January 31-February 6, 1996

• Women's Basketball
• Men's Basketball
• Swimming and Diving
• Men's Indoor Track
• Women's Indoor Track
• Skiing
• Women's Squash

Bobcats Go 2-0; Defeat St. Joseph's and Trinity

The Bobcats got off to a slow start against the St. Joseph's Lady Monks, but led by three three-pointers by first-year forward A.T. Taylor and some key buckets by first-year guard Colleen McCrave, Bates pulled away to a 24- 11 lead with 11:39 left in the first half. The Bobcats kept the pressure on the Lady Monks and by the end of the half had extended their lead to 46-29. The first five minutes of the second half saw little scoring from either team, but at the 15:00-minute mark a McCrave basket sparked a 14-2 Bobcat run that placed the game significantly out of reach for St. Joe's. Junior forward Sarah Bonkovsky scored 30 points and grabbed 17 boards to lead Bates, while Taylor added 19 points and 10 rebounds and senior point-guard Dianna Devlin dished out 13 assists.

For their second game of the week, the Bobcats traveled to Hartford, Conn., to take on the Bantams of Trinity College. In a low-scoring affair, Bates held a narrow 18-13 halftime lead. The Bantams, however, started off the second half with a 12-0 run to take the lead. The Bobcats rallied to take the lead until, with 18 seconds left in the game, Trinity nailed a three-pointer to tie the game. Bates turned the ball over on the ensuing play, but the Bantams were unable to get a shot off before time expired. In overtime, the Bobcats were able to overcome the Bantams thanks to some clutch free-throw shooting by Taylor in the final seconds. Undaunted by the pressure, the first-year forward nailed four free-throws to give Bates the 59-55 win. Taylor led the Bobcats with 21 points while Bonkovsky added 17 points and 16 rebounds.

For her performances against UMF, St. Joseph's, and Trinity, Taylor was named the ECAC Rookie of the Week and the NEWBA Co-Rookie of the Week for the second week in a row. During this three-game stretch, Taylor averaged 17 points along with 6.7 rebounds per game. She also had 13 steals.

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Bates faced a tough opponent in 16-2 St. Joseph's. The Monks jumped out to a 12-0 lead over the first four minutes of the game, but the Bobcats put on a 15-2 run, capped by a pair of Matt Garvey three-pointers, to take a 19-16 lead at 9:03 of the first half. Bates was able to expand that to 34-25 on a 7-0 spurt over one minute starting at 5:31 to give them their biggest lead of the game. St. Joe's showed why they are one of the best, though, ending the half on a 14-2 run, culminated by a three-pointer at the buzzer to give them a 43-40 halftime lead. Senior Adam Piandes had 19 at the break, while Garvey had 11. In the second half, the Monks tried to pull away early, but the Bobcats hung tough, taking a one point lead with 9:56 on a lay-up by junior Jesse Strandberg on a nice feed from Piandes. This sparked St. Joe's though, as they scored the next 10 points over the next 1:32, and then won the game at the line, scoring their last ten points from the charity stripe. For the game, Piandes led the way with 26 points and 9 assists, thile Garvey knocked down seven 3-pointers on his way to 23 points. Senior Jay Lowe was the only other player in double figures with 10.

In the second game of the week, the Bobcats once again played well, but could not put on the finishing touches to snap the Bantams' six-game winning streak. Bates held a 32-27 lead midway through the first half, but Trinity ended the half on a 20-4 run to take a 53-40 lead. The Bantams never really looked back from there, as they were able to shut down the Bates offense. Garvey was held to 14 points for the game and Piandes to just 13. Mike Marsh also netted 13 points and had a team high five rebounds. Trinity outrebounded Bates 50-32 and outshot them 54 percent to 40 percent. Bates' record is now 8-10.

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Swimming Sweeps Tri-Meet in Connecticut, Smashes Trinity Pool Records

The women got outstanding performances from several swimmers, setting five Trinity pool records in the process. Sophomore Denby Johnson won both of her events, establishing pool records in the 50 freestyle (25.74) and the 500 freestyle (5:23.92). Senior Melissa Sander also won her evens, taking the 200 butterfly (2:17.03) and setting another pool record in the 200 individual medley (2:27.02). Senior Beth Sawyer also set a pool record, taking the 100 freestyle (57.48). Finally, the 400 freestyle relay team of first-year Emily Preissler, sophomore Maria Barton, and senior co-captains Jane Milkey and Sawyer set a pool record with a time of 3:53.86.

The women were not alone in their domination at Trinity. The men had one of their best meets to date, winning eight of twelve races. They started the day with a bang, as first-year swimmers Damon Bowe, Chris Orpilla and Todd McCoy and senior co-captain David Gair combined to set a Trinity pool record in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:53.32. First-year diver David Burke continued his impressive campaign, winning the 1M diving with a score of 217.05, and setting both a school and pool record in the 3M diving with a score of 267.05. Burke has now established school records in five of the Bobcats' eight meets this season. Other winners for Bates were Bowe in the 200 individual medley (2:05.17) and 200 backstroke (2:08.02), senior co-captain Chris Eastman in the 100 freestyle (50.04), Gair in the 200 butterfly (2:07.56) and Orpilla in the 200 breaststroke (2:20.55).

The women are now 7-2 on the season, while the men are 4-5.

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Men Take Quad Meet; Potter Qualifies for Nationals

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Women's Track Finishes Fourth at Bowdoin

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Skiing Finally Gets a Full Carnival, Finishes Seventh at Vermont

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Women's Squash Goes 1-2 at Smith

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© 1996 Bates College. All Rights Reserved. Last modified: 1/26/96 by rlm