Athletics News

BETHLEHEM, Pa . - Swarthmore concluded its participation in the 2006 Greyhound Premiere Invitational by splitting a pair of matches in Timothy Briedegam Fieldhouse on the campus of Morvavian College on Saturday afternoon.  The Garnet (2-2) fell to Rutgers-Newark 3-0 (30-27, 30-22, 30-20) in the morning and then came back to down Alvernia 3-0 (30-23, 30-18, 30-28) in the afternoon, earning second place in the Silver Bracket.

Outside hitter Jen Wang '09 (Palo Alto, CA / Henry Gunn) led the Garnet offense in the morning match versus Rutgers-Newark, posting nine kills while freshman setter Kearney Bangs (Kingston, WA / North Kitsap) handed out 27 assists and recorded five service aces.  On the defensive end, libero Erin Heaney '09 (Buffalo, NY / City Honors) collected 27 digs while junior middle blocker Karen Berk (Havertown, PA / Haverford) had a team-high eight blocks.

The Garnet came back in the afternoon to down the Crusaders, led by a team-high 16 kills from opposite hitter Vanessa Wells (Chicago, IL / Lincoln Park).  Heaney was seemingly everywhere again for Swarthmore, digging 17 balls while Bangs spread out a career-high 36 assists.  Wang posted three service aces, earning All-Tournament honors for the second season.

Swarthmore makes its 2006 home debut at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9 againt Gwynedd-Mercy in Tarble Pavilion.

FT. WASHINGTON, Pa. - The Swarthmore  cross country teams made their 2006 debut on a rainy Saturday morning on the course at Fort Washington State Park against Chestnut Hill College.  The Garnet men scored 15 points to defeat the Griffins (45 points) while the womens' side ran exhibition only.

On the men's side, a tight group of Garnet runners took the top five spots - Jon Shoop '08 (Reno, NV / Incline) was first with a time of 18:44, Jonnie Tompkins '10 was second in 18:45, Vernon Chaplin '07 (Indian Springs, AL / Indian Springs) finished third in 18:46, while Dan Hodson '09 (Trumbull, CT / Fairfield Prep) and Nat Erb-Satullo (Lanesborough, MA / Concord Academy) hit tied for fourth in a time of 18:49.

Emma Stanley '09 (Fogelsville, PA / Parkland) and Nykia Corbett '10 (Myrtle Point, OR / Myrtle Point) led the Garnet women across the line, completing the course in a time of 21:49.  Bess Ritter (Quaker Hill, CT / Waterford) was the next Swarthmore runner to finish (22:09) while Faith Pampel '09 ( Little Silver, NJ / Red Bank Regional), Kathy Feeney (Staatsburg, NY / FDR), and Erin Ronhovde finished together in a time of 23:24.

The Garnet will run again on Saturday, Sept. 9 in the annual Alumni Meet held on the campus of Swarthmore College.  The race is set to begin at 12:00 p.m.

SWARTHMORE/ DEL. VALLEY BOX
WIDENER/EASTERN BOX

CHESTER, Pa. - Swarthmore scored six second-period goals on their way to an season-opening 8-1 thrashing of Delaware Valley while Eastern University freshman forward Brian Raffle (Chalfont, PA / Christopher Dock) kicked off his collegiate career with a first-half hat trick, leading his squad to a 6-0 triumph over the Widener Pioneers in the 2006 Garnet Alumni Classic.  Both opening-day games of the Classic were moved to Widener's Leslie C. Quick Jr. Stadium after heavy rains from Hurricane Ernesto flooded Swarthmore's Clothier Stadium.

Garnet sophomore forward Stu Leon (Wretham, MA / King Philip Regional) opened the scoring for Swarthmore in the 13th minute.  After taking a Ladule Lako Lo Sarah '09 (Davis, CA / Claremont) feed a good 30 yards from the net, Leon saw that he was open, took aim, and blasted the ball into the upper left corner.  Classmate Yoi Tibbets (Sandwich, MA / Sandwich) extended the lead to 2-0 just over two minutes later, putting a rebound home.

