For Release: January 15, 2007

MEN’S BASKETBALL SETS SCHOOL MARK WITH NINE STRAIGHT WINS

The Middlebury College men’s basketball team had another 3-0 week, including a pair of wins to begin the NESCAC season. The Panthers have now won nine straight games, a new school record.

The week began as Middlebury had little trouble with Green Mountain, earning a 102-47 win over the Eagles.

Middlebury jumped out to a 17-2 lead with 13:59 remaining behind a three from sophomore Matt Westman (Newton, Mass.). Green Mountain made a brief run, sparked by a pair of hoops from Aaron Brooks to cut the lead to 20-9. The Panthers answered and slowly increased their lead, taking a 49-20 advantage into the halftime break.

Middlebury ran away in the second half, opening the session on a 10-0 run to take a 60-20 lead with 17:35 left to play. The lead grew to as many as 57 before the Panthers picked up the 102-47 win.

Five Middlebury players scored in double figures, led by Westman with 14, junior Andrew Harris (Waterbury Center, Vt.) with 11 and senior Evan Thompson (New York, N.Y.) with 11. Sophomores Ben Rudin (Scarsdale, N.Y.) and Aaron Smith (W. Hartford, Conn.) added 10 points apiece in the victory, while first-year player Tim Edwards (Greenwich, Conn.) had nine rebounds and five assists.

Middlebury and Colby opened their NESCAC schedules with a shootout as the Panthers came away with a 100-93 win over the Mules. The two teams combined to make 25 of 50 shots from behind the three-point arc in the game. The game is the fourth and second consecutive 100-point effort for the Panthers this season.

Middlebury jumped out to a 14-2 lead in the game’s first five minutes of play. The lead remained at 10 or more until a back-to-back three’s by Colby’s Nick Farrell made it a 41-37 game with 4:15 left in the first half.

The Panthers led 48-41 at the intermission before Colby hit the first two shots of the second half to close the advantage to 48-45 just 35 seconds in. The Panthers built the lead back up to as many as 12 before Colby chipped away to make it a 75-66 game with 8:14 remaining.

Harris then went on a tear, hitting three straight three-pointers with one by Farrell sandwiched in between to make it an 80-69 lead. The Mules then cut the lead to six on a three from Mac Simpson with 2:44 remaining. Colby would get as close as three with 1:19 remaining, but the Panthers made 9-12 free throws in the final 2:33 to seal the win.

Thompson led the Panthers with 24 points on 8-10 shooting from the field. Smith shot 8-9, netting 20 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while Harris added 17 points. Tim Edwards scored a dozen in the game, while Rudin netted eight with 12 assists.

Middlebury set a new school record with its ninth consecutive win as the Panthers topped Bowdoin 81-58 in NESCAC action Saturday in Pepin Gym. The Panthers continued their hot shooting, hitting .483 of their shots from the floor and .464 from behind the arc.

Middlebury came out strong, holding Bowdoin to just five points in the game’s first 10 minutes, taking a 17-5 advantage. The lead continued to grow as Middlebury used a balanced attack to extend the lead to 41-20 at the half.

Bowdoin would get no closer than 20 in the second half as the Panthers led by as many as 31 midway through the session.

Harris led Middlebury with a game-high 17 points, including five from three-point land. Twelve other players entered the scoring column for the Panthers, with Westman, sophomore Kyle Dudley (Scarsdale, N.Y.) and senior Chris Dowd (Beverly, Mass.) scoring eight points apiece. Rudin had seven assists and six rebounds in the game.
• Men’s basketball record: 11-3
• Up next: 1/19 @ Amherst, 1/20 @ Trinity

INDOOR TRACK COMPETES AT TUFTS

The Panther indoor track teams were in action again this week as they took part in the Tufts Invitational. Three more Middlebury athletes qualified for New England’s with impressive performances at the races.

First-year racer Anjuli Demers (Dracut, Mass.) qualified in two events, by winning the 200 in 26.55 and placing fourth in the 55 with a time of 7.56. Senior Kara Plunkett (Topsfield, Mass.) also qualified with a time of 3:06.28 in the 1000, while junior Sarah Wilson (Winchester, Mass.) did the same with a third place finish in the pole vault (9’9”).

Other top finishers on the weekend for the Panthers were sophomore Jennifer Brenes (Lawrence, Mass.), who finished second in the 55 hurdles (8.67) and sophomore Emer Feighery (Westborough, Mass.), with a second place finish in the pole vault (9’9”).

