Athletics News

The Garnet badminton team swept all three singles matches, barreling to a 4-1 victory over visiting Bryn Athyn in Tarble Pavilion on Thursday evening.

Anjali Aggarwal '06 led off the night with a clean 15-2, 15-6 win over Jeremy Fehon. Candice Cherk '07 followed suit with her own 15-2, 15-6 victory over Brigdon Odhnen. The Garnet completed the trifecta with Abe Howland's narrow 15-13, 17-15 win over Shalako Umbach.

Swarthmore easily clinched its first victory of the young season with an quick 15-2, 15-4 win by Patricia Kelly and Hiesh Bhattaria in the first doubles' match. Mu Yang and Maisha Howard fell 15-8, 15-11 in the other doubles' pairing to Bryn Athyn's Amanda Rose and Jenny Longstaff.

The Garnet return to Tarble Pavilion for their next match, hosting Haverford on January 30 at 7:00 p.m.

HAVERFORD, Pa. -- Garnet sophomore center Karen Berk scored a game-high 26 points and classmate Laura Popovics added a career-high 19 points as Swarthmore (7-7 overall, 4-5 CC) defeated Haverford 72-57 Wednesday evening on Rivalry Night in the Centennial Conference.

The Garnet, winners of 16 straight now over the Fords (2-14 overall, 0-9 CC), jumped out to a 10-4 lead following a lay-up by senior forward Cara Tigue at 15:06. Haverford fought back to tie the game at 18-18 with a jumper by Abbie Scattergood with 6:07 left in the half.

Swarthmore raced off a 18-6 run to end the half, mostly off the production from Popovics. The sophomore contributed ten of the points on the run, including 5-of-7 from the free throw line and 2-of-3 from beyond the three-point line to end the half with 13 points.

The Garnet entered the locker room at halftime with a 36-24 lead.

The second half belonged to Berk; the sophomore forward dropped in 17 second-half points helping the Garnet build a lead that would get as large as 24 (56-32 with 12:45 remaining).

An aggressive Fords' defense and poor foul shooting by the Garnet allowed Haverford to cut the Swarthmore lead to 60-48 with 4:23 following freshman forward Brittany Lattisaw's lay-up.

Swarthmore shot 21-of-35 (60%) from the line for the game.

Berk scored eight of the next 11 Garnet points to clinch the win for Swarthmore.

Tigue grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds and added seven points while senior guard Jennifer Stevenson chipped in 10 points.

Lattisaw led the Fords with 13 points and 14 rebounds while senior forward Katie Crowley dropped in 11 points.

For its next game, Swarthmore travels to Ursinus College on Saturday, January 21. The women tip off at 1:00 p.m. and will be followed by the men at 3:00 p.m.

Box Score

The Garnet women (3-3, 2-1 CC) fell to Rowan University 113-88 Wednesday night at Ware Pool. Jennie Lewis '08 and Michele Hom '07 each brought in an individual win and Whitney Nekoba '08 took a close second.

Initially during the 200 yard freestyle, Nekoba led the pack with a time of 28.88 after the first lap, her closest competitor-Rowan's Aileen Milde trailed at 28.96. Milde stole the lead during the second lap, and by the third lap, they were stroke for stroke. As the pair neared the finish line, Nekoba appeared to edge out Milde. But in reality, she fell short, 30.96 to 30.97, and suffered an agonizingly close upset.

Three events later, Lewis got the Garnet back on track, seizing the 200 yard butterfly in a time of 2:14.15.

Four events after that, Hom brought in the final win of the night, capturing the women's 200 yard breaststroke (2:35.95).

The Garnet women will host Washington & Lee (VA) on Saturday, January 21, 2006 at Ware Pool. The meet begins at 1:00 p.m.

Complete Results

Andrew Frampton '08 and Stephen Shymon '09 each won individual events on Wednesday night at Ware Pool, but it wasn't enough to bring home a win as Rowan University (NJ) defeated Swarthmore 116-81. It was the first meet of the spring semester for the Garnet (2-4 overall, 2-1 CC).

