Athletics News

Swarthmore, PA-Swarthmore College men's soccer defender Alex Elkins (Berkeley Heights, NJ - The Pingry School) has been named to the 2005 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Mid-Atlantic All-Region team. Elkins is a third-team selection, becoming the first Garnet men's soccer player to make All-Region in 14 years.

Elkins, a senior captain, recently became the first Garnet men's soccer player ever named to the All-Centennial Conference first team. He has played a vital part in Swarthmore's success in 2005, starting all 20 games as the Garnet became one of the top defensive teams in Division III. Swarthmore shut out nine opponents in the regular season, tying a school record, while establishing a goals-against average of 0.76, second in the conference.

Elkins, a double-major in history and philosophy, was a second-team All-Conference selection in 2004.

The last men's Garnet soccer player to make Mid-Atlantic All-Region was defender Brent Becker, an honorable mention selection in 1991.

Swarthmore College senior Jessica Larson is one of 11 student-athletes selected to the first-ever Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Field Hockey Team. The team is voted on by the sports information offices of the 28 area institutions from the Philadelphia metropolitan area.

Larson, a midfielder, started all 17 games during the regular season for the Garnet (8-9, 4-6 Centennial). She tallied two assists and scored her first career goal vs. McDaniel on October 14. For her career, Larson played in 59 games, making 48 starts, while compiling eight assists.

The senior has been selected for the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll three straight years and is the president of the Animal Rights Coaltion at Swarthmore. Larson in currently competing on the Garnet badminton team.

Complete Release

BRYN MAWR, Pa. -- Swarthmore senior guard Jen Stevenson scored a team-high 15 points and sophomore center Karen Berk tallied her fourth double-double of the season as the visiting Garnet defeated Bryn Mawr 49-36 on Thursday evening at Bern Schwartz Gymnasium. Swarthmore improves to 5-4 overall and 2-2 in the Centennial, while the Owls slip to 2-6 overall and 0-3 in the conference.

Stevenson hit for 13 first-half points, including three for four from behind the arc. The senior captain has made six of her last seven from beyond the arc, hitting at a 44% clip on the season.

Swarthmore's lead was five at halftime, 19-14 following a tight defensive battle in the first twenty minutes.

The Garnet came out like gang-busters in the second half, spitting out a 19-7 run over the first ten minutes to take a 38-21 lead after two Berk free throws.

Swarthmore pushed its advantage to as many as 19, (47-28 with 4:03 remaining) forcing 11 Bryn Mawr turnovers in the second half to end a two-game losing streak.

Both teams struggled from the floor, with the Garnet holding the slight advantage by shooting 29% to the Owls' 26%.

Swarthmore put ten different players in the scoring column, with several players putting for efforts worth recognition. Berk finished with 13 points and a career-high 16 rebounds to collect her sixth career double-double. Senior forward Cara Tigue put together another solid effort on the glass, collecting eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Laura Popovics set a career-high with six rebounds and tied her career-best with a team-high four assists. Sophomore forward Kristen Traband also hit a milestone, tallying a career-best four points in 11 minutes of action.

Junior Amy Johnson paced the Owls, recording game and season-highs of 19 points and 16 rebounds. Freshman center Jessica Allen chipped in 10 points and six rebounds while classmate Julia Harris grabbed 11 boards to go along with a game-high five steals. Harris is tops in the Centennial with 28 steals.

Swarthmore takes a month-long break for final exams and the holidays before resuming Centennial Conference action on January 7. The Garnet will host Dickinson at 2:00 p.m. in the first game of a doubleheader with the men.

Box Score

SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Swarthmore freshman center Jon Tundel scored a career-high 20 points, but the visiting Bears put five players in double digits to leave Swarthmore with a 82-68 Centennial victory on Thursday evening in Tarble Pavilion.

Tundel shot 8 for 13 from the floor and four of six from the free throw line for a game-high 20 points to go along with a game-high nine boards. The freshman nearly ripped the backboard from the ceiling late in the first half, finishing off a long pass from sophomore Steve Wolf with an emphatic two-handed jam.

The Bears' pre-season All-American candidate, Mike McGarvey, and swing man Nick Shattuck had 15 points apiece, guard Brian McEvily chipped in 14, forward Will Furey added 13, and forward Joe Scholz dropped in 12 points off the bench.

Ursinus, the 2005 Centennial Conference champion, came out firing in the first half, shooting a blistering 59% (17 for 29) in the first half. Garnet sophomore forward Ian McCormick dropped in a jumper at 15:11 to make it 7-5 Bears before Ursinus ticked off a 12-1 run capped by a Bret Jenkins triple to push the lead to 19-6 with 12:33 left in the half.

