Weekly Sports Update: Basketball Teams host UMass Lowell at Chace Athletic Center Wednesday; Bulldog Baseball Opens 2006 Season Friday at Delta State

 
Bryant University Weekly Sports Update
January 30, 2006

(pdf version)

THIS WEEK IN BRYANT SPORTS
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Monday, Jan. 30
No events

Tuesday, Jan. 31
No events

Wednesday, Feb. 1
Women’s Basketball hosts UMass Lowell, 5:30 pm (Chace Center)
Men’s Basketball hosts UMass Lowell, 7:30 pm (Chace Center)

Thursday, Feb. 2
No events

Friday, Feb. 3
Baseball at Delta State, 3 pm

Saturday, Feb. 4
Indoor Track at Smith, 10 am
Men’s and Women’s Swimming at Salem State, 1 pm
Baseball at Delta State (DH), 1/3 pm
Women’s Basketball at Southern N.H., 1:30 pm
Men’s Basketball at Southern N.H., 3:30 pm

Sunday, Feb. 5
No events

WEEKLY UPDATE
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MEN’S BASKETBALL  (13-7, 8-7 NE-10)
Williams Nets 30 In Loss Saturday at Franklin Pierce; Bulldogs Host First-Place UMass Lowell Wednesday
    The Bryant men’s basketball team went 2-1 last week, earning wins over Pace (78-72) and Southern Connecticut (79-50) before falling at Franklin Pierce, 73-71 Saturday in Rindge, NH.  Senior guard John Williams (Springfield, Mass.) had a big week for the Bulldogs, averaging 23.7 points in three games, including a season-high 30 against Franklin Pierce.  He connected on 18 three-point field goals in the three contests.  Williams is now tied for seventh in school history with 1,499 career points.  He is also just 19 three-pointers shy of the school record of 295.  Nathaniel Sudlow (Brooklyn, NY) had a career-high 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting against Franklin Pierce.  Bryant will host rival UMass Lowell this Wednesday night at the Chace Athletic Center. The River Hawks, picked fifth in the conference preseason poll, enter the game tied for first place in the Northeast-10 Conference standings and first in the latest NCAA Regional Poll.  Bryant is currently sixth in the regional poll and eighth in the conference standings. Start time Wednesday is 7:30 pm.  

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (4-16, 1-14 NE-10)
Bulldogs Earn First Conference Win of Season Saturday at Franklin Pierce Behind Perry’s Ninth Double-Double
      The Bryant women’s basketball team snapped an 11-game losing skid Saturday with a hard-fought 60-52 win at Franklin Pierce.  The Bulldogs, forced to forfeit eight games (including four wins), got a strong effort from graduate student Shannon Perry (Providence, RI).  Perry notched her ninth double-double of the year with 16 points and 12 rebounds, plus added 5 assists and 3 steals. Juniors Joanna Skiba (Providence, RI) and Lauren Rubenoff (New Hartford, CT) each had 12 points while sophomore guard Lynne-Ann Kokoski (Hatfield, Mass.) chipped in with 10 points.  
      The Bulldogs will host UMass Lowell Wednesday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center (5:30 pm).  

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SWIMMING:
Bulldogs Drop Conference Dual Meet at Saint Michael’s
   The Bryant University men’s and women’s swim teams dropped a conference dual meet at Saint Michael’s Saturday with the men falling 115-94 to the Purple Knights.  On the women’s side, it was Saint Michael’s earning a 140-66 win.  
   For the women there were plenty of first place honors to go around as Andrea Geoffroy (Belchertown, MA) took first in the 50 backstroke in 30.90 seconds.  She would also add a first in the 100 backstroke in 51.34. Teammate Christa Berard (Alfred, ME) was first 50 breastroke in 38.16 while Kristen Brekne (Stony Brook, NY) took top honors in the 50 butterfly in 30.41 seconds.  Danielle L'Esperance (Sutton, MA) rounded out the strong afternoon for Bryant with a first place finish in the 100 individual medley in 1:10.18.  
    On the men's side Ray Savner (Bethlehem, CT) placed first in both the 50 freestyle (23.25) and 100 freestyle (51.34).  Nate Olszewki (Blandford, MA) took first in the 500 freestyle in a time of 5:37.59 while Tom Desbiens (Hope Valley, RI) would not be out-done as the junior captured first in the 50 breastroke in 38.16.  Fellow Ocean State native Billy Ryan (Warwick, RI) would finish first in the 100 individual medley in 1:10.18.    The Bulldogs will travel to Salem State this Saturday (Feb. 4)  for a 1 pm meet.   
  