Frampton won the 1000 yard freestyle, with a time of 10:16:24, beating his closest contender by twenty seconds. Throughout the event, Frampton held his own against stiff competition from Rowan's Ryan Fisher and Patrick Buck.
Unfortunately, a second and final win did not come for the Garnet until seven events later, when Shymon won the 500 yard freestyle (4:57.03).

The Garnet men are in Ware Pool for the next meet; Swarthmore will host Washington & Lee (VA) this Saturday, January 21 at 1:00 p.m.

Complete Results

HAVERFORD, Pa. -- The Swarthmore defense was the story of the first half, and the Swarthmore grabbed the headlines in the second half, as the Garnet defeated Haverford 60-43 Wednesday night on Rivalry Night in the Centennial Conference in front of 900 fans in the brand new Calvin J. Gooding '84 Arena of the Douglas B. Gardner '83 Integrated Athletic Center.

Swarthmore (4-12 overall, 3-6 CC) has won four out of its last six games and ended a three-game slide to the Fords (6-8 overall, 5-4 CC). In a series that dates back to 1920, the Garnet hold an 88-61 edge over Haverford.

The home standing Fords grabbed the early 10-3 lead with a jumper from forward David Nowacki at 15:40.

The Garnet defense began to take over the game, blanking the Fords for the last 8:35 of the first half; Haverford's last point of the half came on a lay-up by Aaron Heath. Swarthmore fought back on the offensive end to tie the game twice, finally grabbing the lead, 20-18, on a lay-up by sophomore guard Noam Fliegelman with 4:27 left in the half.

Swarthmore went into halftime with the 22-18 advantage.

Haverford's Johnny Elefterakis broke the ice for the Fords early in the second half, sinking a three-pointer to cut the Swarthmore lead to 22-21 at the 17:23 mark. The Garnet answered that bucket with a 18-6 run, pushing the lead out to 40-27 in favor of Swarthmore, a lead it would not relinquish.

Swarthmore shot a torrid 63% (17-of-27) from the field in the second half, building up a lead that grew as large as 21 at one point.

Fliegelman was the leading man for the Garnet on Wednesday night, shooting 7-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the line for a game-high 18 points. Forward Steve Wolf added 12 points and three blocks while freshman center Jon Tundel came off the bench to shoot 6-of-10 for 12 points. Tundel also contributed three blocks for Swarthmore.

The Fords were led by Elefterakis with 13 points while Ben McDowell chipped in 10 points.

Swarthmore hits the road for its next contest, traveling to Ursinus on Saturday, January 21 for a 3:00 p.m. game.

Box Score

SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Garnet sophmore center Karen Berk scored seven of her game-high 25 points in the final 90 seconds of play to lead the Swarthmore to a 74-67 win over Franklin and Marshall. Berk earned her fourth double-double of the season with 14 boards, while senior Cara Tigue had 11 points and six rebounds in the Centennial win. With the victory, Swarthmore improves to 3-5 in the conference and 6-7 in overall play, ending a three-game skid vs. the Diplomats.

The Garnet jumped out to a 6-0 lead over the visiting Diplomats with two buckets from Berk and two free throws from junior Jessica Fuhr. The Dips got on the board at 18:02 with a layup from Sarah Meisenberg, but Garnet point guard Debbie Farrelly (nine points, three steals) responded on the other end with a jumper to keep the lead at six. Swarthmore extended their advantage, 18-9 with a trey from Laura Popovics '08 at 13:11.

Franklin and Marshall fought back and took the lead late in the first half. Diplomats' forward Emily Weaver rebounded a Swarthmore missed jumper and sophomore forward Brittany Braxton converted on the other end to put F&M ahead, 21-20. Swarthmore re-gained control of the game with a layup from Popovics and held onto a five-point lead heading into halftime.

Garnet defense stifled the Diplomats' offensive charge, as the Dips made only eight of 33 shot attempts (24.2%). Swarthmore was also able to keep F&M's top scorer, Dana Johns, quiet from the floor. Her four first-half points all came from the free throw line.

For Swarthmore, Berk closed the half with 14 points (6-of-9 from the floor) and 11 rebounds.

The Garnet maintained the lead through the first ten minutes of the second half but the Dips went on a 15-0 run late in the game to scare Swarthmore.

