Edition IV: February 24, 2004
Sports Covered:
Women's Squash
Women's Swimming
Skiing
Men's Hockey
Women's Hockey
Indoor Track
Women's Basketball
Men's Basketball
WOMEN'S SQUASH WINS WALKER CUP
The Middlebury College women's squash team capped off a great season by capturing the Walker Cup at Yale University. The Cup is a division of the Howe Cup, a part of collegiate squash's national championship. Middlebury went 3-0 on the weekend, dropping only four matches. The Panthers defeated Connecticut College 7-2, topped Tufts 8-1 and defeated Wellesley 8-1 en route to the title.
First-year player Hannah Baker (New York, N.Y.) was solid all weekend at #1, as was junior Holly Haertel (Greenwich, Conn.) playing at the second spot. Both players went 3-0 with solid wins. Also picking up 3-0 records were seniors Liza Franyo (Towson, Md.) and Britt Cosgrove (Hunting Valley, Ohio), junior Lauren Smith (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and sophomore Caitlin Flint (Cohasset, Mass.). Earning 2-1 marks were junior Beth Seeley (Wayland, Mass.) and junior Kea Anstey (Prides Crossing, Mass.), while senior Amanda Knappman (Chester, Conn.) went 1-2.
* Women's squash record: 10-5
WOMEN'S SWIM TEAM HAS BIG WEEKEND AT NESCAC'S
The Panther women's swimming and diving team turned in a solid performance at the NESCAC Championships hosted by Wesleyan. The Panthers placed second overall with 1,479 points, behind champion Williams, who amassed 1,711 points. In all, Middlebury set 10 varsity records on an amazing weekend at Wesleyan.
Three Middlebury women won individual events, while two relay teams captured the NESCAC titles. On day one, senior Taylor Bolz (San Antonio, Texas) won the 50 breaststroke with a time of 30.96 seconds. Capturing a NESCAC title on day two was senior Kellianne Egan (Katonah, N.Y.) in the 1,000 freestyle with a time of 10:37.96. Day three of the event saw another winner as senior Sarah Groff (Cooperstown, N.Y.) turned in the best time in the 1,650 freestyle, winning the event in 17:37.12. Also winning on day three were the 400 freestyle relay team of seniors Lizzy DeWitt (Madison, Wis.), Teague Douglas (York, Pa.) and Martha Goebel (New Canaan, Conn.), along with first-year swimmer Barbara Van der Veer (Pittsburgh, Pa.). The foursome finished with a time of 3:30.82, setting a new NESCAC meet record en route to the win. The four swimmers also won the 200 freestyle relay event with a time of 1:36.67.
Team records were falling left and right at the meet as the previously mentioned relay teams both set school records. Bolz did the same in the 50 breaststroke, while also setting a Wesleyan pool record. Also setting school records were junior Tessa Truex (Wethersfield, Conn.) in 1-meter diving (386.40 points) and 3-meter diving (399.55 points), Bolz in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.42), Van der Veer in the 100 free (52.56) and Bolz in the 200 breaststroke (2:27.52). The 400 medley relay team of Van der veer, Douglas, Bolz and sophomore McKenna Moreau (Canton, N.Y.) broke the school mark in 3:59.46, while DeWitt, Bolz, Van der Veer and Goebel did the same in the 200 with a time of 1:47.89.
* Women's swim record: 5-3
* Up next: 3/11-13 @ NCAA's (women), 2/27-29 @ NESCAC (men @ Bowdoin)
SKI TEAMS WIN AGAIN
The Panther nordic and alpine ski teams won for the fourth time in five weeks as they captured the Williams Carnival (663) over Vermont (646), Dartmouth (615) and UNH (520).
The women's nordic team had a huge weekend as they won the 10k race and the relay. Leading the pack of three in the 10k freestyle race was senior Kate Newick (Canterbury, N.H.), who placed third overall in 29:55, nine seconds off the winning pace. Placing fourth was sophomore Claire Anderson (Whitefish, Mont.) in 30:11, followed by senior Kate Whitcomb (Worthington, Mass.) in fifth (30:13). In the freestyle spring relay, the threesome won the event in 38:09, 1:01 ahead of the second place finishers.
Sophomore Garrott Kuzzy (Minneapolis, Minn.) led the men's team with a second place finish in the 10k freestyle race. His time of 25:16, was 21 seconds off the winning pace. Placing seventh was senior Marshall Greene (Spokane, Wash.) with a time of 26:13, while senior Colin Rodgers (Westford, Vt.) rounded out the scorers in 11th place with a time of 26:34. In the relay, Kuzzy, Rodgers and first-year racer Beau Baldock (Jackson, Wyo.) won the event in 33:33, 38 seconds ahead of their nearest competitors.