INDOOR TRACK
Three New School Records Fall Saturday at Wesleyan
     Idle for more than a month, the Bryant men’s and women’s indoor track teams returned to action at the Wesleyan Cardinal Invitational and set three new school records in the process. Hafiz Greigre (Attleboro, MA) captured first-place in the 400 in a school record time of 49.10 seconds. The mark by Greigre is also an NCAA provisional time as well.
    On the women’s side, Natasha Stevenson (Haverhill, Mass.) set a pair of records for the Bulldogs. The junior set a school record in the 55 meter prelims, finishing third overall in 7.56 seconds. In the finals, the sophomore improved on the mark a little more as she took third in 7.51 seconds. Stevenson wasn’t through, however, setting a new school record later in the meet in the 400 meters in 59.93 seconds for second place in the event.
      Junior Jessica Cegarra (Danville, NH) captured first place in the women’s shot put with a mark of 40 feet, 3.5 inches while teammate Amber Torrey (Plainfield, NH) was fifth at 36-2.25. Torrey also added third place finish in the women’s weight throw with a throw of 45-8.5.
      Bryant will travel to Smith Saturday.  

DOWN THE STRETCH ...

SPRING SPORTS TEAMS PREPARING FOR START OF 2006 SEASONS AS BASEBALL STARTS FRIDAY
    The winter chill may still surround the Bryant campus, but practice and conditioning for Bryant’s spring sports continue to heat up as they gear up for the start of the 2006 seasons next month.
    The Bryant BASEBALL team will be the first to kick off their season this Friday and Saturday (February 3-4) when the Bulldogs, under the direction of first-year coach Jamie Pinzino visit national power Delta State for a three-game series in Cleveland, Miss..  The Bulldogs will travel to Rollins Feb. 16 to face former coach Jon Sjogren who took over the coaching duties of the Tars’ baseball program last summer.  
    SOFTBALL will open its season with the annual trip to Florida.  The Bulldogs, under the direction of coach Lisa-Ann Wallace, will take part in the Florida Southern Tournament March 17-19 before returning home to host Caldwell for a non-conference doubleheader March 26.
   MEN’S LACROSSE, under the guidance of coach Rory Whipple, will scrimmage Providence Feb. 18 before opening the season in Florida against Catawba on March 11.  WOMEN’S LACROSSE, under the direction of second-year coach Karen Healy, will open the year March 12-15 in West Palm Beach, Fla. before returning home to host defending national champion Stonehill College March 21.   
    MEN’S TENNIS, coached by Larry Sack, will open with a match against Pace on March 3 in Hartford, while the Bryant women will also open the year against Pace Mar. 3 in Hartford before traveling to Puerto Rico Mar. 13-15 for three matches.  The Bryant WOMEN’S TENNIS  team and coach Barbara Cilli (Providence ‘87), will be seeking their third consecutive Northeast-10 Conference Championship in 2006.  
    MEN’S GOLF, led by Archie Boulet (URI ‘59 / 42nd year), will travel to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for the Fairfield University Invitational. 
   Coach Amy Laughlin’s TRACK teams will open March 25 at Northeastern.  Highlighting the 2006 track season will be two home meets at the newly resurfaced Bryant Track as the Bulldogs will host the annual Bryant Invitational April 8 as well as the Northeast-10 Conference Championships on May 6.  
    In addition to the new track surface, spring sports teams will have the luxury of competing on several new facility upgrades.  The men’s and women’s tennis teams will have six new courts to compete and practice at adjacent the track, while the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams will hold early competitions this spring on the newly installed turf field inside the track.