Athletics News

The 25th-ranked Garnet defeated New York University 6-3 in the season opener played in the Mullan Center on Saturday afternoon.

Sonya Reynolds '07, Waverly Lutz '07, and Sara Sargent '07 each won both singles and doubles matches to lead the Garnet to the victory. Reynolds and Lutz teamed up for an 8-4 victory at No. 1 doubles and the duo went on to singles victories as Reynolds was a 6-2, 6-0 winner over Jen Sussman at No. 1 and Lutz defeated Jackie Manning, 6-4, 6-2 at No. 4.

Sargent teamed up with Ellie Suzuki '06 to earn an 8-5 victory at No. 2 doubles and Sargent defeated Kim Gordon, 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-3) at No. 5 singles. Marissa Matthews '07 earned a 7-6 (5), 2-6, 7-5 victory at No. 3 over Erika Olson to give the Garnet the victory.

Swarthmore next hits the courts in Claremont, California with a spring break trip to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona Pitzer. Results

This weekend the Garnet will travel to Dickinson College to participate in the Centennial Conference Championships.

For current results, order of events and heat sheets visit the Conference Championship Site.

Ali Wolf '05 paced the Garnet with 14 points and eight rebounds in Swarthmore's (16-10) 70-63 Centennial Conference first-round playoff victory over visiting Gettysburg (13-13). The fourth-seeded Garnet will travel to top-seeded Dickinson on Saturday for a 6 p.m. semifinal game.

The game started slowly with the score tied at 8-8 after the first five minutes. It was the Bullets to get on track first as they went on an 11-4 run to take a 19-12 lead with 7:24 remaining in the half. Katie Eiden led the charge scoring nine points in the run.

The Garnet countered with a 9-2 run to tie the game at 21-21 as Karen Berk '08 and Kristen Lee '05 accounted for all the scoring. From there it was all Swarthmore as the Garnet went on a 16-6 run over the final four minutes to take a 10 point lead. Lauren Kett '05 came off the bench to provide the needed spark with four points, five rebounds and a blocked shot during the run. An Emily Falk layup at the buzzer closed the half at 37-29.

The Garnet got off to a slow second half start and after two Berk free throws the Bullets closed to within six on back-to-back baskets by Elizabeth Ross and Jen Bengel. After a timeout Wolff and Lee each scored to build the lead back to 10.

A Laura Popovics '08 3-pointer with 11:00 remaining was the last field goal of the game for the Garnet giving them its largest lead at 56-43. From there Swarthmore spent the rest of the evening on the free throw line. Initially, the Garnet struggled hitting just 4 of 9 and Gettysburg closed to within five but the Garnet connected on ten consecutive over the final 2:25 to fend off the Bullets. Wolf, the Centennial's leading free throw shooter, hit 8 of 8 and Jessica Fuhr '07 converted two during the run.

Four Garnet starters reached double figures in scoring. Along with Wolff's 14, Debbie Farrelly '06 tallied 12 and added four assists, Lee added 11 points, seven rebounds, a Centennial Conference playoff record four blocks, and four steals and Berk finished with 10 points and three steals. Fuhr the fifth starter added nine points.

Bengel posted a game-high 18 points for the Bullets and Falk and Eiden each scored 10.

The Garnet improves its Centennial playoff record to 4-3 overall.

A bus will be available for all fans wishing to cheer on the Garnet at Dickinson. Contact the athletic department office at 610-328-8213 for more information.

Swarthmore College junior Radiance Walters (Gaithersburg, MD - The Bullis School) was named to the 2005 All-Centennial Conference Women's Basketball Team in balloting by the league's 11 head coaches. Walters received honorable mention.

The 5-9 forward leads the Garnet in scoring and rebounding, averaging 10.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Walters is 18th in the Conference in scoring and fourth in rebounding and her eight double-doubles this season rank fourth.

Swarthmore is currently 15-10 overall and 11-7 in the Centennial. The Garnet host Gettysburg in the first round of the Conference playoffs tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in Tarble Pavilion.

Senior co-captains Alison Wolff and Kristen Lee led four players in double digit scoring as Swarthmore downed Haverford 73-42 to clinch their fifth Centennial Conference playoff berth in six years.

The Garnet benefited from 43% shooting in the first half to establish a 37-15 lead at the intermission. Swarthmore's defense held the Fords to 20.8% shooting and registered 12 steals, five from frosh forward Karen Berk, while forcing 16 Haverford turnovers.

Wolff shot six for seven from the field and sank both free throws, while corralling nine rebounds and swiping three steals. Lee also enjoyed a good shooting night, going five for eight from the field and three for three from the line. The shooting guard handed out a game-high four assists in the process.

Guards Debra Farrelly '06 and Jessica Fuhr '07 were the other Swarthmore players in double digits, scoring 11 points a piece as the Garnet finish the regular season 15-10 overall, and 11-7 in the conference.

Swarthmore was without forward Radiance Walters '06, the team's leading scorer and rebounder, out with a leg injury incurred against Gettysburg on Saturday. Forwards Cara Tigue '06 and co-captain Lauren Kett '05 provided the necessary spark off the bench, combining for twelve points and 17 rebounds. Tigue grabbed a career-high nine boards and sank four of six from the line for the Garnet.

The Fords (4-19, 1-16 CC) were led by Erica Juliano with 12 points, while guard Meredith Foote added 10 points.

Swarthmore last appeared in the Centennial playoffs in 2002-03, falling in the semi-finals 69-55 at Johns Hopkins. With their eleven wins in Centennial action, the Garnet move into a fourth-place tie on the all-time Centennial Conference list with ninety-nine wins, pushing their all-time record over the .500 mark (99-92) in the process.