The women's GS race saw first-year racer Lindsay Brush (Charlotte, Vt.) pace the team with a fifth place finish in 1:57.47, two seconds off the winning time. Placing seventh was senior Laura Scripture (Harrisonburg, Va.) with a time of 1:58.42, followed by junior Jessica Smith (Rockport, Maine) in ninth place (1:58.65). Brush led the team in the slalom race as well as she placed fourth with a time of 1:47.25, two seconds off the winning time. Placing sixth was Scripture in 1:47.71, followed by first-year racer Tara Martin (Lyndonville, Vt.) in 13th place (1:48.94).
On the men's side, sophomore David Coriell (Killington, Vt.) placed third overall in the GS race with a time of 1:53.92, 1.3 seconds off the winning tie. Placing seventh was junior Peter Phillips (New York, N.Y.) in 1:54.31, followed by senior Fred Emich (Littleton, Colo.) in ninth place (1:54.56). Junior John Rusten (Federal Way, Wash.) was the leader in the slalom, placing seventh in 1:45.08, three seconds off the winning time. Finishing 10th was Emich in 1:46.02, followed by senior Eric Rygg (Belvedere, Calif.) in 16th place with a time of 1:47.24.
* Ski team wins at Williams
* Up next: 2/27-28 - Host Middlebury Carnival (EISA Championship)
MEN'S HOCKEY TOPS ST. MIKE'S AND NORWICH
The Middlebury College men's hockey team finished its regular season at 21-3 as they picked up two more wins last weekend. The Panthers earned the top seed in the NESCAC Tournament and will host Tufts this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals.
Against St. Michael's, Middlebury struck first just 1:42 into the game as first-year player Darwin Hunt (Winnetka, Ill.) made a nice pass in the slot to an open first-year player John Sales (Chatham, Ill.) who snapped a shot to the top right corner. The game stayed at 1-0 until Hunt made a diving effort to poke a puck away from a defender, deflecting the puck into the net. St. Michael's got on the board at 13:55 of the second period with a five-on-three power play goal. The Panthers answered at 16:41 as junior Brian Phinney (Ripton, Vt.) snapped one home from the right wing. Middlebury scored its second goal in 2:58 as first-year player Evgeny Saidachev (Gig Harbor, Wash.) put home a rebound driving to the net at 18:39. Juniors Levi Doria (Ripton, Vt.) and Patrick Nugent (Lynnfield, Mass.) added third period goals to seal the 6-1 win. Sophomore Yen-I Chen (Rigaud, Que.) made 16 saves in goal for the win.
Before a sellout crowd of 2,600 at the Kenyon Arena in Middlebury, the #3 Panthers defeated in-state rival and top-ranked Norwich, 6-2, in the first meeting of the year between the two schools. The Panthers wasted no time in jumping on top as senior Adam Foote (New Hartford, N.Y.) won the opening face-off to senior Kevin Cooper (Mississauga, Ont.) at the blue line. The senior streaked in all alone and deked the goaltender before sliding one into the lower right side of the net. The game remained at 1-0 until the 13:25 mark when Norwich scored on a penalty shot. Middlebury took a 2-1 lead 2:33 into the second period as junior Scott Ward (Boxford, Mass.) found Cooper breaking away for the shorthanded bid. Cooper lost the puck momentarily before regaining it on the left wing and snapping a shot through the five-hole low to the ice. The Panthers took a 3-1 lead at 6:29 as Phinney slapped home a shot from the right face-off circle after gathering a loose pass from Foote. Middlebury made it a 4-1 game at the 7:55 mark as Nugent intercepted a pass and ripped it into the back of the net from the right wing. Norwich jumped right back in it with a shorthanded goal on a rebound after a great save by senior Marc Scheuer (Pt. Claire, Que.). Middlebury gained some breathing room at 7:25 of the third period when Foote found Cooper on the goal line before he notched the hat trick. Nugent made it a 6-2 game with 5:13 remaining as he wrested in a shot off the pipe from the far right wing. Scheuer made 19 saves in goal for Middlebury. For his hat trick and one assist, Cooper was named the NESCAC Player of the Week.
* Men's hockey record: 21-3
* Up next: 2/28 vs. Tufts - 6:30 (NESCAC Quarterfinals)
WOMEN'S HOCKEY TOPS WILLIAMS, LOSES COIN TOSS
The second-ranked Panther women's hockey team earned a 3-2 win over #7 Williams in the regular season finale for both teams. Middlebury ended the regular season in a first place tie with Bowdoin, with both teams sporting 15-1 records with losses to each other in league play. With all other tie-breakers equal, Bowdoin won the coin toss, drew a first-round bye, and will host the NESCAC Semifinals and Championship on March 6th and 7th. The #2 Panthers will host a first-round game Saturday against #7 Connecticut College at 3:30 p.m.
