Men's Basketball: Telegram & Gazette - Clark Has A Keeper
Occasionally, Mitch Renshaw will feel a little weak and have to excuse himself from practice. He'll duck over to the bench, where he keeps a packet of ground glucose pills handy. Within about five minutes of taking them, though, he's back on the Kneller Athletic Center basketball court and going hard again. to administer it. He has to monitor his blood sugar level, which sometimes gets low during practice.
"But having diabetes has never held me back," said Renshaw, a Rutland resident who played high school ball at Wachusett Regional. "I've never had any limitations as far as athletics or running around or doing anything physical. As long as you keep it under control, it really doesn't present much of a difficulty."
The disease has never really been an issue for Renshaw, so he has never made it an issue.
During his visit to Clark during his senior year of high school, Cougars coach Paul Phillips brought Renshaw and his mom to the Clark cafeteria. When they sat down for lunch, Renshaw pulled out a small electronic device and started pressing buttons. Phillips thought he was texting. He was actually checking his glucose level, which he has to do at every meal.
"I didnt know he was diabetic," Phillips said, "and he had no reason to tell me. He lives a normal life. He's never had to sit out a game or miss a practice."
Through 12 games this season, the 6-foot-5, 225-pound center is averaging nine points - third-best on the team - and 5.3 rebounds.
Hes a nice complement to sophomore Brian Vayda in Clark's frontcourt, and Phillips said he has been a major reason for the Cougars' 8-4 start.
Renshaw averaged 4.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 14 games off the bench as a freshman. He felt like he has something to prove this season, so he worked his tail off over the summer and ended up winning the starting job.
"I worked hard to get stronger," Renshaw said. "I didn't get many minutes as a freshman because I didn't play that well. This year, I came in with a different attitude and a different confidence because I worked so hard. I'm starting now, and that is a good feeling, and I do think I'm playing better."
Renshaw opened the season with an 18-point, 12-rebound effort against Fitchburg State. He had 12 points and eight rebounds in Clark's last game against Becker. Phillips said Renshaw is one of Clark's most athletic players, and he pushes him. His message to Renshaw during yesterday's practice is that he's got to rebound more.
"But he's improved immensely," Phillips said, "and he has a lot to do with where we are right now."
The 8-4 start is Clark's best since Phillips returned four years ago.
The Cougars open NEWMAC play tonight against Coast Guard. They host WPI Jan. 19 in the first of two games against the six-time defending conference champion.
When Renshaw was first diagnosed with diabetes, he was scared - not so much of the disease, but of people finding out he had it.
"I didn't want people seeing me take an insulin shot before dinner or seeing I had an insulin pump on," Renshaw said. "My biggest concern when I was younger was that I didn't want to stick out in a negative way.
"But you realize if you just come out and say it, 'I'm a diabetic,' and you talk about it - I like to talk about it, and I like to help people understand it. Friends of mine have had siblings diagnosed with diabetes and they say, 'Can you help? They're discouraged.' My advice is don't be discouraged. Don't let something like diabetes ruin what you want to do."
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Men's Basketball: More Honors Roll In For Alexander
The honors continue to pour in for Clark senior forward Mark Alexander (Providence, R.I.).
Earlier in the week, he was named New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference men's basketball player of the week now comes news that regional and national honors are being bestowed upon him as well.
Alexander was named ECAC Division III New England player of the week and was also named to the D3hoops.com national team of the week.
All the awards come on the heels of a pair of outstanding performances at the Salem State Holiday Classic back on December 29-30. In the two games he averaged 27 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 56 percent from the field (17-for-30).
In an 86-81 win over the host Vikings, Alexander pumped in a game-high 23 points and hauled in seven rebounds in 35 minutes.
Then in a 72-71 loss to Becker, Alexander netted a career-best 31 points on 10-for-16 shooting, while collecting four rebounds and two steals.
In the Cougars first game since the aforementioned tournament, Alexander registered 15 points, seven rebounds, three steals and three assists in a 61-46 loss to Coast Guard.
Through 13 games this season, Alexander fourth in the NEWMAC in scoring (18.5), ninth in field goal percentage (.488), sixth in steals (1.69), second in free throw percentage (.793) and second in three-point percentage (.452).
Clark (8-5, 0-1 NEWMAC) will look to return to the win column on Saturday with a road contest at Wheaton.
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One Of The Nation’s Best Invades The Kneller
On Monday, January 11, the Cougars will welcome the nation’s No. 2 team, Amherst to the Kneller for their annual non-league matchup.
The Lord Jeffs advanced to the NCAA Final Four a season ago and have started this year with 13 straight wins and are 16-2 in their last two Januarys.
One of the best games in series history came back on, Thursday, January 23, 1997. Clark’s all-time leading scorer, Meegan Garrity ‘97 hit a three-pointer to tie the game with 30 seconds left then dropped in a jumper with nine seconds left to give the Cougars a dramatic 97-95 win. Garritty finished with 37 points and five rebounds and made six of her ten three-point attempts.
Interestingly enough, Amherst was paced by Katie Hersey, who registered 21 points and ten rebounds. Hersey is now the current Executive Director of the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference.
Clark leads the all-time series 27-7.
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Men's & Women's Basketball Alumni Games
January 16, 2010
Women's Alumni Game - 10:00 am
Men's Alumni Game - 10:45 am
Clark Women vs Springfield - 1 pm
Clark Men vs MIT - 3 pm
Game Admittance, T-Shirt and Lunch: $20 per person
Online Registration or call the Alumni Affairs Office at 800-793-6246
For more information contact
Men's Basketball Head Coach Paul Phillips at pphillips@clarku.edu or
Women's Basketball Head Coach Pat Glispin at pglispin@clarku.edu
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On The Tube
 On Tuesday, January 19th, the Cougars’ annual home game with archrival WPI will be broadcasted live on Worcester-area WCTR, TV3.
The all-time series sits at 66-65, in favor of the Engineers after the Cougars knocked off previously undefeated WPI in the televised game last season behind Brian Vayda’s 21 points and 15 rebounds and Jack Minister’s 27 points.
Prior to that game, however, the Cougars have key games on the docket beginning with Saturday’s game at Wheaton, which is followed by a road contest at Tufts (Tuesday, January 12).
Let’s Pack The Kneller! Come be a part of the action!
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Women's Basketball: Time to Think Pink
 The women’s basketball program, in conjunction with the Department of Athletics, has identified the February 6 game versus Mount Holyoke as the day it will participate in the WBCA’s Pink Zone initiative.
The WBCA began the WBCA Pink Zone®,, formerly known as "Think Pink", in 2007 as an initiative to raise breast cancer awareness in women's basketball, on campuses and in communities.
Kay Yow, former North Carolina State University head women's basketball coach, served as the catalyst for the initiative after her third reoccurrence of breast cancer in 2006.
In 2007, more than 120 schools unified for this effort and helped make the inaugural year a success. In 2008, over 1,200 teams and organizations participated, reaching over 830,000 fans and raising over $930,000 for breast cancer awareness and research. The 2009 campaign raised over $1.3 million, reached over 912,000 fans, unified more than 1,600 participating teams and organizations, and saw 56+ schools break attendance records at their event.
Game time is slated for 1:00 p.m.
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The highlights for this newsletter are provided by
Kevin Anderson, Sports Information Director, 508-793-7164.
Email Kevin Anderson (Keanderson@clarku.edu)
Newsletter designed by Joe Brady
(Head Women's Soccer Coach/Athletic Web Site Administrator)
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Men's Basketball: Telegram & Gazette - Clark Has A Keeper 
