WPI sports update: Results from January 29 to February 4

by Geoff Hassard - WPI Sports Information Director

Wrestling (11-3-1)

The wrestling team spent the last week on the road as they journeyed south to New Jersey and Connecticut. They more than held their own at Montclair State against the hosts, The College of New Jersey and Hunter College. Montclair and TCNJ are ranked 6th and 7th in Div. III respectively and the Engineers battled to the end. They lost to Montclair 34-13 and TCNJ 28-15, but they took the Hunter squad 25-15.

Joe Tucker (Barre, Vt.) and Lance Baden (Framingham, Mass.) led the way for WPI with three wins each on the day. Aaron Becker (Coventry, R.I.) and Willie Welsh (Jamesport, N.Y.) were next with two wins each. Nick Macsata (Enfield, Conn.), Matt McCarthy (Malden, Mass.), Chris Newton (Wayland, Mass.) and Matt Lucas (Haverhill, Mass.) were all single winners.

Last Tuesday WPI was at Coast Guard to renew their great rivalry with the Bears. The Engineers took no prisoners as they won the meet 28-13. Tucker and DC Lashmit (Marlboro, Mass.) each pinned their opponent while Macsata, Becker, McCarthy, Baden and Welsh all won decisions.

Men's Indoor Track

The men competed at MIT on the 30th. Top performers were: Mike Pockoski (Dayville, Conn.) who was 2nd in both the hammer and 35-lbs. weight throw; Dave Bowler (Worcester, Mass.) was 3rd in the pole vault; Kendall Clark (Fryeburg, Maine) was 5th in the high jump; Kevin Gallerie (Middleton, Mass.) won the high jump with a personal best 6'-2".

Women's Basketball (9-8)

The women's basketball was looking to get back on the winning track against Wellelsey on the 30th. The game ended up being a contest of two halves for WPI. The two teams went into the break tied at 20-20 and in the second half there must have been a lid on the hoop as WPI managed to score just nine points. The final was 54-29 in favor of the hosts. Lynn Michalenka (Lincoln, R.I.) and Jody Kenniston (Old Town, Maine) each had 10 points in the game.

Last Tuesday night the women hosted Mount Holyoke in the first game of a men's and women's doubleheader. WPI came through with a solid effort at both ends of the floor to win 62-45. Kenniston had 13 points and four steals and Rachel Zimet (Trumansburg, N.Y.) had nine points and nine rebounds. Michalenka added 12 points and Amy Matter (Kettle Falls, Wash.) scored a season high 10 points.

Men's Basketball (2-13)

The men's basketball team dropped a pair of games last week to Springfield and MIT. WPI fought hard in both games, but came up short.

In the 79-71 loss to MIT, WPI had a six-point lead with 3:39 left in the first half before MIT closed the half with a 14-2 run to lead at the break 35-29. In the second half WPI battled back twice to cut 15 point leads in half, but MIT made their free throws down the stretch to hold on to the win. John Lehane (Marlboro, Mass.) led WPI with 22 points. Greg LaCamera (Lakeville, Mass.) had his best scoring game in a couple of weeks with 17 points. Matt Bielik (Webster, Mass.) added 15 points and 7 rebounds while Ryan Thomas (Bangor, Maine) had 14 points.

Last Tuesday night the Springfield Pride came to town looking to stay in the race in the conference. The visitors held WPI scoreless for the first 4:30 of the first half as they raced to a 46-28 halftime lead. In the second half the Engineers couldn't cut into the lead as they lost 83-67. Freshman Nick Williams (Webster, Mass.) came off the bench to score a career high 15 points for WPI.

Women's Swimming (0-10)

The women's swim team was at Clark University on the 30th to swim against their cross-city rivals. The Cougars were too strong and won the meet 144-103. Freshman Kate Johnson (Hamden, Conn.) was the only event winner for WPI in the meet as she won the 100-yard backstroke.

Last Wednesday the women ended their dual meet season at Brandeis with a 135-101 loss. Marianne Schady (College Point, N.Y.) won the 200-yard freestyle. Jen Wright (Keene, N.H.) won the 50-yard butterfly and Johnson won the 100-yard individual medley. Johnson was also part of the winning 200-yard freestyle relay team that took first place. The foursome was rounded out with Jill Hubbard (Ballston Lake, N.Y.), Diane Kavanagh (Warwick, R.I.) and Liz Hart (Delmar, N.Y.).

Men's Swimming (2-5)

The men were also at Clark on the 30th unfortunately they didn't find the going any easier as they dropped their meet by a score of 149-128.

The meet started off well with a win in the 200-yard medley relay for WPI. Jon Prusak (Easthampton, Mass.), Jason Walonoski (Winsted, Conn.), Bill Sullivan (Attleboro, Mass.) and Andy Kern (Ellensburg, Wash.) swam to victory. Kern and Walonoski also won single events for the Engineers in the meet. Kern won the 200-yard freestyle while Walonoski won the 100-yard breastroke. Joe Ziolkowski (Blue Springs, Mo.) won the 1-meter diving while his partner Rob Seneres (Providence, R.I.) won the 3-meter diving.