The Garnet held a 55-43 advantage with ten minutes remaining. F&M's Weaver hit a jumper to but the lead to 10, and after a Swarthmore miss on the other end, Johns converted from behind the arc, forcing Swarthmore to call a timeout.

After the break, Johns returned to the floor and hit another 3-pointer and teammate Amanda Miceli connected on a three-point play to move the Dips within one. Swarthmore went cold on offense and Miceli made another layup to put F&M ahead, 56-55 with 6:40 left to play.

The Dips got one more deuce from Braxton before Tigue converted a layup at 5:39 and ended the Garnet scoring drought. Tigue found the basket again with 4:43 left and put the Garnet within one point of the Dips. 59-60.

Franklin and Marshall remained ahead until 1:42, when Berk shook off her defender to sink a layup and tie the game, 63-63. Swarthmore defense held F&M scoreless as Berk took over the inside post and pushed the Garnet ahead 68-63 with 0:48 left to play.

Franklin and Marshall came down the floor, but Johns was unable to hit from downtown. Fuhr grabbed the defensive rebound and was fouled by swarming Dip players. With 39 seconds left, Fuhr extended the Garnet lead to seven with two free throws in the bonus play.

Swarthmore senior Jen Stevenson sank two foul shots with half a minute remaining to give the Garnet a 72-64. In a final offensive attempt, F&M shooter Meisenberg hit a trifeca to put F&M within five, 72 -67. Tigue sealed the game for Swarthmore with a layup with 12 seconds left to play.

For the Garnet, Fuhr finished the game with five steals and a perfect six-for-six performance from the free throw line. Stevenson added 12 points for Swarthmore.

Johns closed the evening with 16 points and four steals for Franklin and Marshall. Braxton added a double-double with 11 points and team-high 11 rebounds.

Swarthmore travels to rival Haverford College on Wednesday, January 18 to take on the Fords in Hood Trophy and Centennial Conference action. The women tipoff at 6:00 p.m. and will be followed by the men at 8:00 p.m.

Box Score

SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Swarthmore put its biggest demon to bed on Saturday afternoon, defeating Franklin & Marshall 79-48 in Tarble Pavilion to end a winless streak that spanned 30 years. Sophomore forward Steve Wolf led the Garnet (3-12, 2-6 CC) with a game-high 21 points and seven rebounds.

The Swarthmore victory marked the 150th career win for head coach Lee Wimberly, the most by any Garnet basketball coach.

The previous Garnet victory over a Diplomat squad occurred in 1975, when Swarthmore took a 74-73 victory in Lamb-Miller Fieldhouse. That is a string of 28 consecutive F&M victories before Saturday afternoon.

It was all Swarthmore right from the tip. The Garnet scored the first six points of the game on layups by sophomores Noam Fliegelmann, Steve Wolf, and Ian McCormick. The Diplomats' Pat Pryzbylowski put F&M on the board with a jumper at 17:28.

Swarthmore extended its lead to as large as 14 in the first half, clipping off a 21-9 run in the final ten minutes. Wolf sank a pair of free throws to make it 35-21 Garnet with 50 seconds remaining in the half.

F&M's Brandon Smith cut the lead to 35-24 with a three-pointer with 36 seconds on the clock but Fliegelman answered back with a triple of his own with two seconds left to send the Garnet into the locker room with a 38-24 lead.

Swarthmore shot a scorching 58% from the field in the first half, led by nine points from Wolf. The Garnet look to advantage of a strong post game, outscoring the Diplomats 20-12 in the paint.

If F&M had any thoughts of making a comeback in the second half, Swarthmore did its best to squash the idea. The Garnet reeled off an 11-2 run in the first four minutes of the second half, pushing its lead to 49-28 following a Wolf layup at 16:17.

Swarthmore's defense tightened up on the other end of the floor, limiting the Diplomats to 28% shooting from the field in the second half - 35% for the game. The Garnet refused to allow F&M to get comfortable at any point on the floor, forcing the Diplomats into just 2-of-16 from behind the three-point line.

The Garnet closed out the game on a 16-3 run capped by sophomore guard J.P. Faunes' first career score, a jumper from the right wing. The Swarthmore defense was key limiting F&M's to a single field goal in the final 8:30 of the game.

The 48 points scored by F&M was the stingiest Swarthmore has been since a 63-48 Garnet victory over Dickinson on January 15, 2003.

