For Release: January 8, 2007

MEN’S BASKETBALL HAS 3-0 WEEK

The Middlebury College men’s basketball team has now won six straight games after a 3-0 week to open the second semester.

Middlebury started the second half with a 16-8 run to break open a close game on their way to a 79-53 non-conference men's basketball victory over the University of New England.

The first half was back-and-forth, featuring four ties and seven lead changes. Senior Wil Hyatt (Amesbury, Mass.) buried a 3-pointer from the left corner as the buzzer sounded to give Middlebury a 32-26 advantage heading into the break.

The Panthers would come out strong to start the second frame, doubling up UNE (16-8) over the opening six minutes. Sophomore Ben Rudin (Scarsdale, N.Y.) nailed a trey at the 14:21 mark to cap the spurt and give the visitors a 48-34 cushion.

The Nor'easters would respond right away, scoring eight consecutive points. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Mike Floyd and Isaac Stickney pulled UNE to within six (48-42) at the 12:05 mark.

Three different players scored during a seven-point flurry as the Panthers regained momentum to assume a 55-42 advantage. From there, Middlebury dominated the rest of the way, outscoring the hosts 24-11 to win going away.

Senior Evan Thompson (New York, N.Y.) and sophomore Matt Westman (Newton, Mass.) finished with 12 points apiece to lead a balanced scoring output for the winners. First-year player Tim Edwards (Greenwich, Conn.) and sophomore Aaron Smith (W. Hartford, Conn.) each added 10. Middlebury (6-3) held a 52-37 advantage on the glass and forced 21 UNE turnovers.

Middlebury grabbed a 30-point half time lead and never looked back as the Panthers picked up an 81-65 win over Skidmore in Pepin Gym. Middlebury shot .528 from the floor in the first half, outscoring the Thoroughbreds 10-0 from the free throw line.

The Panthers jumped out to a 10-2 lead and later went on 13-4 run to take a 35-15 lead at the 8:13 mark. The lead slowly increased from there with Middlebury taking a 54-24 advantage into the intermission.

The Panthers led by as many as 40 in the second half, with Skidmore outscoring the Panthers 22-3 in the game’s final 9:19.

Smith led Middlebury with 15 points and nine rebounds on seven of eight shooting. Junior Mike Walsh (Needham, Mass.) added a dozen with seven boards, while senior Chris Dowd (Beverly, Mass.) scored 10.

Middlebury won a shootout in New Hampshire on Sunday as the Panthers came away with a 96-85 win over Colby-Sawyer.

Colby-Sawyer jumped out to an early lead over the Panthers to start the game, going ahead 7-2 just three minutes into the contest, but Middlebury would fire back, recapturing the lead at the 14:35 mark, 10-9. From there on, Middlebury never relinquished the lead, going into halftime with a 12 point lead, 41-29.

In the second half, the Panthers added to their lead, going ahead by as many as 19 points (57-38) with 15:42 remaining in the game. The Chargers could get no closer than 11 as Middlebury closed the door, picking up the 11 point victory.

Junior Andrew Harris (Waterbury Center, Vt.) poured in a game high 28 points for the Panthers, while Thompson scored 17 in the win. Edwards and Hyatt added 13 points apiece.
• Men’s basketball record: 8-3
• Up next: 1/9 vs. G. Mountain – 7:00, 1/12 vs. Colby – 7:00, 1/13 vs. Bowdoin – 3:00

SWIM TEAMS DEFEAT COLBY AND BATES

The Panther men's and women's swimming and diving teams opened the second semester with a pair of convincing wins over Colby and Bates. The men defeated Colby 137-99 and Bates 162-73, while the women topped the Mules 147-104, while defeating the Bobcats 160-128.

