In the Salem meet, freshman Jamie Murdock (Woodinville, WA) was a double winner as he took first in the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard backstroke. Winning one event were freshmen Jon Prusak (Easthampton, MA) who won the 50-yard backstroke an d Brandon Alexopoulos (Suffield, CT) who took first in the 50-yard breaststroke. Senior captain Eric Hultgren (Newport, RI) was a winner in the 100-yard breaststroke.
In the meet against Bentley, multiple event winners were sophomore Teak Ackman (Newport, RI) who won the 50 and 100-yard freestyle and freshman Adam Terio (Reston, VA) who won the 50 and 100-yard butterfly. Single winners for WPI were sophomore Jason Wen ing (Jefferson City, MO) who won the 500-yard freestyle, Alexopoulos who won the 50 breaststroke, Murdock who won the 100 backstroke and Hultgren who took first place in the 100 breaststroke.
In the meet versus Albertus Magnus, the Engineers cruised to the easy win. Our 200-yard medley relay team consisting of Prusak, Murdock, Alexopoulos and Terio started us off with a win and WPI never was challenged in most events. Multiple event winners were Murdock who won the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke, Prusak won the 50 back and 100-yard individual medley, Terio won the 50 and 100 butterfly, Ackman won the 50 and 100 freestyle. Single winners were Wening in the 500 freestyle, Alexopoulo s in the 50 breaststroke, Hultgren in the 100 breaststroke and freshman Tim Connolly (New Haven, CT) won the 200-yard freestyle.
In the Salem State meet, the 100-yard medley relay team got us off and running as seniors Becky Kupcinskas (Millbury, MA), Jen Sanna (Madison, WI) and Renee Cusson (Chicopee, MA) were joined by junior Katie Snell (Sutton, MA) to take the seven points. Th e meet was never close as WPI had multiple winners throughout the meet. Kupcinskas won the 50 and 100-yard backstroke and in doing so she qualified for the New England Championships for her time in the 50 backstroke. Other multiple event winners for WPI were Sanna who won the 200-yard individual medley and 50-yard butterfly, Snell won the 100-yard butterfly and the 100-yard individual medley, Cusson won the 50 and 100-yard freestyle. Senior Alyce Pack (Watertown, CT) won the 100-yard breaststroke. Our 200-yard freestyle relay team consisting of Cusson, Snell, Sanna and senior Brooke Kuffel (Rowayton, CT) capped off the meet by winning that event also.
In the Bentley meet, our 200 freestyle relay team came through to pull out the come from behind victory. Kuffel, Cusson, Snell and Sanna ran away with the event for the seven points to complete the comeback. Kupcinskas was the only double winner in the meet as she won the 50 and 100 backstroke. Single event winners were Patty Linden (Highland, IN) who won the 500-yard freestyle, junior Monika Lehky (Hamden, CT) who won the 50-yard breaststroke, Snell who won the 100-yard butterfly and Cusson who took f irst place in the 50 freestyle.
In the Albertus Magnus meet, the results were the same as in the men's meet as the women also won easily to complete their sweep. Multiple event winners were Cusson in the 50 and 100 freestyle, Snell in the 100 butterfly and 100 individual medley, Linden in the 200 and 500 freestyle, Sanna in the 50 butterfly and 200 individual medley, Kupcinskas in the 50 and 100 backstroke and Lehky in the 50 and 100 breaststroke. Our two relay teams were victorious as well.
Coach Jim Smith continues to be pleased with the efforts of all his runners and field events performers. His athletes are consistently scoring in each meet they compete in.
Last week the Engineers played two conference games versus Smith and Brandeis. They won both games in dramatic fashion 49-47 over Smith and 73-68 over Brandeis.
In the Smith game, the lead went back and forth throughout the game with ties that would last for minutes at a time as each team tried to create some breathing room. The game wasn't decided until the last 12 seconds when Danielle Batey (Fairfield, ME) hi t Tricia Pignone (Seneca Falls, NY) on a cut to the basket in which Pignone made the lay up to put WPI ahead by two points. Smith had one last chance, but were stopped when Pignone stole the ball and Batey was fouled to put her on the line. Batey missed the free throw, but Pignone got the rebound and killed the clock for the win. Kim Landry (Gardner, MA) led the way with 16 points.
On Tuesday, January 31st, WPI traveled to Waltham to take on the Lady Judges of Brandeis in a tough road game. The Engineers outscored Brandeis 13-3 over a four minute stretch to overcome a two point deficit late in the game. Landry and Jenn Lovin (Wate rford, CT) combined for 28 points in the win. Batey added 14 points off the bench including a couple of critical baskets down the stretch.
In the Coast Guard game, the Engineers had to work overtime to pull out the win 75-73. WPI trailed at halftime by six, but came from behind to tie it at the end of regulation at 66-66. Sophomore Mike Shannon (Worcester, MA) has been a solid contributor lately for the Engineers as he led the scoring parade with 20 followed by Chris Dunn (Seekonk, MA) with 16, Jeff Cayer (Shelton, CT) with 15 and Jim Naughton (Dublin, Ireland) with 10 points.
Last Tuesday, January 31st, the Cadets of Norwich paid a visit to Harrington Auditorium looking to play giant killer. For a while it looked as though they would complete their mission as the game went back and forth with WPI not being able to pull away. The game came down to the final minute as Naughton hit a left-handed hook in the lane with 20 seconds left to put WPI ahead by one. Norwich had one last chance, or so we thought, to try and pulled out a win. The ball was knocked around with the Cadets getting possession with six seconds remaining. Again they had another chance. There was some ferocious action under the basket as the final seconds ticked off the clock, when the whistle blew to stop the action. Everyone was wondering if the game was o ver because there was no time left on the clock. After a discussion, the officials decided to give the ball to Norwich out of bounds because they did not hear the buzzer go off. As it turned out, as soon as the ball was touched the horn sounded and the Engineers were victorious 84-83. Naughton led WPI with a career high 28 points, including the last eight points of the game. Dunn scored 19, Shannon scored 12 and Jeff Kijak (Chicopee, MA) chipped in 11 points in the win.
Last Thursday, February 2nd, there was anticipation in the air as Dunn was closing in on the 1,000 point plateau. He would become only the second player in school history to accomplish this feat in just two years and become the 16th male player to reach this milestone at WPI. In the first half he scored 17 to leave him four points short. At the 15:44 mark of the second half, Dunn hit a three point shot to put him over the top. At the next dead ball, Coach Ken Kaufman presented the ball and congratulat ed him for his accomplishment as well as his parents showing their appreciation. Dunn's accomplishment should not overshadow an extraordinary performance by Naughton, who set a school record for rebounds in a single game when he pulled down 24 boards in the win. Naughton also tallied 22 points to make his night that much more spectacular. He becomes the first player at WPI to score over 20 points and grab over 20 rebounds in one game. The Engineers had control of the game from the start as they won easily. Shannon chipped in 11 points in the victory.
Dunn's 1000 point plateau !
