Swim team honors seniors with win
This Saturday, the swim team had much on the line. Not only were the Gettysburg Bullets, the 2015 men’s and women’s Centennial Conference champion, coming to town, but it was also Senior Day. As a result, the team came in with a lot of energy and a lot to prove.
The men’s team lived up to the moment and found the best way possible to honor the six seniors — Riley Collins, Michael McVerry, Nikhil Paladugu, David Ranshous, Kurtis Swartz and Joshua Turek-Hurman — they won. With contributions from Jeffrey Tse ’19 who won the 100-yard backstroke and Chris Smith ’19 who won the 200-yard freestyle, the Garnet dethroned the 2015 champions and secured a 143-119 victory.
Though the women were not able to replicate the men’s positive result, the team battled with the reigning champion. Emily Bley ’19 won the 500-yard freestyle and Erica Flor ‘17 won the 100-yard backstroke. Though seniors Margaret Luo and Eva Winter had to leave Ware Pool on a losing note, they walk away with a lot to be proud of.
This Saturday, the team will travel to Dickinson for its second to last meet before the Conference tournament. This year, Conferences will be held at Gettysburg on February 19.
Men’s basketball stumbles before getting back to winning ways
The Garnet had a five-game win streak coming into Saturday’s matchup with Johns Hopkins university, along with the home-court advantage. Add that to the desire to make up for their loss against the Blue Jays earlier in the season — one of the Garnet’s few blemishes — and it seemed that the Garnet were in prime position to claim yet another victory. Unfortunately, they lost 62-53 in one of their more disappointing performances of the season.
A poor start to the game put the Garnet in a difficult position for later in the game. The team shot 17.1 percent and went into the half staring at a deficit of 13 points. Nonetheless, the team fought back and even managed to come within one point in the final two minutes of the game after a free throw from Robbie Walsh ’15. After that, however, the Garnet were unable to score and the Blue Jays ran with the lead en route to victory.
On Tuesday, the Garnet rebounded with a big win at home against Ursinus College, 83-64. Even though they did not lead until there was 7:33 left in the first half, the Garnet dominated the game. Four players scored in double-digits by the end, and the team as a whole improved, particularly in three-point shooting (52 percent).
Looking ahead, the Garnet, currently at second place in the conference with a record of 10-3 (16-4 overall) have a crucial matchup with conference leaders Franklin & Marshall on Saturday at home, where they will try to avenge their close loss from last month.
Despite losses, Jess Jowdy ’16 shines for women’s basketball
It was another tough week for the Garnet. The team, which is currently on a thirteen game losing streak, went 0-3, dropping its overall record to 3-17. Though it has been a season to forget for the Garnet, one of the lone bright spots has been the play of Jess Jowdy ’16. Over her past three games, Jowdy averaged 28.0 ppg, 4.0 apg and 9.3 rpg, bringing her season totals up to an astounding 17.2 ppg, 3.7 apg, 7.0 rpg. Her overall stellar performance earned her Co-Conference player of the Week (1/25-1/31) and put her in prime position for an All-Conference nomination.
The Garnet head to Washington College (3-15, 0-12 CC) on Thursday, Feb. 4 and will face off against Bryn Mawr (3-14) next Wednesday, Feb. 10. Since both of the games are very winnable, expect another big performance from Jowdy and the rest of the Garnet squad.
Track & Field teams showcase skills during busy weekend
The track & field team had a busy weekend that consisted of two meets. The first was the Widener Invitational on Friday, followed by the McElligot Invitational at Haverford College on Saturday.
At the Widener Invitational, jumpers from both the men’s and women’s teams showed off their skills. From the men, Nolan Hofstee ’19 tied for first place in the high jump with a height of 1.67 meters, and also placed second in the triple jump. Hofstee’s classmates Greta Studier ’19 and Rachel Leifeld ’19 from the women’s team also participated in the high jump, coming out with a height of 1.47 meters.
The McElligot Invitational was much busier and featured many notable performances all around. From the women’s team, Sarah Neilsen ’16 participated in the 800-meter run and ran an ECAC D-III qualifying time of 2:20.85, good for second place overall. Jenn Beltran ’18 led the way for the team in the 400-meter dash, where she placed fourth with a time of 1:04.42. Kenzie Himelein-Wachowiak ’19 led the Garnet for the one-mile run, running it in 5:26.05.
From the men, Saadiq Garba ’19 also placed 4th in the 400 meter dash, missing third place by two one-hundredths of a second. John Gagnon ’17 placed fourth in the one-mile run and won his heat.
Next Saturday will be another full day for the teams, who will be attending both the Colden Invitational hosted by Ursinus College and the Villanova Invitational in Staten Island, NY.
