Saint Michael’s women’s basketball defied the odds and men’s basketball nearly knocked off another regional superpower as the hoop squads continued to push toward the postseason last week.
Women’s basketball, originally predicted to finish 15th in the conference according to the Northeast-10 Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, finished a 2-1 week by clinching a playoff spot with the squad’s first win over Stonehill since 2002. Saint Michael’s snapped a 12-game losing skid against the Skyhawks and sealed back-to-back wins by 20-plus points for the first time since Feb. 13-18, 2004. Four Purple Knights played their final regular season home game on Saturday’s Senior Day: Marilyn Ferreira (New London, N.H.), Meghan McCormack (Barrie, Ontario), Logan Pintka (Schenectady, N.Y.) and Mandy Scott (Vergennes, Vt.). Pintka averaged 15.3 points during the week while surpassing the 1,100 career point mark and moving into 11th place all-time in program scoring, and Ferreira moved into the top-10 in program history in career assists. Saint Michael’s starts its final road trip of the season at Southern N.H. on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
Men’s basketball followed its upset of Bentley with home wins over Franklin Pierce and Merrimack before falling to Stonehill 59-51 on Saturday. In Thursday’s besting of Merrimack, freshman Michael Holton, Jr. (Portland, Ore./Sunset/The Winchendon School) had a game-high 26 points and junior Tyler Schilling (Excelsior, Minn./Minnetonka) tied his-career best total with 19 rebounds. Saint Michael’s honored its four seniors during pre-game ceremonies on Saturday: NE-10 assists leader Nate Birr (Burnsville, Minn./Saint Thomas Academy), Sebastian Brandstetter (Newport, Vt./North Country Union), Chris Hurley (Watertown, Mass./Boston College High School) and Matt Natoli (Fayetteville, N.Y./Jamesville-Dewitt). After finishing 8-4 at home this season, the Purple Knights are tied for the eighth and final home playoff spot with three road games remaining. Saint Michael’s returns to action at Southern N.H. on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Skiing finished in 10th place on Saturday at the two-day Dartmouth College Carnival. Freshman Carl-Oscar Bredengen (Reistad, Norway/Donski VGS) had a strong showing on Saturday, placing 21st in the men's slalom. On the women's side, junior Ashley Langlands (Shelburne, N.H./Gorham Middle) had the best Saint Michael's slalom showing, placing 33rd. In Nordic action, junior Robert Sitzer (Lenox, Mass./Lenox Memorial) finished 47th in the men's 10-kilometer classic, while in the women's 10-kilometer classic, junior Samantha Martell (Georgia, Vt./BFA-Saint Albans (Saint Lawrence)) had an impressive 55th-place finish. Saint Michael's is back in action next Friday and Saturday at the Middlebury College Carnival.
Men’s hockey posted back-to-back losses to Skidmore and Castleton to see its losing streak reach four games this week. The NE-10 regular season champions rallied to a 4-4 third period tie with the nationally-ranked Spartans on Saturday before Castleton picked up two goals to win 6-4. Junior Reave MacKinnon (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Winnipeg Saints) scored twice, and freshmen Ryan Arsenault (Reading, Mass./New Hampton School) and Nic McIntyre (Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec/Kent School) both scored their first collegiate goal. Saint Michael’s closes the regular season with three games this week, and has a chance to post a perfect NE-10 regular season record when the Purple Knights face Stonehill on Tuesday.
Women’s hockey suffered back-to-back losses at UMass Boston and Saint Anselm this week. Junior Kiera Nelligan (Melrose, Mass./Arlington Catholic) extended her season-high point streak to five games with a goal on Friday, and leads the squad with 10 assists this year. The Purple Knights close the regular season with two home contests this week before hosting the Eastern College Athletic Conference East Open Tournament the following weekend.
Diving senior Alex Stott (Plymouth, Mass./Sturgis Charter Public School) recorded a seventh-place finish in the men's one-meter dive on Saturday at the New England Intercollegiate Swimming & Diving Association (NEISDA) Diving Championships, hosted by Bentley University. Stott finished with 276.1 points in his series of six dives. The swim team is poised for the NEISDA Swimming Championships which begin next Friday at the Upper Valley Aquatic Center in White River Jct., Vt.
Over 60 percent of Purple Knight athletes made the Northeast-10 Conference Fall 2010 Commissioner's Honor Roll, it was announced on Thursday. The Commissioner's Honor Roll recognizes NE-10 athletes who earn a grade point average of at least 3.0. Of the 311 NE-10 athletes at Saint Michael's, 188 made the honor roll, equating to 60.5 percent. The Purple Knights were just shy of making the top three NE-10 institutions for honor roll representation, as Adelphi (71 percent), Bentley (63 percent) and Stonehill (61 percent) claimed the top three spots. The NE-10 honored a total of 2,917 athletes this fall, 93 of which had a 4.0 GPA. Ten Purple Knights earned a 4.0, and Saint Michael's was one of 11 NE-10 institutions to have over half its athletes recognized on the honor roll. Eighty-three Purple Knights had a GPA between 3.99 and 3.5, and 95 athletes had between a 3.0 and 3.49.
Women's soccer and women's cross country tied with 20 athletes apiece for the most honored Saint Michael's sport, and men's ice hockey was the most decorated men's sport with 18 athletes on the honor roll.
Men's lacrosse was picked to finish sixth in the NE-10 this season according to the head coaches preseason poll, it was announced last Monday. The Purple Knights received 58 votes, eight short of Pace University in the fifth-place slot. 2010 national runner-up Le Moyne College was selected to repeat as regular season champions with eight first-place votes. The Purple Knights narrowly missed the playoffs last season with a 5-5 conference record, and lost the tie-breaker with Saint Anselm for the sixth and final postseason spot
Women's lacrosse was voted by the head coaches to finish 11th in the NE-10 according to the conference preseason poll, it was announced last Monday. The Purple Knights finished 3-8 in conference play last year, and enter their first season under head coach Ashley Hughes. Saint Michael's received 31 votes, 21 behind behind Saint Anselm College and three above Assumption College. All three aforementioned schools will be led by first-year head coaches in 2011. Adelphi University was picked to repeat as conference champions, as the defending national champions received nine first-place votes.
Softball was predicted to finish 16th in the NE-10 according to the Preseason Coaches Poll, it was announced last Thursday. Southern Connecticut State University was picked to repeat at regular season champions and received nine first-place votes.
This Week’s Schedule:
Tue. Feb. 15 Men’s Ice Hockey at Stonehill*, 6 p.m.
Wed. Feb. 16 Women’s Basketball at Southern N.H.*, 5:30 p.m.
Men’s Basketball at Southern N.H.*, 7:30 p.m.
Fri. Feb. 18 Skiing at Middlebury Carnival, 9 a.m.
Swimming at NEISDA Swimming Championship, 10 a.m.
Women’s Ice Hockey vs. Manhattanville^, 4 p.m.
Men’s Ice Hockey vs. Tufts^, 7 p.m.
Sat. Feb. 19 Skiing at Middlebury Carnival, 9 a.m.
Women’s Ice Hockey vs. Nichols^, 1 p.m.
Women’s Basketball at Merrimack*, 1:30 p.m.
Men’s Basketball at Merrimack*, 3:30 p.m.
Men’s Ice Hockey vs. Connecticut College^, 4 p.m.
Swimming at NEISDA Swimming Championship, 10 a.m.
Sun. Feb. 20 Swimming at NEISDA Swimming Championship, 10 a.m.
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