Men’s Athletes of the Week

Joey Collins - Men’s Track and Field - Freshman - Standish, ME

Joey Collins has been named WPI Male Athlete of the Week for week for week ending Sunday, February 12th.   Collins was the key performer for the Engineers at the 2012 Boston University Valentine Invitational on Saturday. Collins began the day by setting a school record in the 400-meter dash, clocking a 49.19. He then proceeded to achieve a Division III New England qualifier for the first time in the 200 meters, coming in with a 22.85. Topping it off, Collins joined his teammates on the 4x400 relay team in setting another school record with a 3:17.62.

Women’s Athlete of the Week

Emily Pearce - Women’s Track and Field - Senior - Avon, CT

Emily Pearce has been selected WPI Male Athletes of the Week for week ending Sunday, February 12th.  Pearce stood out for the Women’s Track and Field team on Friday at the 2012 BU Valentine Invitational, clearing a height of 11 feet, 5.75 inches in the pole vault. The senior’s performance was not only a season-best, it ranked her 16th n the country for all of Division III this season.  Pearce and the Engineers travel to Smith next Friday and Saturday for the Division III New England Championships.

Men’s Basketball (17-5 overall, 7-3 NEWMAC)
Men’s Basketball split two hotly contested games this past week, suffering a heart-breaking 71-69 loss as Wheaton on Wednesday followed by a 70-69 victory over visiting Springfield on Saturday. Against Wheaton, Matt Carr (Somersworth, NH) scored a game-high 23 points but was held to just six in the second half. The Engineers held a 41-30 edge on the glass – led by nine from Carr – and trailed by 12 with six minutes to go before a 17-7 run to close the game nearly gave them their 17th win of the season. The Engineers fronted a furious rally late as freshman Sam Longwell's (Acton, MA) drained three 3-pointers in a span of 48 seconds to make it a 69-67 game with 44 seconds remaining. Wheaton made one of his two free throws down the other end to push the lead to three (70-67) before senior Jaime Shannon (Lowell, MA) answered with a layup with 27 seconds left to again make it a one possession game at 70-69. Down two with under 10 seconds before Shannon drove to the lane for the tying score. His layup attempt sat on the front rim before falling to the ground as the horn sounded. The Engineers finished the evening shooting 48 percent (30-of-63) but made just three of their 15 attempts from behind the three-point line. Wheaton, meanwhile, also shot 48 percent from the field (26-of-54) but hit on 8-of-20 three-pointers. Shannon finished with 19 points and five assists for WPI, which also received 11 points, six boards and four steals from Longwell. Grossman tallied seven points.  Against Springfield, Shannon scored 18 points while hitting 3-of-4 free throws in the final 17.9 seconds to propel WPI to victory. With a one-point lead, Shannon calmly buried both free throws with 17.9 seconds left to push the score to 69-66.  Springfield made 1-of-2 down at the other end, and after another foul, Shannon hit the back end of two free throws with 7.3 seconds remaining to make the score 70-67.  Unable to get off a 3-pointer, Springfield made a floater in the lane with one second left, and WPI would escape with the win. Marco Coppola (Watertown, MA) contributed 13 points and three assists for WPI, while Jameel Galloway (Randolph, MA) finished with 12 points, six rebounds and three blocks while shooting 4-of-6 from the floor. Carr chipped in eight points with a team-high eight rebounds. David Brown (Lowell, MA) had nine points while Longwell. WPI hosts nationally-ranked MIT on Wednesday at 7pm.