Several Middlebury men and women won multiple events over the weekend. On the men’s side, senior Robert Collier (Catonsville, Md.) won the 400 IM (4:17) and 100 fly (53.15) vs. Colby and the 200 free (1:49.54) and 200 back (1:58.61) vs. Bates. Junior Peter Bell (Deerfield, Mass.) won both the 100 (1:03.95) and 200 (2:24.45) breaststroke against Bates, while winning the 50 breaststroke (27.81) against Colby. First-year racer Schuyler Beeman (Guildford, Conn.) won the 100 back (55.71) and 100 free (49.01) against Bates, while capturing the 50 free (22.20) vs. Colby. Classmate John Dillon (Wellesley, Mass.) won the 50 fly (24.07) against Colby and the 200 fly (1:57.96) against Bates, while sophomore Zach Woods (Monroe, N.Y.) won the 50 (25.04) and 100 (52.84) back against Colby. Middlebury’s other dual event winner was sophomore Kevin O’Rourke (Chagrin Falls, Ohio), who won the 200 (1:47.35) and 500 (5:03.18) free events vs. Colby.

First-year racer Yu Wang (Beijing, China) won three events over the weekend to pace the women’s team. The rookie won the 100 back (1:00.54) vs. Colby, while capturing both the 200 free (2:00.92) and 200 backstroke (2:12.15) against Bates. Senior Rebecca Reingold (Oakland, Calif.) won the 50 back (28.67) and 50 fly (27.47) against Colby, while junior Sara Cowie (N. Palm Beach, Fla.) won the 200 free (1:58.99) and 500 free (5:10.91) vs. Colby. Junior Pam Chatikavanij (Bangkok, Thailand) won the 100 free (55.50/55.27) against both schools, while junior Katie Chambers (Annapolis, Md.) won the 400 IM (4:44.89) vs. Colby and the 200 breaststroke (2:34.13) against Bates. First-year racer Beth Bacon (Novelty, Ohio) won her first career race against Colby in the 100 fly (1:01.51), while winning the 200 fly (2:14.05) vs. Bates. Also earning her first career win was junior Heather Harken (Garden City, N.Y.), who won the 500 free (5:33.20) against Bates.
• Women’s swim record: 3-1, men’s swim record: 4-0
• Up next: 1/13 @ Hamilton

WOMEN’S HOCKEY WINS TWO IN MAINE

The Middlebury College women's hockey team won a pair of key NESCAC road games in Maine over the weekend. The Panthers scored three goals in the final 10 minutes of the game to pull out a 5-2 victory over Colby Friday night at Alfond Rink.

Junior Lacey Farrell (Greenwich, Conn.) scored with 9:46 remaining for the eventual game-winning goal for Middlebury (7-1). Junior Karen Levin (Morton Grove, Ill.) added an insurance goal with 2:01 remaining, while senior Abby Kurtz-Phelan (Denver, Colo.) scored an empty net goal for the final tally.

Amanda Comeau scored just 2:14 into the game, while Becky Julian tallied at 16:43 of the period for a 2-0 Mule lead. Middlebury's first-year player Ashley Bairos (Van Nuys, Calif.) scored with just 20 seconds left to the break to make it a one-goal game.

Levin had the only goal of the second period for the Panthers to knot the game at 2-2. Junior Angie Todd (Kent, Wash.) made 20 saves for Middlebury, while Colby goalie Genevieve Triganne stopped 34 shots.

Kurtz-Phelan scored twice to lead Middlebury to a 4-1 victory over Bowdoin on Saturday in Brunswick. The Panthers (8-1-0) are ranked second in the latest national poll, while the Polar Bears (6-3-1) are ranked 10th.

Bowdoin got on the board first, as leading scorer Meghan Gillis tucked a wrap-around back-hander past Middlebury’s first-year netminder Lani Wright (Reading, Mass.) just over three minutes into the game to give the hosts a 1-0 edge. That would be all Middlebury would allow, however, as they scored four straight times to seal the win.

