Posted by Julia Schwartz
Skidmore men's basketball returned from break and have competed hard to stand currently at 12-7 overall and 6-2 in Liberty League play.
Over the break, the Thoroughbreds celebrated an exciting mark on Jan. 21 when Jeff Altimar ‘11 reached 1,000 points in his playing career. He is the 13th player to reach this mark in Skidmore basketball history. Altimar added to his total with 13 points in a 65-57 win against Clarkson.
The Thoroughbreds were not so lucky in their next two games as they fell to league opponent St. Lawrence, who they lost to by eight despite Melvis Langyintuo ‘12 scoring 19 points.
After a two-game deficit, Skidmore came back to win three league games consecutively against Vassar, RPI and Union. Altimar started the Vassar game off with a three-pointer, which gave Skidmore the momentum to beat the Brewers 86-52 in a huge league win. Brian Lowry ‘12 had a standout week in league play being the high scorer in two out of three games for the Thoroughbreds, with 14 points against Vassar and 19 points against RPI.
Women's basketball
Since break, the women's basketball team has been fighting to keep up with its fierce league competition. The team has played all league teams once now, waiting to compete against them all once again to improve their 4-4 record in league play. Skidmore's highlights in league play have been against William Smith, Hamilton, Clarkson and Vassar. Skidmore pulled away with a big win in overtime against William Smith on Jan. 14 with a score of 88-82. Megan Gaugler ‘12 stood out in the game with an outstanding 27 points.
Gaugler came through again in the clutch at the end of Skidmore's game against Hamilton on Jan. 15 with a game winning three-point shot. Other standouts in the game were Michela Ottati ‘14 and Jessie Kavana ‘12, who both contributed 11 points apiece to the winning score.
Skidmore's most recent standout league game was against Vassar, where they won the game 68-62. Skidmore was ahead by four at the end of the first half, and continued with their lead throughout the game to push through for a win. Christina Gargiso ‘12 scored 18 points and retrieved five rebounds.
The Thoroughbreds unfortunately were unable to carry over their winning spirit to the next game against Union on Feb. 1, losing a close game 67-64. Gargiso picked up Liberty League co-performer of the Week due to her 33-point weekend. Her shooting percentage of 7-9 on the floor against Vassar and her five three-point shots contributed to her acknowledgement. The Thoroughbreds look to advance their record when they continue league play Feb. 4 against Hamilton at home.
Ice hockey
Men's hockey skated off with a win on Jan. 28 against Connecticut College with a score of 4-2. Contributing greatly to the game was rookie Tony Giacin ‘14, who scored a hat trick for the Thoroughbreds. Giacin broke the silence with his first goal on a power play with assistance from Nick Dupuis ‘12 and Alex Essaris ‘12. The rookie upped the ante in his next shift, scoring the next goal with assistance from Vlad Gavrik ‘14 and Jack Walsh ‘12. Giacin sealed the game in the third period for the Thoroughbreds when he scored off a perfect pass from teammate Alex Mykolenko ‘11. In goal for the Thoroughbreds was Andrew Ross '12, who had 21 saves, with an impressive 14 in the second period.
Skidmore extended their winning streak in the next game to four as they took a win over Tufts 6-2. The win extended their record to 6-5-2 in the ECAC East and 7-10-2 overall. Skidmore got off to a quick start with a goal from Mykolenko only 1:29 into the first period. After Tufts came back to tie the score, Essaris sealed the lead with his first goal of the season with assistance from goalie Colin Bessey ‘12. Tyler Doremus ‘12 then followed up to deepen the lead with another goal at 12:12, still in the first period. The second period provided back and forth scoring for both teams, bringing the score to 4-2.
The Thoroughbreds were able to seal the win in the third with two more goals from Doremus, his second of the game, and Chris Powers ‘14, his first goal of the season. For his efforts, Giacin nabbed ECAC east rookie of the week with a 5-goal weekend. Skidmore skates on to their next competition Feb. 4 at UNE.
Swimming & Diving
While the rest of the school was unpacking from a long vacation, the swimming and diving teams traveled to Hartwick on Jan. 23 to compete. Standouts on the women's side included Kristen Stearns ‘13 and Krista Pelton ‘14. Stearns won first place in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives, while first year Pelton finished second in the 1-meter. Carrie Koch ‘13, Katherine Kelloway ‘14 and Chelsea Halsor ‘11 all finished second in their respective swimming races and Sarah Shaw ‘14 finished in third in the 500 free.
Men's swimming came through in the same competitions with Taylor Best ‘14 in third place for the 50 free and Tucker Cambridge ‘14 in third for the 100 breast. The men's divers jumped into third place with Rob Zilinyi ‘11 performing both the 1-meter and the 3-meter dives.
Swimming and diving did not have as much luck when they went up against RPI as the Engineers came through with wins in both the women's and men's competition. Skidmore lost 136-74 in the women's division and 152-76 in the men's division. Despite the loss, Best and Peter Quattromani ‘14 both performed well finishing second in the 200 IM and the 1,000 Free, respectively.
As for the women, Koch came in second in the 200 Free with a career best time of 2:02.16, Shaw finished second in the 1000 free, and Stearns dove into second place for the Thoroughbreds in the diving competition. Skidmore hopes to swim to victory next on February 5 when the women host the Skidmore Sprint Invitational.