The score remained 2-0 at halftime, with Garnet junior netminder Ryan Sutcliffe (Milford, DE / Milford) making a single save along the way.

Swarthmore's offensive barrage continued in the second half; the Garnet would finish with 20 shots in the half and 38 for the game.  Freshman Dylan Langley (Honolulu, HI / Iolani) scored his first collegiate goal at 53:14, after breaking free of several defenders and receiving a Patrick Christmas '08 (Chapel Hill, NC / East Chapel Hill) feed in the open.  Another freshman, Andres Freire (Philadelphia, PA / Central), extended the lead to 4-0 with a pretty header in the 64th minute.

The Garnet continued to pour it on, with Colton Bangs '07 (Kingston, WA / North Kitsap) scoring twice and Evan Nesterak '09 ( Parker, CO / Ponderosa) once before the night was through.  An own goal by a Delaware Valley defender accounted for the eighth Garnet tally.

Delaware Valley freshman Matthew Dias (Easton, PA / Bethlehem Catholic) broke up the shutout in the 84 minute, looping a ball over the head of Garnet goaltender Zach Weimar '10 (Rutledge, PA / Friends Central).

In the Eastern/Widener game, Raffle notched what proved to be the game-winner in the 11th minute of play, added another in the 22nd minute off of a pass from Nate Goble (Shrewsbury, PA / Susquhannock), and completed the hat trick just four minutes later after an Eastern corner kick.

Scott Patrick (Harrisburg ,PA / Lower Dauphin), Jason Monte (Perkasie, PA / Christopher Dock), and Taylor VanBrackle (Eldersburgh, MD / Liberty) netted second-period goals to complete the scoring.  Like Raffle, Patrick and VanBrackle were playing in their first collegiate game; Monte is a sophomore.

Sophomore Mike Dorsch (Wilmington, DE / Wilmington Christian) and junior Noah Bartelt (Sewell, NJ / Washington Township) split the goaltending duties in the shutout; with Bartelt making one save.

The second day of the Garnet Alumni Classic will start at 1:00 p.m.when Swarthmore hosts Eastern at Clothier Stadium.  Delaware Valley and Widener will play the final game on the campus of Widener University at 3:00 p.m.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Swarthmore volleyball team opened up its defense of the Greyhound Premiere Invitational on Friday afternoon, defeating DeSales 3-0 (30-21, 31-29, 30-25) in pool play on Friday afternoon at Moravian College. 

Swarthmore fell to Eastern, ranked number two in the Mid-Atlantic region at the end of last season, 3-0 in their second pool play match.  The Eagles downed the Garnet by scores of 30-19, 30-14, 30-19.

The Garnet (1-1), winners of the 2005 Premiere Invitational, got a team-high 13 kills from sophomore outside hitter Jen Wang ( Palo Alto, CA / Henry Gunn) and 17 digs from senior captain Erica George (Phoenix, AZ / Mountain Pointe) in the DeSales match.  Junior middle blocker Karen Berk (Havertown, PA / Haverford) led the team with seven blocks while freshman setter Kearney Bangs (Kingston, WA / North Kitsap) directed the offense with 25 assists.

In the Eastern match, Berk, Wang, and opposite hitter Vanessa Wells (Chicago, IL / Lincoln Park) registered six kills apiece while Bangs produced 17 assists.  Sophomore libero Erin Heaney (Buffalo, NY / City Honors) led the Swarthmore defense with nine digs.

The Garnet enter the playoff portion of the Premier Invitational on Saturday morning, with their first match scheduled for 11:00 a.m.