The Bears lead grew to as much as 18 (36-18 with 4:05 remaining) and stood at 43-26 when the halftime horn sounded. McGarvey and McEvily led all scores with 11 points while McCormick dropped in nine for the Garnet.

Swarthmore hit the ground running in the second half, cutting the Bears' advantage to 47-34 following a Tundel jumper in the paint at 16:55. The Garnet took over the hot-shooting in the second frame, hitting at 47% clip (15-32) including four triples.

Ursinus (5-2 overall, 3-1 CC) maintained a double-digit lead in the second half by taking advantage of 29 trips to the charity stripe in the second half. The Bears' finished second in the Centennial in 2004-05 in free throw percentage (74%), and hit an impressive 31 out of 36 (86%) on this night. Swarthmore, on the other hand, managed only to hit half of its attempts at the line (11 for 22).

The Garnet kept coming at Ursinus in the second half, cutting the Bears' lead to nine, 65-56, after a Kurman three-pointer at 5:57. Ursinus got two quick lay-ups from Furey and Shattuck to push the lead to 13 and then sank nine of ten from the line to win its fifth game of the season.

Kurman flipped in a 45-footer at the buzzer for the final margin.

Kurman dropped in 15 points for Swarthmore (0-9 overall, 0-4 CC), the sixth time this season he has reached double figures. McCormick added 10 points, continuing his streak of nine games with 10 or more points. Junior guard Chris Casey dropped off a season-high six assists and added three steals.

McGarvey handed out a game-high seven assists for the Bears while Scholz led with a team-high five boards.

The Garnet take 23 days off for finals and the holidays, resuming competition on January 2 at 2:00 p.m. when they host Whitman (Wa.).

Box Score

SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Muhlenberg junior center Meghan Courtney scored a career-high 25 points as the visiting Mules defeated Swarthmore 66-44 on Tuesday night in Tarble Pavilion.

Muhlenberg opened the game on a 9-0 run, used a disruptive press to create five turnovers in the first 2:30 before the Garnet called a 30-second timeout. Point guard Debbie Farrelly '06 quickly found her game, though, and Swarthmore clawed its way back into the game. Karen Berk '08 led the defensive effort with four early steals and Jennifer Stevenson hit a trio of three-pointers in the final 7:11 as the Garnet closed to within 30-26 at the half.

Both teams struggled offensively early in the second period and the game remained close. A pair of Berk free throws brought the Garnet back within five at 37-32 with 13:45 remaining, but this would prove to be as close as the home team would get. Courtney and Bethany Enterline combined to score the Mules' next nine points as the visitors went on a 11-4 run. Muhlenberg continued to stretch their lead as their defense held the Garnet to 16.7% from the field. Courtney scored her team's last six points before leaving the game with her team ahead by 24.

Courtney's 25 points easily eclipsed her previous career high of 19 points, set on Jan. 10, 2005 vs. PSU-Altoona. She added nine rebounds and a team-leading three steals. Lacie Smith just missed a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds.

Cara Tigue '06 made her second straight strong start in place of the injured Radiance Walters '06, a 2004-05 All-Centennial selection. Tigue set a career-high with 11 rebounds, tying her career-best with five offensive boards (set on Feb. 22 at Haverford), helping the Garnet to a 17-10 advantage on the offensive glass.

Berk led Swarthmore with 16 points and Stevenson added 13.

The team struggled from the floor, shooting only 24.2% (15-62) from the field for the game. Swarthmore was playing its fourth game in five days, following a run to the finals of last weekend's Seven Sisters Tournament at Smith College in Northampton, MA.

The Garnet (4-4 overall, 1-2 CC) are back in action on Thursday night, Dec. 8, traveling to Bryn Mawr College for a 7:00 Centennial contest.

Box Score

ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- Muhlenberg defeated Swarthmore 60-42 in Centennial Conference action on Tuesday night. The Mules improve to 5-2 overall and 1-2 in the Centennial while the Garnet slip to 0-8 overall and 0-3 in the Conference.

Swarthmore jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead following a three-pointer by Matt Kurman '08 at 17:38. The Mules took a 10-9 lead shortly thereafter with back to back lay-ups.

Muhlenberg banged out a 18-6 run in the middle of the first half to take a 28-15 advantage with 5:23 left. Mules junior center Jeff Stewart capped the run with fifth and sixth points of the half on a lay-up.

Swarthmore cut the halftime deficit to seven after sophomore guard Noam Fliegelman drained a triple at 1:16.

Muhlenberg clamped down on the Garnet offense in the second half, holding Swarthmore to 18% shooting from the floor. The Garnet were held to season-lows in points and field goal percentage (29.8%).

