Men's Basketball (18-6, 6-3) Receives NCAA Snub

The Trinity College men's basketball team defeated Connecticut College, 76-72, on Feb. 23 in the semifinal round of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship Tournament. The Bantams lost to Amherst, 85-74, in the finals on Feb. 24.

Trinity, which was seeded No. 1 in the tourney and hosted the semifinal and final round, was hopeful of receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament but was not selected.

Junior forward Colin Tabb (Somers, Conn.) made eight out of 14 shots from the field for 26 points and junior center Julian Bah (Concord, Mass.) notched 13 points and 12 rebounds against No. 5-seeded Connecticut College. Senior guard Mike LaBella (Middletown, Conn.) had 16 points and five assists, while classmate and starting backcourt mate Mike Keohane (Belmont, Mass.) added 13 points playing on a sore ankle.

Against No. 3-seeded Amherst, Tabb made 13 out of 17 shots from the foul line to score a team-high 21 points, and sophomore forward Ryan Uszenski (Woodbridge, N.J.) came off the bench to total 14 points and eight rebounds.

Bah leads the NESCAC and is ranked No. 11 in the nation in blocked shots with 2.8 per game, while Tabb leads the league in free throw shooting percentage at .856 (89-104). Tabb is also fourth in the NESCAC in scoring at 18.2 ppg and eighth in rebounding with 7.0 per game. Junior forward Bryan Dion (East Haven, Conn.) is sixth in the conference in field goal percentage at 53.1 (102-192), Keohane is sixth in assists with 3.9 per game, and LaBella is tied for seventh in three-point field goal percentage at 40.0 (36-90). As a team, Trinity is third in the NESCAC in field goal shooting percentage at 45.7 (633-1,395) and free throw shooting percentage at 70.1 (357-509).

Men's Ice Hockey (15-7-2, 12-4-1) Loses in NESCAC Quarters

The Trinity College men's ice hockey team lost, 4-3, in overtime against Bowdoin on Feb. 24 in the quarterfinal round of the NESCAC Championship Tournament. The Bantams hosted Bowdoin as the No. 4-seed in the tournament field, but lost its second home game this season to the Polar Bears in heartbreaking fashion.

Freshman forward Steven LaBrie (Springfield, Mass.) scored the first two Trinity goals, on assists by four different Bantams, against No. 5-seeded Bowdoin. Junior forward Mark Colwell (Canton, Mass.) added the go-ahead goal early in the third period, while freshman forward Tom Pierandri (Ridgefield, Conn.) collected a pair of assists for the Bantams. Trinity junior goaltender Geoff Faulkner (Westerville, Ohio) made 31 saves in 77 minutes.

Faulkner is third in the NESCAC in GAA with an average of 2.57 goals allowed per 60 minutes. Greason is currently sixth in the NESCAC in scoring with 13 goals and 19 assists.

Track Teams Compete in Two Monster Meets

The Trinity College women's and men's indoor track and field teams competed in the New England Open Championships at Tufts and Boston University, respectively, on Feb. 24. Both teams traveled to Boston again for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Championships on March 3. The men finished 21st out of 43 teams and the women came in 29th out of 38 teams at the ECAC Championships.

At the New England Open Championships, to which Trinity sent just a few athletes and did not score as a team, sophomore Ryan Bak (Suffield, Conn.) ran a College-record 4:13.87 in the mile run to finish sixth and earn All-New England honors. His time converts to a potentially national-qualifying time in the 1,500-meter run.

Senior co-captain Todd Markelz (Homer, Alaska) finished seventh in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:58.38, while women's senior co-captain Marisa Eddy (Los Angeles, Calif.) finished ninth in the 800 meters at 2:29.61 and ran a national-qualifying time in of 2:17.63 in her preliminary heat.

Eddy and Markelz starred again at the ECAC Championships with fourth-place finishes and All-ECAC performances in the 800-meter run and the 5,000-meter run, respectively. Eddy ran a 2:17.72 in the 800 meters and Markelz finished the 5,000 meters in 14:57.93, while Trinity freshman James Porter (New Haven, Conn.) placed eighth in the 55-meter dash at 6.68.

Foresi Finished Sixth at Wrestling (15-9-1) Nationals

The Trinity College wrestling team sent two representatives to the NCAA Division III National Championships on Mar. 3-4 at Wartburg College, and finished 37th of 67 teams. Sophomore 141-pounder Mark Foresi (West Springfield, Mass.) won three out of six matches and advanced to the fifth place match to earn All-American honors for the Bantams. Trinity senior captain Michael Marcucio (Derby, Conn.) won one out of three matches at 133 pounds. Both wrestlers were ousted from the winners bracket by the eventual champion in that weight class.