The Garnet look to join the hunt for a Centennial Conference championship in 2007, having graduated only one player from the 2006 roster.  Led by returning infielders Sam Faeder '07 (New York City, NY / Stuyvesant), Conor Casey '09 (San Francisco, CA / Lowell), and Kevin Kooi '09 (Lafayette, CA / College Preparatory School), as well as outfielders Scott Dalane '08 (Vernon, NJ / Vernon Township), this year's squad expects to build on the strong start in 2006.

Swarthmore began the 2006 campaign by posting a 3-3 record on their annual spring break trip to Fort Pierce, Florida.  The Garnet picked up convincing wins against Manhattanville, Mitchell, and Eastern - hitting .297 as a team while scoring 7.83 runs per game.

Faeder returns as the catalyst of the Garnet offense, hoping to build on the breakout season he had in 2006.  Faeder, hitting leadoff for the first time in college, led the team in almost every offensive category, including batting average (.349), slugging percentage (.450), on-base-percentage (.429), hits (38), RBIs (22), and total bases (49). Aside from putting up solid numbers across a broad range of offensive categories, Faeder also put together a 13-game hit streak to start the season and made a smooth transition to first base after Noah Cooper Harris '07 (Cedar Grove, NC / Orange) went down with a hand injury in March.

Defensively, Swarthmore will look to the California double-play duo of shortstop Casey and second baseman Kooi,to secure the middle infield. The pair, who as freshmen combined to start every game but one, will be counted on to continue their strong play.

In the outfield, Dalane returns to patrol centerfield for the Garnet.  The speedy Dalane, one the top outfielders in the Centennial, has robbed numerous opponents of hits in the past two seasons, earning the Garnet Glove in 2006 (given annually to the top Swarthmore defensive player). Adelstein, the team's right fielder, played all 29 games for the Garnet in 2006.  He hit his first two career round-trippers in 2006 while posting a .418 slugging percentage (second on the team) and figures to be a large part of Swarthmore's offense in 2007.

Behind the plate, Andy Bender '08 (Baltimore, MD / Beth T. Elioh Community School) threw out 14 base runners and recorded 26 assists in 2006, his first season in control of the catching duties. Travis Allen '08 (Suffield, CT / Loomis Chafee) and classmate Ben Mendelson (Lewiston, ME / Lewiston) each struggled through injuries in 2006, but will look to compete for innings behind the plate.  Allen also spent time at first base and designated hitter, putting up a .406 slugging percentage while tying for the team-high with two triples in 2006.

The Garnet pitching staff will be led by a mix of veteran hurlers and young talent, including right-handed starters Justin Chen '08 (Media, PA / Penncrest), Cooper-Harris, and Sean Varsalona '09 (Scotch Plains, NJ / Scotch Plains), as well as reliever Dylan Smith '09 (Patchogue, NY / Patchogue-Medford).  Chen, who lost much of his freshman season to a knee injury, returned in 2006 to lead the team in strikeouts (41). Cooper-Harris provided the Garnet with a number of quality innings on the mound after returning from the hand injury, while Varsalona proved to be a true workhorse, leading the team in innings pitched (64) and appearances (13).  For his efforts, Varsolona received the Dick Hall Award, given each year to the top Swarthmore pitcher. 

With a wealth of talent and experience returning, as well as a number of fresh faces to stir up the team, the 2007 Garnet look to cash in on their hard work and commitment, establishing Swarthmore as a serious Centennial Conference playoff contender.

2006-07 Season Outlook

Having fielded the youngest team in the Centennial Conference each of the last two years, the Garnet hope to parlay the experience received by its players during those seasons into a CC playoff spot in 2006-07. 
 
Swarthmore returns all five starters from 2005-06, including seven of its top eight scorers.  Running the show again this year is returning senior captain Chris Casey (Williamsville, NY), who started all 25 games at the point guard position in '05-'06.  Casey led the team in assists (3.28 per game), ranking sixth in the Centennial while sharing the team lead in steals (1.52/g), tied for 13th in the CC. 

