Edition I: March 2, 2004
Sports Covered:
Skiing
Men's Hockey
Women's Hockey
Men's Swimming
Indoor Track
SKI TEAMS WIN EISA CHAMPIONSHIP The Middlebury College ski teams have broken the nation's longest conference winning streak by capturing the EISA (Eastern Intercollegiate Skiing Association) Championship, which also doubles as the Middlebury Carnival. Vermont had won the carnival for the previous 28 years before Middlebury took over the reigns in '04. This marks the end of the carnival season for Middlebury, with the Panthers capturing five of the ski eastern carnivals this season. They return to action on March 10-13 at the NCAA Championships hosted by the University of Nevada-Reno.
The Panthers won the carnival by a comfortable margin with 1,058 points.
Vermont placed second with 1,017, followed by Dartmouth in third with 1,003.
On day one, the nordic teams had impressive finishes in each of their
respective races. The men placed skiers in second, fifth and sixth in the
10K freestyle race, while the women had impressive second, fourth and sixth
place finishes in the 5K freestyle race.
Leading the Middlebury men was sophomore Garrott Kuzzy (Minneapolis, Minn.), who placed second with a time of 23:30, seven seconds off the winning pace. Coming in fifth was first-year racer Beau Baldock (Jackson, Wyo.) in 24:23, followed by senior Colin Rodgers (Westford, Vt.) in sixth (24:33). In the men's 15K race, Kuzzy paced the Panthers with a third place finish in 41:28, just 10 seconds behind the leader. Rodgers was next for Middlebury in eighth place (42:27), followed by sophomore Jake Whitcomb (Worthington, Mass.) in 14th (43:19).
On the women's side, senior Kate Newick (Canterbury, N.H.) came in second with a time of 13:33, six seconds off the winning time. Placing fourth was senior Kate Whitcomb (Worthington, Mass.) with a time of 13:44, followed by sophomore Claire Anderson (Whitefish, Mont.) in sixth (13:55). Leading the Middlebury women in the 10K nordic race was Newick, who placed third in 30:10, just over two seconds behind the winner. Coming in fourth place was Whitcomb in 30:49, while senior Berkley Leach (Old Forge, N.Y.) placed eighth with a time of 31:16.
The men's alpine team from Middlebury had a solid showing, placing racers in fifth, sixth and 11th in the slalom race. Senior Fred Emich (Littleton, Colo.) led the pack with a time of 1:21.53, 1.6 seconds off the winning time. In sixth was sophomore David Coriell (Killington, Vt.) (1:21.61), followed by senior Eric Rygg (Belvedere, Calif.) in 11th (1:23.34). In the giant slalom event, Middlebury was dominating. Emich won the race with a time of 2:00.77, followed by Coriell in second place (2:00.95), and Phillips in fourth (2:01.16).
The women's alpine squad saw junior Jessica Smith (Rockport, Maine) lead the pack in fifth place with a time of 1:35.57, two seconds off the winning time. Placing ninth was senior Brie Pike-Sprenger (W. Dover, Vt.) (1:36.69), while first-year racer Lindsay Brush (Charlotte, Vt.) came in 12th (1:37.12). The women also dominated the GS, with Brush winning the event with a time of 2:04.12. Placing third was Smith (2:04.66), followed by junior Molly Russell (Newfane, Vt.) in seventh (2:05.66).
* Ski team wins EISA Championship
* Up next: 3/10-13 @ NCAA Championship
MEN'S HOCKEY TO HOST NESCAC CHAMPIONSHIP
The Panther men's hockey team scored five second period goals on its way to a 7-1 win over Tufts in a NESCAC quarterfinal match-up. The Panthers will host Hamilton in the semifinals next Saturday (3/6) at 1:00 p.m., while Trinity meets Colby in the other semifinal at 4:00 p.m. The title game is slated for Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
A power play goal from junior Brian Phinney (Ripton, Vt.) gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at the 12:45 mark of the first period. Tufts answered with its own power play to knot the game at one after the first period. The Panther offense exploded in the second period as they scored five goals in a 10:18 span. First-year player Evgeny Saidachev (Gig Harbor, Wash.) started the run at 7:36 with a nice crossing pass from senior John Dawson (New Canaan, Conn.) for the power play tally. The captain then struck for two goals of his own just 1:58 apart to make it a 4-1 game. Junior Eric Johnson (Duluth, Minn.) scored from the high slot with a shot through the five-hole at 16:18, while sophomore Jeff Smith (Nepean, Ont.) snapped one in off the pipe at 17:54 to cap the five-goal run. First-year player John Sales (Chatham, Ill.) scored the only goal of the third period to wrap up the 7-1 win.
