As the fall sports season winds to a close, we now turn our attention to winter sports at Brown. Here's the scoop on what we can expect from Brown sports this coming winter.
Men's BasketballThe men's basketball team will have a lot to live up to following an impressive 2007-08 season, in which the Bears set a school record as they went 19-10, and finished second with an 11-3 mark in Ivy League play.
This season, the Bears will take the court without the first-team All-Ivy backcourt of Damon Huffman '08 and Mark McAndrew '08 or former Head Coach Craig Robinson, who took the head coaching job at Oregon State. Robinson's replacement, Jesse Agel, will lead a team that includes honorable mention All-Ivy forward Chris Skrelja '09, who averaged 8.4 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds last season. He will be joined in the frontcourt by Scott Friske '09, who notched four double-digit scoring games last year, and Matt Mullery '10, who made 10 starts for Brown last season and turned in three double-digit scoring efforts.
The Bears will also rely heavily on Peter Sullivan '11, who is coming off of a strong freshman season, during which he averaged 8.8 points per game and led the team in scoring on two occasions. Also expect increased playing time for guard Adrian Williams '11, who averaged 4.6 points off the bench in his freshman season, including three double-digit scoring performances.
Women's BasketballThe women's basketball team, led by Head Coach Jeannie Burr, will try to improve upon its 2-26 record (1-13 Ivy) from 2007-08, but it will be difficult after the departure of last season's captain and leading scorer, Ann O'Neal '08. In order to be more competitive this season, the Bears will need consistent production from guard Sadiea Williams '11, who finished second on the team with 7.2 points per game in her freshman season and averaged a team-high 4.8 rebounds.
The offense will expect help from Christina Johnson '10, who recorded the team's only 20-point effort of last season when she scored 20 in a 65-61 win over Howard. The team will also look to Ashley Alexander '10 and Shae Fitzpatrick '10, who last season averaged 6.8 and 6.3 points per game, respectively.
FencingThe fencing team is off to a strong start this season, after an impressive showing at Smith College's "Big One" tournament. Jonathan Yu '11 won a gold medal in the foil, while Scott Phillips '11 won a bronze medal and Adam Pantel '10, who competed in the 2008 NCAA Championships, earned a medal with an fifth-place finish.
On the women's side, Deborah Gorth '09.5 and Francesca Bartholomew '11 each won bronze medals in the saber and foil, respectively, to lead the way for Bruno. This season, the Bears will expect big accomplishments from Randy Alevi '10, who won the women's saber at the IFA Championships and finished 14th at nationals last season, as well as Pantel and Adam Yarnell '10, who each qualified for nationals last season.
Men's HockeyAfter compiling a 6-21-4 record in 2007-08, the men's hockey team, under the leadership of Head Coach Roger Grillo, is off to a 0-3-1 start this season. Key returning players include honorable mention All-Ivy selection Ryan Garbutt '09, who tallied 11 assists and a team-leading 12 goals last season, and captain Devin Timberlake '10, who finished last season with seven goals and 10 assists.
So far this season, the Bears have gotten strong play from assistant captain Matt Vokes '09, who leads the team with five assists through the first four games, and Sean McMonagle '10, who scored a goal to force a 2-2 tie with St. Lawrence last Saturday, and is coming off a 2007-08 season in which he notched six goals and seven assists. The Bears will also look for big production from assistant captains Jordan Pietrus '10 and Aaron Volpatti '10, as well as goalie Dan Rosen '10, a third-year starter between the pipes.
Women's HockeyAfter finishing with a 5-19-5 record in 2007-08, the women's hockey team, under Head Coach Digit Murphy, has shown promise so far this season, and is off to a 1-4-1 start. Anchoring the team is goaltender Nicole Stock '09, the captain and a Herald Sports Staff Writer, who was named to the All-ECAC second team last season after compiling a .924 save percentage.
The team looks to have a strong freshman class this season, as Paige Pyett '12 scored a pair of goals in a 4-1 win over Union, and Skyelar Siwak '12 has also scored two goals on the season. Other key returning players include assistant captain Andrea Hunter '10, who finished last season with five goals and nine assists, and Sasha van Muyen '10, who added three goals and nine assists last season. The season thus far has included the win over Union, a 2-2 tie to St. Cloud State, and a hard-fought 3-2 loss against St. Lawrence.
SquashAfter a 6-11 finish last season, and a 14th place finish at Team Nationals, the men's team will look to improve this year. Key returning players include Evan Besser '11 and Herald Sports Columnist Pat Davis '10, who each went 2-1 at Team Nationals.
The women's team will look to improve from last year's eighth place finish at Nationals, and the season will begin at Harvard on Nov. 21.
Swimming and DivingThe men's swimming and diving team will begin competition on Nov. 22, and will be led by Dan Ricketts '09, who qualified for the Olympic Trials last year in the 100 Fly and 100 Free. Other key returning swimmers include Ryunosuke Kikuchi '11, who posted fast times last year in the 500 and 1000 Free, as well as Sam Speroni '11, who established himself as a strong distance swimmer by posting the team's second-fastest time in the 1650 Free.
The women's team will feature such swimmers as Kelly Wisinger '11, who earned a ninth-place finish in the 200 Back at last year's Ivy Championships, Bailey Langner '10, who finished 12th at that same meet in the 200 Breast. Their season will begin on Nov. 23.
WrestlingThis year's squad will include Matt Gevelinger '09, who qualified at 184 lbs. for the NCAA Championships last season. Other key returning wrestlers include Chris Musser '09, Tom Fazio '09, Mark Bloom '10 and Branden Stearns '09. The season will begin this weekend at the Binghamton Open, and the team's first home match will come on Jan. 9 against Rutgers.
