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Women’s basketball captures first-ever MIAA title; divers head to nationals By Bobby Lee Albion College is a member of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and NCAA Division III. Find Briton sports on the Web at www.albion.edu/sports.
Women’s basketball: Albion enjoyed a historic season from the time the MIAA coaches anointed the Britons as the preseason favorite to win the league championship in early November. Albion, which had never been a preseason favorite much less a league champion, reeled off a school-record nine consecutive wins to open the season. Even more impressive than the 9-0 record was the 23-point average margin of victory. The championship aspirations seemed to go up in smoke when the Britons squandered second half leads in losses at Hope and Calvin and suffered an overtime loss to Kalamazoo at Kresge Gymnasium in the first half of the MIAA’s double round-robin regular season schedule. Albion recovered by winning seven of its final eight regular season games and then by defeating Adrian, Hope and Calvin to claim its first MIAA Tournament title and clinch the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Albion trailed Calvin, 45-42, with less than two minutes remaining in the MIAA Tournament title game when junior guard Vanessa Thompson rallied the Britons by hitting a three-point field goal despite a hand in her face and scoring a layup off a Calvin turnover. Despite losing to Wilmington (Ohio) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Albion finished the season with a school-record 23 wins against just six losses. Albion was rewarded for its outstanding season by placing three student-athletes on the All-MIAA team at season’s end. Junior guard Sarah Caskey was named to the all-league first team for the second consecutive year. She scored 402 points, the second-highest single season total in Briton women’s basketball history, and was the fourth-leading scorer in the MIAA (league games only), averaging 13.6 points in 14 contests. Caskey also ranked among the MIAA leaders in steals (first, .279 per game), assists (tied for third, 3.64 per game), free throw percentage (third, .812) and three-point field goals made (tied for fifth, 1.71 per game). Senior forward Jocelyn Zappala and firstyear center Ruthie Sventickas were selected to the all-league second team. Zappala finished sixth in the MIAA in rebounding, averaging 6.9 boards per game. Zappala scored in double figures in four league games, including 19 points against Kalamazoo Jan. 7, and a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds against Alma Jan. 3. Sventickas finished 20th in the MIAA in scoring (averaging 8.9 points per game) and rebounding (averaging 4.4 rebounds per game). Sventickas emerged in Albion’s three games in the MIAA Tournament, averaging 10.7 points on 43.8 percent (14 of 32) shooting from the field. Sophomore guard Jaime Fornetti was added to the list of honorable mention players in the MIAA by the league coaches. Doreen Belkowski completed her third season as head coach.
ing 3.42 in 12 regular season league games) and ranked second in blocked shots (1.67 per game), third in rebounding (7.2 boards per game), fourth in assists (3.83 per game) and fifth in field goal percentage (.552). He posted five double-doubles on the season, including 13 points and 11 rebounds in a D. TRUMPIE PHOTO home victory over Calvin in January. DePree pulled down 20 rebounds in a game versus the Savannah College of Art & Design (Georgia) in December, and scored 20 points at Olivet. Thomas was Albion’s leading scorer, averaging 17.1 points per game. He connected on nearly 40 percent of his shots from the field (155 of 389) and on 80.5 percent of his opportunities from the free throw line (103 of 128). Thomas exploded for 34 points against DePauw (Indiana) Dec. 6, and for 30 points at North Park (Illinois) Dec. 18. In MIAA play, Thomas scored more than 20 points in three contests. His scoring high in league play was 24 points at Adrian Feb. 14. Thomas finished tied for fifth in the MIAA in steals (1.75 per game) and tied for seventh in three-point field goals made (1.5). Crawford earned a position on the all-league second team. He came on strong during the second half Junior guard Sarah Caskey was named to the all-league first of the league season, shooting team for the second consecutive year. She scored 402 points, better than 50 percent from the the second-highest single season total in Briton women’s field in 13 of the Britons’ final basketball history, and was the fourth-leading scorer in the 14 contests. He scored 21 MIAA (league games only).
points in the home victory over Olivet Jan. 31, and scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the victory at Hope Feb. 7. Seniors Marcus Gill and Joe Finland were added to the list of honorable mention players by the league coaches. Mike Turner completed his 30th season as head coach.
Swimming and diving: Boosted by school-record performances by sophomore John Fodell in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke, and a pair of runner-up finishes by first-year diver Dan Fradeneck, Albion’s men’s squad finished third in the MIAA Championships, Feb. 19-21. The Briton men posted a total of 296 points. Fodell lowered the school record in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 59.56 seconds in the preliminaries. He finished fourth in the event, posting a time of 59.71 seconds in the Friday evening final. Fodell took second place in the 200 breaststroke with a school-record time of 2:09.94. He also finished seventh in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:01.62 in the consolation final. Fradeneck finished second in the 1- and 3meter diving events. His score on the 1-meter board was 455.70, while his 3-meter score was 452.40. Joining Fradeneck in scoring in diving was first-year athlete Brandon Reiss, who earned third place in both events. Both young divers competed in the NCAA Division III Championships March 18-20, with Fradeneck earning honorable mention All-America status in the 3-meter event (15th place) and Reiss achieving honorable mention All-America status in 1-meter diving (19th).
D. TRUMPIE PHOTO
Men’s basketball: Albion posted 20 wins, marking the second time the Britons have reached the milestone in back-to-back seasons. The Britons’ 42 victories over the last two seasons represent the highest win total in consecutive seasons for the men’s basketball program, eclipsing the 41 wins set by the 1977-78 and 1978-79 squads. The Britons posted a 9-3 record in MIAA play and finished one game behind Hope in the regular season standings. Albion shot 53 percent from the field and received a career-high 20 points from senior guard Marcus Gill to post its second win in as many seasons over Hope at the Holland Civic Center. In the MIAA Tournament, Albion breezed past Alma in the first round, thanks to 56 percent shooting from three-point range. The Britons couldn’t continue the hot shooting in the semifinals as they were bounced from the bracket by Calvin. Calvin, the eventual league tournament champion, went on to the NCAA playoffs. Albion was rewarded for its season by placing three student-athletes on the All-MIAA team. Juniors Travis DePree and Michael Thomas repeated as firstteam selections, while sophomore Brandon Crawford was voted to the second team. DePree, who was the only Briton to start all 27 games during the 2003-04 season, led the MIAA in steals (averag-
Fradeneck
MIAA first-team selection Travis DePree (42) was the only Briton to start all 27 games during the 2003-04 season. He led the MIAA in steals and ranked third in rebounding and fifth in field goal percentage. He posted five double-doubles on the season.
Reiss
Junior Will Green placed in three individual swimming events at the MIAA Championships. He was third in the 500-yard freestyle (4:43.53), sixth in the 200-yard freestyle (1:45.58) and fifth in the 1,650-yard freestyle (16:53.41). Also posting top six individual finishes for the Albion men, sophomore Andrew Davidson finished third in the 200-yard butterfly (2:01.22), sophomore A.J. Dancho was sixth in the 500-yard freestyle (4:49.75) and first-year swimmer Chase Bacon was sixth in the 200-yard butterfly (2:03.91). The Briton women finished sixth in the MIAA Championships with 193 points in the three-day meet. First-year diver Lindsay Brown won the individual title in 1-meter diving with a final score of 367.15. She was second in 3-meter diving with a score of 380.23. Senior Erin Spiro placed in three individual events. She was second in the 100-yard backstroke, third in the 400-yard individual medley and fourth in the 200-yard butterfly. Hope won the league championship for both the men and the women. Keith Havens completed his 15th season as head coach of the men’s and women’s squads.