Women’s Basketball (9-14 overall, 7-9 NEWMAC)
Women’s Basketball extended its winning streak to five this past week, defeating Mount Holyoke at home, 53-36 on Wednesday, then taking to the road in a 57-49 victory over Wellesley on Saturday. Against Mount Holyoke, Theresa Logan (Southboro, MA) poured in 22 points and pulled in six rebounds. The game was a defensive struggle early on, with the Engineers ultimately embarking on a 17-2 run to take control of the game, making four straight shots during one stretch and capped off by a jumper from Logan.  After a run by Mount Holyoke, WPI responded, with Lauren Hannmann (East Greenbush, NY) hitting a big mid-range jumper and Cindy Chelius (Northfield, NJ) burying a layup with 3:07 left in the half. WPI would go into halftime leading 23-13. Midway through the second half, Mount Holyoke employed a full-court press, cutting their deficit to 29-23, the closest the game had been since early in the first half. They were poised to pull within four when Dani Davis (East Granby, CT) swooped in from behind to block a Lyons layup, taking the rebound and finding Logan at the other end, who drew the foul under the basket and made two free throws. That would help spark an 11-4 run by WPI, with the other bookend coming on a layup by Kelly Morgan (Brookline, NH) with 7:30 remaining in the game, and Mount Holyoke would not threaten again. In addition to leading WPI in scoring, rebounding and 9-of-14 shooting, Logan tallied three steals on the night. Chelius contributed an all-around effort with ten points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Morgan scored six points off the bench. Davis had big night at the defensive end with three blocks and a steal to go along with five points and a team-high four assists. The WPI defense forced the Lyons into 18 turnovers and shooting only 28 percent from the floor. After falling behind 2-0 in the first minute of the game, the Engineers never trailed again. The WPI Engineers used high-percentage shooting and solid rebounding to down Wellesley on Saturday afternoon. The Engineers shot 49% from the field while holding the Blue to 30%. The visitors also out-rebounded the hosts 36-26 in the key late-season match-up. The Engineers capitalized on eight early points from Davis to build a 15-9 advantage midway through the first period. After a Wellesley run to take the lead, WPI's Siena Mamayek(Melrose, MA) stopped the bleeding with layup at the 7:05 mark. Down six in the second half, the Engineers cut the advantage with four straight from Chelius, putting the score at 39-35 midway through the period. Three minutes later, Chelius tied the game at 41-41, and a layup from Logan gave the visitors a two-point lead with 5:35 remaining. After the teams traded baskets, a trey from WPI's Hannmann gave the visitors a 48-43 lead with 3:05 left on the clock. A minute later, Mamayek pushed the lead to 51-44 with a traditional three- point play and followed 30 seconds later with a layup to seal the game, as WPI cruised to the 57-49 win. WPI was led by 14 points and a game-high 11 boards from Logan, as she recorded her first double-double of the year and the fifth of her career. Davis and Chelius chipped in 12 points each, while Davis also pulled down six boards. Rounding out the box score for the Engineers, Mamayek added nine points, six boards, while Hannmann recorded eight points, six rebounds. The Engineers currently hold the sixth and final seed for the NEWMAC conference playoffs. WPI returns to action Wednesday, February 15, at 7pm when they travel to Smith.

Wrestling (4-12 overall)
Wrestling closed out the dual meet season this past week with a 30-18 loss at home to Roger Williams on Wednesday followed by a 31-12 road defeat at Norwich on Saturday afternoon in the team’s regular season finale. First against Roger Williams, Brandon Shenan (Ocean, NY) and Shane Parcel (Pine Brook, NJ) registered early pins to lift Roger Williams to a 30-18 road victory over WPI in a New England Wrestling Association meeting on Wednesday evening. Shenan began the match with a second period pin at 157 pounds.  Teammate Collin Crowell (Hampstead, NH) quickly followed with a 18-1 tech fall at 4:02 to push the Hawks lead to 11-0. Alex Freilich (Worcester, MA) dented the scoring column for the host with a first period pin at 174 pounds.  The sophomore, ranked No.2 in New England is 14-3 on the season, remains on defeated in 2012.  RWU quickly countered with a first period pin from second-ranked Parcal at 184 and a 7-3 decision by Colin Egan (Wall, NJ) at 197. The Engineers made things interesting by slicing the Hawk advantage to 23-18 with pins by Joseph Szerszunowicz (Milford, MA) at heavyweight and Tyler Tilbe (Woodbury, CT) at 133. It would not be enough. Prior to the match, lone WPI senior Stephen Poppa (Derby, CT) was honored before his final bout at historic Alumni Gym. In its final regular season match of the season at Norwich, WPI received a pin by Mike Perruccio (Pelham, NH) at 141 pounds and decisions from Tom Lacroix (Salem, NH) and Freilich at 165 and 174 respectively to account for its scoring on the day. The Engineers wrap up its dual meet season with a 4-12 mark and now turn their attention to the New England Wrestling Association Championships.  The two day event will be held Saturday, February 25th and Sunday, February 26th at Wesleyan.