Three juniors had top finishes on the men’s side for the Panthers. Ian O’Reilly (Meriden, N.H.) came in second in the 800 with a time of 2:00.92, while Patrick Sedney (Underhill, Vt.) was second in the pole vault, clearing 12’9”. Middlebury’s other top finisher was Frazier Stowers (Lynchburg, Va.), who place fifth in the high jump with a 6’1” effort.
• Indoor track competes at Tufts
• Up next: 1/19 @ Vermont

WOMEN’S SQUASH WINS TWO OF THREE

The Middlebury College women’s squash team won two of three matches over the weekend at the Yale Invitational. The Panthers opened with an 8-1 win over Virginia, fell 7-2 to Bates, before bouncing back with a 7-2 win over Connecticut College.

Senior Hannah Baker (New York, N.Y.) and Sarah Hatfield (Barrington, R.I.) both had impressive weekends at #1 and #2, winning each of their three matches.

First-year player Elisabeth McMorris (New York, N.Y.), senior Katherine Hawkins (Memphis, Tenn.), senior Kara Zarchin (Oakton, Va.), junior Ellie Buechner (Newport, R.I.) and rookie Brooke Beatt (W. Hartford, Conn.) each went 2-1 over the weekend.
• Women’s squash record: 4-4
• Up next: 1/20 @ Hamilton Invit.

SWIM TEAMS ROLL OVER HAMILTON

The Panther men's and women's swimming and diving teams had little trouble for the second straight weekend as they defeated Hamilton. The men were 175-62 winners, while the women won 182.5-56.5. Middlebury swept every event at the meet, accomplishing the feat for the first time in at least 10 years.

First-year racer Katie Soja (Sudbury, Mass.) was the only dual-event winner on the women’s side. The rookie won the 1000 free in 10:30.18, breaking the Hamilton pool record held by her teammate Sara Cowie. She also won the 500 free with a time of 5:11.65.

On the men’s side, sophomore Kevin O’Rourke (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) won both the 500 (4:57.32) and 1000 free (10:06.92) events at Hamilton. Sophomore Zach Woods (Monroe, N.Y.) also won a pair of events, capturing the 200 free (1:50.53) and 200 back (1:56.28). First-year diver Brooks Farrar (Medfield, Mass.) won the 1M competition, earning 274.65 points, meeting the national standard.
• Women’s swim record: 4-1, men’s swim record: 5-0
• Up next: 1/20 @ Union

WOMEN’S HOCKEY GOES 1-0-1 VS. WESLEYAN

The Middlebury College women's hockey team earned three NESCAC points over the weekend, picking up a 4-1 win over Wesleyan Saturday, after settling for a 1-1 tie on Friday night.

Middlebury out shot Wesleyan 48-9 but had to settle for a 1-1 tie in Kenyon Arena on Friday. Following a scoreless first period, Wesleyan jumped on the board just 2:31 into the second period with a power play goal. Julia Cohen sent the puck in from the right point before Conner Brannen scored on the far post. The Panthers had several chances to tie the game in the second session, but Wesleyan’s Rachel Stemerman kept them off the board for the remainder of the period.

Stemerman continued to deny the Panthers time after time in the third period, until Middlebury broke through at 13:46. Senior Abby Kurtz-Phelan (Denver, Colo.) skated through the zone and beat a pair of defenders before snapping a shot past Stemerman. Neither team would score again in the third period, forcing the game into overtime.

Middlebury’s best chance in overtime came as Stemerman denied Kurtz-Phelan on a breakaway just 30 seconds into the extra session. Junior Angie Todd (Kent, Wash.) ended the night with eight saves for Middlebury, while Stemerman made 47 stops for Wesleyan.

Middlebury took a 1-0 lead 15:18 into the second period of game two, as junior Margaret MacDonald’s (Judique, N.S.) shot from the outside found its way past Rachel Stemerman. The lead doubled with just one second left in the period as senior Shannon Sylvester (Randolph, N.J.) made a quick pass to senior Shannon Tarrant (Brookfield, Conn.) in the slot for the goal.

Junior Karen Levin (Morton Grove, Ill.) made it a 3-0 game 4:52 into the third period as she scored from the left face-off circle. The lead grew to 4-0 at 10:05 as Kurtz-Phelan scored a power play goal from the low slot.

Wesleyan scored its only goal at 15:36 as Hannah Jackson put home a rebound after Erin Fitzsimmons’ shot from the left point was saved by first-year netminder Lani Wright (Reading, Mass.).

Wright ended the game with six saves to pick up the win, while Stemerman made 38 saves in a losing effort.
• Women’s hockey record: 9-1-1
• Up next: 1/17 @ UMass.-Boston, 1/20 @ Utica, 1/21 vs. R.I.T. @ Hamilton

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL GOES 1-2

Sophomore Emily Johnson (Lower Gwynedd, Pa.) earned 31 points, seven assists, six rebounds and six steals to power the Middlebury women's basketball team to a 77-66 win over Colby in NESCAC play Friday at Wadsworth Gym. Johnson had 21 of her points in the second half. She was 13-for-14 from the foul line in the second half and finished the game at 15-for-16.