With Gettysburg's 86-83 loss to Dickinson on Tuesday night, the Garnet clinch the #4 seed, earning the right to host the Bullets on Thursday, February 24th in opening round action of the 2005 Centennial Conference playoffs. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

The Garnet finished in third place at the Centennial Conference Championships with 571.5 points. Host Franklin & Marshall won its second consecutive Championship with 872 points and Gettysburg finished in second with 826.5.

Andrew Frampton '08 provided Swarthmore's highlight of the day when he shattered the school record in the 1650 freestyle. Frampton finished in fourth place in a time of 16:43.6 to smash Mark Friedberg's '98 mark of 16:54.05 set in 1998.

Andrew Koczo '07 followed up his gold medal in the 100 breaststroke with a bronze medal in the 200 breaststroke, touching the wall in 2:14.63. Rob McKeon '07 finished in seventh in 2:16.86 and Brian Rose place 8th in 2:19.68.

Mike Auerbach '05 placed fifth in the 200 butterfly in 1:59.72 and Ben Morgan placed sixth in the 1650 free (17:27.06) and 8th in the 200 backstroke in 2:07.56.

The 400 freestyle relay team of Jason Horwitz '07, Anders Taylor '07, Jonathan Augat '07 and Auerbach closed out the meet with a fifth place finish in 3:18.68.

Finals Standings - Day 3 Finals - Day 3 Trials

Swarthmore finished in fourth place at this year's Northeast Collegiate Tournament held in Tarble Pavilion on Saturday. Cornell edged out Boston University on a tiebreaker after both teams finished with 22.5 points. Penn placed third with 14.5 points while the Garnet compiled 13.5 on the day.

Leading the way for Swarthmore was the duo of Jessica Larson '06 and Candice Cherk '07. Both women advanced to the semifinals of the singles pool then teamed up to reach the doubles finals.

Their outstanding performance earned them a trip to the Badminton National Championships in San Diego, CA on April 8-10 where they will participate in both singles and doubles play.

Results

The Garnet finished in third place at the Centennial Conference Championships with at three-day total of 567.5 points. Host Franklin & Marshall defended its championship with 732 points and Gettysburg placed second with 687.5.

Katherine Reid '05 provided the highlight of the day when she broke two school records in one event. Reid earned a silver medal in the 1,650 freestyle in a Swarthmore record time of 18:06.56 eclipsing the mark of 18:10.5 set by Gretchen VandeWalle '90 in 1989. She also set the school record in the 1,000 freestyle as her split of 10:55.21 topped the mark of 10:55.65 set by Amy Auerbach '02 in 1999.

The 400 freestyle relay team of Franny Zhang '08, Melanie Johncilla '05, Sarah Cotcamp '07 and Jennie Lewis '08 won a silver medal in a school record time of 3:37.12. The time is also a provisional qualifying time for the NCAA Championships.

Cotcamp placed seventh in the 100 freestyle in 55.36 and Lewis followed with an eighth place finish in 56.08 Michele Hom '07 swam to an 8th place finish in the 200 breaststroke in 2:31.97.

Final Standings - Day 3 Finals - Day 3 Trials

Elizabeth Ross and Jen Bengel combined for 46 points to lead Gettysburg to an 82-69 Centennial Conference victory over the Garnet in Gettysburg. The Bullets and Garnet are now tied for fourth place in the Conference standings with 10-7 records as they split the season series 1-1.

Gettysburg jumped out to a 9-2 lead and never looked back as they led the game wire-to-wire. The Bullets built a 40-28 lead with 1:37 remaining in the first before Debbie Farrelly '06 hit four free throw to get the Garnet to within 40-32 at the break.

The Garnet got as close as 46-39 on a Farrelly jumper with 15:18 remaining but the Bullets pulled away for good with a 10-0 run.

Ross led the Bullets with 26 points and Bengel posted a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Karen Berk '08 led the Garnet with 15 points and Farrelly finished with 13 on a perfect shooting night where she was 4 for 4 from the floor and 4 of 4 from the line.

The Garnet travel to Haverford on Tuesday at 6 p.m. while the Bullets host Dickinson at 6 p.m., a Garnet victory will clinch a spot in the CC playoffs for the fifth time in six years.

The Garnet moved up to third place with a total of 396 points after a solid performance in Day two of the Centennial Conference Swim Championships.

Andrew Koczo '07 paced the Garnet by winning the 100 Breaststroke in 1:00.02. Koczo also swam the second leg on the 200 medley relay team with Anders Taylor '07, Mike Auerbach '05 and Jonathan Augat '07 that earned the silver medal in a time of 1:38.18.

The Garnet also picked up some points in the 400IM as Ben Morgan '05 finished in fourth (4:19.36), Rob McKeon '07 placed fifth (4:22.72), and Brian Rose '06 came in seventh (4:39.57).

Auerbach finished in fourth place in the 200 freestyle in 1:45.79 and Taylor place fifth in the 100 backstroke (56.04) just ahead of Jeff Schneider '05 who placed seventh in 57.40.

The Garnet closed out the evening with a third place finish in the 800 free relay. Andrew Frampton '08, Taylor, Jason Horwitz '07, and Auerbach touched the wall in 7:18.31.

Franklin & Marshall leads with 600 points and Gettysburg is in second place with 550.

Trials for the final day of competition begin tomorrow at 10:30 and finals get underway at 6:30.

Day 2 Scores - Day 2 Finals - Day 2 Trials