Junior forwards Ian McCormick (Seattle, WA) and Steve Wolf (Philadelphia, PA) both posted excellent sophomore campaigns in '05-'06. The tandem averaged 14.9 points per game and 14.6 ppg., (ranking ninth and 10th in the league), and averaged 7.4 rebounds per game and 6.7 rpg., respectively, placing fifth and seventh in the conference.  Junior guard Matt Kurman (Rockville, MD) started all 25 games, averaging 11.3 ppg. (24th in the conference), 2.64 assists per game, (10th in the conference), and 1.52 steals per game (tied for 13th in the conference).  Junior wing Noam Fliegelman (Philadelphia, PA) started 16 games last year, averaging 7.1 ppg while shooting 44% from 3-point range and leading the Garnet in free throw percentage (86.2%).  Senior guard Dillon McGrew (Manitou Springs, CO)  and senior forward Mark Rohde (Cockeysville, MD) both averaged over 15 minutes per game last year off of the bench.  McGrew led the team in fewest turnovers (14) and Rohde led the team in charges taken with seven. 

Other returning players for the Garnet are senior forward Alan Walsh (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), junior guard Chris Nana-Sinkam (Lancaster, PA), and sophomore forward Raul Ordonez (Miami, FL).  At press time the Garnet had commitments from five incoming freshmen, several of whom are expected to compete for playing time right away.
   
Head coach Lee Wimberly, entering his 20th season at the helm of the Swarthmore basketball team, has pin-pointed a number of areas in which the team needs to improve if they hope to reach post-season play in '06-'07.  Those areas include free throw shooting (both number of attempts and percentage made) and turnovers, in both of which the Garnet finished last season at the bottom of the league, and a lack of toughness that affected the team in close games.  According to Wimberly, "for whatever reason, our team chemistry was not nearly as good last year as it has been in prior years.   We need to do a much better job in this area in 2006-2007, if we are to reach our potential as a team."

Coming up just short of a Centennial playoff berth in 2005, the 2006 Swarthmore field hockey team is poised to contend for a Centennial Conference championship in 2006.

Led by senior captains Karen Lorang (San Diego, CA / University H.S.), Julie Monaghan (Wynnewood, PA / Penn Charter), and Summer Spicer (Laurel, DE / Laurel High), this Garnet squad will benefit from a solid defensive unit, a strong midfield, and a balanced offensive attack.

In her three years between the pipes, Lorang has established herself as one of the best goaltenders in the conference, earning All-Centennial honors in her freshman season.  In 2005, Lorang posted a 2.38 goals against average to go along with 81 saves, including a career-best 27 stops in 3-2 double overtime loss at 16th-ranked Gettysburg.

Monaghan, who has played in 49 games in her career, will use her experience to anchor the Garnet defense, which allowed an average of 2.18 goals per game in 2005. Joining Monaghan on the back line will be Saranne Perman '07 (Hunt Valley, MD / Dulaney), who had strong 2005 campaigns, and Rachel Turner '08 (Summit, NJ / Summit) and Anna Baeth '09 (Frederick, MD / Frederick High School), who will look to contribute valuable minutes.

Spicer and Neema Patel '07 (Akron, OH / Western Reserve Academy) will control the play in the midfield, aid the defense, and feed the Garnet attackers. Spicer was second on the team in scoring in 2005, banging in 11 goals and assists for a total of 26 points, second only to the 32 points tallied by Heidi Fieselman '06.

On attack, the Garnet will look to replace the void left by Fieselman's graduation -  a task left to forwards Abbie Fischer '08 (Sudbury, MA / Lincoln-Sudbury), who recorded 17 points in 2005, and Lindsay Roth '07 (Severna Park, MD / Severn School).  Julia Morrison '07 (Brooklyn, NY / Poly Prep Country Day) should also provide valuable minutes on attack for the Garnet squad who finished 2005 ranked fourth in the conference in goals per game.