The Garnet shooters all benefitted from the efficient offense, hitting 60% from the field while handing out 20 assists as a team. Wolf shot 7-of-11 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line for his 21 points. Freshman Jon Tundel came off the bench to provide a boost for Swarthmore, scoring 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. McCormick and junior guard Dillon McGrew chipped in 10 points apiece.

Smith led F&M (7-8, 2-6 CC) with 11 points and seven rebounds.

Swarthmore hits the road for its next contest, travelling up to the Main Line on Wednesday, January 18 to take on historic rival Haverford at 8:00 p.m.

Box Score

Junior Vernon Chaplin ran a personal-best 4:23.57 in the mile run at the Gotham Cup in the New York City Armory on Friday afternoon.

Chaplin finished fourth overall in the unseeded evert, trailing winner Robert Custis from Villanova. Chaplin was the second Division III runner to finish in the race, trailing NYU's Spenser Popeson by only three tenths of a second. Swarthmore freshman Erik Saka finished 37th in the event (4:43.66) and was followed in by sophomore Jon Shoop (39th - 4:46.61)

Swarthmore had a collection of runners in the 3000 meter race; the top finisher was senior Adam Hunt who finished 23rd in a time of 9:21.94.

Complete Results

Carrie Ritter '06 set a personal best in the 5000 meters at the NYC Gotham Cup at the New York City Armory on Friday afternoon.

Ritter circled the track in a time of 18:32.67, becoming the first Division III woman to finish.

Bess Ritter was the lone Garnet entry in the 3000 meter run, finishing 14th out of 35 entrants in a time of 11:24.61.

Complete Results

GETTYSBURG, Pa. -- Swarthmore fell to Gettysburg, 71-53, on the Bullets home court on Thursday evening. The Bullets improve to 6-2 in Centennial conference play, while the Garnet fall to 2-5.

Garnet senior guard Jen Stevenson jump-started the Garnet offense with a foul shot and a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions, giving Swarthmore the early 4-2 lead. Two free throws by junior Jessica Fuhr and a lay-up by senior forward Cara Tigue pushed the Garnet lead to 8-3 with 17:07 showing on the clock.

The Bullets quickly found their footing with a bucket from senior forward Jen Bengel at 16:08. Bengel's layup was the 1462 nd point of her career, and breaking the all-time women's scoring record at Gettysburg set by Ann Hymes in 1996.

Bullet guard Jamie Marshall tied the game at 8-8 with a three-pointer at 16:14. Fuhr answered on the other end with an old-fashioned three-point play re-tie the game at 11.

The teams battled back and forth for the lead until 'Burg's Margaret White hit two trifectas to push the Bullets ahead 21-14. Gettysburg was 4-of-8 from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes of play.

The Bullets sent Swarthmore into the bonus with 11:53 left in the half, but the Garnet shot only 7-of-15 (47%) from the line.

The Garnet (5-7 overall) came within four points with 11 minutes to play in the first half, but the team would come no closer for the remainder of the game.

Sharp-shooting from Gettysburg's Bengel and Marshall kept Swarthmore at bay. The Bullets (9-6 overall) went without a field goal for the final five minutes of the half, but managed to build a 40-27 halftime lead over the Garnet.

Bengel led all scores at the break with 11 points, while teammate Jamie Marshall notched ten points for Gettysburg. Fuhr had seven points and sophomore center Karen Berk had six for the Garnet. Front-court mate Tigue grabbed eight of her career-high 12 rebounds in the first half.

The Bullets came out of the locker room on fire, going on a 12-4 run to start the second half. Swarthmore freshman guard Melissa Grigsby connected from behind the arc at 13:24 to stop the run with the Bullets ahead 52-34. Gettysburg maintained a 20-point cushion for much of the second half, despite a 13-point performance from Berk and 10 points from Fuhr.

Bengel finished with a game-high 23 points to go along with eight board, while Marshall closed the contest with 13 points after hitting three baskets from beyond the arc.

Swarthmore looks to improve its conference standing on Saturday, January 14 th when they meet up with he Diplomats of Franklin and Marshall. Tip-off time is scheduled for 2:00 pm with the men's game immediately following.

Box Score