Sophomore Emily Quizon (Chino Hills, Calif.) put Middlebury on the board late in the first period as she converted a pass from junior Lorna Gifis (Princeton, N.J.) for the 1-0 lead. The lead increased to 2-0 midway through the second period, as Gifis scored one of her own from the left side. Williams cut the lead in half at 15:20 but the Middlebury defense would not allow them to tie it up. The Panthers gained some breathing room early in the third period as Gifis scored on a rebound, only to have the Ephs answer just 19 seconds later. The game remained at 3-2 late in the game as Williams pulled their netminder with 1:58 to go, but could not solve senior Kati Madouros (White Plains, N.Y.) for the equalizer. For her two goal and one assist effort, Gifis was named the NESCAC Player of the Week.
* Women's hockey record: 19-3
* Up next: 2/28 vs. Connecticut College - 3:30 (NESCAC 1st Rd.)
INDOOR TRACK TEAMS COMPETE AT NEW ENGLANDS
The Middlebury College indoor track teams were in action at separate sites last weekend as they took part in the New England Indoor Championships. The men placed 11th of 21 teams at Bowdoin, while the women were 18th of 31 squads at M.I.T.
Junior Nick Digani (Northfield, Ill.) continued to break his own record, this time with a third place finish and a time of 2:31.28 in the 1,000 meters. Sophomore Kevin Bright (Sharon, Mass.) also earned All-New England honors, his time of 50.57 placed him third in the 400. Junior Jon Erwin (Rumson, N.J.) finished seventh in the 3,000 (8:56.36) earning All-N.E. honors, while first-year runner Alex Wellman (Charlotte, N.C.) did the same in the 55 hurdles in 7.98 seconds. Placing fifth overall (8:14.39) and setting a school record in the 4x800 were Erwin, sophomore Matt Horesta (Pomptain Plains, N.J.), and first-year runners Chris Pelliccia (Auburn, Maine) and Conor O'Neil (Friendswood, Texas). The DMR relay team also set a school mark (10:34.29) with the team of Pelliccia, Horesta, Bright and Digani.
On the women's side, seniors Jessica Kosciewicz (Plaistow, N.H.) and Maryanne Porter (W. Roxbury, Mass.) both broke school records. Kosciewicz did so with a seventh place finish and time of 7.59 in the 55 meters. Porter performed the feat in the 400 meters with a time of 60.19, placing her fourth. The duo both earned All-New England honors. Also earning honors was sophomore Megan Gambino (Syracuse, N.Y.) in the 1,000 meters with a time of 3:08.81, placing her eighth. In the 4x400 relay, the team of Porter and first-year runners Beth Butler (Bronxville, N.Y.), Alice Flanders (Lexington, Mass.) and Erin Oliver (Essex Junction, Vt.) finished eighth in 4:12.88, earning All-N.E. honors.
* Indoor teams in race at Bowdoin and M.I.T. at N.E.'s
* Up next: 2/27-28 @ Open New England's
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ENDS SEASON AT NESCAC TOURNEY The Panther women's basketball team saw its season come to an end with a 66-53 loss at Wesleyan in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC Tournament. Middlebury entered the tournament as the seventh-seed, while the Cardinals were seeded second.
The game featured five ties, the last coming at 33-33 at the 16:34 mark of the second half. Wesleyan took the lead for good at the point, but could not extended its lead until an 8-0 run during the seven-minute mark gave them a 58-46 advantage. Wesleyan shot .453 from the floor, including .565 during the second half. Middlebury turned the ball over 20 times as compared to Wesleyan's 16 turnovers. Junior Elyse Carlson (Braintree, Mass.) led the team with 21 points, while junior Alexis Hollinger (New London, N.H.) added 10. Senior Kate Shillo (Bloomfield, Conn.) grabbed 11 boards in the loss.
* Women's basketball final record: 11-12
MEN'S BASKETBALL FALLS IN NESCAC QUARTERFINALS
The Middlebury College men's basketball team ended its season with a 74-52 loss at Williams in the NESCAC quarterfinals. The Panthers were the eighth seed in the tournament, while the Ephs were the top seed.
Middlebury led 10-9 in the first half before a 10-0 run gave Williams a 19-10 lead with 7:37 left in the half. Trailing by 10 at the half, the Panthers cut it to seven early in the second half before the Ephs kept a lead of 10 or more points, including a 50-39 lead with 10:45 remaining. From that point on, the lead grew to as many as 23 and was cut to as few as 11 as Williams came away with the win. First-year player Bobby Marcoux (Campbell Hall, N.Y.) was the lone Panther in double figures with 10 on the afternoon.
* Men's basketball final record: 12-12
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