By: Jennifer Jones
Director of Sports Information
jonesj@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Both the men and women's Juniata College basketball teams pulled out huge conference wins on the road Saturday while women's swimming broke several records and brought home hardware from the Landmark Conference Championships.
Men's Basketball
This week the Juniata College men's basketball team snapped a four game losing streak with it's first Landmark win in over two weeks. The Eagles first faced off against Catholic University of America Wednesday night in Washington, D.C. It took 40 minutes to decide the game, but Juniata eventually fell 82-73 in double overtime. Seniors Brian Scholly (State College, Pa./State College), Kevin Stapleton (Indiana, Pa./Indiana), and Jeremy Hays (McMechen, W. Va./John Marshall) all finished the game in double-digit points with Scholly leading the way with 18.
In Bethlehem, Pa. ,the Eagles produced a 20-point lead in the second half against Moravian College before defeating the Greyhounds for the second time this season by a final score of 61-51. Stapleton continued his strong play with a game-high 20 points. Scholly tacked on a game-high nine rebounds and Hays captured a third game-high for the Eagles with six assists. Juniata is now 13-8 on the year and improved to 4-6 in Landmark play. The Eagles (13-8, 4-6 Landmark) return to action at home this Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. in the Kennedy Sports+Recreation Center when they host Goucher College.
Women's Basketball
The women split conference play this past week. Junior Kelsey Livoti (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) scored a team-high 18 points in the Eagles 81-60 loss at home against Catholic, just missing a double-double with nine rebounds. But it was the seniors, Kate McDonald(Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area) and Jordan Hileman (Williamsburg, Pa./Williamsburg) who led Juniata to their 56-53 upset of Moravian College on the road Saturday afternoon. Juniata handed the Greyhounds their first home loss of the season and kept the Eagles playoff hopes alive.
Making a strong debut this week was sophomore Natalie Hager (Franklin, Pa./Franklin). She gave valuable minutes off the bench in her return to play, putting up 10 points in the win over Moravian. The Eagles (10-11, 3-7 Landmark) return home this Saturday, Feb. 15 for senior day in a doubleheader with the men. Tip off is set for 4 p.m.
Women's Swimming
The Juniata College women's swimming team concluded their season at the three day Landmark Conference Swimming & Diving Championships this past weekend. In total, the Eagles set eight school records over the three days, including two new conference records. The team of seniorHillary Palmer (Fayetteville, Ga./Fayette County), freshman Erika Fimple (Drexel Hill, Pa./Upper Darby), and sophomores Emily Nye (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg) and Tzvia Cahn (San Jose, Calif./Kehilla Jewish) together broke records in the 200 and 400 medley relays and the 200 and 400 free relays. The foursome captured the win in both freestyle relays while setting pool and meet records. In the 200 free relay, their time of 1:38.53 set a new Landmark record.
Juniata's lone individual victory came from Palmer in the 100 backstroke. She broke the old conference record in the prelims with a mark of 59.37. Palmer also was the runner-up in the 200 IM, while setting a new program record, and the 100 free. Fimple finished her stellar freshman campaign with second place finishes in the 100 and 200 fly, setting new school records in both events. She also had a third place performance in the 200 IM.
Men's Indoor Track & Field
The Juniata College men's track & field team competed at the Crusader Classic, hosted by Susquehanna University. Senior Nate Alter (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice) was the top finisher, placing fourth overall in the 5000 meter run with a time of 16:06.30 and sophomoreJacob Krott (Temple, Pa./Muhlenberg) finished 15th. In the 60 meter hurdles, junior Tyler Mandley (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) came in ninth place in a personal best mark of 8.97. Sophomore Matt Guetzlaff (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) crossed the line 12th in a time of 4:37.83 in the 1 mile run. Senior Justin Herr (Mountain Top, Pa./Crestwood) was the team's top finisher in the field, placing seventh overall in the triple jump with a distance of 12.33m. The Eagles next compete in the Susquehanna Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 16.
Women's Indoor Track & Field
The Juniata College women's track & field team enjoyed many strong performances this weekend, as they competed at the Susquehanna University Crusader Classic. Senior Katrina Woods(Shirleysburg, Pa./Mount Union) captured first place in the 500 meter run in 18:34.48, over a minute ahead of the second place finisher. Junior Courtney Peterson (York, Pa./Central York) finished ninth overall in the event. In the 200 meter dash, senior Paula Pryor (Westbrookville, N.Y./Burke Catholic) placed ninth overall in a time of 27.70, securing her spot as the second best performer in school history. In the long jump, sophomore Alissa Sellers (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon Area) and freshman Katelyn Fisher (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) placed 12th and 14th, respectively. Junior Chelsey Beaver (Shamokin Dam, Pa./Selinsgrove Area) placed 12th with a season best mark of 10.79m in the shot put. The Eagles continue their indoor season at Susquehanna University Saturday, Feb. 16 to compete in the Susquehanna Invitational.
Men's Volleyball
It has been a big week for men's volleyball, starting with the Eagles being named No. 1 in the country on Tuesday. Juniata then went on to go 2-1 at the Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) Crossover Weekend in Cincinnati, Ohio. It opened with a big five-set win over No. 10 Carthage and 3-0 sweep of Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) Saturday and concluded with a tough 3-1 loss to Lakeland College Sunday afternoon. The loss snapped a five-match win streak for the Eagles. Lakeland upset three ranked teams during the weekend to thrust onto the national stage.
Juniata's big hitters were juniors Paul Kuhn (York, Pa./Central York) and Alex McColgin(Buffalo, N.Y./Hamburg) led by sophomore setter Matt Elias (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn). After three weeks of grueling competition, the Eagles take a two week break before returning to action at home on Friday, Feb. 21 against CVC rival Eastern Mennonite.
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