Connecticut College Sports Roundup

athletic teams had a productive day on Saturday, earning three wins in basketball and ice hockey competitions and taking part in an indoor track invitational. The following information was provided by William Tomasian, sports information director at Connecticut College:

Men's Basketball: Conn College 55, Salve Regina 54

Connecticut College sophomore forward Mason Lopez (Edgewater, N.J.) pivoted in the lane to sink a short jumper with eight ticks left on the clock as the Camels defeated the Salve Regina University Seahawks, 55-54, in a non-league matchup at the Rodgers Recreation Center.

"It wasn't our best performance but we had to come back twice against a very well coached and determined team and Mason made a great shot at the end," Connecticut College Head Men's Basketball Coach Tom Satran said. "I think we can handle the ball better than we did and am hopeful we will do so going forward."

Salve Regina, which fell on a buzzer-beater at on November 20, led most of the game despite shooting under 34 percent. The Seahawks led by as many as 13 (24-11 with 5:20 to go in the first half) after a free throw from Seahawk freshman and Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) rookie of the week Brendan Canova (Edina, Minn.). They led by nine (42-33) as late as 14:08 left in the second after senior guard Ryan Birrell (Scituate, R.I.) converted a steal into a layup.

Connecticut College then used a 13-2 run to take its first lead of the second half, keyed by seven points from sophomore guard Matt Vadas (Spring Lake Heights, N.H.) with two layups and a 3-pointer.

Canova swished a 3-pointer to regain the lead, 47-46, with 8:33 remaining. The score remained that way until a jumper by Salve Regina sophomore guard Patrick Dinneen (Medfield, Mass.) at the 6:08 mark.

A 3-pointer by junior Rob Harrigan (Milford, Conn.) tied the score at 49-all with 4:54 left. Lopez later hit a layup just under the four-minute mark and Vadas sank a free throw for the largest Camel lead, 52-49 with 2:49 showing.

Dinneen connected on a 3-pointer just as the 35-second shot clock expired, tying the game at 52-all with 2:10 left. Vadas gave the visitors a one-point lead with a free throw at the 1:48 mark.

In the final minute, the Seahawks forced a turnover on a five-second violation and then sophomore forward Jeff Bielefeld (Littleton, Mass.) worked inside for the go-ahead layup with 35 seconds remaining. The Camels called timeout after getting the ball over halfcourt with 28 seconds left to set up a final play.

After looking inside to Vadas who was guarded by Birrell, Lopez elected to drive into the lane from the right side. When that path became obstructed, he swiftly pivoted to alter his direction and then leaped to get off his game-winning jumper.

A missed 3-point attempt by Dinneen was rebounded and put back by Bielefeld but his shot caromed into the hands of Lopez as time expired. Dinneen finished with a team-high 17 points while Birrell led the Seahawks with eight boards.

Lopez and Vadas both finished with 17 points for the Camels who have not had an individual reach 20 points in a single game this season. Brian Mahoney (Quincy, Mass.) and Vadas each snared seven rebounds. Connecticut College (3-4) hosts Springfield College at the Luce Field House on Tuesday.

Salve Regina (4-4) visits New London, Conn., on New Year's Eve to face the U.S. (1 p.m.).

Women's Basketball: Conn College 53, Nichols 43

Sophomore forward Tara Gabelman (Irvington, N.Y.) poured in a career-high 26 points to lead the Connecticut College women's basketball team to its fourth-straight win, a 53-43 victory at Nichols College Saturday afternoon.

The Camels improve to 7-1, while the Bison dip to 1-7. Gabelman accounted for half of Connecticut College's points as Nichols held them to more than 20 points below their scoring average, forcing 16 turnovers and a first half 22.6 shooting percentage (7-31). Gabelman had a game-high nine rebounds and six steals, and was joined in double-digit scoring by senior guard Jenn Shinnall (Redding, Conn.), who added five boards, three assists and four steals.

First year guard Sarah Whitestone (Dalton, Mass.) led Nichols with 11 points off the bench, while senior forward Chelsea Shaughnessy (Halifax, Mass.) filled the stats sheet with eight rebounds (seven defensive), five assists and four steals to go with six points. Nichols used its bench depth to outscore the Camels' bench by a 21-10 margin, seeing eight of 10 players record at least three points.

The game was slow to start, but the Camels got out to a seven-point lead by way of the charity stripe at the 8:32 mark. A Natalie Wilson (Bedford, N.H.) layup ended a five-minute scoring drought for the Bison shortly after and kicked off a quick 6-1 Nichols run that cut the Camels' lead to one with under five to play in the half. Shinnall converted a pair of free throws and Gabelman followed with a layup to bring it back to a five-point game where it stayed at the break, 23-18.

Nichols quickly cut the lead down to two points in the opening of the second half, but a pair of Bison turnovers proved costly as the Camels rattled off nine of the next 10 points to take a double-digit lead, 34-24, just over five minutes into the stanza.

The Bison again chipped away as Whitestone scored seven of Nichols' points in a 9-2 spree that saw them get as close as three points, but the Camels strode away on the back of Gabelman as she scored nine over the final six minutes to keep the game in check.

Nichols is idle until the New Year when they host Framingham State on January 3rd in a 7 p.m. game. Connecticut College travels to another Commonwealth Coast Conference opponent Tuesday, taking on Roger Williams University in a 7 p.m. game.

