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1999-2000 Winter/Spring Sports Update

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For the Week of February 21 to February 27
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Spotlight
News and notes about Muhlenberg athletics
DEJA VU: MUHLENBERG vs. HOPKINS IN WOMEN’S HOOPS FINAL
 For the fifth consecutive year, the Muhlenberg women’s basketball team will battle Johns Hopkins for the Centennial Conference championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The two teams split the previous four title matches, each winning one at home and one on the road. Hopkins won last year, 59-39.

In the regular-season meeting on Feb. 5, Muhlenberg scored the final 10 points of the first half to open up a 27-17 lead and turned back two Hopkins comeback attempts in the second half to post a 62-51 upset win. The Blue Jays entered the game ranked 11th in Division III.

Hopkins, now ranked 16th, has a 10-1 home record this season, with the only loss coming to the No. 1 team in Division III, Washington (Mo.). The Mules, however, snapped the Blue Jays’ 21-game home winning streak when they won the title two years ago, and they have plenty of experience in close road games: The last nine games Muhlenberg has played on an opponent’s home court have all been decided by five points or fewer, and the Mules are 6-3 in those games.

TWO QUALIFY FOR WRESTLING NATIONALS
 For the second straight year, Muhlenberg will send multiple representatives to the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships. Sophomores Andy Faust (149) and Tyler Cathey (heavyweight) earned the bids by winning their respective weight classes at the Centennial Conference Championships. Faust and enters the nationals with a record of 23-4; Cathey is 26-2. The NCAA Championships will be held March 3-4 at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio. Click here for tournament information.

HALL OF FAME CLASS OF ’00 TO BE INDUCTED MARCH 25
The 21st Muhlenberg College Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will take place on March 25, 2000. For a list of the inductees and details on the special event, please Click here.

Wednesday, February 23
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Muhlenberg 57, Franklin & Marshall 40. Muhlenberg used another outstanding defensive effort to knock off Franklin & Marshall and advance to the Centennial Conference championship game for the fifth year in a row. For the fifth straight year, the Mules' opponent will be Johns Hopkins, a 64-49 winner over Swarthmore in the other semifinal. Muhlenberg held the Diplomats to 23.6-percent shooting and kept their three all-conference guards to 8-of-41 firing, including 1-for-20 from three-point range. The Mules had a nine-point lead at the half and opened the second half on a 12-2 run, preventing a similar F&M comeback to the one that had occurred in the teams' regular-season meeting. Sophomore Jenn Risley led all scorers with 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting, and junior Jennifer O'Neill had 11 points and a team-high 7 rebounds. Click here for box score.
MEN’S BASKETBALL Johns Hopkins 64, Muhlenberg 60. For the second consecutive year, Muhlenberg was bounced from the Centennial Conference playoffs by Johns Hopkins in a tight game. The Blue Jays used a 9-0 run to grab a six-point lead at halftime, and although the Mules got close several times in the second half, they could not get over the hump. Sophomore Mark Lesko finished his all-conference season with an 18-point, 9-rebound performance, and freshman Anthony Strachan scored 10 points. Seniors Kenyamo McFarlane and Eric Nothstein, playing in their final career games, scored 8 points apiece. Click here for box score.

Friday, February 25
TRACK & FIELD at Haverford for Centennial Conference Championships. Senior Kurt Kunsch won his second career gold medal in the pole vault on the first day of competition. Kunsch cleared the bar at 13-6, tying the school record he matched earlier this season. He also won the pole vault at the 1998 CC Outdoor Championships and is the first Muhlenberg male athlete to win an event indoors and outdoors in CC history. All 15 of the men's team points came from the pole vault, as Jason App took fourth place at 12-0. The women got a pair of seventh-place finishes (in the 1500 and 3000) from junior Laura Roth.

Saturday, February 26
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Johns Hopkins 70, Muhlenberg 43. Johns Hopkins used its size, homecourt and experience advantages to defeat Muhlenberg and win its second straight Centennial Conference championship. The Blue Jays had a 55-31 rebounding edge and scored many of their points on second chances. The Mules struggled offensively, going scoreless for the final 7:39 of the first half as Hopkins went on a 14-0 run to open up a commanding 22-point lead. Muhlenberg was within 17 midway through the second half before suffering another long offensive drought, this one of more than seven minutes. Junior P.J. Schwartz scored a team-high 10 points. The Blue Jays played four seniors, who combined for 35 points, while the Mules played none. Click here for box score.
TRACK & FIELD women and men finished ninth at Centennial Conference Championships. Six school records were broken and one was tied as Muhlenberg concluded its indoor season. Junior Katrina Beck won the indoor high jump gold for the third straight year with a school record-tying height of 5-4. She is one of only five females in CC history to win the same indoor event three times. Beck also ran the anchor leg of the 4x400-meter relay team that set a school record (4:28.21). Senior Cindy Bredefeld was on that team and set a record by herself in the 800 meters (2:30.63). The women's 4x800 team also set a school record (10:40.49) in placing sixth. For the men, sophomore Will Elson and freshman Brendan Gallagher both were part of two records. Elson ran the leadoff leg and Gallagher the anchor of the distance medley relay team (10:50.81), and each broke his own record in the 800 meters (2:00.97) and the 5,000 meters (16:07.01), respectively. Senior Kurt Kunsch, who won the pole vault Friday night, took fifth place in the high jump. Click here for Muhlenberg highlights.
BASEBALL Washington & Lee 4, Muhlenberg 3; Washington & Lee 17, Muhlenberg 1. Washington & Lee pushed across a run in the bottom with one out in the bottom of the seventh to spoil the Mules' season-opener. Junior Tim Haberbusch pitched a complete game, striking out 5 and allowing 7 hits. Muhlenberg had taken a 3-1 lead in the top of the third on two hits and three infield errors. A pinch-double by sophomore Benjamin Leisawitz drove in the only run of the nightcap. Click here for line scores.

Sunday, February 27
BASEBALL Randolph-Macon 8, Muhlenberg 7; Randolph-Macon 15, Muhlenberg 9. The Mules put on their hitting shoes on the second day of their season, scoring 16 runs on 25 hits, but Randolph-Macon did even more scoring. Muhlenberg faced an early 5-1 deficit in the first game, but a two-run single by sophomore Benjamin Leisawitz capped a three-run third that made it a one-run game. Down by three runs heading into the sixth, the Mules got four straight two-out hits and had the potential tying run thrown out at the plate. Senior Chuck Draper had three hits in Game 1 and two more in Game 2. Junior Marcus Mattielli also hit safely twice in the nightcap, including an RBI double.Click here for line scores.

Questions or comments? Send mail to falk@muhlenberg.edu

Last updated February 27, 2000