Athletics News

WESTMINSTER, Md. - McDaniel made ten three-pointers in the first half and then withstood a furious rally by Swarthmore in the final minutes, defeating the Garnet 73-71 on Saturday afternoon in the Gill Center.

The Garnet (4-17, 3-11 CC) were down by as much as 22 points -- 35-13 with 7:14 left in the first half and then held the Green Terror to 22.6% (7-of-31) shooting in the second half to get back in the game.

The Green Terror shooters were feeling it early on, hitting 10-of-18 (55.6%) from beyond the arc to build a lead 50-32 lead when the halftime horn sounded. McDaniel guard Devin Keeny hit four triples in the first half to lead all scorers with 18 points. Garnet forward Ian McCormick '08 dropped in 14 first-half points to pace Swarthmore.

It was a different story in the second half, as McDaniel was unable to find the offensive magic it had in the first 20 minutes and the Garnet took their turn shooting at the hot basket. Swarthmore shot 50% (14-of-28) from the floor in the second half. Unfortunately for the Garnet, they also shot 50% (9-of-18) from the free throw line, a number that would haunt them when the final buzzer sounded.

McDaniel seemed to be in complete control of the game, leading 71-57 with 6:08 remaining in the game. Chris Rutland finished off a lay-up off a dish from Keeny to give the Green Terror a 14-point cushion. The Rutland bucket would be the final field goal of the night for McDaniel (8-13, 6-8 CC).

The Swarthmore guard tandem, junior Chris Casey and sophomore Matt Kurman, took over the game. Kurman made an old-fashioned three-point play at 5:43 and then sank a jumper at 3:50 to make the score 71-62 Terror. Casey converted his own three-point play at 3:18 to bring the Garnet within seven.

Swarthmore fed the ball inside to freshman post Jon Tundel on the next two possessions, and Tundel was able to cash in 2-of-4 from the free throw line. A Kurman lay-up with 57 seconds left brought the Garnet within two, 71-69.

McDaniel's Mike Dipiero sank one-of-two from the line and Swarthmore got within one point when sophomore forward Steve Wolf converted a lay-up with 38 seconds left. Will Talesnick nailed the second of two free throws to put the Green Terror back up, 73-71. McCormick had his effort blocked by McDaniel's Josh McKay and the Garnet were forced to foul. McKay missed both attempts at the line, giving the Garnet a final chance. Casey's lay-up attempt would not go and a final tip attempt by McCormick couldn't find its mark either as the Green Terror completed the season sweep of Swarthmore.

Keeny led all scorers with 20 points while Talesnick added 19 and McKay registered a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

Kurman topped Swarthmore with 18 points and contributed 10 rebounds for the first double-double of his career. McCormick contributed 15 points and 10 boards for his fifth double-double of the season. Wolf added 14 points for the Garnet.

Swarthmore held an advantage on the boards, 48-39, but lost the turnover battle, 24 to McDaniel's 18.

The Garnet return to Tarble Pavilion on Wednesday, Feb. 8 for a Centennial game versus Muhlenberg. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Box Score

BALTIMORE, Md.--The visiting Garnet hung tough with host Johns Hopkins, but fell short in the end, 52-44. Ian McCormick '08 powered the Swarthmore attack with 21 points on 10-14 shooting.

The Blue Jays (15-4, 11-2 CC) couldn't buy a bucket in the early going, hitting only one of their first nine shots from the field as the Garnet (4-16, 3-10 CC) built a 10-2 lead six minutes into the game. Swarthmore converted four layups during the run but, as would continue through the entire game, struggled to make shots from outside the paint.

After a pair of Bobby Sharafeddin free throws closed the margin to six, Blue Jay forward Danny Nawrocki swung the momentum further to his side by converting an old-fashioned three-point play. This sparked a 15-0 run for the hosts as the Garnet went 6:36 between points before a McCormick free throw stopped the bleeding. Swarthmore rallied to tie the score at 19 with just under three minutes to play when Matt Kurman '08 fed McCormick for a layup. Sharafeddin nailed a trey on the ensuing Hopkins possession, though, and the Blue Jays entered the locker room with a 26-21 lead.

