Men’s Basketball:
The men’s basketball team had a light, but successful week as the Bombers won their only game, beating Houghton College 87–83 and improving to 8–4 in Empire 8 play.
The last-place Highlanders started off the half on a 13–6 run, but the Bombers came back to tie the score at 14. The team then took control of the half, leading 44–25 by the period’s end.
Freshman Joey Flanagan led the Bombers with 20 points in the victory despite only playing 18 minutes in the contest. Senior Keefe Gitto had 15 points and led the Bombers with eight rebounds.
Head coach Jim Mullins said his team has made some great progress in recent weeks and hopes it continues in the season’s final stretch, mostly due to the uncertainty of the conference tournament seeding.
“Spots in the Empire 8 are wide open,” he said. “Minus St. John Fisher, no team is guaranteed.”
The Bombers return to action this weekend with home games against Hartwick College and Stevens Institute of Technology.
Gymnastics:
The gymnastics team competed at Cornell University’s Big Red Invitational against Cornell, SUNY Brockport and Southern Connecticut State University on Feb. 7.
The Blue and Gold posted a team score of 183.475, leaving them in fourth place for the tournament. The team had its highest total score on the uneven bar with a 46.125.
Freshman Kelly Nash received a career-high on bars with a score of 9.575, earning her seventh place. The highest score of the entire team came from freshman Rachel Lee on the balance beam with a 9.65. Lee took fourth place.
On floor exercise, junior Megan Harrington scored a 9.5. Harrington has scored a 9.5 or higher on each floor exercise she has competed in so far this season. Senior Valerie Cohen scored a 9.275 on floor as well. On vault, Cohen scored a 9.325. Harrington was the only gymnast on the team who competed in all-around. She scored a 36.950 in the event.
Ithaca’s next meet is Feb. 15 at Ben Light Gymnasium against Brockport, Rhode Island College and Springfield College.
Wrestling:
The wrestling team took to the mats against SUNY Oneonta and prevailed with a commanding 43–3 victory. With the victory, the team pushed its dual match winning streak to three and its overall record to 9–2. The 43-point mark sets a new high for the season, eclipsing the 40-point total accumulated just two matches earlier against Centenary College.
Led by pins from sophomore Nick Wahba and junior Greg DuVall at 141 and 197 lbs., respectively, the South Hill squad rattled off nine consecutive bout victories after dropping the first bout.
The only win for the Red Dragons was produced by nationally ranked heavyweight James Bethel, who won by decision 6–0 in the first bout. After the loss to go down 3–0, sophomore Jimmy Kaishian responded with a major decision, outscoring his opponent 11–3 to right the ship for the Bombers.
Senior Alex Gomez, freshman Jaison White and junior Eamonn Gaffney posted major decisions to help propel the team to the victory. In total, the Bombers wrestled to the tune of four majors, three technical falls and two pins on the day.
Track and Field:
The women’s track and field team split up for meets Feb. 7 where it competed at Boston University’s Scarlet and White Invitational and at home for the Ithaca Invitational alongside the Bombers’ men’s team.
Fifteen Bombers met the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference standard in 10 events in Boston.
Junior Alex Rechen broke the school record in pole vault with a mark of 3.65 meters, placing her fifth in Boston.
Junior Rachelle Sartori, senior Emily Smith, freshman Taryn Cordani, junior Michaela Cioffredi and junior Anna Fay all surpassed the ECAC standard in the 1,000-meter run. Sartori placed first in her heat with a time of 3:04.03.
At the Bombers home meet, Ithaca posted 18 top-eight finishes in 12 events. In the 4×400-meter relay, the team of freshmen Anissa Ash and Amber Edwards, senior Brittany Greene and sophomore Rose Paskoff placed second, clocking in at a time of 4:24.97.
For the men’s team, three athletes met ECAC standards. Junior Andrew Brandt notched the Bombers’ best finish at the meet, placing first in high jump and clearing 1.98 meters to qualify for ECACs.
Seniors Rashaad Barrett and Mason Mann rounded out the team’s ECAC qualifiers for the meet. Barrett placed second in the 60-meter dash in 7.01 seconds and Mann also placed second in the 500-meter run at a time of 1:07.47
Women’s Basketball:
The women’s basketball team continued its success with a commanding 60–38 win at Houghton College on Feb. 6.
The Bombers shot 45 percent from the field and held the Highlanders to just 29.2 percent shooting in the blowout performance. The South Hill squad took a 32–22 lead into halftime and didn’t look back, extending the lead to over 20 points late in the second half.
Junior guard Keri Steele paced the Bombers with 13 points on 6–7 shooting, while freshman guard Jordan Beers added eight points. Sophomore guard Alex Gilligan and senior forward Geena Brady each chipped in seven for the Blue and Gold, who improve to 17–4 on the season with four regular-season games remaining.
Sophomore guard Ali Ricchiuti led the team with five assists, while freshman forward Julie Yacovoni and sophomore forward Erin Ferguson each added five rebounds. Two other players each chipped in with four rebounds.
The Bombers have won four-straight games and are tied with Stevens Institute of Technology for first place in the Empire 8 with a conference record of 11–1.
The South Hill squad’s next game is against Hartwick College at 6 p.m. Feb. 13 at Ben Light Gymnasium. The team is set to play Stevens Institute of Technology at home the next day, which will likely determine the regular-season conference champion.