Men’s Swimming and Diving (3-8 overall) and Women’s Swimming and Diving (5-5 overall)
After taking this week off from competition, Swimming and Diving is back in action this coming weekend at the NEWMAC Championships at MIT.  The three-day meet begins on Friday, February 17th and concludes on Sunday, February 19th.

Men’s Indoor Track and Field
The 4x400 relay team of Joey Collins (Standish, ME), Stephen Kocienski (Schaghticoke, NY), Austin Holliday (Danville, CA) and Kyle Morette (Leominster, MA) clocked a school-record 3:17.62 as the Engineers of Men's Track and Field competed at the 2012 Boston University Valentine Invitational on Saturday. Collins also had a 22.85 in the 200-meter dash, a first-time Division III New England qualifier. His 49.19 in the 400-meter dash was a school record. In the 200-meter dash, Ditton Kawalya (Bugolobi, Uganda) clocked a 23.17, another first-time Division III New England qualifier. Matt Whitman (Holden, MA) came in with a 23.55 time in the 200. In the 400-meters, Kocienski finished with a 49.81 while Nicholas Aleles (Northboro, MA) clocked a 51.33 and Ryan Shooshan (Paxton, MA) had a 52.30. Dominic Gonzalez (Lowell, MA) was another first-time qualifier in the 1000-meters, posting a 2:36.95. Also competing were Keegan Westwater (North Andover, MA) who finished in 2:39.38, and Mike Thyden (Sutton, MA) clocking a 2:55.75. Andrew Zayac (Plymouth, MA) ran a 4:28.33 in the one mile event, while Ryan Moran (Pembroke, MA) clocked a 4:33.31. In the field events, Gary Feldman (Ellington, CT) turned in a distance of 38-11 in the shot put and 46-4.25 in the weight throw. Nate Martel (Standish, ME) posted a 42-6.25 in the shot put while in the weight throw Chris Farren (Plaistow, NH) threw a distance of 49-6.25 while Jeff Rosen (Easton, MA) was not far behind at 45-1.5. The men's track and field team will travel to the Division III New England Championships hosted by Springfield next Friday and Saturday where Engineers with qualifying times will take on the best in the region.

Women’s Indoor Track and Field
Noelle Richard (Oxford, MA) posted a career-best time of 56.38 in the 400-meter dash and Emily Pearce (Avon, CT) cleared a season-high height of 11-5.75 in the pole vault as the Women's Track and Field team competed at the 2012 Boston University Valentine Invitational on Friday. Richard's time currently places her fifth in NCAA Division III while Pearce's mark currently ranks 16th in the country.  Also running in the 400 were Maya Rhinehart (Springfield, MA), who ran a 1:01.18, Caroline Allen (Norton, MA) who clocked a 1:02.60, and Jill Perreira (Lancaster, MA), who had a time of 1:04.39. Maria Grandoni (Framingham, MA) improved her ECAC-qualifying time with a 3:06.08 in the 1000 meters. The 4x400 relay team, with Rhinehart, Perreira, Allen and Richard established a new indoor record with a time of 4:02.92.  Adrianna Davis (Chelmsford, MA) cleared 5-2.25 in the high jump while Jessica Dzwonkoski (Chicopee, MA) posted a 33-4.50 in the weight throw. Select athletes will take part next Friday and Saturday at the Division III New England Championships hosted by Smith.