Swarthmore shot just 31% (9-29) in the first half. McCormick led the team with 9 points.

The second half brought more of the same for the Garnet: McCormick was unstoppable, but the rest of the offense was sputtering. Johns Hopkins got off to a fast start to go up eight, but could not open up a double-digit lead, and the Garnet again crept back. A Dillon McGrew '07 three-pointer cut the lead to three at 33-30 with 13:05 to play. But Matt Griffin converted another momentum-shifting three-point play and the Blue Jays were soon back up by nine.

A Noam Fliegelman '08 jumper brought the Garnet back within four at 45-41 with 4:12 to play, but this proved to be the last field goal for the visitors until a meaningless McGrew trey with 12 seconds to play. Hopkins made four foul shots in the final minute to secure the victory.

McCormick finished with 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. The rest of the Garnet shot just 20.5% (8-39) from the field. Swarthmore also committed 18 turnovers. McGrew and Fliegelman scored six points each and Jon Tundel '09 grabbed nine rebounds.

Griffin led the Blue Jays with 19 points while Nawrocki added 14 points and 9 rebounds.

Swarthmore concludes its three-game road swing on Saturday in Westminster, MD, facing McDaniel College at 3:00 p.m.

Box Score

BALTIMORE, Md. - Swarthmore rallied from a 12-point deficit on two occasions but timely foul shooting by the home standing Johns Hopkins Blue Jays kept the Garnet at bay. JHU junior Julie Miller dropped in 20 points and senior wing Katie Kimball added a double-double as the Blue Jays (15-4, 12-1 Centennial) defeated the visiting Garnet 66-58 on Tuesday evening in Goldfarb Gymnasium.

Swarthmore sophomore post Karen Berk led the Garnet (8-10, 5-8 Centennial) with a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds, her eighth double-double of the season.

Johns Hopkins opened up the scoring with a jumper from the corner by Kimball at 19:18 and the Garnet answered back with a lay-up by Berk to tie the score at 2-2. This would be the only time JHU failed to hold the lead.

The Blue Jays broke out to an early 19-10 lead following a lay-up by freshman guard Jonay Foster at 11:50. The Garnet grabbed the momentum, cutting off a 15-8 run over the next seven minutes. Berk capped the run with a lay-up and a foul, converting the freebie to make the score 27-25 JHU.

Swarthmore called a time-out to catch a rest, but Johns Hopkins was able to use the break to re-group and the Blue Jays ran off 11 straight points to push their lead to 38-25 with 1:39 left in the first half. Berk converted a move in the lane and sophomore guard Laura Popovics converted one-of-two at the free line to send the teams into the intermission with Johns Hopkins on top 40-30.

Both teams shot the ball well in the first twenty minutes - Johns Hopkins hit at 45.5% and the Garnet shot 42.3%.

Swarthmore hit the floor running in the second stanza, using three consecutive buckets by Berk to force a JHU time-out at 18:34 with the Blue Jay lead cut to 40-36.

The Hopkins women responded immediately, tearing off eight straight points to push their lead back to 12 (48-36) with 15:55 remaining. The Garnet countered with another Berk bank shot and a triple from freshman swing Melissa Grigsby to make the score 48-41 with 13:44 on the clock.

Swarthmore coach Renee DeVarney switched up to a zone defense and the Blue Jay shooters struggled to stretch the defense, shooting 1-of-18 (5.6%) from beyond the arc for the night. The strategy bought the Garnet some time to make a run at Johns Hopkins. The Blue Jays led 54-48 with 5:58 left in the game following a one-of-two effort by Grigsby from the charity stripe.

For the next three minutes, Swarthmore traded long three-point misses by JHU for free throws at the other end. Popovics and Grigsby combined to go six-for-six from the line and Berk put in a basket to bring the Garnet within 59-56 with 2:03 remaining.

Miller hit a pair of free throws to push the lead back to five, 61-56 with 1:49 left. A three-pointer by Popovics was off target and the Blue Jays grabbed the rebound and converted a foul jumper by guard Katie O'Malley to gain a seven-point cushion with 1:13 left on the clock.