Women's Squash (11-1) Has First Perfect Dual Match Season

The Trinity College women's squash team defeated Princeton, 5-4, on Feb. 24 to complete the first undefeated dual match season in the history of the program. The feat earns Trinity the Barhite Trophy as the No. 1-ranked women's squash team.

Sophomore No. 8 Amy Brown (West Hartford, Conn.) came back from a 2-0 deficit to post a 3-2 match the deciding match against Princeton. Bantam freshman No. 3 Pam Saunders (Harrare, Zimbabwe) and junior No. 6 Mollie Anderson (Buffalo, N.Y.) each posted 3-0 wins, while senior Sarah Greenwood (Philadelphia, Pa.) won, 3-1, in her final collegiate match.

At the Singles Championships, freshman and No. 2-seeded Amina Helal (Manchester, England) won four consecutive matches to advance to the final round of the winners bracket before losing, 3-1, to No. 1-seeded Julia Beaver, of Princeton.

Senior captain Janine Thompson (Port Elizabeth, South Africa) won three matches, including an upset of the No. 4 seed, to advance to the semifinals, before losing a 3-0 match to Helal. Saunders recovered from a third round loss to reach the Consolation B semifinals and totaled a 3-2 record for the weekend.

Anderson won Consolation I bracket, made up of first round winners bracket losers, with four straight wins. Sophomore Clare Austin (Banbury, England) went 2-2 en route to a Consolation II quarterfinal appearance.

Men's Squash (17-0) Wins Third Straight NISRA Team Title

The Trinity College men's squash captured its third consecutive National Intercollegiate Squash Racquets Association (NISRA) Team Championship (Potter Trophy) at Yale University. Trinity posted a 9-0 victory over Cornell in the quarterfinals on Feb. 23, an 8-1 win over Yale in the semifinals on Feb. 25, and a 7-2 triumph over Harvard in the finals on Feb. 25. The Bantams completed the 2000-01 campaign at the NISRA Singles Championships at Harvard on Mar. 2-4.

The Bantams, ranked No. 1 in the nation and seeded No. 1 in the tournament, finished the season with its third consecutive undefeated season and 52 straight wins dating back to the 1998 NISRA Potter Trophy Finals.

Against No. 8-seeded Cornell, eight out of nine Trinity players won 3-0 victories, led by senior No. 2 Akhil Behl (Bombay, India) and sophomore No. 3 Jonathan Smith (Leeds, England).

Six out of nine Trinity players recorded 3-0 victories against No. 4-seeded Yale, including sophomore No. 5 Nickolas Kyme (Pembroke, Bermuda), junior No. 6 Rohan Juneja (Bombay, India), and senior co-captain No. 7 Loua Coetzee (Port Alfred, South Africa).

In the Harvard match, Trinity freshman No. 1 Michael Ferriera (Stamford, England) won the deciding match, 3-2. Kyme, junior No. 8 Rohan Bhappu (Bombay, India), and freshman No. 9 Patrick Malloy (Boston, Mass.) posted 3-0 wins for the Bantams.

At the Singles Championships (Pool Trophy), junior and No. 6-seeded Lefike Ragontse (Gaborang, Botswana) won four consecutive matches to advance to the final round of the winners bracket before losing, 3-1, to No. 4-seeded David Yik, of Princeton.

Kyme won three matches, including an upset of the No. 8 seed, to advance to the semifinals, while No. 7-seeded Behl recovered from a second round loss to reach the Consolation B semifinals.

Junior Gaurav Juneja (Bombay, India) advanced to the finals of the Consolation A bracket, made up of first round winners bracket losers, with three wins. Coetzee and Bhappu both went 2-2 en route to Consolation A semifinal appearances.

Men's Swimming and Diving (3-6) Competes at NESCAC's

The Trinity College men's swimming and diving team finished 10th out of 11 teams in the inaugural NESCAC Championships at Bowdoin College on Feb. 23-25.

Bantam senior diver Brad Albus (New Canaan, Conn.) finished seventh in the three-meter event and eighth in the one-meter dive with scores of 357.15 and 348.8, respectively.

Sophomore Chris Rorer (Villanova, Pa.) finished ninth in the 50-yard breaststroke with a time of 28.68, and teamed with senior tri-captain Chris Nicholas (Seekonk, Mass.), junior Alex Blanchard (Warwick, R.I.), and fellow sophomore Coley Dale (Bloomfield, Conn.) to place eighth in the 400-yard medley relay at 3:45.06.