The Panthers evened the score just 18 seconds into the second stanza when Kurtz-Phelan received a pass in front from senior Shannon Sylvester (Randolph, N.J.) and slapped it home to deadlock the game. Later in the frame, Middlebury took advantage of a power play as sophomore Erika Nakamura (Boston, Mass.) knocked home a rebound to give the visitors a 2-1 lead heading into the final frame.

After Bowdoin earned a power play midway through the period, sophomore Annmarie Cellino (W. Seneca, N.Y.) intercepted a pass and tallied a shorthanded goal to push the lead to 3-1 at 10:32. Kurtz-Phelan sealed the victory with an empty-netter at 18:58. Wright stopped 18 shots in the win, while Bowdoin's Samantha Schwager made 17 saves. After splitting the previous ten meetings (4-4-2), the Panthers have won five straight in their rivalry with the Polar Bears.
• Women’s hockey record: 8-1
• Up next: 1/12 vs. Wesleyan – 7:00, 1/13 vs. Wesleyan – 3:00

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL GOES 1-2

The Panther women’s basketball team dropped two of three games last week to start the second semester. Middlebury opened the second half of the season with a 62-56 loss to Eastern Connecticut in the Pepin Gym.

The Warriors led by one at the 13:41 mark before going on an 11-2 run to take a 21-11 lead with 8:09 remaining in the first half. The lead grew to as many as 11 before the Panthers closed the half on a 10-2 run to trail 30-27 at the intermission.

Middlebury came within one three times in the second half before E. Conn. slowly increased its lead to 12 with 4:15 remaining. The Panthers battled back to within five, but could get no closer as the Warriors held on for the win.

Sophomore Ashley Barron (Brockton, Mass.) led Middlebury with 20 points, sophomore Emily Johnson (Lower Gwynedd, Pa.) added 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while junior Lani Young (Concord, N.H.) scored 10.

A tough Middlebury defense held the Colby-Sawyer Chargers to just 16 percent shooting in the first half as the Panthers downed the Chargers 58-48 in non-conference women’s basketball action Thursday night.

Colby-Sawyer shot just 5-of-31 from the floor in the first half as Middlebury built a 10 point lead, 27-17, heading into halftime.

In the second half, the Chargers came out firing, shooting 34 percent from the floor, slowly creeping back into the game. With 12:11 left, Colby-Sawyer’s Terri Duffy connected on a lay-up off an Amy Hebert pass, putting the Chargers ahead by one, 34-33.

But Middlebury’s offense proved to be too much to overcome, as the Panthers scored 11 unanswered points in the next four minutes to go ahead, 44-34. Colby-Sawyer could get no closer than four the rest of the way, as Middlebury emerged with the 58-48 victory.

Johnson led all scorers with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting including three 3-pointers. Young added 13 points and 14 rebounds, while Barron added a dozen.

Middlebury ended the week with a 60-53 loss at home to Rensselaer in the Pepin Gym. Rensselaer held a 14-5 lead with 10:05 remaining in the first half, as Middlebury made two of its first 19 shots. The Panthers came back and close the half on a 7-0 run to trail 23-18 at the intermission.

The Red Hawks led by as many as 10 in the second half, before an 8-0 run at the 10:06 mark, including a three-point play by senior Carlie Harrington (Duxbury, Mass.), tied the game at 38. Rensselaer answered with an 8-0 run of their own behind a pair of three’s from Caitlyn Charest.

Middlebury battled back and tied the game at 51 on a pair of free throws from Johnson with 1:22 remaining. Whitney Coleman gave the Red Hawks a 53-51 lead with less than a minute remaining, as she and her teammates went 7 of 8 from the free throw line to seal the win.

Young led Middlebury with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Barron scored 11.
• Women’s basketball record: 8-4
• Up next: 1/12 @ Colby, 1/13 @ Bowdoin

MEN’S HOCKEY OPENS SECOND HALF 2-1-1

The Middlebury College men’s hockey team opened the second half of the season by hosting the Middlebury College Holiday Classic before playing a pair of league games the next weekend.