Swarthmore was unable to convert quickly and Johns Hopkins shot three-of-four to claim its 15th victory of the season and retain the top position in the Centennial Conference.

The Blue Jays converted 23-of-34 (67.6%) at the line on the night while the Garnet converted 68.2% (15-of-22). Hopkins enjoyed a 45-41 rebounding advantage and won the turnover battle, 18-13.

Miller was 10-of-13 from the line and grabbed seven rebounds, while Kimball filled out the stat sheet with 10 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks, and four assists.

Berk continued to score at will in the post, hitting 10-of-15 from the floor to bump her team-leading average to 16.3 points per game. Grigsby finished with 12 points, the fifth time she has hit double figures this season. Senior forward Cara Tigue grabbed 10 rebounds for Swarthmore while Popovics finished with eight points. Senior Debbie Farrelly handed out a season-high five assists for the Garnet.

Swarthmore concludes its personal Murders' Row of Centennial road games on Saturday, Feb. 4 at McDaniel College. The Garnet will tip-off with the Green Terror at 1:00 p.m.; McDaniel defeated Swarthmore 74-63 in Tarble Pavilion on January 10.

Box Score

 Jessica Larson '06 and Candice Cherk '07 easily won their doubles' match in Tarble Pavilion on Monday evening vs. Haverford College. The Garnet (2-0) were awarded the win, 1-0, by default over the Fords.

According to PAIAW rules, both teams must field entrants consisting of all female players to be considered a varsity match.

Larson and Cherk matched up against Yen Na Yum and Emily Aispector the first of two doubles' matches. The pair, participants in the 2005 Badminton National Championship, took care of business, winning 15-3, 15-4. The other doubles' pairing saw a spirited three-set match; Mu Yang and Maisha Howard fell to the Fords' pair 10-15, 15-11, 15-12.

The Garnet (2-0) hit the road for their next match, traveling to Bryn Mawr on February 6 for a 7:30 p.m. match.

In a battle of Centennial Conference unbeaten's it was Gettysburg prevailing with a resounding 143-63 victory over the Garnet at Gettysburg. The Bullets move to 4-2 overall, 4-0 in the CC while the Garnet fall to 4-4, 3-1.

The Bullets won 9 of 11 events to take over first place in the standings ahead of the Garnet. Andrew Frampton '08 was the Garnet's lone winner, capturing the 1,000 freestyle in 10:09.90 and the 500 freestyle in 5:00.24.

Swarthmore hosts Dickinson on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Results

CARLISLE, Pa. -- Dickinson seniors Laura Houseal and Patrice Johnson combined for 31 points to lead the Red Devils to a 66-53 Centennial victory over Swarthmore in Carlisle, Pa. on Saturday afternoon. Garnet sophomore center Karen Berk provided a bright spot for Swarthmore (8-9 overall, 5-7 CC), by posting her seventh double-double of the season with a game-high 20 points and 12 rebounds.

The Red Devils improve to 12-5 overall and 9-3 in the Centennial, ending a three-game skid in the process.

Swarthmore was the aggressor in the early going, working the ball into Berk for three consecutive buckets and an early 6-2 lead with 15:44 on the clock. Dickinson junior forward Piper Etess scored on a put-back at the 9:13 mark, knotting the score at 11-all. That bucket began a 12-0 run for the home-standing Red Devils, capped by a triple from Houseal with 3:19 left in the half.

The Garnet cut the Dickinson lead to 21-17 at 1:27 with a pair of free throws by freshman guard Kylah Field and four points from senior forward Cara Tigue. The Red Devils closed the half with a Etess lay-up and a free throw by Houseal to take a 24-17 into the locker room.

Berk and Houseal led all scorers with nine points apiece while Johnson chipped in seven for Dickinson. The Garnet held a 22-15 advantage on the glass, yet the Red Devils were able to convert nine Swarthmore turnovers into 11 points.

The first five minutes of the second half belonged to the Red Devils; the home team ran off eight straight points before Berk ended the run with a lay-up and foul at 15:00. Berk converted the free throw and Dickinson now led 32-20.