Swarthmore welcomes seven new players into the fold for the 2006 season, including midfielder Sarah Reynolds (Potomac, MD / Holton Arms School), a transfer student from Williams College.  The contingent of first-years are made of forward Alex Gilbert-Bono (Wellesley, MA / St. Mark's School), goalie Gina Grubb (Pittsburgh, PA / Oakland Catholic), attack Abbe Muller (West Hartford, CT / Conard), midfielder Hoa Pham (Lansdowne, PA / Penn Wood), defender Maryanne Tomazic (Freehold, NJ / Freehold), and forward Joslyn Young (Ann Arbor, MI / Community).

Swarthmore will compete in the Franklin & Marshall Pre-season Tournament on August 26 before opening the 2006 season at home vs. Virginia Wesleyan on Sept. 1.  The highlight on the schedule comes on September 16-17when the Garnet will host the annual Seven Sisters Tournament.  Strong senior leadership combined with big-game experience should spell a strong season for the Garnet in 2006.

 OFFICIAL HONOR SQUAD LISTING

COMPLETE IWLCA HONOR ROLL

SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The Swarthmore women's lacrosse team was selected as one of the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Honor Squads for the 2006 season.  Three Garnet team members - Paige Gentry (Cheshire, CT / Cheshire), Lindsay Roth (Severna Park, MD / Severn School), and Cara Tigue (East Longmeadow, MA / East Longmeadow) - were also selected for the Division III Academic Honor Roll.

The IWLCA honored 35 teams who have achieved high academic standing with their designation as honor squads after achieving a team grade point average higher than 3.0.  To earn a listing on the Academic Honor Roll, a student-athlete must hold a GPA of 3.4 or higher.

Roth, a rising senior, finished the season second on the team with 45 ground balls and third in points (38) and goals (31).  Roth, an English literature major and two-time member of the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll, topped the 30-goal mark for a third consecutive season.  On April 27, Roth became the 12th Swarthmore women's lacrosse player to score 100 goals in her career.  A midfielder, Roth was named All-Centennial for the second consecutive season in 2006.

Gentry, a rising senior, started 15 games in 2006 and tied for second on the team with 45 ground balls.  Gentry, a defender, also caused 16 turnovers and made the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll for the second consecutive year.

Tigue, a defender, scooped up 41 ground balls and caused 18 turnovers while drawing the opposition's top offensive threat on many occasions.  In 61 games over four years, she collected 162 ground balls for an average of 2.66 per game and was named first team All-Centennial and second team All-Metro Region at the end of the season. Tigue graduated from Swarthmore in May and was a six-time selection for the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll (three for lacrosse and three for basketball).

Swarthmore (14-5 overall, 5-4 Centennial) put together its best season ever in 2006; the Garnet won the Seven Sisters Lacrosse Championship, broke the school record for wins, and earned the first Centennial playoff berth in program history.

Following a 2005 campaign that saw the team go 6-4 in Centennial Conference play on their way to earning the first playoff berth in the history of the program, the 2006 Swarthmore volleyball team are pointed towards a return to the playoffs with an eye on the conference title. 

Led by a pair of All-Centennial outside hitters, Erica George '07 (Phoenix, AZ / Mountain Pointe) and Jen Wang '09 (Palo Alto, CA / Henry Gunn), the Garnet will undoubtedly pack a powerful offensive punch.  George, who earned second-team honors, led the team in kills-per-game with 3.14, recording a total of 270 kills on the season.  Wang, an honorable mention selection as a freshman, led the team in kills (301), service aces (67), digs (374), and points per game (4.01), and was also named Centennial Player of the Week after leading Swarthmore to the championship at the Moravian Greyhound Premiere Invitational Tournament on Sept. 3-4. 

Karen Berk '08 (Havertown, PA / Haverford), along with classmates Katie Gold (Cherry Hill, NJ / Cherry Hill East) and Vanessa Wells (Chicago, IL/ Lincoln Park), returns to patrol the middle for the Garnet. Berk, a middle blocker, led the team with 124 blocks in 2005 and also recorded 202 kills. Fellow middle blocker Gold totaled 166 kills on the year, as well as 65 blocks, while Wells recorded a career-best 71 blocks in the opposite hitter position.

