Winter sports celebrated five wins last week and the fall season officially came to a close, commencing with a strong showing by both cross country squads at the NCAA Regionals in Boston on Sunday.
Freshman Gabrielle Naranja (Fort Kent, Maine/Fort Kent Community) powered the Saint Michael’s women’s cross country team to a 13th-place finish out of 30 teams at Regionals. Naranja, the foundation of the team the entire season, paced the Purple Knights with a 16th-place finish in the 187 runner field, finishing the six-kilometer race in 23:41. Junior Caitlin Ferland (Vergennes, Vt./Bay Path) finished second for Saint Michael’s and 74th overall in 25:21. For the men, junior Matt Smith (Winchester, Mass./Muhlenberg) ran the 10-kilometer race in 34:10 to finish in 69th place. Sophomore Colin Delaney (Lake Placid, N.Y./National Sports Acad.) finished three seconds behind Smith for 70th place.
The men’s basketball team posted an 86-79 come-from-behind win over Concordia at home on Saturday to cap a 1-1 week, marking first-year head coach Michael Harding’s first win at the Ross Sports Center. Saint Michael’s trailed the Clippers well into the second half, trailing by eight points with 10 minutes to go. Harding’s squad scored 10 of the next 12 points to tie the game at 68 heading into the final seven minutes, and a 9-0 run helped the Purple Knights pull ahead for good. Freshman Michael Holton, Jr. (Portland, Ore./The Winchendon School) tallied 21 of his game-high 27 points in the second half, helping the hosts erase an eight-point second half deficit. Holton also handed out seven assists without committing a turnover in the win, and averaged 21 points and 5.5 assists per game during the week. Sophomore Travis Warech (Pine Brook, N.J./Montville) tallied 20 points for the third time in four games, and junior Tyler Schilling (Excelsior, Minn./Minnetonka) recorded his third double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds. The Purple Knights return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Franklin Pierce at 7:30 p.m.
The women’s basketball team scored 49 points in the second half on their way to beating UMass Lowell 80-64 in the season-opener at home on Wednesday. Saint Michael’s held a slim four-point lead at the half and the River Hawks pulled within four (52-48) again with 10:49 to play, but the Purple Knights answered with a 14-2 run that put them in the driver’s seat the rest of the way. Saint Michael’s combined to hit 12 three-pointers, tying the program record for a single game set against Saint Anselm on Jan. 19, 1994. Freshman Cara Deroy (Camden, Conn./Hamden) and junior Caitlin Quinn (Oakdale, Conn./Montville) each had 15 points for Saint Michael’s. Seniors Logan Pintka (Schenectady, N.Y./Colonie Central) and Mandy Scott (Vergennes, Vt./Vergennes Union) had 14 and 11 points, respectively, rounding out the four Purple Knights in double figures. The win marks the first time the Purple Knights have won by 16 points since Jan. 9 of last year and the first 80-point game since winning 85-74 in overtime at Dominican Jan. 21, 2008. Saint Michael’s returns to conference play on Tuesday on the road against Franklin Pierce at 5:30 p.m.
The men’s hockey team opened its season in grand fashion and scored a combined 11 goals in home wins over Southern Maine and the University of New England. In a true sharing of wealth, six different Purple Knights scored in Friday’s 6-2 win, and five different players scored in Saturday’s 5-0 victory. Juniors Brady Earle (Columbia, Md./The Gunnery School) and Reave MacKinnon (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Winnipeg Saints) each tallied four points over the weekend. Earle and sophomore Josh Geary (Wellesley, Mass./Phillips Andover Acad.) were the two Purple Knights to score twice, and MacKinnon and senior Alex Higgins (Phoenix, Ariz./Kent School) each dealt out three assists. Senior goalie Brendan Rimmer (Newbury, Mass./Pingree School) earned his first career shutout by way of a 5-0 score over the Nor’easters on Saturday. The Purple Knights open their Northeast-10 schedule on Tuesday when they host Assumption at 7 p.m.
The women’s hockey team suffered back-to-back losses to UMass Boston and Saint Anselm over the weekend, falling to the Beacons 2-1 on Friday before being shut out 6-0 by the Hawks on Saturday. Junior Madelena Santore (Millington, N.J./New Jersey Rockets/Rutgers Univ.) scored the lone goal for Saint Michael’s, extending her team-leading total to five goals. The Purple Knights will see some time off until they travel to Sacred Heart for a two-game series on Dec. 3-4.
The women’s swimming and diving team took its third decisive win of the season, beating Norwich 212-56 on Wednesday. The men’s side fell 169-121. For the women, senior Hannah Houley (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) won both one-meter dives, and junior Eileen Mullowney (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) continued her strong performance with 50- and 200-yard freestyle wins. Mullowney also helped win the 200-yard freestyle and medley relays. For the men, junior Nick Franks (Needham, Mass./Needham) won the 50- and 100-yard freestyles, and swam the first leg in the winning effort of the 200-yard freestyle relay. The Purple Knights return to action on Dec. 4-5 at the Bentley Invitational.
Contact: Tony Bonvechio - Phone: (802) 654-2929
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