A successful Berk post move brought Swarthmore within 39-28 with 11:54 remaining in the game. The Red Devils turned up the defensive pressure once again, turning eight Garnet turnovers into a game-clinching 19-7 run. Sophomore guard Carly Onkotz scored consecutive fast-break lay-ups to give Dickinson a 58-35 lead, its largest of the night, with 4:27 left.

Swarthmore, led by guards Debbie Farrelly '06 and Laura Popovics, began to raining three-pointers in the final minutes to establish the final margin.

Houseal filled the stat sheet for the Red Devils, finishing with 17 points, 10 rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Johnson added 14 points, five boards, and two steals for Dickinson.

The Devils recorded 13 steals and turned the Garnet miscues into 21 Dickinson points.

Berk continued to show why she is one of the top forwards in the region, shooting 8-of 14 from the field for a game-high 20 points. Berk is averaging 16.3 points per game and 9.1 rebounds pre game in Centennial play, putting up at least 20 points on four occasions.

Farrelly ended up with 13 points, sinking a game-high four triples while registering three assists. Tigue grabbed nine boards to go along with six points, including a perfect 4-of-4 at the free throw line.

The Garnet is in the midst of a three-game road trip and will travel south to Baltimore on Tuesday, January 31 to take on the top team in the Centennial Conference, the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays. Hopkins defeated Swarthmore 60-57 in Tarble Pavilion on November 30th.

Box Score

Complete Results

Swarthmore (2-6, 2-2 CC) hasn't beaten Gettysburg in the past four seasons, and unfortunately, they weren't able to see the unfavorable streak end on Saturday afternoon, falling to the Bullets 123-82.

The Garnet men were charged up by their 400 yard medley relay win. The junior-freshmen tag team, made up of Douglas Scott-Gilchrist '09, Andrew Koczo '07, Brian Roth '09, and Jason Horwitz '07, united to take the victory in 3:44.48.

Swimming approximately 15 seconds per 25 yards, Stephen Shymon '09 managed to take the 1000 yard freestyle in 10:13.28, leaving his competition in his wake. The time is the fourth-fastest in school history.

Andrew Frampton '08 was the only contender to finish the 500 yard freestyle in less than 5 minutes. He kept the lead the entire time, not a single swimmer beat his lap time, and ultimately finished in 4:56.11.

Swarthmore will be on the road for the rest of the season, facing Centennial opponents. Its next stop will be Carlisle, Pa, where the Garnet will go head to head with the Dickinson Red Devils next Saturday, February 4 at 1:00 p.m.

Complete Results

Emma Stanley '09 ran a strong 5000 meters as the Garnet competed at the McElligott Invitational on the campus of Haverford College on Saturday afternoon.

Stanley finished sixth out of 14 runners, crossing the finish line in a time of 18:53.05, the ninth-fastest time in school history.

Several other Swarthmore runners ran strong at the McElliott. Senior Lauren Fety finished sixth in the 3000 meter race (11:14.45), senior Emily Wistar came in fourth at 800 meters (2:27.81), and freshman Bess Ritter finished ninth out of 32 runners in the mile run (5:35.46).

Classmates Kathy Feeney (5:40.00) and Faith Pampel (5:52.35) also ran strong in the mile, finishing 12th and 17th, respectively.

Complete Results

Junior Vernon Chaplin continued to put up fast times, this time taking third place in the mile run at the McElligott Invitational on the campus of Haverford College.

Chaplin crossed the line in a time of 4.22.38, the fifth fastest in school history. He finished a few seconds behind winner Ryan Fannelly from PTC.

Senior Paul Thibodeau ran 11th (2:03.27) in the 800 meter race, followed in by classmate Adam Hunt in 14th (2:04.18). Erik Saka '09 was the top Garnet finisher in the 3000 meter run, coming in 20th place a time of 9:11.17.

Tyler Lyson '06 came in 18th (24.69) in the 200 meter run followed in by Yoi Tibbetts (23rd - 25.15).

Complete Results