The biggest challenge facing the Garnet in 2006 may be the task of replacing Emily Conlon '06 at setter. Conlon led the team with 938 assists in 2005, averaging nearly 10 assists per game.  She reached the milestone of 3000 career assists against Gettysburg on October 18, and ended her career at Swarthmore with a 50-assist performance in a playoff loss to Franklin & Marshall on November 2.  Head coach Harleigh Leach (fourth season) will look to first-year players Kearney Bangs (Kingston, WA / North Kitsap) and Monica Joshi (Woodbridge, VA / Washington International School) to step in and run the offense.

The other pieces of the pie - senior opposite Stephanie Koskowich (Pleasanton, CA / The Waterford School (UT)), libero Erin Heaney '09 (Buffalo, NY / City Honors) and defensive specialist Kristin Caspar '09 (Briarcliff Manor, NY / Briarcliff Manor) - aim to make significant contributions by providing leadership and depth to the squad.  A talented group of first-years, including Johanna Bond (Pittsford, NY / Pittsford-Sutherland), Michele Perch (Kinnelon, NJ / Kinnelon) and Sarah Ting (Lafayette, CA / Acalanes), will look to make an immediate impact and help propel the Garnet back into conference playoffs.

The Garnet open the 2006 season with Swat Preseason Spikefest on August 27.  They will also hosting the third annual Garnet Classic, to be held Sept. 15 and 16 in Tarble Pavilion.  The Centennial Conference play begins on September 12th when the Garnet host Ursinus - former Swarthmore assistant coach Diana McNamee is at the helm of the young Bears and will look to get started in notoriously boisterous Tarble Pavilion. 

The 2006 Swarthmore women's cross country team will look to build upon its third place Centennial Conference finish in 2005, a tall order considering the loss of a talented senior class which included Sarah Hobbs, 2004 All-American selection, and two-time All-Centennial selection Carrie Ritter.

The Garnet are fortunate to return a talented group of underclassmen, including Emma Stanley '09 (Fogelsville, PA / Parkland) who was Swarthmore's top finisher at the 2005 Centennial Conference championship meet.  Stanley finished eighth at the Conference meet, making second team All-CC and then ran 22nd at the NCAA Regional meet to earn an All Mid-East Region selection, as well, as All-Freshman Region honors.  Bess Ritter '09 (Quaker Hill, CT / Waterford), who scored at the NCAA Regional, and Kathy Feeney '09 (Staatsburg, NY / FDR), a top-50 finisher at the Dickinson Long/Short, look to fill the void created by the graduation of the 2006 class.  Those three runners, along with expectations accompanying classmate Faith Pampel '09 (Little Silver, NJ / Red Bank Regional) and the experience of veteran runner Pam Davis '07 (Falls Church, VA / JEB Stuart), should be more than enough to get the team started in their quest to contend for the Centennial Conference title.

In the Centennial preseason coaches' poll, the Garnet landed in a tie for fourth with Johns Hopkins, trailing defending champion Dickinson, Haverford, and Franklin & Marshall.

The Garnet open up the 2006 season on Saturday, Sept. 2 vs. Chestnut Hill College at Fort Washington Park, and then will compete in the annual Garnet Alumni Meet a week later. On Sept. 22, the team travels to Haverford College for the Haverford Invitational, facing teams from Villanova, the College of New Jersey, and Elizabethtown.  On October 7, the Garnet will run in the Dickinson Long/Short Meet, getting a good look at the course at Carlisle High School, site of the 2006 Centennial Conference Championships on October 28. The Swarthmore women return to the Main Line on October 14 for the annual Seven Sisters Championship hosted by Bryn Mawr, a race the team finished third in 2005.