Men's Ice Hockey: Bowdoin 7, Conn College 0

The Bowdoin College men's ice hockey team cruised to a weekend sweep of NESCAC opponents, defeating Connecticut College 7-0 on Saturday afternoon at Watson Arena. The Polar Bears improve to 5-3-1 (3-2-1 NESCAC) while the Camels fall to 2-6-0 (2-4-0 NESCAC).

The game was the final match of the opening semester for both squads. Bowdoin will return to actiona January 3 at Wentworth while the Camels will next play at Oswego on December 30.

Colin Downey had a goal and two assists for Bowdoin, who also received a pair of goals from Tim McGarry. Richard Nerland made 20 saves in his fourth career shutout.

Mike Petchonka made 35 saves and allowed six goals in 52:28 before being replaced by Andrew Margolin, who made a single save and permitted a goal over the final 7:32.

Women's Ice Hockey: Conn College 1, University of St. Thomas 0

Sam Schoeneberger (Vernon, Conn.) put back a rebound with 7:25 remaining to lift the Connecticut College women's hockey team to a 1-0 victory against the University of St. Thomas in a non-conference game played at Dayton Arena Saturday.

The Camels improve to 2-3-1 with the win, while the Tommies slip to 2-5-2 in the setback.

Senior assistant captain Lauren Posillico (Nesconset, N.Y.) skated in from the neutral zone to lead the Camels on the odd women rush. Posillico dished the puck off to Amelia Dineen (Arlington, Mass.), whose blast was saved by Riedel but Schoeneberger pounced on the rebound and found the back of the net for the eventual game-winner.

Junior net-minder Amy Leichliter (Westchester, Pa.) turned aside 32 shots en route to the third shutout of her career in a brilliant performance for the hosts.

Sophomore Alise Riedel (Hudson, Wis.) made 22 saves in the loss for the Tommies.

The visitors had one last shot to tie the game with a power play in the closing moments. But Leichliter denied Mary Grace Flesher (Rochester, Minn.) on her scoring bid from the point with 50.5 seconds left.

Posillico and Molly Murphy (Woodstock, Conn.) battled on the penalty kill and the Camels were able to clear the zone and hold on for the 1-0 triumph.

The Tommies out-shot the Camels 10-to-6 in the middle period but could not take advantage on the scoreboard.

Junior Caroline Corbett (Norwood, Mass.) provided some early pressure with two scoring bids in the first. Corbett tried to go top shelf with 3:47 remaining but Riedel was able to make the save.

The Tommies nearly got on the board with 2:53 remaining when Grett Omann (Cold Spring, Minn.) re-directed a shot from the slot but Leichliter made the save.

Then, with 47 seconds left, Corbett skated inside the right circle for a shot that was saved by Riedel and the team's headed to the locker rooms locked up in a scoreless draw.

The Camels are now a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill during their current two game un-beaten streak.

Indoor Track

The Connecticut College track and field teams visited the Watch City of Waltham Saturday to compete in the Reggie Poyau Invitational at Brandeis University. 

Connecticut College head track and field coach Ned Bishop reported a strong start for both teams. The women placed sixth out of eight teams with a score of 39 points, while the men finished seventh out of eight teams with a score of 32 points.

Paving the way for the women was Sara Gildersleeve. Gildersleeve posted a time of 7.57 seconds in the 55 meter dash to place fifth, earning an invitation to the New England Division Championship in the process.

She added a fourth place finish in the 200 meters with a time of 27.59 seconds.

In the 1000 meters, senior Ally Bonito placed fifth with a time of 3:17.51. Classmate Kerry Dermody took sixth place in the 3000 with a time of 10:59.89.

In the 4x800 meter relay, the Camel foursome comprised of Ally Bonito, Kerry Dermody, Heather Rochford and Lianne Swanson cruised to a second place finish in 10:43.52.

Sophomore Lauren Cameron took third place in the high jump, reaching a height of 1.43 meters. In the pole vault, Lilas Humen placed second with a height of 2.60 meters.

Junior Ali Holland took fifth place in the long jump (4.77 meters), while Christine Roundtree took sixth place in the long jump (4.70 meters).

Sam Pevar placed fourth in the shot put with a toss of 10.32 meters and earned a sixth place score in the weight throw for the Camels (9.68 meters).

The Camel men made some noise in the 3000 meter distance. Mavrovic and LeDuc had their tickets stamped to the New England Division III Championship. Mavrovic placed second in 8:39.6. LeDuc finished third in 8:46.32 with Tim Murtagh (8:57.33) and Patrick Dermody (9:00.05) following in fourth and sixth place respectively.

In the 400 meter run, sophomore Ian Rathkey posted a time of 53.89 seconds en route to a fourth place showing.

In the 4x400 meter relay, Rathkey, Ben Bajaj, Aaron Fellows and Geoff Phaneuf posted a time of 3:41.10 en route to a sixth place showing.

The Camel foursome comprised of Mavrovic, LeDuc, Doug Wright and Drew Majkut posted a time of 8:29.69 in a fourth place scoring in the 4x800 meter relay.

The Camel B Team comprised of Dermody, Matt Gitkind, Amit Kinha and Hoitt McAllister placed sixth in 9:02.39.

In the high jump, James Assif covered distance of 1.73 meters to place sixth. Alex DeShields took fifth place in the long jump (5.96 meters).