Swarthmore was led by sophomores Kurman (12 points, three steals) and Ian McCormick (10 points, nine rebounds, four blocks, and three assists).

Jimmy O'Brien led the Mules with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Stewart added 13 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks.

Stewart scored his 1,000th career point with 16:52 left in the game. The center made a short jumper to become only the eight junior in school history to accomplish the feat.

Swarthmore returns home to Tarble Pavilion for its final game of the first semester. The Garnet will host defending conference champion Ursinus in a 7:00 p.m. game.

Box Score

NORTHAMPTON, Ma. -- Karen Berk '08 scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Swarthmore fell to Mt. Holyoke 63-57 on Sunday afternoon in the championship game of the 25 th annual Seven Sisters Tournament hosted by Smith College.

Mt. Holyoke claimed its fourth consecutive Seven Sisters title, downing the Garnet in the past three championships.

Berk, an All-Tournament selection, shot 6-17 from the floor and 4-6 from the line to hit double digits for the fifth time in seven games. The sophomore averaged 13.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game over three games, averaging 23 minutes per contest.

Senior guard Debbie Farrelly chipped in nine points while classmate Cara Tigue put in eight points and grabbed a season-high seven rebounds in her second career start.

Farrelly and guard Jennifer Stevenson '06 were also named to the All-Tournament team.

The Garnet (4-3 overall, 1-1 CC) return to Tarble Pavilion on Tuesday, Dec. 6, hosting Muhlenberg at 7:00 p.m. in a key Centennial Conference battle.

Box Score

At the Franklin and Marshall Invite on Dec. 2-4, the Garnet women (3-2, 2-1 CC) posted a commendable 8 th place out of the 14 teams competing. Sophomore Jennie Lewis had a standout performance, placing fourth in the 200 yard butterfly (2:18.18), fifth in the 100 yard butterfly(1:01.71), and helped Swarthmore take fifth place in the 800 yard Freestyle.

Franny Zhang '08, Patricia Funk '06, Lewis, and Whitney Nekoba '08 came back to tie Rowan University for place 5 th in the 800 yard Freestyle (8:17.19).

Zhang, Funk, Martyna Pospieszalska '06, and Nekoba combined to definitively take fifth in the 400 yard freestyle relay (3:46.11).

Swarthmore compiled 217 team points over the three days, trailing behind champion Bloomsburg (689 points).

The Garnet women are off for finals and will embark on their annual training trip from January 5-13. Swarthmore returns to Ware Pool on Jan. 18, hosting Rowan University at 6:30 p.m.

Team Results

Complete Results

The Garnet men (2-3, 2-1 CC) ventured to Lancaster, Pa. this past weekend to partake in the Franklin & Marshall Invite. Swarthmore took eighth place of the 12 schools that competed. Douglas Gilchrist-Scott '09, Andrew Frampton '08, and Stephen Shymon '09 delivered significant placements during the swim meet.

Gilchrist-Scott took fourth place in the 100 backstroke with a time of 55.86. Frampton endured to bring home fourth place in1650 yard freestyle with a time of 17:07.52, and Shymon followed with eighth place (17:40.11).

Swarthmore tallied 213.5 team points, finishing seven spots behind champion Washington & Lee (641 points).

The Garnet men will be on their training trip in Puerto Rico from January 5-13. When they return, the team will host Rowan University at 6:30 p.m. at Ware Pool.

Team Scores

Complete Results

NORTHAMPTON, Ma -- Sophomore center Karen Berk led Swarthmore with 16 points and 10 rebounds as Swarthmore defeated Wellesley (Ma.) 65-58 in semi-final action Saturday night at the Seven Sisters Tournament on the campus of Smith College.

The Garnet (4-2 overall, 1-1 CC) advance to Sunday's championship game at 3:00 p.m. vs. Mt. Holyoke (Ma.). Holyoke has won the last three Seven
Sisters Championships, including two straight over Swarthmore.

Swarthmore won its lone Seven Sisters Championship in 2001.

Swarthmore received another solid effort from its starting backcourt, as captains Debbie Farrelly '06 and Jennifer Stevenson '06 scored 11 and 10 points, respectively. Stevenson filled many parts of the stat sheet, handing out three assists, blocking a career-high three shots, and collected a pair of steals.

The Garnet got valuable contributions from two other members of the frontcourt; senior captain Radiance Walters dropped in ten points, while fellow captain Cara Tigue '06 grabbed six rebounds.

Wellesley (1-4) was led by guard Laura Weslander (a game-high 22 points) and forward Sefi Adasi (17 points and 13 rebounds).

Box Score