Skidmore goaltender D.J. Delbuono turned away 46 shots as the Thoroughbreds earned their first-ever win over Middlebury in 11 tries. The Panthers out shot Skidmore 48-29 on the night, but could not solve Delbuono. The win was significant for Skidmore head coach Neil Sinclair, the ’93 Middlebury graduate who served as the team’s interim head coach in ’02-03.

The Panthers had a couple chances early, but senior Darwin Hunt’s (Winnetka, Ill.) breakaway was stopped by Delbuono at 8:18, followed by a pipe by junior Tom Maldonado (Bronx, N.Y.) at 10:10. Skidmore opened the scoring at 12:51 as Tim Daley’s shot was saved by sophomore goaltender Doug Reader (Needham, Mass.) before Quinn MacNulty pounced on the rebound and scored from the slot. Middlebury tied the game with just nine seconds left in the period as senior Brett Shirreffs (Etna, N.H.) shot from the left point deflected in off a defender. The Panthers held a 16-6 shots advantage after one period of play.

Skidmore regained the lead just 21 seconds into the second period as Matt Czerkowicz finished a rebound after a save by Raeder on Rob Hutchinson. The lead grew to 3-1 at 8:37 as Anthony Ferri blocked a shot before picking up the puck and racing to the other end of the ice to convert a breakaway. The Thoroughbreds had another chance at 17:17, but junior Ross Cherry (Basking Ridge, N.J.), in relief of Raeder, stopped Chris Webb on a breakaway. The Panthers had a chance late in the period with a five-on-three for 1:09, but could not convert.

Skidmore gained some much-needed breathing room early in the third as Czerkowicz snapped a wrister under the arm of Cherry at the 2:49 mark. The Panthers made it a two-goal game at 12:34 as junior Casey Ftorek (Wolfeboro, N.H.) scored on a wrap-around, but that would be the game’s final goal.

The next day,  junior Mickey Gilchrist (Ottawa, Ont.) scored the game-winner 12:37 into the third period as Middlebury held on for a 4-3 win over Castleton. Gilchrist skated out of the corner towards the slot before scoring with a backhander. The Panthers held a 47-19 shots advantage on the night, going 3/9 on the power play.

Middlebury came out strong as the Panthers took a 1-0 lead on a power play goal at the 3:30 mark against Castleton. Gilchrist drove to the goal and found an open Jamie McKenna (Lake Placid, N.Y.) in the slot, who slid the puck past Jeff Swanson. The lead doubled at 9:02 as junior Scott Bartlett (Pittsford, N.Y.) found Hunt open on the far post for the quick redirect and power play goal. The Panthers ended the period with a 17-4 shots advantage.

Castleton struck just 15 seconds into the second period when Steve Culberton picked up a bouncing puck and roofed a shot past Cherry. The Spartans tied the game at 5:13 as Eric Curtis put in a rebound from the slot after a shot from Culberton was saved.

Castleton took its first lead of the game at 15:52 when Kirk Bolduc picked up the puck, drove to the goal and fired a shot to the top left corner of the net. Middlebury tied the game late in the period as senior Eric LaFreniere (St. Anne, Manitoba) drove to the goal before dropping a great feed to junior Justin Gaines (Mequon, Wis.), who finished from the slot with 1:07 remaining in the second period.

The Panthers put on a lot of pressure midway through the third period, before scoring the game-winner at 12:37. Castleton threatened late with a power play at the 17:36 mark, but could not score the equalizer. Cherry ended the day with 16 saves, while Swanson made 43 stops for Castleton.

The previous week, Middlebury opened up its second half of the season with a 3-2 win over St. Anselm at the Middlebury College Holiday Classic. Following 14:47 of scoreless action, Middlebury broke onto the board as senior John Sales (Downington, Pa.) skated around the left face-off circle before wristing a shot to the top corner of the net. The Panthers struck again 1:55 later as senior Evgeny Saidachev’s (Gig Harbor, Mich.) shot was saved before Shirreffs jumped on the rebound for the five-on-three power play goal. Middlebury ended the first period with a 12-5 shots advantage.

