Clark University - Clark News spring 2005
Sports Briefs (spring 2005)
Winter sports round-up
Men’s basketball
The men’s basketball team, under first-year head coach Mo Cassara, finished the season in fine fashion. The Cougars compiled a 6-2 record in February and finished in fourth place in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) with a 5-7 NEWMAC record. Led by Tim Dutille ’06, the Cougars defeated Coast Guard, 71-58, at home in the NEWMAC quarterfinals. Dutille had season-highs of 26 points and 15 rebounds.
Clark fell to the No. 1 seed and eventual NEWMAC Champion WPI, 73-64, in the semifinals and finished the season 11-15. Dutille was named to the NEWMAC All-Conference First Team after making an appearance on the second team last year. He led Clark in scoring (15.7 points per game) and was second in rebounds with 7.4 per game, while recording five double-doubles in 26 games. In addition, he was ranked seventh in the conference in scoring, fourth in rebounds and fourth in field-goal percentage (.529).
Graduate student Adam Miller had a solid year, adding 6.6 points per game and leading the team and conference with 10.0 rebounds per game. Cory Szklarz ’07 joined the team during the semester break and made an immediate impact, finishing with 13.1 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game.
Women’s basketball
The women’s basketball team ended the season by winning eight of the last 11 games and reached the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) finals for the second straight year. Seeded fifth in the tournament, the Cougars defeated fourth-seeded Coast Guard 66-57 in the quarterfinals and the top-seeded team, Mount Holyoke, 57-53 in the semifinals. The Cougars’ season came to end with a 79-59 loss to Springfield in the finals.
Ashley Auclair ’07 led the Cougars with another impressive season. She was named NEWMAC Player of the Year and was also named to the all-conference first team. Auclair is the first Clark women’s basketball player and only the second player in the conference to receive Rookie of the Year honors in her first year and then Player of the Year honors in her sophomore season. Auclair led the team and conference in scoring with 17.9 points per game and rebounds with 9.9 per game. In addition, she was ranked fourth in the NEWMAC in field-goal percentage (.496) and sixth in blocks (1.1). She recorded an impressive 13 double-doubles in 27 games including a stretch of six straight double-doubles, and led the Cougars with 22 points and 16 rebounds in the upset victory over Mount Holyoke.
Andrea Comen ’06 also had a solid year, chipping in 12.5 points per game, 3.7 rebounds per game and a team-leading 4.7 assists per game. She was second on the team and eighth in the conference in scoring and was ranked second in the NEWMAC in assists. Captain Abby Pineo ’05 added 9.9 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game and 3.3 assists per game. She was ranked fourth and fifth respectively in the conference in three-point field goal percentage (.355) and three-point field goals made per game with 1.6. The Cougars finished the season with a 15-11 overall record.
Men’s swimming and diving
The men’s swimming and diving team performed well at the NEWMAC Championship despite finishing in seventh place. Steven Ratner ’08 placed fifth in both diving events, moving into second place on Clark’s all-time list in the 1-meter (361.30) and third place all-time in the 3-meter event (354.10). Dave Critchlow ’08 broke a 13-year-old school record in the 50-yard backstroke event (26.65) and finished 11th in the 100-yard backstroke (57.36), moving into fourth place on the all-time list. Jesse Bausell ’06 finished 11th in the 1650-yard freestyle, with the program’s fourth-best all-time performance (18:02.57). Joe Page ’07 finished 16th in the 200-yard butterfly, and captain Sam Swartwout ’05 anchored two sixth-place relays for the Cougars.
Women’s swimming and diving
At the NEWMAC Championships, the women’s swimming and diving team placed 10th. Dominique Wilkins ’08 finished 12th in the 100-yard breaststroke and Co-captain Nora Sullivan ’05 was 16th in the 1650-yard freestyle. Hilary Ohmart ’06 placed 14th in both 1-meter and 3-meter diving events for the Cougars, achieving Clark all-time top-five status in both events. The 400-yard freestyle relay team of Sara Stephenson ’06, Sullivan, Cassandra Crawford ’08 and Anna Jolley ’06 finished ninth with a season best 3:58.87. Overall, the Cougars achieved 27 career-best performances and scored 86 points, surpassing their 2004 total of 70 points.
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