(Posted November 24, 2003)

WOMEN?S VOLLEYBALL (38-1, 7-0 Commonwealth):

Juniata had their undefeated season, and their dreams of claiming the school?s first National Championship come to an end as they were upset by New York University in an NCAA Quarterfinal match-up.

Juniata lost game one of the match 30-28, then rallied to take games two and three by 31-29 scores. NYU rebounded with a 30-27 victory in game four, and Juniata was unable to hold a late lead as the Eagles fell 17-15 in game five. It was the first time all season that Juniata had been pushed to a fifth game. Katie Laucks (West York/York) led the team offensively with a career-high 27 kills and a hitting percentage of .355. She also tossed in a pair of aces. Senior Danielle Hart (Central/Roaring Spring) finished 17 attack chances while adding three blocks on the night. Katie Charles (Manheim Township/Lancaster) and Stephanie Kines (Towson/Towson, Md.) both recorded 11 kills in the match. Kines hit .308 in the contest and turned away a team-best six blocks.

Charles was second on the team with 20 digs in the match. Another senior, Johanna Holtan (Fargo North/Fargo, N.D.), led the Juniata defense with 25 digs in the match. Lindsey Habel (Glen Oak/Canton, Ohio) was also in double figures with 16 digs. Setter Carli Dale (Cochranton/Cochranton) dished out 56 assists on the match for Juniata and also contributed 17 digs. The loss kept the Eagles from making their eighth consecutive appearance in the national semifinal. Juniata?s 38 wins are the most an Eagle team has had since the 1998 team finished the season with a record of 39-3. It was also only the second time in the program?s history that the team has ended the season with just one loss.

MEN?S BASKETBALL (1-1, 0-0 Commonwealth): Nov. 25 vs. Westminster; Nov. 29 at Washington & Jefferson.

The men?s basketball team kicked off their season with a victory over host Dickinson College in the Dickinson Tip-off Tournament. Juniata then hung tough with Randolp-Macon, a team ranked 15th in the DIII Hoops.com top-25, before falling the tournament championship game. Tommy McConnell (Bishop Guilfoyle/Altoona) was one of four players in double figures against Dickinson as he scored a team-high 18 points in helping Juniata to the 75-55 win. Neil Holloway (Tussey Mountain/Saxton) and Craig Biller (Penn Cambria/Loretto) each added 13 for Juniata, while Biller led the team with five assists and Holloway was tops on the unit with eight rebounds. Travis Martin (Huntingdon/Huntingdon) scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds for Juniata which shot an impressive 50-percent from the field in the win. Against Randolp-Macon, Juniata stayed with the highly-ranked team trailing by as few as three points on several occasions in the second half before falling 65-53. Freshman Chris Jasiota (Oil City/Oil City) was the high scorer with 11 points in the contest. Holloway had nine points, with Biller and Jeff Lau (York Catholic/Glen Rock) adding eight points apiece. McConnell led the team with five assists and six rebounds, while also grabbing a pair of steals. McConnell and Holloway were both named to the All-Tournament Team.

WOMEN?S BASKETBALL (1-1, 0-0 Commonwealth):Nov. 25 at Penn State-Altoona; Nov.29 at Delaware Valley.

Juniata started the season off with a 1-1 weekend at the Emory and Henry Tip-Off Tournament. Juniata earned an 82-50 victory in the consolation game of the tourney, after falling 74-56 to Chowan on the opening night of play. Juniata?s Jen Uhrich (Palmyra/Palmyra) was named to the All-Tournament Team. Uhrich recorded her first ?double-double? of the season as she scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Juniata?s win over Wesleyan (Ga.). Uhrich also added 11 points and seven rebounds against Chowan. Kristen Kirk (Newport/Newport) was also in double figures in both games, scoring 16 against Wesleyan and 11 against Chowan, while adding four assists in the Wesleyan contest. Janine Smeltz (Line Mountain/Herndon) added 16 points of her own in Juniata?s victory. Lesley Snoby (Johnstown/Johnstown) was also in double figures with 11 points against Wesleyan. Freshman Dana Reist (Manheim Central/Manheim) scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds in her first collegiate game. Gretchen Hall (Cocalico/Denver) had nine points, seven rebounds and three assists against Wesleyan, while Colleen McShane (Glouchester Catholic/Glouchester, N.J.) dished out eight assists over the weekend.

WOMEN?S SWIMMING (4-2, 2-2 MAC): Dec. 6 at Bryn Mawr.
*Middle Atlanta Conference opponents

Juniata dropped a pair of conference dual meets over the weekend, falling by a slim seven-point margin to four-time defending conference champion Albright, and then having a 123-80 setback against Scranton. Against Albright champion Juniata had one of their best outings of the season, despite the scoreboard showing a 106-99 victory for Albright. Ten Juniata swimmers finished with career-best swims and the Eagles also turned in a pair of pool records. The 200-medley relay team of Amy Sutherland (Norwich/Norwich, N.Y.), Laura Rawson (Richard Montgomery/Rockville, Md.), Kim Allen (Susquehanna Twp./Harrisburg) and Kathy Trainor (Upper Merion/King of Prussia) swam to the victory in a time of 2:08.4 and breaking the previous pool record. Allen also broke her own record in the 100-meter breaststroke. Another pool record fell with the relay team of Amy Hanson (Lancaster Catholic/Elizabethtown), Andrea Nulton (Tyrone Area/Tyrone), Dana Gais (Kiski Area/Saltzburg) and Trainor swam to a time of 1:55.63 in the 200-meter freestyle relay. Juniata also had individual victories as Dierolf swam to a top finish 1,000-meter freestyle and Trainor also touched the wall first in the 200-meter individual medley. The Eagles also had three runner-up finishes in the meet. Nulton finished second in the 200-meter freestyle, Rawson was second the in the 100-meter butterfly and Dierolf added a second-place finish 400-meter freestyle. Against Scranton the Eagles got a pair of victories as Allen claimed wins in both the 200-yard individual medley and the 200-yard breaststroke. Juniata also picked up a victory in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Juniata had a number of second-place finishes in the meet. Dierolf swam to a runner-up finish in the 1,000-yard freestyle. Nulton finished second in the 200-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle while, Trainor was second in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle.

Our readers respond...

Be the first to provide a response.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.