Weekly Lyon

Men's Basketball (12-11, 3-9) Falls Twice, Enters NEWMAC Tournament as Seventh Seed

The Wheaton College men's basketball team lost its final two regular season games last week, both in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play, as the Lyons drew the seventh seed in the upcoming league tournament. Wheaton first dropped a 109-58 home decision on Wednesday to first-place Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) before falling at Clark University, 92-90 on Saturday. The Blue and White returns to Clark for a first-round game on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

Against WPI, the Lyons trailed only 8-7 before the visitors pulled away. Freshman Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown) led all scorers with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting while snagging five rebounds, and classmate Ryan Sasso (Peabody, MA/Bishop Fenwick) added 10 points and three assists. Sophomore Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) tallied nine points and two blocks. In their final regular season home game, senior Jake Otto (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury) had five boards, and classmate Brent DiGiovanna (Hanover, MA/Hanover) scored five points.

Coppola's last-gasp heave from midcourt fell short at Clark, as the hosts scored four of the game's final six points during the last 50 seconds to snap an 88-all tie. Coppola had 28 points on 6-of-9 three-point shooting to go along with six rebounds, while sophomore Ben Stehle (Newton, MA/Newton South) turned in his second double-double of the year with 17 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 6-of-7. Leo notched 14 points and four assists, Sasso tacked on 14 points, freshman Bobby Perry (East Providence, RI/East Providence) recorded seven points and a season-high six assists, while junior Nick Michel (Hyde Park, MA/Boston Latin School) blocked three shots.

The Lyons are 10-6 when Coppola is the team's leading scorer. The only other Wheaton freshman to lead the squad in scoring at least 16 times was Will Hawkins '93, who did so on a first-year record 17 occasions in 1989-90. Prior to this season, Wheaton freshmen had led the team in scoring a total of 16 times in the previous 223 games. Coppola has netted at least 30 points four times in the last 15 games, matching the total recorded by Lyons during the prior 116 contests. He also matched Mahlon Williams' '95 school record of four 30-point games, set during the 1994-95 season. Prior to this campaign, freshmen had combined for only four 30-point games in the program's first 18 seasons, with all four coming in 1989-90. Coppola is second in freshman scoring (457) at Wheaton and tied for 10th overall, and his 81 three-pointers are second among all Lyons. Michel is seventh in single-season blocks (31) and his career total (46) is tied for ninth. DiGiovanna is tied for eighth in games (104) and is 10th in free throws (239).

Women's Basketball (19-6, 12-1) Corrals Program's First NEWMAC Regular Season Title

The Wheaton College women's basketball team clinched its first NEWMAC regular season title in the league's 10-year history behind a 2-0 week, as the Lyons nailed down the top seed in the upcoming conference tournament. Wheaton, which last won a regular season crown in 1994-95 in the New England Women's 8 Conference (NEW 8), knocked off visiting Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 68-63 on Wednesday before downing Clark University, 71-50 in a Saturday home game. Since a 4-4 start, the Blue and White has gone 15-2. Its 19 regular season victories tied for second in program history, as the Lyons look to reach the 20-win plateau for just the fourth time. Should Wheaton defeat the eighth-seeded Engineers in the first round of the NEWMAC Tournament on Wednesday, the league's semifinal and championship rounds would both be played in Norton next Saturday and Sunday.

Senior Becky Aitchison (Norwalk, CT/Trinity Catholic) carried the Lyons down the stretch against MIT, hitting a go-ahead three-pointer to give Wheaton the lead for good with 4:04 remaining before picking up a steal on the next possession and blocking an Engineer go-ahead attempt during the ensuing possession. During the final 4:27, Aitchison tallied six rebounds, five points, an assist, a block and a steal. For the game, she finished with 11 points, nine boards, three helpers and three steals, and sophomore Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) tallied 18 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Junior Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School) added 13 points, five assists and three steals, while sophomore Ida Kruse (Vershire, VT/Rivendell Academy) also had five helpers.

Wheaton slowly broke open a close game against Clark, as the hosts built upon an eight-point lead with an 11-3 second-half run. Champney had 21 points, nine rebounds and six blocks, coming within one rejection of a 17-year-old school record. Junior Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) hit three threes and finished with 13 points, and sophomore Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) added 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Kruse turned in 10 points, five boards and three steals, while Aitchison had seven caroms and seven helpers during her final regular season home game.

Hickey (1,100 points) is eighth at Wheaton in scoring and career field goals (426) and tied for ninth in three-pointers (65). Smith is fifth in three-pointers (109), Champney is seventh in blocked shots (63), and Aitchison is eighth in assists (217), tied for eighth in steals (193) and is 10th in blocks (38). Champney's 44 blocks this year are third at Wheaton, while Bailey is 10th in assists (110).

Women's Swimming and Diving (16-3) Posts Best NEWMAC Championship Finish

The Wheaton College women's swimming and diving team recorded its best finish in the 10-year history of the NEWMAC Championship, as the Lyons came in third as the three-day meet wrapped up on Sunday at Wellesley College. After coming in fourth each of the past three years, Wheaton was within 16 points of first place deep into the final day. Nine school records fell during the weekend, as Lyons helped break a trio of NEWMAC Championship and open marks while surpassing NCAA Championship provisional qualifying standards on six occasions. Senior Abby Pratt (Melrose, MA/Melrose) and freshman Dania Piscetta (Belmont, NH/Belmont) each matched Pratt's 2007 school record of earning four all-conference honors, requiring placing among the top two in an event. Wheaton tallied seven all-conference finishes in individual events or relays and won three races after entering the weekend with 12 all-conference laurels and five event victories in its first 12 league championship meets combined.