St. Anselm picked up the pace in the second period, having a pair of breakaway opportunities turned away by Raeder. The Hawks would end the scoreless period with an 11-3 advantage in shots.

Middlebury took a 3-0 lead at 5:25 of the third period with a power play goal from Saidachev. Hunt made a quick pass through the crease to an open Saidachev on the far side.

St. Anselm got on the board at 8:41 with a goal from Nick Sacca. Seth Goodrich’s shot from the right point was deflected by Colin Fitzpatrick before Sacca stuffed it home from the back side. The Hawks made it a one-goal game with 1:22 remaining as Shane Masotta won a face-off back to Brett Smith, who scored from the left face-off circle with the Hawks’ goaltender pulled. That would be the game’s final tally as St. Anselm pulled its goalie with 1:00 remaining, but could not net the equalizer. Raeder made 20 saves in goal to earn the win, while Jason Rafuse turned away 18 shots for St. Anselm.

In the title game, Middlebury and Hobart battled to a 3-3 tie, but the Panthers emerged with the Holiday Classic Tournament title with a 3-1 win in the shootout. Hobart grabbed a 1-0 lead 5:14 into the game as Michael Steiner scored with a shot from the right side. The Statesmen ended the period with a sizable 14-5 advantage in shots.

Middlebury came out strong in the second period, tying the game just 11 seconds into the stanza. Ftorek flipped the puck ahead to Gilchrist who drove hard to the goal from the left side before scoring. The Panthers struck again at 3:50 as Hunt scored from along the goal line from a tough angle after a feed from Bartlett.

Hobart answered back with its own power play goal at 6:21 as Conor Bradley scored on a one-timer from the slot. The Statesmen regained the lead at 14:32 as Mike McCarthy and Brian Cibelli worked a give-and-go after a turnover, with Cibelli finishing. Middlebury came back just 21 seconds later as junior Robert MacIntyre (Calgary, Alberta) scored on his own rebound to make it a 3-3 game. The period ended in a tie with the Panthers holding a 15-4 shots advantage in the period.

Neither team could score in the third period, forcing the game into overtime. Cherry (24 saves) and Hobart’s Keith Longo (29 saves) each turned away one shot in overtime to preserve the tie.

In the shootout, the Panthers led 2-1 behind goals from LaFreniere and Sales, while Mike McCarthy converted for Hobart. Maldonado sealed the shootout win as he deked Longo before sliding the shot into the right side of the net.

Sales and sophomore Mason Graddock (Stowe, Vt.) were named to the All-Tournament team.
• Men’s hockey record: 7-3-1
• Up next: 1/12 @ Colby, 1/13 @ Bowdoin

INDOOR TRACK OPENS SEASON

The Panther indoor track team began its winter season on Sunday as they took part in the Dartmouth Relays. Seven different Middlebury athletes scored in the meet, with all of them qualifying for the N.E. Indoor Championships later this season.

Sophomore Jennifer Brenes (Lawrence, Mass.) had the top finish, placing fifth overall in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.46. In the 400 meters, first-year racer Anjuli Demers (Dracut, Mass.) finished eighth (60.97), while sophomore Simone Weisman (Newton, Mass.) came in 15^th (61.89). Senior Kara Plunkett (Topsfield, Mass.) was the other women’s scorer, placing ninth in the 800 meters with a time of 2:25.

Junior Patrick Sedney (Underhill, Vt.) finished seventh in the pole vault, clearing 13’.75”, while senior Pascal Losambe (S. Burlington, Vt.) placed ninth in the shot put (45’10.5”).

The women’s 4x400 relay team comprised of Plunkett, Weisman, Demers and sophomore Susanna Merrill (Frederick, Md.) finished fifth overall with a time of 4:17.29
• Indoor track opens season
• Up next: 1/13 @ Wesleyan Invitational

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