Michael Caprise ’24, a senior from Lynchburg, VA, led Swarthmore men’s basketball to their second straight Centennial Conference title on Sunday afternoon. The Garnet narrowly defeated No. 23-ranked Johns Hopkins University, 67-62, in Baltimore to secure the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Caprise tallied twenty points and ten rebounds in the game, recording his second double-double in a row and his twelfth of the season. The senior averaged fifteen points and eleven rebounds across the tournament’s three games, earning the title of Centennial Tournament MVP and All-Centennial First-Team for his contributions. Swarthmore will face Virginia Wesleyan University in the opening round of the NCAA tournament on Friday in Hartford, CT. The game will mark the program’s seventh-straight tournament appearance.
Sophia Vesely: Can you tell us about the conference tournament victories against Gettysburg and Johns Hopkins this weekend?
Michael Caprise: Those games demonstrated perfectly how we have continued to improve throughout the season. [The] first time around, those two teams outplayed us, but we stayed committed to just getting better each day, and the payoff came during those games.
SV: How does it feel to be back-to-back Centennial Conference Champions and make program history?
MC: It just speaks to the commitment of all my teammates to getting better throughout the year, as well as all of the guys who have come before us to put our program in the position it’s in now.
SV: How did it feel to be selected Centennial Tournament MVP?
MC: Not to be dismissive of it, but the team accomplishment is much more important to me. There are plenty of guys who made important plays throughout the tournament that deserve equal recognition.
SV: What are the team’s goals for the NCAA tournament?
MC: Our goal is to just keep getting better so that we can keep playing basketball with each other for as long as possible. We have a lot of fun doing it and don’t want it to stop.
SV: What are some of your personal goals for the rest of the season?
MC: Also, just to keep playing basketball for as long as I can.
SV: Do you have any pre- or post-game rituals?
MC: Nothing special.
SV: Why did you choose Swarthmore, and what are you studying?
MC: I chose Swarthmore due to the high level of academics as well as the basketball program. I wanted to be someplace where I could get pushed in the classroom and play against the best on the court. I am a biochemistry major.
SV: What is your favorite Dining Center bar?
MC: They don’t really have it any more, but the one with the different salads, like nutty goat.