Junior Lani Young (Concord, N.H.) had 12 points and eight rebounds for Middlebury, while sophomore Aylie Baker (Yarmouth, Maine) finished with eight points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore Ashley Barron (Brockton, Mass.) and junior Katie Fisher (Oakland, Calif.) both had 10 points.

Middlebury led 15-6 early in the game, but the Mules battled back and the teams went into halftime tied 28-28. Colby got off to the quick start in the second half and led 48-42 with 12:07 remaining. The Mules led 55-52 when Cappelloni nailed a 3-point shot with 6:52 left. However, Middlebury took the lead at 58-57 with 4:13 remaining on a lay-up from senior Carlie Harrington (Duxbury, Mass.) and held the lead from that point.

Middlebury hung tough with the nation’s top team as the Panthers suffered a 56-44 road loss at Bowdoin. The Polar Bears took a 19-0 lead early as Eileen Flaherty scored nine points in the spurt. The Polar Bears connected on 45% of their attempts in the opening frame to 21% from Middlebury and led 35-15 at intermission.

Bowdoin increased their lead to as many as 25 points with under nine minutes to play before a late Panther run cut into the final score. Middlebury out-scored Bowdoin 20-8 in the last 9:05 of the contest to make it a 56-44 final.

Middlebury was led by 13 points from Baker, but could not overcome an 0-10 shooting performance from beyond the three-point arc. Bowdoin has now won 76 consecutive home games in Morrell Gymnasium, the longest home-court winning streak in NCAA basketball.
• Women’s basketball record: 9-5
• Up next: 1/19 vs. Amherst – 7:00, 1/20 vs. Trinity – 3:00

MEN’S HOCKEY GETS SWEPT IN MAINE

The Middlebury College men’s hockey team had a rough weekend in Maine as the Panthers fell at Colby on Friday, before falling to Bowdoin on Saturday.

Greg Osborne scored with 37 seconds left in overtime to lift Colby to a 4-3 victory over ninth-ranked Middlebury. The Panthers out shot the Mules 48-30 on the night, but it wasn’t enough.

The Mules fought back from 2-0 and 3-1 deficits to send the game to overtime. Junior Robert MacIntyre (Calgary, Alberta) scored 1:32 into the third period for a 3-1 Middlebury lead.

The Mules got within one goal when Patrick Rutherford tallied with 8:40 remaining in regulation. Josh Reber tied it at 3-3 with just 3:48 remaining.

After a scoreless opening period, Middlebury went ahead 2-0 with goals by senior Evgeny Saidachev (Gig Harbor, Mich.) at 2:16 of the second period and an unassisted tally by junior Mickey Gilchrist (Ottawa, Ont.) at 11:23.

Colby's Mike Butler made it a game at 2-1 with a short-handed goal with 5:46 left in the second period. Ben Grandjean stopped 45 shots, including eight in overtime for Colby. Junior Ross Cherry (Basking Ridge, N.J.) made 26 saves for the Panthers.

Bowdoin dealt Middlebury their worst loss since March of 2003 in a 6-2 victory on Saturday afternoon. The four-goal margin of defeat is the largest for the Middlebury men's ice hockey team since their 6-0 defeat to Oswego State in the 2003 NCAA Tournament.

Bowdoin got on the board first as Duncan Smith snapped home a shot to give the hosts a 1-0 edge at 14:33 of the opening frame. Middlebury tied the game four minutes later, as junior Samuel Driver (St. Albans, Vt.) redirected a shot in front to deadlock the contest with 1:05 remaining in the frame. The Polar Bears took advantage of a Panther turnover late in the stanza, as Ryan Blossom found Mike Westerman with a nice feed in front to give Bowdoin a 2-1 lead at 19:20.

Bowdoin added two more goals in the second period, when Leland Fidler drove home a slap-shot at 13:18 and Mike Corbelle snapped a shot past Middlebury sophomore goaltender Doug Reader (Needham, Mass.) at 15:03 to increase the advantage to 4-1 after two periods. Mike Collins scored just a minute into the third period to make it 5-1 Bowdoin, before a Gilchrist goal at 14:46 cut the edge to 5-2. Mike Westerman iced the game for Bowdoin at 15:57, however, finishing off a breakaway by slipping the puck past Raeder to round out the scoring.

First-year goaltender Chris Rossi was outstanding in net for Bowdoin, making 41 saves on the afternoon as the Panthers went 0-for-7 on the power play. Middlebury's Raeder stopped 27 shots in defeat for the Panthers.
• Men’s hockey record: 7-5-1
• Up next: 1/16 vs. Williams – 7:00, 1/19 vs. N.E.C – 7:00, 1/20 vs. St. Anselm – 4:00

MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE SPORTS ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB: www.gomidd.com