Middlebury out shot Tufts 54-14 on the night, while senior Marc Scheuer (Pt. Claire, Que.) made 13 saves in net for Middlebury. Senior Jim Christman (Grosse Pt., Mich.) saw his first action of the season, making no saves in 2:16.
* Men's hockey record: 22-3
* Up next: 3/6 vs. Hamilton - 1:00, Colby vs. Trinity - 4:00, 3/7 - NESCAC Champ. - 1:00
WOMEN'S HOCKEY HEADED TO NESCAC SEMI'S
The Middlebury College women's hockey team had little trouble with Connecticut College as they out shot the Camels 55-5 en route to a 6-0 win in a NESCAC Tournament first-round match-up. The Panthers will take on Williams in the semifinals at Bowdoin next Saturday (3/6) at 4:00 p.m. The host school meets Hamilton in the other semifinal at 1:00, with the title game slated for Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
Middlebury opened the scoring 5:30 into the contest as first-year player Emily McNamara (N. Hampton, N.H.) scored from the doorstep on a third opportunity for the Panthers. Rookie Samantha Ritt (Mequon, Wis.) made it 2-0 just 1:34 later before sophomore Liz Yale-Loehr (Ithaca, N.Y.) scored with a nice feed from junior Lorna Gifis (Princeton, N.J.) for the power play goal.
Senior Kristin Reid (River Vale, N.J.) increased the lead to 4-0 just 1:05 into the second period with a solid shot that found the net. First-year player Shannon Tarrant (Brookfield, Conn.) scored on the power play from the left point with a feed from sophomore Emily Quizon (Chino Hills, Calif.) at 17:37 of the second period to make it a 5-0 contest. Quizon struck midway through the third period as she pounded home a rebound on her second shot.
Senior Kati Madouros (White Plains, N.Y.) and sophomore Kate Kogut (Springfield, Mass.) combined to make five saves for Middlebury.
* Women's hockey record: 20-3
* Up next: 3/6 vs. Williams @ Bowdoin - 4:00, if win - 3/7 - NESCAC Champ.@ Bowdoin - 1:00
MEN'S SWIM TEAM PLACES FOURTH AT NESCAC'S
The Panther men's swimming and diving team placed fourth overall at the 2004 NESCAC Championship hosted by Bowdoin. Williams won the meet, followed by Amherst and Tufts.
First-year swimmer Rob Collier (Catonsville, Md.) was the story for Middlebury as he had a huge weekend in Maine. Collier won the NESCAC Championship and qualified for the NCAA's in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:51.88. Collier also made the NCAA cut in the 200 IM (1:53.44) and the 400 IM (4:02.22).
Sophomore Rob Hillas (Princeton, N.J.) also had a big day as he broke two school records. He accomplished the feat in the 1,000 free (9:37) and the 1,650 free (16:07). Also breaking a school record was rookie Tim Lux (Sandy Hook, Conn.) in the 200 breaststroke (2:07). Middlebury's 400 medley relay team of Collier, Lux, senior Matt Clark (Woolwich, Maine) and junior Jason Korsmeyer (Weston, Conn.) also broke the school mark with a time of 3:26.86.
* Men's swim record: 5-3
* Up next: 3/18-20 @ NCAA's
INDOOR TRACK TEAMS IN ACTION AT OPEN NEW ENGLANDS
The Middlebury College indoor track teams were both in action at the all division New England Championships at Boston University. Leading the women on the weekend was senior Maryanne Porter (W. Roxbury, Mass.), who broke the school record in the 400 meters with a time of 58.62 seconds.
Pacing the men was the DMR relay team of juniors Jon Erwin (Rumson, N.J.) and Nick Digani (Northfield, Ill.), along with sophomores Kevin Bright (Sharon, Mass.) and Matt Horesta (Pomptain Plains, N.J.). The foursome broke the school record with a time of 10:15.40.
* Indoor teams at Open N.E.'s at B.U.
* 3/5-6 @ ECAC Championships
MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE SPORTS ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB: http://www.gomidd.com/