middlebury had three shots at the game-winner in the finals seconds, but none would fall, leaving them with the one-point loss. Junior Mike Salek (Fairfield, Conn.) led the team with 17 points and four three's, while junior Clark Read (Pepper Pike, Ohio) added 14 points.
Amherst closed the first half on an 8-2 run to take a 10-point halftime lead. Middlebury cut the lead to three in the second half, but the Jeffs' defense held the Panthers scoreless for a 3:50 span midway through the half as they increased the lead to 76-59, before going onto the 91-67 win. Senior David Coratti (Pawling, N.Y.) led the team with 14 points, while Read added a dozen.
Middlebury led Trinity by 10 in the first half, while the Bantams cut the lead to one with a 6-0 run to open the second half. The Panthers increased the lead to eight before a 12-0 Trinity run gave the Bantams a 49-45 lead with 6:57 left to play. Trinity made five of six free throws down the stretch to seal the 68-63 win. Senior Nate Anderson (Hinesburg, Vt.) led Middlebury with 17 points, while Senior John Donnelly (Roswell, Ga.) added 13.
* Men's basketball record: 9-6
* Up next: 1/27 @ G. Mountain, 1/30 @ Colby, 1/31 @ Bowdoin
MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE SPORTS ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB: www.gomidd.com