As winter passes us by, the end of another sports season is slowly coming to a close and another one will start.
The men’s basketball team concluded their season on February 13, squaring off against Bowdoin on the road. The team followed a crucial victory the night before against Colby with a tough loss the following day, losing to the Polar Bears in 67-47 blowout.
Despite the disappointing end to the season, Shavar Bernier ’10 set the school record for most career three pointers with 203. Dwayne Stallings ’99 held the old record with 200. At the same time, Bernier also pushed himself into the school’s top ten for career points with 1,184 points.
The Camels finished the season with an overall record of 10-14 and a 2-7 conference record, which will unfortunately leave them one win short of a NESCAC playoff berth.
The women’s basketball team wrapped up their season the same weekend as the men. The ladies were also unsuccessful in their season finale against Bowdoin. The Camels faced a very talented Bowdoin team that got off to a very fast start and kept the points rolling as they dominated in an 81-37 victory. Jenn Shinall ’12 led the team in scoring with nine points and five rebounds and senior Amy Towne ’10 contributed seven points. The women’s basketball team finished with an overall 8-16 record and a 0-9 NESCAC record, which will also leave them out of postseason play.
Moving to the ice, the men’s hockey team is riding a three- game winning streak with their victory over the University of New England on February 13. The Camels cruised to a 6-2 victory thanks to Joe Capuano ’11 who tallied two goals for the Camels. Capuano’s efforts were complemented by J.J. McGregor ’12, Brett Moore ’10 and Trevor Bradley ’10 who also scored a goal. Ross James ’11 scored his third goal in two nights and Ryan Joyce ’10 added two assists. The Camels finish their season with home games on February 19-20 against Norwich University and St Michael’s College, respectively. The Camels are still on the hunt for a postseason spot, and winning these final two games is vital to keeping that hope alive.
Moving to the women’s team, the Camels dropped the second game of a doubleheader with Hamilton on February 13. The teams faced-off in a game with a lot less scoring and much stronger defense than what was seen the night before when the Camels edged Hamilton in a 5-4 contest.
Despite their great defensive play, the Camels were on the other end of a 1-0 shutout as the visiting Continentals came away with the victory. Sara Christopher ’10 had an excellent day in the net with twenty-five saves. The Camels conclude their season on February 19-20 with away games at Trinity and Wesleyan University, respectively.
The women’s hockey team has qualified for the NESCAC playoffs for the third season in a row although their seeding (either seventh or eighth) is contingent on their last two games as well as the results of Hamilton’s games against Trinity and Wesleyan. The Camels will likely play a road game either at #1 seed Amherst or #2 seed Middlebury in the first round of the playoffs which begin Saturday, February 27. The Camels lost to Amherst twice this season on January 8-9 by a combined score of 12-1. They also lost their only match with Middlebury 3-1 on November 21.
The weekend of February 19-21, the women’s swim team traveled to Middlebury for the 2010 NESCAC Championships. The women are trying to improve on their finish from last year as they stumbled to a 7th place finish, while finishing 4th in 2008. Moving up should not be a problem for the Camels as they are led by returning All-American Sarah Murphy ’11 who is in the hunt for multiple top eight finishes as well as a number of other talented swimmers who have the potential to join her in some of the final heats. Williams is the heavy favorite for the overall title, as they should have no problem winning in dominant fashion with one of the deepest and fastest teams in the entire country. Amherst, Middlebury, and Tufts should contend for the next three spots in the conference.
The following weekend, the men’s swim team will travel to Williams for their NESCAC Championships. The team returns all five All-Americans from last season’s 4th place team including Tim Walsh ’12 who swept all three backstroke events last year and Pat Troy ’10 who achieved All-Conference honors in all three butterfly events. These five All-Americans also include all four members of the 200 Freestyle relay that won NESCACs last year with a new conference record as well as everyone from the 200 Medley relay that placed second. Like the women’s side, the Williams men’s team is also expected to win the meet easily with Tufts and Amherst likely rounding out the second and third spots.
Last but not least, both squash teams competed in the Vassar College Invitational on February 15 in Poughkeepsie, NY. The men’s team defeated both Vassar College and Columbia University while the women were shutout in both matches they played against the schools. The men’s team will compete in the CSA Team Tournament at Yale University from February 19-21 while the women will compete the following weekend at the Howe Cup, also hosted by Yale. Both teams will conclude their seasons the weekend of March 5-7 with Individual Championships at Trinity College.