In the preliminary round of the first event of the meet on Friday, Wheaton's 200-yard freestyle relay quartet broke the NEWMAC Championship and open records, as well as a year-old school mark, while notching a provisional time for the national meet. During the opening 50-yard leg, Pratt's time bettered the year-old school record and provisionally qualified her for the NCAA Championship. In the finals heat, Piscetta, Pratt, senior Meg Miller (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) and freshman Nicole Zais (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) combined to take first place. The Lyons also captured the final event of the day, the 400-yard medley relay, as Piscetta, Pratt and sophomores Iris Meehan (Bar Harbor, ME/Mount Desert Island) and Emily Sweatt (Portland, ME/Deering) turned in a showing of 3:58.19, the first sub-four-minute time in the race in conference history. In addition to setting the league's championship and open records and surpassing the school's year-old mark, the foursome notched an NCAA meet provisional time. Pratt came in second during the 50-yard free, while Piscetta was second in the 200-yard individual medley, eclipsing a two-year-old program mark.

On day two, the Lyons opened competition by breaking the NEWMAC Championship and open records and a year-old school mark in the 200-yard medley relay, as Piscetta, Pratt, Sweatt and Zais put together the event's top showing. Meehan placed second in the 100-yard backstroke, and Sweatt took third in the 100-yard breaststroke, but only after swimming to a provisional qualifying time for the NCAA Championship in the trials and coming within 0.01 seconds of her own school record. Piscetta broke her own two-month-old program mark while finishing the 100-yard butterfly in third place. Wheaton's 800-yard freestyle relay quartet eclipsed a year-old school record, as Miller, Zais, junior Caitlin Glover (Durham, NH/Berwick Academy) and sophomore Sarah Houlihan (West Springfield, MA/West Springfield) combined on a fifth-place finish.

Meehan twice eclipsed her year-old 200-yard backstroke school record on Sunday and finished third overall, while Sweatt placed second in the 200-yard breaststroke. Miller, Piscetta, Pratt and Zais combined for a school-record time in the 400-yard freestyle relay, placing third while breaking their own three-week-old mark by nearly three full seconds.

Synchronized Swimming Hosts Routines-Only Meet, Notches Pair of Second-Place Finishes

The Wheaton College synchronized swimming team placed third at its own four-team routines meet on Saturday. Senior Megan Kinney (Los Angeles, CA/Marlborough School), junior Sylvia Syracuse (Tonawanda, NY/Kenmore West), sophomores Laura Montes (San Juan, PR/Academia San Jose) and Jenna Swinkin (Hamden, CT/Hamden), and freshmen Jenna Calvino (Merrimack, NH/Merrimack) and Sonvje Ryen (Bozeman, MT/Manhattan Christian) combined for a runner-up showing in team, and Montes placed second in solo. Swinkin and Syracuse came in third during duet, while Montes, Ryen and Swinkin were third in trio.

Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field Athletes Compete at Four Weekend Meets

The Wheaton College men's and women's indoor track and field athletes were busy last weekend, competing in a combined four meets while eclipsing a handful of NCAA Championship provisional marks. Lyons took part on Saturday at the men's and women's Division III New England Championships, held at Tufts University and Smith College, respectively, before the women's distance medley relay quartet ran at Sunday's United States Track and Field (USATF) National Championship in Boston while much of the remainder of the teams competed at the USATF New England meet at Harvard University.

On Saturday, sophomore Howard Powell (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) shattered his own school record in the 55-meter hurdles, trimming 0.13 seconds off his mark during a 7.62 showing that placed him second. He earned eight points for Wheaton, helping it tie for 20th among 25 scoring squads. On the women's side, junior Morgan Jamiel (Warwick, RI/Toll Gate) was third in the pentathlon with 2,710 points. She collected six points for the Lyons, who tied for 16th out of 25 scoring teams.

The women's distance medley relay team, comprised of senior Megan Brousseau (Attleboro, MA/Attleboro), junior Lily Calderwood (Harvard, MA/Bromfield School) and sophomores Katie Pratt (Litchfield, CT/Litchfield) and Renee Thompson (Hartford, CT/Weaver), combined for an NCAA meet provisional standard during Sunday's USATF National Championship. At the USATF New England meet, junior Chizoba Ezeigwe (Brockton, MA/Thayer Academy) and freshman Diana Kornberg (Highland Mills, NY/Monroe-Woodbury) posted provisional marks in the 400-meter dash and shot put events, respectively. Ezeigwe was the runner up, while classmate Amanda Rawson (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) turned in a second-place finish in the 5,000M. Freshman Marcus Kohlman (Milton, MA/Milton) won the men's high jump with an NCAA Championship provisional qualifying height of 6' 8 1/4", which is among the nation's top 10 this season. Powell placed second in the 60M hurdles with another provisional qualifying time for the national meet.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 2/25/08.
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