SPORTS BRIEFS

Author: ZAMIR AHMED, SPORTS EDITOR

Swimmers honored by NESCAC

On Feb. 21, nine members of the Middlebury women's swimming and diving team were named to the NESCAC All-Conference Team based on their performance at last week's conference championship meet. The Panthers took second at the meet behind Williams, which took home the trophy for the sixth straight year. The top three finishers in each event earned All-Conference honors.

Headlining the list of Panthers on the team was Marika Ross '08, who received recognition in six events. Ross won the 50y, 100y and 200y butterfly races and swam on the 200y, 400y and 800y freestyle relay teams. Classmate Sara Cowie '08 also had an impressive meet, earning her place on the team in four events. Cowie won the 1650y and the 1000y freestyle races in record-setting times and finished second in the 500y freestyle. Cowie was also a member of the 800y freestyle relay team that finished second. Alanna Hanson '08 was the Panthers' only other individual winner at the meet, winning the one-meter diving title to make the All-Conference Team.

Libby Brush '09 and Catherine Suppan '09 also earned spots on the All-Conference Team with strong showings in individual events. Brush took second in the 200y butterfly, five seconds behind Ross in the event. Suppan finished third in the 200y breaststroke, setting a school-record in the event, and took fourth in the 100y breaststroke in another school-record time. Suppan also swam on the 400y and 800y freestyle relay teams.

Pam Chatikavanij '08, Cornelieke Lammers '09, Liz Rice '07 and Barbara Van der Veer '07 were all named to the All-Conference Team for their efforts on three different freestyle relays.



NESCAC seasons come to close

This past weekend saw the close of three NESCAC seasons, as division titles were handed out in men's and women's basketball and men's swimming and diving. Although no Panther teams factored into these championships, the weekend still saw tight and exciting action to close the books on three league tournaments.

On Feb. 26, for the fourth straight year Bates College and Bowdoin College met in the final of the NESCAC Women's Basketball Tournament to decide the conference championship. And for the fourth straight year, Bowdoin came out on top over its arch-rival, winning 68-58 to raise the trophy for the sixth straight season. The Polar Bears were led by sophomore Marisa Berne, who tallied 18 points, and junior Julia Loonin, who scored all her 17 points in the second half to rally the team from a seven-point halftime deficit. Sophomore Sarah Barton notched 15 points and seven assists to lead the Bobcats.

Feb. 26 also brought to a close the NESCAC men's basketball tournament. In a classic thriller, Amherst College wrapped up its second straight title with a 94-86 overtime win over Tufts University. Junior Dan Wheeler scored 24 points to go with five assists while senior Co-Captain John Bedford added 23 points to pace Amherst. Leading the Jumbos were sophomore Jake Weitzen with a game-high 25 points and senior Dan Martin with 23 points.

The NESCAC Men's Swimming and Diving Championship wrapped up on Feb. 26, a day that saw Williams College take home its fourth straight conference title. The Ephs finished the meet with 2,068 points, the first time ever a team has surpassed 2,000 points at the meet. The Ephs were followed by Tufts in second with 1,522 points, a finish that earned Head Coach Adam Hoyt Coach of the Year honors. Amherst finished in third with 1,354 points. Senior Will Cunningham led Williams to the title, winning three individual races and four relay golds on his way to being named Swimmer of the Meet. Hamilton senior Mike Salmon was named Diver of the Meet while Hamilton coaches Todd Kolean and James Ray were named Diving Coaches of the Year.