Winter Sports Primer: Catch up with Men's and Women's Swimming and Men's Basketball
With the arrival of autumn comes a new sports season, and with that brings the commencement of three sport seasons: men’s swimming, women’s swimming and men’s basketball.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
The Men's Basket Team poses for a group photo at the start of their season. Photo courtesy Paul Blascovich.
The men’s basketball team’s season began on October 14th with the traditional event called Midnight Madness. The event was put together by the Student Athletic Advisory Council and featured all of the sports teams at Sarah Lawrence.
Their first home match is scheduled for November 21 against Pratt Insitute. SAAC has been working on putting together Homecoming, a traditional college event that takes place during the first home game of the basketball season.
The team’s first competition will take place on November 16th, during the Herb-Kenny Tip Off Tournament, at Wesleyan College in Middletown, Connecticut.
“I am excited to watch my young team grow and develop over the course of the year. Our biggest challenge is a lack of experience since we do not have any Juniors and only one Senior,” said head coach Chris Ehmer. “This ‘challenge’ could also turn out to be a great learning environment.”
“We have a lot of new faces on this team which is exciting. We have more options, but at the same time it will take a few games for us to generate some positive court chemistry,” Ehmer said.
Sophomore Wyatt Rocheleau (‘17) is most excited for homecoming.
“I’m looking forward to homecoming I would say the most because my family is coming out from California,” he said.
Later in the season, the team will face a Division 1 school, New Jersey Institute of Technology, which Rocheleau cites as an exciting opportunity.
“I’m excited for our last game of the season against NJIT, which is a D1 school,” which will provide some opportunity for tough competition.
As for the 2014-2015 season, Ehmer hopes to be competitive in every game throughout the season. “We have a bright future ahead and I am looking forward to an exciting ride.”
Watch the Gryphons face off against Pratt during the Homecoming game, November 21, 2014.
Back: Cameron Martinez, Amit Sankaran, Brendan McAlevy, Jack Chu, Hannah Lawson, Albert Riley, Rachel Barkowitz, Elizabeth Kroll.
Middle: Assistant Coach Allison Curley, Andrew Kaufman, Gabby Risica, Colette Harley, Zoe Berg, Lydia Mullan,
Sarah Schnapp, Sam Amberchan, Jacqueline Quirk, Nick Ransom, Sky Mihaylo, Head Coach Eric Mitchell.
Seated: Brenna Rice, Jay Pulitano, Alexis Bates, Michael Turadek, Owen Marks, Sonia Abraham
Photo by Paul Blascovich via GoGryphons.com
Women’s Swimming
The women’s swim team kicked off their 2014-2015 season on Saturday, November 1 at the Sarah Lawrence sprint carnival. The Gryphons then traveled to compete in a dual meet against SUNY Cobleskill, in Cobleskill, NY. The Gryphons will return to Bronxville with a home meet against SUNY Maritime on November 21, 2014 at 7.P.M.
The Gryphons have recently made the transition to the skyline conference, which Head Coach Eric Mitchell hopes with provide more competition.
“My goal is to finish as one of the top 3 teams in the Skyline conference,” said Mitchell. He also hopes to win the Ranger Invitational, December 3-5 at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, and “break all the team relay records.”
Sophomore Jaqueline Quirk reports that the team this year looks stronger than ever.
“We have a lot of great new swimmers and our meet line up is really promising. I think the team can expect to do even better this year than we did last year,” she said. “I really enjoy the camaraderie within the team. I think we all get along really well and we are all really supportive of each others goals, in and out of the pool. I know when I'm swimming I have a whole team cheering me on and wishing me a good swim”
Men’s Swimming
The men’s swim team began their season on Saturday, November 1, at the Sarah Lawrence sprint carnival. The Gryphons went on to compete against SUNY Cobleskill in Cobleskill NY. They will host SUNY Maritime on November 21, 2014, at 7 P.M., prior to Homecoming.
“I'm looking forward to the men achieving their goals. I’m really looking forward to the team relays. I think we can break a lot of the team records this year.” said head coach Eric Mitchell.
Mitchell also hopes to defeat several Skyline competitors.
“The team looks stronger than ever, the bond is tighter too,” said Mitchell. “The biggest challenge will be keeping people engaged and healthy through the 19 week season.”
The gryphons welcome the several returning members, but also welcome some fresh faces.
Senior captain Jay Pulitano (‘15), who is returning from a semester abroad, is excited for the enthusiasm on the pool deck.
“I’m really looking forward to the excitement of racing and cheering for everyone again,” he said. “We have a relatively small team, but what we lack in quantity we make up for in awesomeness.”
Come watch the Gryphons compete at the Campbell Sports Center!
by Colette Harley '17
Sports Editor
charley@gm.slc.edu